I’m Not Even Close — Organized Peeps Do WHAT??!!

/ Viv@Grief Happens

I recently ran across this — 10 Things Organized People Do Every Day.

Oh how I’d love to tell you that I knocked this one out of the park…

Not the case.

Let’s see how I compare. What about you? We can do this…right?

1)  They plan each day the night before.

Mmm kay. I made a wicked attempt back in October. I had such aspirations. How am I doing with all that now? Yeah. I’m not. I’m not getting up and working out at 5:30; I’m not writing out my schedule the night before. What is the flippin’ problem? I think I set the bar entirely too high. Read more about how hard I tried back in October here, here, here, and here.

I believe it works, but I haven’t tweaked it for Vivi-ness. If self-help is gonna work, it must be personalized. I need to try scheduling out my day again the night before, but I think I’d have better results if I did the bare minimum — fill in what I HAVE to do and then keep the expectations LOW LOW LOW.

2)  They have and keep only one to-do list.

Oh hell no. I just counted TEN sticky notes on my desk. How in God’s name do people keep ONE to-do list? Please, friends, enlighten me. Seriously, I think I need a spot for my to-do list and it needs to be my desk. Perhaps I should take a picture of it on my phone in case I lose the original. How, you might ask, does one LOSE a to-do list? Well, it happens. All the FUCKING time. ‘Tis the season to drop the F bomb.

3)  They spend 30 minutes going through and addressing messages in their email inbox.

This is a biggie for me. I get so trapped with emails and Facebook messages and text messages and now Voxer. I’m in REACTIVE mode rather than PROACTIVE mode. I’m intercepting chaos and by the end of the day I feel emotionally drained, as if every hour of every day is spent doing one thing or another for Gil or the kids or one of my high-maintenance friends. Sad but true — I give a lot but I’m recognizing that I’m not being filled up, buttercup.

In the new year, I must put down the smartphone. Allot 30 minutes daily to check messages and not get caught up in the reactive cycle. I can do this, right?

4)  They clear their desks of paper piles.

Oh my gosh. Y’all don’t even want to know. This isn’t just my desk. This is my house… my life. I don’t even know where to start. The desk could work. Please…tell this disorganized soul that it will work. I’m begging.

5)  They have a morning routine and an evening ritual.

Seriously? No. And I want to fight it. I DO NOT WANT TO BE CONFINED TO A ROUTINE.

How’s that working’ for you? — asks Dr. Phil.

It’s not, you bald-headed shrink. Insert every cuss word in the book. 

There is no routine. There is no ritual. Last night Gil and I sat on the couch and binge-watched Transparent on Amazon Prime. Have mercy, y’all. Just go get Amazon Prime right this second and please do yourself a favor and watch this. Thank you. Carry on. That’s a routine, right?

6)  They spend 10 minutes at the end of the day tidying up.

Frankly, I feel like the majority of my day is spent picking up other people’s shit. I lost it on Piers before bed this evening — “WHAT IS IT ABOUT PUTTING YOUR SHOES ON THE SHOE SHELF AND DIRTY CLOTHES IN THE LAUNDRY ROOM OR CLOSET THAT SEEMS UNMANAGEABLE???!!!!!”

Y’all, I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve told, showed, accompanied said child to the proper spot with his mother-lovin’ laundry. Is it me? Is it him? I honestly just don’t believe that I lucked out and got a kid who can actually do this sort of thing without being reminded eight hundred million times. I think now might simply be the time to practice acceptance.

Yeah. Maybe I can try 10 minutes at the end of the day…

7)  They put their clothing in the laundry bin.

I do this, but the other three members of my family do not. And that helpful suggestion about putting the laundry bin in a strange but convenient place — thus far in this household…that shit hasn’t worked.

Perhaps an extra 10 minutes to carry the filthy garments to the laundry room post-10-minute-cleanup is the ticket. We can do what feels impossible, right?

8)  They never leave dishes in the sink.

I don’t think my sink has been empty since the Clinton administration. Enough said…

9)  They make time for lunch.

Well, how nice. Today I had Lindt milk chocolate balls. And I must add…this is HORRIBLE for one’s mental health. I will do better.

10)  They open up their mail.

Y’all, this is doable. I know it is. Typing this post has been somewhat liberating. I want to be an organized gal. Really I do.

How many of these do you do on a daily basis? Be honest. No judging from this girl. Love ya. Mean it. We’ll get through these holidays one way or the other, folks.

Again, here’s the original article.

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-13807/10-things-organized-people-do-every-day.html

28 thoughts on “I’m Not Even Close — Organized Peeps Do WHAT??!!”

  1. If it makes you feel any better, I’m a professional organizer, HIGHLY organized and I don’t do everything on this list either. 😀

    I will say that I do have only one to-do list. I used to have a personal and professional one but that got ridiculous because it all needs to be done and real life blurs the lines of professional and personal. How I do this is through TickTick. I have it on my computer and phone so it’s always easy to access when I need it. In the app I have things grouped by type (personal/professional/to-buy, etc) Then you can give each task priority (high, medium, low, none) and order things that way. You can also add due dates. I’ve found that it makes things SUPER-EASY to keep up with.

    In the coming weeks I’ll be doing a mini series on realistic productivity and maintaining sanity while in it. I hope you’ll check it out and let me know if it helps!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you for this awesome reply! I am always so intrigued to learn more about how super-organized people do things — like specifically. It’s like getting insight into a world I know SO little about. lol!

      The to-do list blows my mine. It seems to be THE thing for people. I’m looking for an app that allows me to keep it on the front page of my phone. I think that would work best for me — that way I have it with me all the time and can’t conveniently ignore it. I’ve looked a little but that’s not how most apps are advertised. I have an iPhone. I think another commenter has an Android and recommended Taskos but I can’t find an iOS version.

