(clutter loves clutter)
Chapter Seventeen
Wallets and Purses
Lots of time people's wallets and purses are in the same sad state as their bankbooks. Both are broke, and both are a mess. You
are at the cashier, ready to pay for your groceries, and you're looking
for your bank card. You know it is in your wallet somewhere, but where
who can tell. The line is looming longer every second you take searching
for the card. So to save time and further embarrassment and frustration,
you go for your cash. You pull out all of your bills, shuffle them
around until you get the right amount. Then you head for your pocket for the change. On the way home you get pulled over by the police and
he wants to see your drivers license. You pull that out and give it to
him. He says, "I asked for your drivers license, not your bank
card." "Oh, that's where my card is. It's stuck in the wrong
spot in my wallet, Sorry sir."
Mr. Organized doesn't like holding up the line at the cashier, nor
the embarrassment of fumbling around in his wallet. In order to make
this transition smooth he has his wallet all laid out in order. The first bills to be seen are the
five's, then the ten's, then the twenty's, and then the rest if he was
that rich. He's got loonies and nickels in one pocket and quarters and
dimes in another. Such a time saver. It makes things go real smooth at
the cashier, and if the guy is single and the cashier is a nice looking
female he has time for a nice friendly smile.
Does your wallet or purse need an appointment with a house cleaning
company? We've touched here on the wallets. I dare not get into the purses. That could be much too explosive
of an issue to deal with. Besides, since I've never carried a purse,
you might say that I have had no first hand experience with such things.
Chapter Eighteen
The Organizer And His Money
Now the organized person likes money just as much as the next guy. So
in order to have more to spend the way he wants he keeps close track of
it. No, that doesn't mean he is tight and greedy with his money. He
simply knows that money management allows him the ability to see where
his money is coming from and where it is going to. As a result he can
direct that money to places that best satisfies him. It actually gives
him more spending money because he knows how to not spend money on
meaningless things.
If you don't spend money on junk, it is like making money. Saving ten
dollars is like making ten dollars.
The organized guy is not an impulse buyer. He thinks before he
spends. He knows that a lot of money is wasted by impulse buying.
Impulse buying is when you spend your money on spur of the moment items.
Lots of small and inexpensive things are bought this way. Sometimes even
large and costly items are bought impulsively. I am not saying that all
impulse buying should be stopped. I am saying that it should be
monitored. I'm saying we should use our heads when it comes to spending
money.
So the question here is, do you know where your money goes? Maybe it
just slips away someplace. It is just a good idea to know where your
money is going. You will definitely feel more in charge when you do
know. You will surely have a better chance of getting those things you
want when you have a good handle on your finances. You certainly like
that idea, don't you. I'm sure you do.
Chapter Nineteen
Being Flexible
How does the organized person deal with interruptions? This is a very
good question. You might think that he doesn't deal with them at all. He
has his day all planned out and one thing after another tries to take
him off track. There is a phone call, a knock at the door, and then
there are the kids with a multitude of questions and comments. Somehow
we have to deal with all these things. We do need to answer the phone
and the door. We have to be concerned about the kids. We deal with these
things as they come up without letting them totally take us away from
the road we are on.
We need to be sensitive to the interruptions, but we also need to
understand what the word priority means. It means that some things are
more important than other things. Not every interruption that comes our
way is important. Some things can wait. If we are always dealing with
the things that come up that are lese important, then we will never get
to the important stuff.
Here is the picture. Tomorrow starts tonight. That is very important
to know. Let me say it again because this is a key to daily
organization. Tomorrow starts tonight. The morning arrives. You have
worked out your routine for the day the night before. Now things are
going well. You've had your morning coffee. You have had your shower.
You've eaten your breakfast and you've fed the kids. You are now
thinking of getting the kids off to school when all of a sudden you hear
this horrible groaning noise from the living room. Then you hear some
kind of explosive noise like a gusher, like a volcano, like a sudden
rush of water that spews out of the ground way up into the sky. You run
into the living room and you see that your son has just thrown up his
breakfast all over the carpet in front of the television. Breakfast is
all over the place. It's on the floor. It is on the couch. It is in the
cereal bowl. It is on your son's clothes. It is in his hair. It is on
the television. It is everywhere, except in his stomach, where you
really wanted it to be when you gave it to him. So what do you do at this point?
Well at this point you don't have much choice what to do. Your
decision has been made for you. Your day was all planned out, and now
you have a sick kid that will not be going to school. "Things will
have to change today." you think. This is flexibility. Suddenly you
have a new list of priorities for the day. You first clean up your son.
