| Productivity is Frequently Not Orderly!
Jim thought he was organized. Everything was color coded, and there was a file for every project he work working on – each with sub files, research files – all neatly stored in state-of-the-art filing cabinets. So why can’t Jim find anything? One of the biggest frustration of being called “an organizing consultant” is that people assume you are always orderly (some would call it a “neatfreak!) Creative people often assume that “being organized” would cramp their style. Nothing could be further from the truth – at least in my case! Let me illustrate. Recently I came home from a shopping trip with several bags of groceries which I dumped on the counter. In the midst of unpacking them I decided to bake the cake I was planning for dinner. In the middle of mixing the cake, I realized there was more fresh coconut than I needed for the cake, so I decided to make a pineapple coconut salad. While looking for the recipe, I found several other recipes I hadn’t used recently, so decided to leave those out so I could make a list of ingredients I needed to buy. Within an hour, the kitchen looked like a tornado had passed – and not the “white tornado” variety! The rest of the story: The phone rang with news that a friend wanted to bring his daughter over to see our house to get ideas for the house she was building! In less than ten minutes, everything was put away – and not stuffed in a closet out of sight. The Productivity Principle: “A place for everything” makes “everything in its place” a reality – not all the time, but at just the right time! © Barbara Hemphill is the author of Kiplinger's Taming the Paper Tiger at Work and Taming the Paper Tiger at Home and co-author of Love It or Lose It: Living Clutter-Free Forever. The mission of Hemphill Productivity Institute is to help individuals and organizations create and sustain a productive environment so they can accomplish their work and enjoy their lives. We do this by organizing space, information, and time. We can be reached at 800-427-0237 or at www.ProductiveEnvironment.com
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