Episode 70: Why You Don't Need Another Organizing System
Welcome to episode 70 of Permission to Be Messy. I'm your host, JoAnn Krall, and today I'm talking about why you don't need another organizing system. What you really need is to understand what's getting in your way.
And yeah, that's a broad statement. You may actually need a new system, but as we go through this episode, you'll understand what I mean.
If you've followed me for any length of time, you know I always say, "Don't start with a system." If you're new to me, that's one of my core foundations. Cookie-cutter systems don't work. Systems come last. And of course, give yourself permission to be messy.
So I just got back from a wonderful trip to Napa and San Francisco.
The first few days, we were in Napa with friends celebrating our 60th birthdays. My husband's already turned 60 this year, and I've got a couple of weeks to go as of this recording.
I had never been to Napa, which is crazy because I'm a wine lover, and it was wonderful.
Before heading to San Francisco, I met up with a longtime online friend. Then we went to San Francisco, where we saw family and met up with some other friends.
We hadn't been back there together in 32 years, since our honeymoon. That was a long time to go without seeing family, and it was a big eye-opener.
But my whole point in sharing this is that I did a lot of prep work before going on vacation. I made sure the bills were paid, with one caveat.
I have OCD, and sometimes my brain goes into intrusive thoughts, especially when I'm traveling. There were some bills that, if I didn't come back, wouldn't have needed to be paid. So I left those, and of course, they were waiting for me when I got home.
Along with a whole bunch of other things.
Life happens while you're away.
Even though I had done all that prep work, there was still a lot that came in while I was gone. This is a busy time of year, and I had both business and personal things to deal with.
And I'm not going to lie. I was a little overwhelmed.
Part of that was because I had been sick at the beginning of the trip and was still recovering. Then there was the traveling, unpacking, getting home late, and the time change.
And I was sore!
The first day we were in San Francisco, we went to Muir Woods. It's beautiful, but that drive down there terrified me. If you've ever done that drive, you'll understand. I never want to do it again!
The next day, we visited Alcatraz, which is very steep. Then we walked up Lombard Street, climbed the stairs, and walked up and down all those San Francisco hills.
All of that caught up with me when I got home.
So I was sore, recovering from being sick, and feeling overwhelmed.
Even when you're organized, life can throw a lot at you.
So what did I do?
I immediately went back to what works for me, which is a brain dump.
I want to talk about that today, but first, I want to make something clear.
If you've tried getting everything out of your head and onto one list, and it stressed you out or made things worse, that's okay. That particular approach may not work for you, and there are other ways to tackle it.
I use brain dumps all the time, but I don't always do them the same way.
Sometimes I sit down and write everything that's in my head onto one list, all at once. Then I process it from there.
Other times, I'm in the middle of doing something and don't want to forget a thought. So my desk ends up covered with sticky notes, or I've got a notebook or a piece of paper nearby where I'm scribbling things down.
Then, at the end of the week, I'll process those notes.
Those are two different ways I do a brain dump.
The important thing is that sometimes the most helpful thing you can do is stop trying to remember everything, get it out of your head, and give yourself a chance to see what you're dealing with.
Having everything in front of you can be really helpful for some people.
For others, it can be overwhelming, and that's a conversation for another day.
But if you've tried brain dumps before and they've caused more problems, don't feel like you need to go off and do one. Maybe as I talk about this, something else will come to mind that works better for you.
And I'd love to hear about it. I always appreciate feedback, so please share.
When everything stays in your head, it can be difficult to see the whole picture. Writing it down gives you something concrete to work with.
And when I'm doing that, I'm not thinking about organizing anything.
I'm literally writing down whatever is in my brain at that moment. Personal things, business things, goals, ideas, whatever it is.
It could even be something as simple as, "Wow, it's a beautiful day."
Some of what I write down isn't even going to end up on a to-do list. But I've cleared it out of my head.
Now, think about what happens when you're feeling overwhelmed.
Maybe you've just come back from vacation, you're going through a stressful time, something has disrupted your normal routine, or you're feeling disorganized in general.
It's natural to think, "I need a new system."
