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Design Your Days: Make Each Day Count

Wednesday, May 8th, 2013

“Together, we are better”  - credited to Barbara Hemphill, an organizing industry leader.

Carol Williams, another organizing coach and I  just lived this, as we presented our workshop to the Vermont  Women Business Owners’ Network at their Springtime conference.

Their welcome and their support, in my experience, was unparalleled.

Of a different kind, the support we received from two of our clients, who seemed to jump at the chance to be IN our presentation was absolutely precious and honoring. We can’t thank them enough. Nor can the participants in our workshop, for making this so real, tangible and useful – worth it.

 

“Thanks so much for a great workshop yesterday at Vermont Women Business Owners Network, Sue and Carol! I came away with some good tools to keep getting better organized.  I juggle 4 jobs and lots of volunteer endeavors so I need all of the help I can get….” — Megan Humphrey  Sweet Basil Cards


Carol and I both have workshops/presentations/classes as part of our businesses, so we can share broadly what we know, affect more people, and of course, make our businesses visible.

At a NAPO chapter meeting, Carol once asked me if I’d ever consider doing a workshop together. What we found in common initially was that we both know that organizing at work or at home is not about the stuff, papers, email … it’s about ourselves. What we are going through or have gone through. What our relationships and communications are like. How we take of ourselves. How well we know ourselves. And much more.

So that began a series of brainstorming sessions … 

… which led to:

  • learning how to construct PowerPoint with two people involved;
  • editing audio clips, a brand new skill;
  • figuring out how to get the clients’ voices to be heard on our technical setup;
  • working with our clients on their Q&A;
  • practicing together but also separately to time our workshop;
  • figuring out fun, engaging, creative ways to spice up the energy in the workshop;
  • … and so much more.

And so began our road trip … the night before …

We both give but also get great energy from working with groups, and it turns out we work together very well as workshop designers  and presenters. Carol is high energy and gets groups going and motivated – ask us about her WOO HOO and how we didn’t need any practice with WBON ! I’m the reflective one with the calm energy, so I set up each of our reflection exercises in the workshop. You need both, right? Plus, I hope and believe our passion for what we do shines through and can be infectious to some degree.

Can I just say we had FUN as a group, too? Between our “invisible wall” of saran wrap signifying the negatives self-talk, should’s and all that ‘stuff’ that gets in our way, to playing baseball with fooz balls on stage, to saying WOOHOO and all the exercises we did together ! Our workshop is a different approach to so-called time management, where really, it’s all about you.

Graphic design: Hutchens Media

The workshop description… 

Design Your Days: Make Each Day Count

Is this you? You’re a business owner, among other roles.

  • You’re going at full speed but not feeling you’re getting anywhere;
  • You’re feeling stuck;
  • You’ve reached a plateau and you’re not moving ahead;
  • You want a fresh, creative look at how to manage your time and design your days;
  • You know what to do … you’re not doing it though. You’re in your own way sometimes.

By the workshop’s finish, you will be on your way to transforming that “stuck and overwhelmed” feeling into a feeling of renewed energy and motivation. During this session, we will show video clips of women business owners like you that were once stuck and are now inspired, empowered, and enabled; climbing to their next level of success.

Results you can expect: New or renewed inspiration, motivation, and a clear action plan; Identification of  your  desired result and several concrete steps to  attain your result, after learning our proven Design Your Day process; Real practice with a portion of our Design Your Days toolkit.  This begins to catapult you into your next level of success; a true realization that you’re not alone and you, too, will find success. You will hear real stories from our clients and experience their journeys first –hand. As they have designed their days to reach new levels of success, you will begin to design yours.

Contact me at Sue@OrganizeNH.com or Carol at Carol@efficientproductivity.com if your group might be interested in hosting us.

And on our way home …

…when we debriefed, made more plans, and shared insights and expertise. You know how fast those 2 hours went by!

 

 

And so now, we are looking forward to the post-workshop coaching sessions to hear more about how people are doing and what they have learned since the workshop! How will you design YOUR days, so they count?

Follow Design Your Days on Facebook!

 

 

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Posted in Design Your Days: A New Perspective ( Podcasts), Home Office, Inside My World, Time Management | No Comments »

Perspectives Podcasts: 4 Tips to Get Started with Self-Care

Thursday, April 4th, 2013

Easy enough to say we want to take better care of ourselves. Difficult to do…  oh so difficult.

