Getting Organized…Or Not

This afternoon I was planting some bright orange cosmos in my garden, freshly purchased from the nursery. My daughters and our babysitter were quietly coloring with sidewalk chalk, when suddenly my eight-year old daughter looked up and asked: "Mom, why are you gardening when Ila is here instead of working?" I told her that I was waiting for some clients to answer e-mails, and I couldn't move forward on work until they did. Always the responsible one, she prodded: "Well, maybe you'd better go check your e-mail again now?"

When work slows down for a few days or a week, it's hard to know what to do with the spare time. I could have exercised, but I did plenty of that already over the weekend. I could have folded the pile of laundry that's been sitting on my couch since last night. I could have even cleaned my desk and filed away the stacks of business documents and the kids’ artwork that have been gathering dust for a month. I could have done a lot of things to make my life more tidy. Instead, I high-tailed over to the nursery for the cosmos, two packs of begonias, a large bag of cedar mulch and some helpful advice on my wilting columbine flowers.

When it comes to client work, I am Little Miss Organized. I keep meticulous notes about projects and contacts. I color-code my e-mail messages according to whether they are personal, related to kids, urgent, or for networking purposes. Long-term clients get their own special e-mail folder. I do not miss deadlines.

When duty isn't calling, however, I'd rather have fun. My college roomies can attest to my apathy for household activities. Warning notes were constantly posted on my bedroom door about what I didn't clean that week. Once, I found dirty dishes on my bookshelf. It's likely that I was at the beach or going on a nice long run instead of loading the dishwasher. (Who can blame me, really, considering that I attended the University of California, Santa Barbara)

I've come to believe that people who have a spic and span desk are also the same people who vacuum the insides of their cars every week. This is not me. I envy them--- but I will never, ever be like them. And that's just gonna have to be good enough for me. My dog Bo (pictured here) is fine with my choices.

He never misses his daily walk.