Getting clients to actually ask
for help in organizing their space is hard. First they have to realize that
disorganization is not a character defect. Out of every 50 people I know who
needs help and actually tells me they need my help only about 5 will actually
ask for help. That got me wondering if it was me they did not like or just the
thought of actually doing it that scared them silent.
I set about critiquing my rapport
with my clients to see if it was me or them. After every initial meeting I
would ask myself why did they hired me or why not. That adventure did not last long since I
realized that my original math was correct:
Out of every 50 people I know who
needs help and actually tells me they need my help only about 5 will actually
ask for help. It’s not me. Hurry! Now
I can move on the more important things.
I did learn one thing however; I was giving away too much
information. If organization is not
intuitive, even though they may be highly intelligent and much smarter they me,
bombarding them with the how and when
and why of cleaning out a desk or organizing their pantry is just too overwhelming
and all they wanted to do is just go back to their nuclear lab and continue to
save the world.
It is this type of client that
makes me feel the best about what I do. My
fear of “can I really do this job?” disappeared when I entered the upscale home
of a family of three. Mom was a nutritionist and insurance agent, Dad was a physician,
and the daughter was 4 years old. It became clear to me that organization was
not top on their list of things to do. She has two major spaces that need help immediately
and since we only had a three hour session we pick her home office first. As I entered the office I saw plastic bags full
of what organization pros call just “paper”. These bags contained unopened mail,
junk mail, torn address labels, old magazines, publications, and kid’s drawings.
These bags where on the floor in front of the desk, next to the sofa, behind
the desk and hidden in corners that she hoped I would not find. Too late. While she was out of the room I
started sorting through the bags of paper.
I did not through anything away.
Everything in the bag that I picked up was sorted into piles; unopened,
junk, artwork, etc. I came back to the
torn address labels. What I found out is her fear of throwing away anything
with her address on it. She told me as she gets the mail she tears off the
address section and puts everything back in the bag to be dealt with
later.
“What? Your
addresses are not what criminals want. If you have the mail your address is already
public knowledge.” The corner stone of
my business is the fact that I coach people on what, how and when to throw stuff
away. I don’t think that sunk in at the
time but as we finished the session I do hope she had time to process it as she
continued to go through the other bags on the floor. At the end of the session, there was one large
garbage bag of thrash that included envelopes minus their address section, a shred
box that contained the torn address pieces and an action pile that need to be
taken care off immediately. She also had
a cleaned out bookcase so she can collect brochures for her business that were
also cluttering the floor. I gave her
advice on how to arrange the office for better work flow and gave her an action
plan for tackling the garage.
As I left her home I realized that
I did accomplish something. At least she can start a habit of going through the
mail as it comes in and acting on it in a timely manner. Concurring her fear of the tiny address
pieces will take more time.
I may not be the smartest knife on
the magnet, but yes, I can do this job.
