Marie Kondo and organizational psychologist Scott Sonenshein give clean-up tips with which not only order but also joy in the job should return.
You recognize each other at a glance. At least if you have previously opened a drawer in any household. Are all things neatly stowed away in boxes? Are they all clearly sorted by function, color or shape? Are the boxes possibly labeled?
Then there is no longer any doubt: it is an apartment owned by Marie Kondo fans. A look into the bathroom removes even the last doubt: rolled towels – all right! The Japanese Marie Kondo made it to TV fame worldwide with order.
And this is how they are known: In her TV series on the Netflix streaming service, she visits US families in their homes, walks around there and proclaims: “I love mess”. She’s a tidy freak, as she herself admits.
The hype started in 2011 with her book “The life-changing Magic of tidying up”. It has been translated into more than 30 languages. Since then, people have described in countless blogs and articles how much the “KonMari Cleanup Method” has changed their lives.
Put everything to the test once
Especially in corona times, in the space-time continuum of quarantine, contact bans or home office, combined with the traditional spring cleaning, the apartments are currently becoming more and more beautiful. Time to devote to another place: the workplace.
The ship should finally be cleared there – at least if Marie Kondo and Scott Sonenshein have their way. He is an industrial and organizational psychologist at Rice University in Houston, Texas. Together with Kondo he wrote the current book “Joy at Work”.
“Tidying up is about more than just mucking out,” says Sonenshein. “The main thing is to take the time to reflect on your work and the individual tasks.” Especially in times of the coronavirus, we are forced to put everything to the test anyway.
“For example, we notice that unavoidable processes or lengthy agreements are now quickly clarified by email,” he says. A good moment for fundamental questions: Which tasks and which work are important to me? What do I do with particular pleasure? Which contacts do I really need? What exactly triggers negative stress in me?
For this process, Kondo has an almost esoteric and “magical” approach: Every part should be touched when cleaning up. At this moment the owner should ask himself: “Does it spark joy?”
Precise instructions: First rubbish, then odds and ends, then emotional things
The radical approach is also known as the KonMari method. He also made for a number of funny memes. On platforms such as Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram, not only mugs and pens but also husbands are put to the test.
Those who no longer “sparkle joy” have to go. But what comes across as funny has a real core to it. The two authors agree: less is more. Sonenshein has developed a theory called “Stretch”.
Accordingly, there are two types of work: “stretching” and “chasing”. Stretchers are people who appreciate what they have – skills, materials, or money. You deal with it productively, creatively and effectively. Chasers, on the other hand, are convinced that they will never achieve their goal with the existing possibilities and demand more and more: things, time, money or employees.
The book is like a fusion of both theories. While Kondo reports from her everyday experiences, Sonenshein underpins the statements with results from the research area of organizational psychology, which confirm many positive effects of clarity and structure.
The two authors explain very precisely how tidy-up people should proceed: First, the desk is cleared of rubbish and bits and pieces, then it continues with data, the mailbox to the contacts on LinkedIn and apps on the smartphone. Because: Everything superfluous robs concentration of things that bring joy.
Sonenshein explains: “In view of the corona crisis, it may sound presumptuous to strive for the greatest possible joy.” But there is incredible power in that. “And we need this to deal with strokes of fate such as illness, job loss, or other negative feelings.”
Find hidden happiness in chaos
With all problems, he hopes that his readers will find their real interests and tasks through the “external shock” and reflection. In this way, he himself has found his job that makes him happy.
As a graduate of the elite Cambridge University, he had once taken a job in Silicon Valley. When the dot-com bubble burst and the terrorist attack in New York in 2001, his world was turned upside down. For years he thought he was doing the right thing. “That things have to be like that”.
Until Sonenshein rearranged itself. “What do I want?” He asked himself. And that clearly separated from the wishes of his friends and family. The result: he left the tech world and switched to science. “It was tough,” he recalls. Especially because those around him reacted with incomprehension.
But he is happy today and believes: “Maybe this pandemic is an opportunity for some to change their working life, as I did after the crash of the dot-com bubble.” For this, it is important to stop comparing yourself with others, and to part with social media. Or at least severely restrict his activities there.
And also: to sort things out, to think about what brings joy, what, and who is important. The authors are convinced that it is in this chaos that the real wishes lie.
