Are you feeling the fast whoosh of time passing with the holiday season arriving, the elections looming, and the year ending? It’s a lot to take in. You may feel overwhelmed. Perhaps you’re thinking about what goals you wanted to accomplish this year, the time left to do it, and what is actually possible.

Maybe your thoughts are occupied with ‘regular’ life maintenance to-dos plus hundreds of holiday-related tasks, including gift shopping, holiday meal prepping, guestroom readying, travel planning, and family and friends’ gatherings.

Breathe. You’re human, and you’re juggling many things.

I often say that life is in the joyful doing and presence of the moment. And while that’s all well and good, when you’re stressed and overwhelmed, accessing that presence can be more challenging.

With so much going on with work and family, externally and internally, this time of year, making tiny adjustments is helpful. Infusing compassion and mindfulness into your thoughts and actions will encourage a more joyful, fulfilling, and happier holiday season.

I offer you a thought, question, and strategy to help.

3 Ways to Prepare for a Compassionate Holiday Season

1. One Thought: “We don’t have to be perfect.”

Let’s remove the idea of perfection from the holiday season. Why impose more pressure, stress, or unrealistic expectations on yourself or others?

Try channeling your perfectionism energy differently. Focus your energy on one of these options instead:

• Excellence

• Personal best

• Good enough

• Progress

• Ease

• Done

As the Noom app said about overcoming thought distortions, “…it’s about recognizing that we don’t have to be perfect. We’re human.”

Which reframe of perfectionism (one suggested or something else) is helpful for you?

“Breathe. You’re human, and you’re juggling many things.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

2. One Question: “Am I putting myself in good positions and creating the conditions for success?”

One of my favorite recent discoveries is James Clear’s weekly 3-2-1 email, which my client told me about. The idea he wrote about last month feels relevant and worth sharing.

Clear wrote, “Forget about the outcome and focus on what precedes it.” He asks, “Am I putting myself in good positions and creating the conditions for success?”

Consider Clear’s question in the context of which actions and thoughts you can focus on to create a joyful, compassion-filled holiday season. They might include:

• Planning

• Lowering your expectations

• Creating boundaries

• Simplifying goals and tasks

• Decluttering

• Scheduling rest and renewal time

What will you choose to focus on to create a positive holiday season?

“We don’t have to be perfect.”

— James Clear

3. One Strategy: “Accept help.”

Do you tend to do everything yourself? Perhaps you don’t want to impose on others. Or, Seth Godin suggests you might think, “Doing the tasks is more efficient than coordinating the help.” Either philosophy results in you doing all the work, which can lead to resentment and exhaustion. Neither of those is a recipe for happy holidays.

Whatever the season, enlisting and accepting help improves your life. We’re human and benefit from the support and interactions with others. What type of help will benefit your life and infuse more ease? Who can you ask for help? How will that change your experience? If you’re having guests over and they offer to help, lean in and say “Yes.” Have tasks ready to delegate. It will make them feel comfortable and reduce pressure from your list.

Godin says, “It’s much more productive to accept help. When we have a project, part of the work is to enlist others in figuring out how to make the change we seek.”

Let me know if you’re stressed and need a thought partner, decluttering and organizing guide, planning help, or accountability buddy. In my virtual organizing sessions, I offer one-hour focused sessions, ongoing support, and personalized guidance to help you with your goals and challenges. I’m available and am ready to help.

Human Holiday

Do you know the 1953 movie Roman Holiday, starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck? This season, I encourage you to embody a Human Holiday.

• Let go of what you can.

• Invite in what you want.

• Enlist the help you need.

For a less stressful and happier holiday season and beyond, I’m here to help. Please schedule a Discovery Call, email me at linda@ohsorganized.com, or call 914-271-5673. Organization and ease are possible, especially with support.

What becomes possible when you get organized enough? Will you suffer less? Will your mental health and well-being improve due to better organization and flow?

For over 30 years, I have been a professional organizer, helping overwhelmed individuals challenged by disorganization get unstuck and organized.

I’ve observed a direct correlation between disorganization and distress. Creating order in the areas within your control significantly improves your external and internal state of being.

