Monthly Archives: May 2016

How do you learn stuff? Process and Interaction

Pixabay BrainAs I mentioned in my blog post last week, I recently completed a year-long Coaching curriculum intended to increase the effectiveness of the organizing and consulting client work I do.  One of the things that resonated most with me was an in-depth study of how we each individually learn  and interpret our environments (learning modalities).

Denslow Brown, Master Certified Coach, breaks down learning modalities as follows:

Sense-based modalities (last week’s blog post covers these):

  • Visual
  • Auditory
  • Kinesthetic
  • Tactile
  • Taste/Smell

Other significant ways people process information and interact with their surroundings:

  • Verbal (language)
  • Emotional
  • Cognitive
  • Intuitive

Each of us probably use all of these modalities at different times.  Each of these modalities can be strong or weak within each individual, and can present as hypo-sensitive or hyper-sensitive.

Verbal (language): Involves the language center of the brain and includes both the spoken and written word.

Weak to strong indicators:  Someone may be weak in this modality if they have aphasia (loss of language) or if their brain struggles with language processing.  Alternatively, someone very gifted in the verbal modality may be an excellent teacher, linguist, or motivational speaker.

Emotional:  Impacts how we interpret our feelings and connections with people, places, and things.

Weak to strong indicators:  A person weak in the emotional modality may have difficulty perceiving, expressing, understanding, or managing emotions.  People who are strong in this modality could include therapists (tapping into and expressing client emotions) and actors who can feel and emulate emotional connections.

Cognitive:  Incorporates the processes of understanding and mental knowing.

Weak to strong indicators:  Someone weak in this modality may not have the ability to think through processes or apply logic to situations.  This could be the result of a medical condition, lack of confidence or training.  Someone strong in this modality has the ability to “think outside the box” developing new concepts (inventor) and solving complex problems (mathematician).

Intuitive:  Knowing something without proof or rationale.  “You know what you know but don’t know why.”

Weak to strong indicators: A person that is weak in this modality potentially is unaware or not tuned into things that are not based on fact or reliable knowledge.  Alternatively, a person strong in this modality may present as the person that always knows the right way to go at the fork in the road.  They don’t know why they know, they just know.

Once I learned about all the different modalities, I used that knowledge to change how I interacted with my family, friends, and clients.  I learned that I’m very much a verbal processor.  I like to talk.  Knowing that, I remind myself constantly to not interrupt or monopolize conversations.  Alternatively, if a client is highly cognitive, I know I need to give them some extra time to process what I’ve said before moving on to the next subject.  All this modality learning has allowed me to be much more in tuned to myself and others.

If this small bit of information has you curious, you may be interested in getting a copy of Denslow Brown’s Modalities Guide

Note:  If you, or someone you know, could benefit from Life/ADHD coaching, please contact me.  My passion is working with people to help them become the vision of who they want to be!

Cindy Jobs

Organize to Simplify CMYK

www.organizetosimplify.com

cindy@organizetosimplify.com

206-707-3458

National Association of Professional Organizers, Seattle Area Chapter President

seattle

 

 

 

Institute for Challenging Disorganization, Six Certificates of Education

ICD_LogoTag_Horz_72 website

 

How do you learn stuff? Sense-Based Modalities

Pixabay BrainI recently completed a year-long Coaching curriculum (I’m so excited!).  One of the things that resonated most with me was an in-depth study of how we each individually learn things and interpret our environments (learning modalities).

Denslow Brown, Master Certified Coach, breaks down learning modalities as follows:

Sense-based modalities:

  • Visual
  • Auditory
  • Kinesthetic
  • Tactile
  • Taste/Smell

Other significant ways people process information and interact with their surroundings:

  • Verbal (language)
  • Emotional
  • Cognitive
  • Intuitive

Each of us probably use all of these modalities at different times.  Each of these modalities can be strong or weak within each individual, and can present as hypo-sensitive or hyper-sensitive.

Personally, I found myself to be very strong in visual, kinesthetic, and verbal modalities.  This partially explains why I’m pretty good with finding lost golf balls; why I have to be moving all the time; and the fact that I love to talk!

During this post, I’ll just give you a basic understanding of the sense-based modalities. The others will be covered next week.

Visual: How our eyes see things and our brain’s process the information.

Weak to strong indicators:  If someone has a visual impairment or their brain doesn’t process visual cues (can’t “see” something that’s right in front of them), this modality may be weak for them.  Alternatively, someone may present as strong in this modality if they can discern slight variations in visual cues (think artists, architects, etc.).

Auditory: How we hear and process through the brain’s auditory and language centers.

Weak to strong indicators:  Like the visual modality, an auditory weakness can be based on a physical impairment or auditory processing problems.  Conversely, someone who is strong in this modality will be able to excel in areas like music, interviewing, and psychotherapy where careful listening is required.

Kinesthetic (one of my favorites):  Moving and engaging the body and how the body interacts with space.

