We all need a Plan B. Because life throws you curve balls (and snow balls, asteroids, hurricanes and a pandemic).

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Please, take a few deep breaths with me before you read this. I started writing this last week out of frustration, and while I’ve softened my language and my heart A LOT with edits, it still feels harsh. Probably because this is a tough time and topic. So, breathe with me and know I’m writing this from a place of love!

To say we always need a Plan B is an understatement. We need a plan C and D and E and more, until we run out of letters. And this need to plan existed long before our current situation, and will continue long after. I’m just using it as a shining example of why we need to plan.

Why do we need a Plan, and then a Plan B? To care for and protect those people and things that are important to us. And the only predictable thing that we can say about life is that life is unpredictable.

I chatted with a friend at Mass on Sunday. She is an educator and administrator and she mentioned that she flew past Plan B for this school year weeks ago and now is onto Plan P at this point. She also mentioned the very real possibility of moving into double letters soon. I feel you, sister.

A friend is a Marine Biologist, which means she always lives near an ocean. She has become proficient – well, amazing, really – at prepping for hurricanes. Supplies, generator, battened hatches, reading materials, non-perishable food, water. Some things just stay prepared, especially this time of year, and some steps are activated as soon as the weather reports start coming in. She’s got this.

And You Can, Too. So, let’s make a plan.

“A plan for what, Coll?” you say? A plan to care for what is important to you. If you have people or work or things (tangible and intangible) that matter, you need a Plan B to protect and care for them. And for yourself.

Look at the people and things and plans that are most important to you.

Imagine scenarios, and recognize what those scenarios all have in common.

Check your notes. Look back at the last 6 months and identify where life has fallen apart or had avoidable unnecessary stress.

Your favorite outfit or uniform? Identify it and a back-up.

You need a route to your regular destinations, and a few alternatives if the way is blocked (I live on the south side of Chicago – TRAINS anyone?!). Perhaps you download the app for public transportation, too, in case of car trouble.

Weak wi-fi? Call your provider and boost it now, for working and learning from home.

Uncomfortable work-and-learn-from-home spaces? Tweak them now.

I will be talking about prepping for cold and flu season next week because I want my comfort measures and OTC medicine in my house BEFORE one of us starts feeling poorly.

In this uncertain time, you need your Plan A and then Plans B, C, D to Infinity for child care and back-up schooling situations and flexible expectations. I know it is hard and I know this uncertainty feels uncomfortable and inconvenient, but unfortunately adulting (and parenting) often are.

Do you know what is on my list for later today? “Check out (insert University name here)’s current policy” – as in TODAY because things can change – for handling COVID on campus and what actions my son and I will need to take should someone at his school test positive.

Because… plans need to evolve, too. I’ve read somewhere that over 90% of flight plans are not completed exactly as filed. There’s the rub, right? That we can look at our current situation and plan for today and for contingencies, and then our situation changes again and we have to make a new plan – Ugh! But, yes. We have to do it again. We can rail against the injustice, or we can remember that we know how to plan because we have done it before and we can get to work.

So, my friends, it is time to get to work. Soften the blows of uncertainty later by planning now.

“In preparing for battle, I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” – General Dwight D. Eisenhower.

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” – Benjamin Franklin

The Shower Gel Survey, July 2020 (Shopping Best Practices)

I would happily NEVER RUN ANOTHER ERRAND AGAIN. It seems like an impossible goal, but a girl can dream, right?

Here’s something funny – the idea for this article, along with the original working title (the first line above), were in my draft folder from June, 2019. Look where we are now! I shop so much more on-line now than I did a year ago!

Truth is, I have happily made the switch to on-line shopping for essentials and non-essentials. I really don’t like to shop, especially not in-person. Even after we are through this pandemic tunnel, I will still use on-line fulfillment for essentials and as many non-essentials as possible.

Just to clarify, and thanks to my Facebook tribe for chiming in:

  • Essentials = groceries, toiletries, household items
  • Non-essentials = everything else
  • I am applying this broadly, just for today.  Because the walking shoes I bought on-line were essential to me, but I don’t consider them “essentials”. 

There are rules or Best Practices to shop by, regardless of how you choose to shop or what it is you’re buying. I’m going to list them all together, and then explain each.

  • Stick with your list. Know your needs.
  • Know what you need and don’t get distracted by “shiny”.
  • Know your time line.
  • Know where you typically source your essentials from. 
  • Know where you typically source your essentials from, but have a plan B.
  • Have at least a vague idea of your current prices for essentials.
  • Realize that, at least at first, there is a learning curve and setting up an account and a habit will take time.
  • For non-essential purchases, be aware of return policies. And be ready to actually complete the returns.
  • The obvious, and a topic for another day: know your budget.

 




Stick with your list. / Know your needs.
I have a master grocery list in a spread sheet (email me and I’ll share it with you as an example). I print out 5 copies at a time, and leave one posted on the white board in the kitchen.