When Carol Williams and I last joined you via podcast or this blog, we asked you some questions:

  • What gives you energy?
  • What drains it?

And then we gave you a way to set priorities for what you want to start with for your own self-care, plus suggestions on how to “get started” or get “un-stuck.”

Once you begin SOMETHING it’s easier to KEEP GOING. The momentum carries you along, while you wait to get motivated… because sometimes we just don’t have the motivation! (And for even more on THAT topic, see my blog interviews with Begin with Yes author Paul Boynton.)

Now that we know better what we want, and what we don’t want, how do we get there?

Please listen here:  Self Care March 2013  

Or read on below if you prefer.

 

Carol: Sue, I love this challenge. It’s one of my favorite hurdles to help my clients over. The challenge is that what you need to do SOUNDS very simple, but, can be ANYTHING BUT simple. Our bodies, biologically, resist change! There is even a NAME for this: Homeostasis.  Anyone who has ever tried to stop smoking, go on a diet, etc. knows this, but now, you can STOP FEELING BADLY about yourself for it. Time to trick yourself!

So the first tip. #1  Share your intention.
  • Tell a friend, coach, or partner what you intend to do MORE of or LESS of.
  • Ask that person if he or she can receive a call or an email if necessary.
  • Simply saying your goal out loud, and announcing it to another person will build in accountability and work its way into your subconscious.
Watch yourself and be amazed.

Sue: I often use the phrase “Path of least resistance.” Tip #2.

Let’s say you want to start  going to the gym in the morning or walking. The path of least resistance? Get EVERYTHING ready the night before: lay out your clothes or pack your bag, get your work outfit ready, too, and the music you want to listen to. Go to bed a little early.

Take away any reason you might say you can’t go when morning comes.

Grease the skids. Path of least resistance. Figure out your phrase to make it EASY to move ahead.

Grease the skids.
(Last photo of winter – promise!)

 

Carol: Your shared intention is this: You want to walk each day at lunchtime, but you are accustomed to working through lunch.

Tip #3: Try the “if/then” technique. Our brains are wired to receive this message.

“IF” I am tempted to skip my walk, THEN I will call Betsy and ask her to come with me. As you can see, it’s helpful to have a support team here. Betsy can be your accountability friend in tip one, or someone else.

 

Sue: Last tip #4: Attach your new habit or ritual to one that ALREADY works for you.

For example, read through your mail and paperwork during the time you make dinner, while you’re waiting for something. Or while your children are doing THEIR homework, do your paperwork.

Or support the habit in ways that have worked for you before: You used to count points on Weight Watchers and record them; how about recording how well you’re doing with your exercise habit each day?

 **********

In closing, we have some EXCITING NEWS to share.

Carol and I are rolling out a new workshop called

DESIGN YOUR DAYS: Making Your Time Count.


It’s for women business owners who struggle with time and energy management. Staying productive in life and in your work.  What’s different about this workshop? This is about finally figuring out how to design your days in ways that work for you. Not what someone else tells you should work. But working with us and our DYD framework to figure it out with you and for you and how you think, work, and handle what comes your way. Is this you? If so, please  join us in Vermont, contact me or Carol, or watch for upcoming workshops and a retreat.
  • You’re going at full speed but not feeling you’re getting anywhere;
  • You’re feeling stuck. You’ve reached a plateau and you’re not moving ahead;
  • You want a fresh, creative look at how to manage your time and design your days.
  • You know what to do … you’re not doing it though. You’re in your own way sometimes.
Our first Design Your Days workshop will be at the Hampton Hotel in Colchester, VT on May 2 and is part of the WBON (women business owner’s network) which is a statewide, Vermont business organization. More information is available by clicking the WBON logo below or here at this link: Annual spring conference.

As a reminder, you are listening to (or reading) our podcast series. We’d love your feedback.  If you have a question you’d like answered, please email us at productivelifetransitions@gmail.com

 

Or contact us through our blogs and websites:

Sue’s is www.OrganizeForAFreshStart.com

Carol’s is http://www.efficientproductivity.com/

 

If you found our advice valuable, please consider sharing our podcast or blog with colleagues and friends.

Thanks so much and GOODBYE until next time!

 

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Posted in AD/HD, Design Your Days: A New Perspective ( Podcasts), Habits, Inside My World, Time Management | No Comments »

Success: My Train of Thought

Friday, February 8th, 2013

Success. How do you know you’re a success with your organizational goals? With your time management? If you’ve been reading for awhile, you know I share a lot of my own learning and stories; I’m in my early 50′s and still learning. So I find it easier to explain the lessons and insights and with more depth when they are my own.

