Organised or scatterbrain? What your way of working says about you

While it is not uncommon to see a connection between external stress and the ability to stay organised and focused, there are also more severe causes such as chronic disorganisation, or Challenging Disorganisation. These are people for whom standard organisational methods are unlikely to be maintained.

Lisa Laws, life coach and hypnotherapist, says some people need a bit of chaos to function effectively. Reem Mohammed / The National

My job as an editor requires a strong set of organisational skills if I’m to be successful. This skill, however, didn’t always come easily, particularly as an adolescent. While friends kept pristine notebooks and diaries at school, it was only a matter of days at the start of each term before mine looked like someone had dropped a bomb on it. Scraps of paper, folded assignments and next-to-illegible notes were all stuffed into my backpack and locker. Paired with an inability to focus in school, this was a recipe for disaster, often resulting in poor grades and all-out frustration.

It’s little surprise, then, that an organised individual feels more at ease when it comes to tackling daily tasks. These people, explains Dr Melanie Schlatter, a consultant health psychologist at Well Woman Clinic in Dubai, are less likely to waste time searching for things unnecessarily. “They are thus more able to concentrate on the task at hand and execute it faster, which means more time for other things,” she says.

For me, my inability to organise wasn’t something simply borne out of thin air. It began around the time my parents separated. This connection between external forces and the ability to organise, however, isn’t an uncommon occurrence. Situational Disorganisation, for example, is what Schlatter describes as individuals neglecting certain roles and jobs – anything from cleaning the house to making and keeping plans with friends – to deal with something else, such as a deadline or having house guests for a long period of time.

While these may be minor to moderate reasons, there are also more severe causes such as chronic disorganisation, or Challenging Disorganisation. These are people for whom standard organisational methods are unlikely to be maintained, such as filing tools or self-help organisation books, says Schlatter.

“Typically, their past attempts at organisation have usually been unsuccessful and their quality of life is notably affected – their clutter may irritate family or they will stress about letting go of things and have guilt when they do. There is also a general belief that their disorganisation will continue because something is inherently wrong with them compared to other people,” she says.

Schlatter adds that this kind of negative mentality can be “self-defeating”, something Lisa Laws, a UAE-based life coach and hypnotherapist, has experienced with some of her own patients.

“One client sought better organisation and discipline, both personally and professionally,” Laws recalls. “What she actually lacked was self-esteem.”

Though Laws continued to work with her client on building organisational skills, she also tapped into her client’s creative side and other strengths.

“Some people are less disciplined and their minds may be more creative and need chaos. It often depends on our upbringing,” she says. “For example, if we were taught to work before play we will probably be more organised. While it’s important to remember we don’t all have the same natural skills, there are still things someone who isn’t naturally organised can do to help herself.”

The small tricks that I use to keep my life – both professionally and personally – in order aren’t always obvious, and they’re skills I’ve gained over the years. Though all of my documents and emails are each assigned to a specific folder, and my diary is planned down to the hour, my desk is filled with stacks of magazines, a box of flowers and random assortment of mugs. Yet this kind of workspace – call it controlled chaos if you will – allows me to function. Organisation, according to Schlatter, is very much based on a person’s personality. What works for one, may not work for another.

“A person is organised when their surroundings enable them to access information and/or tools in a way that does not cause them stress or agitation in their daily life, and which enables them to move forward easily – in terms of time and efficiency – towards the desired goal,” she explains.

“Being organised to one person, for instance a tidy desk with filing systems outside the room, may feel stressful to another person who prefers all their information in one place.”

Natasha Hatherall-Shawe, the managing director of TishTash marketing and communications agency, relies on her own set of organisational tools to ensure she is able to manage what are often long working hours.

“I juggle a lot and often work 20-hour days, six days a week. To deal with this, I have found diary management and a lot of colour coding in Microsoft Outlook and offline with Post-it notes and tabs invaluable,” she explains.

These tools also extend beyond the office, playing a role in her personal life as well. “One of the most helpful things I implemented in the past 18 months is organising my wardrobe and planning my outfits two weeks ahead.

“I used to waste so much time every single day deciding what to wear, matching accessories and shoes, and trying to hunt for something that turned out to be at the dry cleaners. Now I take an hour, every two weeks, to plan all my outfits for the fortnight ahead.”