Peace of Mind Organizing

The impact of touch

2 February 2009

A study from Ohio State University suggests that the longer people touch something they’re considering purchasing, the more money they’re willing to spend on it. Researchers asked study participants to hold an ordinary coffee mug for either 10 or 30 seconds. Then the participants were allowed to bid on the mug in either an open or closed auction. The folks who had held the mug for 30 seconds bid more for it. Four out of seven even bid more than the retail value (which they were aware of).

The study was published in the August 2008 issue of the journal Judgment and Decision Making. You can also read more about the results at MSNBC’s website.

I have to admit that I first heard about this study while listening to the NPR quiz show Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me, of which I’m an unabashed fan. I learn about the most interesting things there. When I heard about the study yesterday (I was listening to the podcast, so I always get their news at least a week late), I immediately thought of my chronically disorganized clients.

It is my experience (and I believe that the NSGCD has actually studied this, but I’m not positive) that if a chronically disorganized client with an unusual attachment to stuff touches an item, he or she is less likely to be willing to part with it.

That can lead to sort of an awkward scenario during a decluttering session, in which I hold something up for the client to consider, she reaches for it, and I pull back to keep it away from her. Usually I’ll explain exactly why I’m doing this.

So the study about people becoming attached to things they hold didn’t come as a surprise to me. The lesson? If you’re trying to curb your spending, put your hands in your pockets when you go shopping. If you’re trying to declutter, get someone to help you so you can do the same.

P.S. If you’re in St. Louis, it’s not too late to sign up for my free workshop, Declutter your life: How to create breathing space in your home, this Wednesday. Go to the events page of my website to learn more and register.

Resisting the urge to print

28 January 2009

This morning, I was checking out some genealogy resources online, part of my quest to jump-start my family history research, and I came across a list of websites I wanted to check out. I thought I’d print it out, then put it in a general genealogy file folder. I went so far as to click Print, but stopped myself before clicking Okay. It’s a list of websites. It really belongs in my Bookmarks, where I can easily access the list and just click on the website, rather than typing in the URL.

So I resisted. Instead I bookmarked it in a file called Genealogy. And somehow that felt big. I think I fear that I’ll not look in my bookmarks, despite the fact they’re fairly organized. I think it might be how some of my clients feel about filing paper. If they put it in a filing cabinet, they won’t remember they have it, so they won’t know to look for it. They’d rather keep it out where they can see it. And then they become overcome by piles.

I’m not really in danger of becoming overcome by piles, but I could pretty easily be overcome by files.

This afternoon, I downloaded a free ebook on creating vision boards, written by Christine Kane. (I’m only a little ways into it, but I highly recommend it. Get one yourself!) I started reading it and thought, “This is good. I should print it out.” Mind you, it’s 67 pages long. So I came to my senses. It’s perfectly easy to read on my screen and I can save money and space by reading it that way. Why would I print it?

Since I had two such forehead slappers in one day, I felt the need to post about it here. Next time you’re tempted to print out reading material (or emails), stop and think about whether it’s truly necessary. Perhaps you can read it on the screen or simply store it in your computer, using folders within Bookmarks/Favorites or folders in your email reader to make sure you can find it when you need it.

It saves money. It reduces clutter. What’s not to love?

Searching for my roots

27 January 2009

A few years back, my parents and my aunt gave me some information on family history that distant cousins had uncovered. I was intrigued. So I hopped online and started searching around.

I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I loved what I found on Ancestry.com and even traced my paternal grandfather’s lines back to the Mayflower. I started in on looking up ancestors on censuses (as far back as the 1790 census!) and really enjoyed this new-found hobby.

But life sort of got in the way and I stopped making my family-history research a priority. I’m just now getting back into it. I’ve rejoined Ancestry.com, subscribed to the fabulous Family Tree magazine and to some genealogy-related podcasts. And I’m just starting to find genealogy-related blogs. Back when I was doing this before, blogs were practically non-existent!

