The newest installment (v36) of the “What’s Interesting?” feature has my latest finds which inform, educate, and relate to organizing and life balance. These unique, inspiring, enlisting help discoveries reflect this month’s blog theme. 

You are a generous, communicative, and engaged group. I am deeply grateful for your ongoing presence, positive energy, and contributions to this community. I look forward to your participation and additions to the collection I’ve sourced.

What do you find interesting?

What’s Interesting? – 5 Best Enlisting Help Discoveries

1. Interesting Read – Focus Help

I’ve often said the quality of your questions profoundly influences the quality of your decisions. In The Focus Project – The Not So Simple Art of Doing Less, author and keynote speaker Erik Qualman has cultivated the art of asking great questions. Qualman asked people what led to their sustained success and what was their greatest challenge. The answers, which came from CEOs, teachers, parents, entrepreneurs, and others, responded similarly. Their key to success was “focus.” Their greatest challenge was “staying focused.”

These responses resonated with Qualman so intensely that he created The Focus Project, a yearlong journey to help himself and others “to focus on what matters most.” He selected twelve areas to explore (one per month), including Growth, Health, Relationships, Gratitude, and Mindfulness. There’s even a chapter on Time/Energy Management, which includes ideas about organizing, multitasking, and scheduling. You will love this book if you need help focusing on WIN (What’s Important Now) in an “increasingly unfocused world.” 

2. Interesting Trend – Home Office Help

While many have returned to the office, others still work from home. If you’re working from home, you might have a dedicated room as your home office. However, many do not because there is no space. Instead, they continually shift their workspace from dining room tables to couches or kitchen counters. For those who desire a dedicated office area but are tight on space, help is here.

Have you heard of the cloffice? Yes, you read it correctly. The cloffice is a closet turned into an office. If you don't have a closet that can be repurposed, consider using an alcove instead. Elements to consider incorporating are a work surface, storage space, electricity, and good lighting.

“There are times when it’s beneficial to reach out for help.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

3. Interesting Product  – Mood Help

There are numerous strategies to shift your mood. This can be an internal job, such as working through your negative self-talk. But external ways also help improve your mood, like being in nature or creating a positive environment. One huge mood booster is introducing pleasing scents. I love to burn candles and always look for ones that smell great.

I recently discovered Anecdote Candles, which have humorous descriptions with marvelous aromas. One of my favorites is Wanderlust, with mandarin and berry notes described as “hopeful escapes and aimless destinations.” Another fun one is Coffee Break, which “smells like procrastination and inspiration.”

4. Interesting Fact – E-Clutter Help

Do you need help with e-clutter? Is your inbox inundated with spam and unread emails? The Good Planet reported in 2019 that 293.6 billion emails were sent and received every 24 hours, which included approximately 107 billion spam emails. They propose that if every person deleted 10 emails, we could collectively save 1,725,000 gigabytes of storage space and about 55.2 million kilowatts of power. They suggest unsubscribing from emails you no longer need, deleting spam emails, and deleting emails after reading them. Declutter, which will help your inbox and the planet.

5. Interesting Thought – Unstuck Help

Have you ever felt stuck? What was the circumstance? Were you unsure of your next step? Did you need more information to continue your organizing project? Were you overwhelmed? Sometimes we can wiggle our way out of feeling stuck on our own to get things flowing by walking, writing, or sleeping. But there are also times when it’s beneficial to reach out for help. Engage in a conversation with a friend or colleague. Or hire a professional organizer like me to help work through the challenge and incorporate accountability.

What are your interesting enlisting help discoveries? Which of these resonate with you? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

Have you ever felt stuck, overwhelmed, and unsure about how to move forward? If so, you’re not alone. It’s fascinating how, when you’re in that stuck mode, time seems to slow down like the speed of molasses dripping from a spoon. It can feel challenging to activate and figure out what to do next. When you’re in an overwhelmed-and-stuck-headspace, negative thoughts can pile on, adding another layer of complication.

This ‘stuck’ place is often the starting point for my virtual organizing clients. One of my greatest joys is facilitating change so my clients can reach their goals and focus on what is most important to them. When my clients make time with me to think, question, and process, it gives them the space to find their way forward. Recently, I worked with clients to create portable workspaces, refine paper management and workflow systems, establish time and scheduling boundaries, prioritize to-do lists, and declutter spaces that had been piled for years.

If you find yourself in this overwhelmed, stymied place and are unsure how to move forward, the first step is identifying it. Then acknowledge this is an area for growth and say, “That’s my work.”