This single sheet has an area with grocery items listed that I buy regularly (which I usually buy in person or, recently, on-line from Jewel), Costco items, Target / Amazon items (household and toiletries) and Melaleuca items (cleaning).  Just this week, I also made space in the corner of it for notes on this week’s Menu Planning.

We add items to the list as we use them up or identify a need (well, “need” is occasionally gummy bears or tortilla chips, but I digress). In addition to using the list like a regular list, I also use it to inventory things I purchase regularly and make sure I have these essentials on hand. I have it next to me as I place on-line orders, or I take it with me when I shop in person.

In this strange time, it’s more important than ever that I plan my shopping efficiently so I don’t have to run back out for something because I’m still trying to socially distance. Thank you, List!


Stick with your list / Know your needs AND don’t get distracted by “shiny”.


Learn to say “No, thank you” even just in your head.

We all know that impulse shopping happens when we stand in line at a store. Cookies next to the check out are? Why, yes, certainly, don’t mind if I do.

But impulse shopping happens on-line, as well. Ordering one package of cookies? It’s just as easy to hit the “+” button. OR, ordering sneakers? “While you’re here on our website, perhaps you also need new socks with your new sneakers?” (Nope, got some, thanks.) Or “A good pair of sneakers – maybe you would also like some flip-flops, too?” (never). Amazon’s ploy – “Shoppers who bought that item also bought these 47 other items, perhaps you’d like to buy them, too?” No, thank you.

Keep your eye on the prize – fulfilling your needs and completing the transaction – and steer away from those impulse buys.



Know your time line.

If you need an item for Thursday morning, best not to wait to shop in-person until Wednesday night. The same goes for on-line shopping – be aware of how long a shipped item may take to arrive or what your delivery options are, and then add a day at least for just in-case! (And BTW, what ever happened to that dress I ordered three weeks ago?! Ugh…)

Know where you typically source your items from. AND Have a Plan B.

I was using Target Restock for pantry items like toilet paper, paper towels, some cleaning supplies, etc., every 3 weeks until things went crazy back in March and now they no longer offer the service. In stricter shelter-in-place times, I bought some of those items with my weekly groceries though they were more expensive, just for convenience. Most recently, we’ve been transitioning to Amazon for household items and toiletries.

Hence, the shower gel photo and title. As we transition to Amazon, we have to find new favorites. The Solimo brand shower gels are a better deal when you buy them by the 6-pack, but we don’t know which type we like best yet. So, we bought one of each. The wasted space on this drives me buggy, but I know it is for a good cause! We’ll try them all, pick our fave, and purchase in bulk.

For most items that I buy, I have at least a couple different vendors where I can purchase them, so I can bundle my purchases as needed. This is where the grocery list mentioned above is just SOOO handy! What if there is a sale, or someone is running an in-person errands and can pick up items? Or your typical source is out of your item?

Let’s say I usually body wash from Amazon, but my husband mentioned he needs to go to Menard’s, and I know Menard’s carries body wash at a reasonable price, saving me the need to order them.

Ah, Menard’s. Where else can you buy a new toilet flapper mechanism for home toilet repair AND shampoo AND DampRid AND dishwasher tablets AND garbage disposal tablets AND beef jerky AND Wylers raspberry drink packets (my husbands’s recent Menard’s list)? I realize, as I type this list, why my husband went alone to Menard’s and kept his own list. He knows I won’t buy most of the items on that list. (DampRid, dishwasher tablets, garbage disposal tablets? Yeah, nope).

The point is, Know your “Typical” but be ready for a plan B.




Have at least a vague idea of your current prices.

I placed an on-line grocery order last Friday. On Saturday, we took a planned (every 3 or 4 weeks) trip to Costco. The bag of our favorite tortilla chips I ordered from Jewel (approx. 3.79 for 14 oz) didn’t arrive. But the 3 lb bag of still-good Kirkland brand tortilla chips at Costco? Also $3.79.

Yes, please!

There are some things I don’t mind buying in bulk for the lower price point, but that is why it’s helpful to know what is a good deal or not.

Check out this article from Kiplingers about the best things to buy at Costco.

From this list, we buy bacon, chicken stock, diced tomatoes, gas, rotisserie chicken and tortilla chips. We also buy cascade brand pods from there, looks like we’ll make a switch the next time we need them. Some things listed are never on my grocery list anyway, like Italian sparkling water, vitamin water, vodka or wine, or – well – the cheese wheel (I kid you not) so I’m not missing them!



Realize that, at least at first, there is a learning curve and setting up an account and a habit will take time.

To quote a friend, “I realized recently that I am not giving this category the proper time respect that it deserves. Because I’m no longer leaving the house to acquire things we need, I have deluded myself into thinking this somehow does not take any time!” (thanks, J!)