And, of course, one of the things I loved about doing genealogical research was organizing it. I set up a filing system based on the recommendations I found at FamilySearch.org the website run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. My files are beautiful. Well-organized, neat and color-coded.

As I jump back into this hobby, I’m looking forward to learning about new ways to research that I’m certain have evolved. I’ve got that excited feeling in my stomach as I contemplate it. I’m sure I’ll be writing more here about my discoveries.

If you do family-history research, do you have any favorite blogs or other resources you’d like to recommend?

Book recommendation: It's Hard to Make a Difference When You Can't Find Your Keys

26 January 2009

I just finished reading and analyzing a great book, It’s Hard to Make a Difference When You Can’t Find Your Keys: The Seven-Step Path to Becoming Truly Organized, by Marilyn Paul, Ph.D. for my NSGCD Level III certification program. It’s written for chronically disorganized folks and provides a warm, empathetic, holistic and patient approach to getting organized, even if you’ve lived your whole life being disorganized.

Paul outlines seven steps on the path to getting organized. They are:

1. establish your purpose;
2. create your vision;
3. take stock of current reality;
4. choose support;
5. draw on organizing wisom;
6. take effective action; and
7. go deeper to keep going

I think many people skip the first four steps in their quest to get organized, particularly the first two, which can be so essential for success. This book requires some time and reflection. But if you’ve struggled with being disorganized and you’re really ready to make some change, it could make a huge difference in your life.

I noticed that right now it’s available on Amazon.com (It’s Hard to Make a Difference When You Can’t Find Your Keys: The Seven-Step Path to Becoming Truly Organized) for the ridiculously low price of $4.99. It’s a great time to buy — and read — this important book.

Are there any other books you would recommend to help chronically disorganized people create lasting order?

It's tax time!

23 January 2009

I can’t believe I’m thinking it’s tax time and it’s only January. I literally can’t remember the last time I filed taxes before April 15. I think it was in the 80s, when I filed Form 1040-EZ. The truth of the matter is that I’ve been self-employed since 1995 and in that time I’ve probably have filed an extension more often than I haven’t.

But this year things are different. This year my husband has kept meticulous track of our personal finances. And I’ve stayed on top of my business’s finances, so we’re in a position to file early. Since we should be getting a refund, it’s in our best interest to do so. I use Turbo Tax to file taxes and my plan is to file them by the end of the month.

I have some emotional money issues and it’s very unusual for me to contemplate dealing with taxes without feeling dread and anxiety. I think one of the reasons this year is different is that I don’t have to search for anything. The data are in the computer (Quicken for our personal finances, Quickbooks for my business), all the supporting documentation was filed at the time the data entry was done, and anything that’s come in the mail has been immediately filed in a tax folder.

I use Freedom Filer for our household files. One of the great features of this filing system is its two tax sections. The light-blue current tax section is a place to segregate and store tax-related papers for taxes that haven’t yet been filed. The other tax section is dark blue and is for taxes that have been filed. Once the taxes are done, everything moves to the tax archive section which is stored away from my more active files.

When I set up my light-blue tax files in 2007 I realize now that I broke them down into too much detail. Since I write off my home offices, my utility bills and some other receipts are tax-related. I created files for each of those types of bills (telephone, utilities, etc.) and I now think I’m going to reduce the number of files by using broader categories. This will make filing easier. And since the data are in the computers, I don’t even need to sort through the receipts and tally them to do my taxes. I just run reports.

If you had told me even two years ago (I filed my 2006 taxes in October 2007) that I’d be filing my taxes at the beginning of February, I’d have declared you crazy. It’s hard for me to express the feeling of accomplishment and control that I have knowing that I’m able to do this. (A big shout out to Shannon Wilkinson, my life coach who helped me make some money breakthroughs in 2007.)

If you’re a position to do your taxes now and you delay until April 15 out of habit or because you hate doing taxes (or even gathering the info for your accountant), I encourage you to consider doing them sooner, rather than later. (Of course, if you owe money to the IRS, it behooves you to wait until April 15.) The taxes have to be done, so you might as well get it over with. And just think of how great it will feel to get it behind you.

