Published Reviews

PDFs:  USA Today | Spirituality & Health Magazine | Publishers Weekly | The Chicago Tribune | The Systems Thinker

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USA Today, January 20, 2004:

Now available in paperback, this insightful guide probes the deeper questions of why some dwell in homes that are serene sanctuaries and others camp out in houses that suggest social service workers should rescue the inhabitants before they are crushed by an avalanche of catalogs.

It's always cheering when the author admits she wrote the book because of her own struggle. The Barnard graduate has a doctorate from Yale and a MBA from Cornell, but having a stunning resume did not help her keep her desk clean, figure out her credit card balances, file her taxes on time or get her where she needed to go. Although successful in her career, she was haunted by the chaos she created at work and the disorder she lived in at home.

I was hooked by Paul's empathy for people bogged down in "the swamp of disorder," the intense shame and the haunting sense of lost opportunities. She stresses, however, that chronic disorder is far more serious than simply a failure to put things away. It stems from issues in one's childhood, feelings about creativity versus rigidity, an addiction to frenzy. Most of all, she believes that for true change to occur, one must find an inner purpose for changing. The delights of being tidy rarely spur the disorganized to action.

But lasting change can occur when people decide they crave more time to express their dream, to be seen as more reliable and trustworthy, to live a more serene life with time for friends and spirituality, to create a less stressful home and therefore a more relaxed family.

Paul displays a refreshingly Eastern approach. Instead of lashing herself into a Puritan-like frenzy of self-loathing and ceaseless action, Paul decides to watch herself create clutter, then uncover the reasons. She realizes she needs to do something, because the sessions with the personal organizer hadn't helped.

Being mindful in every area of her life helped. The book provides insightful exercises and questions. She strongly recommends that you keep a daily journal that explores your relationship with your body, finances, possessions, time, promises and family.

Though this book is technically about organizing, it also provides a wonderful, non-threatening way to examine how you live your life and not only whether you could perform surgery on your desk. It's highly recommended for anyone searching for deeper self-awareness.

Spirituality & Health Magazine, Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat:

Do you constantly have trouble finding things? Are you easily distracted from matters at hand? Do you have a need for constant novelty? Are you the kind of person who never arrives on time for appointments? Do you tend to procrastinate? Are you impulsive? These are symptoms of individuals who regularly experience chronic disorganization.

Marilyn Paul has a Ph. D. in organization and management from Yale University and a M.B.A. from Cornell. Her interest in this subject stems from her own lengthy battle with deeply entrenched habits of disorganization. For a long time, she underplayed the importance of keeping things in order, feeling that such efforts were roadblocks to her creativity and self-expression. Now, she is organized and convinced that being so has great benefits in all departments of life.

Paul presents a seven step program for becoming organized:

1. Establish Your Purpose.
2. Envision What You Want.
3. Take Stock.
4. Choose Support.
5. Identify Strategies for Change.
6. Take Action.
7. Go Deeper to Keep Going.

Disorder can seriously damage self-confidence, relationships, and your reputation. It results from the conscious and unconscious choices we make, and will power alone will not get us out of it. We need to look at the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual issues related to how we organize our lives. The wisdom of this approach is apparent in the author's contention that disorganization is a great gift because it can set people on a path of deeper self-discovery. As Paul puts it: "Living well is ultimately about loving yourself and others, connecting with what really matters to you, and taking actions based on what you truly care about. Being organized actually can improve your chances of doing so."

Many of the practical steps the author suggests have a spiritual foundation. Getting rid of clutter is part of creating beauty in your environment. Paying attention to what you are doing grows out of meditation and other spiritual disciplines. Arriving on time and keeping a schedule show our respect for others. The discipline of returning things to their place is another act of reverence. It's Hard To Make A Difference When You Can't Find Your Keys is a superb resource packed with sound advice and a holistic sense of organization.

Publishers Weekly, Sharon Glassman, February 11, 2004:

Six years ago a colleague of Marilyn Paul broke down and told her the truth: Paul's last-minute arrivals at meetings, reams of confused papers and endless rescheduling had put the kibosh on their working relationship.

Stunned, Paul, a highly successful if frenzied management consultant, turned to popular books on organizing. The only problem? Tips like "Use a Planner" assumed she could find her planner.

"There are people who can't even use the basics," she told PW Daily on a recent afternoon, swinging her shoeless feet comfortably over the arm of a Penguin Putnam conference room chair. "That's my audience."

Paul's book, It's Hard to Make a Difference When You Can't Find Your Keys (Putnam Compass, $14), is designed for the "chronically disorganized," people whose lives are negatively affected by their inability to achieve oft-stated goals, keep appointments or find things in a reasonable amount of time.

