This post is by Kirsten Simmons of  Personalized Productivity.

Let’s think through your day.  When you arrive at your desk, what’s the first thing you see?

Is it the pile of paper comprising three weeks worth of files that you’ve put off sorting into their alphabetical hanging files?

Is it the 100+ emails that would only take a moment or two to reply to, but that you haven’t had the motivation to dive into?

Image courtesy aliwest44, licensed under Creative Commons

Is it the blank sheet of paper where you were supposed to write today’s to-do list before you wrapped up yesterday, but you were so relieved to just get to the end of the day that you forgot all about it?

What do you feel when you see that pile of files, that overflowing inbox or that blank sheet of paper?  If you’re like most people the response is guilt, frustration, or even a muted resignation.  Because despite your best intentions, you’ve failed yet again to maintain even the most basic organization or productivity system.  You’re just an utter failure.

Hold it right there!  Think for a minute and tell me, where did you get those systems from?  Did you make them up, or was it from a book or article trumpeting the ease of this or that system for skyrocketing your productivity and getting your life back on track?  How could that person—who’s writing that book without ever even meeting you—how could they possibly know that this system will be right for you?

They couldn’t.  And not only do they have a minimal chance of selecting the correct system for you, there’s a very high probability that their personality is such that their system will never work for you.

Let’s think through your day again.  What if you arrived at your desk and found nothing there that shouldn’t have been there?  What if your e-mail inbox had just a few messages that had come in overnight?  What if you sat down knowing exactly what you were going to do and how you were going to do it?

Would you feel better?  Would your stress be lower?  Would your productivity increase?

When it comes to productivity and organization, there are four important personality types.  Each type has distinct preferences for organizing their physical space, managing their time and optimizing their productivity.  And yet over 99% of productivity books and products are written by one type—the one that naturally gravitates toward “traditional” organization strategies like alphabetical filing and schedules planned to the quarter hour block.

Discovering your productivity personality and creating a system that works with your brain frees you from the stress and frustration of trying to maintain your old system.  Your new one will come naturally, will scale to your work load and adapt as you move into new projects.

Let me tell you a bit about the types and give you some tips to get you started right now. There is no reason to ever feel like a failure when it comes to productivity again.

The Fantastical

If you’re a Fantastical, you’re a creative problem solver who thrives on variety and originality.  You’ve been known to become so engrossed in your projects that you forget appointments, meetings or even meals!  The biggest key in a Fantastical organization system is space—you have to see all the components of a project in front of you, so structure your office space accordingly.  Shelves above your desk are a great way to do that, but don’t fall into the trap of using them for binders!  Put your project piles there instead so you can see everything you need to.

The Environmental

If you’re an Environmental, you’re the person that everyone around you depends on.  Your warmth and caring shines through in everything you do, and you worry when anyone is feeling sick or uncomfortable.  As such, you’re constantly shifting your schedule and your priorities to help out someone in need, and it drives those around you crazy!  Instead of trying to conform to someone else’s quarter hour schedules, plan out your day in blocks of at least two hours.  That gives you time to work on what needs doing while still stopping to lend a hand if someone needs you.

The Analytical

If you’re an Analytical, you’re motivated and goal oriented.  You rely on facts and figures rather than emotion, and you’re great at seeing the big picture.  Your most effective productivity strategy is learning how to focus your time on high value tasks while delegating the rest to assistants or others on your team.  Your goals will be achieved when everyone around you plays to their strengths, so make sure you know what those strengths are and do your best to see that the work gets divided accordingly.

The Structural

If you’re a Structural, then congratulations, organization comes naturally to you!  You’re the one everyone turns to when something needs to be planned, and when brainstorming your first action is to start making a list.  You’re most comfortable in a routine, and you can become overwhelmed by interruptions or unexpected increases in workload.  The good news is that there are a LOT of systems out there for you to choose from, so take a look at what you’re doing now and ask how it could possibly break.  Then do some experimenting and find ways to streamline your systems and routines to handle unexpected situations.

Once you’ve identified your productivity personality and altered your systems to fit, you’ll find that your day flows easier, your stress is reduced and all the time you spent struggling to maintain someone else’s system is suddenly free for whatever you’d like.

Kirsten started researching personality and productivity out of curiosity one day last October, and before she knew it she had a business on her hands! Are you interested in learning more about your type?  Come visit Personalized Productivity to take our free quiz to determine your primary type and get customized advice to begin building your system.

This post is by Peter G. James Sinclair.

With readers now from 150 nations currently visiting my blog, and subscribers being added daily, my first online video/audio/text course called Self Development Mastermind on sale, ebooks created, along with my Daily Motivational Memo ready to launch, plus a whole lot of exciting personal development materials in production—just after deciding six months ago to truly pursue my passion—all I can say is, “I’m excited.”

With my articles being picked up by blogs with huge readership, even landing a mention in The New York Times, I am bursting with creativity and energy. Early every morning I jump out of bed into the darkness, and take myself to one of a number of my favorite cafes here on the Gold Coast to “create magnificence”—as I call it.

I have a burning desire to make a difference in the lives of people in Peru, China, Kazakhstan, and beyond through the power of my Motivational Memo blog.

The world is so full of negative reports, details of disasters and horrifying events that it is in desperate need of my message of hope, faith and the understanding that for every storm there is a rainbow.

But it hasn’t always been this way

I was born long before the Internet, and yet in my twenties I developed a global vision. However, I never really knew how that would ultimately play out in my life.

Every morning I would take a map of the world and begin to pray for each and every nation of this world, their leaders and for their people.

But life has a habit of taking you to places at times where you didn’t intend going.

