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[NF] Becoming more organized

Coeur

New member
Joined
Jul 13, 2009
Messages
237
MBTI Type
INFP
Enneagram
4w5
Organization. I hate that word. I am completely messy, scatterbrained, forgetful, and disorganized. I always have been. It feels painful and unnatural to clean or categorize anything. I've heard that this is a typical NF characteristic.

The problem is that everything gets lost and crumpled and my grades suffer for it. I forget about important homework assignments. I'm also late a lot of the time because I cannot FIND anything! Overall, it is so very stressful. I just cannot afford to be disastrous any longer.

The question is HOW? My every attempt to organize myself has failed. Putting everything in its place seems like hard work that is so quickly undone. It's like there's a mini tornado following me wherever I go. :peepwall:

Does anybody have any advice?
 

laudanum225

New member
Joined
Jul 10, 2009
Messages
26
MBTI Type
INFJ
Enneagram
2w3
very unorganized, too.... uargh

get a planner.. hehe, its tough to stick to at first, but works.. plus it is bigger than all those little pieces of paper that lay around scattered in your room with important assignments, dates etc.
bigger= less likely to loose, chose bright signal color for extra help when searching (trust me..;) )

get a big calendar for the wall/ door and write all due dates for your assignments, dates of exams etc, write the due dates a week prior to actual due date if possible
if you are as scatterbrained as me, you will soon forget about that one week's space window, and get freaked out earlier thus completing the assignments early/ on time.

still working on a solution for the personified tornado in room situation...
 
S

Sniffles

Guest
You're not alone. I can be quite scatterbrained too at times. I would agree very much with the calendar suggestion. That's what I use to help remind when certain things are happening.
 

nightning

ish red no longer *sad*
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
3,741
MBTI Type
INfj
Keeping track of papers/notes etc I stack them in piles on my desk. I take it you're still in school. If you have enough desk/floor space create one pile for each subject. One of those stackable plastic inbox trays isn't a bad idea. Anything new you have you throw at the top of the pile. This way you're organizing things more or less chronologically in the stack without "filing" :p

As to forgetting to do stuff... a planer helps (assuming you use it). I find that I usually write in it for the first month or so, after that I've forgotten all about it. If you're on your computer a fair bit of time every day, consider using a web based planner thing. I find Remember The Milk: Online to do list and task management works well for me. It's like a online to-do list that can send you email reminders for when due dates are coming up. And it's easy to jolt things down. The trick is making it a habit. Alternatively, write yourself a short note and stick it somewhere that can't be missed. For example I'll stick a note on my desk where my laptop goes to remind myself the next day the things I need to finish.
 

stringstheory

THIS bitch
Joined
Jul 12, 2009
Messages
923
MBTI Type
ENFP
Enneagram
1
Post-it's! Everywhere! :laugh:

This. My roommates think I'm crazy, but if I'm going to remember anything I need it in concrete, written form. Post-it's are ALL over the place. I'm horribly disorganized.

My solution to losing things like homework was one of those nifty fold out file pocket thingys. Get a pretty, brightly coloured one, label each folder, and just stick everything you need in the proper place.

In terms of remembering things WRITE IT DOWN IMMEDIATELY. I'm awful at this because I'm always like "oh I'll remember". But I don't. Ever. Write it down, multiple times even, in your notes/on the assignment itself, and then go home and write it on a calendar. I have one of those white-board ones hanging on my wall, it's been treating me very well. :wubbie:

Alternatively you can spend a lot of time around good influences (J types for me, generally). Sometimes repeatedly observing someone getting it "right" helps me to follow suit. My INTJ boyfriend and friends have helped me out immensely this way, and they doesn't even have to do anything except their normal routine.
 

OrangeAppled

Sugar Hiccup
Joined
Mar 20, 2009
Messages
7,626
MBTI Type
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4w5
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
Try moving! :tongue:

Every time I move, I get rid of unnecessary stuff, and my things get put away neatly where they belong. When I am focused on something, I can get very organized about it, and when I move that is my main focus at the time.

