Do you like storing your papers on top of your desk in trays, baskets or just plain piles? Do you have a preference for Post-it notes and maybe some colorful file folders? Or are clearly labeled files and file cabinets more your style? Do you 'file' or 'pile'? I make it a practice of testing my workshop participants for this very thing because of its importance in creating and supporting an effective, organized workspace.

The brain's dominance factor

Research conducted in the late 1980's proved that human beings exhibit brain hemisphere dominance in early childhood. Brain hemispheres have distinct functions that work together so that we actually use both sides of our brain in everything we do.

Your brain's dominance directly impacts how you respond to new experiences. The more aware you are of your own learning style, the better positioned you are to use what you learn.

Your natural style is the key

Left-brain dominance indicates someone who tends to be analytical, methodical and a linear thinker. This scenario may imply that left-brainers are more organized, but this is perception more than reality. Language resides in the left side of the brain so these individuals look for a word on a label affixed to a file folder frequently found stored vertically on top of their desk or in their file cabinet.

Right-brainers, on the other hand, are characterized as individuals who are conceptual thinkers, visionaries who scan more than focus. They tend to be more people/project oriented. This style responds to color or placement and frequently files papers horizontally on top of their desk. Putting something inside a file cabinet could mean it is lost to them forever.

Benefit

Identifying your natural paper management style helps you work towards eliminating those on-going feelings of stress and frustration when you look at your desktop. Actively developing a user-friendly system that supports your style is a key element in not only creating an organized workspace, but more importantly in maintaining one.

Outcome? Increased productivity and peace of mind.

So?are you left or right?

Copyright 2001 Cynthia Kyriazis. All rights reserved.

Cynthia Kyriazis is a Professional Organizer, trainer, consultant, speaker, coach and author with over 20 years management experience in multi-unit corporations. She is President of Organize it, Inc., an organizational consulting firm serving Fortune 500 clients since 1995. Cynthia has worked with over 150 companies and hundreds of professionals to help improve performance in the areas of time, information, space and electronic file management.

Cynthia has appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Kansas City Star and the Legal Intelligencer. She currently serves as Secretary on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), member of the National Speakers Association (NSA), member of International Society for Performance Improvement ? Kansas City chapter (ISPI-KC) and consultant to the American Coaching Association.