I have never thought of myself as a particularly organized person, nor do I think I am a slob. My clothes are usually hung up or folded on a shelf, though there is a bench in our bedroom that has a tendency to become strewn with random articles of clothing over time. Books are either organized on the bookshelf in alphabetical order or put in the giveaway box, but that’s usually not until after they have sat in the increasingly larger “read” book pile beside the bed for a few weeks/months. Sometimes, I forget to update my car registration until the day I have to take it in for state inspection. I’d categorize myself as moderately organized, with fluctuations depending on how busy my week is.
The one area where I give myself an organizational gold star is with email. It’s a little embarrassing to admit, but I am slightly obsessive about email organization. During work hours, my inbox is almost always at zero unread emails. The email apps on my phone look like this:
If they don’t, they will soon (side note: I have a friend, who shall remain nameless, who does not have this same obsessive behavior and will occasionally text me screenshots of her email app showing 10,000+ unread emails. I screamed the first time she did it. It makes me feel itchy just thinking about it.) This behavior stems from my reflexive need to be helpful. In order to be helpful, I need to promptly respond to any question I receive. I can’t respond to the question if I can’t find it in my email; ergo, I must keep my email organized so I can find the question I need to respond to so I can be helpful.
This almost pathological obsession with responding to email in order to be helpful corresponds closely to my mindset when I am having an in-person conversation with someone. If, during the conversation the person I am speaking with presents a challenge or problem they are experiencing, my instinct is to immediately try to solve the problem and share this advice with them (The Vanilla Ice lyric from Ice Ice Baby — If there was a problem, yo, I’ll solve it — comes to mind. Perhaps not the ideal person to gather conversation advice from.) This drives my wife crazy. It took me years to understand that sometimes when she is telling me about a problem, she’s not asking me to fix it. She just wants me to listen and sympathize with her. I’m getting better at that. (Note from Scott: I am rushing to show this to my wife right now so she knows I am not the only one with this issue. We have had this conversation sooo many times)
Last week, we took our youngest kid to D.C. to start her first year of college at George Washington University (Contrary to what you may have read recently, D.C. is still standing and is not overrun by hoodlums and scofflaws. Yes, we feel safe sending her there. Yes, we felt that way months ago when she made her decision. I’m getting angry again. Time to move on.) Incredibly, with both kids now away at college, I am an empty nester. My daughter had her first day of classes yesterday, and it took every ounce of willpower not to text her on an hourly basis to check in and see how she was doing. How are classes going? Is everything OK? Is there anything I can do to help? (UPDATE: Classes are fine, everything is fine, my help is not needed. Sigh.)
So, what does a guy with an inherent need to be helpful do when his email inbox is at zero and his family has little interest in soliciting his advice? He reminds everyone else that the CMEpalooza Ask Us Anything hotline is open and waiting. Whether it’s questions about CME, email organization, or the name of the teen drama musical that Vanilla Ice starred in in 1991 (it’s Cool as Ice), we can help. Let us help you help us help you: If you have an issue (professional or personal) you want us to help with, you can click here to submit your question(s).
CMEPALOOZA 