Her steps to organization are laid out as a seven-step "path," bringing to mind classic guides to serenity, such as Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind and The Road Less Traveled. This is no accident. Unlike authors who prescribe order for order's sake, Paul sees organizing one's office and home as "a genuine possibility for true personal growth."

Readers looking for a physical quick-fix may be frustrated by Paul's psychological and spiritual focus on "visioning" a purpose for one's clearer life. At the same time, a 300-page book targeted to people who can't focus is an ironic proposition--at least initially.

But the book's reliance on personal stories--Paul's, most of all, for purposes of humility--make it a truly empathic and useful tool for "right-brain" people whose disorder borders on the pathological. As she explained her approach in person, her warmth and good humor make her a living ambassador of the joys of the ordered life. The same appears to be true of the workshops she has conducted to support the book's launch.

A few e-mails to her New York friends, she says, drew a crowd of 150 externally organized but internally frantic professionals to the Princeton Club recently in search of solace and help.

In addition to outward signs of distress--from unpaid bills to desks in need of archeological digs--chronically disorganized people may suffer from Attention Deficit Disorder or behavioral problems related to spending and hoarding or both. Like the population at large, some people also cling to the idea that clutter is a breeding ground for creativity, which she dismisses as one of disorganization's biggest myths: "Your creativity needs order and discipline," she tells her audiences.

But if you think she's trying to make you into a "neatnick," don't worry. Organization--this is Big Myth #2--doesn't have to be neat. The mark of a good system of organization, in fact, is not how it looks, as much as how it makes you feel. "One of the clearest signs of disorganization is the amount of fear, anxiety and frenzy you're feeling," Paul said. "The opposite of disorder is peace and calm."

Among the simple tips Paul suggests are

Looking at how little time large tasks, such as putting away laundry and clean dishes, really takes.
Working backwards from a fixed appointment before scheduling "small" tasks that might delay arriving late to an appointment.
Pricing out an "affordable" luxury so that it can be bought only if impulse purchases are avoided.

Asked how much consumer culture contributes to our disorder, Paul said she believed advertising's natural outgrowth, consumption, is part of many people's problem. "The more stuff you've got, the more skillful you have to be in managing it," she said. "In our world, it's easy to accumulate, but it's hard to let things go."

Paul noted that "clot" is the root of the word "clutter. A life without clutter moves more smoothly. And this, interestingly enough, is where the next challenge lies. Flowing like a river between well-ordered appointments, the organized person is free to experience the world-at-large, and most of all, herself. At this point, the benefits of a being at peace with oneself cannot be underestimated.

"When faced with those quiet moments with nothing to do," Paul said, smiling, as our interview ended, on the half-hour, precisely. "What do we do?"

The Chicago Tribune, Bob Condor, February 8, 2004:

Organized life is just beyond all that clutter

Her days of disorganization are over, but Marilyn Paul remembers them. Vividly.

Some of the bad memories: Being "invited" to leave an important work project. Not asking friends to dinner because her apartment was too unkempt. Several years of unfiled taxes and sleepless nights worrying about whether her IRS debt was $1,000 or $50,000.

"I tried really hard several different times to do what personal organizers recommend," said Paul, a business

management consultant and partner in the Boston-based Bridgeway Partners. "I made lists, cleaned up my desk, vowed to be on time."

It didn't work. Paul always fell back into a pattern of clutter and running late for appointments. One day, without any major episode such as being asked off a project or missing a plane (she routinely made flights by minutes), Paul simply decided that "I couldn't sort through all the piles on my desk and in my office and house for the rest of my life."

So Paul followed her own advice. She works as a consultant to businesses undergoing changes, including new management, new market strategy, new laws to follow.

"I work with clients all the time who are stuck in place," Paul said. "I thought, `Wait a minute, I'm a specialist in helping people deal with change.' I figured out maybe it was time to apply my own [consulting] principles to getting more organized."

It worked. Paul became what she calls "organized enough" to no longer face deflating clutter on her desk or stress out about being late (she has shifted to the punctual side). She filed her back taxes, paid the penalties and doesn't cringe when the calendar page turns to April.

Not surprisingly, people in Paul's life noticed the changes and asked what she did. Paul explained herself, then wrote a book. It was published in hardback last year.

It's now out in paperback (Penguin Compass, $14) and has one of the all-time great titles: "It's Hard to Make a Difference When You Can't Find Your Keys."

"My goal is help people realize being organized is not what they think," Paul said. "We need to measure organization not by neatness but by stress level. An organized life is so much easier to live."

