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

The power of mind mapping.

Sometimes making progress is really, really hard. Even when we have a very clear idea of where we want to end up, we just can’t seem to make it through the decision-making and execution process.

Why is that?

There are too many options.
The scope is ambiguous.
We don’t know where to start.
Required chronology is uncertain.
We’re concerned we may forget important parts and pieces.

This, I’m certain, is just a partial list of what may run through our minds when we are contemplating a project. Sometimes there are so many unanswered questions we just throw up our hands in frustration and don’t do anything.

When I’m stuck on a project, I use mind mapping.

What’s that?

A mind map is a great way to visually organize information. Using the lightbulb image above as a guideline, start with the central concept.

Light bulb = Create Sales Trend Report.

The circles represent important parts and pieces of the project and process:

Scope
Stakeholders
Data gathering
Data delivery
Report criteria
Programming resources

Using the most basic of mind-mapping techniques can help generate ideas, visualize structure and process workflow, resulting in higher success and completion rates.

The cool thing about mind maps is that they can be used in any environment. From occupational to personal, mind mapping is a great way to move from concept to completion.

Mind maps can take many forms. Personally, I like to use the old-fashioned pencil-on-paper technique shown below.

Image source: Pinterest

Recently one of my more technically advanced clients suggested an open-source mind mapping called X-Mind, but a quick online· search resulted in a plethora of options, most with free trial options. I’d suggest trying a few options to see what fits your personal style.

Stuck on a project? Mind map it!

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 don’t know.”

“I don’t know.” was one of the phrases I previously feared using the most.

Now I embrace it.

What did I used to think “I don’t know.” said about me?

I was uninformed.
I was unprepared.
I wasn’t as good as someone else.
I was vulnerable and weak.

Questions I wanted to answer “I don’t know.” to but was too afraid:

What were the annual sales of this product two years ago?
How long will it take to create that new report?
What changes did Kathy’s group make that cut their lead time by 15%?
What would be the benefit of assigning that project to another team?

Having to say “I don’t know.” struck fear in my heart and left me feeling stressed, anxious and exhausted. I had convinced myself that there was an expectation that I knew everything all the time. I certainly didn’t. I felt like an imposter.

I will admit, there were times when I truly didn’t know but would try to bluff my way through anyway. Not a strategy I would recommend as on more than one occasion this strategy did not work out well . . . at all.

But in actuality “I don’t know.” can be incredibly powerful, made even stronger followed by “Let me find out.” What does using these two simple phrases say about you?

You are honest about your knowledge.
You know your limitations.
You are open to exploration.
You do not always need to be the expert.
You are willing to be vulnerable, making it easier for others to be vulnerable around you.

Who would you prefer to be known as? The person in the bullet points above, or the stressed, anxious, and exhausted person that considers themselves an imposter.

I don’t know, do you?

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

Bucket Management

“I need to change everything.”

This is the answer I get most often from my clients when asked what they’d like to focus on first in our coaching or organizing partnership. But, change takes focus and we can’t focus on everything at the same time, right?

One of the most effective things I can do for my clients is to help them identify changes they can make that will provide the most benefit across all areas of their lives: home, work, friends, etc. For visualization purposes, I refer to these areas as “buckets.”

Bucket identification helps my clients recognize the broad categories within their lives and spaces, then drill down to concerns within each.

For example:

Bucket: Marriage

Concerns: communication, division of responsibility, utilization of strengths, scheduling, understanding of vulnerabilities

Bucket: Job

Concerns: time management, conflict resolution, communication, overcommitment, difficulty staying within areas of responsibility

Bucket: Self-care

Concern: sleep hygiene, routines, negative self-talk, stress management, nourishment, making time for exercise

Bucket: Home

Concerns: household chore list, incomplete projects, division of responsibility, household organization

Bucket: Family

Concerns: creating boundaries, communicating boundaries, making time for family, managing conflict

Bucket: Friends

Concerns: finding time for friends, communication is one-sided, lack of follow-through on commitments

Looking through this list, you will see some common threads: communication and time management. Rather than work on one distinct bucket, it is more effective to work on improving communication and time management, which will positively impact multiple life buckets.

What are your life buckets and the concerns within them? What one or two things could be improved that would provide relief across all buckets?

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

Old Dog, New Tricks

How often have we heard the phrase “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”

Thirty years ago neural researchers would have sworn that mental development ended in your twenties. The prevailing theory was that “the brain simply didn’t undergo any significant change in capacity after late adolescence” (Immunity to Change, Kegan, and Lahey). Imagine that.

