Organizing for the Creative Person: Right-Brain Styles for Conquering Clutter, Mastering Time, and Reaching Your Goals

I haven't found too many books about right-brain organizing. This book helped me get from chronic messiness to relatively neat in a very short time. I don't think like left-brainers do. If I put stuff in a filing cabinet I might as well not even have it. Now I realize that's not a problem, it just means that I need to organize differently than those who like filing systems. I prefer piles, but that looks so messy, so after reading this book, I started "piling" papers in open-top bins. I have them color coded by urgency so I know to check the pink pins daily, green ones within a week, etc. That helps with sorting papers and with time management. This book has lots of suggestions and ideas to help organize creatively rather than using some frustrating system that just doesn't work. This book is well worth the price.

Unless you just arrived in a time machine from the 80’s you do not want to spend time or money on this book! To be fair I really didn’t read the whole thing , it was too awful! Please keep in mind that it was copyrighted in 1992 and written by women named Dorothy and Dolores who recommend making audio recordings of your goals with your tape recorder....suggestions for organizing your bedroom closet literally include advice like hire a custom closet decorator to redecorate your closet, get rid of extra hangers, pack out of season clothes away, and put all of your blazers together, then all of your pants together, etc etc. See the ground breaking organizational idea here is so that you can see how many navy sports coats and pairs of brown pants that you actually own...they also recommended innovations like putting all your coffee stuff together in a coffee area, having a gift wrapping area, a copy area in your office... Nothing in this book is new or innovative or geared to actual creative people. I really wanted to like this book and I honestly want to get more organized but I don’t think a thorough reading of this book will ever make the reach for the stars goals list that I can then hide in a big book in the middle of my book shelves so that no one will make fun of it (this is another very serious suggestion as well as writing down where you put that list so it doesn’t get lost)!!!! Maybe I’ll read it as soon as I paint my whole house that ugly brownish pink from the 90’s and put up wallpaper boarders to be extra creative like the Arbie (her term) that really doesn’t even want closets!!!!

As a professional organizer, I read a lot of organizing books. For me, organization comes very naturally. But my right brained clients think differently, and I want to be able to help them. This book has some great ideas for those wonderful right brain thinkers!

I am creative and this was dull, tedious and did not interest or excite me in the least. Inspiration? Nope.

I love this book. And I'm a professional organizer. It gives a different perspective to normal organizing techniques. My favorite was that some people like to just hang stuff on pegs. It's an oldie, but a goodie. Simple, well written, good graphics, good basic book that lets you feel "right," not "wrong" about your style. You know who you are!

I was looking for a system that worked with my highly creative, distracted brain. Sadly, this was nothing more than a rehash of advice I’d read elsewhere.

Dorothy Lehmkuhl and Dolores Cotter Lamping make it easier for people who aren't comfortable with "traditional" folder-and-cabinet organizing structures to understand why those systems don't work for them. And why that's OK!!Lauren Williams, Certified Professional Organizer(R), Owner, Casual Uncluttering LLC, Woodinville, WA, USA

I love, love, love this book ! It really helps you tackle getting organized. I can see myself on so many pages of this book. It's like having a coach with you !

I was given this book by a family member who knows I've struggled all my life with organising, who knows I'm a designer and thought this might help. I have also been diagnosed with adult ADD in my early 20s. I would recommend this book to anyone who feels that their style is not suited to the typical linear approach to the world, whether they see themselves as "creative" or not. I don't even really believe in the whole Right vs Left brain stuff, however the descriptions definitely suited me and I think would suit not only typical artist types but also those with ADD. It recognises that we need a different style of organising, and tackles some of our habits that make it hard to be organised, like feeling that we need to see our work in front of us at all times, being afraid to hide tasks away because we'll forget about them, having a hard time estimating how long tasks will take, a tendancy towards clutter, procrastination, being easily distracted by interruptions, etc.There's also a very reassuring tone to the book - it points out that there is nothing wrong with being this way, you just need a different system to make it all work than others do. I don't particularly like her terms, such as Arbie and Leftie (as if we're so simply divided in two groups) but I just ignored those parts I found a bit cheesy and did find the actual organising advice much more useful than most other books I've tried. If you've tried more typical advice before and it didn't work, give this a shot.

I totally recognise myself and personal traits in this book. It's a good read with advice on how to tweak habits to a better organised life.Book arrived quickly.

The title "Organizing for the Creative Person" is totally misleading. There is no attempt to move away from the standard dogma in every other book on organization. I suppose the only difference is that the authors continually scold right brainers for their errant ways. I've never read a book which ended up in the giveaway box so fast. Each chapter was a study in why I should feel bad about being a right brained, creative person. It goes on endlessly implying that the left brained way is better, and if we poor misguided right brainers try really, really hard to do the things they suggest, we might be able to save ourselves. Major disappointment.The only book I have ever come across that has anything new to say is "Organizing Solutions for People with ADHD". This book actually has practical suggestions that might be useful for right brainers as well as for ADHD folks.

I love this book! My first response when I started reading it was: "I'm not broken!" For the first time I'm getting cleaning and organization advice that actually makes sense to me and I am making progress. If you struggle in these areas, and thrive in creativity, I definitely recommend this book!

Some creative alternative ways to organise that work *with* how my mind works rather than against it. I would have found it more useful had I not already worked out many of them, but it has helped me validate my alternative approaches. For those who understand personality type, it helps you to find effective _N_P approaches to orgainising rather than feeling yet again like a failed _S_J.