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Confessions from a “naked” organizer

How I walked into my client’s house naked.


Not literally naked — just exposed and vulnerable.
Kelly's Project Binder: Warning..."Done is better than PERFECT"

This client is trying to learn ways to keep track of all of her tasks, appointments, and projects. I’m trying to teach her the value of saying “NO!” We needed a way for her to SEE the amount of to-do’s in her life: a system that would guard her tongue against an ill-considered “YES” to yet another project. She’s been reading David Allen’s Getting Things Done. I’ve been encouraging her to try his Project Binder. “What does it look like? How does it work?” she asked.

I offered to show her my project binder at our next appointment. I didn’t think much of our upcoming show-and-tell lesson until the morning of our appointment. Why was I so nervous? I realized the source of my fear: JUDGMENT! In a panic, I wondered: should I rewrite the pages? type up my lists? Luckily, sanity kicked in. I won’t change anything about how I’ve been using this system…IT WORKS FOR ME. (I did add a disclaimer Post-It note to the first page.)

My favorite Ben Franklin quote, “Done is better than perfect,” says it all, especially to us perfectionists. Get it done…don’t stress over how it looks. Franklin’s wise words also remind us:
1. Don’t judge a system by how it looks.
Even your organizer makes hurried and cryptic notes to herself.
2. Don’t get caught up in making things look pretty.
Pretty won’t get projects, errands, or phone calls completed.

Confessions from a “naked” organizer is our 5th organizing post of 2013. www.JoyInYourSpace.com

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