From Judith Kolberg’s blog post called Category is King: “I think chronically disorganized people tend to think contextually rather than categorically. Contextual-thinking means considering the situation or meaning that surrounds an item in order to file or retrieve it. Categorical-thinking means storing and finding information and items based on what it is called not its context.”

I took the above from her blog, but first read it in her newsletter. In the newsletter, she went on to tell about an ADD client’s three file drawers called: “Keeping People Off My Back”, “Me”, and “Staying Out of Jail”. For real! Talk about thinking outside the box. A lot of organizers work with people with ADD ( I wonder how many organizers have ADD???) and I know not all of them can wrap their order-loving heads around how an ADD brain functions. I’m always fascinated to read about solutions for organizing that are totally outside the organizing 101 box.

Also in the newsletter, she made a direct connection between contextual thinking and the ADD mind. Most of the people I work with deal better with a contextual-based info system. I think the categoricals can break down the steps to methodically get themselves organized.

I saw Judith speak at a NAPO conference in October. Funny sense of humor, hers. Rather on the dry side–just my style. She’s also written several books on organization as well as solutions for ADD folk. She’s contributed quite a bit to the industry–thank you!

In case you are still one of those people who are wondering how to make rechargeable gadget stations a little more organized in your space, I’ve gathered a few options for you below. Cords and gizmos (phones, PDAs, iPods etc.) don’t have to be strewn all over the place (unless you want them to).

If you have three or less rechargables and you want a ready-to-go container that includes a power strip, you can get a “Recharging HQ” that retails for $20-$25. See:

• Herrington’s, with circuit protection. They also offer a mobile version.
• Stacks and Stacks version. Product listing and user reviews on this one don’t say anything about circuit protection (like a surge protector) and they say that some power pacs don’t fit in the housing. (I don’t know if this is the case with Herrington’s.

If you are feeling like it might be project time and/or want lesser impact on your budget, here are two DIY versions. The desktop recharge station converts a mesh letter sorter. You provide the power strip and cable management organizer.

The free-standing many-device version converts a small bedside cabinet into your gadget recharge station. Here you just need to run a power strip or two to the cabinet and all devices can plug into that.

I’ve had my eye open for some kind of magnetic version that will attach to the side of the filing cabinet. I’m a huge fan of using vertical space. I’ll let you know when I find or make one. =)

Since January is NAPO’s (National Association of Professional Organizers) official Get Organized month (complete with no less than 12 corporate sponsors–it must be for real!)….

Since it is the day before the last day of January…

Since it always feels good to approach a clean desk in the morning…

And since I’ve been thinking about it for more than a week…

I do hereby issue the Clean Desk Challenge. That’s right. I am challenging you to clear off your desk every evening before tottering off to the land of sandmen and strange dreams. (Hmmm, obviously this kiddo doesn’t log off before dinner. If you do, good job!) How many times in February can you leave your desk cleared off at the end of the day?

I’ll be right there with ya. And to prove that this isn’t simply lip service to National Get Organized month, I will take a picture of my desk every evening as the last thing I do. Well, the second to last thing I do. The last thing I’ll do is post it here on this blog.

And if this inspires you to clear off a seriously messy desk for the first time in eons, take before and after pictures and send them my way. We’ll see about posting your success for the world to celebrate!

Ok, here we go. (Please excuse the photo quality of my trusty PDA. My decidedly whacked out digital camera has yet to be repaired or replaced.)
#1

The final keynote speaker of the SF Chapter of NAPO 19th Annual Conference (my original post here) was Judith Kolberg, whose book (co-authored with Kathleen Nadeau, Ph.D.), ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life has been on my shelf for at least 2 years. She founded of The National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization. As soon as she opened her mouth, she proved to be the kind of speaker you want to kick back and listen to for an hour or two. A wonderful story-teller, she had me on the brink of tears laughing at one point.

I know it’s not so funny hearing that she was funny. Hmm, well, imagine walking into someone’s home as a newbie organizer, to find stalagmite of paper pushing up from the floor and stalactite dropping down from the ceiling. (My apologies if this is your actual situation. If it is, and you want to do something about it, give her a call–that is, if you want to clear it out. Call a photographer if you’d like to submit a photo to the Guinness World Records.)