Fast forward 30 years and studies show the brain has the ability to continue to adapt throughout life. Why is that important? We are living longer, and the longer we live the more we need to continue to learn and grow. Not just because of the demand, but also the desire.

Desire is a key point. If we desire change, we will strive to achieve it. If change is demanded, we tend to resist. How is this reflected in change?

Desire vs Demand

My dad was over 65 when he decided to learn how to snowboard. He wanted to snowboard so he would have something in common with his grandkids. Desire was strong, demand was absent.

My husband is almost 69 years old. He is the “go to” guy for tech support within our house and amongst his employees, friends, and family. He feels a need to embrace technology to support his family, friends, and business. Both desire and demand are strong.

At 50 I embarked on a new career: coaching and organizing. I have a passion for helping people break through their physical and emotional clutter to help them create the lives they want to live, not the life they feel stuck in. Both desire and demand are strong.

We have some friends that are taking up golf in their 60s. Now, golf is not an easy sport and can be incredibly frustrating, but they just keep going. Desire is strong, demand is absent.

Again with my dad. He was an electrical inspector. He loved his job. He met the most amazing people, and couldn’t wait to get into the office every day to see his office colleagues. Then technology raised it’s ugly head when my dad was about 65. He was now required to receive and file his inspection reports on a computer. He was able to give up his commute to the office but missed seeing his colleagues and the technology kicked his you know what. He couldn’t (didn’t want to) get the hang of it. Demand was strong, the desire was absent. He retired.

When you are handed a new challenge, how do you see it? Desire vs demand? Are you more inclined to try harder one way or the other? Does it change your perspective on the challenge? How would a perspective shift help?

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

Are you working with boulders or pebbles?

Things can be so dog-gone overwhelming sometimes, can’t they?

I worked with a couple clients last week that were paralyzed by their “to do” lists. The lists were so long and the projects were so daunting that the default action was inaction.

They were trying to work with boulders when it would have been much easier to work with pebbles.

What does working with boulders vs pebbles mean? I’ll use one of my projects as an example.

I realized that my current business name doesn’t speak to a large segment of my business: coaching. If you were looking for a coach would you think it made sense to contact “Organize to Simplify?” I know I wouldn’t, so I’m changing my business name which triggers a plethora of tasks. Some of these are Boulder tasks, some are pebble tasks.

Change business name and identity: Boulder task

Secure new domain: Pebble task
Create new logo: Boulder task
Create a new website: Boulder task
Outreach to clients and support base: Boulder task

Secure new domain: Pebble task (done)

Create new logo: Boulder task

Hire designer: Pebble task (done)
Engage with friends, family, and colleagues for their input on initial designs: Pebble task (done)
Submit preference to the designer: Pebble ask
Review 2nd round submissions, review updates with the designer: Pebble task
Review 3rd round submissions, review updates with the designer: Pebble task

Create a new website: Boulder task

Decide on new website platform: Boulder task (done)
- Review website options and costs: Pebble task (done)
- Review website templates: Pebble task (done)
Determine if the website will be self-created or hire sub-contractor: Boulder task
- Determine if I can do it myself: Pebble task
- Determine if I can justify sub-contractor cost: Pebble task
- Determine timeline availability of sub-contractor matches desired deliverable: Pebble task
Create website sitemap: Pebble task
Rewrite website pages: Pebble task
Choose images for the website: Pebble task

Market new company: Boulder task

Create marketing plan: Boulder task
- Determine marketing target: Pebble task
- Determine marketing vehicles: Pebble task
Order new business cards and note cards: Pebble task
Write a letter of introduction to clients and support base: Pebble task
Solicit LinkedIn endorsements: Pebble task
Solicit Google My Business endorsements: Pebble task

I fid this to be a pretty daunting, and I’m certain incomplete, list.

The task of “Change business name and identity” is a boulder task. I would never have been able to pick that boulder up all at one time. The boulder task was too big. I needed to create many pebbles out of that boulder in order to be successful.

What boulder tasks are you avoiding because they are too daunting?

What could you get done if you broke that boulder into pebbles?

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

Are you listening?

Yesterday was a day full of observation and personal enlightenment.

I listened to an Oprah SuperSoul podcast with Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist monk, author and Nobel Peace Prize nominee. Although the entire podcast was extremely interesting, at 23 minutes in, the term “compassionate listening” comes up. This was a new phrase to me, so it piqued my interest.

