It’s that time of the year to turn over the clothes in my closet. My wardrobe basically reflects the two seasons in Central New York. Clothes to keep warm and my summer wardrobe of 12 T-shirts and six pairs of shorts. My wife is looking over my shoulder and she says it’s 24 T-shirts, 12 golf shirts and six pairs of shorts!

Here’s a great indoor activity you might enjoy this winter: Invite some friends over and have everyone bring a bag of their favorite T-shirts. Then take turns describing the event or vacation associated with each one. I’m looking at a T-shirt we purchased during our getaway weekend to Lake Placid more than 10 years ago. Good friends, funny stories and I guarantee a good time.

So what does cleaning out our closets have to do with jobs? Fall is a good time to clean up our offices or work stations and get serious about our careers. Cleaning up our work areas is more than just an annual ritual; it can have an impact on many parts of our lives.

For starters, getting organized can make us more productive. Whether it’s cleaning out the file cabinets, organizing the icons on our computer or organizing the tools so we can find what we need, when we need it — getting our stuff in order is important. If nothing else, cleaning up and starting fresh can really improve our attitude.

Work can become a grind when there is no beginning or end to the workload or schedule. I don’t have the patience to be a teacher (I tried), but one nice aspect about the profession are the beginning and end to the school year. When I worked at Cornell I worked 12 months a year, but at the end of the school year we had a more casual dress code and fewer meetings because many people were on vacation. Come September we geared back up and kicked off new initiatives for the new academic year. I appreciated the break in our normal routine and that’s the feeling I get when I get my stuff in order before the inevitable winter months arrive.

As an HR director I frequently was involved in the internal promotion process and I can tell you that other employees (especially managers) pay attention to the way we organize our work. Of course the most important outcome is results, but employees do make judgments about co-workers based on their work habits. If you have a large pile of papers on your desk, I can only assume that the report I sent you two weeks ago is buried somewhere in that pile?

Do you keep a to-do list? At home it may be your preference to keep a “work jar” with chores in no particular order, but I wouldn’t recommend this approach at work. Whether you choose to use a day planner, white board or app on your iPhone, what’s important is that your co-workers have confidence in your ability and commitment to get your tasks done.

Keeping a list of what needs to get done is a great start, but it’s even more important to prioritize your responsibilities. This is called the Pareto Principle, or 80/20 rule. The principle is that 20 percent of our decisions can affect 80 percent of the outcomes. What are the most important tasks you need to complete and how will they affect the outcomes? Painting the walls in my bedroom may not be the best use of my time if the roof leaks. I would also suggest you check with your boss to ensure you share the same perspective of what’s important. I have seen many employees work real hard, but if they’re working on the wrong tasks they will not succeed. At the beginning of every day I recommend you identify the 20 percent of tasks that must get done and this will go a long way to ensure your success.

I have to push myself, but I look at September as a fresh start and an opportunity to get things in order. If you’re in the middle of a job search it’s a good time to re-visit your plan and if what you’ve tried is not working, maybe it’s time to change your strategy.

I’m done whining about the end of summer, it’s a great time to plan for the future. Let’s make things happen.

Kaminski is president of Stone Associates Training. He is an HR consultant with 35 years of experience in the employment field, teaching managers the art of hiring great employees. He also is an adjunct instructor at Keuka College. You can contact him with your questions, suggestions and comments at bill@stoneassociatestraining.com.