Monthly Archives: August 2017

“I really thought you’d be more upset.”

A week or so ago my husband and I went to a BBQ/pool party.  I really didn’t have any intention to swim, so I didn’t wear a swimming suit, just normal backyard BBQ attire.  As it turned out, having a suit on would have been handy when I dropped my iPhone in the pool!

As you might imagine, it took me a minute to figure out what my next step was.  Long story short, it took about five minutes for someone to fish my phone out of the pool.  I was super-excited when the phone appeared to still be working . . . . and super-disappointed two minutes later when it stopped working.  Immediately the phone went into a bag of rice and fingers were crossed that it would all be fine the next day.  Well, the phone wasn’t fine, but surprisingly, I wasn’t very upset.

As we were driving home, my husband looked at me quizzically and said “I really thought you’d be more upset.”  Then I got to thinking . . . . I’m surprised I’m not more upset too.  Then it hit me.

Remember my  last post when I talked a little bit about meditation and how it changes the brain?  Below is a quick synopsis of a 2016 study on mindfulness and emotional regulation:

Simply put, the authors argued that individuals who are naturally mindful can effectively regulate their emotions even without meditation, but for those who are not naturally mindful, simply forcing oneself to be mindful “in the moment” is not enough — it is necessary to engage in mindfulness meditation in order to effectively regulate your emotions.

I’m generally a pretty emotional person.  A couple of years ago I would have been so upset about the phone issue, I would have started berating myself with negative self-talk about my irresponsibility . . . right after I stopped crying about it.  But my regular practice of mindful meditation kept those emotions in check.

Here’s how I see meditation making a positive impact on my life:

In the moment:  I have a quick meditation if I need to destress in the moment.  Closing my eyes and taking a few deep breaths I repeat “Stillness of mind, awareness of body.”  This will reduce my heart rate and give me a moment of pause.

Daily:  I meditate about 10 minutes almost every day.  It sets my intention and starts my day in a calm place.

Cumulative:  My blood pressure is low and my emotions are much more regulated.  This serves me well in almost every situation.

So what did I learn?

  • Mindful meditation works.
  • Be more careful with my phone.
  • If the phone goes swimming again, put it in a small plastic bag BEFORE you put it in rice. (The nice folks at the Apple store had to dig three pieces of rice out of the power port.)  🙂

What positive impact could mindfulness have on your life?

Cindy Jobs

www.organizetosimplify.com

Member Color - Web
National Association of Professional Organizers, Seattle Chapter Vice President
ICD_LogoTag_Horz_72 website
Institute for Challenging Disorganization:
Level I Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization; ADD; Client Administration; Time Management; Mental Health; and Hoarding.
Level II Specialist Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization and ADHD.
Coach Approach for Organizers
Graduate of the Comprehensive Training Program: Coaching Essentials; Strengths-Based Coaching; Brain-Based Coaching; Life and ADHD Coaching; and Organizer Coach Integration
Graduate-level training: Body-Based Coaching; ADHD Coaching Competencies

Start your day right!

This video resurfaced on my Facebook feed this week.  The topic of the video is 10 life lessons from basic SEAL training, delivered by Admiral William H. McRaven.  What I loved about this video is life lesson #1 . . . . start your day off by making your bed.

Will making your bed really set your entire day off on the right foot? Why will making your bed set your day off on the right foot?  It’s a success.  It’s a completion.  It’s motivating.  It feels good to start the day with things in order.

When I’m working with my organizing and coaching clients, I encourage them to start the day with something that will make them feel good, accomplished, and motivated to take on the world . . .  or possibly just cleaning the house.

What else do I encourage to help my clients start their day off with energy?

