My work desktop
When I started thinking about writing a blog for the naturally disorganized, I did a lot – continue to do a lot – of research. In the beginning, I just wanted to see what was out in the internet and blogesphere about the naturally disorganized.
It wasn’t pretty.
I actually got upset when I read what some people think and say about disorganized people. We are described as, “annoying, scattered, unskillful, and stressed”. Another article says, “you operate most of the time in a very ‘scattered’, disorganized state. As a result, many of your goals and deadlines don’t get met, or if they do, you tend to leave a lot of wreckage in your wake on the way there.”
Wow, harsh.
And there’s more – we’re lazy, we don’t know how/have never learned to organize; we could just do it if we tried, etc.
Hmm, I don’t buy it. Really, the person who doesn’t meet deadlines and is leaving wreckage in his wake – I think he has bigger problems than a messy desk or an unpaid bill. Have you checked to see that he isn’t dealing with a family member who is terminally ill or going through a divorce or recently moved or some other life changing event? The disorganization that can result from such an event can be crippling and need help to resolve. It’s called situational disorganization.
On the other end of the spectrum, there is the “chronically* disorganized” term. The chronically disorganized have let disorganization effect the quality of their life. They have tried (many times) to get and stay organized, but fail. They are always late for appointments and commitments. They are drowning in clutter and papers. This diagnosis is more severe, nearer on the spectrum of being a hoarder, and definitely needs professional help.
I describe myself as somewhere in the middle – termed “naturally disorganized” A naturally disorganized person is defined as someone who doesn’t have the innate ability (and I would venture to say interest) to be organized. They still enjoy a quality of life, and they have found systems and strategies to help cope with disorganization, but still do suffer from stress related to being disorganized (lost items, duplicates because you don’t know what you have, too much stuff, and clutter).
The naturally disorganized want to be organized, we really do. In fact, we’ll buy bins and folders and undertake organization projects at least 2-4 times a year. But, a fair amount of these systems fall by the wayside.
Part of the problem is that we have lots of naturally organized people telling us how we should get organized. This doesn’t work because we think so differently than the naturally organized. We don’t value spending lots of time filing, putting things away, sorting through our stuff, and disposing of our stuff.
Another issue may be that we are the only one in the household that takes care of organization. If you are a working parent like I, and you are the parent that deals with 90% of the stuff, you know that you could do this 8 hours a day, and you still would never finish. It’s discouraging. I realized that I felt like a failure a lot of the time- why couldn’t I get this?
My soul searching led me to realize several things:
- Keeping my household organized – truly organized with systems and checklists and bins and things – would take up all of my free time.
- As much as I want to be organized, I don’t want to lose all my free time.
- I need to focus in on what’s most important and prioritize, prioritize, and prioritize again. There are only so many hours in a day, and those should always be spent on the things that mean the most to you.
- There are organizing strategies that don’t take up too much time to set up or maintain that give me back free time and alleviate stress. I always need to be open to trying new things, taking what works for me, and letting the rest go.
So, the next time you feel bad because someone is disparaging the disorganized, remember that there is nothing wrong with you – you are one of the “naturally disorganized”, and it’s just because you have learned to put your values and priorities first.
