Saturday, March 14, 2009

Trying to organize without the right help!!

My web designer left for a trip to Ireland. Lucky her!! However I got the desire to make changes to my blog this morning. I thought "hey I can do this." Well I should have taken the advice I give to my organizing clients; don't get started without a plan and the proper help.
I went against both today! I am admittedly computer illiterate and the whole blog thing is still pretty new to me. So what happened? Well if you are looking at this blog it's pretty obvious; my logo is taking up almost the whole page! I can't seem to fix this cute little problem. Now I have come to the conclusion that this will give you a good laugh and help you realize that I too am human!!
So now I will wait for Amy to return from Ireland. Of course due to my OCD this will seem like an eternity. But I have learned my lesson and Amy will be glad to know her job is safe.
This is a good story for you too. Getting organized is something I hear so many of you say should come easy or shouldn't be that hard. It's not but that's only with the right plan and the help to get there. This morning I searched up on other organizing blogs to read and see what new things are out there. It's scary; organizing is becoming such a vast topic and the information floating out there is infinite. Don't just jump in. Get a plan and choose the right person to help. Whether that is a family member or a professional organizer choose someone you feel understands your needs and can really help you create a space that will function for you.
I was recently called in to reorganize an office for a client. She called very upset and during the call she told me about her office and how the disorganization was interfering with her being more successful. At the end of the call after we set up a consultation she told me that she hadn't told me everything. she then went on to explain that she had no intention to hire us. She explained that she had just paid $3000 to have her office organized less than 3 months earlier and it was worse than it was before she hired someone. I didn't know what to say. She went on to tell me that she really just wanted to show me and see what ideas I had for her to fix it herself. I totally understood. When I went to her home and looked at her office it all made sense. The organizer who came before me didn't do a bad job. She just did the wrong job for the client. This particular organizer put in a system that was complete and thorough but she didn't understand the needs of her client. This woman had ADD. I have ADD. I am not hyper, I am a daydreamer and what I know all too well about this condition is that systems have to be as simple as possible and eliminate opportunity for the client to get distracted. The filing system that was created was based off of a number system. Each file had a number and the number corresponds to a master list. This client could never keep up with how the numbers were set-up or where the key or master list was. Trying to figure out where things were supposed to be was too much for her. This system although great for some was awful for her. She needed something as simple as ABC. I worked with her to show her how this could be redone. I showed her pictures and typed out exactly how to create this new system. The directions were only a paragraph. Remember keep it simple!! A few weeks later we went in and recreated her filing system.
The point: create systems around you. Don't change who you are. Organizing is about understanding your needs and habits and then creating organizational systems for your needs and habits. Too many times we feel that if we are disorganized we need to change who we are to be better organized and that's just not true. You are great!

1 comment:

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