3 Action Steps to Take Today on the Road to Being Organized AND Creative

Sometimes it just feels like these two concepts can't possibly coexist!  I mean, to be organized means to be rigid, habitual, set in one's ways; whereas, to be creative means to be spontaneous, carefree, not tied down to a system.  Right?!

Well, I refuse to believe that!  I have to believe that the two can be compatible. And I don't think I'm the only one.  But, as I struggle to do well at my "real" job, take care of my mom and husband (and don't think I'm being a 50s wife here, he does a lot for me too, just not in the cleaning, organizing department ;-), and be creative, I don't have a lot of time to really do things the way I would like to do them.

And, of course, it's almost March, and I still haven't fulfilled my New Year's resolution of getting my planner set up and my workspace/creative space organized!  So, in the spirit of holding myself accountable and taking action, I'm writing about it here hopefully to help all of us who are similarly struggling.

I just came across some wonderful inspiration also.  Just take a look at Andrea's Notebook and her creative home office reveal!  I'm seriously thinking about setting up a pegboard because going vertical is a better option than going horizontal -- I really need the desk space to have room to create and not feel cluttered (by the way, like Andrea, I am NOT posting any "before" photos because it's just too embarrassing, no one needs to see this!)

So, since I'm blogging and taking action in real time on this project (and am encouraging you to do the same as well), let's start with STEP 1 -- figuring out exactly what needs to be organized.  Think about what YOU need and want, not what the organizing gurus tell you you should need and want.  For example, even though it would be great to have all of my craft stuff all in one place, I don't think it's feasible and necessarily desirable for me.  I like to crochet in the living room, so having my yarns and tools in cabinets in the hallway and dining room (yes, you read that right!) works for me.  The bedroom, where my first organization project is taking place, is where I like to do my computer work, for both personal and business purposes.  Having said that, I can see how the pegboard system on the wall above my desk would help in having some of my crochet yarns and tools right on hand that I need when doing some computer work in writing up the patterns, etc.

My biggest challenge in this space is managing paper.  Although I've been trying hard to go electronic (and organizing electronic files is a topic all on its own!), there are some things that I just feel the need to have on paper.  But managing all the junk mail and "stuff" is challenging for me; I'm getting better about sorting (and throwing away) mail and papers in the hallway or living room when it first comes in the apartment so that what gets carried into the bedroom office area is just the important paper.  But, what then?!

Ok, so here is our assignment for today:

1) Make a list of the items that give you the hardest time with organization.  For me, it's bills and other important paperwork that needs to get done by a certain date, articles and stuff that I want to read later, business cards that I pick up along the way, coupons I know I should be using, crochet magazines that I can't bring myself to throw out, and half-written crochet patterns and notes that I take about projects I've started or plan on undertaking someday.

2) Think about what helps you stay organized.  Do you like using folders?  Maybe binders.  How about boxes and/or shelving?   Your iPhone?  I really like all of it but for different things -- folders for particular topics, but I'm thinking about using a binder for my planner this year.  I'm such a creature of habit, so I need to incorporate the spiral notebooks and other things that I've already created into my new system.

3) Start gathering what you already own and figuring out what you need to buy.  I've already got a ton of file boxes and folders, but I really need to get that pegboard for the wall.  Thankfully, I've got a Staples coupon, so I'm going to start there first (I've been looking online as well and have an idea of what I want and how much it's going to cost).  And, as I look around in this space, just like Andrea said, it might be worth the investment to buy some coordinating furniture rather than cobbling things together.

Come on, not such a hard assignment to get started!  My next installment will be about getting into the nitty-gritty details.

Time

There's just too little of it!  And I'm finding that the more I try to follow some scheduling or time management system, the more things get out of whack and the more stressed I get!  Though I do feel like I am getting the paperwork and bill paying aspects of life a bit more under control.  I recently read an article by Kacy Paide, who isn't really trying to push any particular product, she was just advising that you need to have a "catch-all" basket or place to put the critical mail and paperwork that needs to be addressed timely and set up a schedule for processing it.  Once I go through the mail, sort out the junk and recycle it, and identify the important stuff, I then go and just put it on top of my keyboard.  That way, I'm not tempted to do other, fun things on the internet first, I have to take care of those bills!  Kacy focuses on office organization (The Inspired Office is the name of her website), and she offers her services in the Washington DC area.  I haven't tried her services (yet), but her website and weekly email tips are helpful.  In fact, if I had more time, I'd be following her tips way more than I've had the chance to!

Email Lists

On my to-do list forever has been the need to get my email lists organized so that I can stay in contact with my customers, my crochet students, and my blog subscribers.  And, I haven't wanted to say it, but the newsletter has been sitting and gathering dust, and I really want to get that up and running again too.  So, I went in search of a mail list service that will meet my needs and not cost too much (ie nothing!). 

Well, I think Mail Chimp is the winner!  It so far meets my 3 criteria:  cost (it's free up to 2000 addresses and 12,000 emails per month), ease of use, and cuteness.  I really like companies that have a theme and a personality.  They don't take themselves too seriously, but they do provide a serious product and service.  They are user friendly for us non-techies, and they offer lots of options, starting with free but then with reasonable add-ons (hey, I'd be glad to start paying if I end up with more than 2,000 followers!)