      I’ll definitely check out your upcoming mini series. Thanks again!

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      • You’re welcome!

        The key to being organized is finding what works for you. If it doesn’t work for you, try try again until something does. I think that’s where a lot of people go wrong. What works for me won’t work for everyone. What I set up for my clients often wouldn’t work for me. It doesn’t matter as long as what needs to be done gets done and doesn’t drive you crazy while trying to do it.

        The to-do list is OHSOVERY important. I prefer everything in one place but it doesn’t really matter how you do one as long as it works for you. The most important thing about the to-do list is that it gets everything out of your head, freeing up that space to actually get the items on your to-do list DONE. I make all of my clients create one if they don’t have one already. I haven’t heard of any app yet that stays open as the front page to your phone. In the Android version, when I swipe down my notifications display at the top of the screen, the first item on the to-do list is in there and it has a button to quickly add items to the list. They also send me a notification of my entire list for the day every day at 9am. It’s at least another thing to play with and see if it’ll work.

        Back to the “find what works for you” part – the series idea started when some friends of mine and I were talking about an article on productivity. I thought some of the things listed were bullshit. Then I asked if it would be helpful if I not only wrote about not only my current system, but all of the other different ways I’ve tried to keep everything in line and on task. What often happened with me is that a system would work until it didn’t. Then I’d change it and that would work until it didn’t. So I’d change it again. Organizing is really about evolution. Just like eating healthy, making money, or any other life system, organizing is never “finished.” And as your life changes, your needs will as well. It’s perfectly ok and preferable to adapt.

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  2. Oh god…this list makes feel like a bad person. I have however, found a way to combat the “where’s my to-do-list?” problem: I no longer keep paper to-do lists. I never knew where they were, so I was always starting a new one. I use a list making app on my smart phone (Taskos has been really working for me). I never lose it, and it’s always with me. I keep it on the front screen, so whenever I remember to write something, it is easy to do. I can even set alarms when something has a deadline.

    …now all I have to do is actually look at my list as I’m planning out my day the night before…ha ha ha! Psych! With what energy??

    Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night…

    Liked by 1 person

    • That is such a great idea!!! I love the idea of keeping it on the front of your phone. Not being able to see it constantly is the problem I have with using just the note app — I have to look through other stuff to get to it and I always get distracted by other (more fun) stuff on my phone.Thanks! I’ll be checking out Taskos. Thanks! Merry Christmas, Happy 2015!!

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  3. Thank you so much for this comment. I was actually on WP when you posted and immediately replied because it made me so happy, but somehow it disappeared. You sound so much like me. I was having a bad moment when I popped off this post. I try not to be too hard on myself, and like you, I’m accepting that ultra-organized just isn’t me and that’s okay.

    I didn’t feel like you were lecturing at all! Wishing you a wonderful holiday, my dear!

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  4. Oh, I have been thinking of you and how things are going for you this holiday season. I actually dislike reading about how organized other people are. I would much rather read that there are others out there that struggle with the same things I do. So thank you so much for your honesty. I bet the majority of people struggle with disorganization. The overachieving Martha Stewart types are the ones that follow that strict regimen. I mean no offense to those types, I am just getting to a place that I know I am not one of them and I am starting to be okay with that. I do have one little trick for keeping an empty sink… Leave everything on the counter and bleach out the sink! 🙂 your sink is shiny and reading for the dishes when you are ready to do them! We also use a lot of paper plates. Sorry, life is just too short and your nightly routine should include marathon Amazon Prime movie or series watching at least occasionally. I bet you do way more than you think you do any how. Okay I’ll stop lecturing. I actually checked in to wish you a happy and restful holiday and thank you again for sharing your experiences! Denise

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  6. Sounds like we have the same decorating style. 🙂 Can’t live without sticky notes, and even then, I forget one or two of them until it’s too late. I have a clean desktop–but the table next to the desk is stacked with papers and whatnot. I have a routine in the morning. I feed the cats, dog, and have coffee until my brain starts working. Then I create more chaos in the form of crap all over the place.

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    • I think you’re doing great! I go through organized spurts, but honestly these routine tasks are the first to go when I’m physically and emotionally drained. I’m definitely challenged with the list-making. It’s sticky notes all the way for me, but I do a few and toss the note. I like my system and for the most part, it works.

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Okay . . . I do #7 and I open my mail most of the time. But “never” is a strong word and for me to say I “never” do something . . . Well that’s impossible 😉 I guess that means I’m not organized 🙈 I love this post!

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    • I think I’m repeating myself, but I’m guessing these “things” aren’t all that realistic for most. I do a few and could probably do a few more. Opening mail is most excellent! Thanks for the kind words.

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  8. I do some of these but certainly not all.

    How about this…just start with one. Pick one…an easy one, and do it for a month. If you like it, keep doing it. If not, fuck it. Move on to the next one.

    I think you’re perfect so there.

    😉

    Sherry

    Liked by 1 person

    • Aww. Thanks!! I do better than I give myself credit for. I think I was having one of those nights — I read this and felt like a loser. So cliche, but progress NOT perfection. I like the idea of picking one and focusing on it for a month…

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  10. #4 I actually do, every day! I can’t get work done otherwise, too much “clutter”. However, #2….BAHAHAHAHA…omg…I always end up having to put twenty lists on one sheet of paper, or making a list of all the post-its that I have laying around, lol…WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?! Are they superhuman?!

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  11. I do most of these, but parenthood has forced me to not do some of them so well. Sigh. Cleaning has always been a form of “therapy” for me, and I feel chaotic inside when my house or desk is chaotic.

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