This is a column I’ve been meaning to write for months now, but I couldn’t find the contact information of the person I wanted to interview. It was buried in the piles of paper that surround my computer. Well, that’s a slight exaggeration — it’s only been a month or so since I got the postcard from organizational consultant, author and speaker Lee Silber announcing his new book: “Organizing from the Right Side of the Brain.”
Usually I am not so disorganized that I can’t find things. I’m better at keeping track of checks clients have sent me than I am of postcard. I do forget to send out invoices from time to time. What bugs me most, though, are the masses of stuff that appear in my office and home when I get busy. Other stuff tends to get mixed in with the piles and then it disappears into an alternate dimension — I think it’s the same place socks and gloves go.
I’m a “piler” by nature, and I have what must be a congenital aversion to putting things away on shelves or in drawers. I’m likely to forget I have it if I do that. So, when I’m working hard on an article or a design project, the mounds of papers, magazines, books, and supplies grow exponentially. The muddled mix used to be confined to my office, but now that I’ve installed a wireless network the mess tends to coalesce around wherever I’m working in the house.
The Message in the Mess
Lee and I met years ago at a conference where he was speaking and I was hanging around trying to latch onto enough news to write an article or two. He was smart enough and organized enough to hang onto my business card and to keep in touch. When one of the piles on my desk got so tall it toppled to the floor and Lee’s postcard was revealed, I took it as a sign. I knew it was time to write about the challenges I, and many creative people, have getting and staying organized.
Postcard taped to the monitor for safekeeping, I sent Lee an e-mail outlining some of my frustrations with standard organizational tips and tricks. Then I got my act together enough to add a few questions. In the e-mail conversation that ensued, he was able to help me — even if he did say he was too busy to stop by my office anytime in this century to help me organize my tax receipts.
Right Brain, Right Drawer
Here’s what he told me about organization and the creative mind.
Molly Joss (MJ): Why does it seem harder for creative people (like me) to get and stay organized?
Lee Silber (LS): It has to do with the fact that we are in our “right” minds. We’re right-brainers — that is what makes us so creative in the first place. It also can make organizing in the traditional left-brained way seem almost impossible. Left brainers, in their perfect little world, put everything away when they’re done, tuck papers away neatly in file cabinets, and throw away anything they haven’t used in a year. For us, this approach is not going to work.
MJ: I agree about what doesn’t work, so what does? But first, please explain this right-brain, left-brain terminology.
LS: It’s a theory that suggests the mind functions in one of two modes of thinking most of the time. People who are left brainers tend to be more logical, analytical, and like to think in parts. Right brainers are more creative, intuitive, and like to look at the whole picture.
The right brain is artistic, can see and feel patterns, spontaneous, visual, spatial, non-judgmental, and imaginative. It’s also nonlinear — it likes to jump around rather than follow a step-by-step approach. Right-brainers can be unpredictable, impatient, sloppy, and offbeat. We hate routine and follow-through, but we can juggle several tasks at once and deal well with change.
Organizing comes naturally to us (stop laughing) but not organizing in a way that anyone else might recognize as such. I think it’s quite clear why we won’t get with the program so to speak. That said, we shouldn’t have to change who we are to become organized.
MJ: Staying the same works?
LS: My theory is that in order to become more organized a person should work with their natural tendencies rather than against them. If you try to do things that are so different from the way you want, the routine will never stick. You will revert back to your old ways. My book talks about how you take advantage of your strengths and use them to get organized.
MJ: Could you give me some examples of what you’ve suggested to right-brained people?
LS: Sure — how about paper? Left-brainers like to file it and we like to pile it. I say, as long as you can find what you need when you need it, you’re organized. Here are some suggestions for people who like their paper out where they can see it:
Wrap a piece of paper around each group of papers related to a project. With a quick glance you can get a clue of what’s in each stack. Use a clipboard for each area of your life or project. Label the board and use it to keep track of loose pieces of paper related to that area. Hang the board on the wall.
MJ: What about piles of papers on a desk or on the floor?
LS: Piles are okay as long as you put the papers close to their final resting place. For example, the top of a filing cabinet is the place for the pile of papers and folders ready to be filed.
If you have to make piles near where you work, to keep piles from taking over, limit them to one table. Organize the piles by limiting each to a single topic or type of information. When they start to spill over, then you take the time to sort, thin out, throw out and straighten up the piles. Clear containers are great for helping organize piles because you can see what’s inside, the containers are portable and the piles don’t topple over when you put the lid on.
It’s okay to keep some clutter and you don’t have to have a clean desk to be a success. Just knowing this is freeing for a lot of people.
MJ: It’s nice to know that having piles of paper around isn’t a mortal weakness. Any other suggestions?
LS: I put 25 organizing rules in my book, but if I shared them with you here then no one would buy the book, right? ;-) Here’s one of my favorites: the easier you make something to put away the more likely you will put it away. Many times stuff is left out because it’s too much trouble to put it away. People say we’re lazy and that’s not true. An effective organizing system makes it easier to put something away than to leave it out.
MJ: Thanks Lee, for your help and suggestions. It looks as though I’m going to be buying some clear plastic containers in the near future. You’re sure I can’t talk you into making a house call?
This article was last modified on July 18, 2023
This article was first published on January 6, 2005
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