Tip Tuesday: Organizing for Visual People

If you’re a visual person, chances are you’ve found yourself in the shoes of many of my clients. Their office is organized, yet they find that they often lose track of hot button to-dos and important papers when they aren’t in front of them. Because of this, they tend to leave their to-dos in plain view so they don’t lose track of them, but their space isn’t large and their desktop starts to look messy with piles of paper in the open. Sigh.

Does this sound familiar to you? This is not an unusual situation. I work with a lot of clients who are visual. If we even think of putting the important papers away in a drawer, they will start to panic. If it’s not out in front of them, and they can’t see it, they fear that they may never find it again or they may never complete the task.

For my visual clients, it’s all about keeping what is out in the open organized. I create binders or use different colored file folders to differentiate the various tasks or projects for the different papers. One option is to have a hanging wall mounted file holder to contain your important papers. I’ve also seen people hang clipboards for each big project above their workspaces, so it is a constant reminder of the work that needs to be done.

For non-visual folks who loathe paper, I like to customize a system that will address their style of processing paper. Some clients have ADHD and are bothered by the extra stimuli of having papers out. For these folks, we make sure we create a system that allows them to know what they have to do, while eliminating the piles of papers.

There is an organization method for each type of person – visual, non-visual, or a hybrid of both. You can have an organized office even if you need to have your papers out in front of you. Don’t feel you need to hide your papers; you just need to develop a system that works for you. Do you have a visual desk organizing tip that works for you? If so, share in the comments below!

Photo: Style Me Pretty