How To Fake Being Organized
November 4, 2009 | By Caitlin McCabe |
Turn Here is a guest column on Wednesdays by Caitlin McCabe who blogs over at Smile Like You Mean It and is into architecture, social media, and irreverence.
I am not nor have I ever been an organized person. It’s not like I ever set out to simply ignore the rules of being organized….. it’s just not something that comes naturally to me. For example: remember “clean out your cubby day” when you were in 4th grade? That was my nightmare. I was the kid with 100,000 papers jammed into their cubby so that they had to start a “clean your cubby day” to get the kid to take it all home. I’m not proud of it, it just is.
The worst part is I don’t really want to be organized I just want it to be ok. I just want it to look like I am the type of person that doesn’t have 100,000 papers jammed somewhere.
Over the years I have learned enough tricks to seem like I’m organized enough that people actually tell me “you’re such an organized person” which makes me chuckle because it’s worked. I have enough tricks now to make it seem like I’m not the “clean out your cubby day” kid.
I’m not endorsing being unorganized but here are a few tips in a pinch.
1) Be on time. I can’t stress this enough. Being on time for a meeting sets the tone that people’s time is valuable and you respect that. My trick for this is to set every clock in my house and my car clock ahead at least 10 min. The person who is late always looks unorganized even if they aren’t. Forewarning: No one else in your household will enjoy the clock trick but you.
2) Send follow ups. People who send an email after a meeting with a client, interview, whatever will look well put together. Bonus points if you write the deliverables or next steps in the e-mail.
3) Carry your things in a nice folder. I like those folders that are leather and have pockets for business cards and a notebook. Don’t carry a junk notebook unless you take really good notes otherwise it will look sloppy. If you take few notes (I have a really good memory and I don’t take notes because I can’t pay attention and take notes) you’ll need something more professional.
4) Use Google calendar. I’m not a calendar person and have been beaten by so many calendars I’ve lost count. Not writing dates down means you’ll miss appointments so if you go into Google Calendar you can set up a million reminders for each appointment. I usually have at least 2 emails and 1 pop up and have managed to miss no calls or meetings in the last 6 months.
I agree….Google Calendar is definitely the way to go. I also love that if something is rescheduled it’s really easy to drag to the new time. It’s a similar concept of the Outlook calendar…but somehow, it’s wayyyy better!
I also love the feature to invite people to the event. So, if it’s a meeting with someone (or in my case, usually a get-together or activity with a friend), then you can invite them so everyone has the same date/time written down.
Comment by Jessica Dietz — November 4, 2009 #
Great advice here – I would stress that instead of being on time, be EARLY. I especially love your idea of carrying a cool notebook – When I carry my moleskin, I either look very professional and organized, or like a total douche bag who’s trying to look professional and organized – haven’t quite figured that one out yet :)
I’ll have to dive into Google Calender – if it’s one thing I need to get better with, it’s organizing my schedule (outside of Outlook with my nine to five).
Comment by Matt Cheuvront — November 4, 2009 #
@ Jessica – I’m a huge fan of Google Calendar too! I color-code mine (like I color-code everything) – Alice is purple, Modite is orange, Social is red… the same colors correspond to my tags/folders in Gmail. Yep, I’m a dork… ha.
@ Matt – I used to be 15 min early to everything… but now I just try to time it so I’m 5 min early. I find it’s more efficient and I hate waiting, so it makes me less anxious. I never got the Moleskine obsession… although I do love fancy schmancy notebooks : )
Comment by Rebecca Thorman — November 4, 2009 #
@Matt – Yes, I try for 5 min. ahead of the meeting. Gives me and the people I’m meeting with breathing space.
@Jessica – Have been using a paper agenda just because I can glance quickly without juice and see what’s up. But I’m sacrificing some functionality as @Rebecca mentions – will give it another go.
Thanks, Caitlin!
Comment by Marsha Keeffer — November 4, 2009 #
I use Outlook for work, but I’m wondering if Google calendar wouldn’t work for home/family organization. We have a big wall calender, but things of that nature tend to become part of your surroundings and eventually get overlooked. With our crazy schedules writing everything down in one place is a must.
Being on time is so important. I’m a freak about time and always over estimate when I’m planning and scheduling. My hubby on the other hand is an underestimator/not-5-seconds-to-spare kind of guy. Ug!
Comment by Angelia — November 4, 2009 #
The being on time thing is huge. I’ve struggled with how I organize my meetings when it’s outside of work.
My Outlook calendar and being glued to my computer at work is fine because everything is synced up and I won’t forget anything.
However, meetings, dinners or even birthdays are sometimes forgotten on my personal calendar. I really like to hand write things down. I like to visually look at my planner (which is what I use) but I have also begun to include all reminders in my Blackberry calendar. My phone is always on me and sometimes the reminder comes up before the whatever I have coming up (~three hours in advance) and helps me prepare.
I always say my life is organized chaos. I know how to run it. Anyone else might think I’m not organized, but I know where everything is with my own systems. Find what works for you, then run with it :)
Comment by Grace Boyle — November 4, 2009 #
This is a great list, actually, and I live a pretty hectic life but have boiled my own attempts to stay organized down to a pretty similar list of priorities.
It took me a while, but GCal has changed my life. (I do wish they’d allow half hour intervals though)
Timing is CRUCIAL. It’s not anal. It’s FAR more important in person…phone call timing might be more important in a structured corporate environment, but even outside that in an entrepreneurial, low key, or even social environment….trying to stay roughly on time can make a big, big difference.
The one I’m really working on is FollowUps. Makes a big difference…and should be scheduled, btw. :)
Comment by Derek — November 5, 2009 #
These are excellent tips for impression management. Thinkers should love this information, because no matter how hard we try, we cannot be Judgers. Having the appearance of organization is the next best thing. As well, I think you’ve touched on the high-visibility items that define social-perception. Personally, Outlook and the iPhone work well for me.
I think your tip with the most impact is the follow-ups. It’s something we all would like to do, I think, and so when someone actually makes to effort to do it, we think, “Wow, she’s really on top of this.” Great post.
Comment by Jonathan Bradley — November 5, 2009 #
Great tips!
I personally find it extremely important to use a calander and Google calendar has saved me in that respect!
What i find more crucial in being organized, looking and feeling- is follow up! Huge. This way your team/collegues know that you mean business and also helops making sure everyone is on the same page and driving for the same goal.
Jaana
Comment by Jaana Valimaki — November 6, 2009 #
Love the calendar reminder – like Grace above, I use Outlook Calendar to the same effect. Reminders and dates for everything are posted nonstop.
Another key tip for me is emailing myself something or even setting up an appointment to do something menial IF I am away from my desk or about to leave for the day and risk not remembering to do it. Self-emails can be a big help since I am diligent about reading and responding to all email in general, even if it’s from me…
Comment by Royce Hadden — November 6, 2009 #
these are great tips, thanks! But if you are doing these things then that makes you an organized person after all, right? So good job!
Comment by scott — November 19, 2009 #