(Be sure to read The Benefits of Being Disorganized (Part I) http://blog.housefairy.org/did-you-know-you-are-blessed-to-be-disorganized . I wrote about the significance of time and motion studies for the disorganized. I think you’ll be surprised.)

(Part II)

So you've got multiple stacks of paper on your desk and slyly hidden piles under it, three extra kids you didn’t plan  (disorganized women have more babies than organized ones do), and when you get the ironing board out the dog barks at it, BIG DEAL. In my humble, reformed slob opinion, I believe there is actually a price for attempting to be organized for the neat-police who can hold so much authority over our lives. And I think the costs outweigh the advantages.

I heard of one woman whose messy desk was more an annoyance than a hindrance. In her 360 degree review process, some of her co-workers and employees commented that her desk was a disaster and that she appeared disorganized. But, she was highly praised in these same reviews for her timeliness, leadership ability, communication skills, strategic thinking and ability to get things done. She received several promotions throughout her career and is now a vice president with her firm.

A Bradford, PA police chief who actually was fired for not having a neat desk said,

September 17, 2014, by Pam Young

Have you ever stopped to think that there are benefits to being disorganized? 

You've probably spent a lot of time berating yourself for being disorganized, but there are actual benefits to your disorder!

1. The disorganized get more exercise.

All I ever wanted to be was a wife and mom, so I majored in Home Economics in college. One of the courses was in cooking which I’ve always loved to do. Part of the curriculum included a time and motion study to track our steps while baking a cake.

“By being organized,” Miss Cratzberry, the professor, told us; “you will save valuable time and energy to use on other activities in your homes. Being aware of the steps we take in the kitchen, preparing the family’s meals, is vital to becoming efficient in the daily tasks of homemaking.” I’m sure this study was thought up by some efficiency expert like Miss Cratzberry who never married and never had kids. In fact, one of the lessons in her course study was entitled Handling Servants. (Over the years, that information has sure come in handy for me!)

Back to the cake walk; I remember winning the prize for the most steps taken! One quarter mile! (Actually I didn’t win a prize as it was supposed to be bad news for me, but I decided to turn it around in my 19-year-old mind into a good thing.) Webster defines a time and motion study as: a systematic observation, analysis, and measurement of the separate steps in the performance of a specific job for the purpose of establishing a standard time for each performance, improving procedures, and increasing productivity —called also motion and time study, motion study, time study. This is what I envision my resulting steps to look like.

2. The disorganized don’t have to pay to go to the gym.

Years later when I really was a mom and wife, I never forgot the results of my time and motion test. One day it hit me while I was packing up stuff to take to the gym for an hour workout, that with my gift of taking too many steps in life, it really was a benefit! Because of my attention deficit disorganization, I suddenly realized I was probably getting in a full workout every day. In fact, if I didn’t go to the gym, I’d save the time, energy and money that that activity took from my day. Put that in your time and motion study Miss Cratzberry!

First posted September 10, 2014 by Pam Young

Does procrastinating make you happy and stress free? Of course it doesn’t, so why do we do it? Take it from an expert! As a woman who has done her fair share of procrastinating, I’ve come up with 7 steps that I hope will open your eyes to how silly it is to put things off. Before you read the 7 habits pick something you’ve been putting off and hopefully at the end of my blog you’ll take care of it.

Marla Cilley, also known as Flylady, has helped millions of women get organized using the systems my sister and I created over the years.

Marla does not believe in making things complex. In fact she has boiled it down to three rules.

Now that the kids are back in school it’s a great time to streamline their rooms. Children are much more likely to keep them neat if they don't have constipated drawers and closets. Parents have to be the laxative here, because kids can't do it alone, it’s too overwhelming to them. You may or may not have heard my warning: KIDS GROW QUARTERLY.