This interview was originally published in The Simplifier #67. 

Interview: Chuck Coovert, Master of Organization

By Shawn Tuttle

I met Chuck Coovert through Toastmasters; he was in his 5th year when I began three years ago. I was impressed by his preparedness and his willingness to help–he always had an extra joke ready in case we were short for the day and he constantly received kudos from members he had mentored. Since then I’ve been inspired by his ability to be substantially involved in numerous organizations while always maintaining an even-keel, good-natured attitude. After reading his reflections on several of my newsletters, a site visit to his office and wood shop clinched my impression of Chuck: he is a Master of Organization. His workspaces are well thought out; everything is in its place. His systems and actions are intentional and thoroughly self-customized. He applies the skills and experiences he’s gained from some 40 years in various electronic and high-tech firms to the multitude of organizations he works with now. He serves on the Boards of Directors of CORR (Community Recovery Resources), the Child Abuse Prevention Council, and the Coalition for a Drug-free Nevada County. He’s also a Court Appointed Special Advocate for children (CASA), a long-time member of Toastmasters, a wine connoisseur, an amazing wood worker, electronic wizard, a knowledgeable rose caretaker, and a much loved grand-dad. 

Being organized means different things to different people. What does is mean to you? 

Coovert: I organize because it’s the only way I can stuff all the things I want to do into the time I’ve got. I found that if I’m not highly organized I don’t get anything done. I have so many different interests, so many things I want to do. I also like to walk into a neat office and see a clean desk, and I like being able to find things, because I’ve got so many things going on, I like to be able to easily put my hands on things. That’s why I organize by folders, and by slots, and by bins, and all that kind of stuff. It’s a means to an end for me.

ST: You listed a lot of benefits and then talked about what that specifically means as far as using bins and folders, I think a lot of people have the desire to be organized for all the reasons you just listed, but what does that mean? Is it how you structure your time? Is it just that you can find things? Is it the way you think about your work for prioritizing…

Coovert: Yes, yes, to all of those. I have a set of folders on my desk. I also keep a list of activities and priorities, things I should be doing, and it sits right there, close by. Then I run down the list, and say I want to do this marketing plan or this review or whatever, I go right to the folder and it’s got a name on it, and I pull it up. Every time I get something for that project, or find something on the internet, I print it out and drop it in the folder. When I’m ready to work on something, it’s all right there in one place, I don’t have to go digging for it. In piles of paper, things get lost. If I set things on top of something, it gets lost. 

ST: I like your story about when you were managing employees and how you’d refuse to approve anyone’s request for a new filing cabinet, instead telling them to make room in their current cabinets.

Coovert: If you look at those filing cabinets, what’s really going on is that they are just too lazy to clean them out. And in every case that I’ve said “no”, they all of a sudden find all this space and find all kinds of stuff they don’t need to keep. I never bought a filing cabinet the whole time, except when