3 Organizing Assumptions Debunked
(www.myorganizedbiz.com) – In the article about following up with contacts, Tammy made an interesting comment I’d like to respond to:
The [question] that comes to mind here is how to persist. I can’t seem to hold the course more than 3 months….that seems to be my cycle. How do we organize ourselves and keep on trooping through our own cycles of up and down?
In my response to Tammy, I praised the fact that she knows what her cycle of productivity is. She is aware that after 3 months, she runs out of steam. This is great. And if you don’t know what your cycle is (it could be 2 weeks or 2 years!), I encourage you to start observing it.
In my coaching work, I work with the topic of cycles a lot – enough that I’d like to deconstruct it here.
Assumption #1: You must persist.
As a country, the US has grown so far beyond the original colonies… and yet our Puritan work ethic seems not to have waned in over 200 years. People say, “God, I can’t get everything done.” And yet they give it a whirl anyway – to the detriment of their health, and lives, and relationships.
Organizing Truth: You don’t have to persist.
That doesn’t mean you have to let everything drop, either. But what if it was okay to let up sometimes? I talked to a client yesterday who shared that her new goal is to simply turn off the computer 2 nights per week. This was a huge epiphany for her (and I’m so proud!).
What are you holding onto too tightly? Where could you be more flexible in your work so you can bend instead of break? What needs to soften so that you can offer yourself gentleness – and become thereby sustainably productive?
Assumption #2: You must hold your course.
If you think you must always be tidy, always be organized, and always produce everything you think of, you will become very, very tired. And cranky. Trust me on this one.
Nothing in nature, including you, can hold its course forever.
We tend to think of productivity and organization as linear systems. But, as commenter Tammy noticed, it actually comes in cycles. Like seasons, or tides, or volcanic activity. You’re part of nature and you do have your own rhythms and cycles.
Organizing truth: You can’t produce linearly – not forever, anyway.
The mistaken assumption we make is that if we did it once, we can do it again – without any turn around or recovery time. If you do this, you eventually start to run on fumes, drive like a madperson, and start feeling very isolated. Unrelenting productivity is unsustainable.
Assumption #3: You can’t be organized while you’re going through your cycles of “up and down.”
This is a touchy subject for people because even though we work in our spaces and basically know what’s there (tools and projects and files, etc.) – most people honestly believe that their offices must look like the cover of Pottery Barn, unrealistically tidy.
If you want to spend your time getting it to look this way, go for it. But last I checked, you were trying to run a business. Your time might be better spent on doing the work you love – and occasionally devoting time to maintaining your systems so you can work comfortably.
Organizing truth: You can work with your natural cycles, rather than trying to defeat them.
What might that look like? Just go with your own flow. Create a little chaos while you’re working – and when you’re almost done, take some cleanup and purging time. Not at the very end of the cycle, because that’s when you need downtime to restore your brain, body and spirit. It might take a few tries to get the hang of it.
It’s more about making an attitude shift than anything. Accepting and working with your own cycles makes organizing a downhill battle. Easier. More supportive to you and your business.
Is this ringing true for you – or do you disagree? What do you think of these three assumptions and organizing truths?
15 Comments
You’re really hitting a chord with me. My “cycle” is brief – days maybe – but I suspect that’s because of your Assumptions 1 & 2, that I have to do it all and do it perfectly NOW!
I think I suffer from “self-improvement” overload, which easily deteriorates into serious self-criticism. I keep thinking “other people don’t live like this”, i.e. they have it all together all the time. But I wonder if their “all” is a lot smaller than mine!
I just got hit in the face with this exact issue–literally!!! Working too hard, doing too much–I had a very wierd and unlikely accident a couple of days ago while out walking. I tripped and fell–on my face! Yikes! So I have taken a week off to regroup & heal. I realized I wasn’t giving myself any breathing room. I tend to be very impatient about results. So, time to step back. Hopefully, next time, I’ll “hear” it BEFORE I hurt myself! I should print out this post & hang it up somewhere prominent in my studio. Thanks!
Christine
I love this, Jen. I am guilty of all 3.
I have a problem of saying no, however, I am getting better at it. Trying too much at one time get me unorganized, but I’m a Gemini, that’s what I do.
Jen, this post is a breath of fresh air. I really needed it! Thanks.
Kristen
Speaking of cycles, I noticed in myself and in people around me that there is a cycle within the day. I myself am most productive at 4 am and become a zombie at 7 pm –so that, if have to do any heavy thinking or creative work, I sleep early so I can start work at 4 am. My wife is bushy-tailed and bouncy at 10 pm until about 2 am the next morning. She is useless and avoids functions & any kind of activity before 11 am.
Interesting post. Great points.
Reading this, the Serenity Prayer popped into my head. Accept the things you can’t change (cycles), Change the things you can (adapting to them) and contantly try to figure out the difference (the tough part!).
This is so great! Identification of assumptions and permission to let the fall by the way. I -know- this stuff and yet constantly forget…next question….how to remember what we already know (this is SUCH A GREAT response! thank you thank you thank you! Am going to have to link to this over at my blog).
Hi, I came over here from Tammy’s site and found your insights to be very valuable. It occurred to me while I was reading your statements about being linear that it is a mistake to try to be too linear. In nature, a stream or river tends to meander naturally. When we humans come along (read the Army Corps of Engineers) and try to channel that meandering river into a straight line using levees, what we do is make the floods downstream worse and destroy the important wetlands in the area we put the channels. I think this sort of linear thinking can create the same chaos in our lives. It is okay to meander a bit on your way downstream.
Loved it!! I already know all this but you make so clear and approachable… Thank you!
I hope you don’t mind my linking you on my other blogs also!! Excellent, simply excellent…
Jennifer, Shame on you for poking holes in the sacred American institution of killing yourself trying to be perfect. Not that I subscribe to it. The approach I’ve crafted is called the Philosophy of ER. I actually enjoy ERing things—making them bettER, doing them quickER, working smartER. As I tell my clients, to perfect is hell, to ER is divine.
[...] Jennifer, over at MyOrganizedBiz.com exposes the fallacy of these three myths about life and work in a post called 3 Organizing Assumptions Debunked: [...]
Awesome comments – thanks!!
You’re reminding me how powerful the word “should” is. When I think I “should” be more organized or that I “should” get everything done – it’s stressful – even paralyzing.
For me, the whole point is to love the work you do. If you’re always “shoulding” on yourself, it stops being fun. That’s why I take a gentler, honoring approach to organizing. Your office can be effective without having to be perfect.
And if you need to be reminded, just stop by to get a refresher.
Nailed me dead centre there for a three-count! My girlfriend is constantly telling me to take it easy on myself and to allow myself to relax. My perfectionism causes me as much grief as it does reward me. Great article! Thanks for reminding me that I am not a machine.
[...] in time a bit and look for some helpful items in the archive. Here are a couple worth re-reading: 3 Organizing Assumptions Debunked We all have cycles of productivity – know them and work with them, not [...]