Organize 365 Podcast

This week, we are continuing to look at the different kinds of work. Having labels for things like types of work allows us to see things differently and sometimes leads to better communication. Prior to founding Organize 365, my entire life was reactive. Everyone else got to tell me what to do - the economy, my family, my stuff. I just kept reacting to what was happening in my environment. In 2011, I drew a line in the sand. Sink or swim, I am in charge of my life from here on out. I started by taking care of my home and began proactively attacking my life. Unless you actively decide to do planned work and work to create a life where the majority of your work is planned, you will remain in firefighting mode and continue to be reactive. Until I read The Phoenix Project, I did not even have a mindset for types of work like this. I did not realize the two other kinds of work we are talking about today were a thing that existed. Last week, we explored proactive and reactive types of work. Today, we add in maintenance and change orders. Work: Maintenance - maintenance is the repeating tasks that result in the care and upkeep of your home and life. Many people ask Organize 365 for a cleaning checklist or a home maintenance checklist. There are tons of them on Pinterest. However, if you are using the internet for a list consider how often you need to do the tasks. Are you sure everything you are doing on your checklist needs to be done (at all) or needs to be done as often as you are doing it? Your standard and comfort level is unique to you. Maintain at the level at which you want to maintain your home. Make a list of the tasks you want to be done - daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly timeline. Make sure that the frequency you assign each task matches with the home you want to have. Work: Change Orders - anytime things change, it creates work. When a person, assignment, or locations changes, you need to think through the new situation, and you need to do the work to make the change happen. Change is part of life - try not to add a lot of drama. Pivot, adjust, and keep making progress. Often, these kinds of change orders are reactive. Tip! With meetings, book 5-30 minutes after them for your change order work meeting. Follow up as immediately as possible - adjust the agenda (maintenance), and then get your to do items into your Sunday Basket or Friday Box, make decisions, give approvals, or adjust deadlines. At home, you may need to adjust to new dietary requirements or adjust for your energy level or adjust to someone else (sick kid, spouse stuck late at work, etc.). I have learned to proactively adjust my plans based on my energy levels. As I analyze my own patterns, I have learned that I need to have a certain kind of energy in order to be effective at content creation - writing books or recording podcasts. Other kinds of work I can do no matter what my energy level is at a given moment. I adjust my schedule each evening for the next day based on my energy level. I am giving you permission to make your own maintenance checklists and your own change orders. Just because we have work to do in our own homes, does not mean that we need to do it at a certain time or in a certain order or on a certain day. I give you permission to loosen the standards you have set for yourself that are so high. They may be robbing you of your joy. Do what is right for you. Try it without worrying. There is no failure, it is just an experiment.

Welcome to the newest Wednesday Podcast! On Wednesdays, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365 community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps, and triumphs along their organizing journey. You can see and hear transformation in action. I look forward to helping YOU get Organized! This week, I am answering a listener request to do a virtual organizing session on the podcast. Betsy reached out and requested my assistance to help her tackle the 100 Day Home Organization Program. She had already purchased a membership, but is trying to balance kids at home, multiple part time jobs, and ADHD in the midst of our current global pandemic. Together, we rethink how she can participate in the 100 Days in this challenging season. I hope you find this conversation as inspiring as I do! I am grateful that you are reaching out to share your stories and progress with me and with the Organize 365 community. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday. For more information about the programs and products mentioned in this podcast please check out these links: Organize 365 The Sunday Basket ® 100 Day Home Organization Program ALL ACCESS Workboxes Paper Organizing Retreats

