3 Things Thursday: A Twist on a Thursday Post

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There's nothing like a massive lifestyle change to get me thinking. And this evening, I'm thinking about a few things all this time inside working online has revealed to me about myself. They aren't three keys, exactly, so they're a slight departure from my usual Thursday post, but I promise to relate them back to style.

I have a love/hate relationship with technology. I love my MacBook, my phone and my iPad. I'm also learning to love some of the tools I'm using for online learning but, when things don't go smoothly tech-wise, I get frazzled very quickly.
What does this have to do with styles? This, combined with my I need to see it personal style, means I still go for the paper back-up. I have a paper grade-book to back up the online grading platform we use. Given the choice between the planner on my phone and a paper planner, I go for the paper planner every time. When I make lists, they're on paper; I have entire notebooks dedicated to lists. While I appreciate all technology has to offer, at the end of the day, I'm a hybrid girl.

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I get frustrated when my work flow isn't efficient. When my husband moves my stuff, I become irrationally annoyed. I've been chalking this up to being just a tad (?) high maintenance but, lately, I've noticed a pattern that has to do with more than just the twelve inch difference in our heights.
What does this have to do with styles? I tend to set things up (and put things away) in accordance not only with my I need to see it and drop and run styles but also with the flip side to my drop and run organizational style: grab and go. I don't want to have to move a pile of stuff to get to something I need -- it's bad enough when I create this situation for myself with piles of papers. When I've laid things out (or put them away) just so, I rely on being able to see and/or grab what I need when I need it. When that doesn't happen, my work flow is disrupted and I get grumpy.

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I can both completely ignore some clutter, and get completely distracted by it. There is a pile of homeless items on the counter in my office that has been there for an embarrassingly long period of time. I know eventually I'll do the necessary sorting and home-finding that makes it disappear, so it annoys me only mildly. But relocate that pile somewhere else in my house (on the steps leading to the second floor of our house, for example) and my reaction is decidedly less laissez-faire.
What does this have to do with styles? I could tie this (like so much else) back to my I need to see it personal style but, the truth is, it has more to do with a different concept: it's a process. There are rooms and surfaces in my house that I've worked hard to de-clutter. As the process of organizing my house goes, I have checked those places off my list, marking them as organizational successes. As a result, I have no desire to go back. One small thing out of place in the living room or more than two or three pieces of mail on the mail counter is enough to pull my focus and render me incapable of walking past that spot without intervening or, at the very least, making a mental note. The latter is actually worse because it nags at me until I set things right.

Our personal styles (I need to see it, I love to be busy, and I love stuff) are the "who" behind our organization. Rooted in the way we look at the world, they, along with our organizational styles,  drive how we organize.

But our personal styles go deeper, driving not only how we organize, but how we approach life. This is one reason why organizing is a personal endeavor, and why one set of rules -- just like one pair of shoes or one organizing tool -- doesn't fit everyone. Organizing isn't just about "how"; at its heart, it's also about "who" and, when we embrace that, the whole process gets easier.