If I were to tell you that I were a doctor, what are some automatic things you'd think about me? Smart, articulate, makes a lot of money, healer, knowledgeable, are a few adjectives that come to mind for me. Now for a moment let me be more specific. If I said I was a neurosurgeon or if I said I was a veterinarian you get two vastly different pictures right? What is my point? The possibilities are endless and depending on your experience or lack of experience (say what you've seen on television of these professions) you have a mold of what these professions do, what type of people choose to be in this profession, and the qualities they possess.
I say that I'm a professional organizer. This industry is relatively new and for now the majority of the population who has any idea of what an Organizer is gets their ideas from television. Some are a little off "So you're like Nicey Nash right?" Um, no. I love Nicey Nash as an Entertainer and Host of the show but she is not an Organizer, she is a celebrity of a show who helps people de-clutter and facilitates a team of professionals (one who happens to be a Professional Organizer) and the home owner. She does a little of what an Organizer does by helping the home owner make decisions about what to keep and what to sell all with hilarity and pizazz. Then some people are much closer to what and Organizer is: "I love Peter Walsh." So do I. He is actually an Organizing Expert that helps people think about their stuff in a different way and then gives them the mental and physical steps to over-come clutter and organize their spaces. Yes, although he probably doesn't like the label, he is a Professional Organizer. So there are different pictures in our heads and in the heads of others (particularly our clients) that we have to address as to who we are as people and what we do as a profession.
When I first decided to pursue a career of a Professional Organizer, I too was under the "stereotype hype" of what an Organizer is. I thought this person was Mary Poppins and Martha Stewart's love child and everywhere he or she went the world was a little tidier with a throw pillow and a vase of peonies left in their wake of song and dance until it was time for them to fly off with open umbrella to the next appointment. With that idea, the pressure was immense. And although I love being organized and some of my friends think I am very organized - yes I like to straighten up my hotel room before I leave for the day as part inventory and part anal retentive. I drool while at The Container Store and could stare at pictures of organized spaces with dreaminess, but I also didn't come out the womb organizing my stuffed animals by type and color. As a child my room was messy on many an occasion and I kept things that I should have thrown away (like a Dixie cup of full of my baby teeth). I joined NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers) and stood in a room full of veteran Organizers and thought they were organizing giants. I thought about their years of experience and techniques and my messy childhood turned organizing fan and I felt like a fraud.
I recently read Organizing from the Right Side of the Brain by Lee Sibler. I suddenly had an ah-ha moment.
I'm a right-brain thinker who has some of the traits Sibler lists. I wear my B Dexterous signature tee-shirts and they say "I love organizing" and trust me the shirts don't lie. I do love organizing. I love organizing because I hate the alternative. Sure I can leave a space messy for a short while but after I spend 10 minutes looking for something my other right-brain characteristic – impatience comes to the fore and I get anxious, angry and moody (moody being another right-brain characteristic Sibler lists). I love organizing because it brings calm and cohesiveness to my world and helps me feel like I'm accomplishing my goals and not spinning my wheels. Sibler states about the creative right-brainer who stays organized: "There are wanna-be creatives, and then there are the truly creatives. The wanna-bes are people who have very low attention spans and are all over the place. They can come up with all kinds of truly wonderful ideas but rarely follow through on them. The second type of people are also extremely creative, but as it happens they are extremely disciplined as well. It's a most remarkable combination." I follow through. I love being creative and seeing a project from start to finish. I am a right-brained-creative-organizer.
I didn't fit into my own "stereotype hype" of what an Organizer is. I didn't come out of the womb with a file folder and a label-maker. But I love leaving a space organized so that my clients can feel calm and cohesive in their space. If they feel like they have to doodle for 30 minutes before they figure out how to organize, that's okay. If they want to pile instead of file, if it works go for it! Organizing is about creating a system that works for each individual. Being able to find the things you need and want without being anxious, angry and moody. Yes to create, you have to be creative. But being creative doesn't mean being disorganized. I actually DO think Mary Poppins and Martha Stewart's love child would make a great organizer. A song, a dance, a lesson on potting your perennials while your unkempt office, living room, and kitchen all put themselves neatly away. But that's a stereotype that no longer causes me angst. I say that I'm a professional organizer. I'm not a left-brain run-of-the-mill organizer stereotype and I think I I'm wonderful the way I am. Thanks Lee.
Andrea Hancock is a professional organizer, blogger, and speaker that assists and empowers busy professionals and business owners create and maintain organizational systems that work for them personally. Andrea is also founder of Dexterous Organizing, a results-oriented professional organizing company. To receive free productivity and organizing tools, or to venture into a more organized home, office, and life, click "I'm ready to get started!" at www.DexterousOrganizing.com or by phone at (703) 606-8968.
