For many years, I wanted to take advantage of Microsoft Outlook® as a time management tool, but was frustrated because the courses I took covered only the basics, and none of the books I read went sufficiently in depth to satisfy me. My woes ended when I discovered Sally McGhee’s Take Back Your Life! Using Microsoft Outlook® to Get Organized and Stay Organized in 2005.
Since it was formally established in 2001, the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization (NSGCD) has been a valuable resource for professional organizers and related professionals searching for ways to assist their chronically disorganized clients.
Years before I heard of professional organizers, I noticed that time management and organizing were easier for me than they were for some of the other people I knew, and wondered if I could teach these skills to others. After completing the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®,(MBTI®), I learned that I was born with personality type preferences (ISTJ) that naturally tend towards systems and order.
With increased public awareness of hoarding due to the TV series, Hoarders and Hoarding: Buried Alive, more and more people are contacting professional organizers for assistance for themselves or their loved ones. Although this presents a good business opportunity, working with this challenging population requires a specific skill set and should not be attempted without specialized training.
Isn’t it rewarding to see your clients react to their completed organizing projects? Some may need a little time to get used to their new organizing systems, learning where everything is and developing the habit of putting things back where they belong, but you can make it a lot easier for them to maintain those new systems by labelling containers appropriately.
Over the years, my role shifted from professional organizer/career consultant, to professional organizer/virtual assistant, to virtual assistant/professional organizer, before I finally decided to focus on being a virtual assistant to professional organizers. Some of the benefits I now enjoy include less driving, more flexibility in my schedule, and access to a much broader client base.
Welcome to the April issue of the Professional Organizers Blog Carnival! I thoroughly enjoyed reading all the posts which were submitted, and was pleased to pick up many new ideas. Whether you’re looking for eco-friendly ways to help your clients deal with clutter, or trying to implement green practices in your own home or business, you’re sure to learn something here.
Do your organizing systems work well for some clients, but not others? Organizing strategies are more likely to be effective when they take your client’s personality type into account. You can therefore do your clients a great service by familiarizing yourself with the various personality types, the challenges they face in terms of organizing, and the solutions most likely to be helpful.
There are a lot of organizing books on the market, but as a professional organizer, you don’t need to read about the same strategies over and over again. I’ve always found that the most valuable books are those that acknowledge that organizing systems need to be tailored to the unique style and personality of your client. Organizing Outside the Box by Hellen Buttigieg is such a book.
As promised, I’m back today for the second part of the January Professional Organizers Blog Carnival. If you’re not familiar with this feature, it’s a monthly collection of blog posts submitted by our readers. On Monday, we read about Christmas, New Year’s Resolutions, and time management, and today we’re going to learn about a few other topics to help you and your business.