As a specialist in working with people with ADD, she has a particular sensitivity for the client’s perspective. Helping our clients understand what they can expect of the experience can be calming information. For example, she reminded us to explain to our clients how their office would get worse in the organizing process before it gets better. This can serve to pop any glorification bubble that may exist (everything will be easy and perfect now that the organizer is here!)

She graciously ended her talk saying she was “honored and thrilled to have been your keynote speaker.”

I’ll end this post by saying that I was honored and thrilled to have been in the audience.

Now I haven’t tried this yet (disclaimer). I did just sign up for an account and when I get home from my retreat, I’ll try it out full steam. This resource suggestions is based on the referral of Jocelyn Coverdale, session leader of Tech Savvy Organizing at the NAPO conference (original conference post here).

If this beta (and currently free) service works as well as she says it does, then I love it already. The premise is mobile note taking. You call a number from your cell phone and “jott” a message. It is transcribed and sent to your email. OR you can dictate a message to be sent to another email address–perfect for delegating to an assistant!

Great for capturing those thoughts that pop up in your head while out and about. Currently I use a blank book to capture these thoughts, so I’ll be interested to see how this compares in ease of use. By ease of use, I mean the whole process from capturing the thought to processing the new info into the appropriate place back in the office.

The other cool function mentioned is setting up a reminder. You can call in and set up a message to be sent to yourself on your phone (text message) at a specific time and day. (Keep in mind that if you pay for text-ing, you’ll be charged by your phone service.)

You can even Jott to your blog! There are all kinds of uses to check out. I’ll report back once I’ve tried some of them.

It’s web-based and thus Mac or PC access is fine.

Progress report #2 (progress #1 on Aug 14) for Inbox Zero experiment: Success!
(Reminder that the Inbox Zero game comes from Merlin Mann of 43 Folders. My hat’s off to him for this one!)

It’s been about 10 weeks of a daily empty inbox. The options have become progressively easier to fly through: “delete, delegate, respond, defer, or do”. They’ve really become almost second nature. (The discipline with which I cruise through the emails has oozed to the physical inbox too–which now gets completely emptied at least once a week.)

Another benefit I’ve gained from the Inbox Zero discipline is better mastery of the quick response email. Often three lines or less to acknowledge the senders communication and add my part to it. So the only things ending up in the Take Action folder really do represent activities that will take more than several minutes and the sender gets a quick response.

I’ve noticed that having my schedule right at my fingertips has been invaluable for the quick response (both my email and schedule are in Entourage, the Mac version of Outlook). Whether to consult for an upcoming event I may want to attend or to add/change an appointment, I flip back and forth regularly.

Re: challenges–I’m still having a challenge in the department of doing the Take Action items–which is a different issue altogether. At least I know where they all are =)

More bene’s: I feel so free! Like a bird soaring at outrageous heights–like Icarus, without having to worry about the wax melting from my wings. WOW! Makes me think of days in of yore in the last century… before email was a form of communication. I shall not be slave to my email inbox! Hear me roar! Ok. Time to go to yoga.

Here’s a quick tip idea triggered by a Lifehacker post and subsequent comments. The post is Keep a File of Your Accomplishments. Post author Wendy Boswell suggests having a “Yay-Me” file to put notes on accomplishments you’ve made. She’s primarily writing about a corporate context in which annual reviews are a reality.

For us self-employed types, we get daily reviews in the form of repeat clients (or not). Precious testimonials from clients are like gold and definitely worth saving for use.

Besides these, I also have a “Nice words” file where I drop grateful emails from clients that aren’t going to the testimonials page but are uplifting to read through every once in a while.

One of the other contexts brought up in the comments section of the above mentioned Lifehacker post was for the resume. Now that’s useful. Not that I’ve updated my resume lately (one of the reasons I’m self-employed, lol) but what about the online bio or a few words for introduction for an upcoming speech? Having a file for miscellaneous accomplishments would be a great place to get some interesting info!