3 Keys Thursday: 3 Keys to Turning Your Styles to Organizational Strengths

Photo: Dodgerton Skillhause via Morguefile

If you, like me, have an I need to see it personal style, there are most likely days when you (not to mention those who live with you) don't see this style as an asset. At its worst, this style is a clutter creator but, at its best, it can be the way I remember where things are, what to do and what's due.

Each of the personal and organizational styles has the potential to be an asset or a liability. Here are three ways to make sure they work in your favor.

Embrace them. Because the dark side of the styles can be an organizational obstacle, it's difficult to view them as strengths. But, when pressed into service, that's exactly what they are. When we stop seeing our styles as stumbling blocks, we unlock their potential as tools for getting organized.

Use them to manage stuff. When we work with our styles, they can lead us to workable solutions. Sometimes, they can even spark creativity. Whether we're color coding our systems, pressing unique containers into service or jazzing up clear containers with Washi tape so we can remember which safe place holds which items, letting our style strengths lead the way can make organizing less intimidating.

Use them to manage time. Do you swear by a Post-it note reminder system for appointments? Prefer  the calendar on your phone to a planner and a pen? Create lists in grids so you have room for all of your activities? You're probably listening to your styles. When we really think about which strategies and tools work for us instead of trying to mold ourselves to the strategies and tools that we think are supposed to work for us, organizing time and stuff becomes less of a chore.

Sure, the style names are silly. Sure they can cause trouble when we let them get out of hand. But, when we look at the purpose they serve, these liabilities become the strengths that drive our organizational systems.

Organizing is something we have to do every day. Shouldn't we make it as much fun as possible?