One of my coaching instructors a few years ago asked me to define success for my business. The course, Organizer Coach Marketing, was about the inner work we need to do, even before getting to the marketing tactics. Who is your favorite type of client and why? What value do you think they get from your organizing and coaching meetings; can you ask them for their own description? And so on.

Because if you don’t know this part, then your tactics are just a shot in the dark. Sort of like organizing – if you don’t know your values, how can you know whether you’re spending time on the “right stuff?” If you haven’t figured out a time management system that feels intuitive to you and how you process your world, no planner or app is going to improve your time management. If you’ve bought all the products you can discover to organize the stuff, and it’s not still not feeling organized, then it’s more about your habits, your ability to maintain what you’ve put in place, and your abilities to motivate yourself or others.

So here was my own “internal work” thinking about my definition of success.  I’ve purposefully put the thinking in order, from superficial to deeper thinking. You’ll notice the transition from external measures to internal ones here as well.

Success is:

  • Profit and revenue
  • Billable hours
  • “Six figures”
  • Number of certifications I have/credentials (Important. Confidence-building. Only successful if you can bring the learning directly to clients and they benefit.)
  • What clients/colleagues say (Important, but not as the only source of feeling a success.)
  • Being asked to write a book about organizing. (What a  boost.)
  • The types of clients I work with: Are they curious about their own habits? Are their issues complex, because that’s what I enjoy?
  • Doing the work I love.
  • Creating new projects as I work on others or let them go. Design work (classes, workshops, writing books,blogs).
  • Having time to write (“Write” means to share, educate, think deeply, create.)
  • Volunteering in my industry. Giving back, now that I’m older and wiser and believe I have some to share.
  • Seeing my prior career experience being useful to my business and clients. Realizing how it all fits is a beautiful feeling.
  • Working with clients in an organizing/time management situation so that they can move onto do their own great work in life, and move into their own life’s purpose.
  • Fulfilling friendships with smart, creative and wise colleagues – local, virtual and even those I only get to see once a year but stay in touch with. (Important to the self-employed, as we have no “hallway” to walk down or “water cooler” to hang out at!)
  • Being able to do the  work  I love, not having it take over my personal world, expressing my values through my work and life (heck, knowing what they are!), being a strong and caring partner in life, being a respected partner in business, and making enough income to support the life I love.

Now, that feels like success. What are your own, internal measures of success? How do you know that your home is organized enough? Your home business systems are successful for you?

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Posted in Inside My World, Inspiration, Life "Balance", Time Management | 9 Comments »

Fresh Starts – My Interview at “Oh, So Organized” with Linda Samuels

Friday, January 25th, 2013

“I didn’t realize how much was happening in my life until I told you what the last few years have been like.” 

“I’m stuck and can’t figure how to move on – plus, I don’t know what’s next. “

A feeling

… of needing to simplify, reorganize or let go of the past is often the result of some big life changes a client’s been through. She’s coming out the other side of these changes, and wondering what’s next. A wonderful way to blend the last chapter of her life with what she wants for her next chapter is to reorganize – Things,  Thoughts, and Time.

  

My blog this week takes you over to “Oh, So Organized!” with my colleague and friend, Linda Samuels, where I’ve answered some questions for her, on the topic of life changes, transitions and moving towards a fresh start.

 

These are her questions for me. The blog is here for my answers:  Ask the Expert: Sue West

  • You’re an expert on helping others navigate life transitions. What is your favorite tip for negotiating uncharted territory?
  • Fresh starts can be enervating or draining. What are a few strategies to help minimize overwhelm?
  • A clean slate is an opportunity. How can we prepare physically or emotionally to experience positive results?
  • Do you have a philosophy about new beginnings?
  • What has been your biggest personal challenge around second chances?
  • Is there anything you’d like to share about fresh starts that I haven’t asked?

And read the comments on the blog, too; to me, they add so much to this interview, making it even more useful with different perspectives.

Who is in this Ask the Expert series –  a word from Linda

“Last year the “Ask the Expert” feature was introduced on The Other Side of Organized blog! It quickly became a big success as we enjoyed inspiring conversations with industry leaders such as best-selling author Gretchen Rubin, time management guru Julie Morgenstern, and organizer and coach extraordinaire Denslow Brown. For 2013, the interview series continues with another dynamic group of experts. I’m thrilled to begin this year with author, coach and organizer, Sue West to share her wisdom about fresh starts.”