Paul developed a seven-step approach: (1) Establish your purpose; (2) Envision what you want; (3) Take stock; (4) Choose support; (5) Identify strategies for change; (6) Take action; and (7) Go deeper to keep going.

"No one changes until the person understands how disorganization is extremely costly to them," Paul said. "We all can get ingrained in our excuses, denial and blame of others."

Paul suggests establishing a purpose for organizing that goes deeper than the obvious benefits, such as locating paperwork more readily or being on time. Consider doing your job better or faster or both, reducing tension with loved ones or making room for more creativity.

Becoming more creative through personal organizing?

"Clearing your personal space gives you more mental clarity and less stress," Paul explained. "Disorganized people say they don't want to be like organized people because the organized people are uptight or cold. It's not at all that way. Feeling less stressed out gives us the opportunity to live more fully engaged."

Finding support is another cornerstone of climbing out of a canyon of disorganization. For instance, one of Paul's clients instructed her teen son to clean his room one night only to hear the boy respond, "Mom, are you kidding? This whole house is a mess." That prompted the mother to finally get organized, and her son became an ally in the project.

Co-workers and friends can provide necessary support by holding you accountable for commitments. Paul suggests you can make a "contract" with others, say, about keeping your promises or delivering materials on time.

Another big help is hearing other people's struggles to stay organized. Paul discovered several allies during her path to organization, including one outwardly impressive colleague who confessed to many disorganized habits (such as routinely invoicing clients six months late and losing airplane tickets).

"Disorganized people are all around us," Paul said. "Find one or two and talk to them. They help you without shaming you. You can motivate them to get more organized and less stressed too.

The Systems Thinker, Kali Saposnick, February 2003:

Getting Organized to Make a Difference

Have you ever put an article you intended to read “later” on top of a pile? In her new book It’s Hard to Make a Difference When You Can’t Find Your Keys:The Seven-Step Path to Becoming Truly Organized (Viking Compass, 2003), organizational consultant Marilyn Paul offers her personal experience of following this common practice—and of the exploding mountain of paperwork that eventually took over her office. A disorganized person for many years, Marilyn recounts how her chronic messiness adversely affected her work, relationships, home, and health. After failing innumerable times to fix the problem, Marilyn finally realized that to achieve her deepest goals, she needed to change more than her behavior; she had to transform the way she approached her life.

A Seven-Step Process

At first daunted by the challenge, Paul gained a foothold on the problem by beginning to identify how the choices she was making created chaos. She figured out why she was always running late for meetings, constantly losing phone messages, submitting invoices way past deadline—and forever looking for her keys. Understanding that deep personal change requires fundamentally shifting how we think about things, she gradually developed a seven-step process for “changing your mindset so you can do more of what you really want to do” (see “The Seven-Step Change Cycle” on p. 11). In her book, Marilyn provides numerous examples of how to put each step into practice. For instance, in Step One, figuring out your purpose for getting organized, she suggests articulating what you want to do that you currently can’t. If that method doesn’t inspire you, she proposes identifying the costs of disorganization to your life, such as money,time, relationships, family, and spirit.

In Step Two, envisioning what you want, the author encourages you to find a metaphor that embodies your idea of being organized, such as a basketball team, a still lake in the wilderness, a beautiful tall ship, or ice dancing. Holding onto this positive image during your journey helps you let go of any negative metaphors that held you back in the past. In Step Three, accurately assessing the source of your mess, Paul outlines four levels of inquiry into your reality—physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual—to reveal the unintended effects of your actions.“Part of organizing,” she explains, “is to internalize a sense of consequence so that you become aware that saving one piece of paper at one point in time could lead you to an overwhelming mountain of papers later on.”

Organizing Wisdom

This kind of systemic approach taps into what she calls “organizing wisdom”— that is, principles for uncovering strategies for taking action. One core principle is getting to ready, or clearing out space in your office and calendar so you can do what you need to do. Another is creating new habits, such as hanging things up and putting things away that continually return you to “ready” (see “Restoring Order to Your Desk”). A third is building effective systems, for example, developing simple routines for tracking phone calls, handling mail, and scheduling meetings. “As you become more organized, you will find that it is possible to shift from taking action based on anxiety to acting from deep intention,” Marilyn asserts. By engaging in this process, you can replace the stress and discomfort of disorder with a confidence in your extraordinary capabilities to achieve your goals. Piles can become manageable, deadlines can be met, relationships can grow—and you might even appreciate doing your dishes! Ultimately, taking this journey can open up new opportunities to make the difference you have always wanted to make in your life.

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