Stop beating yourself up. Refrain from going into negative self-talk or black and white thinking with “I’ll never get organized” or “I’m always going to be overwhelmed.” Stop perpetuating untruths.

“That’s my work.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD, CVOP™

Instead, see where you are stuck and simply, gently, and matter-of-factly repeat, “That’s my work.” It’s your opportunity to develop. What you choose to do next might be breathing and decluttering one big pile. Or, you might decide to enlist help from a trusted family member, friend, or professional organizer like me. Having a buddy as you sort, edit, and ponder can be valuable.

However you choose to move ahead when you’re bothered, stuck, or overwhelmed, remind yourself, “That’s my work.” Then lean in and seize the opening to make a change. It’s time. You can find your way forward.

How do you respond when you are stuck? Do you go it alone or reach out for help? What helps you move forward? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

As the cold freeze of winter chases the second month of this New Year, are you actively pursuing the changes you want to make in your life? Or, are you in the research and planning phase? Maybe change is the farthest thing from your mind. I’ve noticed during my latest conversations how people are at different ‘change’ points. Some have committed to specific changes, others are pondering change, and some want no change. Where are you right now on the change spectrum?

Recently I discovered three inspiring ideas. I considered them concerning these ‘change’ conversations. Especially if you are in the midst of change or trying to decide what changes you want to pursue, one of these concepts could help you clarify your direction or encourage a perspective shift. 

3 New Trends Will Inspire You to Make Remarkable Changes

1. The Big Quit

Life has changed in numerous ways. The last two-plus years of the global pandemic affected how we live, think and respond. The pandemic has influenced “the great resignation” or “the big quit,” where millions of employees from all industries are leaving their companies in droves. They no longer want to continue as they had, which was not working for them. Instead, they’ve gone for more significant opportunities, higher pay, and better scheduling flexibility. Enough was enough.

How does “the big quit” relate to you? Use this mantra to ask questions to encourage change in your life.

• What are you currently doing that is not serving you well?

• What do you need to “quit?”

• Is your home environment cluttered and draining your physical and emotional energy?

• Do you have ineffective systems that don’t support who you are and what you’re doing?

• Which unhelpful habits are preventing you from living your best life? 

• What do you want to stop doing that no longer works for you?

• What do you want to “quit” to transform your life?

2. Resilience Hubs

According to Google, the word used most to describe 2021 was “exhausting.” It’s no surprise since we’ve had to navigate the pandemic for another year. We’ve experienced loss, working differently, and shifting COVID protocols. We’ve had to balance work and family life with continually changing rules and a mutating virus (now Omicron BA.2). And as if this weren’t enough, we’ve experienced political unrest, inflation, and unprecedented uncertainty. I’m exhausted just thinking about all of this. What is the antidote to fatigue?

Recently, I heard about “Resilience Hubs.” These are trusted physical spaces, typically located in urban areas, established to support communities during regular times and disasters. With local government and residents as their leaders, these hubs have better communication and can more easily pivot to provide the resources the community and its members need to thrive.

As you pursue the changes you want for this year, consider creating your own personal resilience hub. What do you need to replenish your reserves after the exhaustion from the last few years? My resilience hub includes:

• Meditating daily

• Walking in nature

• Doing yoga

• Practicing mindfulness

• Spending time with friends and family

• Getting enough sleep

• Letting go of things that drain my energy

What will you include in your resilience hub?

“Which unhelpful habits are preventing you from living your best life?”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVPO™

3. The Magic Question

Zoe Chance, Yale University professor and author of Influence Is Your Superpower, was interviewed on NPR this month. During the conversation, I was especially intrigued when host Leila Fadel asked her to elaborate on a section in her book about the magic question. Magic question? I couldn’t wait to hear what it was. Are you thinking the same thing?

The magic question: What would it take?

As Zoe explains, “The magic question is magic because…it’s respectful…you get creative and surprising answers that you would never have expected. And…when they tell you, here’s the roadmap to success, they are implicitly committing to supporting that outcome.”

Change is hard. Often it’s a challenge because we get in our own way with excuses, doubt, or fear. But if we activate some magic, in the form of this magic question, what becomes possible? As you navigate your path of change, ask, what would it take to:

• have an organized, decluttered home?

• have a workspace that helped me focus and supported my needs?

• have time to work and relax?

• have  . . . ?

I hope that with some new tools or phrases at the ready, you will be inspired to pursue the change you desire. Did one of these ideas resonate with you? Did you discover something today to help? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

As always, if you want help on your change path, I’m an email or phone call away. Reach out at any time to schedule your virtual organizing session. Find me at linda@ohsoorganized.com or 914-271-5673. I’m ready to help facilitate the change you desire.

