Peace of Mind Organizing

My new blogging schedule

7 August 2012

Since April 24, I’ve been blogging here five days a week. At that time, I made a 30-day commitment to blog daily. That was 105 days ago and haven’t missed a Monday through Friday post, except for Memorial Day.

In that time, I also started a new blog, Organize Your Family History, in which I’m writing about keeping focused and happy as I work on genealogy research. I made a commitment to post there about twice a week, though I don’t have it on a schedule.

I’m away visiting my parents this week and that’s given me the chance to think about my blogging schedule. And I’ve made a decision.

I will still blog five days a week. But instead of posting here on my organizing blog Monday through Friday, I will post here on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and on my genealogy blog on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

It’s much easier for me to keep commitments when I make them public, thus this blog post. Check back tomorrow for an organizing-related blog. I did post to Organize Your Family History today, too. (Found my first immigrant ancestor!) Please check it out!

The value of saying no

6 August 2012

On her Facebook page my buddy Gerailn Thomas shared the following words of wisdom this past Friday:

It’s Okay to Say No

I immediately clicked “Share.” That concept is something I’ve been thinking about a lot for the last month. As of July 1, I’m doing very little volunteering for my professional associations. And the openness and freedom this has created has brought enormous peace of mind.

Since the beginning of 2006, I’d been an active volunteer for the National Association of Professional Organizers, serving on the board of directors of the St. Louis chapter, and serving as a volunteer on several national committees. For six straight years as a NAPO St. Louis board member, I attended monthly board meetings. I’ve missed only three or four meetings in all that time.

My board service ended May 15, as did a national committee chairmanship. That freed up a chunk of time.

I served on the national board of the Institute for Challenging Disorganization as its marketing director from July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2012. That was a huge investment of time. Huge. And when my term ended it opened up so much time on my calendar.

I love that spaciousness so much (I’m filling most of that time with my new passion, family history research) that I immediately started saying no. I’ve been asked to do several things by both NAPO St. Louis and ICD and my (very quick) answer is “No.” (In my head, sometimes, I’m saying “NO” or even “NO!!!”)

Don’t get me wrong, I am so happy I said yes to those commitments and never gave any thought to quitting early. I benefited enormously from the work and was also happy to contribute. But now that they’re over and some very able people are doing the work I used to do, I see the value in saying no.

For me, right now, here’s a short list of the benefits of turning down further volunteer opportunities:

• My time is my own
• I’m not under constant time pressure
• My to-do list is much shorter
• I get way less email (making my inbox zero habit easier)
• I’ve stopped worrying that I’m not doing enough

That last point is sort of ironic, since I’m doing very little. But I had a tendency to overcommit myself, so that none of the volunteer jobs got as much attention as they deserved. Or at least it felt that way.

My own commitments tended to be professional. Yours might be personal or kid-oriented. But if you’re feeling frazzled, maybe you should consider dropping some of your commitments or, at the very least, saying no to new ones.

I’m here to tell you it’s quite liberating!

App of the week: Maps

3 August 2012

I used to carry around a GPS. And I would always mute it, because I found the voice disruptive. Mostly I just wanted to know how long it was going to take me to get to my destination.

As soon as I got my iPhone, I kicked my Garmin to the curb. (Actually, I gave it to my husband.) I don’t need it any more. I have the Maps app.

This app, which uses Google maps, allows met to search for a location as though it were a google search or (as is more frequently the case) find an address in my contacts list. It instantly maps it and, if I want, gives me directions from my current location. It tells me how many miles away it is and how long it will take me to get there. It will show me traffic along the way, if that’s a concern.

As far as I know it doesn’t read turn by turn directions aloud, but, as I mentioned, that’s not an issue for me, since I always muted my Garmin.

It allows me to not only search nearby for a business (or category of businesses), but with a touch I can get reviews of those businesses.

Maps rocks.

Worth repeating: Working with a professional organizer

2 August 2012

A year ago (almost to the day), I posted a blog post aimed at helping those of you who might be interested in working with a professional organizer make the most out of the experience. I asked other professional organizers to comment, which made the post even more valuable. I wanted to make sure those who might benefit from it will see it, so I’m posting it again. To get the maximum benefit, go back to the original post and read those comments.

If you’re reading an organizing blog, chances are pretty good that you fall into one of three camps:

• You’re a professional organizer
• You’d like to work with a professional organizer
• You’re a fairly organized DIYer looking for ideas

This post is for those of you who fall into the second category. If you’d like to work with a professional organizer, I’d love to provide you with some advice to optimize that experience, should it come to pass.

Choosing an organizer

• Check out your choices thoroughly. You can find professional organizers at the website of National Association of Professional Organizers and the Institute for Challenging Disorganization. Choose some local organizers and read websites, look at testimonials and before and after pictures. Call any organizers you’re interested in who don’t have websites.
• Ask around. If you know folks who have worked with organizers, quiz them on their experience
• Know what you’re looking for. Do you want an organizer who tells you what to do (some people do)? Or one who involves you in the process of coming up with solutions?
• Trust your gut. If an organizer’s website or telephone manner resonates with you, that’s a good reason to pick her (or him).
• Don’t bargain shop. This is a field where fees are usually commensurate with training and experience. If you’re challenged by chronic disorganization, for example, you’d be wise to select an organizer with training and experience in working with chronically disorganized clients. And you may well pay more for that.

