Today I’m thrilled to introduce a special guest, Lelah Baker-Rabe, who is one of our Professional Organizers Blog Carnival Star Bloggers. Lelah specializes in helping clients eliminate paper from their offices, and is here today to explain how you can benefit from making your organizing business paperless.
When I learned about the ways a person’s personality type affects the way they manage their time and space, I set out to explore this further by conducting a survey where I asked others to identify their own type, strengths, and challenges. The results of my research are documented in my ebook, Organizing Your Life, Your Way.
Published in 2006, Apartment Therapy is not a new book, but it is one that escaped my attention until recently. Having downsized from a house to an apartment several years ago, I’ve decided it’s about time I start to personalize my space, and came upon it in my local Indigo while searching for a book to inspire me.
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.
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.
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