Just in time for New Year’s resolutions, a new survey may shed light on why we always focus on the same things each year when it comes to making our resolutions. The survey conducted by Harris Interactive® and commissioned by Buttoned Up, inc. suggests that the things that make us feel most disorganized may line up very closely with the things we often vow to do each year. Of the men and women surveyed, 89 percent feel disorganized at some time in their lives. The number one reason cited for feeling disorganized is having a messy home or yard (59 percent overall, 70 percent among women). The next often cited reasons for feeling most disorganized include paying bills late (41 percent); forgetting meetings or appointments (39 percent) and lack of exercise (39 percent).
Why do we always focus on the same things each year when we make our resolutions? The co-founders of Buttoned Up think it’s because we try to focus on those things that make us feel out of control. "These are the same things many of us focus on when we face a fresh new year and decide we’re going to make changes: get organized, get ahead financially, be on time for our meetings or appointments and commit to exercise or fitness," explains Alicia Rockmore, co-founder, CEO and Queen Bee of Buttoned Up, inc.
"We founded Buttoned Up on the philosophy that you’ll get more accomplished if you ditch perfection and go after the critical things that have to be organized," said Rockmore. "It’s not surprising that this survey shows that more women feel the pressures of disorganization than men. In addition to the family, social and career commitments, 70 percent of working moms also shoulder the bulk of the household management responsibilities(i). Keeping things organized is another task on top of all that."
Don’t just throw in the towel this New Year. Co-founder and Chief Dreamer of Buttoned Up Sarah Welch says get creative instead. "Try to visualize your goals, give yourself more time and make an activity out of it that the whole family can participate in." Here are some tips and strategies from Buttoned Up that will help put the "new" back in New Year’s resolution:
Think Broadly:
- Grab your favorite magazines and think about your goals for the year (and beyond) in as many areas you want to tackle (e.g. home, travel, finances, career/school, parenting, spirituality, health).
- Cut out images that represent your goals and ideas and scrapbook them into small photo albums or journals.
- Revisit your journals each year for inspiration, to add or change direction of your goals and to celebrate your progress.
Think Outside the Box: Try to think about new things you can feel good about and accomplish.
- Put together an Emergency Plan/Kit – We all know we should have one, but how many of us do? What is your plan if there is a fire, a hurricane, a blackout a snow storm – Make a plan!
- Commit to one green activity or changing one habit that is good for the environment and follow through.
- Commit to the Small Moments: Commit not to talk or text when driving; Commit not to multi task when talking to a friend/family; or Commit to a family meal once a week
Buttoned Up is an organizational products company founded by three sisters and a best friend to provide solutions for busy women who are stretched and stressed — living the "just in time lifestyle." They created a line of simple, straightforward products that keep you focused on what’s important and make it easier to enlist the help of others. Each product functions like a friendly organizational guide, not a rigid drill sergeant, helping you figure out how to get the basics organized so you can spend more time living. Visit https://www.getbuttonedup.com/ for more information.
The survey focused the organizational habits and challenges of Americans. Additional data is available. Contact cp*@***********up.com to request a fact sheet.
Survey Methodology
This study was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive® on behalf of Buttoned Up between November 16 and 20, 2007 among 2,226 U.S. adults. Results were weighted as needed for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.
All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.
Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the U.S. adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to be invited to participate in the Harris Interactive online research panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
(i) Buttoned Up Quantitative Survey, January 2006
This article was last modified on January 6, 2023
This article was first published on December 21, 2007
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