I have recently been enjoying parable based books to learn new things and to gain confidence that my own analysis and plans are "right" in the world of business.Reading a fictionalized version of important information helps me to apply learning and see nuances rather than just read dry facts. Recently, I listened to The Phoenix Project by Gene Kim and learned how they describe four different kinds of work. In this podcast, I will introduce you to the first two kinds of work. I then also share my thinking about how these kinds of work are also present in our home and household lives. By thinking about these kinds of work, we can get better work patterns and be more effective in the work we do. Constraints - constraints are limits that are difficult or impossible to change - in this episode, I give examples of time, money, and space. When we do not have enough of these things, it can be a limit on our organization and productivity, and changing our situation can require a major effort. Bottlenecks - are problems that can be analyzed and solved - in this episode, I give examples of time, money, and space. I explain how we are not using what we have effectively. It is vital to discern whether you are facing a constraint or a bottleneck - many times there are effective changes you can make. Work: Firefighting - reactive work that has deadlines, stress, or feels like a crisis. This work shows up unexpectedly and causes us to pivot, iterate, and adapt rapidly. In the home, the Sunday Basket® contains and then puts out fires. Firefighting is reactive by its very nature. Work: Planned Work - Planned work is proactive. When you plan your work, you use your time, money, and space more effectively. Organize 365 members accomplish large goals without stress, overwork, or being hurried. The 100 Day Home Organization Program focuses on planned work. Each day is planned out for you and you make progress in 15 minute chunks. Try it! For the next 10 days, every evening I want you to write out your plan for the next day in the order you will accomplish your tasks on a notecard. Write down your appointments, any household tasks you need to accomplish (pick up a prescription or clean the oven or do laundry). When you write out a plan for your day in order, you can see if you days are smoother. Bonus: the evening before, also add to the index card what clothing you will wear and write down what you will eat. Spoiler alert - there are no perfect days and no perfect plans! The goal is to move from reactive to proactive. You can learn more about using notecards in Episode 310: Ditch Your To Do List with Notecards. Listen in next week for the other two kinds of work! Books mentioned in this episode (affiliate links): Traction - Gino Wickman Lisa's YouTube Review Get a Grip - Gino Wickman and Mike Paton The Phoenix Project - Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, and George Spafford The Goal - Eliyahu Goldratt

Listen here: https://organize365.com/wednesday-podcasts/ Welcome to the newest Wednesday Podcast! On Wednesdays, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365 community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps, and triumphs along their organizing journey. You can see and hear transformation in action. I look forward to helping YOU get Organized! Today's Transformational Podcast features my conversation with Stephanie Fowler of Austin|Fowler: Chic Bags That Simplify Your Life on the Go. We talk about how she has progressed in her own organizing transformational journey and now has time to create and run her own company. I know many of you are either ready to take this next step, or are dreaming of the day when you can do what you are uniquely created to do, and I want to share this conversation with you. She and her husband have 4 kids at home and she runs her business! I hope you enjoy her story and find her as inspiring as I do! I am grateful that you are reaching out to share your stories and progress with me and with the Organize 365 community. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday. For more information about the programs and products mentioned in this podcast please check out these links: Organize 365 The Sunday Basket® 100 Day Home Organization Program ALL ACCESS Workboxes Paper Organizing Retreats I look forward to helping YOU get Organized!

These weeks between October 1st and Thanksgiving are typically the most productive weeks of the year. I want to help you make October super productive by helping you declutter. I want to give you tasks you can complete in 15 minutes a day so you can declutter some different areas of your life. I am focusing on decluttering only, not on organizing or productivity. Have you been listening, or have you been taking action this month? We've talked about files, hot spots, and hot mess rooms. Today, we are going to talk about decluttering entertainment. This pandemic has taught me that Americans are entertainment hoarders. We have long lists of things we pursue for the sake of entertainment like kids' activities, restaurants, shopping, TV shows, sporting events, and even travel. We have become so used to consuming entertainment that the pause in novelty during the pandemic has led to boredom. There was even a meme that said: "I finished Netflix today, what's next?" Today, I want to share my thoughts about decluttering the entertainment we have inside of our homes. Those games, puzzles, and hobby materials that you were keeping just in case - have you used them? Can you plan to use them this winter? If you have entertainment you no longer wish to keep, clear out your house and make more space for the things your family does use. Listen to the podcast as I talk with you about board games, video electronics, that mega box of cords, and even analog entertainment (waffle makers, for example). I want you to use the entertainment you do have and enjoy to make memories with your family. And, for the things you no longer need, can you pass them on and bless some other family? I bought a bunch of puzzles when we first started staying safe at home. I have passed them along to people who passed them along to others - the puzzle train means that many families get to enjoy spending time together working on a puzzle, but do not have to keep storing a puzzle they have already used. I'd love to hear what things you have passed along to others on Facebook or Instagram!

Welcome to the newest Wednesday Podcast! On Wednesdays, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365 community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps, and triumphs along their organizing journey. You can see and hear transformation in action. I look forward to helping YOU get Organized! This week's Transformational Podcast features Renee. She and her husband have 2 daughters, and a dog. She also works as a speech language pathologist. She shares how she has gotten her home and kids organized, and how the Mini Medical Binder helped her family during COVID (get yours at organize365.com/emergency)! I hope you enjoy her story and find her as inspiring as I do I am grateful that you are reaching out to share your stories and progress with me and with the Organize 365 community. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.