Weak to strong indicators: Limited use of this modality may be caused by injury or age-related conditions causing diminished muscle control and lack of coordination.  Strong kinesthetic modality will present in those that use their bodies with precision, like athletes, performance artists, etc.

Tactile: How things feel as experienced through the skin, hands, feet and tongue.

Weak to strong indicators: A person weak in this modality may have difficulty differentiating between textures, feeling hot vs cold, etc.  Alternatively, those strong in this modality will tend to be those with very refined touch abilities like surgeons, massage therapists, etc.

Taste/Smell: Responding to odor or taste through the nose, mouth, and the olfactory center of the brain.

Weak to strong indicators:  Aging and medical conditions may be the cause of missing or distorted abilities in this area.  Those strong in this modality would present in occupations such as chef, sommelier, etc.

Taking a closer look at how my family, friends, and clients learned things and interpret the world around them changed how I communicate.  For example because I’m very kinesthetic (as are some of my clients), if there is a crucial conversation that needs to take place, we will have the conversation while on a walk.  Not only does it feel good, the information is processed more effectively!

If this small bit of information has you curious, you may be interested in getting a copy of Denslow Brown’s Modalities Guide

Note:  If you, or someone you know, could benefit from Life/ADHD coaching, please contact me.  My passion is working with people to help them become the vision of who they want to be!

Cindy Jobs

Organize to Simplify CMYK

 

www.organizetosimplify.com

cindy@organizetosimplify.com

206-707-3458

National Association of Professional Organizers, Seattle Area Chapter President

seattle

 

 

 

Institute for Challenging Disorganization, Six Certificates of Education

ICD_LogoTag_Horz_72 website

Seasonal Closet Swap: A Closet Full Of Nothing To Wear?

Closet Closets can be a huge headache or a great source of joy.  Simplifying by downsizing and organizing can turn our closets from frustrating to functional.

How many times do we stand in front of our completely full closets and say “I can’t find a thing to wear!”?

The change of seasons gives us the perfect opportunity to take stock of our closets.   When it’s time to move the winter things out (thankfully) and the summer things in (happily), take a few extra minutes to critically analyze each piece of clothing.

Ask yourself:

  1. Do I love it and feel great when I wear it? Does it project the image I want people to have of me? (Love it?)
  2. Did I use it this season or can I use it next season? (Use it?)
  3. Am I keeping it because I feel guilty about spending money on something I really don’t use? Unfortunately, keeping a bad purchase doesn’t make it a better purchase. (Guilty purchase?)

If your answer is “yes” to #1 and #2, and “no” to #3 about everything in your closet, then you’re in good shape.   If you can’t, then it’s time to take a serious look at reducing the items in your closet.

Because apparel items are so personal, sometimes it’s hard for us to be critical about what we should keep or get rid of.  For this project, enlist the help of an honest and trusted friend to help you.

Use the following roadmap to help you de-clutter your closet, giving yourself a bit of breathing room.

  1. Carve out enough time to go through the entire process.
  2. If possible, purchase enough of the same style of hangers (plastic, wood, flocked, etc.) as you possibly can. Having all your apparel hanging at the same level will make it easier for your eye to focus on the item, not the disarray.  You may want to also invest in multi-tiered hangers if you have multiple pairs of pants that you know you will be keeping.  Pants on multi-tiered hangers take up much less space than if they are hung individually. If you are also hanging skirts, each style of hanger also comes in a clip version for this purpose.
  3. Set up six boxes, bags, or staging areas:
    1. KEEP: For items you are planning on keeping in your closet.
    2. THROW: For items that are worn out, stained, etc.
    3. GIVE: For items to give to people you personally know.
    4. DONATE: For items in good repair that can be donated to a local charity.
    5. ALTERNATE SIZE: For items that you love and will fit into within the next 6 months. Date the box/bag with a review date.
    6. SEASONAL: For items you love, but won’t wear for several months.
  4. Take everything out of the closet. Yes, everything.  Even if you know you are keeping it you will (hopefully) be moving it to the new, uniform hanger style.
  5. Sort your apparel by type: Work vs. Casual.  Then fine-tune the sort by style or color:  short sleeve vs. long sleeve, etc.; black, white, color, etc.
  6. Touch every piece of clothing and ask yourself the three questions mentioned earlier: Love it? Use it? Guilty purchase?
  7. Put the items you want to keep away on the new hangers and place them back in the closet in groupings that make sense to you: work; casual; sleeve length; color; etc.
  8. Process the THROW/GIVE/DONATE/ALTERNATE SIZE/SEASONAL boxes, moving them to their appropriate new home.

Being organized reduces stress and saves time and money.  This is never more true than in our closets where we need to create space for all the aspects of our lives from work to recreation.  Plus, our closet is one of the first areas we see in the morning.  Getting the organization right here will set you off on the right foot for the rest of the day!