Keep things moving

August 22, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Organizational Exercises, Productivity tips for work, Staying focused, Tips for organizing your house, Tips on decluttering, Tips on using a planner Changing habits, Decision making, decluttering your life, getting organized, getting things done, Getting work done, how to get organized, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, tips to be more productive

My favorite advice from the list of 100 declutter ideas in the book One Thing at a Time by Cindy Glovinsky was to keep things moving. This can be applied to your house, to your work space, and to how you live your life. Continue reading →

Decluttering with a mission

August 14, 2017 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Decision making, Helping kids get organized, Organizational Exercises, Tips for organizing your house, Tips on decluttering Changing habits, Decision making, decluttering your life, getting organized, getting things done, how to get organized, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, organizational tips for kids, Tips on decluttering, tips to be more productive, tips to organize a closet

I get more questions about decluttering than any other organizational issue. What to me is great fun is, apparently, quite a chore to most people. If you’ve got a drawer, closet, room, or HOUSE to declutter, it helps to have motivation and a deadline.

I had two brilliant motivators descend on me this week: a theater where I work is holding a garage sale and is looking for items to sell, including clothing items. And our library asked for art supply donations for an upcoming project.

My house is mostly decluttered but two areas where things seem to stick are my potential-costume rack, and my art closet. The potential-costume rack includes things I’ve worn in past shows, dress-ups for the kiddos, and clothes I “demote” until I’m ready to part with them. The art closet includes bits and pieces of recent and past craft and sewing projects. Continue reading →

The glass is already broken

August 10, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Decision making, Meditation, Organizational Exercises, Staying focused, Working with your guides Changing habits, Decision making, decluttering your life, Defining who you are, getting things done, How to stay focused, Meditation tips, organizational tips, tips to be more productive, Working with your guides

When I’m feeling too attached to something – an object, a person, or an outcome – I meditate on the Buddhist saying, “The glass is already broken.”

When you start to sweat the small stuff, and remember that it’s all small stuff, you have to know that this will pass. We’re in a constant state of change with new beginnings and new endings every day.

And, like the glass, we’re here for a short time. Continue reading →

Tiny bites

August 3, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Organizational Exercises, Productivity tips for work, Staying focused Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, decluttering your life, forming a new habit, getting things done, Getting work done, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Tips on decluttering, tips to be more productive, working on big projects

If you get overwhelmed thinking, “I’ve got to declutter this house.” Or “I need to get my life organized.” Or “I need to change a life-long habit.” It’s not a surprise. Taking giant leaps forward is daring and ambitious, but it can also make a project or change seem daunting. And it makes it hard to get started.

Here are two suggestions to help make change happen at a slower pace.

#1 – Break big projects into smaller parts – even tiny parts
One of my nieces has a son who is a really picky eater. Her son decided last week that he was finally going to try rice for dinner. “Yay!” my niece thought, then agonized as her son ate his rice one piece at a time. But there’s a beauty there that maybe kids know better than adults do. He wanted to try rice but he didn’t attempt to eat a whole bowl. He tried one piece. And then another. And then another. Continue reading →

Taming the Clothing Monster

August 1, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Decision making, Organizational Exercises, Staying focused, Tips on decluttering Changing habits, Decision making, decluttering your life, Defining who you are, forming a new habit, how to get organized, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, organizing big projects, Tips on decluttering, tips to organize a closet

If your closet or drawers are so packed with clothes it’s hard to get anything in or out, the underlying problem could be you don’t want to get rid of anything. Or you love to buy new things. Or both. And it’s possible you don’t have enough space – but you’ll only know that after you pare down some of what you have.

Here’s a cool exercise to help you purge, inspired by the book One Thing at a Time by Cindy Glovinsky.

Set your phone or a timer for 10 minutes and do a deep contemplation about the image you’d like to put forward with how you dress. When the timer goes off, jot down ideas about your ideal:

PJs or nightgown
Underwear
Work clothes
Play clothes
Formal wear
Colors
Fabrics
Solids or prints
Skirt or pant styles and lengths

Continue reading →

Getting grounded

July 26, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Organizational Exercises, Productivity tips for work, Staying focused Changing habits, Decision making, decluttering your life, forming a new habit, getting things done, Getting work done, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, tips to be more productive

Our forefathers and foremothers – even one generation back – didn’t have nearly as much digital ease as we have. But what they had was a simpler life. When I work at one thing around the house – laundry, weeding, painting – I’m reminded that simpler is sometimes what you need to help clear your mind.

If you want to test the power of a “single focus,” try picturing a column of letters A-E. Now picture a column of numbers 1-5. And finally, picture a column of letters, E-A. No problem, right? Continue reading →

Listening to silence

June 23, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Meditation, Organizational Exercises, Staying focused, Working with your guides Changing habits, decluttering your life, How to stay focused, Meditation tips, Working with your guides

I’m listening to Eckhardt Tolle’s audio book Peace in the Present Moment. Being present and having a clear intent about how you spend your time is only a small part of what I talk about in my Organizational Zen presentations – so it’s awesome to hear six or seven hours on this one topic!

My big takeaway yesterday was on silence. We all know we could use more of it – but then what do we do with it? In our society, silence is an uncomfortable state. If you’re at a meeting or a party where everyone is quiet, there’s almost a race to fill the void with talking, a joke, data… Or when we get home to turn on the radio or TV. It almost feels sinful to be caught somewhere without something to do or something to think about or to listen to. When we have a quiet minute, we grab our phones or a magazine or a book. We dare not be caught in a moment of silence! Continue reading →

Little pops of energy

May 27, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Organizational Exercises, Tips for organizing your house, Working with your guides Decision making, decluttering your life, getting things done, how to get organized, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Tips on decluttering, tips to be more productive, Working with your guides

If you’re feeling out of sorts and a big project is too much to focus on, try fixing a small thing to boost your energy.

Here are a few energy boosters that work for me: Continue reading →

100 Days of Wellness

May 20, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Organizational Exercises, Planning impacts on your health, Productivity tips for work, Tips for organizing your house, Tips on decluttering Changing habits, decluttering your life, forming a new habit, getting organized, getting things done, Getting work done, how to get more sleep, how to get organized, how to lose and sustain weight loss, how to save time, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Tips on decluttering, tips to be more productive, ways to get more sleep

I’ve been looking for a local meditation class and stumbled on this site with 100 wellness exercises. The videos are short, 4-6 minutes each, and focus on different aspects of feeling better – by being more grateful, clearing clutter, getting more sleep, beating sugar, and… you get the idea. It’s a great list.

Being a “get it done” kind of girl, I was like, “I’ll do all of these today,” and started to click through one to the next. But I decided instead to stop and spend a day on each one. I’ve tried to remind myself lately that I have time. I don’t have to get everything done right away. It’s a huge temptation for me to think, “Yes. Check. Got it done. Move on.” And rarer for me to take the time to deeply contemplate a thought or idea – especially if it’s a challenge or something negative about who I am or how I think. Continue reading →