The importance of embracing life’s beautiful moments and periods of calm became even more appreciated recently. The last few weeks have been tough ones. After some wonderful, relaxing vacation time, my mom took a bad fall, ended up in the hospital for a week, and is now home. As you might imagine, when there’s an accident, family emergency, or other unexpected crisis, everything changes…at least for a time.

It’s not that we’re completely out of the emergency state, but that high-alert, going-to-the-hospital-every-day part has ended. Now, we’re in the emergency aftermath and navigating the necessary changes. During the high alert stage, there were a few things that helped.

I do not wish emergencies on any of you, but if you are in a challenging situation, maybe one of these success tips will help you. You might have one or two to add, so please do.

5 Proven Success Tips for Life’s Emergencies

1. Let Go– Remove all the non-essentials. Are there deadlines that can be shifted? Are there appointments that can be rescheduled? Are there goals you wanted to accomplish but are unnecessary right now? What can you let go of to simplify the demands on your time right now? You’ll need extra thinking power, strength, and energy to focus on the emergency.

2. Breathe – There will be many questions and decisions to make. Some will need to be made fast. Others are better made more slowly. Emergencies get our adrenaline pumping. If your heart is racing and you’re feeling panicked, pause. Take some long, deep breaths. Let the oxygen flow to your brain. Calm your system. Your mind will be more available to make better, calmer decisions.

3. Connect – You are not alone. Having the love, support, and care from family, friends, and professionals will hold you up when you are in crisis. The Westchester Medical Center staff was terrific. They took excellent care of my mother and also showed care and concern for the family. And I don’t know what I would have done without the loving support of my family and friends. Their loving messages, calls, and care packages made all the difference.

“Remove all the non-essentials.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

4. Return – While emergencies require more of our time and energy, it’s absolutely critical we activate the basics, like sleeping, hydrating, eating, and getting fresh air. Hospitals can quickly bring out the worst in us with the harsh lighting and our tendency to pump ourselves with large amounts of caffeine and sweets. However, if you can take some fresh air breaks, eat healthy meals, drink extra water, and minimize the sweets, your body and mind will thank you. You’re under more stress than usual, so make sure to “feed” yourself in positive ways.

5. Laugh – Even in the darkness of crisis, there is light and humor. Laughter can work its magic. It can lift your spirits and those around you to create a positive, healing mood. Even during some very difficult days, there were moments of laughter and singing with my mom. I treasured and embraced those. They helped sustain me through the rougher periods.

Other things helped during this time, like having a chart of my mom’s medications and health history and doing a few “normal” activities. The stress wasn’t eliminated entirely, but these strategies helped me cope better with what was happening.

And lastly, what helped me the most was taking one day and one decision at a time. I tried not to project too far ahead. Especially when there is an emergency, the situation is constantly shifting. It helped me to remain flexible with choices and options.

What success strategies have worked for you during emergencies? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

The unofficial summer has ended. Parents and children are back in school mode. Transitions are in progress as we adjust to new schedules, set new goals, wrap-up endings and embrace new beginnings. With a full fall schedule ahead of me, I don’t know about you, but I’m not quite ready to give up that slower, less-stressful pace of summer. Thoughts of leisurely beach days, river walks, and no alarm clock mornings occupy my thoughts.

Yet here we are. It’s a new month. It’s a seasonal transition. It’s a time to re-set and get ready for new challenges and successes. How do you do that? What successes are you striving for? There are many ways to strengthen your foundation to create successful outcomes. I’ve suggested a few strategies. Do you have any additional ones to add?

More Calm

Success can come from frenzy, but finding some calm during your day can go miles in clearing your head and clarifying your thoughts. Our successes will flow more easily if we balance life’s daily stresses with moments of calm. Where will your calm come from? For me, sunshine and water are essential. They immediate restore calm to my inner being.

More Nourishment

Success can come out of deprivation, but nourishment can supercharge your success. The nourishment I’m referring to has to do with getting enough sleep, eating healthfully, hydrating, and stimulating our minds and hearts. What can you read or learn that will provide groundwork for future success. What relationships can you develop or nurture that will enhance the journey you’re on?

More Percolation

Success doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, patience, persistence, experiences and failures to get there. We can lack clarity and vision in where we’re headed. Cloudiness can bring frustration, negativity, or lack of motivation. We need time to mull things over before clarity appears. Give yourself ample opportunity to capture your thoughts. The fragments might not make sense yet, but given time, you can pull together the pieces, identify themes and move forward. Let success thoughts percolate. These are an essential part of your success foundation.

Where are you now? What do you need to strengthen your foundation for success? What will help you to move forward? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation.

We could all use a bit more happiness in our lives, couldn’t we? While traveling recently, I noticed someone reading a Time magazine special edition, The Science of Happiness. The cover was splashed with happy-looking emojis. I finally got my hands on a copy and read it, with yellow highlighter in hand, from cover to cover. I’m generally a happy, positive person most of the time. Even so, I loved the idea of learning about the science behind happiness and the possibility of finding ways to experience even more joy.