It lasts a good 4-6 months. During that time, it's easy to maintain organization as getting organized is the main issue. Slowly though, my space falls apart, and then I end up with drawers and closets with stuff shoved in it, and clutter left out on table/counter tops.... :doh:

I think it's a value issue. You have to make it important enough. For us NFs, and especially Ps, if it isn't important personally, then we tend to brush it off. Sometimes you have to connect something trivial to something that matters to you so it can have some value. Think to yourself, "If I take the moment to put this away where it belongs, I will save many minutes and tons of frustration later when I am looking for it again."

And I agree with making lists and writing stuff down when you think of it.
 

statuesquechica

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Joined
Jul 8, 2009
Messages
428
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INFj
Enneagram
9w8
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
Planner, calendar and Post-its are all great ways. I am notorious for writing on my hand things I must remember, my own Palm Pilot, of sorts.

Rather than look at organizing your space as something you do every once in a while, view it as a daily thing. Every day spend 5-10 minutes putting things away...no, it is not fun, but it makes the chore so much more manageable and "doable" (god, I love that word:)). If you can't remember to organize, set an alarm as a reminder. Put really important things (keys, purse, backpack) in the same place every time. I cannot tell you how many times I have panicked when I couldn't find my keys.

Organization is a skill to be practiced and practiced...a necessary evil.
 

Clonester

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Joined
Jul 5, 2009
Messages
480
MBTI Type
ENFP
Ughh. Organization.

I do use a planner for basic events. It helps me remember too. The moving thing OrangeAppled mentioned I do too. Anything I don't use gets thrown away. But I don't think I'm ever going to have very organized paperwork.
 

Coeur

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Jul 13, 2009
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237
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INFP
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4w5
I like all of these suggestions. Especially the ideas about a white board and a BIG, colorful planner. My tiny planner was lost in the abyss of my bedroom. May it rest in peace.

I guess it is a skill that must be practiced daily. T_T; I suppose that I should get started.

The problem with my school is that they make us keep EVERY paper! 0_0 So... if we do a math assignment every day, right there are over 200 pages that clutter everything up. [Because I'm REALLY going to reread every page of messy handwriting for the test. REALLY.] And I have seven subjects.
 

scortia

New member
Joined
May 23, 2009
Messages
201
MBTI Type
INFJ
Organized chaos is perfectly fine. :p

Ditto to having a planner... I make a daily list on busy days too. I'm more organized with time than things. I lose my keys and/or wallet on almost a daily basis. Putting things in one specific spot is a good way to keep track of things. (Unfortunately it won't always work in my case because I'm rarely aware when I go through many ordinary daily motions. >_>)
 

Coeur

New member
Joined
Jul 13, 2009
Messages
237
MBTI Type
INFP
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4w5
Organized chaos is perfectly fine. :p
Organized chaos is exactly how my best friend described my backpack! XDDD I had a bunch of folders haphazardly thrown in there, all filled to the brim with papers.

Ditto to having a planner... I make a daily list on busy days too. I'm more organized with time than things. I lose my keys and/or wallet on almost a daily basis. Putting things in one specific spot is a good way to keep track of things. (Unfortunately it won't always work in my case because I'm rarely aware when I go through many ordinary daily motions. >_>)

Ditto. I put things down in random places without even realizing it. I always lose my phone. x_x
 

Evi

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Joined
Oct 17, 2008
Messages
41
MBTI Type
INFJ
Actually I really like organizing :cheese: . . . other people's stuff. I've gotten much neater as I've gotten older and moving does help, particularly if you’re a pack rat, I come from a long prestigious line of pack rats. Hanging folders are nice for loose papers; I used to label them by classes. Even if the papers don't get into the right folder, if you at least get them in the box somewhere it will probably be easier to find it when you need it. Notebooks with small folders/pockets in them are useful to, until they get too full and explode.
If you like to make list, to do list are very good, they can help focus the day and then you get to cross stuff off. It can be much easier to concentrate and think when your organized a little instead of digging through piles trying to find stuff and getting all stressed and for me at least making the whole thing so much worse. I can't think as well in a mess.

I still go through the frantic search for my keys and phone in the morning though.
 
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