Palais Professional Organizer

Archive for March, 2010

Having a place for your belongings, putting them back in that place, showing up on time and being present are all issues of organization.  Why are we so obsessed with organization, as culture, in recent years?  On the surface it just seems like, well, who wouldn’t want to be organized?! It is the “right” thing to do. But why? It boils down to respect. Yes, when you are organized you save time, money and energy but even that is about respect for time, money and energy – your own and other people’s.

When you have a place for an item you are respecting it and its place in the world, the way it has served you well (that computer we use 12 hours a day, the printer, the coat).  When you put something back in its place you respect the person who is going to follow after you and need that item.

I now know why I get so annoyed when someone is actually angry when a computer breaks down or a printer – they can’t believe it! It has worked perfectly all these years! Exactly. No one ever stops to appreciate how it has always worked – all these years. Thank you. I understand frustration but indignation and anger? One instance of ill-repair and all respect goes out the door? Do we do that to people?

People and things need respect in order to show up. Treat the clothing or computer badly and they can’t perform their function. Treat people without respect and the relationship goes into disrepair.  When we care for the things and the people in our world we add value and can feel we left the world in a better state than we found it.

Therefore, respect creates a smoother, and dare I say, organized, life.  Aadil Palkhivala says, “Yet, do not respect because you will attain these results, but because you know that being respectful helps you grow as an individual. Eventually, we respect for no reason, but just because that is who we are.”

It can be very difficult to work on a problem that is so overwhelming and so pervasive in your life – the papers, the obsolete processes, the clutter.  When it is everywhere you turn you are in deep.  The decision to embark on the process of organizing that which seems to be resistant to organization  – well, it is just not an exciting decision to make. (Well, it is to me but that’s a whole different issue.) That’s the thing about getting your stuff, your financial papers, your business organized – it is different from embarking on other, much more sexy projects such as learning to play guitar or starting a new business. People are not thrilled to do it. There isn’t excitement at the start. They just want the problem to go away.  Which it won’t.  At least not without their participation.  I believe it is so difficult to start getting organized – because it is about realizing the reality of this ditch you are in. Because only after that reality check can you (sometimes quickly sometimes slowly) begin climbing out of it. Organizing is not about getting through what Seth Godin calls The Dip (the boring or hard part of an exciting project or process). It is about getting out of a well-worn ditch.  Getting the traction to do so – that’s what I’ll talk about next.

Ok … so let’s pretend we agree that slowing down and focusing in on one task at a time is the right way to go. What if we took it even further and said that no-tasking is the way to go?  What would that look like? I think it would look like you having fun at your job, fun running your business and bottom line  feeling much less overwhelmed.  I’m not so excited by the “shoulds” and the “have tos” as I am by the “get-tos” and the “love-tos.”  I wonder if we would be way  more organized if we stopped trying to get it all done and focused in on the things we love to do.  It may sound impossible (who’s going to pick up the laundry?, etc) but there are services for so many things,: laundry for example, food delivery, dog-walking (we love to do that though).  Outsourcing and delegating are great ways to embark on your no-tasking adventure. If you have to do something you don’t love, back against the wall, wall on fire…there is always the option of going into the fire. Really focusing in on what it is you are doing until you see the fun in it.

The research is in… best way to get what you want done is focusing in on one thing at a time. It may sound like a crazy suggestion if you have 50 things on your to-do list or task list but you really can only do one thing a time. That is, if you want to avoid crashing into the car in front of you. The professional organizer in me says, “make a list of 5 things you have to do today and focus on each one until they are done.” The human being in me knows this is often not going to happen. In light of this reality – whatever you are doing – attempt to give it your full attention as an experiment. Just for a day. See for yourself if this works better for you, if you are less stressed, if you are excited about what you are doing.  It is the zen thing – the example being that even brushing your teeth is a fulfilling activity if you do it right, that is, with attention.  I’ll go into this more tomorrow but the best case scenario is to have no tasks – that is – you love what you are doing so much you have a “get to do” list. Ohm.

Do you ever struggle with remembering names? I’m not going to mention names (Jennifer Palais) but I often hear people say that they are bad at name recall. Sometimes the person leaves the building and then the information magically comes and sits on their shoulder. I’m hoping this isn’t going to ruin my life or theirs and yet for sure it is annoying, to me and to the forgotten.

