girl-jump-in-leavesBeing organized means getting to the good stuff faster, or at least it should…

I’m amazed at how often my clients expect me to scold them for not putting things away between visits.  First off, learning good organizing habits after a lifetime of bad ones is not going to happen overnight. Second, the homeless clutter isn’t getting in the way of MY life.  So apologies to ME are completely unnecessary.

There seems to be this perception that organizers are these judgmental perfectionists.  Far from it.  In fact, perfectionism is one of the worst barriers of all.  Barry Schwartz, in his book The Paradox of Choice, speaks of “maximizers” and “satisficers.” Maximizers are the perfectionists who need to examine every possible choice before settling on anything.  Organizers tend to be satisficers, willing to settle on a choice under the limitations of a given circumstance without knowing ALL the options, so that we can get on with the next challenge.

If you’ve met me, you know that my most important promise is to “make SPACE, not judgments.” Good organizing is about relieving you of old weights and barriers, not imposing new ones.

One of my favorite definitions of organizing is “controlling the controllables.”  I like this definition because it contains an inherent acceptance that some things just ARE NOT controllable.  In fact, MOST things in life are not controllable.

You can’t afford to waste undue stress over things you can’t control.  If a traffic accident miles away has caused traffic to back up, you accomplish nothing by cursing and stewing in your car.  You need to take a deep breath and surrender to the uncontrollable. You should, however, be sure that charging your cell phone is worked into your nightly routine. That way, you are fully charged and able to call ahead to communicate that you are stuck in traffic and running late.  Charging your phone IS controllable.  It’s a simple routine that keeps your options open.

But this post is about good fun, so how does it relate to organizing? Consider this example. Saturday morning arrives and it’s a gorgeous Fall day.  Are you ready to get out there and enjoy it NOW or do you need to review all the options and search for the stuff in your home to enjoy them? Are you spending so much time reviewing and searching that it’s lunchtime and the day’s half gone? Being organized means being ready and that includes being ready to have FUN!

GETTING organized can be good fun too.  When we’re sorting and purging, it’s not uncommon for me to hear a clients say “this is FUN!” The reason is we’re 100% focused and in the zone.   We’ve got a big trash bin, a clear surface for processing, many labeled sorting boxes, and we’re quickly chucking things into the appropriate containers.  There’s no painful decisions, just delicious progress.   You don’t get to experience this fun by taking a half-baked approach and thinking of getting organized as a punishment.

I don’t recommend getting organized without asking yourself WHY you are doing it.  If you are trading in working late and digging through piles of papers for working late and adhering labels to file folders, then you’re really not making any progress.  If getting organized is not a means to an end, then it’s not good organizing.

As I see it, good organizing involves effective balancing of three valuable and limited resources: time, space, and energy.  If you do it right, this balancing act will yield a fun destination and a fun journey.