You put him to bed. You then work on cleaning the couch, the floor and
the clothes. You try your best to air out the house and get rid of the
horrible odor. That smell alone almost causes you to throw up. After one
hour and twenty three minutes it's all finished. You sit down now and
rethink the day. Now in light of what has just transpired in your life
you have to figure out what is important and what is not. Half of the
things on your list have to be crossed out. You wanted to get them done
today but they can wait. There are some things that you still can do in
light of the present distress, so you get at them.
The organized person knows what he is going to do in life. He also
knows there will be interruptions. As a result he is flexible, and
because he is organized he is able to make the best of the day even with
the interruptions. If he was not organized the disruption would throw
him off so that he would get nothing accomplished. He has a mental
understanding of priorities. So he knows that when his son gets sick,
that takes preeminence over a lot of other things.
You can't say, it is not worth being organized because something will
always arise to mess it all up. Organization helps you stay focused on
the important things. It helps you manage the interruptions. It makes
life run smoother when dealing with the unexpected. Isn't that what we
all want?
Maybe the next day the son is all better. Maybe the interruption for
the next morning would be an exciting show on television. "Boy, I'd
like to watch that show", he thinks, but in light of his priorities
his TV is shut off. He could have watched it but that would have meant
that something important would not have been done. Then if you do that
once, you will most likely do it again. Then by the end of the day
nothing much really gets done, except a lot of TV watching.
Every interruption that crosses your path during the day is not
important. Don't get sucked into thinking it is. Know what is important
and know what is not. Stay focused.
We need to be organized. We then need to evaluate the interruptions.
We need to ignore some and we need to be flexible and take care of
others. We need to understand the word priority. We need to know that
interruptions will come and that we should deal with them accordingly.
Be organized. Evaluate interruptions. Be flexible. Don't stray from
your plans. Stay focused on what you deemed to be important.
One last thing here. In case you think that the organized person is
all business and no fun, you need to plan for fun. One reason for
organization is that it gives you time to enjoy life. You are not always
running around like a chicken with its head cut off. You have time for
that ball game. You have time to sit and play games with your kids. You
have time to do what is enjoyable. An orderly person doesn't have to be
a bore. He can be fun. Enjoying life is important.
Chapter Twenty
Remote Controls
Let me tell you this is one important issue. How many fights have
broken out over TV remotes. No one can seem to find those things. You
say, "all remotes belong on the TV and stereo", but when you
go to pick one up it's not there. So you yell to the kitchen.
"Where is the remote"? Nobody hears you, or at least nobody
answers. That is when the fight breaks out. Not finding the remote is
one thing, but when nobody answers, well that is another thing. You
search high and low, up and down, and all around. It's finally found
under the couch cushion. You wonder if wireless remotes were such a good
invention after all. At least with the wired ones you could always crawl
on your knees and find the remote at the end of the wire. New inventions
doesn't always make life easier.
You need to at least have a family meeting and vote on the best place
for your remotes. Beyond that you can only try. This may be one of those
irritating things you just have to live with.
I suppose while you're looking for the remote control you will find
some clutter and junk you can throw out. It is amazing what one can find
hidden deep in the cracks of a couch.
There's lots of other objects like remotes that are never around when
needed. They are, scissors, tape, TV guide, stapler, screw driver, and bottle opener. What's that? "A bottle
opener," you say. Have you forgotten what one of those things
looked like. Whatever, you need to at least agree on places for all of
these things. Once that place has been negotiated and agreed on, then
you can begin to try and keep them there. Everyone and everything needs
a place to live.
Chapter Twenty One
Timetables
Do you remember back to your high-school days. At the beginning of
every term you would get a timetable. It was a schedule of classes and
special events. That makes me think of a reoccurring dream that I had
back in those days. I used to dream time to time that I lost my
timetable. And even worse still I could not remember what class I was
supposed to attend next. So I walked the hallways aimlessly wondering
where I should go. I'd usually wake up happily knowing that it was only
a bad dream. That wasn't as bad as the dreams I used to have about going
to school with no pants on. I tell you walking around the halls not
knowing where you were going was better than walking around not knowing
where your pants were. Lucky for me there was no hint of reality in
either of those dreams. I mean that both of those dreams were never
experienced in real life. I hope that I was not the only person with
such silly dreams. They really don't have any reflection on my
intelligence. I hope you can believe that.
Believe it or not, we live in a universe of order and of timetables.