So far, I figured out how to import the lists of emails that I had already organized in Outlook.  Oh, I also like the fact that they have a lot of free guides and resources targeted to specific things you want to do, like send out a newsletter.  And, they even have a guide for Etsy sellers.  We'll see if this all actually works, but so far so good!

Three

Have you ever really noticed that things seem to come in threes?!  When something bad happens, I find myself trying to find two other bad things so that the badness is over.  I'm not sure if that carries over to good things, but it's probably a good idea to look for three things to be thankful for as well.  I even remember from 9th grade grammar class that, to write an effective paragraph, you should write a topic sentence then three more supporting sentences. 

So, why am I fixating on threes?  Because I'm also finding that I can only really seem to accomplish three things in a day.  Now, sometimes, each thing has subparts, but the point is that my to-do list for the day can have as many things on it as I want to put, but it seems that only three of them really get done!  So, why fight it, go with it.  Remember my tip for sitting down and listing all of the things you need to get done on one side of a folded (lengthwise) page?  Well, now, pull out a red pen or a highlighter and mark the three things that you are going to accomplish first.  Tomorrow morning, do the same thing.  Before you know it, all of the items on the list will either get done or you'll discover you can do without it!  Ok, get going!

Two Amazing Tools

Ah, this post is going to combine organizing and crocheting!  First, the organizing.  I'm convinced that my brain is a reflection of my physical world, and frankly neither is looking very pretty these days!  So, of course, I'm always searching for that "perfect" filing system that's going to solve all of my problems for me :-)  I always like to say that I am a responsible person but not necessarily the most self-disciplined.  So, I need a system that doesn't need a lot of daily monitoring.  And I need some catch-all types of folders or boxes or something.

I read an article recently in The Washington Post (I haven't been able to find it online; it's from the Local Living section on February 17, 2011) about how to find a place for every document.  Featured was a filing system by Freedom Filer (http://www.freedomfiler.com/).  It's a color-coded system that's based on filing by dates and years, and it includes guides for how long certain types of documents need to be retained.  I got it in the mail a week or two ago and finally got to setting it up today (I'd been waiting to finish our taxes in order to take advantage of that portion of the system).  What a great feeling to gather together all my/our tax stuff since 1987 and file and archive it!  It's now in two files boxes in the same place, out of the way but accessible if need be!!

Now, I'm setting up the monthly bills portion of the system.  I really feel it coming together and taking a heavy weight off of my shoulders.  In this supposedly paperless world of ours, I feel snowed under by even more of it!  I'm also really starting to embrace this "let it go" philosophy -- that is one benefit of computerization, you can just about find anything you might need if you happened to throw it away (or you can just scan it in), so it's just getting easier for me to throw things out.  Whew.  More to come as I really solidify the system.

Ok, so now for the crochet part.  I've come up with a really fun summer tote bag, and pictures will be posted as soon as I find the perfect handles for it (I'm really thinking that I need either lucite handles or leather straps to make it sturdier than crocheted handles would be).  I've also been organizing the yarn stash as I plan new projects and found a great app for my new iPad (a birthday gift from the hubby :-).  It's called Ewe Stash, and so far, it's fabulous!  It lets you plug in all the necessary information for a particular ball of yarn and take a picture of it too.  It's going to be so great to have all of that information all in one place (it's got a spot for your own notes as well, so I'm thinking I'll be able to plug in where the yarn is physically located also).

Ah, it was nice to take this break, but the organizing isn't going to do itself unfortunately (wish there were an app for that!!), so back at it I go!

Slacker

Thank you all so much, especially all of you from the Creating the Hive community, for your kind and encouraging words.  I think I've almost put this situation behind me (and a few others I didn't tell you about!), and your advice to deal with it then shake it off really helped confirm my instincts. 

And I got to thinking about putting things into perspective, to really focus on realistically prioritizing the important tasks and figuring out where I can/should let things slide.  At the same time, I came across this helpful article on procrastination and stress (by the way, if you're not familiar with http://www.smartbrief.com/, I would highly recommend their daily newsletters on topics like leadership, your career, and social media).  There is a lot to be said for just waiting, a bit, to see what's really going to need your attention and what's going to take care of itself without your having to drop everything.

So, I haven't gone totally slacker, but I did sit down in a quiet room with a cup of tea, a piece of paper, and a pen.  I folded the paper in half, length-wise, and started to list on one side the things that I felt were priorities, the stuff that just has to get done.  I'd flip over to the other side when I thought of listing something that would be nice to do, but wasn't urgent or really necessary.  Once I'd emptied my brain, I just sat and drank some tea, breathing deeply.  Then, I went back to the list to start scheduling some dates by which I hoped to accomplish some of the listed tasks, not to create hard-and-fast deadlines or to stress myself out, but to sketch out if these tasks and timelines are realistic and to confirm that everything really does belong on the priority side of the page.  All of this didn't even take that long, but I sure felt better afterwards.  I did this a couple of days ago, and, a few times a day since, I have looked at that list to see if I can check a task or two off or if I need to modify the timeline.  Of course, as old things get done and checked off, new items get added to the list, but at least you're not trying to keep all of it in your head!  I hope this is helpful, and I'd love to hear about any systems you are using.