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Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? When I stumbled across this video I expected to see it instruct me to tie my shoes the way I’ve been tying them all my life. Well, looks like there is a better way. Remaining teachable will save me who-knows how many times having to retie my shoelaces in the future.

Hat tip to embracethegodlife.com where I came across this video.

Have you been tying you shoes the way this video instructs or another way? If not, are you going to give this method a try? I’d like to hear about it in the comments.

I find myself in a constant battle against clutter in my workspace. Most of the time I am letting the other side win.

After writing an earlier post about writing away problems I realized I hadn’t applied this to my own problem with a messy desk area. I didn’t have to move a muscle. I opened up Google Docs to my freewriting document and began writing about what I saw in front of me.

What types of things are out of place? Why were they left where they are? Where was I storing them before? What was stored within arm’s reach that wasn’t out of place indicating I likely didn’t need to store it so closely?

With only 15 minutes of this process I discovered specifically what was wrong with the flow. For example, I was storing things in the top left and right drawers - within easy reach - that I don’t actually reach for that often. The things piling up on my desk were the things that needed an immediate storage place.

Behind me is a tall stack of wide short drawers that I keep other things in I use often, but of those, I was keeping the ones I use most often near the top not the bottom where they could be within reach from my desk chair. This was perfectly rational if I were standing when I access these drawers, but swapping them down to the lower drawers makes it a snap to spin around and retrieve them or put them back in their place.

Meanwhile, I was also developing a shopping list for a few orgainzational items that would be required for the new setup.

You get the idea.

Two lessons were learned. One, don’t organize things the way they should be organized - do it the way you need it. Abandon any preconceived conventions or old paradigms and figure out what you need. Maybe, as in my case, the general office supplies like pens, paper clips, etc do not need to be in the top drawer. Keep the objects you actually have your hands on most in the handiest places.

The second lesson of course is that probably no problem can’t be managed or sorted out with a little free writing.

Do you have any success stories with freewriting or organization that you could share in the comments below?

Two things I have learned work miraculously in terms of problem resolution are writing and talking honestly and openly to a trusted person. The later is a subject for another post.

This is not a new concept. We see putting things on “paper” used as a method to sort things out in all sorts of ways. Business people use inventories, financial statements, and reports so they know exactly where their business stands - they use these tools to know exactly what their strengths and weaknesses are.

Why should life be any different? We become upset about things, there are difficult decisions to make, and we need to plan our most valuable resource: time.

This is where the magic of writing comes it. When we have a tough choice to make or a problems, possible solutions buzz around our minds intermingled with distractions and emotions. Putting it on “paper” organizes everything instantly. It allows us to put all the pieces of the puzzle in front of us for examination so we can best determine how they’ll fit together.

I certainly don’t mean “paper” literally. There is everything from mind-mapping programs to word processors we can use. I like Google Docs. Anything that lets you capture and contain your thoughts give you a measure of control over them.

Don’t allow worrying about formats and structure be a barrier. Get the thoughts down first and arrange them later.

Give it a try. Start with ten minutes a day dedicated to writing about anything going on. After a week or two, see if it hasn’t improved the way you make decisions, reduced worry, and contributed to more peace of mind.

In the comments, I’d like to hear about your results.

1. Do you already make writing for yourself a part of your life?

2. Has putting things on paper helped you?

3. Do you have any tips or ideas?

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