Martha Beck, Oprah’s life coach for her show and website, says that “when you’re thinking about what you want (to remember), you imagine the situations in which you’ll need to remember it, you’re more likely to succeed. Preparing your mind for a certain behavior increases (by as much as 50 percent) the chance that you’ll pull that behavior off.”  This technique seems more viable to me than an affirmation of “I remember names!”  Something (or someone?!) inside me yells back, “No you don’t!”

We hear about Olympic athletes imagining or visualizing themselves pulling off the big event performance exactly as they want to. But can it work for the more prosaic activities we encounter in life? Something as simple as remembering names?

I’ve been working on this technique for a few weeks now and it is really making a difference – about 50% of the time!  My success is increased when I repeat my new friend’s name in a sentence shortly after I hear it.

Remembering names feels a little more like poetry now.

Do you have mail spilling out of your inbox? Are you overwhelmed by the thought of dealing with your mail? Me too! Yes, I am a professional organizer but getting and dealing with my mail does not thrill me. But guess what? I do it. Why? Because the alternative is not pretty. But the real reason I process my mail each and every day is that I know a little secret about the mail. Want to know my secret? The mail takes  2 minutes to deal with! Yes, it is true. If you set up a mail center with a shredder, letter opener, and trash you can you can get rid of your mail problem in 2 minutes or less. If you are a little behind then you have a larger time investment. But if you stay on top of it the pain is over before you know it – quick shot and you are done! The only mail items you keep are actionable items (invoices to pay, events you’d like to rsvp to, etc)  and you shouldn’t have many of those. Why? Because you’ve made all of your bills paperless and you pay them online, or even better, with autopay through your bank.  The less mail you have coming in the less there is to deal with. If than isn’t an incentive for paperless bill/statement options I don’t know what is!

Many of my clients ask me what the number one thing is they can do to improve their blog writing. Not much has changed since being in school. The same suggestion applies:  The more you read the better your writing gets.  Find bloggers in your field or fields that interest you and read them consistently. This alone will contribute to your advancement. Then make sure you actually start writing! We learn by doing. If you don’t turn in the homework it can’t get graded!  Your clients will let you know if your information is grade A. Ask for feedback and adjust. Ask for more feedback and adjust again. Rinse, wash, repeat.

Gotta Have Backup
Don’t you hate it when you run out of toothpaste or toilet paper or your favorite mascara (ladies!)?  It can be even more dire when you run out of diapers when the baby is crying, printer paper when the presentation is due or clean underwear – ever!

To avoid the these annoying organizational pitfalls and keep your life running smoothly – purchase items when you are 3/4 out of them. Use Evernote.com to keep lists of the products you use on an ongoing basis.

Just this small change in operating procedure will save you time, energy and precious sanity.

Do interventions work? I don’t think so. In my experience the people who reap the benefits of lasting improvement do so because they want to.  They are asking for direction and assistance.

I ask prospective clients how committed they are to getting organized during our consultation. Their answer, among others, will decide whether or not we are a good fit.  If someone isn’t committed to a process then there is no moving them. I am a guide in the process, and similar to weight loss, building a lasting relationship or learning to dance, take some time and dedication. There will also be some of the proverbial 10 steps forward, 2 back, another 4 forward, 1 back. Cha-cha-cha. Want to dance?

I just cleaned most of my apartment today – really, really cleaned it. This is something I rarely do.  Don’t get me wrong – I’m neat and clean in a reasonable to slightly neurotic way. But to get down and dirty to get clean – well, I can only blame it on spring.

The best way to get started on your spring cleaning is to hire a housekeeper. I mean it! Why do this unless you are a bit nutty like me. That takes care of the clean part but you can still lose your paperwork, get behind on projects or just have general overwhelm.

Time to get some help. Whether it is an organizer, hypnotist or therapist sometimes outside assistance is just what the spring season orders.

If you or someone you know could do with a free afternoon office makeover visit my Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/PalaisProfessionalOrganizer and post pictures of the office in need. At the end of the week the fans will vote…transformation is on the way one way or another!