Thich Nhat Hanh revealed his communication mantras to support compassionate listening.

“I’m here for you.” The most precious thing you can offer is your presence.

“I know you are there.” Recognizing other’s presence reinforces your commitment to the communication process.

“I know you suffer.” Acknowledgment of suffering or hurting reinforces listening.

“I suffer. Please help me.” Letting others know you are suffering will help reduce our own suffering and is an open request for compassion.

Although the mantras aren’t phrases I would say out loud, the concepts intrigued me so I decided to do an experiment on my own compassionate listening.

“I’m here for you.”

I talk to my 86-year old mother nearly every night. The conversations are very similar so I find myself doing dishes, folding clothes, or checking my e-mail. I’m certainly not listening with compassion. Am I even hearing what she’s saying? Am I here for her?

“I know you are there.”

I pick up my grandkids on Monday afternoons. I love my time with them, but sometimes find myself reaching for the radio dial to catch up on the latest news. What might I be missing if I don’t leave the space open for my 4-1/2-year-old grandson to engage with me about how many school busses we see on the way home? Do I show that I know they are there?

“I know you suffer.”

A friend called with a frustrating family situation. Although I could sense the frustration involved a significant disconnect between perceptions, bringing that to her attention wasn’t what she needed. She just needed to be heard. There may be another time to discuss perceptions, but at the time, she just needed to vent. Acknowledging her frustration, acknowledged her suffering.

“I suffer. Please help me.”

I can revisit many conversations where I have been angry or discouraged but didn’t want to open myself to the vulnerability of acknowledging my suffering. How might I have benefitted from that openness? How might others have been able to help me work through that anger or discouragement?

I invite you to be your own observer of your compassionate listening. Better yet, invite someone you love and respect to observe for you. What might you learn? What might you gain?

Cindy Jobs, COC, ACC

Looking for more information?

Click here to schedule a free coaching consultation.

Energy Management vs Time Management

“I just don’t have time to . . . . . “ Go ahead, fill in the blank.

Ever said that? I’ll be you have. I know I have.

But is it time we don’t have or energy? If we managed our energy better, would our time management improve? If we managed our time better, would our energy improve? What could we accomplish if we managed both just a little better?

Earlier this year I started with a new client. She said by noon her energy was totally zapped and she just couldn’t get anything done throughout the day, creating a tremendous amount of guilt and anxiety. Having ruled out health problems, we started to look at her routines, really focusing on where she was spending her time and energy.

Here are just a few examples of what we found:

Nine months ago she became an empty-nester and no longer had the time or energy commitment of children at home. She hadn’t decided on what her next chapter was going to look like (volunteer? go back to work? go back to school?), so now she had all this time on her hands without a clear strategy on how to use it. She woke up without a blueprint for the day, so the day just slipped away. At the end of the day, she felt guilty and unfulfilled. Not having a good time management plan drained her energy.
She didn’t have a good, consistent sleep pattern. She went to bed late because she was easily distracted and didn’t make it through her day’s “to do” list until 1:00 – 2:00 AM. She got up early to see her husband off for the day, but since she’d only slept for about five hours, she was running on empty in the energy department by noon. Her poor time management the day before affected her energy management the following day.
She loved to shop, consequently spent a lot of time either in stores or online looking for the “perfect . . . .” Again, fill in the blank. So instead of buying one thing that was “good enough,” she bought several hoping to find “perfect.” This created both a time and energy management problem since she would spend hours returning items she purchased that she wasn’t going to use. Not creating a boundary around the energy expended looking for “perfect,” resulted in a time management situation when hours were spent coordinating returns.

As we reviewed her routines, we continued to find situations where poor time management affected her energy and situations where she was expending an enormous amount of energy on an activity that in the end had an impact on her time.

To better manage both her time and energy, we created some structure around how she wanted to manage both.

We started with:

Creating a structure that included time for sleep, exercise, meal preparation, social interaction, and mindfulness.

She made a commitment to get in bed by 11:00 PM at the latest.

She didn’t know if she was a Zumba or Yoga girl, a runner or a hiker, a golfer or a tennis enthusiast, so some self-exploration when it came to an exercise routine was necessary.

Because of poor time management and the diminished emotional need to feed “the family,” she and her husband subsided on a significant amount of take-out. Recreating her vision of “family” as just the two of them, changed her perspective on the value of daily meal preparation.

