I Am Organized!

Time Management and Organization - two things that entrepreneurial types like ourselves are forever trying to achieve. We have to get organized, manage our time better, can the clutter... It's one of those neverending battles, a cycle of madness.

I've spent years trying to organize, get organized and stay organized. I'm sure you can relate. In a huge burst of energy and motivation you go through your entire office (or even the entire house) and throw away everything you can live without, and neatly file and stack and categorize what is left.

Only to find yourself surrounded by "the clutter" again two weeks later. 😐

I have to tell you though... I had a major breakthrough on Friday night, when I realized that I am organized! What?!, you say, you're organized?? Yes, and you might be too, without even knowing it... and driving yourself crazy 'trying to get organized' when you already are!

Like I said, this was a major breakthrough for me. Since the moment I realized it, it has completely changed the way that I view "my space" and the "issues" associated with it. Let me backtrack though, and tell you how this all came about...

I spent most of the day Friday cleaning house and trying to wind things down so that I could enjoy the weekend. It had been a particularly long week after being sick and working through what felt like a mountain of tasks. That evening I took the girls to the skating rink, and grabbed a couple of books from my bookshelf so that I could take a break and just read for a few hours.

Truth be known, I would have preferred the rare treat of fiction... but instead I grabbed 3 books that I hadnt yet had a chance to sit down and finish. Two of which had been on my shelf for years.

Mary Goulet (of MomsTown) had given me these two books on one of my trips out to San Diego a few years ago. At the time she was the host of Entrepreneur Magazine's talk radio show on Home Biz, and I worked closely with her as both a featured guest and personal marketing assistant.

Julie Morgenstern was also a featured guest on that show, and one that I always enjoyed listening to. She is the author of Organizing from the Inside Out and Time Management from the Inside Out. Knowing I was a big fan of her time management & organization segments, Mary gave me a copy of Julie's two books.

Not getting an opportunity to sit down and read them in all this time... now that's typical of me 🙄 . To be fair though, shortly after that trip I moved in with my grandmother to care for her full time and then took some time off last year when she passed. Since then I've been busy getting back to my own routine and to working full-time.

At any rate, finally sitting down with Julie's book on Organization was a great move. It was on the first page of that first chapter that Julie sets the record straight on this myth of "getting organized"... and where I realized that I already am.

I've always joked about my "organized chaos". That no matter how it might look, I actually knew where everything was at any given time. I can remember when the shop was open and someone would ask for the orange-handled screwdriver - my answer would sound something like: "It's in the 3rd office, on that shelf on the right-hand wall, 2nd shelf from the bottom, towards the left". They were always amazed to find it right where I suggested 😛 .

It's the same now. Whether it's in the basket on top of the refrigerator, in a box in the top of the closet, or in the junk drawer... I can usually tell you exactly where "it" is. No matter how insanely hectic my schedule is during the week, I always manage to get the trash out on Friday morning and supper on the table at the same hour every evening. All things considered, things run pretty smooth around here...

Me, on the other hand... I dont. I run myself crazy 😆 .

Julie has an approach to it all that makes so much sense, and really helped me to get a handle on what the real issues are (for me, specifically). For starters, I'm an "out of sight, out of mind" type of person in a *huge* way. So the usual art of organizing, which means "hiding" everything in nice neat little places and spaces... means I completely forget about it. It stays there in its dark corner until it becomes unrecognizable.

I'm realizing now just how much time I have wasted putting things away, when it would really suit me best to lay my office out so that things are easily accessible and 'front and center'. Whiteboards and desk calendars will work better for me than filing cabinets, lists and day planners.

All the products and gadgets in the world wont help unless you know what would serve you best. That makes perfect sense, doesnt it?

What a relief 😀 . I AM organized. It's just high time that I realize that, and restructure my work space (and my home!) to make my life easier on me.

If you struggle with keeping up, stacks and piles, 'organizing' your space, scheduling your time, or any of those things... I would highly recommend you grab a copy of both of Julie's books.

And that you read them 😉

Best,

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