Peace of Mind Organizing

All revved up!

29 April 2007

I just returned from six fabulous days of training, education and networking with my colleagues in the organizing profession. I attended the annual conferences of the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization and the National Association of Professional Organizers. I also attended a one-day training workshop for a great filing system called Freedom Filer.

Picture this: 800 professional organizers under one roof. The conference was held at the Minneapolis Hilton and the place was buzzing with energy. The majority of POs are women…generous, friendly women. Vibrant women entrepreneurs. Can you feel the energy? It was absolutely exhilerating, if a little tiring.

So what am I going to do with this rejuvenation, this enthusiasm? First, I’m going to try not to lose it as I reenter the stresses of daily life. I’m going to formulate big goals and I’m going to take bold action to achieve them. I’ll use the conference as fodder for this blog for awhile.

In addition to wonderful personal-development and business-building advice, the conference also provided excellent information for helping me help my clients. I look forward to implementing some of the ideas to provide even better service for my clients.

The conference has prompted me to think about what it is I enjoy doing in my work. First and foremost, I love making a difference in an individual’s life. I especially love working with people for whom clutter and disorganizaton are real problems. I like to help them try to make a shift toward order and peace.

After these conferences, are sorts of ideas are swirling in my head. I’m the opposite of stagnant. But what needs to emerge — and it will, in the coming days — is focus. I’ll pick the areas I want to try out first and go for it. I’ll make mistakes (one thing I learned in a wonderful session from Dorothy Breininger of the Center for Organization and Goal Planning in Los Angeles is, “She who makes the most mistakes wins”), and if I don’t pick the right thing I’ll move onto the next idea. My business is dynamic and I want it to stay that way.

Thanks to NSGCD and NAPO, I have friends and colleagues all over the country I can reach out to for advice and inspiration. Thanks to these conferences, I know more than ever about organizing. And I’m poised to put that knowledge and those connections to work so I can find even more way to make a difference in my client’s lives. I’m all revved up!

Tagged with: big picture, empowerment, freedom filer, napo, nsgcd

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