Become an Imperfectionist
Some people are surprised to hear that many of my chronically disorganized clients are perfectionists. The truth is that perfectionism can be paralyzing. If a perfectionist doesn’t know exactly how to do something the best way, or how it will turn out, they just can’t start.
I thought this article by performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane was spot on, I had to share it with you. It comes from her newsletter, Live Creative, and I’m reprinting it with permission.
Filed under: Organizing Ranting-and-Raving || Tagged with: christine kane, perfectionism
Standards of clutter
Since I specialize in working with chronically disorganized people, I’ve seen a lot of clutter. I’ve worked in homes so full of stuff they were inhabitable (literally).
But I’ve also been hired to do consultations for people for whom there was no visible clutter, at least at first glance. Yet those folks made the effort to schedule an appointment and paid me to advise them on how to deal with stuff that was bothering them. To my eye, it was small, easily addressable stuff. But to them it was a problem. (I always have to remind myself never to trivialize someone’s problem.)
Filed under: Organizing Living || Tagged with: chronic disorganization, clutter, disorder, napo st. louis, order, perfectionism, unclutterer
Question your beliefs
Most of the people I work with are dealing with clutter. As we work through the stuff and I help the client make decisions about whether to keep items, I’m often amazed at the different ways people feel about letting stuff go.
Filed under: Organizing Resources || Tagged with: chronic disorganization, clutter, david tolin, decluttering, disorganization resources, hoarders, hoarding, obstacles, perfectionism
Lace knitting: Not unlike organizing
Last night, as I worked on the Estonian Garden Wrap, a seemingly complicated and sort of overwhelming (for this novice lace knitter) knitting pattern, I realized that broken down to its simplest elements, it’s really pretty easy. And that’s not unlike any overwhelming project, like getting organized. Let me explain.
Filed under: Organizing Knitting || Tagged with: decluttering, empowerment, knitting, lace, motivation, perfectionism, productivity
Perfectionism
I’m a Virgo. Well, actually, I was born on the cusp of Libra, but I’ve always identified myself as being a Virgo. Many professional organizers are. If you’re in a room of professional organizers and you ask the Virgos to raise their hands, you’ll see a sea of raised hands. Most Virgos are perfectionists. Not me, though. I’m actually a “good enough” person. But many of my clients (Virgos or not) are perfectionists.
Filed under: Organizing Living || Tagged with: organized, perfectionism
The cobbler’s children…
I’ve been spending my days helping my clients create order, which I love doing. Meanwhile, my own house seems to be devolving into chaos. Between the rapidly piling up mail (I can’t seem to get caught up), and the laundry that’s not getting done, my home looks like it could use the help of a professional organizer.
Filed under: Organizing Living || Tagged with: clutter, coaching, perfectionism, time management
What is Organized?
How many times have you heard people say, “I need to get organized”? But what do they mean by that? How do they measure, “organized?” As a professional organizer, I think about this a lot.
Filed under: Organizing || Tagged with: control, organized, perfectionism, type a
