Cruel Reality
If I did make public resolutions, I'd resolve to be a more organized person. For those who are familiar with the Myers Briggs personality system (as many of my friends are), I've always wished I was more "J". The world is kinder to people who are more organized.
I have a friend who, for example, does not sleep unless she has entered all her daily financial activity into Quicken. I pay my bills when I feel like digging through the stack of mail that accumulates after my long journeys or when someone calls and starts disturbing me.
I have another friend who went a step beyond alphabetizing his CDs: he ripped them all to mp3 format and then created playlists for them all by the year they were released. He has other playlists for each band and genre of music. My music is scattered everywhere - I can think of 3 CDs I bought over the last few years that I am still waiting to find amidst the rubble that is my apartment.
Just as a generalization, people who keep track of their stuff are happier - they know where everything is. People who keep track of their money are safer - they don't miss stupid bills and maximize what they have. They save better.
Sure, the super organized tend to be less flexible - less adaptable to change and so on but what a small penalty compared to all the benefits.
I'd never want to be anal retentive; when I worked for an accounting firm a senior auditor once pulled me into the copy room and wasted about 45 minutes trying to show me how to photocopy some papers and leave exactly 3/4" as a top margin. Working at the accounting firm - by the way, the test of a good accountant is their threshold for anal retentiveness - made me so happy I was not a lackluster, uncreative organization freak.
But there are times I wish I could keep my desk clean.
5:03:28 PM 
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