Have you ever experienced that intense, inner push that propels you towards your desired goal? Or perhaps, you’ve felt the opposite and lacked the energy and motivation to move forward. In Kendra Cherry’s article, What Is Motivation? she explains,

“Motivation is the process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented behaviors. It is what causes you to act, whether it is getting a glass of water to reduce thirst or reading a book to gain knowledge.

Motivation involves the biological, emotional, social, and cognitive forces that activate behavior. In everyday usage, the term ‘motivation’ is frequently used to describe why a person does something. It is the driving force behind human actions.”

There are many reasons why we become motivationally challenged, including fear of failure, comparison, and drudgery. In one of my most popular posts, 10 Most Common Motivation Challenges & Easy Solutions, I explore these and other ideas. Since motivation concerns is a topic many of us are currently struggling with, I decided to expand on the original post to give you some other relevant motivation challenges and solutions.

3 Reasons for Lack of Motivation and How to Get Motivated

1. “Fuzzy brain.”

With the hundreds of Zoom calls and conversations I’ve had in these past months, there have been countless times when someone connected feeling unmotivated to “fuzzy brain,” “brain fog,” “bunker brain,” or “COVID brain.” Lack of motivation is understandable since we live with intense uncertainty and stress caused by the pandemic and the current political, social, and economic climate. Neuroscientists Hilke Plassmann and Benjamin Kessler, describe this mentally fuzzy phenomenon. They explain that “the combination of impaired analytical thinking and heightened external sensitivity creates what can be called ‘Covid-19 brain’ – a fragile, frazzled state that keeps our thoughts simultaneously on edge and unfocused.”

Solution:  To heal the brain fog, Plassmann suggests using music to restore your equilibrium, regulate your emotions, and increase your focus. She also suggests engaging in mindfulness meditation, especially breathing focused practices, that regulate brain activity.

2. Emergency, emergency!

As if the pandemic isn’t enough, many of us are also experiencing life emergencies such as loss of loved ones, medical challenges, or loss of jobs, income, or housing. When these events happen, it’s hard enough. But when they occur in this extreme environment, it is even more likely your motivation will get disrupted. When your days are spent putting out the emergency fires, and there are underlying stress and anxiety because of the pandemic, there might not be much oomph remaining to expend energy on your goals.

Two weeks ago, my 91-year old mom, who has dementia, broke her hip. She ended up in the hospital, had surgery, and is now in rehab. As if that weren't enough, she had two additional emergencies and ER visits during this time. Talk about being on high alert! Let’s just say that while I have been doing my best to work on my goals and stay motivated, there were moments when I felt like I was walking through molasses, as in slow in going.  One of my weekly goals is writing my blog post. While I am motivated to write, with the mom stuff happening, it has been challenging to focus. So when I sat to write what was going to be a ten-point post, I gave myself some slack and reduced it to three.

“When life’s emergencies occur in this extreme environment, it is even more likely your motivation will get disrupted.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®

Solution: Life emergencies are the time to be especially kind to you. Acknowledge how your high alert state is depleting your reserves. The crisis will eventually pass. Make sure that you increase your self-care with enough sleep, hydration, nutrition, and movement. Minimize your self-expectations. What can you let go of? Focus on what’s most important now. Reach out to your friends and family for support. As your emergency passes, you will have more energy and motivation to work on your goals.

3. Can’t take the heat.

Yes. I know it is summer. And with this season comes hot weather. I don’t know about you, but it’s harder for me to activate when it’s hot. I remember the many summer vacations spent with our daughters in The Outer Banks. It was sweltering in North Carolina. The heat was tolerable when we were at the beach or in the air conditioning. However, when we explored the local towns, it felt like we were walking in an oven. Our energy and motivation to do anything were compromised. It seemed like a significant achievement just to choose and eat an ice cream cone. Even though New York (where I live) isn’t North Carolina hot, the temperature can still affect my motivation. Are you climate-sensitive?

Solution:  If you are affected by the warm weather, notice and acknowledge that. Consider some workarounds that will help increase your motivation. Things as simple as changing your clothing to lighter fabrics and colors, adding a fan to your workspace, or taking your brisk walk in the early morning or late evening, can help. Remember to hydrate, hydrate, and hydrate some more. Plan projects like garage or attic organizing for the colder weather. 

Take a moment to recognize that motivation can wane. It doesn’t mean it will be gone forever. It does mean you might need to experiment and make a few adjustments in behavior or perspective to nurture its return. What motivation challenges are you experiencing? What helps you get motivated when you are struggling? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation!