Summer is here. It’s the time for school endings, graduations, celebrations, travel, camp, visits with family and friends, BBQs, hot weather, and so much more. Many of us are taking time for a deep exhale and leaning into a much-needed break. Others are using this season to plan, organize, let go, and prepare for next. Perhaps your summer will include a combination of relaxing, working, and preparing. My virtual organizing clients are focused on editing, letting go, and getting organized, one paper, t-shirt, and tote bag at a time.
Last year, we didn’t take a vacation. The pandemic kept us close to home. But this summer with life opening up, we planned some mini-vacations. It feels fantastic to get away and return to work refreshed. On a recent trip to the Catskills, the place we stayed had wall quotes throughout the property. There was one by Ralph Waldo Emerson that stood out. It made me think about time, the seasons, and the seeds we sow. Emerson said, “The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.”
“The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
Our lives are limited by the time we have. Where and how we spend that time dramatically influences our lives. Consider the power of the single acorn. It can manifest “a thousand forests.” Its singularity of purpose yields an incredible result.
You can be that acorn. What if this summer, you focus your energy and time on one or even two areas of your life? What would you choose? What could you accomplish if you minimize distractions? Summer is here. What will your season yield? What seeds will you sow? There is no right or wrong response. You are the decider.
We can quickly feel overwhelmed with everything that needs our attention. Give yourself the gift of reducing your focus. What would that look and feel like? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.
The late part of the summer is an intriguing time of year. Some of us, like me, are savoring the last days of the season. I’m looking forward to one final vacation before the cooler fall days arrive. For some, you have purchased your supplies, launched the kids off to college, and started your school year. In the northeast, we have about three weeks left before the kids go back. There are numerous ways you can help your kids switch from vacation to school mode. This can be done even if you’ve already begun the year. The tips I’m sharing will help make your transition and year go more smoothly and be more organized.
For a more in-depth look at the tips, check out my post, Organizing Help for Back to School.The seven tips coordinate with the infographic and include:
1. Cycle
2. Capture
3. Land
4. Center
5. Assess
6. Resources
7. Perspective
Have your kids returned or are about to go back to school? What is your go-to back to school organizing tip? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.
While fall won’t officially arrive for another few weeks, all signs point heavily to its unofficial start. School buses are once again visible, parents are adjusting to new schedules, and kids are toting new supplies and backpacks. The last few summer gatherings and BBQs have been enjoyed. For the northeasterners, some leaf color changes are beginning to appear. We’re in the midst of transition, which for most of us can feel uncomfortable. We finally adjusted to summer and now everything is changing, yet again. This is the perfect time to do a success check-in. You might be wondering what is that? I’m glad you asked.
A success check-in is a way of revisiting past successes, appreciating and learning from any failures, and building upon those discoveries to reset for the next phase. You’ve heard this before that success breeds more success. Drawing on your positive experiences will be the fuel needed to help you navigate transitions more easily.
The Success Check-in
Here ‘s the good news. The success review doesn’t have to be time consuming or formal. It can be fun! All that’s needed is your willingness to do a bit of thinking. Consider this like taking a walk down memory lane. I like to write thoughts down, but that’s not essential. Just thinking is valuable too. Another thing that might help jog your memory is to look at any photos you took over the summer. That helped me and had the added bonus of getting to relive some of those happy experiences again. Do what works for you. There are no rules here, but if it helps, here are a few questions you can use to get things going.
Think about . . .
What did you do this summer? What projects did you start? What projects did you complete? Where did you travel? What new learning did you have? Did you spend time with family or friends? Did you have time for yourself? What kind of self-care did you engage in? What was your favorite day? What made it significant? Was there anything you noticed? What failures did you have? What did you learn from them?
What Made Summer a Success?
I’ll admit that I loved this summer and that I’m not quite ready to say my goodbyes. After having an intense year, I appreciated the ease of this season. For me, summer had a great mix of experiences. Some were solitary and others were spent enjoying and helping people. I had time with family and friends, traveled, explored new places, hiked up a mountain, had a tag sale, spent time at the beach, dipped my toes in the Croton River, digitized our home movies, started some house projects, helped clients with their organizing projects and goals (virtually and in-person), completed a new webinar about change for the ICD (Institute for Challenging Disorganization) that I’ll be presenting in a few weeks. I ran out of time to kayak on the Hudson River, visit Playland, take more walks, and complete some home projects. The good news is that I get to reset my goals and plan for the fall.
Creating a new webinar about change for ICD's virtual conference was one of my summer projects. To learn more about it, check out this interview . . .
Exploring new places like Monhegan Island in Maine was one of the summer highlights
One of my favorite days was exploring Monhegan Island with my husband. I loved the beautiful landscapes and quiet, since there are no cars allowed on the island. It was such a peaceful place. When my mind gets busy, I think back to sitting on top of the cliffs overlooking the sea with only the sounds of the waves crashing, the gentle breeze blowing, and the seagulls squawking.
With thoughts of summer successes on my mind, I’m ready now to embrace the new season of learning and adventure. I encourage you to do your success check-in. What was your favorite summer experience or moment? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation!
Summer is coming to a close. Families are gearing up for the new school year, which includes every stage from preparing little ones for kindergarten to launching older kids off to college. Even if there are no longer kids in the picture that you need to help, this part of the summer season is often a transition time. We can feel the days shortening and the temperatures getting slightly cooler, especially in the northeast where I live. Here’s the thing. When we are in the midst of change and transition, we can often feel anxious about the past and some trepidation about the future. That’s normal.
Practicing mindfulness, both formally through meditation and informally by allowing ourselves to focus on the present, can be enormous in helping us to navigate transitions with less stress and more enjoyment.
Just the other day, I had one of those ah-ha moments. There’s another mindfulness teacher who has been helping me my entire life, but especially these past few years. It's my mom. She has vascular dementia. At this point, her memory of the past is fairly compromised. The future is no longer a real concept because her short-term memory has also been affected. She lives very much in the present. She finds joy in the present through playing piano, listening to music, singing, dancing, having conversations, being with people who care about her, exploring the garden, holding hands, enjoying a beautiful day, or being playful. When I’m with her, I enter her world wherever she is and we experience each moment for all that it is. She’s helped me to appreciate the now even more, to savor these precious moments with her. I slow myself down so that I can be here now.
These past few weeks I’ve missed being with you as I’ve been involved with family that needed my time and attention. I’m so happy to be back. I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Come join the conversation! What discoveries have you made from those that help or guide you?