And we're constantly being marketed to by people selling organizing systems. Family members and friends tell us, "Just use this. It's amazing!" Or, "This planner worked for me."
We're inundated with options for ways to get organized, and sometimes that makes things even more difficult.
There's work that needs to happen before we even get to choosing a system.
And I don't want that to sound overwhelming. It's not necessarily a lot of work, but there are steps we need to take to figure out what's actually going to work for us.
You may already be using a system that you think isn't working, when in reality, it might only need a minor adjustment.
Or maybe you really do need something completely different.
But we need to figure that out before jumping into another system that's going to fail and put us right back into that cycle of trial and error.
So what's actually getting in your way?
There are five common obstacles I see when people are feeling disorganized.
1. Too Much Information Is Coming In
We're inundated with emails, junk mail, downloads, and information coming at us from every direction.
We're served ads all day long. We see people talking about different things on social media, which gives us more ideas and more things we want to explore.
It's almost like we used to have a few magazines we'd read and save. Now it's as though somebody's throwing 100 magazines at us every single day.
It's information overload.
And many of us tend to be information hoarders.
We see something and don't want to forget it. We think, "I want to do that someday," or "That's something I want to remember."
So we save it digitally. Sometimes we try to keep it in our heads. Sometimes we write it down.
And before we know it, we've accumulated an enormous amount of information.
2. Decisions That Haven't Been Made
This is something I see all the time.
It's the paper sitting on your desk. I have a pile right here myself!
It's a bunch of decisions that need to be made or things that need to be done.
It's the emails you've left unread, or the emails you've read but haven't done anything with because you're not sure what to do.
It could be files, photos, or any other information you're holding onto.
Everything needs a decision.
We need to decide whether to get rid of it, keep it, or do something with it.
Getting rid of something might seem easy. Just hit delete or move it aside.
But it's not always easy to know whether something can be deleted.
And if we're keeping it, why?
Is it reference information? Is it important? Does it need to be saved somewhere safe? Or is it something we'd simply like to look at someday?
Maybe it's something we need to act on, like a bill, an insurance renewal, or something for a client.
Until those decisions are made, that information often just sits there.
3. Information Is Scattered Everywhere
This often happens when we've tried different organizing systems over time.
We've got old information in one system and newer information in another.
Or maybe things are coming in and we're not doing anything with them.
For example, you download something and it sits in your Downloads folder.
You take a screenshot and it ends up on your desktop.
You receive an email and leave it in your inbox.
It's like having an inbox sitting on your desk, except digitally, you may have several different inboxes without even realizing it.
Information comes in through so many different places.
And if we don't have some sort of process for handling it, that information ends up scattered everywhere.
And don't even get me started on duplicates and different versions of files!
That's especially common with digital information.
4. Unclear Priorities
This is another big one.
When everything feels important, it's difficult to know what to tackle first.
I have people go through a process of identifying everything they need or want to do. Then I ask them to assign high, medium, or low priority to those things.
And I often see people going through their lists saying, "Well, this is high. This is high. This is high."
Suddenly, almost everything is a high priority.
Being able to distinguish what's truly important isn't always easy.
Sometimes it helps to talk things through with a friend, family member, or professional who can help you look at the situation more objectively.
Let's use finances as an example.
Maybe your financial information is a mess. Your tax information is in good shape, but everything else behind the scenes, investments, bills, and other financial paperwork, is disorganized.
That might feel really important to address.
And it might be.
But it may not be something that's affecting you immediately. It could be something you want to work on eventually.
On the other hand, taxes have deadlines. That makes them easier to identify as a high priority.
Things with strict deadlines are often easier to prioritize.
If something needs to be done this week, it's probably a high priority.
If it's something that doesn't need to happen for a few months, it might be a medium priority rather than a low priority.
The point is that we need to be able to distinguish between the things that need our attention now and the things that can wait.
5. Systems That Don't Fit
This happens when we try systems based on what other people recommend.
We read about something, see a system someone else is using, and think, "Oh, that looks great!"
So we try it.
And then it doesn't work for us.
But instead of recognizing that the system may not be a good fit, we tend to feel bad about it and keep trying to force ourselves to use it.
Something needs to change at that point.