Working with an organizer

• Resist the temptation to clean up for your organizer. If your home is messy, you may feel embarrassed. Try to set that aside so that the organizer can see the natural state of your home in order to help you best. Mess and piles can provide clues.
• Be honest. Try not to anticipate what the organizer wants to hear. Instead, just answer all questions honestly, even if you’re a little embarrassed. Your organizer can help you best if you’re honest in everything you tell her.
• Be realistic. How long have you been dealing with disorder in your life? Probably quite some time. Unfortunately, organizers don’t have magic wands, so we can’t fix things instantly. Recognize that this is a process that might take awhile.
• Be prepared to learn new behaviors. If you’re dealing with a lot of clutter, the first step might be decluttering. But after that, you’re more than likely going to need to change your habits and create new routines to ensure that the clutter doesn’t come back. If you don’t change your behavior, the order that you and your organizer create might be temporary.
• Do your homework. If you and your organizer agree that you’ll do homework, try to accomplish it. If you don’t it’s usually not a big deal. But being honest and realistic about the prospect of what you can accomplish between appointments can help your organizer better plan the next session.
• Trust your gut (again). If you’re not clicking with your organizer, don’t be afraid to talk with her about it. This is intimate work and it’s essential that you have a trusting relationship and work well together. If you don’t feel it’s working with the organizer, perhaps the two of you can come up with a solution. If no solution is in sight, perhaps you can ask her for a referral.
• Keep your appointments. If you book an appointment with an organizer, try to keep that commitment. She’s set aside time for you and scheduled around that appointment. Last-minute cancellations can be costly for the organizer. And they’re costly for you, too, since you can’t get help if you don’t keep appointments.
• Expect backsliding. Most clients experience some backsliding, when life gets in the way and newly learned behaviors fall by the wayside. If you backslide, it doesn’t mean you’ve failed or your organizer isn’t effective. It just means you need to renew your efforts. Or perhaps tweak our systems.
• Be brave. It can be scary to let someone into your house for the first time in ages. It can also be scary to admit to your organizer that you haven’t done your homework or that you’ve not been able to maintain the order you created together. But organizers, by and large, are compassionate and non-judgmental people. Getting past the fear can help put you on the path to an orderly life.

When you hire a professional organizer, you’re making a time and financial commitment to getting organized. Often, you’re making an emotional commitment as well. That can be very powerful!

Do you have anything to add? I’d love to hear from POs or people who have worked with POs who would like to add to this list.

Building ease into a trip

1 August 2012

I’m writing this from the Denver airport, on my way from St. Louis to Portland. When I booked this trip, I had a choice of a Denver-to-Portland flight that would mean a 2.75-hour layover or one with a one-hour layover. I purposely chose the longer layover so I wouldn’t stress about missing my flight if my outbound flight were delayed.

Sure enough, my outbound flight was delayed for a half hour. The couple who happened to be sitting next to me on the flight to Denver were booked on the earlier flight to Portland and were worried about missing their flight. They were also incredulous that I’d booked the later flight.

Wine, rather than stress

Sitting on that flight, I thought about how glad I was that I didn’t have to worry about missing my flight or making a mad run for my plane. Instead, I enjoyed a fairly decent pizza and a fairly nice glass of wine in an airport restaurant. And now I’m sitting at the gate blogging.

The couple next to me rushed off the plane. (The flight attendant asked people to let those trying to make connecting flights get off first, though not everyone seemed to cooperate.) When I got off the plane, I noticed that the gate for the earlier Portland flight was just across the concourse from the gate we landed in. So I was glad to see that my row partners made their flight.

But you know what? I was also glad I’d booked the later flight. I’d rather have less stress and more waiting than stress and a big rush. Maybe that’s just me. I also like to get to the airport early.

How about you? Would you have gone for the shorter or longer layover?

Staying calm before a trip

31 July 2012

I’m leaving town tomorrow for more than a week and I’m trying not to let myself get caught up in pre-trip hysteria. Today was back-to-back appointments and I still have a number of things I have to do, like pack (and, before that, figure out what I’m going to pack).

But I’m trying really hard to let it be easy. I’ll be visiting family and friends, so I don’t need to get too worried about clothes. My travel arrangements are all made and the details safely stored in my Smead Travel Organizer. I’m taking my computer, and my cell phone acts as a wifi hot spot, so anything I don’t manage to do before I leave town can still get done.

So why do I typically work myself up into a bit of a frenzy, trying to get everything done, fretting over packing? This trip, I’m going to take my Let It Be Easy motto to heart. You know, just writing this has made me feel more calm.

Incidentally, I’m going to try to continue my five-day-a-week blogging streak while I travel, but I don’t know if I’ll be successful. So keep your eye on this space to find out!

Come learn how to Get Rid of Clutter

30 July 2012

I’ll be giving a low-cost talk called Get Rid of Clutter on October 19 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the Thomas Dunn Memorials Adult Education Program in south St. Louis city.

The talk will cover the decluttering process, organizing principles, creating new habits and routines, and the top mistakes people make when they try to get organized. There will be lots of time for questions and answers.

The class is only $10, and registration via mail is required. To register, go to Thomas Dunn’s website to download a registration form. Fill it out and mail it in with a check. If you have questions about the registration procedure call Thomas Dunn Memorials at 314-353-3050.

Check out their website for lots of other free and low-cost classes! Thomas Dunn’s tagline is helping people improve themselves since 1962. They’re a wonderful community resource.