Just look at our calendar. It is numbered in years. It is divided into
months, weeks and days. Our days are divided into hours, minutes and
seconds. We have four seasons, fall, winter, spring and summer. Each
fall leaves change colour and die. Each fall birds fly south and return
in the spring. Each October you will see squirrels running to and fro
hiding nuts in the ground, and preparing for winter. We are in the
center of this universal timetable where everything has its season.
Don't you think that we would function better if we followed the
squirrels example. No I don't mean scampering around looking for nuts
and sleeping all winter., although some might like the idea of sleeping
all winter. Maybe hitching a ride with a snowbird and flying south might
be an even better idea.
The idea here is simple. If all of nature around us runs on a
timetable, then shouldn't we. It only makes good sense. It only makes
sense that we'd function better when we are on a timetable. When nature
gets out of wack from its regularity bad things happen. The same can be
true with us.
A good example of timetables with humans is sleep. We have been made
to have regular sleep. The word regular is the key word here. We all
work better on so many hours of sleep each night. Maybe it is six hours,
or maybe it is eight. Whatever the number it is important to get what we
need on a regular basis. Our bodies don't work right when we get three
hours one night and ten the next. This kind of sleep pattern will affect
our bodies in a very negative way. So it's a good idea to train our
minds so all this becomes natural to our lifestyle, just as it is with
the rest of nature. The only reason why the rest of nature doesn't stray
from its timetable is because it doesn't have the intellectual capacity
of choice. We have that choice but too often it works against us. Aren't
you glad that the rest of nature doesn't have a choice like us. Could
you imagine the universe with all the planets, and animals having a
choice to function on a timetable or not. It might be a little chaotic,
don't you think? It almost makes you think that choice wasn't such a
good thing in the first place. I like my freedom of choice. I just need
to choose what is best. A life of order is clearly best for all of us.
Let me say one thing about creativity at this point. Some people
might think that order and structure stifle or slow down creativity in a
person. I believe creativity is enhanced when surrounded by some type of
structure. For example, any three year old can get a can of spray paint
and create modern art. I cannot call that creativity. Painting a picture
with meaning and content is creative. Most things that you would paint
have a specific form to them. Therefore certain rules must be followed,
and specific lines drawn. Order strengthens creativity. Disorder weakens
it since the mind has no need to be stimulated or involved in the
creative process.
Chapter Twenty Two
The Consistent Organizer
Have you ever come home from working, say at 4.45 PM. You've put in a
hard day and you are starved. That is starved for food. You could eat
two extra large pizzas, and that is probably what you should have done. When you enter the kitchen there
seems to be absolutely no hint of a meal being prepared. Then you wonder
to yourself just how you will approach this situation tonight. Sometimes
you eat at five o'clock, and sometimes at six, sometimes at six forty
five, and sometimes you just make your own meal.
The organized person is consistent. He eats at the same time every
day. The whole family knows when meal time is. It is the same time
everyday, except for the odd occasion. Most of those occasions are known
about before hand so everyone is warned in advance what to expect.
Consistency is a necessity in a home where there are children.
Consistency is a main ingredient in raising mentally and socially
healthy children. The simple fact that a child can expect a meal
everyday at the same time is important. The child learns from experience
the importance of being consistent. The child has less frustration due
to the regularity of meals, (so does the dad, or mom or whoever else is
in the house.) Young children thrive on the structure in their lives,
whether you believe it or not. If a child was raised without structure,
rules, and consistency he would turn out to be an animal. There are some
of these kids around and it isn't a nice thing to see.
Children, and adults can adapt their personal schedule to the family
schedule when the family schedule is consistent. When there is no
consistency in the family then no individual can properly have their own
personal consistency. If they try, it is always being unfairly
interrupted by a disjointed family schedule. I say unfair, because that
is just what it is. Parents should not unduly frustrate their children
by the inconsistent atmosphere they bring to the family. It can be a
frustration that leads to the breakdown of the parent-child
relationship. It produces a lack of trust, a suspicion, lack of desire
to cooperate, and many unnecessary arguments. One thing that we want
with our children is a healthy relationship. Consistency goes a very
long way in bringing this about.
Another word that can be used here is the word stability. Kids need a
stable, or well balanced atmosphere. Obviously this produces a more well
balanced child as he grows up. Stability relieves fears and uncertainty since for the most part the child
knows what is coming next. A child can learn easier in an environment
that is not filled with uncertainty and unexpected events in their
lives. It's a smoother path to follow. Life brings enough pot holes in
our path without us adding more, due to our own unorganized lifestyle.
