Core value · Order family
Order
Things in their place
Also covers Cleanliness
What does order mean as a core value?
Order as a core value means keeping your surroundings tidy, clean and with everything in its place, and feeling calmer and clearer when they are.
Mess gets to you. A cluttered desk, a chaotic shared drive, a kitchen left in a state: you notice it quickly, and it quietly drains your concentration. Things have a place, and they belong in it. For you, tidiness and cleanliness are how your mind settles enough to think. When your surroundings are in order you feel calmer, and you often find other people relax in the spaces you look after too.
What does order look like in practice?
- You clear your desk at the end of the day so tomorrow starts clean.
- You name files consistently and put them in the right folder straight away.
- You tidy the kitchen before you can relax in the evening.
- You sort out the shared cupboard at work without being asked.
- You feel a small lift when everything is back where it belongs.
When is order overplayed?
The need for things to be in their place can make you hard to live or work with. You may re-tidy after other people, feel anxious in a creative mess that others find productive, or spend time ordering things that don’t need it. Children, housemates and colleagues can feel watched. The grounded version accepts that some mess is a sign of life and work happening. One thing you could try is leaving a shared space untidy for a day and noticing what, if anything, actually goes wrong.
Often confused with
Order vs Organisation
Organisation is planning and arranging ahead so things run smoothly. Order is the state of things being tidy and in their place, right now.
Order vs Structure
Structure gives shape to time, work and decisions through routines and frameworks. Order is mostly about physical and visible neatness.
Order vs Simplicity
Simplicity is about having less. Order is about having whatever you have in its proper place.
Questions to sit with
- Whose mess bothers you most, and what do you do about it?
- When has your need for order got in the way of someone else’s way of working?
- What happens to your thinking when your surroundings are chaotic?
More values in Order
Structure, precision and control.
About the author
Matt Rutherford is a Career and Leadership Coach. The Values Finder is the same exercise he uses with his coaching clients. He also writes Stuff that MattRs, a weekly newsletter with practical ideas to help you think clearer and work better.
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