While you’re gathering up the info, observe how you store the information and think about whether there might be an easier way to do it. Freedom Filer might be just the thing, especially if you don’t use financial software to keep track of your finances. If you do use software, think about entering the data more frequently to make tax time easier. My husband does it daily. I strive to do it weekly. (So far, I haven’t succeeded at that, but it’s a new year.)

When that refund arrives in February, I’ll be walking on air. If I can do this—remember, I’ve been known to file taxes in October—so can you.

Joe's Goals

22 January 2009

I’ve written here many times about Don’t Break the Chain, a website that has been effective in helping me establish some routines (like cleaning off my desk every night, blogging regularly and, now, making sure the top of my bureau stays clean).

But there’s another game in town I’d like to shine a light on. It’s Joe’s Goals, a free website that allows you to track your daily goals. I use it regularly as well, though for a few months I’d let it fall by the wayside.

Joe’s Goals allows you to set some daily goals and track whether you’ve accomplished them. You can assign point values to the goals and keep track of how many points you earn a day. For me, it’s great for stuff I’d like to do every day but that aren’t essential. I get the thrill of checking off the box next to that goal without worrying about breaking a chain.

I use it for things like lifting weights in the morning (which I do on weekdays only, and Joe’s Goals allows me to take Saturday and Sunday off without guilt), commenting on other people’s blogs and in various forums, and being on time to client appointments. I find that especially when I’m trying to establish a new routine, thinking about whether I can check the box gives me a little push to do the activity if I’m on the fence about it.

Joe’s Goals also allows you to have negative goals to avoid. The only negative goal I have is “Late to client appointment.” If that happens, I check it off and I lose points that day. (Can you tell I’m trying to work on my punctuality issues?) There’s even a sad face next to the goal.

The new year is a great time to establish some new routines. Joe’s Goals can help you succeed!

Sometimes you can't do it alone

21 January 2009

Organizing is an activity that many people find difficult to do on their own. In the study of chronic disorganization, it is recognized that a chronically disorganized client needs to work with others. It’s called “social organizing.” Indeed, some clients simply can’t go through the process of sorting and weeding and organizing if they’re by themselves.

In her groundbreaking book, Conquering Chronic Disorganization, Judith Kolberg (the founder of the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization) writes about social organizing, as well as about body doubling in which an organizer (or friend or family member) sits quietly, perhaps facilitating by silently handing pieces of paper to the client or maybe filing the paper that’s been sorted. It can be especially helpful with maintenance work. Skills aren’t necessarily being transferred, but work is being accomplished that would not be accomplished without the silent partner. Kolberg writes,

A body double provides you with an anchor and a mirror. With a body double, your new-found level of organization can be maintained.

I’ve done body doubling work. It’s strange in that it can feel like I’m not actually doing anything. But at the end of the session the client says,” Thank you! I couldn’t have done this without you.” Then I see the true power of body doubling and social organizing.

Can you relate to this? Have you ever decided that today was the day you were going to sift through those piles, but you lost your steam early on, perhaps you couldn’t even get started? Or maybe everything else around you seems vastly more interesting than the stuff you’re supposed to be organizing.

Hiring an organizer can pull you out of that trap. Sometimes it works just because it forces you to put aside time for the work. By making an appointment with an organizer, you’re committed to actually doing it. You’ve cleared the time on your schedule and you’ve made a financial commitment. Those things are important. But if you’re chronically disorganized, the focused presence of another person can also make a huge difference.

Interestingly enough, if what you need is company in order to do the work, the person helping you doesn’t even have to be there in person. I’ve worked with people over the phone as they’ve decluttered a space. I’m there to provide advice if something tricky should come up, but I think my presence—and, again, the commitment of a specified amount of time—that makes the magic happen.

I’m working on a new program where I’ll help people in small groups by creating a virtual environment where some serious decluttering can take place—and we can have some fun in the process. I’ll be announcing that soon.