Life does not have to be this way. Once again the organized person
likes a peaceful home life as much as possible. He does understand that
there will be things beyond his control, but he also knows there is a
lot that he has control over. Being consistent in all things is a major
key to this. He knows that it goes beyond meal time. It has to do with
discipline, TV watching, fun activities, and anything else that goes on
within a household.
What question can you ask here? What time is dinner time in your
house? That would be a good question to ask your children to see if they
would know the answer. A child shouldn't have to go rummaging through
the house for something to eat just because his parents are inconsistent
in preparing meals for him at regular daily intervals.
Chapter Twenty Three
The Organizer Is Aware
Being aware of ones surroundings is quite important when it comes to
being organized. Some people are just not aware of things that are
happening around them. The old example of this is the husband not being
aware of the new dress his wife is wearing. As a result he does not
respond to her. He doesn't compliment her on how beautiful she looks in
her new dress.
I think that this tendency in a person has a lot to do with genetics.
Once again some people are genetically predisposed to being aware of
their surroundings. Whatever the case, I do believe everyone can learn
some things and improve their lot in this area of life.
Let's look at the husband and wife situation again. Most, if not all
wives would love a husband that is aware of them. They like the
compliments. They like the attention. They like all that is a result of
a husband being aware of them and then deciding to do something about
it. So first comes the awareness and then comes the response to what you
see. This response is equally important. As a matter of fact if you
don't respond it's not worth being aware of things.
So what does awareness of surroundings have to do with being
organized? It's simple. Some people just aren't aware of those dirty
dishes in the sink. Yes, they do actually see them with their eyes but
the picture doesn't connect with that part of their brain that would
cause them to respond. They see the old newspaper on the floor and they
just walk by. They see lots of things that need to be done but they just
ignore them.
Being aware of the time is extremely important. Some people have no
awareness of time. Time just comes and goes. It passes them by. As a
result they can't get things done. They do too much in too little time.
They go too slow when they don't have the time for slowness. They may go
too fast when they have lots of time. Since they are not aware of time
they put too many tasks in a day that need to be done. Their list of
things to do is always getting mixed up because their concept of time
doesn't allow them to do those things.
Maybe a good idea would be to make a little sign or two. You've seen
the "beware of dog" sign. Maybe you could make a sign
entitled, "be aware". You can strategically locate it in a
visible place as a reminder to be aware of your surroundings.
In one sense of the word everyone is aware of something. If we are
not aware of our surroundings then most likely we are aware of
ourselves. Our own thoughts consume our life and as a result we do not
see the need around us. Our actions therefore are based solely on what
we want all the time. We see nothing that is happening around us. We
don't see the dirty sock on the floor. We don't see our children in
need. We don't hear our spouse. We don't see the trash around the house. We don't see the
poverty of a neighbour. When we don't see these things, these things
remain as they are. Then what gets done is only that which consumes our
thoughts. Is that what we want from life?
We all are living letters. People see us. They see what we do. They
see who we are. They formulate impressions and thoughts in their mind.
They paint a mental picture about who they think we really are. What
kind of picture is being painted about you? It's like we are posing for
that mental painting. When that picture has been painted in someone's
mind they will react to you in accordance with that mental picture they
have, whether it's correct or not. If that picture is not pleasing to
them they will ignore you. If you are concerned about helping people
then at this point you have lost that person. If a person views you to
be disorganized they probably think, "how can that guy help me when
he hasn't got things together". As a result we produce in them a
negative picture of us which in turn produces negative thoughts and
actions. What you and I want is to produce a positive picture of
ourselves which in turn produces positive reactions in others. We will
produce one or the other. We are a living letter. We produce reactions
and responses in others as we live our lives. Organization goes a long
way in painting a positive mental picture, which in turn produces a
positive lifestyle.
I need to say one thing at this point. I am not suggesting that you
put forth a false front in order to paint a good picture of yourself in
someone else's mind. I really believe you need to be yourself. You need
to be upfront with people. Yet those things that you don't feel like
being upfront about can change. Those bad traits, like not being
organized can and should change. So the way to paint a good picture is
to change, and not to put up a false face. You don't want to do all this
just to make people think nicely of yourself. The idea is that you want
to affect others for the good. This you cannot do when you have some
glaring problems that are presented to others when they come in contact
with you.
The question here is, what kind of picture have people painted about
you in their minds? How does that picture affect your relationship with
them? Are you a living letter that produces a good and positive answer
in other peoples lives?
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