  1. Start the night before.   Planning the next day the night before can be very helpful in getting the morning started right.  Look at your calendar and see what’s ahead of you.  Put out the clothes you plan to wear.   Make a list of the three most important items on your “to do” list.  If possible, pack lunches.  Whatever you can do the night before will help keep your busy morning on track.
  2. Take some time to meditate.  Before I started meditating, I had this vision of sitting on the floor, cross-legged, in total silence, with incense burning in the background.  Well, that just sounded like too much work for me.  So I started small, and have stayed there.  I meditate four to five times a week for 10 minutes.  I’m not a neuroscientist so I can’t explain how it works, but meditating physically changes the brain.
  3. Get dressed and put on your shoes.  Yup, just the simple act of getting dressed and putting on your shoes tells your brain it’s ready to take on the day.  Personally, there’s a big difference in my ability to motivate myself if I’m in “go out in public” clothes vs “hangin’ out and having another cup of coffee” clothes.  How about you?
  4. Get a little exercise.  I know we all don’t have time to hit the gym for an hour first thing in the morning, but most of us have time for a brisk 15-20 minute walk.  (Well, those of you that have little ones at home probably don’t, but you get lots of exercise chasing after them, right?) If you can’t fit in 15-20 minutes, take 30 seconds to do some stretching.  Even that small amount of time is enough to wake your body up.
  5. Eat something.  Again, most of us choose not to get up early enough to have a sit-down breakfast.  But that doesn’t mean we can’t eat something healthy, even if we are on-the-go.  My morning staple is oatmeal cupcakes.  The recipe I use makes 24 cupcakes and only takes about 40 minutes (the recipe says 25, but I’m clearly not that fast).  I freeze them and 1:00 in the microwave later, I’m out the door!

What do you do to ensure your mornings start off on the right foot?

Cindy Jobs

www.organizetosimplify.com

Member Color - Web
National Association of Professional Organizers, Seattle Chapter Vice President
ICD_LogoTag_Horz_72 website
Institute for Challenging Disorganization:
Level I Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization; ADD; Client Administration; Time Management; Mental Health; and Hoarding.
Level II Specialist Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization and ADHD.
Coach Approach for Organizers
Graduate of the Comprehensive Training Program: Coaching Essentials; Strengths-Based Coaching; Brain-Based Coaching; Life and ADHD Coaching; and Organizer Coach Integration
Graduate-level training: Body-Based Coaching; ADHD Coaching Competencies

 

 

Back To School Prep

We’ve had quite the beautiful summer here in the Puget Sound area, but the recent addition of back-to-school commercials reminds me that summer is coming to an end.

Side note:  I do not have any preferences about where to shop, but I have to say the Walmart Super Hero commercial makes me smile every time I see it.

Although I don’t have any children in the back-to-school range, some of my clients do.  I’ve experienced, through them, how getting everyone ready to head back into the classroom adds an extra layer of anxiety and stress to the last few lazy days of summer.    Here are some tips to get you started and make the transition a little smoother.

School Supplies:

    1. Get a copy of the school’s supply list.  I was able to find the school supply list for my local middle school on-line within just 30 seconds.  Doing a web search should result in a list similar to this (I searched “Lake Stevens School supply list”).  I also found a well-organized file of school supply lists at my local Staples, so check with your local retailers.
    2. Once you have the list, shop at home.  Chances are, you will have a good number of the supplies already on hand.  There’s no need to purchase a full set of supplies every year.
    3. If you have supplies you aren’t using (or don’t foresee using in the near future), donate them to a school or to a local Boys and Girls Club.  I’m certain they will be put to better use than taking up space in your home.
  1. Clothes:
    1. Check with your school to see if there are dress codes that need to be followed. If so, ensure that you and your student reads and understands them prior to embarking on the clothes shopping adventure.  I can’t imagine much more frustrating than finding out your son/daughter have clothes they love, but can’t wear to school.
    2. Depending on the age of your student, you will more than likely need to go shopping with them.   Note I said “with them.”  Although it may be simpler to just do the shopping on your own, having your child with you may be more efficient.  If you shop with your child, you will ensure the clothes fit properly, they feel good in them, and are something they like and will wear.  So many of my clients spend inordinate amounts of time shopping/returning/shopping/returning.  The added stress and time generally isn’t worth it.
  2. Classes:  Hopefully at this point, classes have been signed up for.  If not, get in touch with the school to set an appointment to register as soon as possible.
  3. Extra-curricular activities:  Have all extra-curricular activities been signed up for?  Has the appropriate equipment been arranged for?  If not, now’s the time to start working through that process.
  4. Transportation:  Most of my clients work at least part-time out of the home, so arranging transportation for any after-school activities is critical.
  5. Health requirements:  Does the school require specific health tests or immunizations?  Again, a quick on-line search led to this information for our local school district.
  6. Daily schedules:  Because our student’s days are generally less structured during the summer, some habits may have developed that need to be changed in order to be successful when school starts.  Now’s the time to start adjusting to getting up earlier, scheduling study time, and creating a new routine for getting to bed on time.