 

Please join us over at Linda’s this week !

 

 

 

 

Ready for more, after the blog interview? My book about fresh starts is available here: Organize for A Fresh Start: Embrace Your Next Chapter in Life.  Read a sample chapter and the table of contents to see if it suits your needs. Or organizing & coaching services – together! Coaching in our organizing meetings or purely by phone – that’s the piece that helps the new strategies stick.

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Posted in Change, Divorcing, Inside My World, Inspiration, Interviews and Guest Posts, Next Chapter, Time Management | 1 Comment »

Gift Certificates for Organizing/Coaching Services: Doing it “Right”

Wednesday, December 12th, 2012

You’re sure that if he/she worked with an organizing coach, life would be better, calmer, more productive at work and at home. I know it will … but would he or she agree? This is the time of year you might be thinking, “I want to get a gift that MEANS something, that won’t just be more ‘stuff’ to add to a cluttered life.”

It’s a helpful thought … and here’s how to do it so you help your relationship and don’t hurt it.

When someone calls and asks about a gift certificate, I offer the following advice, so that the  conversation and the gift are welcomed, and don’t cause a blowup in your relationship.

Who is complaining? About what?

Has she complained that she just can’t get a handle on it all? Life, the home business, the household. Think carefully, because she needs to be the one complaining. That’s where her motivation to change will come from, not because she “should” or because someone else tells her. Research tells us that when a decluttering is forced, the clutter returns, and even  more of it. We can do a big reorganization, but if she doesn’t see a real need in the first place, how quickly do you think the stuff or time clutter will return? In a blink of an eye.

Starting the conversation

What did he say when he complained about too much to do or his ADHD getting the way? That’s the phrase you want to key off of to start a conversation. Because you do need to have a conversation before you give this gift. “I was thinking about when  you said … and I’ve read this woman’s blog/website. What I liked about her approach/credentials was … and so I thought this might be useful to you. What do you think of the idea?”

Spouses

Stuff and time clutter are conceptually like money. One of you probably is a bit more of a saver and the other more of a spender. Just as our attitudes and upbringing about money and finances are often different, so are our attitudes about stuff and time.

If either time or ‘too much stuff’ have become an issue in your marriage, an outsider, provided you both agree to this, is a useful approach. When I work with the one spouse, I work with that person’s strengths but I also understand that this organizing is different for each of us, so I can appreciate and explain what’s likely happening for the other spouse.

When ADHD, bipolar, depression/anxiety are in the mix

Many of my clients have ADHD. It shows up differently for each person and affects his/her life differently. The skills and practical strategies we work on will be different for each person.

Also, if needed, I’ll recommend education for both the spouses or the employee and the supervisor. Because it’s not an issue of “simply doing it.” Or “mind over matter.” These are neurologically based issues and you need to understand something about your condition to figure out how to outsmart it. Or to understand how to work together, so neither of you is a nag about it but together, you can deal with its impacts. Yes, it’s the third wheel and it will be, until you understand, accept and even embrace how ADHD shows up in your life.

Next chapters: divorce, death, big life changes

This would seem like an ideal situation to go through your things and your time, figuring out how to honor the past but move on. And that’s true. It’s cathartic, balancing, and filled with memories.

Here, you’ll want to ask the question even more sensitively about whether the person is ready to “begin to think about moving on, at least a first step.” My experience is that he/she may be ready to part with things, but  may not be ready for the whole process. And people get ready to move on at different rates. So it’s about taking one, small step and starting the process. That’s been the best approach and the least threatening to the memories of the past.

Other options to get started

Last, if it now seems that a gift certificate is not the idea that will work, you might consider giving my book instead. It’s filled with practical strategies, room by room and includes time management advice, plus reflection questions. Its focus is on moving onto your next chapter, so if big lie changes are part of the equation, this might be a good start. Read the table of contents and a chapter at this link.

You can call first

For gift certificates or to discuss your situation before you decide, simply email me or call 603.554.1948. Happy to chat for a bit to help you figure out how to help yourself or the person you’re thinking about. I offer phone coaching/consulting, virtual organizing, and in home/in office meetings – or a combination, depending on what works best.

 

Happy holidays season -

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted in AD/HD, Caregiving, Divorcing, Harmony at Home, Hoarding, Holidays, Home Office, Inside My World, Time Management | 1 Comment »

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