Double Rainbow

Double Rainbow
Originally uploaded by shadowink

Another view of the amazing rainbow I saw on my way to see SARK - Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy.
Found at Flickr.com

I WON THE SARK BLOG CONTEST

I don't know if it was picked from a hat or what I wrote, but I'm the grand prize winner of a creativity consultation with my writer-muse SARK.
I got the email yesterday and found a way to get to her book signing last night because of it.
Here is my squiggly drawing of SARK at the book signing.

On the way, I drove through drizzle and rain and came off the highway to sunshine and the most incredible rainbow over Atlanta that I had ever seen. (this is an actual photo of the rainbow, found on flickr.com)
Of course I could say it was a sign of some kind.

I slowed down to a stop light and looked at the car next to me.
I caught the woman's eye.
I mouthed "rain-bow" and pointed.
She smiled so big and mouthed - "I know!" nodding her head with enjoyment.
Every driver was looking.
It was so incredibly bright, and a perfect arc like a colorful gateway to see my muse and inspiration.
Wow moments rarely happen like that.

More on the event in my next post.

The Organized Writer

I have been a SARK follower for years and years.
I always imagined that she lived in a cluttered, messy, colorful, wild space full of toys and tzatchkes to give her inspiration (of course).
In her books, she is often discussing procrastination and avoidance...and how to avoid avoidance, so I just assumed she was disorganized.
So when I went to the book signing for her new book last night, I asked her. I wanted to know what her clutter issues were.
It was a big surprise to me to find out the truth:

She confessed to the crowd that she is coming out:
She is creative AND she is organized... like uber-organized!
She said, quote - " I am wildly creative AND organized."
"If I ever get married, it will be at someplace like The Container Store."
And this is from a woman who is about as right brainy as it gets!!
YOU CAN BE CREATIVE AND ORGANIZED!

SARK also said she doesn't talk about it and I inferred that it is because being organized is sometimes mis-perceived as NOT being creative.

More organizing quotes from SARK, the queen of napping and juiciness:

On time: "There is no such thing as not enough time. It's an invention of the mind."

On perfectionism: "Allow it - then allow it to change form. Do more things badly and see that there is no consequence and no one cares."

On getting help from others: We can't solve the problem with the same mind that created the problem in the first place" - quoting Einstein's phrase:
"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them."

Photo is of SARK blessing me with her big purple crayon (as in Harold and the Purple Crayon.)
Between the rainbow and the blessing I just know I'm going to have an interesting year!

Color Coding vs. Using Color

Creative, visual, sparkly people love to use lots of color when organizing. (like colorful paper trays)
And there are lots of people who recommend color coding methods to stay organized.
The two are not the same thing.
Using color is not the same as color coding.

Color coding is making color significant and giving it meaning.
It is usually done in order to separate parts of your life and make the sections easily identifiable at a glance.
For instance: my home files are purple and my business files are orange. Or if using desk trays: green for to-do, blue for to file, white for in-box, etc.

Using color is when you add a dose of color to make a boring situation less boring. Or even to make it exciting! Weeeeee, colored paper trays!

I love using color and patterned products to jazz things up.

And I don't recommend doing much color coding for most of my clients and I'll tell you why.
I think it is just more difficult to keep up.
Maintenance is usually a challenge for right brainers (and many moooooorrrre).
When you color code, you then have to keep a stockpile of those colored things around and store them.
It means having a stack of colored files in all your colors so you have some when you need a new one.
It means colored pens for the calendar (withing reach).
It may mean colored towels, colored notebooks, and on and on.
No problem for the organized lefties.
For us righties - you gotta be kidding.
Does color coding work for many? Sure. I'm not saying it doesn't work. It's just more work.

My mother had an organizer (she has actually had 9 now, including me) and this organizer had her compartmentalize her office and do special labels for the files to color code them. Now she is chronically disorganized with paper. So organizing them in a complicated way is, well, too complicated. She had to hunt down those special labels every time she wanted to make a new file. Looking for the labels was enough to make me stop and say hmmmmm. Didn't the oranizer know upkeep is not her stong suit? Eventually the color coding was abandoned. She still has remnants of that original system, but now she just writes on the files as is (or gets her organizer to).
See a video on how to color code here

To all the Righties who are not the best at maintenance, filing, putting away, complicated systems - my best advice is this: Keep it simple. If a process sounds like it takes more than one step or two easy ones, think twice about it.
Take the lid off the hamper
Use open topped bins
Keep you most used files in open carts or crates so you don't even have to open a drawer.

Structure for Creatives

Structure stinks. Whenever I add formal structure to my day, my inner rebel sticks out her wicked tongue and gives me a raspberry. Thbfffft!


I know that structure and routine bring freedom from worry, and yet I can't stand the thought of being tied down to a time just because I said so.
(Self parenting is even harder than parenting real kids.)
Even when I write down "make calls" at 3:00-3:30pm, I won't follow my own instructions.

If you're anything like me, you may like the "blob" method. Or you can call it "block" if you want to be all like that.
The blob method goes something like this:

1. Make a list of the stuff you gotta get done.
2. Look at your calender and identify the large and small blobs of time between appointments.
3. Pick small tasks to do during the short blobs.
4. Pick more difficult and time consuming to-do's for the bigger blobs of time.
5. If you're working on an ongoing project, just do part of it over series of blobs to get it done.

Visualize & Estimate Time
If you like to draw (and even if you don't) you can help visualize how long each to-do is going to take.
Make your to-do list for the day randomly all over the page.
Draw a blob around each task and make each blob bigger or smaller depending upon how much time you think it will take.
Now you have a visual map of your tasks and can easily identify the big ones and small ones.
Draw lines between any blobs that should be grouped together (errands, things at the computer, etc.)
Color in your blobs when you finish them. You can even color in a pie slice or an inner blob if you only get part of your task done.

This may sound a little weired to some, but the only method that matters is the one that works for you.

I got Butlerized!

From this to that -
I can't believe I finally took the plunge -- I plunked down a small chunk to get myself a purse that is beautiful AND functional.
After months and months of waffling I finally decided I couldn't take another day of my beautiful artsy iro purse (photo left). I love it for it's flowy lines and color but it just didn't have enough inner pockets for keeping all my stuff separated and easy to find.

So now - ta da - I got my Butler Bag
thanks to a sample sale (nearly 1/2 off - send me an email and I'll send you the link, and thanks to Monica Ricci and Monica Premo who luuuuuv em so much they want to marry them)
It is not only knock-out gorgeous on the outside (Orange is the new black), but it also has the fantastic original and ultimately organized interior design.. (Does the bin-thing have a name???)


What do you look for in a purse girls?
Shouldn't men carry bags? Wouldn't it be easier than stuffing their pockets? Or asking their gals for pens and other stuff that doesn't fit in a pocket?

Non-Planner Planner

In my quest for quirky yet useful planners I always come back to this little wonder at little otsu.
The Non-Planner really speaks to my Rightie. Lefties beware... its a bit squiggly.
This is just one page. It has more traditional looking planning sections as well.
See other funky planners at the little otsu site.