3 Keys Thursday: 3 Strategies for Finding (and Working with) Your Styles

Dodgerton Skillhause via Morguefile

Hi, my name is Lisa and my styles are I need to see it (personal style) and drop and run (organizational style). Yes, I've been at this for a while, and yes, these are still my styles. Organizing by STYLE doesn't mean changing my styles; rather, it means learning to work with them instead of against them.

If you don't know what your styles are, take a minute to take the STYLE quiz. If you're taking it for the first time, you might very well find a little of yourself in every category.

How do you narrow the field?

Think about what's most outstanding. For me, the need to see things stands out more than anything else. Although I file important papers and keep lists and a planner, I'm still the girl that leaves the empty prescription bottle on the counter as a reminder to call in a refill. My strategies keep my style in check, but they don't erase all signs of it, and I'm okay with that.

Look for the overlap in approach. Does one style feed another? If so, finding strategies that work for one style may resolve issues in another as well. My drop and run organizational style and my I need to see it personal style feed one another, so choosing tools and strategies that work for one often helps the other. Containers with open tops, for example, allow me to put things away in a single step, simply by dropping them into the container....where I can see them. Check out the charts section of this blog to see if your style overlaps come with container overlaps, then experiment away, but don't forget to...

Trust your gut. If a tool or strategy feels wrong, it probably is. It really doesn't matter how popular it is. If it doesn't work for you, find something else that does. I ditched binders ages ago in favor of simpler tools like accordion folders and open top files. Their simplicity makes me more likely to use them and visibility they provide suits my I need to see it personal style.

In the end, the style labels you choose should serve only one purpose: pointing the way toward strategies and tools that work for you.