Nature vs. Nurture definition (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_versus_nurture):
The nature versus nurture debates concern the relative importance of an individual’s innate qualities (”nature”) versus personal experiences (”nurture”) in determining or causing individual differences in physical and behavioral traits.
The question relating to On Organization is: Does a person become organized and task oriented because of innate qualities or because of personal experiences. Basically, can someone teach themselves to be organized or will a disorganized person just always be that way?
In my opinion, being organized is just like anything else you can learn. Are you born knowing how to do advanced calculus? No, but you can learn it with enough teaching from someone who understands the subject. Are you born being a nice person who helps elderly women across the street? Probably not, but someone else who is caring can help to share these values with you and help you to also become a caring, helpful person. Learning to be organized falls into the same category of things you can learn, it just takes the same quality time and concentration that would be dedicated to anything you are interested in learning.
A very nice thing about being organized is that the more you do it, the less effort it can take you to keep it up. When you first start to make lists or use software to help you keep a calendar and to-do list, it will take some time to get used to, and take some effort to remember to put things on the list and mark them off when you complete the task. The more you do these repetitive things, it will become a habit and you will not have to think about it. Think of something you are skilled at and do well (for me, I will use the example of typing). When I first started learning to type I had to look at the keys and really think about what I was going to type. This was a process that took a while to learn, but now that I know it, I do not even have to think about where the keys are, I just think about what I want to type and I type it. Keeping a calendar of events or a task list of things you need to do will be the same thing. At first, you will have to remember to put things down on your list and you will have to remember to look at your list to see what else you planned to complete that day or that week. After a while, you will make a habit of looking at this list when you have a spare moment of time (when you park your car to get out at work, while you are eating breakfast in the morning, or during a commercial in your TV program).
So, what do I ask from you? Just give it all a chance. Hopefully, the opinions, stories, and ideas shared on this blog will give you a chance to think about how you feel about your own organization based on these opinions, how you can relate to other people’s stories about their disorganization, and how you can use the ideas and tips discussed to get yourself more organized. Please share this blog and spread the word so we can have more stories, feedback, and ideas to post in the future. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy these thoughts On Organization.
