NEAT & SIMPLE LIVING

Creative Personality Type and Chronic Disorganization - How are they linked? What can you do about it? My first free teleclass

Creativity and Chronic Disorganization are often linked.  Why is that?   What can you do about it? 

That's the topic for my teleclass on the link between Creative Personality Types and Chronic Disorganization.  It's for anyone who is creative and:

• believes their creativity is the cause of their disorganization
• believes that disorganization is a "side affect" of creativity that can't be helped or improved
• believes that to become more organized would be too difficult, too rigid, too time consuming or too expensive.

I discuss what chronic disorganization is, why it affects so many creative people, and we'll also discuss some simple strategies and principles to help creative professionals become more organized using super simple systems that don't take a lot of time to maintain.   We won't solve all your problems in one session, but you will get a much deeper answer to the question "Why am I like this?"  and What you can do about it.

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Discover insights about how to become more organized, even if you've never been able to do it before! 

 Listen to the recording FREE here:  Creative Personality Type and Chronic Disorganization   (Scroll down to the Free Teleclasses Section)

Hope to "see" you there!

UPDATED :  11/09

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Thinking about hiring a professional organizer?

If you are thinking about hiring a a professsional organizer, this excellent article by Erin Doland, Editor-in-Chief of Unclutterer.com is a MUST READ.  Like me, she is a recovering packrat.  She is also an excellent writer and has interviewed many of the top professional organizers, like my friends Monica Ricci, owner of Atlanta-based Catalyst Organizing Solutions  and Geralin Thomas, owner of Cary, North Carolina-based Metropolitan Organizing.    There is also a lot of GREAT advice in the comments from my friends and colleagues Ilene Drexler based in NYC and Jeri Dansky author of the MUST READ blog Jeri's Organizing & Decluttering News.   (I also much give many thanks to my fabulous virtual assistant Janet Barclay, for bringing this article to my attention)

As an organizing coach who specializes in ADD and chronic disorganization I simply had to chime in with my thoughts as well and of course, mention that if you have tried to get organized many times in the past, and your quality of life has been seriously impaired by clutter and disorganization, look for a professional organizer who also belongs to www.NSGCD.org (the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization) which provides specialized training to organizers on how to help people overcome chronic disorganization (CD).  CD is not a medical condition but it is something that you will probably always have a tendency toward so overcoming it requires highly creative and customized organizing strategies.

A few points I added to consider in hiring a professional organizer include looking for someone who:

1)  Partners with you and doesn't tell you there is only one "best" way to do things. To get long lasting results, choose an organizer who listens to your needs, gives you options to choose from, incorporates your preferences in the solution, and takes your personal organizing and learning style into consideration. There is never just one right way to organize something.

2)  Seeks to understand your most deeply ingrained habits and work "with" them as much as possible.  i.e., if you "live" in your kitchen, you probably won't suddenly start sorting your mail in that cute office upstairs. With some creativity, there are many ways to continue to use your kitchen counter to sort and still keep your kitchen neat and organized. 

3) Understands backsliding.  Most people get excited about a new organizing system, but then something happens that causes them to to slip back into old habits from time to time, especially when stressed. The important thing is to LEARN as much as you can from these events and "recover" as soon as possible. Don't hide them from your organizer or be ashamed to have them come back and see that you haven't been perfect. Your organizer should help you learn from the events and prepare you to deal with backsliding. 

My article on "What to expect when working with a professional organizer" has several more tips like this.

Thanks again Erin for bringing up this very important topic!

P.S.  After getting many requests from people who wanted a print version of my book, I spent my entire weekend making it happen!  Not only that, I daresay 99% of the typos have been cleaned up by an awesome, multitalented friend of ours who gave the book a very thorough proofreading!  Thank you Cathy!!! I would tell you how to reach her, but she doesn't want me to.  : )

You can now order the "Neat & Simple Guide to Organizing Your Home Office!"at the new
Neat & Simple Organizing Success Bookstore on lulu.com!   We are working on getting our other books available in print as well, so stay tuned!

I'm Celebrating the release of my new ebook!

I'm so excited that my new e-book called  "Take Charge of Your Paper! with Neat & Simple Essential Paper Organizing Systems is now available!  It has over 50 pages to help you take charge of your paper! Just in time to help you get organized for tax time.

To celebrate, I'm offering my loyal blog readers a special Office & Paper combo package which includes:

"Neat & Simple Guide to Organizing Your Home Office!"
(A 140+ page e-book sold separately for $19.95)
PLUS
"Take Charge of Your Paper!
(A 50 page e-booklet sold separately for $6.95)

PLUS Get 2 Free Bonuses!

BONUS # 1
Neat & Simple Personal Paper Retention Guide
What to Keep and For How Long, including tips for Shredding, Identity Protection, Managing Passwords (Sold separately for $4.95)

BONUS # 2
"101 Tips for Your Home Office" by Brandie Kajino
Including tips Productivity, Organizing, Home Office Design, Managing Computer & Home Office Equipment & more! (Sold separately for $4.77)

That's a value of $36.67
for just $21.95!  (You save $14.72!)

Happy Organizing!

