subject: How to Recognize Your Own Particular Working Style [print this page] How to Recognize Your Own Particular Working Style
Everyone works in a different way and has different organizational needs. The techniques I suggest to one client may not work for another. The first step to knowing which organizational systems will make you more efficient is recognizing your own particular working style.
I've found that most people fall into one of the following five categories:
1. People who like to keep everything in sight. For you, out of sight is of mind. You will lay papers out on your desk or even on the floor to remind you of what needs to be done. You've probably always functioned amidst clutter and have never felt it was a problem. The right organizational systems for you will enable you to put away your papers but still keep them at hand and on your mind. You will find that instead of keeping an entire project in view, it's sufficient to keep only a reminder (your "to do" list) in view.
2. People who like to stuff everything in drawers. You are so determined to give your home office an organized look you hide things in drawers or closets without taking the time to process them first. You've got the surfaces under control, which has a calming effect on you, but actually you're generating as much clutter as the person who leaves everything on top of a desk or on the floor. You need organizational systems that will enable you to quickly put things in their proper places. This will keep your surfaces neat and will help keep you from wasting time looking for things.
3. Perfectionists. You love details and are concerned about doing things perfectly, no matter how long it takes. You have high standards of excellence. You think you're organized because the items on your desk are perfectly aligned and everything has been typed to perfection. The right organizational systems for you will help you keep your paperwork extremely organized, but with a minimum of obsessing. This will help you focus on the big picture-what you are and are not accomplishing-instead of the insignificant details.
4. People who jump from task to task. You have an active mind and have difficulty concentrating on just one thing at a time. You're constantly jumping from project to project without finishing one of them. For example, you make a phone call, then start to write yourself a note about it, but then notice yesterday's mail and start to open it, which reminds you that you'd like a cup of coffee... and so on. The right organizational systems for you will help you stay focused on one task at a time so that your productivity increases.
5. People who can't make up their minds. You hate making decisions because in every situation you see so many possibilities. It's difficult to make decisions because so many approaches have merit. You're afraid that by committing yourself to one course of action you may be closing off another avenue that might be better. You need organizational systems that will help you keep moving papers forward, even if you put off making decisions about them.
Tina and Mitch, husband and wife, were sales reps for a line of costume jewelry. Tina took care of the paperwork (invoices, correspondence, sales reports) and Mitch concentrated on selling (appointments, promotion, following up on leads). Their skills complemented each other beautifully except in their office, where their different approaches created chaos.
Tina was a drawer-stuffer, but Mitch liked to leave everything in front of him. Not only were they getting in each other's way, but between the two of them they had managed to clutter up their entire office.
To get Tina and Mitch out of their mess, we set up some office systems that would work for both of them. Stacking bins appealed to Tina because they provided a place to put things, and they were also okay with Mitch, in that he could see at a glance what was where. We brought in a file cart for paperwork, and they rolled it back and forth between the two of them as needed. We labeled absolutely everything so that there would be no question about where items should be stored. We also set up some filing systems to ensure that if one of them filed something, the other would be able to find it. After Tina and Mitch dug themselves out of the mess they had created, they had no trouble staying organized. If they started to slip up, there was already a system in place to get them back on track.
Tips
Don't choose an organizational system you don't like. There's no point trying to implement an approach that doesn't suit your working style. If a particular approach doesn't appeal to you, find an alternative that does. There's always another way to get organized.
