Have you ever felt like you could never “be organized”? An audience member talked with me about this after a presentation recently. She said, “I just don’t think I can BE organized.” I was saddened by her comment, because she clearly felt a great deal of shame about it. Unfortunately, society has a very strict interpretation of what “organized” means, and it’s not really working for a lot of people.
First of all, organization and perfection have nothing in common (besides the “-tion” part of the word). Secondly, “being organized” just means you can find most anything you need in 5 minutes or less. Organization is about systems for life and success. What organization looks like is different for everyone. Thirdly, organization is a skill, or a state of mind. There are a few simple things that can guide you to organization success in your own life.
Here’s a few tips when deciding what to do in your situation:
1. Keep it simple. There’s no need for color coding and decimal systems, unless you’re into that. You can always step things up later, but keep it simple in the beginning. A notebook and a pen can be a great place to start on a task (or “To Do”) list.
2. Be honest with yourself. Do you like technology of feel sick when you head the term, “PDA”? Do you prefer to write things out long hand, instead of typing? If you feel overwhelmed when looking at an organzation tool, it might not be the right one for you.
3. Be true to yourself. Even if you don’t “feel” organized, I bet there is something in your life that you are proud of. Search your heart and mind, and find that one thing that felt successful at. Look at why you are proud of it, and I bet there is something you can glean from that experience that can apply to other areas of your life.
“Being organized” is a state of mind, and it doesn’t always come in a box. You are unique and intelligent, so take it easy and do what works for you.
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How simple and inspiring… I have been doing my own soul searching lately about the form vs. function aspect of being organized and how to define that for clients. Love your closing remarks, Brandie!
Thanks! It’s really a quandry, that whole form + function….
So true. Organization is all about find a system that works for you and everyone is different. The system that works me may not work for my friend or my sister. And even an organized person can make mistakes or misplace things now and again. Afterall, we’re all human.
Theresa Finnigins last blog post..CatalogChoice.org
I loved this post! I find this a mantra that i need to re-visit even as a professional organizer… people like us who are perceived as being organized at all times, and who spend our days immersed in creating different and innovative organizing systems can easily get caught up in all sorts of complications… so remembering for ourselves and our clients that simplicity is always the best route, and that organization is not about perfection is very important.