Are You More Organized at Work than at Home?

Today while running errands I observed a woman working at her place of business, and she had everything really well-contained and ready at her fingertips. It made me smile, and it made me wonder if her home was also organized...because I very often hear from people that they are organized at work but not so at home.

Let's explore why this might be:

• Are you organized at work because you want to please "the boss" and do an excellent job? If so, why would you not feel the same way about yourself in your own "work environment" at home?
• Are you feeling like you put all your energy into being organized at work, so that you have none left to organize at the house? Are you simply "letting your hair down" at home because you are tired of being productive all day?
• Are you more organized at work because other people are observing you there? Maybe you could be motivated by having a big party occasionally to get your house in order.
• Are you more organized at work because there is not an emotional factor involved with the "stuff"?  Office supplies and paperwork certainly have much less of an emotional charge-- you can be more objective about them and make quicker decisions.
• Does your work environment have rules and policies that make it easier to stay organized? Sometimes policies can make decision-making easier (like paper retention schedules) and other guidelines can help people stick to systems that are already in place. Maybe your work is even regulated by the government in some way, for cleanliness or documentation purposes.

Think about these questions and see if you can apply any of these ideas to your own situation. Maybe you can make some rules and policies for your family that will help, like always cleaning up the kitchen before bed. Or you can have people over more often if that is motivating to you. And if you are more concerned about pleasing your boss and keeping his or her environment orderly, think about why you would not want to do the same for yourself. You deserve it!

Share your thoughts in the comments-- does any of this ring true for you? Are you the opposite way, being more organized at home than at work? Do tell!

Comments

[s]

you missed the explanation in my case. Whenever I'm out of my office or when I'm there and can't find something or need something done, my support staff works very hard to ensure that I'm organized. Filing things I've gotten out, transcribing notes, and generally fixing my mess. In contrast, we just have a maid two days a week and she's pretty much occupied with keeping things clean and not the kind of organization and ownership I see from my staff at the office.

[Carol]

I would have to say, Yes and No.
At work, I use task lists and a planner. But I still tend to have clutter, and my work area was downsized so I no longer have space for everything. Since I have a heavy workload, finding time to deal with it as much as I can is an issue. But I also tend to feel that out of sight is out of mind, so even if I had a spare drawer for my pending work, it would probably not go there. :(

[Ann at One Bag Nation]

I'm sorry to say that my level of organization is not higher at work, but I'm thrilled to say that both have improved greatly since I set that goal and encouraged myself via my blog.

[Miguel de Luis]

I work at home, so there's no much difference. However, there are times in which I feel overwhelmed by organization, you just don't know where your private life begins and you just want go wild.

It's then that the planner or the PDA looks like a slave driver, doesn't it?

Well, it's probably that we have forgotten to plan fun. In the eternal struggle for perfection, we missed that heaven is supposed to be joyful.

[Jules]

I am much more organized at work (although still not nearly perfect) than I am at home. The simple reason, in my opinion, being that at work I only have to organize for myself. At home I have to organize for 6 of us.

[Alex]

This is definitely a good point. In my case, it's not my office that's more organized, since I don't work a full-time office job, but my dorm at school is definitely less messy than my home in CA. When I'm at school in NY, I only have exactly what I need, because I have to think carefully about packing. Also, I don't have my mother's clutter overlap. I guess the same principles you put down here could apply for me too, in bringing the organization back home.

[Ricardo Bueno]

I used to feel that I was more organized at work than at home. The feeling was in line with what you pointed out in your 2nd bullet point; I felt like I didn't have more energy by the time I got home.

Growing up, I disciplined myself to ALWAYS make the bed after waking up in the morning. It was a good habit to have developed and it felt good to come home to a ready-made bed.

Anyway, later I disciplined myself to go a step further with it all...tidy up a different section of the house every day. Soon, I was well organized at work and at home. I took small steps in practicing good habits and it got me there.

[Lily]

I am exactly this. I am a college student who lives alone so I am more monitored at work and I find it more rewarding to be more tidy at work. At home I have no such gratification. But I do want to reward myself at home. Thanks for the blog I feel as if someone finally understands and I don't feel so hopeless anymore