My Organization Ah-Ha Moment

I have a really awesome desk. It's very sturdy-retro-circa-1962-ish. It's got great file drawers and it's nice and long. I had it in my classroom when I taught first grade and it has been in subsequent offices since then. And yet. I finally realized that I never use it. I organize, I straighten, I throw stuff in the drawers. But I never sit down and work at it. OMG: I hate desks. When I really want to work, I sit on the living room floor and spread things out in front of me. Or I get cozy on the sofa. And spread. I'm a spreader.

But I have persevered and tried to get more organized. I've read books by organizers. I've feng shuied, and eventually, no matter what I do, it ends up deteriorating into feng sh*t. I admire those gals with their label makers who have a place for everything and better, can find it when they need it. I'm an intelligent person, this shouldn't be so difficult. I should be more: efficient, organized. I should be less: cluttered, spread out.

*sigh*  I've been shoulding on myself about this for over 3 decades. And I'm done. "More organized" according to whom? I need to find and create a system that works for me. It doesn't have to meet anyone else's approval.

This point was driven home when I was talking to John Morgan and I was saying that I shouldn't be such a spreader; that I needed to contain my work and be more organized. He said, "Why are you trying to be what you're not?" And then he told me about a photo he saw of some CNN journalist who was in her office working; sitting on the floor with stacks of files all around her. A friend! Success does not equal non-spreading!

I have been fighting with myself all these years, trying-aspiring to be different than I am. And I've had well-meaning people say, "It's easy. You just do bleh bleh bleh . . . ."  It's easy because it's easy to them. You know what's easy for me? Whipping up a painting or a poem or making birthday newsletters for my nieces & nephews or putting together a calendar. I created 7 different calendars this year as Christmas gifts. That's easy. One person's easy is another person's never.

So it comes to this: I'm giving the desk to someone who likes desks. You're welcome, Mum. For me, this is my new work space:

Complete with my dogs. That's Millie.

I moved my large wicker sofa into the living room and shifted the leather sofa to where the desk was. The leather sofa is very cool with the whole retro-vibe of the room. Except. It's not all that comfy and it's cold in the winter and slippery and I can't take a nap on it. It's only still here because it's too heavy to move out.

Here's the view from where I sit:

This is my new desk; wicker coffee table where I can s-p-r-e-a-d.  See the cool carved wood basket? It holds my office supplies; sticky notes, white out, tape, etc.

The drawers hold all my different coloured pens and pencils. Who has that many coloured pens? Apparently me. Another ah-ha: I have to see it. Whenever I put things away, I never remember where they are. Those people with the label makers? Auditory. And that's so not me. I need to see. And you know what else? "Organized" does not mean "neat." You can stack things into piles and everything appears neat and tidy. It's not the same. Organization is about knowing what you have, and being able to have quick & easy access to it.

This is what I came up with as I was redesigning my work space:

1. Define the purpose of the space. What tasks are you doing in this space? More than one thing?  I work but it's also where I have my morning tea and write.
2. Tools needed.  I need phone, laptop (on the sofa with me), phone log (on clip board), calendar for scheduling seminars, regular pens & pencils, coloured pens, and a map.
3. Usability of space.  How do I create a flow?  Do I have easy access to everything so I'm not spending time looking for things. Everything is now within reach. And easy to move out of the way when I don't need it (like on the weekends).


I can apply this to any room, any space in my house. What is the function? Create the form of it because form follows function, and function dictates form. Above all, I want it to be comfortable, pleasant, and supportive to whatever activities I'm doing. That's my kind of organization.

Important

I've taken a bit of ribbing for yesterday's post. The IMPORTANT BOX has become a concept unto itself. I was on the phone talking about my phone with John. He was telling me that you can disengage call waiting. "Do you have the manual that came with the phone?"

"Yes."

"Is it in your UNimportant box?"

Hahahahaha Seriously, I kid. What if we sorted our lives like that? Important. Unimportant. We might not be so quick to lose our temper the next time someone cuts us off in traffic. What's in your Important Box?

Ta Da!

Have you ever read one of those books where you see yourself and have a great transformation? I'm not talking Eckhart Tolle, I'm talking something a bit closer to home. Literally. I've just read a book that has changed my life. Yes, I know--another one. But this. This!

One of the themes running thru recent blog posts-- and come to think of it, my life-- has been clutter & (dis)organization. It's been a lifelong struggle. I get organized and then natural entropy takes over. Then I just close the door. The women-folk in my fam are all uber-organized. It's inconthevable to Mum just how I can spread out as much as I do. But she also marvels at my artistic abilities. So there's that.

I've always chalked it up to being left-handed, because I really am one of those right-brained dominant people--creative, big picture-oriented, AND I totally lose track of time. The mundane deadens my soul. That last sentence just spilled out, so it must be true.

Enter Lanna Nakone with 4 organizing styles based on a brainy questionaire:

Prioritizing: Frontal left part of brain. Adept at analyzing data, delegating king or queen.
Maintaining: Posterior left part of brain. Routines & traditional organizing methods. (Prolly wrote many of those books sitting on my shelf).
Harmonizing: Posterior right part of brain. All about people & relationships. Needs a peaceful environment. I bet Oprah is a Harmonizing type.
Innovating: Frontal right part of brain. Artistic & creative. Has a unique stacking system that no one else understands. Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

Perhaps I just needed validation & understanding. But it's rare to find myself on the pages of an organization book. This time I'll file everything. A place for everything & everything has its place. Blah. Blah. Blah. And then entropy wins.

"Studies by Dr. Richard Haier...demonstrate that the brain works up to one hundred times harder when trying to perform activities utilizing functions that don't match our innate talents. This increased energy expenditure can lead to a variety of problems, including diminished success and health."


Working with the brain makes so much sense, doesn't it? Whether it's in education or marketing, understanding how the brain works--and how your brain works, is the foundation for success. So this is what made me fall in love with Lanna: "Sorry to keep bringing this up, but let's get this out in the open. It is your worst issue. No one understands your relationship with paper but you." Hahahahaha So you know how some people have everything colour-coded and filed? Here's my new filing system blessed by Lanna: Put all important papers in a box labeled "Important Papers." Done. Enough to drive a Maintaining type crazy. But it works for me.

This book is about organizing, but so much more. How you sort not just stuff, but information. She goes into Visual-Auditory-Kinesthetic preferences, as well. I would hazard a guess that this book could possibly save marriages & other co-habitators. THANK YOU, Lanna!

P.S. This is not an excuse to say "this is the way I am" and continue to be a slob. Rather, it helps to identify your particular style and work with your strengths to create harmony in your household. It not only identifies your strengths & weaknesses, but shows you the way out of your disorganization. BRILLIANT.