In life, there are two kinds of people – the wingers and the organizers. If you’re in this latter group, then the chances are that you like things as you’ve planned them in your bullet journal or extensive Filofax system. You could say that you’re a ‘Monica’ in this respect, making sure that you’re forever on top.
The only issue is that, while you build your life around preparation, that can leave you entirely unprepared for the unexpected. In fact, when things go wrong, wingers are typically far better able to handle the situation with little stress.
By comparison, you might spiral into a space of flipping through your journal for something, anything, that helps you to manage the issue without success. It’s a recipe for stress, and a guaranteed way to leave sometimes pressing unexpected issues to fester for far longer than necessary.
To make sure you don’t spiral next time something happens that isn’t on your to-do list, we’re going to look at how exactly you can apply your organizer’s mind to near enough any unexpected situation.
Plan for the unexpected
Planning is what you do well and, while it may seem strange to plan for the unexpected, it is easily within the reach of an adept organizer like you. Of course, the last year has taught us that there’s no way to plan for everything, but you still have options. Getting organized financially can prove especially invaluable here, ensuring that you have enough savings in the bank to buy a new fridge/freezer if yours breaks or, you know, manage unemployment in the face of a global pandemic…
Pull on your organizational skills
Even if you don’t have a plan as such for when the AC breaks etc., you still have the skills it takes to pull one together. Implement those skills and do your research to either repair the thing yourself or find the number for an emergency AC repair company who can sort it for you before the day is out. Sure, this speed might not be what you’re used to, but you’ve spent your life working towards this. With your organizational repertoire, it’s certainly fair to say that no eventuality should be insurmountable.
Look for the lessons
If there’s one thing us organizers love, it’s a lesson, and unexpected events hold more of them than you can count. Yes, you can’t prepare for every eventuality in the world, but you can put yourself in good stead by understanding what went wrong/how you can improve your overall life plan in light of that. Again, savings make an appearance here, as does making a note of any emergency services/steps that you take to get the issue sorted. But, you may also want to speak with professionals about what went wrong, why an appliance/job/hobby went off-course, and what you can do to at least mitigate those risks as much as possible moving forward. This way, you’ll be able to get more organized in future, and who doesn’t want that?