If you don’t know where you are going, how will you know when you get there? For some of us, trying to get organized is neither easy nor natural. But it’s necessary for anyone who wants to use time effectively.

Are you TP or CL? (TIDY AND PUNCTUAL / CLUTTERED AND LATE)

To keep things simple always a good idea for effective time management - we’ll separate everyone in to two categories of organizers, the TP’s and CL’s. Your classic TP tends to be Tidy and Punctual. TP’s keep a neat work and home space. They don’t drop it on the floor. They put it in its place. If a CL drops if, the TP will probably pick it up.

A place for every thing and everything in its place that the TP motto. Socks get neatly folded and put in the drawer designated specifically for socks and nothing else. TPs tend to be detail oriented and perfectionists. They’ll see a project through step by step, checking and rechecking as they go. They have a tough time going on to the next step until the one they’re working on is completed to their satisfaction.

 

TPs are punctual. If they say they’ll be there at 1:00 they arrive at before 1:00. Because they place such a high value on being on time, some TPs tend to become impatient with folks who don’t one reason why interaction between TPs and Cls is not always pleasant.

 

If you like a TP, you’ll describe her as “conscientious “well organized and “Meticulous”.

If you don’t like the TP, you’ll use word like “picky “, “uptight” and “rigid”.

Every thing the TP is, the CL Well, isn’t CLs tend to be Cluttered and Late.

The CL figures if god had wanted clothes hung up, he wouldn’t have invented gravity. Besides, the CL seeks out the stew.

CLs ignite with excitement in the idea stage of a project but tend to flame out when it comes time to implement.

When the CL makes an appointment for 1.00 it’s a rough estimate.

 

But the portrait of the CL shouldn’t be all negatives. Some CL traits tend to correlate highly with characteristics also associated with creatively and divergent thinking:

· Tolerance for chaos and ambiguity
· Ability to accept failure
· High energy and enthusiasm
· Willingness to laugh , especially at him or her self

 

If you like that CL, You probably think of him or her as “laid back” “easy going” and “flexible”. But if you’re the one who has to pick up after the CL, Your Descriptors might be “Slob” and “inconsiderate jerk “

 

Assessing Your Personal Style

By now you’ve probably found your self one category or the other - perhaps squirming a bit as you did. Fact is, you’re neither all TP nor all CL. Each of us is a mixture of traits, and any categorization of human being will always be an over-simplification. Human characteristics aren’t either or they present a range.

Very TP Balanced Very CL

If you want a little help in figuring out where you place on the TP/CL continuum, give your self the bathroom test. Hold on. This probably isn’t what you think. Take a look at the bathroom after you get done with it in the morning. Have you squeezed the toothpaste tube carefully from the bottom and did you remember to recap it when you finished? Did you rinse off the toothbrush and hang it up in its place? For that matter, have you replaced that toothbrush within the last three months? Or did you swish a little water around in your mouth and spit?

 

The first description is very TP and the second very CL. You wouldn’t think of using the last of the toilet paper and not replacing it with a fresh roll-would you? A CL might, but a TP, no way. How many rolls of toilet paper do you have in reserve? A TP will have plenty of toilet paper, is in fact much more likely to run out of room to store the extra rolls.

Is your bathroom routine unvarying from day to day? Or is every morning a catch as catch can adventure? And yes, men, the eternal question of the toilet seat probably enters into our calculations here. If you live with somebody who cares whether you put the seat back down when you’re finished.

 

Even if it doesn’t seem like that big a deal to you-your compliance may say something about you on the TP/CL scale.

 

Breaking Goals into Steps:

Let’s suppose one of your basic life goals is to maintain good health and physical fitness, who could argue with that? By now most of us know that physical well being bears directly on mental health, mood and ability to work and play. Now-what specifically, are you going to do about it? After a big of concentrated brainstorming, let’s suppose you come up with these steps:

- Lose 25 pounds.
- Exercise regularly
- Drink alcohol in moderation.

 

Good start, but now you have to define these steps much more clearly. Lose 25 pounds seem straightforward enough, but even this goal requires a little refinement. Why do you need to lose weight? Why 25 pounds? How fast is safe? How will you maintain the loss when you achieve it?

 

And of course, losing weight is going to come down to the day to day matter of what and how much you put into your mouth. Are you going to try a prescribed diet or a weight loss program with prepackaged foods? Or are you simply going to cut down or give up desserts? You need to get specific.

 

Scheduling those steps:
Get out the calendar or the day planner. Work around your work schedule, of course, but don’t automatically assume that you cant move some of your work obligations to accommodate your exercise. Also factor in family and other personal obligations and rhythms. Missing dinner at home for that workout at the Y will help you achieve your fitness goal but rob you of family time.

 

Finally, as much as you can, accommodate your biorhythms. I exercise first thing in the morning, which seems to suit me fine and gives me energy for the rest of the day. But my regimen might be all wrong for you, and might cause you to abandon your high resolve before you’ve given yourself a fair chance.

When you’ve settled on appropriate times for exercise, write them down on the calendar and train yourself to consider these appointments to be as important as any others you make. When you begin your new routine, give yourself plenty of reminders.

 

In addition to the notations on the calendar and the day planner, you might want to plant post-it notes landmines where you’re sure to stumble over them during your normal work routine. Some folks can even program their computers to give them periodic reminders. Give yourself visual clues- like a sweat band next to your wallet or purse in the morning.

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