Recently, I had the joy of speaking with John Burton, a singer, songwriter, author, and host of the Home From Here podcast. John is fascinated by the intersection of organization and mental health, and he invited me to talk about that and much more on his show.

I invite you to listen to the podcast, episode 193, to hear the entire conversation. You might even discover a few surprising personal details, such as how I start my day, what my household was like growing up, and my favorite color. Although, I bet you can guess that last one even without listening to the podcast. You all know me so well.

Read about these three ideas I featured from our conversation about organization and well-being, and enjoy the podcast, too.

Home From Here - Episode 193 - John Burton with guest Linda Samuels

3 Ways Getting Organized Reduces Suffering and Improves Your Well-Being

1. “Organization made me feel better.”

John Burton, Home From Here podcast host with Linda Samuels - Episode 193

John noticed that organizing specific areas of his life made him feel better. You can learn more about his mental health journey from our conversation. One of the things he mentioned was how life-changing it was to organize his time and habits, especially his morning routine. As John experienced, better organization enhanced his day’s flow and well-being. He “felt better.”

Many of my clients have mental health challenges, including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and OCD. The organizing piece has been elusive. Often, the external chaos reflects what’s happening internally. Through our work, I see a positive shift as we remove the disorganization blockages, create manageable systems, and focus on being “organized enough.” It’s not about perfection but about organizing in a way that helps you live with more ease.

What will be possible as you feel better?

2. “If I could only get it all done, life would be perfect.”

John asked me about the “trick” to time management. There are many different philosophies about managing yourself and your time, and there isn’t one definitive trick. However, I’ll share two significant principles of time management.

The first thing to understand about time management is acknowledging that you’ll never get it all done. And just so you know, I say those words as someone who is highly optimistic. People often think life would be perfect if you could “only get it all done.”

Whether your to-do list is in your head, on paper, or on an electronic list, as soon as you cross off a completed task, a new item appears. That’s the human condition. If you’re alive, you will have things to get done.

Even when your list is overflowing, I encourage you to embrace opportunities for joy and delight and let go of perfection. As John said, “If you can accept imperfection, stress goes way down.”

The second time management concept is about clarifying your priorities. Focus on aligning your priorities with what you spend time on. In addition, not all tasks will be related to things you’re passionate about. There are life management responsibilities like doing laundry, getting groceries, showering, or paying bills. Those might not excite you, but they are a necessary part of living.

Does all or most of your time go to life maintenance? Is little to no time reserved for your passions or priorities? If so, looking at where your time is going and making some adjustments is helpful.

What becomes possible when your priorities are clarified?

“If you can accept imperfection, stress goes way down.”

— John Burton

3. “I can see a path forward.”

John and I discussed virtual organizing and how I typically have 60-minute Zoom sessions with my clients. My goal is to help them get unstuck enough to take action, make progress, and feel better.

At the beginning of a session, clients might feel overwhelmed, discouraged, or hopeless. By the end of the hour, they’ve experienced progress (a physical change, perspective shift, or new system) and can see possibilities.

We take baby steps that boost confidence and agency. Progress happens during and between the organizing sessions. Clients learn organizational skills and how to integrate them into their busy lives.

 What will be possible as you clear your path?

What is Possible?

Toward the end of our conversation, John said he was “struck” by “the amount of reducing suffering” I’m doing.

Life has hiccups and stress. I am passionate about helping my clients get unstuck, make progress, live with more ease, and feel better. Getting organized enough, letting go of perfection, shifting perspectives, and focusing on priorities can make a significant difference. What is possible for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

Are you ready to get unstuck, organize, and improve your well-being? If so, I’m here to help. Please schedule a Discovery Call, email me at linda@ohsorganized.com, or call 914-271-5673. Turning possibilities into reality is achievable, especially with support.

Inspiration abounds. The fall season in the northeast profoundly influences my thoughts about possibilities. Seeing the bold color shift to saturated yellows, oranges, and reds encourages me to seek change.

Last week, I wrote about my guest bedroom makeover. I considered what was possible, turned those ideas into reality, and was motivated to make more changes.

