📘 Part 3: Organizing things

This episode's vocabulary

Observe (verb) - to watch carefully the way something happens or the way someone does something, especially in order to learn more about it.

Observation (noun) - the act of observing something or someone.

Planner (noun) - something such as a book or computer program showing the days, weeks, and months of the year, in which you can put the dates of events, meetings, etc.

Milestone (noun) - an important event in the development or history of something or in someone's life.

Run-of-the-mill (adj.) - ordinary and not special or exciting in any way.

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Questions and Answers

M: How can parents help children to become organized?

R: Well, setting a good example seems like a great place to start. One of the ways children learn is by observation. So if they see adults in their life succeeding at being organized, or succeeding while being organized or because of it, then they'll likely copy the behavior they think works. Another way might be having practical organization methods to hand like using calendars and planners, it certainly helps me.

M: What factors should people consider while organizing events?

R: Well, the common ones are things like time, place, the number of people and what's needed to make it a success. So let's say it's a conference, you'll need time when people are available, places to host the presentations based on how many presenters and attendees there will be. All the food and equipment to allow everything to go ahead as planned. So there are a couple of things that you need, actually, aren't there?

M: On what occasions are people organized?

R: I think there are different levels of organization. So if we mean just having an idea of what you should be doing, then most people are organized most of the time. But if we mean, they are appropriately prepared and understand what's expected of them, then that might be only for major or regular events like going to work or school or a party. And even then people forget about things they need or want.

M: What are the occasions people have parties for?

R: Well, we already talked about birthdays, though, that's not the only time. Anything that, well, anything involving times, when you want to celebrate a major milestone, like passing exams, or a driving test or a wedding, there'll be other times as well. But so much of this is dependent on the context and the culture. It's difficult to imagine right now.

M: And is it difficult for people to organize parties or different events?

R: It depends on how, I don't know, orderly they are as a person. It shouldn't be. And most of the parties that I've been to and have seen have been quite well-organized. So no, I don't think so. I imagine there are some times when people make mistakes, but have a complete disasters, unlikely.

M: Why do you think some people dislike organizing things?

R: Well, there's lots of pressure involved in organizing things. And then of course, people fear failure. And that can be something that prevents them from going on to do what they like. I think those are the big ones really.

M: What public events are celebrated in your area? And what do you think about them?

R: Well, that's an interesting question. Off the top of my head, we don't actually have that many local events that stand out from other places. But the ones that come to mind most readily are, we have a new year Duke, when people jump into cold water on the beach to celebrate a fresh start to the year. And then we have an annual Gala in our part of the town where people show off their businesses or their homes. I can see why outsiders would be curious about them. But if you're like me, then this is all very run of the mill stuff.

M: Do you think that organization skills should be improved and developed at school?

R: Well, yes, but I think they are anyway, aren't they? Because in order to be a good student at school, and to succeed, you need to be able to organize things in a reasonable way. It doesn't mean you have to be organized for every school subject, but even for the ones you like in order to be good at them, then you have to have some kind of organization or preparation.

M: Do you think people will be more organized in the future?

R: Yes. And that's quite depressing, because actually, sometimes, some of the more fun things can happen as a result of the chaos but I don't think there's any way to stop that from happening.

M: Thank you, Rory, for your answers! For your well-organized answers!

R: Thank you!

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