At MeloTel, we pride ourselves on being able to assist other companies with their abilities to organize their respective offices. And we do so in many ways. Our VoIP telephone services, for example, have turned standard offices into fully functional command centres that help businesses to run like well-oiled machines.
However, there’s not a whole lot that we can do to ensure that your place of business is organized in the physical sense. Some offices, as you may know, have their production levels hindered by such things as clutter. Misuse of space and plain-and-simple untidiness can prevent businesses from achieving the type of productivity they desire.
In The Toronto Star this past weekend, business reporter John Goddard wrote that there are four personality types when it comes to entrepreneurs. We thought that we’d take a look at his article to better help our readers determine what category they may fall into, and perhaps help them to improve their own senses of organization.
Goddard speaks to Toronto-based professional organizer, Isolde O’Neill who outlines the four personality types. “There is no point for an organizer to come in and say, ‘Do it this way,’” she said, noting that “people will not stick to a solution if it doesn’t match how their mind works.”
The Spreader. This is the first personality type described by O’Neill. Spreaders are quite smart and often have many artistic ideas. They, however, are messy. Generally, their stuff is all over the place as they have no ability to stick to a system. Even when things are put away, they are done so in clumped messes. She advises these types to create specific areas for specific items to be better organized.
The Nester. According to O’Neill, these types like to personalize things. They turn their office work spaces into makeshift dens or bedrooms complete with family photos, food and artwork made by their kids. They create a home away from home. She advises these types of workers to only display such personal effects that everyone can enjoy, so as to not alienate themselves or make co-workers uncomfortable.
The Filer. O’Neill refers to this personality type as the “life-blood of a smooth-running organization”. These people are efficient, productive and agreeable, she says, noting that they are quite organized. The only problem with filers, however, is that they are often resistant to change. She advises these types to let go of some old habits to allow for new ones that may help to better run the office.
The Piler. These types are masters of multi-tasking, says O’Neill. She writes that they are “distrustful of systems and afraid to discard anything, pilers stack things on the desk, the floor (or) the window ledge.” She advises these types to prioritize work in separate files handling the most important ones first. It’s important to not get too overwhelmed.