Organizational Help For The Rest Of Us

Some people are natural neat freaks. I'm envious. It's not that I want an office that would look good on the pages of Architectural Digest – that would make me a little crazy too... I mean, where do they keep their pens and scrap paper? It feels like I'd be committing a crime if I left my coffee cup behind on the desk.

That said, every once in a while I need to do a serious sweep of my space to clear the piles. I'm bad for making piles. I know where everything is, which is a good thing, but eventually they all get too big, which usually causes several days of something like anxiety where my inner critic talks about nothing except what a mess things are, then a full afternoon off to set things right again.

Thinking there had to be a better way to manage things, I gave organizational expert, Colette Robicheau a call.

It seems there are two problems with a lot of the short, self-help advice out there intended to help us all become more organized. The first is that many don't recognize that making behavioural change is not as simple as moving the furniture around. The change takes longer and doesn't "stick" as easily. Second, what's perfect for one person – the perfectly organized office or home (and advice or steps needed to get to that point) may not be so perfect for the next.

"There's a lot on that spectrum of what's functional for people," says Robicheau. "Some people have to work with things extremely neat or they have anxiety. For others, they'll have anxiety if they need to make it absolutely neat every day. The key is to get to a place, wherever it is on the spectrum, so that you are functioning in a way which doesn't get you in trouble."

Identify Trouble Zones
If there is trouble with the way you keep organized, she says change starts with recognizing those areas which present problems time and again. After identifying how you would like that space or habit to be different, she suggests breaking down the behavioural changes needed into the smallest tasks possible – if paying bills on time is a problem, start by making sure you consistently get all of your bills together into the same (noticeable) place every day for a month. Or, breaking it down even further, start by bringing in the mail and putting it in the same spot on your desk every day.

"Look at those areas (that are causing problems) and try to prioritize," she says. "Work a little bit at a time on those. What doesn't work well is this all or nothing approach, thinking I'm going to make it totally neat and perfect. It doesn't stay that way. Just try adding and making one behavioural change at a time until it's a habit for you." Making 20 changes at once – which is usually what's entailed when it comes to pulling off larger tasks – is a recipe for failure. Like a project, break each goal down into small tasks, then try to see if you can break each task down even further.

"It's like the mail," she says. "If we want to see about getting our bills paid, I usually start with just getting the bills into one place first."

Create Accountability
After that, she suggests creating accountability, by telling family members or colleagues that you're trying to keep your office neat, for example. She also recommends building a reward of sorts into the system. (Try giving yourself time for a walk around the block to your preferred coffee place. "When you're working more productively, you can take that walk around the block." Unhealthy rewards or "treats" like going for ice cream will just cause new problems to work on in the future.)

One of Robicheau's clients worked hard but absolutely hated taking calls or listening to his voicemail. After figuring out his morning routine, it was decided that, for two weeks, he wouldn't be allowed to go downstairs to get his morning coffee until after he'd checked his voicemail and returned calls. Although the first days of getting through the backlog were rough, after a couple of weeks "he said this is absolutely amazing," she says. "'I've habitualised it. I don't get my coffee – something I want – until it's done.' You're making a treat out of something you already have."

Finally, she says behavioural change is not easy. In order to make it work for the long run, "we have to be gentle. Take it little bits at a time, lean into it, feel comfortable and then take on a little bit more," once the first tasks have solidified into habit.


Kate McCaffery is a freelance writer in Toronto, Ontario. Visit mccaffery.ca/kate2.0/ for more information.