True Artists Understand The Method to Their Own Madness

Even if no one else does. I know where everything is and that's the way I like it

I find that I can relate to others and their organized mess. It seems when you meet another creative person that they have their own method to their madness and they know where everything is even if an outside looker doesn’t understand their system. It seems that they can’t tame their wild inspirations and if someone comes along to reorganize their mess that the artist seems to misplace everything that they once had in specific places that they knew where it was. Can you relate? I decided to share the little ways I like to keep up with life to stay out of messy situations in the day-to-day. It’s the little differences that count but I understand my method, which works for me, lol.

The Little ways I stay organized

Bullet Journal

Bullet journaling was a pretty big thing a few years ago. There is something about taking a blank sheet of dotted paper and drawing to connect the lines with your own schedule. I recently ordered this bullet journal from amazon, which comes with pens and stencils to decorate my book as I go about my day. I like to take little breaks throughout the week and create a mental map of ideas that pop into my mind and jot them down in a note section next to my agenda that I create with my own handwriting. It seems to help with my memory because when I go back to the things I wrote down I knew that I recalled that task or activity in the week beforehand. It really helps to create an image with the note I took creating a mental filing cabinet for what I meant to do in the week.

I also like to write down my monthly and weekly goals and see how I fulfill them over the course of time. I usually get to the things that I meant to do when I tell myself to do them in different ways like this three or four times. I feel more organized and productive for keeping my schedule in a creative way.

Email Management

Honestly, no one likes checking their emails. People don’t like to be bothered but sometimes I’m happy to see what people are doing and getting a reminder that someone thought about me. It makes me feel special. So I like to keep my inbox empty and organized by creating sub folders for the people and places I email throughout the week. I feel satisfied when I look back on my inbox and realize that I accomplished most of the tasks I meant to accomplish and returned messages to those I meant to keep in contact with when I realize that I can tick off each box and my folders are empty.

Bookmark Management

As a journalism graduate, I did a lot of research studies. I had to learn how to scour the internet to find helpful information and I still do it without even realizing it. Sometimes I find helpful resources that I JUST HAVE to get back to. If I lose that page it’s disastrous. So I created a virtual filing cabinet to keep track of my resources for writing, travel, and art. It helps to stay organized and even if I forget I already know that I have things saved in my bookmark management and I can go back to it later and check my list to see what I intended to save. Then I just get back on track without missing a beat and it makes me feel invincible.

Taming My Mess

For all the small ways I stay organized, the mess oozes out into other categories of my life and it just seems that I can’t get to them until later no matter how hard I try. I intend to do many things but like many people with good intentions, they get sent to the back burner and never get touched until weeks when most other priorities get met.

The chair

Meet the chair. This is the place where all the clothes you meant to put away pile up along with scarves or other personal items that sit there until laundry day. It’s usually in the corner of the room where no one can see it but you know it’s there growing into a laundry monster until you finally make time to get to fold your laundry because you want to be a good human being and keep up with important matters of your life. It’s probably the first thing that gets cleaned or tucked into the closet if your mother-in-law comes in for a visit. But I’m not judging.

The boxes

Since I always think I’m moving soon, I have a pile of boxes with some of my stuff sitting in a corner waiting to be put away because I don’t have the time. Most of these things are more personal items and their tucked away carefully so I know where they are. I know I should probably put them away but what if I get a call that tells me I got that amazing job that I’ve been waiting for. Or what if I get a press trip that takes me to the other side of the country for two weeks. I never know what’s going to happen. So there the boxes sit waiting for me to find a better spot for them. Again, no judgment.

Minimalism

That is why I try to live with as little as possible. I figure if I have less stuff I will have fewer messes. It will be aesthetically pleasing to the guests who visit my room and I won’t get weird stares from my family for being busy with my art projects. I always get frustrated when my family members try to clean up the organized disaster I have when I know where I left everything to come back for later. They don’t understand that there is beauty in chaos and I have very good intentions. And like most people with good intentions, I will get to it when I get to it. If I ever get to it— because I’m in the middle of an inspiration and I can’t be bothered. They just don’t understand the method to my madness.

Conclusion

So while I am a misunderstood artist with a very busy schedule and barely any time for myself. I pioneer a path through the chaos of my life that constantly demands my attention. Maybe you can relate but taking baby steps helps.

• Staying organized in a creative manner motivates me to get things done

• Finding satisfaction in ticking off boxes encourages me to move forward

• Having less stuff discourages a mess

I’m pretty proud of myself for being an organized mess. So let’s clap ourselves on the back if we are 90% productive with creative energy to share. Your family and friends love you for you and want to see you happy. So here were a few tips on the way that I like to stay on track. I hope you enjoyed them.