I was consulting on a Zoom call with a client recently and she showed me the stacks of boxes in her basement. She said, "As you can see, they are perfectly
organized, but I can't find anything in them."
What I saw was exactly 21 boxes, stacked 3-high. There were 7 boxes in each row, all cardboard, and none of them were visibly
labeled.
Indeed, they were all neat. But they certainly were not organized. If they were, my client would not be having an issue knowing what was inside
them.
Another client I was helping a few months ago showed me the stack of papers on her desk. I remember her saying to me, "See...they're all here, very organized." All I saw was a stack
of papers.
No, they weren't spilling over onto her desk. And they were indeed perfectly lined up. But they were not organized. She had no idea what was in that pile and none of those papers
were being handled in any particular order.
There is a huge difference between being neat and being organized.
Think of neat as pleasing to look at and clean. Neat could even give the illusion that it's orderly because neat is generally thought of as lined up, stacked, or arranged in a way that is pleasing to the eye and not surrounded by
clutter.
Organized, on the other hand, refers to your system or method.
A stack of boxes, or even 10 stacks of boxes, can be neat, but if you can't find what you need in those boxes, then they are neat...but they're not organized.
A pile of paper, or even 10 piles of paper, can be neat, but if you can't find what you're looking for in a few seconds, then it's not organized.
100 ideas in a notebook may be neatly written in...but getting those ideas working for you takes organizing.
When you're organized, it means you can find your belongings very quickly (without stress or searching). It means that you've removed all that isn't important in your life. It means you're getting things done more efficiently, you're on time, you're prioritizing, and getting things done.
Being organized isn't just fixing up some stuff so it's nice to look at.
It's a way of living your best life.
P.S. On another note, I
received an email the other day from a reader suggesting a once-per-week, weekday morning Zoom call that would provide some organizing ideas and motivation, and also provide a "live" forum where a bunch of folks could get together, see each other, and chat on Zoom once a month. Sort of like an "organizing/life/friendship meet-up club."
Are you at all interested in this? There would be club membership dues involved for me to get and keep something like this going...I'm thinking maybe $15 a month from anyone interested.
She felt it would provide some much-needed social time for anyone who needs organizing, motivation, life coaching, accountability, or just a means to chat with others and build friendships in real time.
I told her I would ask my GON readers if that's something that would be of interest. So, reply and let me know. If I get enough interest, I will consider getting something like this going. Thank you.