These weeks between October 1st and Thanksgiving are typically the most productive weeks of the year. I want to help you make October super productive by helping you declutter. I want to give you tasks you can complete in 15 minutes a day so you can declutter some different areas of your life. I am focusing on decluttering only, not on organizing or productivity. Today, I want to talk with you about decluttering your hot mess room. A hot mess room (HMR) is where we lovingly place (shove?) things we don't know what to do with, can't part with right now, are not sure about, or want to keep "just in case." Depending on your home, a HMR can be a garage, shed, storage room, basement, attic, shed, or sometimes even a whole house. If you are working through the rest of your home (like with the 100 Day Home Organization Program or All Access Membership), you declutter your main living areas, and end up dumping your extra stuff into an area that becomes a HMR. This area becomes overwhelmed as you put things into the space "for now" while you delay making a decision to actually get rid of the stuff. This is perfectly normal - it's a rest stop for your clutter on the way out the door. All Access members have a deep dive course to help clear out a HMR, but for today, I want to help you to make progress simply decluttering this space. Unlike a kitchen or a living room, HMR can be hard to clear out because they accumulate stuff from everywhere in the house. Today, I want to help you make progress decluttering this area so that it is more useful to you. First - be realistic about any item you are considering continuing to keep just in case you need it. Remember that you have just lived through the ultimate just in case scenario - you were safe at home (sometimes for months) during a global pandemic. If you didn't use the item (food, clothing, or hobby) during that time, you probably never will. Let it go. If you do keep just in case items, you should know what you have and how to find it when you need it. Second - clear out the things you don't need that will make the biggest difference in the space - empty boxes, broken items, orphan pieces of furniture, and household items you no longer want or do not use (vases & holiday decorations that do not fit your taste or style anymore). See if you can reduce the stuff by 25-30%. Send things to trash, recycling, or donation centers and reclaim your storage space for the things you do want to keep in storage.

Welcome to the newest Wednesday Podcast! On Wednesdays, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365 community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps, and triumphs along their organizing journey. You can see and hear transformation in action. I look forward to helping YOU get Organized! This week's Transformational Podcast features Melissa F. She and her husband have 13 year old twins, a dog, and a business. She shares how she has organized her home and her paper - and we celebrate her progress! I hope you enjoy her story and find her as inspiring as I do! Melissa's kids Allie and Brady have an Etsy shop. Feel free to check it out! I am grateful that you are reaching out to share your stories and progress with me and with the Organize 365 community. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday. For more information about the programs and products mentioned in this podcast please check out these links: Organize 365 The Sunday Basket ® 100 Day Home Organization Program All Access Friday Workboxes Paper Organizing Retreats

In today's podcast, I want to inspire you to take quick action to address the clutter hotspots in your home. A hotspot is anywhere that paper or physical stuff accumulates. As our lives change, we often use our homes in ways that are different from the organizational systems we have already set up. This leads to stuff sitting out and making hotspots. There are three major reasons a clutter hotspot develops: You have not made a decision about an item. You have a project you are deferring (not taking action on right now). You have brought new items into your living space that need to be given a home. In the podcast, I will walk you through several different hotspots that have popped up in my own home during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how I was able to declutter them. I bought some food items but did not have a plan to actually prepare them for a specific meal, so they were left out. Some hotspots were from aspirational purchases where I purchased things I thought I wanted to do (breaking my own 24-hour rule), and left the items out in our living space. Another hotspot was from purchasing new kinds of supplies for the pandemic (gloves, masks, hand sanitizer) without a place to store them or a sense of how many we needed to store in our home. I want you to take some time and look around your home for your hotspots. Which of the reasons above are these items sitting out randomly around the house? What can you do with your items? What can you donate? What can you work on right away? What can you finish up? As you look for solutions, think about the Sunday Basket® has helped to eliminate your paper clutter hotspots from your kitchen counter. You know where to put items while you make a decision, you have a place to store your paper that is supporting deferred projects, and you have a home for every piece of paper that enters your home! Make your home function for the way you use it every day, the way your family lives right now in the present moment. I want you to know that if you need it, you have #permissiongranted to choose functional organizing for your actual daily life.