As a multipod, one of the most challenging things is to find an organization method to fit your multiple interests: schedule, books, jobs on CVs, crafting material, mental space…
An organized multipod is like a chimera: stuff of legend that does exist if you know where to look, and that very rarely shows up in all their organizational splendor simply because the day only has 24 hours!
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An example: I have a folder with ideas for future articles, with some text already jotted out, a couple of structure drafted, and a few pictures, quotes and videos to help compose the idea when time comes to publish a new article.
Since this e-zine is rightfully called Evidence of Now, my muses were screaming for me to write about organization, since it is the theme of my Equinox Endeavor and the main focus in my home (and mind) right now.
And that is the biggest challenge in a multipod’s life: finding the balance between preparation/organization/rational and spontaneity/flexibility/creative.
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As you have gathered by now, I went with flexibility, because writing is something fun and recharging, and the muses have to feel heard to keep talking to us. 😉
Balancing responsabilities
Still, especially as adults with responsabilities – adulting is a thing! -, the muses do have to be given a rain-check once in a while, which means keeping the ideas somewhere so they don’t disappear.
And multipods’ muses are as multifaceted as we are, so…
… how to organize ideas for an article when you’re doing laundry?
… where to keep a creative project while you need to work to pay the bills?
… when to find time to attend that amazing workshop we’ve been looking for for ages amidst family duties?
… how to make sense of all the information we research for a multitude of subjects so we can access it easily later on?
Organization is a human challenge
Everyone struggles to organize, or we wouldn’t have so many books, TV shows, vlogs, podcasts, and experts offering their services as we do.
Even specialists struggle with it:
- the more materialistic the society, the bigger the need to organize the space…
- the more research anyone does, the more materials they have to organize, data to sort out, papers to go through…
- the more expert you become at something, the more advanced tools you’ll need, especially if you go with making a living out of it…
- the more jobs you go through in the search for a good income or a better working environment, the harder it is to puzzle together a CV for a future job application…
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So now add to that the capacity to learn a lot and very quickly about many subjects, an extraordinary ease to jump between activities, a prodigious capacity to connect similarly disparate dots to see larger patterns and understand big picture situations, and then you can see how it is even harder for a multipod to organize than a specialist.
Neurodivergence as a skill
Although society is focused on rewarding specialists, it is generalists that tend to solve the big generational challenges all societies face. Just think of how you need a consultant to get a company to the next level, and how the best ones are the ones that have knowledge about all the parts of the company, all the steps in production, all the market trands, etc. If a consultant is a generalist, the integration of all the parts will be easier to achieve, and the changes proposed will be better and bring a bigger return on investment in the long run.
So why not give the same credibility to multipod organizers, to neurodivergent people who have managed to figure out a system that works for them, and for non-neurodivergent people too?
The reason I am known as an organized person – even by those that have seen the mess in my homeschooled family farm house – is that I need to organize, especially schedules and calendars and notes of meetings and such, so I don’t forget anything amidst my busy brain and life.
When you are writing more books at the same time than you have fingers – platespinner scanners get this! -, are active in NGO’s, facilitate groups, write articles, work as a coach and regeneration consultant, do the odd VA job, run a permaculture farm and a large family home, and are active in the community, you need to keep an effective organizational method.
To me – a Bee in Clutterbug’s Organization Style Quiz – I need to have a clear place for everything, easy to clean and manage, with labels and as practical as can be, so the whole family can put everything back in its place, a big visible schedule with everything on it, and inspiration all over my walls.
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Lead by example
Any parent knows that kids do what you do, no matter what else you tell them, so leading by example is a real thing.
Right now my house is a messy storm before the organized calm, and it will be even messier as I sort out stuff to donate, sell or compost/recycle/trash.
Lots of materials are being stored elsewhere until they are used – if not, they’ll be composted or recycled.
Damaged stuff is being fixed if possible, or replaced so we can use them safely for a long time.
Everything is being downsized so it takes less space and there is more room for us, the pets and friends.
Is this easy? Not for anyone, especially multipod parents with multipod kids.
Is it feasible? Of course, as long as there are ways to make it fun, and activities to recharge energy and motivation levels.
And, of course, as long as you divide every task into smaller steps, so it is not overwhelming and you can get back to it if life gets in the way – flexibility, remember?
Make It Fun
In the Puttyverse, we have Equinox Endeavor, a twist on SuperBetter that is run every Equinox as a community effort.
“What is that?”
Well, imagine your life is a game, your challenges are Battles against Bad Guys, and that your to-do list is filled with quests. Imagine yourself as a character and face life in a playfully serious – or seriously playfull? – way.
During Equinox Endeavor, we all set Epic Wins, Daily Quests, and more importantly, Power-Ups. Power-ups are the activities that help us recharge our energy levels after Battles with the Bad Guys.
My Epic Quest is to Clear, Clean and Organize my Home, and one of my Power-Ups is Mighty Music.
Rock and Roll music is considered helpfull with depression and sadness, video games’ soundtracks are composed specifically to keep you focused and energized, work-out mixes are meant to help you keep your pace – try different genres and see what energizes you during your tasks.
And sing! In Portugal, we have a saying that literally translates into “Those who sing, shoo away their sorrows.” – so sing away tiredness, pain or whatever limits you from achieving your Quests.
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Flexibility
Remember the secret ingredient for any organization tool: it needs to be flexible!
Life is constantly changing: we may lose a job or get a new one, have someone move in or move out, gain a co-worker or lose a partner, get a bigger place or downsize, move to another town or even country…
Whatever happens, your organization method needs to be able to accommodate those changes, allow for someone living or working with you to comply easily with it, hopefully regardless of their own method of organization.
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And above all, have fun in everything you do.
You can organize and still have fun and be flexible, including in your approach to life, so when you get a curve ball, you can hit it and still be chill about it.
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AUTHOR’S NOTE:
This article was written while listening to epic music workout mixes and 90s rock music. 😉
