Inspiration & Motivation!

We often must conquer procrastination, negative thoughts and emotions, fears and just plain laziness.  But if you put a system in place for ourselves we have to conquer ourselves to move forward.

Confessions of an Organizer: When It All Feels Like Too Much!

Some days I feel like Lucy and Ethel at the conveyor belt making chocolates and then the belt speeds up and I look like a chocolate-eating fool.  

The day starts off planned and organized with my calendar all filled with productivity and delight.  Then...LIFE HAPPENS. Technology stops working properly, there's an accident on the beltway, I get a call from a friend with bad news, or maybe I ate a bad burrito (aye yai yai). Professional Organizers are human too and sometimes we have to face our demons just like the rest of humanity who doesn't make their living directing people to live life clutter-free and without chaos. Luckily we immerse ourselves in productivity books, blogs, and other media at a much higher rate than most people. Therefore we often know how to gain control of the reigns of chaos and work through the crap. Here's some suggestions on how you can too:

1. Relax, Relate, Release 

(start video at 1:15)

When your schedule suddenly has an upset the first thing we can start to do is panic or get angry. You have approximately 2-4 minutes to freak out but after that get it together. Relax, relate, release! It's no use crying over spilled milk so look at what you can control and do some triage on your day. Make some phone calls to cancel or reschedule, delegate some duties to family, friends, or colleagues, or don't do some things at all.  This is where the importance of prioritizing comes into play.

2. Put email off for a while.

Something that can exacerbate a problem rapidly is allowing more distractions or things you can't control enter into your universe. Even if it's for 30 minutes to an hour, take the time to regroup, re-plan and move forward (it might be a good time to go to lunch).  If you don't have that kind of time, or you're on the go, stop checking your phone every 5 minutes.  If you are chock full of things to do and you're running out of time, your phone could possibly add "chocolates to your conveyor belt".  Take a few minutes to catch your breath and if anyone asks, you were in a very important meeting (because you were -- with a VIP client, yourself!).

3. What's the lesson?

One thing that we could do is ask ourselves how could we have handled the situation better?  If we did all we could, but life smacked us down then give yourself a pat on the back!  But perhaps there are some hidden gems in how to move forward.  For instance, I'm not really a morning person and I've learned from experience I need to give myself a FULL hour from the time my eyes open and my feet hit the floor to the time I walk out the door.  Sure, there have been occasions where I can get ready in 30 minutes or less but those are the exceptions not the rule and so when I plan my morning, I plan accordingly. I've learned my lesson.

Could some organizational tool or app help? Could it simply be adding an alert to your calendar? Setting a personal rule like no phone while I'm [fill in the blank]? Or getting up 15 minutes earlier or setting out plans the night before? Often times we could avoid a loaded "conveyor belt" with a little bit more thought and although somethings are unavoidable we can do all we can to put our best foot forward.  Although there is no "I" in chaos, sometimes it should be. By taking yourself out of the equation, your odds of having to (okay if you haven't watched the first video yet now would be a good time) "stuff chocolates down your shirt" diminish.

Did anything said resonate with you? What do you do when it all feels like too much is going on for you to handle?  I'd love to hear from you.  Please comment below.  If you liked what you read, please don't be stingy and make sure you share on social media.  I've made it easy, just go below.

Until my next confession...

Talk about convenience!

I really like this as a nightstand.  I get thirsty and hot at night and it's great to have a cool beverage bedside. It's also great for a ill or bed-ridden family member for food or medicines that need to be refrigerated. 

You survived the first full week of 2014 after the lull of the holiday season?  Go you!

Be Kind to Your Later Self: 5 Surefire Ways to Make Shopping Guilt-Free

The bright lights, the big signs, the chance to get a deal, the chance to have something new & different in your home..on your body...on your kids' bodies...the list of clothing, home goods, and gadgets are endless.  It's a rush!  Then shopping bags settle, receipts clear and you re-group after the ultimate shopping experience you start to notice you may have purchased duplicates, you have clothes in your closet with the tags still on them that you forgot you had, and items by the door (for weeks) that need to be returned after buyer's remorse.  Well here are some ways to make your next shopping experience less than sinful.

Have a needs and a wants list

• Use Evernote, S Note, One Note, or a notepad (if you always keep it with you) to keep track
• Have a wishlist at your favorite stores (Amazon)
• Use Wishpot.com - a free wishlist service

Budget money each week to spend on yourself

• Use a prepaid card (I like AMEX bluebird, zero fees for most activities other pre-paid cards charge)
• Use the envelope system (when the money is gone it's gone)
• Open a bank account just for fun stuff & shopping
• You don't have to spend money on yourself on THINGS.  Get a massage, take a sushi making class, save it up for a really grand getaway, or better yet buy someone you care about a gift.  It really is better to give than to receive.

Set boundaries for items you purchase

• When you assign a certain area in your closet just for pants and then you notice you've run out of room in that area, or perhaps you don't have any more space on your dresser for another bottle of perfume,the magic pill is...you guess it: Stop buying more. The tendency is to just start another collection somewhere else and pretty soon starts the "I forgot I had that..." syndrome because we have too much stuff in too many places.  Chances are you aren't using all of the items and can stand to do a little purging. Which leads to #4.

Out with the old, unworn, can't fit, dusty & broken

• The one in one out rule is probably best (so is jogging 5 miles everyday but very few people can or want to) but you may have to crawl before you walk, try putting a time in your monthly calendar to go through items in drawers, closets, bookshelves.  If you do shopping on a weekly basis, make it a point to donate to the thrift store at least once a month.  I'm dropping things off at Goodwill at least bi-weekly and I could probably still stand to purge more often.  Things come into our lives at exponential rates, so we have to be cognizant of purging.
• Once you're down to your needs (and to make you feel better we'll use the word "needs" loosely) you can start to see the items you really don't have or need more of (or less of) and then shopping will be more purposeful and even more enjoyable because your guilt levels will be at an all time low when you get things you need versus "it was cute"/"it was on sale"/"I thought I needed another pair of black pants"

Avoid make shopping a recreational activity especially when you don't have a real need for anything

• We all need to unwind and some of us need therapy but avoid making retail therapy a habit. Try making girls night out an activity instead like: (wine and art, museum, going to the gym, a cool cooking class, or do that cool arts and crafts thing you wanted to try on Pinterest)
• We've all heard the proverb: "Idle hands is the devil's workshop" well guess where the devil goes with your idle credit cards and bank account? Shopping for recreational purposes can create havoc on your budget and your closet space.

Shopping can be fun but it can lead to a life full of things you don't need, you don't use, and you really didn't want.  Once you learn to set boundaries, buy what you really need and avoid unwarranted recreational shopping trips you can make the best use of your space, time, and money.

Sweep up Monday's mess

Okay, it's cool, it promotes a clean house and great for a bad back without having to get a vacuum.  That's all I got. Any other reasons why someone would buy this? I'm not opposed just interested. For those really intrigued you can find it HERE.

Inspiration & Motivation!

Sometimes we psych ourselves out. We think about how daunting something we have to do is.  We over think, we over plan, we talk about it.  But sometimes it's easier to just get started and correct our course once we've started moving.

My inspiration and motivation for you is to just start, just begin.  Identify the first step and take it.

The best book I read on this subject is Do the Work by Steven Pressfield. Don't give into resistance. Do the work!