Excerpt How to Get Organized

Your Work Personality reflects the way you plan, the way you think (or avoid thinking), and the way you organize mentally. In other words, the way you categorize things in your mind. It dictates how you put things down (literally, where you put them), and it results in a specific kind of physical organization (or disorganization—different kinds of messes).

Which of these three Work Personalities fits you?

The First Work Personality is the Sparklebrain:
Sparklebrains are artistic, creative, idea people. They can be found zipping around, high on caffeine, starting projects left and right—but never quite finishing any of them. Following up is not their strong suit, to put it mildly. Bubbly, happy, and as enthusiastic as fireflies during mating season, Sparklebrains shower everyone with laughter, lightheartedness, and spilled drinks.

Sparklebrains make our world beautiful, interesting and exciting. They bring us gorgeous things: beautiful cars, cool-looking computer equipment, fine fashions, offices that look like operating rooms, and those cute little sweaters for dogs. Sparklebrains are trendsetters, motivational speakers, cheerleaders, procrastinators, and psychics.

Somewhere on another planet, Sparklebrains have fun . . . (for more, click here to order your own copy of HOW TO GET ORGANIZED WITHOUT RESORTING TO ARSON, or call 800-852-4890 and have your credit card ready.)

The Second Work Personality is the Linear:
Linears are the opposite of Sparklebrains. Some people call them pluggers because they just keep plugging away.
We need Linears to keep us grounded, honest, and able to access the Internet. Linears are the finishers of the world. In fact, Linears spend lots of time finishing what Sparklebrains start. Linears like things simple and straightforward. Really, really, straightforward.

Do you remember that U.S. Postal Service motto that states, "Neither wind, nor sleet, nor rain, nor dark of night can keep us from delivering your junk mail"? That’s a good Linear motto. Nothing diverts them, even when you wish it would. . . (for more, click here to order your own copy of HOW TO GET ORGANIZED WITHOUT RESORTING TO ARSON, or call 800-852-4890 and have your credit card ready.)

The Third Work Personality is the Cross-Dominant:

The Cross-Dominant is a hybrid of the Linear and the Sparklebrain. A Cross-Dominant might exhibit 80 percent Linear behavior and 20 percent Sparklebrain behavior, or 60 percent Sparklebrain behavior and 40 percent Linear behavior, or any combination of the two. Cross-Dominants can use either side of their brain, and often use both sides at once. Their intelligence is tremendous, and when they focus on constructive tasks they can move mountains. Cross-Dominants have a "bigger vision" of what’s going on, much like the view from an airplane.

Here’s how Cross-Dominants plan: They look first at the main objective, then fit the rest in like puzzle pieces, filling this over here and matching that over there, figuring out what will work and what must be rejected. They are experts at triage.

When Cross-Dominants are organized they make great directors, managers, and leaders. Everyone follows them naturally, because their common sense is so attractive and—well, so common sense. They know how to view both the big picture and the small details at the same time, and they can make all the parts blend seamlessly. They also get a lot more done in a day than either a Sparklebrain or a Linear, in spite of the amount of time they spend helping other people achieve their goals (which is way, way too much time). They are natural nurturers, but they often forget to nurture themselves. . . (for more, click on here to order your own copy of HOW TO GET ORGANIZED WITHOUT RESORTING TO ARSON, or call 800-852-4890 and have your credit card ready.)