Organize to Simplify

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National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals, Seattle Chapter Vice-President

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

It’s heeeeeeeere . . . Back to School!

Wow! Where has this summer gone? It’s hard to believe, but some schools have already started and several start in the next couple of weeks.

Although I don’t have any children in the back-to-school range, a few 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. Below are some quick and easy tips to get you started and make the transition a little smoother.

But, before we get into the nitty-gritty of back-to-school strategies, I’d love to share some of my favorite commercials. (Note: I do not endorse any retailer for shopping purposes, however, I do love their commercials!)

Target’s “Rock It” is pretty fun.

Walmart’s “Let’s Get It Started” is heartwarming.

2017 Walmart Super Hero commercial makes me smile every time I saw it.

Vintage Staples “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” is a fun twist on a Christmas classic.

Vintage Walmart College Dorm Set-Up may bring a tear to your eye.

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 online 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.
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. 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 wearing them, and they 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.
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. This has been especially troublesome for first-year college students.
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.
Transportation: Most of my clients work at least part-time out of the home, so arranging transportation for any after-school activities is critical.
Health requirements: Does the school require specific health tests or immunizations? Again, a quick online search led to this information for our local school district.
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!

Cindy Jobs, COC, ACC

Looking for more information?

Click here to schedule a free coaching consultation.

National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals, Seattle Chapter Vice-President

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

What’s your ONE THING?

“The truth about success is that our ability to achieve extraordinary results in the future lies in stringing together powerful moments, one after the other. What you do in any given moment determined what you experience in the next. Your “present now” and all “future nows” are undeniably determined by the priority you live in the moment. The deciding factor in determining how you set that priority is who wins the battle between your present and future selves.” (Page 148) (Present Bias)

I just finished reading Gary Keller and Jay Papasan’s book “The One Thing” and it changed how I view my to-do list.

At any given point in time, I probably have 15 things on my list. Most will get done, some will be pushed to the following day, week, month, year. Some turn out to be unimportant and are eliminated. More often than not, however, I check off those items that are easy and procrastinate those that are hard. Although I may be getting a lot of items checked off my list, am I doing the “one thing” that would make a significant difference?

When you look at your to-do list, ask yourself:

What is the ONE thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary? – Gary Keller

Here are some items off my to-do list for this week:

Write blog post
Update coach log
Pay bills
Update calendar
Reorder prescriptions
Follow-up on September/October event speakers
Review new website progress; find images; update copy points
Write appreciation note to the electrician
Follow up with a former client
Create ADHD support group documents

Although all of the above are important to me, they are not created equal. Which are those “that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?” Although it’s not just one, paying bills, re-ordering prescriptions, following up on the September event speaker and reviewing website progress are all items that are critical to my personal and business well being. All other items can be pushed off to a later date and the world will continue to spin without consequence.

When you look at your current to-do list, what is your one thing?

Cindy Jobs, COC, ACC

Looking for more information?

Click here to schedule a free coaching consultation.

National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals, Seattle Chapter Vice-President

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

Routines

Routine: “Habitual or mechanical performance of an established procedure.”

Routines can support us when indecision steps in.

Daily routines can help manage our schedules.

Positive self-care routines can assist in supporting mental health.

Sometimes we use routines without even thinking about it.

I know my day goes better if I work out in the morning. I also know that I won’t exercise in the morning if my workout clothes aren’t the first thing I see in the morning. When I don’t see my workout gear first thing, I decide to have coffee and watch TV instead. So, every night I set my gear out so I don’t have any excuse not to exercise. Day supported by morning, morning supported by night. Routine.

On more than one occasion people have made mention of my strange golf pre-shot routine. I didn’t think much about it until I played with someone I’d never played with before and she mentioned how interesting it was that I “kinda clicked my heels together like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.” Well, that sounded weird, so I tried to stop doing it. Immediately my golf game suffered. I’d disrupted my routine.

I appreciate the power of meditation and try to incorporate it into my schedule on a daily basis. Unfortunately, when I get out of my routine, this is one of the first things to go and I notice the change pretty darn quickly. As a matter of fact, I found myself internally screaming at my meditation app this morning because it wasn’t downloading fast enough. What does that say about neglecting a routine?

My schedule is pretty fluid. I do not have a Monday-Friday, 8:00-5:00 job. Some days I have on-site clients, some days I have virtual clients, some days I don’t have any clients at all. Because of this lack of structure I need to rely on routines I have total control over: exercise, meditation, positive self-talk, regular sleep routines, nutrition, etc.

What routines do you rely on?

What routines do you need to create?

What could a solid routine help you to achieve?

Cindy Jobs, COC, ACC

Looking for more information?

Click here to schedule a free coaching consultation.

National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals, Seattle Chapter Vice-President

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

“I play for food.”

I enjoy the game of golf. More appropriately, I enjoy the four hours of social connection and if there happens to be some golf thrown in, all the better.

Every once in a while I feel a need to participate in some golf competition. Don’t get me wrong, I’m kind of a competitive girl, but competing in golf can get me really twisted up and the competition takes a bit of the shine off the enjoyment of the game. So, when I play competitive golf, I choose the mindset of “I play for food.”

Why does this work for me?

“Playing for food” shifts my perspective from the competition to something I enjoy much more . . . the social aspect.
As a general rule, golf competitions involve some pretty good breakfast, lunch or dinner cuisine. Win.
Meals provide the perfect social atmosphere to engage with people of similar passion. Win. Win.
Whether you win or lose, the food is the same. Win. Win. Win.

How can you make this philosophy work for you? Shift your perspective.

Do you need to have a difficult employee conversation?

If a difficult conversation is necessary, chances are the employee is feeling stress and tension also. Ask yourself “What’s the most common, positive outcome this conversation can have?” Even if the only common, positive outcome is more broadened understanding between both parties, win, win. Perspective shift.

Are you stressed out about an upcoming difficult negotiation?

Negotiations are tough. The best outcome is that someone agrees to your terms, the worst is that they won’t. Shifting our perspective from “What’s the best possible thing that can happen?” and visualizing that outcome versus “I know they are going to try to cheat me out of what I’m worth.

” will provide a positive base for how you present yourself. Perspective shift.

Are you throwing a party and are completely stressed-out about your house?

There was a time when having a party in my home practically made me physically ill. I was certain people were judging me based on my decorating style (which there’s not a lot of) and the quality of the food (I’m also not an adventurous cook). Then someone said the most thoughtful thing: “We really enjoy coming to your home. It’s so comfortable and the food isn’t pretentious.” Wow! The stress and the worry about things not being perfect had completely overshadowed the enjoyment of inviting people to our home. Perspective shift.

What fears could you let go of if you shifted your perspective to expect only positive outcomes?

Cindy Jobs, COC, ACC

Looking for more information?

Click here to schedule a free coaching consultation.

National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals, Seattle Chapter Vice-President