I made additional unplanned tweaks and changes that were outgrowths influenced by the bedroom project. When you disrupt an area, physical space, and objects are moved. This spatial churning also affects thoughts. Undoing what was in one room opened my mind to seeing and experimenting in other areas.

Sometimes, you feel set and don’t have the need or desire to change anything. Those times can last for brief periods, months, or years. At a point, though, something will interrupt that state. You are ready to try something different, reorganize systems, or make significant life shifts.

Possibilities infiltrate your thoughts. When possibilities are paired with action, change occurs.

3 Unexpected Outcomes from Possibility Thinking

1. Discover Giddy, Joyful Ease

I’ll admit this openly: I love decorative pillows. They’re textural and colorful and instantly change the look of a room. Typically, I have no less than five pillows adorning the sofa or beds.

As you might imagine, keeping the pillows fluffed and arranged can be a pain. Plus, you need extra time to undo and make the beds—pillows off, pillows on. However, I was happy to do the pillow maintenance dance because I loved how they looked and felt. I was willing until recently.

When I transformed the guest bedroom, I rethought the decorative pillow arrangement on that bed. That encouraged me to reconsider the pillow situation in our bedroom. I’m almost embarrassed to say, but we had ten pillows, only two of which we used for sleep. As I write this, I’m laughing out loud. I never counted them up before. Ten pillows are ridiculous.

My supportive husband has always accepted my pillow obsession but recently started questioning their necessity. Between his input and my desire to reimagine other areas of our home, I felt emboldened to change things.

Our bed now has only four sleep pillows and one decorative pillow. I feel giddy, even joyful, when I undo the bed at night or make it in the morning. It’s so easy that it almost feels wrong. I love it!

It took a change in one room to open my mind to possibilities in other areas. The wheels continue to turn.

“When you release what is unnecessary, you clear the path for possibilities.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

2. Create Organization and Accessibility

One of the most fabulous products I discovered during the bedroom renovation was the Elfa® drawer dividers. We redid the guest bedroom closet with an Elfa® system from The Container Store. The designer suggested using the drawer dividers. I loved them so much that I purchased more for other areas where I have Elfa® drawers.

I showcased them in the tea bag overflow drawer a few weeks ago. Since then, I decided to reorganize the gift wrap supply drawers using the dividers. Instead of the gift bags, tags, ribbons, and other supplies moving around each time I opened a drawer, the dividers keep items better organized and securely in place.

Since the drawer organization upgrade, I’ve wrapped a few gifts. It was so easy and fun! The supplies are more visible, accessible, and visually pleasing.

Enjoy this fun video, which demonstrates how easy the drawer dividers are to install.

3. Right-Size Your Stuff

I often discuss how letting go of things that have overstayed their welcome makes space for more of what you want in your life. Clutter or extra stuff you never use takes up physical and emotional space. When you release what is unnecessary, you clear the path for possibilities.

When we emptied the guest bedroom, it gave me pause to assess the removed items and make decisions about their future. I did ‘the edit’ and engaged in various questions to help me evaluate what to keep or let go. I asked letting go questions, including:

• Does this fit or belong in the newly reimagined space?

• Will I use it?

• Do I still like it?

• Could it go somewhere else?

• Is it time to let it go?

• Has it served its purpose and is no longer necessary?

I made decisions. Cardboard storage boxes were recycled and replaced with new containers. Some furniture, art, home goods, boxes, and decorative pillows (yes, those!) will be sold or donated.

Currently, I still have a pile of items waiting to be gone. Getting them out requires my time and attention. Using Facebook Marketplace, GreenDrop, or the Buy Nothing Group, things will exit. I am confident in my decisions and ready to release things.

This process began with thinking about possibilities in one space and resulted in letting go of things that are no longer needed. It feels good and will feel even better when the pile is gone.

What Possibilities Are Ahead?

What no longer works for you? What becomes possible with a slight tweak? What possibility will inspire more organization and ease into your life? How can letting go create a path for new opportunities? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

Are you ready to move forward, get organized, and live with more ease? If so, I’m here to help. Please email me at linda@ohsorganized.com or call 914-271-5673. Turning possibilities into reality is achievable, especially with support.