{"id":1647,"date":"2013-10-23T19:03:27","date_gmt":"2013-10-24T00:03:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/?p=1647"},"modified":"2013-10-23T22:14:27","modified_gmt":"2013-10-24T03:14:27","slug":"our-minds-our-organizing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/2013\/10\/our-minds-our-organizing\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Minds & Our Organizing"},"content":{"rendered":"

I think we are all doing more \u2013 we have more to track and stay on top of \u2013 than in past generations.\u00a0 I don\u2019t claim to know whether we\u2019re saying \u2018yes\u2019 to more things or if there\u2019s more to do.\u00a0 Whatever the reason, it can mean that it\u2019s easier to get overwhelmed and for things to simply not get done.\u00a0 I could probably write a whole post about saying \u2018no\u2019 to things \u2013 even those that we put on ourselves \u2013 yet this isn\u2019t what this entry is about.\u00a0 When we have what feels like endless things we need to track and accomplish, organizing can be one of those pieces that feels less important.\u00a0 Although if we know where things are and where they go, we can be more successful with all the other things we\u2019re trying to handle.<\/p>\n

When you decide organizing is important and will benefit you \u2013 it doesn\u2019t happen magically.\u00a0 (If only it was that simple! :)) \u00a0The way we think and process interacts with our organizing efforts \u2013 in all ways, the decisions we make in choosing what, where, why, and how we put our things and then both in creating new systems as well as in maintaining what you\u2019ve set up.\u00a0 Our minds are critical to the process \u2013 and they can fool us.\u00a0 How so, you ask?<\/p>\n

Have you noticed that you can set aside the time, energy, and focus for organizing and then after you\u2019ve done all the work realized that it\u2019s not as logical as you\u2019d thought?\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure how many people see this \u2013 that the way we think can end up creating some additional challenges to our efforts.<\/p>\n

First, there\u2019s more than one \u201clogical\u201d system we could create for ourselves considering the way we work.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve ever tried to categorize things, you\u2019ve probably encountered those items that fit in more than one place and then have to choose one \u2013 and then, most importantly, remember which place you chose \u2013 and all at some unknown future point.\u00a0 Filing is an example of specific example \u2013 what to call this or that file and then finding where you decided to put those specific papers.\u00a0 Sometimes the fact that things can be misplaced even with thoughtful and logical decisions can be upsetting for people \u2013 potentially to the point of avoiding making decisions on systems.<\/p>\n

One way to help you track your systems is to make a list or a map \u2013 keep it relatively simple.\u00a0 I have a list of each file name and which drawer it\u2019s in and then one of those files has lists of the boxes in storage and what the rough contents are so if I need to find a specific thing I can reference my file and go directly to the box it\u2019s in.\u00a0 I recently made a map of a dresser for a client \u2013 where each box, labeled with a short description of the contents (mostly 1-3 words), represents a drawer in the dresser.\u00a0 Whatever you can do to help your mind focus on the things that really matter is what\u2019s important.<\/p>\n

\"example<\/a>

An example of a “map” to identify where things are stored<\/p><\/div>\n

Second, we might be impatient to find our solutions.\u00a0 The level of frustration at how chaotic things feel \u2013 whether that\u2019s searching for things or how many things we\u2019re dealing with \u2013 can tempt us into rushing into setting up something \u2013 anything.\u00a0 And then we change our minds \u2013 and set up something else.\u00a0 Maybe we do this over and over and over again \u2013 and avoid sticking with any one system long enough to find out how it does help us.\u00a0 Just because something doesn\u2019t work immediately does not translate into its being useless.\u00a0 It\u2019s too easy to discount the importance of our habits \u2013 that it takes time, energy, and most importantly effort to shift them.\u00a0 Do you remember the process of learning to ride a bike?\u00a0 It took time and practice.\u00a0 Therefore, make a decision \u2013 hopefully thought out \u2013 and stick with it for a while, working on being consistent with it.<\/p>\n

In our search for answers \u2013 the way to make things easier \u2013 the thought of spending time thinking can be objectionable.\u00a0 \u201cWhat, you mean, I have to not<\/strong> act, let the crummy system\/space continue?\u00a0 And sit still and think?\u201d\u00a0 Well, mostly yes (you don\u2019t have to sit still ;-)) \u2013 if we avoid considering how this or that did or didn\u2019t work, all the various pieces of it; we\u2019re going to keep jumping randomly from one idea and system to another.\u00a0 Meanwhile, life isn\u2019t going to be simplified and finding things that work for you are likely to elude you \u2013 defeating the purpose of trying to make things easier.<\/p>\n

Although it might feel counter-productive to evaluate your systems \u2013 \u201ca waste of time\u201d \u2013 taking the time to do this will save you time, energy, and effort in the long run.\u00a0 And when it appears that a system has broken down \u2013 take the time to re-evaluate things.\u00a0 You might discover that something else \u2013 not the system \u2013 has changed.\u00a0 There are plenty of times that things can become fully functional with some tweaks here and there, whether they are new to you or established yet fluctuating systems \u2013 and not require an overhaul, i.e. more time, energy, and effort from you, unnecessarily.<\/p>\n

The benefits of being organized are innumerable \u2013 the reduction of stress and worry (at least in the organizing area) is priceless.\u00a0 It would be hard to argue that it\u2019s not valuable \u2013 though there are certainly times that it isn\u2019t high on the priority list.\u00a0 It requires we spend our valuable time and energy on it \u2013 all the more reason to not rush into it.\u00a0 And ideally we\u2019re going to approach our organizing efforts with our mind focused and relatively clear.\u00a0 It\u2019s your best asset for discovering the systems that will enable you to simplify and focus on all those other things you\u2019re handling.\u00a0 Therefore, use your mind to choose a system to try, set it up mindfully, and then stick with it for a while \u2013 and of course evaluate how it\u2019s working or not for you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Your mind is your best asset in all organizing endeavors \u2013 it\u2019s what will help you find the systems that will allow you to simplify and then spend your time and energy all the things that really matter. Just because your mind is critical to the process doesn\u2019t mean it won\u2019t try to lead you astray though \u2013 here are things to watch out for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,6],"tags":[10,8,18,5,9,20,7,22,4,17],"class_list":["post-1647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-organizing","category-personaldevelopment","tag-behavior","tag-discipline","tag-goals","tag-household","tag-motivation","tag-paperwork","tag-procrastination","tag-productivity","tag-routines","tag-spaces"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7p82c-qz","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1647"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1647\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1654,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1647\/revisions\/1654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}