As a usually motivated and accountable person, I have trouble figuring out why these organization challenges are so difficult for me. This isn't the first one I've tried. And despite doing a bit better because I actually completed some organization projects, I still didn't reach my goal of 30 projects in 30 days. I fell far from it. In fact, I didn't even think about organizing once a day, and on the days I did, I made excuses that I totally believed for not completing anything even remotely organization related.
Why can't I prioritize getting organized?
Well, there's the whole "clutter fosters creativity" thing (or is it the other way around...creativity creates clutter...?). But I stumbled across this TED talk (because I make my students explore and integrate this resource into their blog), and I think there's a link between the idea in this video and my inability to get organized. Bear with me now... In this talk, Emily Wapnick introduces the idea that people can be "multipotentialites." If you break down the word, you can understand the meaning. She argues that our culture starts encouraging specialization from a very young age (What do you want to be when you grow up?), and yet, some people just aren't wired for specialization. Wapnick relays her own experiences diving into a subject she feels very passionate about, only to get bored and/or distracted by another area of interest. She mentions insecurities that stem from this lack of commitment to one field or subject. She goes on to explain that there is room for people like us--multipotentialites--because we often come up with interesting ideas that stem from unconventional intersections of the many interests we pursue.
This reminded me of another time I had that "a-ha" moment about myself. I was watching MythBusters Live and Jamie Savage, the bouncier, chattier, funnier of the two main hosts, was talking about how he is a "generalist" not a "specialist" and how that characteristic fits him well for a job that requires him to throw himself into an investigation for a short period of time. A specialist might not be able to think outside the box the way he does when trying to bust myths that range from peeing on an electric fence (do you get shocked or not?) to catching a bullet with your teeth (is it even possible?).
Anyway, what does this have to do with organization? I'd be willing to bet that specialists are neater than generalists (or multipotentialites). To me, it makes logical sense. A specialist can focus a whole career on a single-minded goal. When I say specialist, I think about the pediatric heart surgeon who operated on my daughter when she was three and a half months old. I remember that when we consulted with him before the surgery, he told us, "I know this is very stressful and scary for you because it is your tiny little daughter. But what I want you to know is that I do this all the time. This is what I am trained for. This is what I do. She will be fine." His specialization brought me comfort and he was right, my daughter is now a tall, active, healthy 7 year old. My hypothesis is that specialists that can focus years and years of training which lead to years and years of doing the same job can also better focus for a few hours to organize their desks, their homes, their stuff. On the other hand, people like me--whose brain is torn in many different directions and passions at all times--have trouble focusing on what it takes to set up systems to keep books organized by title or mail sorted by level of urgency. Furthermore, since I am bouncing between a varied and ever-changing schedule of commitments and hobbies, I find it difficult to make time for something I don't enjoy doing and that I find difficult to focus on.
What do you think? Do you agree that there might be a connection to my multipotentialite-wired brain and my habit of clutter or do you think I'm just making another excuse to avoid cleaning up?
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