Changes in schedules tend to add a little stress to our lives, but some excellent pre-planning goes a long way to making the transition just a little easier!

Simplify your life!

This is “National Simplify Your Life” week.

Because it’s part of my business name (Organize to Simplify) I’m constantly thinking about what “simplify” means to me, my friends, my family, and my clients.

Here are some things that may need to be simplified in our lives:

  • Stuff?  Yes!
  • Schedules?  Yes!
  • Technology? Yes!
  • People?  Yes!  (yikes!)

Stuff:

Most of us have way more stuff than we need (and probably even want).  Look around the room you are sitting in and really take a hard look at everything that surrounds you.  Do you use them?  Do they bring you joy and happiness?  If not, what would it feel like to let them go?  How would it feel knowing that they were in the home of someone that actually needed and wanted them? Not only is it okay to let things go, de-cluttering makes us healthier:

According to the Chicago Tribune: “Getting rid of clutter can have unexpected health benefits. Letting go of material things gives a feeling of euphoria some liken to the runner’s high. It’s liberating and frees up time and space for healthy habits, such as exercising. It can even reduce allergy symptoms and help you lose weight.”

Schedules:

Raise your hand if you feel you have too much to do and not enough time (I can almost see all of your hands raised right now).  Do you need to do everything on your schedule?   Are there things you knew at the time you should have said “no, but thanks for asking” to?  Are you doing things that don’t make you happy and are not critical (book club you no longer enjoy, exercise class you are only attending because you already paid for it but don’t really like, networking meetings that don’t bring you joy or clients, etc.)  Much like our stuff, cluttered and over-crowded schedules can affect our health.  I encourage you to take a look at your schedule and see what you can eliminate.  What would you do with that extra time?  Exercise?  Sleep? Spend more time with family and friends?

Technology:

Am I actually suggesting you give up technology?  Absolutely not!!! What I am suggesting is taking a critical look at how much time you are devoting to it.  Personally, I don’t do Twitter, Instagram, or Tumblr,  but I spend way too much time on Facebook.  What are you learning from all these connections?  Is it really a “connection” or just a way to spend time?  What would happen if you disconnected from a social media platform or two?  What would happen if you reduced the amount of time you spent on them?  What would you do with that time?  Remember, doing nothing is a perfectly acceptable answer to that question.

People:

This one may sound harsh, but it’s worth thinking about.  I could never do without connections to people.  I love being around people; being with people fills me with joy.  But, are there connections I am spending time maintaining that no longer serve me (or the other person) the way they used to?  Think about it.  Is the time spent maintaining a relationship disproportionate to the joy the relationship brings you?

Some people come into your life just to teach you how to let go.”   Search Quotes

I’m pretty sure we are all aware of things that could be eliminated from our lives, but it’s so hard to take that first step.  So, I’m going to challenge you:

Over the next week:

  • Eliminate one item of clutter.
  • Cancel one unnecessary appointment.
  • Reduce time spent on technology by one hour.
  • Take a critical look at one relationship.

Simplify your life . . . one small step at a time.

Cindy Jobs

www.organizetosimplify.com

Member Color - Web
National Association of Professional Organizers, Seattle Chapter Vice President
ICD_LogoTag_Horz_72 website
Institute for Challenging Disorganization:
Level I Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization; ADD; Client Administration; Time Management; Mental Health; and Hoarding.
Level II Specialist Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization and ADHD.
Coach Approach for Organizers
Graduate of the Comprehensive Training Program: Coaching Essentials; Strengths-Based Coaching; Brain-Based Coaching; Life and ADHD Coaching; and Organizer Coach Integration
Graduate-level training: Body-Based Coaching; ADHD Coaching Competencies