J's Schedule

One of the most unorganized and terrifying people I ever met in my life was telecommuter "J." When I first started at the job where I currently work, he was my mentor. And he lived, walked, and breathed chaos.

He was a *full-time* telecommuter who, while working from home, would spend countless hours of time creating long-winded emails with detailed steps intended to put me through rigorous training procedures. Then he would disappear for days on end. I began to think he was a spy for some top-secret government organization, and that he only worked at this job on his off hours.

During his absences, I almost always discovered that his training tasks were entirely unorganized and based on outdated procedures. Being a new employee, I wanted to do my best, but it was near impossible. The clients were happy to point out my mistakes, and I was left to clean up the mess myself.

Finally my supervisor suggested having J come to the office to work with me in person. The day came, and I was so nervous, preparing myself for the worst. J came strolling in wearing white-washed jeans and a Hawaiian t-shirt. He had unruly hair and a big smile. To this day he is one of the nicest people I have ever met. I thought I had the wrong telecommuter.

He treated me to lunch and kindly trained me on all the procedures. From that day on, we worked almost perfectly together. He was always unorganized, but he was great with the customers. And I learned to clean up the debris he left behind.

J moved recently and resigned from the company but before he left, he came into the office for one last goodbye. He also wanted to make some suggestions about becoming more organized. (I laughed.)

He gave me an electronic calendar file that he "used to use for scheduling" and that I still use to this day. It was created in Excel, so I can completely customize it for my daily tasks and work schedule.

It was like he passed a sacred torch to me. This may be the key that unlocks every door to complete organization and life order. This calendar is a complete extension of me and who I am, and it can change with me at any time. If my mood today is "Screw it, I'll do that tomorrow" - there's a category for that!

I rarely forget anything, and my files are always on time. It's perfect. I'm only left with one lingering question about it... "Why wasn't J using the calendar any more?" I hope I never find out!