One of those places was a period of six months where my young family and I didn’t own a motorcar, and I decided to take on a part-time job of packing shelves in my local supermarket. This involved either getting up very early in the morning some days, or at the other end of the day working very late into the night when the store was free of customers.

This was a period in my life where I found myself between opportunities and I decided to enjoy the journey. Not once did I complain—though at times it was tough (especially when it came to having to ride my pushbike in the rain). For during this time I hung on to the global vision that had been imbedded in my heart years before.

So there I was—a “global shelf packer” dreaming of my next bestseller (which actually happened after this period when I was handed my first $100,000 check for my first ever self-published book). All I could think of was how one day my words would impact millions of people around the world.

So how did I choose to enjoy this period of my life?

Well here are just a few things I did:

• I chose to be the best shelf packer in the store. Products that I placed on the shelves were placed with a spirit of excellence attached.
• I chose to have the best shelf packer attitude out of all the shelf packers combined. I smiled a lot.
• While others kept complaining about the “unreasonable” managers—and they were—I kept my mouth closed.
• While others laughed at me as I gathered up all the cheap bread late at night—and hopped on my pushbike laden with a discounted bready bundle, I ignored the jeers, because I knew what reception I was going to receive from my young family the very next morning. My children started to call me Father Christmas because of all the goodies that I delivered, and my wife loved me for capturing the incredible savings.
• While I packed shelves I kept dreaming of my future as a global motivational influencer, and a leader in my field of passion. There’s nothing better than dreaming while you’re wide awake.
• During my time as a shelf packer I filled my days studying and pursuing my passions—refining my skill as a writer and spending my time associating with mentors, both dead and alive, in my chosen field. This was where I spent hours locked away in the basement of a local university library poring over the writings of men like Ralph Waldo Emerson, amongst others.

So what of the future?

I will continue to write life changing material, until I reach every single nation of the world through the power of the blog and the Internet and whatever technology hands us in the years to come.

I won’t stop until I reach the very ends of the earth with a message that inspires and encourages men, women, and children to pursue their passion, dream huge dreams, and fulfill all that they have been created to become—all because I have been transformed from a shelf packer into a global blogger.

This is my mission. This is my commission. What’s yours?

Peter G. James Sinclair is in the ‘heart to heart’ resuscitation business and inspires, motivates and equips others to be all that they’ve been created to become. Receive your free copy of his latest eBook Personal Success Blueprint at http://www.motivationalmemo.com and add him on Twitter @PeterGJSinclair today!

This guest post is by Peter G. James Sinclair of motivationalmemo.com.

‘Winners hate losing, but are willing to lose in order to get better.’
—Robert Kiyosaki

Everyone loves a winner. But in order to win, experience has taught me that it may require a combination of both a series of wins and losses in order to achieve an ultimate victory.

It’s not what you go through that makes the difference. It’s what you learn along the way and what you become in the process—a winner.

But what are the defining qualities of a winner? Here are just four that particularly stand out to me:

Desire

Without a burning desire to achieve or obtain, there is no light and no warmth generated in a life.

To have a goal or a dream with a deadline is the very thing that will create the “fire of desire.” It’s the burn that will create the yearn.

A life filled with desire will jump out of bed in the morning ready to go, will work relentlessly throughout the day, and even burn the candle long into the night.

For a well-placed desire is the motivation, or as I say the “motor-vation” that will drive you towards your win.

Desire is the spark, the flame, the ignition, the energy, the propulsion and the characteristic of a winner and their winning ways.

Information

Ongoing education is crucial for the winner who doesn’t want to be a “one-win-wonder.” By continuing to partake of the information that builds them as winners they will go from one victory to the next.

Life is a long distance race, and not just a 100-meter sprint.

Each time I have ever embarked into a new business arena, my first and foremost task has been to educate myself.

When I embarked upon writing a musical I studied musicals and those who wrote them throughout the past century. When I decided to self publish my books I studied publishing and marketing. When I started a web design company I surrounded myself with a team of smart people and took notes furiously. When I decided to make money from blogging I hired a blogging coach.

The information gained set me up for a win each and every time.

Assimilation

It’s one thing though to be informed. In this day and age we are often in fact suffering from information overload. It can actually paralyze you if you let it.

What is required and demonstrated by the winner is the ability to assimilate what they have learned and put it into action.

The power is in the application of your new-found knowledge, and not just the knowledge alone.

Personally, I have always understood something far better by doing rather than just listening or watching. Another way I have learned things at a deeper level has been to then teach others what I had just learned. Through the years I have acted as a business/life coach for many—at first for free, and now for payment.

I am always surprised at how “smart” I have become. The fact is though, that as you teach others—or even prepare and deliver a speech, both of which I am now paid to do—your own thoughts and understanding of the subject matter is crystallized in your own mind.

Repetition

I learned the power of repetition when I studied the piano from the age of six through to 18, with only a six-month break when I was 14.

The drill of playing scales, arpeggios and the discipline of the theoretical study of music clearly demonstrated to me of the value of repetition.

The direct result was that I was transformed over time from being a mediocre piano student into one who composed and performed his own songs, recorded five professional recordings and wrote both the music and lyrics for my own stage musical.

In sales I learned to become a professional salesperson through repetition of the sales process. In writing I learned to become a professional writer through repetition, and aligned with that repetition was the repetitive actions of editing, refining, evaluation and improvement.

These are the defining qualities of a winner. Can you add more to this list?

Peter G. James Sinclair is in the “heart to heart” resuscitation business and inspires, motivates and equips others to be all that they’ve been created to become. Receive your free copy of his latest eBook Personal Success Blueprint at http://www.motivationalmemo.com and add him on Twitter @PeterGJSinclair – today!