Winner is...

Wow! That really got a response. I should have contests more often. Nobody got the right answer, I think Sarah had the right idea. However, I think Joel was the closest with:

"but I wonder if you aren't maintaining"

Yes, for everybodies official information, I am a Maintainer aka organizational freak. (doesn't necessarily mean I'm totally organized...just that I like to be)

The Maintainer and Friend

I make lists like crazy and drive my mother nuts with my schedules. And by the way, yes, it is my way of reducing stress. Whenever I start feeling overwhelmed etc... I make a list and then I feel 100% better. In my own defence however, I must state that I am not as bad as some of the maintainers described in the book. I gave up scheduling my day in 15 minute incriments when I was sixteen. Routine can work just as well.

10 points to Joel Nelson! Congrates!

Did you pay attention?

Which organizing style am I? 10 points to the first person with the right answer:)

Organizing For Your Brain Type II

Which are you?

Maintaining:
Easily identifiable. Maintainers love lists and scheduling. Often times maintainers will actually schedule their entire day down to 15-minute blocks of time. They love everything to be perfectly organized (even if it's not) and they get stressed if they don't have a routine and schedule to adhere to. These people are great because they keep the world running and everything in it's place. They work best with traditional organizing methods like filing cabnets, labeling and inboxes. Out of all the brain-types these are the people who are what we would call traditionally "organized".

Harmonizing:
Harmonizers love people! They are usually very social and easygoing. Harmonizers are wonderful because they keep everybody emotionally on track. They want the house clean if it makes other people comfortable, but because other people are more important to them than things, they can have a tendancy to let things go. They do get discouraged if the house is messy, but they're usually so overwhelmed they don't know what to do. They tend to keep things organized when they are stimulated by things that remind them of people and times they want to remember. However, because they surround themselves with things that bring pleasent memories, they have a tendancy to be pack rats. They like things that encourage them and remind them why they are doing what they are doing. Color and nifty containers are vital for their organizational style. Also, putting a picture or two (no more!) in key places can help them stay motivated.

Prioritizing:
Prioritizors are goal oriented. Their life consists of acheiving goals that they believe are important. Sometimes they get so focused they run over other people in the process. Organization is very important to accomplish their goals. However, sometimes they don't want to dabble with the particulars and their wonderful ability to delegate causes them to have others do the organizing for them. They're all out to divide and conquere! These people are very important in life because they're the ones that get things done. They are excellent leaders because they delegate so well. And they accomplish great things because of their great prioritizing skills. They just need to learn the system they use and stick to it. Preferably one that is streamlined and quick. The best thing they can do is minimize. Don't keep anything on your desk or in front of you that you are not working on. File everything else.

Innovating:

Innovators are usually very creative people. They are the people who see things from a different perspective and can usually come up with new solutions to what would be for most of us, an unsolvable problem. They are very visual. The old rule "out of sight out of mind" particularly applies to them. Their one obvious trait is that they have a unique style of organizing. They stack. Everything. Particularly papers. They organize things in piles. (i.e. bills in one pile, magazines in another, childs artwork) Contrary to popular thought, these unique individuals can be very organized, they just need to learn how to use their stacking style to keep things together.

Next organizing post...

Weaknesses and strengths for each brain type as well as specific tips for your indivdual organizational style.

Organizing For Your Brain Type I

Do you ever feel a bit overwhelmed by clutter? You want to get organized...you make all sorts of special efforts, but still that sense of having it "all together" eludes you. There are always those stray papers, a number you lost, the bill you had to pay but forgot about in that never ending stack!

You might enjoy Lanna Nakone’s book "Organizing For Your Brain Type". She introduces a break-through approach to personal organization.

Basically there are four different brain types:

1. Maintaining
2. Harmonizing
3. Innovating
4. Prioritizing

Representing which hemispheres they work out of:

1. The three left posterior lobes: Helps us develope and follow routines
2. The three right posterior lobes: Helps us develope harmony and connectedness
3. The right frontal lobe : Helps us to envision the future and make changes
4. The left frontal lobe: Helps us set up and acheive goals

Because everbody has a different brain, we're all going to have a different approach to organizing. What works for you may not work for someone else. To them it may actually seem disorganized and even messy. In turn, what works for them, may not work for you.

She claims that everyone has the capability of being organized... in their own way. So if clutter is something you struggle with, perhaps you've adapted someone elses style of organization that doesn't fit your brain type. She says if our brain has to work to hard to keep up with a system that it doesn't process well, it will tire quickly, burn out...and you know what the end story is. Back to the old way of doing things. It may be messy but at least our brain is comfortable.

All that organizing for nothing!

To avoid all the stress of rearranging your life in a way that you won't be able to keep up with or stick to, I suggest you identify your brain type and find out exactly how you work. What your strengths are. Your weaknesses. That way you'll be able to come up with strategies for organization that work for you personally! The book is filled with tips at how to overcome particular weaknesses and play up personal strengths associated with your brain type.

Lanna Nakone says that once you find the method that fits your brain type, you will have no problem staying organized for years, maybe your whole life.

What's Lanna's definition of being organized?

"Being able to find what you need in five minutes or less."

So what is your type? And how do you identify it?

More on this in my next post...

Blog Interests

Hello Everybody,

I have recently made up my mind to make some changes in my blog content. (Up till now it has been mostly the personal happenings of my daily life.) I've decided that I'm just going to post on a much broader varity of subjects. I've steered away from this so far because most the things that interest me, I didn't think it would be very appealing to anyone else. Also, I was afraid that half the time no one would know what I was refering to if I talked about things like crystaline matrixes or meridians.

However, I made this decision out of a sort of personal crisis. I simply got bored with what I'm posting.

So this is just a flag notification:

If you aren't interested in what I post then please don't feel like you have to read it!

Wow! Okay:) *Deep Breath* Now I feel better. :)

Everyone, raise you mouses in a toast to Interesting Blog Content!

"Salud!"