Being Organised
I recently “tooted” on Mastodon “sometimes it’s a real drag to be the person who always has their shit together”. Although meant humorously, there was an element of truth to the remark. Allow me to explain. I always have a shopping bag in my coat pocket. Our household always has a supply of those things that you often run out of or need occasionally. Such as AA batteries, stamps and envelopes. If Mrs P and I are going out for the day, we’ll check the weather and traffic before we set off. There’s always a spare toner and drum unit for the printer, as well as paper. We’ll book a table at our favourite restaurant in advance of going to the West End show. Why do we do these things? Because we’re organised. I’m not trying to be smug about it, that’s just our default position and how we were raised. Perhaps it’s a generational thing?
Do organised people attract each other? I’m not sure if that is always the case. However, it is with Mrs P and myself. We are both organised when it comes to admin and finances. We tend not to “put off to tomorrow what can be done today” and we both have a capacity to think ahead and anticipate things that can come up and thus plan for them. It’s seldom rocket science or anything tricky. If we’re collecting the grandchildren from school and looking after them for a few hours, it’s pretty obvious to have food in the freezer and a cupboard full of snacks. Mrs P is always good at remembering birthdays and buying suitable gifts. It isn’t some sort of quasi super power. She just listens to people and makes a note in her diary. I have learned from this and tend to use the calendar and notes features on my phone. Being organised is a lot easier these days with the tools we have.
However, despite the obvious benefits of being prepared, it does come with its own set of problems. Once you are identified by others as “having your shit together” you find that an ad hoc network grows around you. It ranges from those who become at a low level, semi dependent upon your organisational skills, to members of your family that just end up in some pain in ass, symbiotic relationship. This manifests itself in a spectrum of enquiries and requests. At one end you have low level stuff like “can you scan this for me and turn it into a PDF”? At the other extreme there’s “I’ve been accused of a heinous crime. Will you bank roll my legal defence”? This can all become a little frustrating. Don’t get me wrong, I believe that it is important that we all help each other as we journey towards the grave but it can get a little one sided at times.
I used to work with someone who would always ask me the same question every three months or so. The answer could easily be found in the administrative code manual. After a while I said to the person in question “why do you keep asking me this. You should have learned this by now”. They replied “I don’t need to learn it, as I have you”. They meant it sincerely and as a compliment but it really left me aghast because to me it was an appalling personal philosophy. To a degree, I feel this way at times with those who keep asking me “can I borrow your lawn mower”. It would be nice if those who seem dependent, could occasionally manage their own needs. Mrs P thinks I’m being a little harsh and so I usually end up relenting. Hence “sometimes it’s a real drag to be the person who always has their shit together”.