Because of the previous time commitments for the family, she’d reduced her social interaction in her local community. Looking for opportunities to become involved in the community, recreating some social connections that may have fallen by the wayside in the day-to-day rush of household management, provided an emotional high that had been missing since the kids moved out.

She included mindfulness in her regular routine. Focusing on living in the moment, not rehashing the past and living in an undefined future, can provide a great amount of peace and clarity. Mindfulness can be anything from meditation to a simple walk in the park. Whatever brings your mind into the present is extremely valuable to mental and physical well-being.

Creating balance and structure has been extremely beneficial for my client to manage her time and energy. Where might you be out of balance in the time and energy department?

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

Smell the flowers . . . if you can find them.

Photo: Ales Krivec

Spring. It’s refreshing. Flowers are blooming. Birds are singing. Life is magical . . . if it weren’t for all that dog-gone Spring Cleaning guilt. Clean the carpets. Clean the windows. Clean the garage. Clear out the clutter.

One of the quickest ways to give our surroundings a breath of fresh air is to reduce clutter and open up our spaces. If you are surrounded by clutter, you will be more stressed, less focused, and less productive. On average, people who are surrounded by clutter and are disorganized lose nearly an hour of productivity every day. Generally, that hour isn’t all in one chunk, but five minutes here, ten minutes there. You know what I’m talking about, we’ve all done it.

De-cluttering and organizing is a great start on the road to a healthier, happier you. Yes, we know it will feel good when we are done, but how do we get started?

Pace yourself. It didn’t get cluttered in one day; don’t try to de-clutter everything in one day. Pick a drawer, a cupboard, a room . . . whatever feels manageable and is currently a source of pain.
Enlist an objective and honest buddy to help you. It’s hard to get rid of our own stuff, trust me I know!
Have a vision of what you want to the room to feel like. Notice I said feel, not look. So often we have Pinterest visions but our space has physical limitations. It’s better to envision a purpose and feel vs trying to replicate a look. Take several “before” pictures.
Have a plan for getting rid of things you no longer need or want: Donate to a charity; give to a friend you know wants something you no longer need; schedule a trash or recycle trip. Make sure there is a solid plan to get things out of the space.
At the end of the process, treat yourself to a reward for your efforts. Decluttering is HARD WORK and a glass of wine or Dairy Queen Blizzard is most certainly deserved.

To ensure that you don’t get back in a cluttered and disorganized state, these two tips will help with ongoing maintenance:

To keep clutter from creeping back, devote an hour a week to staying on top of your newly-opened up space. Whether it’s an hour every Saturday, or 15 minutes four times a week, devoting time to keeping your space in order will pay huge dividends.
Keep a DONATE box or bag close at hand. Once you decide you really don’t need something, immediately put it in the box so it no longer takes up valuable space in your everyday life.

What do you want to tackle next?

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

Balance: Self Value vs Stuff Value

Balance is a tricky thing. Too much of one thing tips the scales in the other direction and we get totally out of balance.

But balance is not just about stuff vs space (although stuff vs space is a huge issue for a lot of people). For some interesting information on how much stuff Americans have, here are some statistics from a recent CBS Morning show.

There are 50,000 self-storage facilities in the U.S., more than Dunkin’ Donuts (8,500), Subways (28,000) or McDonald’s (14,027) combined.*

And that’s just for the stuff we CAN’T fit inside our homes, where there’s more “stuff” piled in closets, bedrooms, garages and basements.

The CBS segment speaks to the stuff vs space conundrum with an interesting question: why do we park $10,000 cars outside when we fill our garages with stuff of largely no value?

Nearly all my clients struggle with the self value vs stuff value balancing act.

A client spoke to a situation at their home. His comment to me: “my wife asked me a while ago to clear out the garage so she could park in it.” When I inquired what “a while ago” meant he admitted it had been 18 months. It was clear he was prioritizing the stuff value in his garage above the his wife’s self value (her request to be able to park in the garage). The prioritization realization created a perspective shift.

Another client comments regularly about how her closet (stuff) drives her crazy (self). It is packed. She could easily get by with half of the items in her closet and still be considered one of the best-dressed women I know. If she eliminated half the stuff she would feel the benefit of open space, organization and clarity (self value). For years she’s been prioritizing her stuff over herself.

And then there is the client who tries to cram too many commitments (stuff value) into his schedule resulting in limiting his time with family and friends (self value).

What’s your balance of self value vs stuff value?

* Note: This is a direct lift from the CBS segment. No, the math doesn’t work, but it’s close. 🙂

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