Get your act together

Get your act together is an idiom that means to organize yourself and do things in an effective way. It can be used to inspire someone to work harder, to prepare for something, or to improve their state of life. It can also be the title of a book that offers a guide for creating a more diverse and inclusive workplace and society4. There are variations of this idiom, such as get it together or get your shit together, that have the same meaning but different levels of formality.

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Either get your act together, or we will get it together for you.

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get organized
get your ducks in the row

Where did the Term "get Your Ducks in a Row" Come from?
Michael Pollick

To get one's ducks in a row essentially means to ensure all of the small details or elements are accounted for and in their proper positions before embarking on a new project. A defense attorney, for example, may spend much of his or her time making sure all of the evidence and witnesses are presented in a precise, effective order. A salesman may get all of his or her "ducks in a row" by rehearsing his sales presentation beforehand. When a person is fully prepared for any eventuality and has every element in place, he or she can indeed be said to have his or her ducks in a row.

Etymologically speaking, your guess as to the origins of this saying is about as good as any other. There are at least three plausible theories surrounding the origin of "get your ducks in a row," plus some others which, at least, put up an interesting argument. Some sources suggest the phrase was not even used in print until the late 1970s, although a magazine article from 1932 did suggest "getting our economic ducks in a row."

Ducks swimming in a row.

The most popular theory suggests that "ducks in a row" came from the world of sports, specifically bowling. Early bowling pins were often shorter and thicker than modern pins, which led to the nickname ducks. Before the advent of automatic resetting machines, these "duck pins" would be manually put back into place between bowling rounds. Therefore, having one's ducks in a row would be a metaphor for having all of the bowling pins organized and properly placed before sending the next ball down the lane. Many bowling alleys still offer "duck pin" lanes with smaller bowling balls and shorter pins.