Be more Bob... the secret to productivity improvement
There are some major misconceptions about the organised among us. We must be hyperactive manic doers with photographic memories.
Well I am neither of these and when I talk to clients at the start of their decluttering, organising or productivity journey, I tell them the story of Bob and how we can still be organised but can be more like him
Firstly I have to explain who Bob is.. I used to have a goldfish called Bob, he lived to the ripe old age of 12 and was a constant in the corner of my lounge. He wasn't exactly talkative but made me feel less crazy as I talked to myself while wandering around my house.
Now there we 2 very good reasons as to why Bob and I got on so well and they are the 2 areas that I think are vital to an understanding about organised people..
He was lazy
When Bob was a young agile fish he used to zoom around his giant bowl, getting up some cracking speed. However, over time he would just plod around the bowl, no end of toys were provided to amuse him with no luck. Bob was lazy!
When it comes to me, I may be keen on a bit of exercise, but given the chance, I will spend the day binge-watching box sets on my sofa, lazy like my friend Bob.
And when it comes to finding stuff ultimately I am lazy. I can't be bothered to run around searching for my keys, finding that piece of paperwork that I need for my tax return or find that pair of shoes I want to wear.
At the end of the day, I am organised because I am too lazy to spend my time searching for stuff, I know where it will be and there is not a pile of stuff with it.
He had a memory like a fish
So we all know the fact that fish have 3-second memories, well Bob clearly had some memory for where the food came, but the rest of the time he was in his little fishy 3-second world.
OK so I may not have just 3 seconds, but I do have a memory like a fish if I don't write down what I need to do it just seeps out of my brain somehow. That is why at work I use Tasks like a demon and there is organised list for my personal life. The lists and tasks mean I can forget the things to do cramming up my brain and drift off into the task I am doing knowing full well that there is a lovely list ready to remind me of what I need to do next. Magic!
So don't need to be intimidated by the organised, we are in fact the laziest and most absentminded among us... but we have just found the tools, techniques and habits to embrace our inner Bob!
So don't be intimidated, join us and be a bit more Bob, but productive with it!