How I Became Like My Clients For One Month By: Janet L. Hall
I know exactly when I started falling apart, not mentally but
overloaded with commitments and deadlines I knew I could make.
But then suddenly, surgery was to be performed again, on
Valentine's Day.
I've never hidden the fact that I'm just like you. I'm not
perfect and I'm not super human just because my profession is as
a professional organizer.
We all have things come into our lives, or out of, usually
unexpectedly. We all have emergencies or things that come up
that just have to be completed. We all have someone or something
needing our attention. This is you, this is me, and this is life!
Many times clients call when their systems have broken down, if
they even had systems. But many call because their world has
fallen off its axis, leaving them and their world spinning out
of control…out of balance.
If they completely ignore the situation or don't know how to get
their world back into balance - into sync - the way it use to
be, they will become overpowered by all the stuff in their lives.
The daily errands of driving here and there for: >>Appointments
>>Children >>Special events >>Meetings >>School functions
>>Banking >>Food shopping >>Shopping >>Work seem to make you
drive like a maniac down the street, racing and rushing from one
place to another. And even forgetting to stop at some places.
The daily activities one usually finds in a home of:
>>Processing the mail >>Answering the phone >>Returning calls
>>Reading email >>Replying to email >>Cooking >>Cleaning
>>Playing with the children or pets >>Bathing the children or
pets >>Watering the plants >>Reading >>Being a buffer makes you
just want to throw up your hands and turn and run.
And what about the unexpected? >>Illness >>Visitors >>Spouse
laid-off from job >>Someone moving in or out >>Computer problems
>>A friend needing your ear, shoulder, and comfort >>A client or
boss needing it NOW, instead of next week >>A child with special
needs >>A child with needs >>Travel for your job >>Training for
your job >>An accident just makes you want to SCREAM that you
have no time or patience for all this!
Your world has just exploded! What can you do about it?
On Valentine's Day my world exploded when I was told I would
have to endure yet another breast surgery. I was working on my
book, "Secrets of a Professional Organizer and How-To Become
One," and the deadline was the end of February. And worse yet,
we get short-changed a couple of days in February! WHO did that?
Who thought this up?
Just three days after surgery and between work, clients,
writing, and running a home I had to prepare to leave for
Florida for 13 days to work with a client and attend school at
the beginning of March. WHEW, makes me tired just thinking back
on all this.
In Florida I stayed with a girlfriend, and had the guest/storage
room with some closet space, one drawer, and a small desk.
My journey into piles began. Things started living in piles:
>>On the floor >>On top of my suitcases >>On the bed >>On the
dresser >>On the chair and desk.
I had all my toilettes sitting out around the sink, carefully
placed (but crowded together) so I wouldn't break anything or,
God forbid, something fall into the toilet!
While in Florida I was so busy I really didn't get to work on
any of my "normal" to-dos. I had so many new to-dos' there!
I went to school from 7 AM until 6 or 7 PM, grabbed something to
eat and started working with my client, sometimes until
midnight, once until 2:30 AM. (I was helping my friend "client",
where I was staying, redo her whole web site and teach her
computer stuff.)
When I returned home to Maryland, all the mail, all the errands,
all my clients, and all my self-imposed deadlines and other's
deadlines were waiting for me.
I unpacked (although I still have a couple of files in my
computer case I need to get out and put away) and started making
a pile here and a pile there. Some in the kitchen, some in the
living room, some in the bedroom, and some really big piles in
my office!
I didn't even touch the mail for the first three days. I didn't
want to look at or deal with mail or the bills. I wanted to
start spring-cleaning. All my clothes needed washed, dried, and
put away.
As I looked around, all I could think was, "I'm becoming my
clients. No time to think about this now. I have to finish my
book, create CD labels, burn 100 CD's and put labels on them. Oh
MY GOD! I forgot to order the blank CD's and labels before I
left for Florida. I need them today. Okay, I'll just call and
order today and get them shipped overnight. I still have to
write the newsletter, return phone calls, reply to emails, and
oh, I just want some really good sleep!"
The shipment came, as promised, the next day. I ripped open the
boxes, got everything out and started working, leaving the
packing material and boxes lie, wherever… See Janet's Messy
Office
I'm writing, researching, and tossing books here and there. I
didn't care at that point. I thought, "I have great systems in
place so when all this is over I can easily get everything back
into shape, put stuff where it belongs, and get my world back
into balance.
And so I have. After finishing the book, labels, CD's, returning
calls and emails, and still working with clients I tackled my
office. It took me just two hours to get everything in place and
put away because I have a sorting and de-cluttering system, "The
5 W's of Organizing, a TEASER, and a TICKLE". And it works! See
Janet's Clean Office.
We all have our own ups and downs in life; life happens. We each
ride the waves from the same Universe.
When everything is going 'just right,' we are riding our up
waves; sometimes not even paying attention to our good 'fortune.'
When things are going wrong we feel we are being slapped silly
by the waves; causing us to tumble, crash, and sink to the
bottom and depths of darkness, and asking ourselves, "What did I
ever do to deserve this?"
But what goes down MUST come back up!
So what can you do to help get your world back into balance, and
make your down waves less powerful?
Start by getting organized. >>Create or find a common 'home' or
zone for your things to live. >>KNOW what to do with your stuff
(do you really need or when will you use?) >>Have systems and
procedures in place.
Knowing where things "live" and how things are handled can sure
make life a little easier for those 'off balance' days that we
all experience.
Now I really must go. I still have to get out the newsletter,
send out products, send out speaking materials, get ready for
two presentations, do my taxes, take a test, read ten new books,
and, oh yeah, plant some pansies in the garden and pick some
asparagus.
Aha! Life is finally back to normal.
Smiles, not Piles,
Copyright (c) 2002 by OverHall Consulting P.O. Box 263, Port
Republic, MD 20676 All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted to
reproduce, copy, or distribute this article so long as article
is kept intact, this copyright notice, and full information
about the author is attached.
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