Some researchers think that genetics are behind 50% of the variations in happiness and 10% are due to life circumstances. This is great news because it means the remaining 40% presents opportunity for you to increase your happiness. We can break that down to small, manageable parts. As author Margaret Wander Bonanno said,

“It is only possible to live happily ever after on a day-to-day basis.”

3 Ways to Help Increase Your Happiness . . .

Mindfulness

Being present, refusing to multitask, and bringing your full attention to what’s happening right now is one way to increase happiness. This can be challenging to do with so many sounds, people and thoughts vying for your attention. It requires practice, like exercising a muscle, to be mindful. One suggestion made by Emma Seppala, Ph.D. author of The Happiness Track: How to Apply the Science of Happiness to Accelerate Your Success is to take technology breaks. She suggests,

“One of the greatest ways to find joy is to spend a half-day or whole day on a technology fast. That means no screen time. None.”

Generosity

Doing good in the world can translate into donating money to causes and organizations we believe in. According to Michael Norton, co-author of Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending, bringing this idea closer to home can boost your happiness even more. He says,

“While giving to charity brings more happiness than spending money on yourself, our research finds that doing things for people you know makes you happiest.”

Gratitude

Have you noticed that you’ve become more grateful as you’ve aged? One study discovered that for each 10 years of life, gratitude increases by 5%. In addition, according to writer Ellen Seidman, research suggests that people who are regularly grateful, those that are actively aware of the “goodness in life and the sources of it – are generally healthier and happier.” To experience the full benefits of gratitude, you need to both feel the love, like recording your appreciation in a gratitude journal and show the love as in writing a letter (the more specific the better) to express gratitude to your friends and loved ones. Robert Emmons, Ph.D., psychology professor and author of Gratitude Works! says,

“When people are grateful, they feel more alert and alive.”

Do any of these increasing happiness concepts resonate with you? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation!

The latest installment (v11) of the “What’s Interesting?” feature is here with my newest discoveries that inform, educate, and relate to organizing and life balance. I’ve included unique and inspiring enlisting help-related finds, which reflect this month’s blog theme. You’re a fantastically engaged group. I look forward to your participation and additions to the collection I’ve sourced for you. What do you find interesting?

What’s Interesting? . . .

1. Interesting Read – Decision-Making Help

Living requires us to make millions of decisions. Are you overwhelmed by choice? If so, you’re not alone. Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox of Choice – Why More is Less, sheds light on how the abundance in our culture has made us become less satisfied and more stressed about our daily decisions. He says that while choice improves the quality of our lives, helps us control our future, and is essential to autonomy, the overload of choice comes at a price. Schwartz explains why this has happened and suggests ways to overcome it. He concludes with, “Choice within constraints, freedom within limits, is what enables [us] to imagine a host of marvelous possibilities.”

2. Interesting Study – Productivity Help

While traveling on one of my favorite airlines, Southwest, I read about an interesting piece in their onboard magazine. The University of British Columbia did a study where the results determined that desk clutter lowered your attention span. Interpreted another way, an organized desk increased your attention span by 167%. A different experiment concluded that study participants in a cluttered workspace took 10 percent longer to complete a quiz than the participants situated in a neat workspace.

3. Interesting Conference – Disorganization Help

The Institute for Challenging Disorganization (ICD) will have its’ annual conference in Portland, Oregon, September 22-24, 2016. Organizers and related professionals will convene from all over the globe to learn about aging, ADHD, productivity, mental illness, hoarding, time management, and the latest research on chronic disorganization. I’m looking forward to attending and learning from the experts so that I can better help my clients. Are you going? I’d love to see you there!

4. Interesting Product – Paper Organizing Help

Have you noticed the adult coloring book craze? They are in bookstores, conferences, airports, hospitals and everywhere. They’re even on file folders. One of Smead’s clever new products is the coloring file folder, great for organizing your papers.  Available at myOrganized.life, you no longer need an excuse to doodle on your files. Get out your colored pencils and have fun while you’re organizing your paper piles.

5. Interesting Resource – Repair Help

I’m all for letting go of things that no longer serve a purpose, are beyond repair, or have overstayed their welcome. However, what about those finer shoes or handbags that could be repaired, but they sit around waiting for a way to get that done. Cobblerconcierge.com is a convenient service that meshes the skill and traditions of expert cobblers with the ease of using the Internet. The process is easy. Fill out an online form, receive a shipping box, and your shoes or handbags will be quickly refurbished and returned right back to your home.

6. Interesting Thought – Exclamatory Help

We all do it, don't we? Swearing that is. Especially when we need help, those expletives can arrive fast and furiously. However, they only go so far for handling a moment of frustration. If you’re struggling with overwhelm, with a challenge that seems unsolvable, or with figuring out how you’re going to move forward, it’s probably time to reach out for help. Be brave enough to ask.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. What are your interesting finds? Do any of these resonate with you?  Come join the conversation!