We all have natural behaviors regarding the use of time and how we organize time and space.
Minimalist Organizing Personalities do not find value in things – Less is more | TSSI
Sometimes our styles work well for us, but when we do not understand how to work with our natural styles, we can stand in our own way and impede our best intentions. Understanding what works best for us and what does not impacts the overall quality of our life.
Minimalist Organizing Style Personality Preference
Spring cleaning!
Does this phrase fill your head with images of pristine, clear spaces, sparsely filled, and neatly organized? Or is your vision brimming with boxes and containers filled with decades of memories and projects not yet begun? Some people have a knack for eliminating items that have outlived their usefulness. Others hold on to items purely based on sentimental value or often for an intended future purpose.
Your Organizing Personality Type
Have you ever been in the flow?
Flow is an effortless feeling when things just seem to work well. Those flow experiences are often thought to be random occurrences, but in our research and years working with others to enhance productivity and stay organized, we’ve found out some important information.
It seems that each of us has natural behaviors regarding how we manage time and how we organize our living and working spaces. And, the Time & Space Style Inventory was designed by productivity professionals with decades of experience to help you gain insight and be more productive as a result. Here’s what we’ve learned about Minimalist personality styles when it comes to organizing!
How Your Organizing Personality Type Creates Flow Experiences
When things flow smoothly, we often think it’s simple synchronicity. But, the more you know about yourself, the better you are able to manage tension when you become inundated, over-scheduled, and blocked with clutter. When your stress increases, it’s important to understand how to work with our natural style preferences, and let your dominant habits and behaviors work for you rather than stand in your way!
If you ignore tension and stress, you can get in your own way, impede your best intentions, and miss your goals. And understanding what techniques, behaviors, and products work for you, and what does not, impacts the overall quality of your life.
Are You A Minimalist Organizing Personality?
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Minimalist Organizing Style Types dislike clutter and avoid it by purging items frequently. The Minimalist Space Style Preference places a high value on functionality and less value over the sentimental value an item possesses. Minimalists cringe at that thought of collections that serve no purpose. A person with this organizing style preference will not be spotted at garage sales or snapping up loads of clearance merchandise. She connects with the function of an item she needs to get a job or project done.
As a result, Minimalist organizing styles keep life manageable by controlling what they keep in their living and working space. Minimalists dislike clutter. And even though they appreciate sentimental memories, they prefer to live in the ‘now.’
When asked, many Minimalists dislike being surrounded by miscellaneous objects. Additionally, they dislike feeling held hostage by memories and past events.
“Letting go of stuff creates space for the new things coming into my life” would be a Minimalist thought. (Suddenly, a popular Disney Movie track comes to mind…)
How to Prioritize as a Minimalist
In addition, prioritizing and letting go is easy for a Minimalist organizing style. Clear surfaces give her a sense of control over her environment. It’s important for a Minimalist to be aware that others may not be as comfortable with this process. Believing that others who share their space should be able to let go of low-priority items with equal ease can (and often does) create tension with others.
In contrast, diminishing clutter may be a knee-jerk reaction. Especially if you’ve lived with someone with hoarding disorder or one who’s hung on to too many items. A minimalist may be tempted to get rid of someone else’s belongings without their permission. Because value focuses on function, she may purge rashly causing regret. To balance her need to reduce tension by releasing clutter, a Minimalist needs to be self-aware – particularly when her emotions are heightened. In times of grief or anger, she may throw out things to feel a greater sense of control and relief.
How can a Minimalists arrange space, avoid tension with others, and create a more enjoyable space?
Flow is defined as the “natural, effortless unfolding of life in a way that moves us toward wholeness and harmony” (from The Power of Flow, Belitz, and Lundstrom). The gateway to flow begins with awareness, being present in the moment, and learning to manage your inner experience.
Flow Steps offer simple choices to help resolve tension and restore freedom over time and space.
Some Flow Steps To Help a Minimalist enhance workflow:
- Use clear, straightforward systems to manage items.
- Isolate decision-making from the ‘action of purging to create space’.
- Engage and seek to understand emotions to avoid using purging as a response to unresolved issues.
- Take time to determine the value of what you have decided to dispose of so you are not disposing of items hastily – don’t dispose of jointly used (or owned) items without determining the value held by others first.
When you follow the four steps above, you will help yourself to use your natural style to create a more pleasing workflow experience.
Once you identify your dominant preferences – are you an Everything Out, Nothing Out, Minimalist, Saver, Straightener, or No Rules? – you can begin to take steps to integrate more Flow Steps into your experience.
The Time & Space Style Inventory™ (TSSI™) evaluates your style preferences and how you arrange space, tolerate disorder, and assign value. Learning your preferences can help you better understand how to make organizing decisions. Make the most of your style and increase flow in your life. Flow Steps will help you successfully manage your inner experience.
EMBRACE your Natural Organizing Style Preference!
Make it work for you – take the Time & Space Style Inventory™ and identify your time and space styles and enjoy your life @ http://bit.ly/tssifree.
