survey sez!
Reader's responses to The Big Question.
survey sez!
Reader's responses to The Big Question.
The Question: “Why do disorganized people so seldom see themselves as disorganized? Are you (dis)organized? (How do you know?)”
The Answer: “I am disorganized and I know it. I'm also a pack rat. I'm hoping that since I acknowledge my problem, I'll be able to fix it. So far, not much luck.”
The Answer: “What? Where is that pen...”
The Answer: “Disorganized people are social type people. They are normally political, resulting in their being in leadership positions. When organized people try to help them, they are treated like a pain. So, we have outreach programs that do nothing, while a janitor witnesses to a CEO and brings him to church. We have fundraisers that cost more then they raise. We have discouraged saints who are told to submit. Did God do this for humor?”
The Answer: “Because they don't think they are disorganized. I am a little bit of both; it just depends on what it is.”
The Answer: “I know I'm disorganized because I spend half my time looking for something I put ‘in a safe place.’”
The Answer: “I have a big theory about this, but it boils down to—people are only as disorganized as other people see them. A messy desk to one person is lots of projects on their plate, and they time manage well, which could contrast with the person with a neat desk who doesn't have much to do, so they clean their desk all day long.
Also, perfectionists who are messy are just extreme people. They are either perfectly chaotic or perfectly neat. I am a perfectly chaotic person converted by the grace of God to perfectly neat, but I always knew where everything was and could locate the item in its pile in a moment.”
The Answer: “I have selective disorganization. When I can see the floor, I'm organized. When I can't see the floor, I'm disorganized. Rarely am I in between. One Sunday morning of getting dressed for church and I have entered the world of disorganization!”
The Answer: “I'll admit, I am disorganized to a certain extent. I'll lose my keys, my phone, my car (not really though, I'll find it a few minutes later), and numerous other things, but I do eventually re-find them. Some disorganized people do not see themselves that way because they just don't see themselves that way—kind of like living in a perpetual state of denial.”
The Answer: “I am always orgin organz organid .... Plan ahead.”
The Answer: “The disorganized people are too disorganized to notice that they are! I'm disorganized in certain aspects of my life. Although my house looks neat, you should see the insides of my closets! Well, maybe you shouldn't...”
The Answer: “I am pretty much obsessed with being organized. All my CDs are organized in a case by alphabet, so when I get a new CD that starts with the letter A, I have to move every single one of my 90+ CD's over one spot just to put that one new CD in its spot.”
The Answer: “I am disorganizationally-organized. In other words, my wife can't tell how efficient I am, because she sees me in the middle of a project. But when it is complete, the clear result shines through. Painting a room, for example.”
The Answer: “I am disorganized, I know. And I do know that I am. My place is cluttered and I can never find anything.”
The Answer: “I know I'm disorganized. I acknowledge that it is a character flaw, and it hinders me from fitting in all of the activities that I need to do. I pray about it all the time and have made positive steps to manage my time and better plan my life.”
The Answer: “Because they know where everything is, even if others don't see it. It is organized to them! I am naturally disorganized because I forget things a lot. I use outside resources to keep myself on track (to-do lists, task alarms, appointment calendars, etc.).”
The Answer: “I think disorganized is often misused. For instance, people would say I am disorganized, but it's because it looks like chaos. I know where everything is and how everything works. It's my system. Now, I know that another person could not step in and immediately pick up where I left off. But are my systems supposed to be revamped so everyone else knows how to work them, or is it about what works for me?”
The Answer: “Sometimes disorganized people are actually discouraged perfectionists, which means they know better than you how everything should be organized. So no matter what, they're organized, because they know how everything should go (it just isn't at this very minute, thank you).”
The Answer: “Well, give me a sec to find my notes on this...Oh, where are they...Well, if that doesn't beat all, they were just right here...Anyway I am not disorganized at all; the cleaning lady must have moved them off my desk.”
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