HELP! I HATE FILING! 10 Most Common Filing Mistakes and How to Solve Them

UPDATED - 9-2008

My friend Dr. Amie Ragan, author of the brilliant "Psychology of Clutter"blog, recently invited me to answer one of her reader's questions about how to get over your hatred of filing and even make it more fun. "Fun" is a lot to ask when comes to filing!  But believe it or not...it's possible!  With a few adjustments you can learn to appreciate and even LOVE your files! 

Check out my Guest Post where I answer Mack's question about how to make filing less of a pain on the Psychology Of Clutter blog!
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Dr. Ragan's blog is sadly, now gone from the web, but the article is now reprinted below!

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Reader's Question

About Organizing your papers. I know several prescribed methods for doing so, and I use a file cabinet along with an inbox to store papers until filed. I keep a fairly good filing system. However, I hate actually filing and will put it off until the box is full or I can’t find something important (like financial papers). Honestly, I would like to throw half of this stuff away, possibly including said financial papers. Is there any way to make this more fun? And in a related question, what papers do you consider it essential to keep and for how long?

Mack

My Answer
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Hi Mack,

You are so not alone!! Most people hate filing.  But it's not the fault of the files!  It's usually the little things that people do in setting up and using their files that make them painful to use. Like overstuff them! Another reason people hate to file is that they don't use quality filing cabinets and supplies they actually like. So many people's file cabinets are practically falling apart or get stuck when you open them, etc.  A quality filing cabinet, drawer, or even a desktop file box which contains your most frequently used files and is located near your desk or bill paying area can change your life!

The best way I have found to avoid putting off filing is to ELIMINATE your "To File" pile altogether.  Keep your frequently used files near enough to you so that you can file papers immediately and it won't back up on you.  Plus if your files are near where you work, when they start getting overstuffed, you'll notice immediately and can take 5 minutes to purge your thickest files. 

For more tips, see my indepth article: 

10 Most Common Filing Mistakes and How to Solve Them

 

 

All the best!

 

Denslow Brown, Monica Ricci, and Judith Kolberg Rocked the NAPO D.C. Conference!!

This past weekend I was thrilled to attend the annual Mid-Atlantic Regional NAPO Conference The primary reason I went was to have the opportunity to meet and learn from three of the most amazing women in the organizing industry today.

Here are the highlights:

• Judith Kolberg (Left in the photo)
• Author of Conquering Chronic Disorganization and Founder of NSGCD.  She gave an awesome opening keynote on "The Super Powers of Disorganized People" which I felt truly honored the innovative and individual ways our brains work.  She pointed out how when you really listen to what's going on in the mind of a chronically disorganized person you can see how their situation is actually often coming from a unique and incredibly creative way of seeing the world.  I can't ever thank Judith enough for pioneering the study of chronic disorganization and a framework for helping people overcome the intensely painful experience of people who suffer from trying to use traditional one-size fits all organizing strategies that simply don't work for a lot of people.

• Denslow Brown (on the right in the photo) is one of the Founding Members of NAPO and NSGCD, a certified MASTER Coach, a certified ADD coach, and the brilliant Leader of The Coach Approach for Organizers with is co-taught by the awesome Cameron Gott who is also an ADD coach.  I'm currently in my 8th week of attending The Coach Approach for Organizers  training. It is one of the single best investments I've ever made.  It covers Coaching skills, ADD Organizing, and ADD Coaching. Her hybrid approach to working with people is so empowering.  It includes coaching, education, consulting AND truly advocating for your clients whose self-confidence and esteem is almost always shattered by the years of negativity surrounding their difficulties with organizing and managing time. Facilitating and empowering are at the core of my coaching services and Denslow's 34 years of experience in the field has so enriched my skillset, I'm sure I could never thank her or honor her enough.
  
  Her first presentation at conference was "Deepening Client Commitment and Connection". It provided an excellent framework for avoiding the "driveby organizing syndrome" in which "you organize them and then go away and pray they can maintain it".  Her approach advocates facilitating true long lasting change by encouraging clients to take ownership and pride in their accomplishments, learn from setbacks, and empowering them to design organizing strategies that work for their unique needs.
  
  She presented a second session titled "Positive Inquiry = Business Success" which was an completely innovative approach to finding your niche in the organizing industry.  I can't wait to take even more training with Denslow and I hope she publishes soon!  : )   Learn more about Denslow here.
• Monica Ricci (in the lower center of the photo) is not only an award winning blogger, she is an outstanding author, TV and Radio host, spokesperson,  speaker, motivator and of course, organizer extraordinaire!  See Monica's Post  NAPO D.C. Hosts Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference.  Seeing her show on TV was so helpful and inspirational to me in my career and I was so thrilled to get to see her do her thing LIVE.  Her energy is unbelievable!  Her keynote speech "Fearful to Fabulous: Embracing Boldness" was phenomenal. She had everyone in tears. I'm so inspired by her - I wish I had it recorded!  She talked about all the ways we learn to be fearful and how we can overcome them.  As with any change, your desire for what you want must be stronger than the pain and discomfort of taking action in spite of your fear.  You have to trust that you will live through the pain and ultimately get what you want!  It's soooo worth it!  Thank you so much Monica for sharing your wisdom and experience so generously!

Much appreciation goes out to NAPO D.C. Metro Chapter for organizing this inspiring and educational event and choosing the such awesome speakers!  It was extremely well organized and worth every penny!