What is Your Organizational Style?

Though temperatures may remain chilly, yesterday was the first day of spring! With this new season, comes spring cleaning and the desire to get organized as we settle into this new year.

There are so many ways to get organized these days. While that may seem like a good thing, in a world of so many distractions, this can often be a distraction in itself. Therefore, I think it is helpful to know some basic qualities about the way you best work and visualize in order to help you stay organized.

I believe the main distinction in how you work and plan ahead is to determine whether you thrive using digital tools or the old school method of pen and paper. Maybe like me, you use a combination. Google suite tools like Google Calendar, Drive, Keep, and Gmail all help me stay on top of important dates, keep my files straight, prioritize items on my to-do lists and organize my communication. Apps such as Out of Milk, help with personal housekeeping like maintaining an organized grocery list.

However, I equally love decorating my dry erase monthly wall calendar with color coded markers. I use post-its when I’m first drawing up a plan so that individual items can be easily rearranged. File folders keep magazine tear sheets and articles together for later reference.

While people often use many different methods of organization depending on the task and its priority, in my experience, there are three main types of organizer:

Type A – Absolute Control Freak

I have lots of Type A Organizer tendencies. This person puts every responsibility on a list and prioritizes those lists in a list that is probably color-coded and cross referenced by a calendar with all of the due dates. Type A’s know that what doesn’t get scheduled, doesn’t get done, so often even mundane tasks like eating and personal care are scheduled alongside major deadlines. Type A Organizers tend to have a central hub of organization that must not be messed with. These people use technology to free up brain power for more personal and passionate pursuits.

Type B – Batch & Scheduler

A Type B Organizer is unlikely to be seen without her planner or Google calendar. To this person, the calendar is a sacred tool. Type B’s binge on organizing their work and scheduling its publication over time in a process called batching. This allows short bursts of concentrated effort, making space in the brain for more complex, creative pursuits.

Type C – (Organized) Chaos

The office of a Type C Organizers often looks anywhere from unkempt to a complete disaster to an outsider. Type C minds often wander during the completion of one task causing Type C’s to go off track and make notes to themselves all around their workspaces. You’ll often find Type C desks littered with post-it notes and scribbles on scraps of paper. While they may seem messy to others, Type C people can probably find the specific post-it with the information they need… if you just give them a minute.

Maybe, you’re one of the above or maybe, like me you are a combination. What is your organizational secret? Which tools or apps do you consider your secret weapon or what is your favorite type of paper planning tool?