And again, it might be a small adjustment, or it might mean finding something completely different.
There are steps I take people through to help them evaluate what kind of system will actually work for them.
One thing I want to mention here is that sometimes a system is simply overcomplicated.
For example, think about filing systems, whether paper or digital.
One person might have a very detailed filing structure with lots of categories and subcategories.
Another person might keep almost everything in one folder and rely on the search function to find what they need.
That second approach would never work for my brain. I need a detailed filing structure.
But for someone else, that detailed structure might be way too much to maintain.
Even if it looks great in theory, if they can't maintain it, it's not working for them.
And maybe there's something in the middle that's going to be the right fit.
That's what we need to figure out.
Different Obstacles Need Different Solutions
Here's something important I want you to understand.
All five of these obstacles don't have the same solution.
If you're receiving too much information, a new filing system isn't necessarily going to help.
If you haven't made decisions about what to keep, buying more storage isn't going to solve the underlying problem.
And if your priorities are unclear, another task management system isn't going to solve that problem either.
You're just going to move all those tasks into the new system, mark everything high priority, and end up in the same place.
That's why I'm such a big believer that one size doesn't fit all.
Cookie-cutter solutions don't work. We have to find what works for us.
And there's something else I want to mention that we sometimes forget.
**Life doesn't stop happening because we got organized.**
We can be organized, feel great, and have everything running smoothly. Then one thing happens that throws everything off course.
That's life.
And that's why it's important to understand the steps that come before choosing an organizing system.
When you've learned those skills, done the groundwork, and found systems that work for you, you have something to go back to when life happens.
You can revisit those steps.
And the answers might be different.
We have different information coming into our lives at different times. We have different challenges and responsibilities.
What worked for you at one point might not work for you now.
And that's okay.
When you've done the groundwork, it becomes much easier to recognize what needs to change.
Because being organized doesn't mean you're never overwhelmed.
It means you have a way to move forward when you do feel overwhelmed.
Now, I keep mentioning all this groundwork, and if you're wondering exactly what I'm talking about, I do have a private podcast on my website.
If you go to joannkrall.com, you'll find it right at the top.
I walk through my organizing process and talk about systems in more detail.
I've also covered this in other podcast episodes and blog posts, but I think that private podcast explains the process really clearly and can be helpful.
## Three Questions to Ask Before Choosing Another System
Before we wrap up, I want to give you something tangible to take away from today's episode.
Before you decide you need to get more organized, I'd love for you to ask yourself three questions.
I'm actually going to look at my notes for these so I don't mess them up!
**First: What's actually frustrating me right now?**
Is it finding things, remembering things, making decisions, or having too much to manage?
It might be one of those things, a combination of them, or all of them.
**Second: What's already working?**
This is really important.
We often spend so much time focusing on the problems that we forget to notice the things that are working well.
And those things can give us valuable insight into what's going to help us move forward.
**Third: What would make the biggest difference right now?**
Not what would make everything perfect.
Because perfection has no place in organizing.
I know you see those perfectly organized pantries on shows like The Home Edit.
But you don't necessarily see what they look like the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that, unless someone is coming back to maintain them.
Some people are extremely regimented about keeping things organized, and that's great if it works for them.
But life happens. And even the most carefully maintained systems can get disrupted.
So instead of asking what would make everything perfect, ask yourself:
What's one thing that would make life a little bit easier?
I'd love to hear what comes up for you when you ask yourself these questions.
You can always email me privately. My contact information is in the show notes.
And I want to encourage you to resist the temptation to tackle everything all at once.
## Final Thoughts
Before you decide you need another organizing system, I encourage you to look a little deeper.
What's actually getting in your way?
Because the answer might surprise you.
Just like when I came home from vacation, I didn't need to reinvent anything.
I simply needed to get everything out of my head and work through the processes that I already know work for me.
And sometimes that's enough.
I've been doing this for 20 years, and I can tell you that getting organized isn't about finding the perfect system and never having a messy moment.
It's about having the tools, the processes, and the understanding to manage your information and responsibilities in a way that works for you.
And it's about being organized enough.
As always, I'm wishing you much progress, peace, purpose, and the permission to be messy.
Thanks for listening.