3 months ago, it took me hours to set up my account and them populate a cart for on-line grocery ordering. Now it takes no time at all. Same goes for Amazon – setting up my standard shopping lists took time, but now taking care of my orders are a breeze.



For non-routine purchases, be aware of return policies. And be ready to actually complete the returns.



So, how are you shopping differently these days? And which of these tips resonated with you? Let me know!

The Highs and Lows of Summer Meal Planning

It’s seems my sons knew that I was planning a Summer Meal Planning article for this week. Since, when I finally got home after coaching all morning and cleaning out a basement this afternoon then running errands on my way home, not one not two but all three of them wandered through my office at different points in 60 minutes and asked “so what is for dinner?”

My responses may have included one or even all of the following…

  • I don’t know, what are you making?
  • Ugh, Seriously! Didn’t we just have dinner yesterday?
  • (fake crying with my head down and eyes closed)
  • Take out? Um, we just had that yesterday.
  • Left overs? Oh wait, no, we ate all of those.

My kind and wise husband who had to go into his downtown office today (and I’m sure had his own busy day) replied with “Whatever you want”, when I texted him to ask what he wanted. Kind and wise. But not exactly helpful.

Here’s the thing. We are fully stocked with food. However, it is some-assembly-required food. And it is also almost all frozen. We have plenty of food, but I was lacking focus this morning, and my well-planned menu for the day / week required defrosting beef. Without defrosted beef, dinner became a question mark once more in my tired brain. (sigh)

There are highs and lows here, friend. The Highs and Lows of Summer Meal Planning. Yes, meal planning in the summer is totally different for me than planning in cooler weather.

The current lows of summer planning:

  • Shelter-In-Place orders inspired scratch cooking, baking, labor intensive recipes and let’s face it – more time to do it all. I made Risotto, for goodness sake! Do you know how long you have to stand over a hot stove top to make Risotto? There is no chance I will make that again until Fall.
  • In summer, we don’t like to heat up the kitchen with baking.
  • The hearty soups or stews and home made bread or baked pasta dishes don’t have the same appeal when it’s hot outside.
  • Work is busy again, which is both good (I like work) and bad (at least when it comes time for making dinner!)
  • In other seasons, daylight waning reminds me to get up and start dinner. In summer though – “Oh gosh, it 7 pm! How did that happen?!”

But, enough about the lows, I want to focus on the highs!

This evening, I finally found inspiration and whipped together chicken noodle soup. For some crazy reason, my sons LOVE this for dinner. Tonight’s was the total hack summer version, made with pantry items like store-bought chicken broth and egg noodles, frozen peas and chicken from the last rotisserie chicken we picked up at Costco. Hack, yes, and they still love it. (In cold weather, I would make my own stock and noodles, etc.)

So that is my first of many highs in the current Highs of Summer Meal Planning:

  • I spend a lot of time worrying over meal planning, while my family isn’t nearly as picky about these things as I am. My easy peasy chicken noodle soup made them happy, especially with the bakery bread I received as a thank-you gift over the weekend.
  • While I had a captive audience (as they sat and ate soup), I asked for input on menu ideas for the next few weeks. And there was a lot of laughing – absolutely a HIGH of summer meal planning!
  • It turns out, the soups and stews from colder times are still requested, so I will use the crock pot EVEN MORE in the next few weeks! (and while writing this, I made sure the frozen beef is now in the fridge to defrost over night for tomorrow’s beef stew!)
  • Put some fun into your planning (like our dinner time silliness today)!
  • Enlist aid! Guess what? My sons are all capable of cooking! Yes, they will be owning more of the “what’s for dinner” process!
  • We also spent some time thinking of our favorite dishes and how to tweak them for summer. Shepherds Pie? Um, who says it has to be baked in the oven?! Maybe the crock pot? OR just the stove top with a quick broil to toast the top? Yep, I can work on that!
  • One of my favorite parts of summer meal planning is all the beautiful summer produce! My own herb garden is quite lush (fresh pesto, anyone?), local farmer’s market are back with social distancing guidelines, there is just so many fabulous colors and flavors to enjoy!

So, what’s it going to be this week? If your meal planning has hit a mid-summer lull, join me this week in giving it – and yourself! – a boost!

Is It Time To Tweak Your Routine?

I feel like I talk all the time about Routines. I think about them often and how to make mine work better for me. And I spend a lot of time during presentations and coaching calls discussing the importance and creation of Routines for others.

Maybe I do talk about them all the time, though – after a brief review – I don’t seem to bring it up here on my blog space very often.

I am tweaking my own Routines this week and this month, and I thought I would bring you all along for the ride.

What are our Routines? Our routines are the set of tasks we set about doing on a regular basis – daily, weekly, monthly, etc. – that help us handle the essentials of survival and maintenance in our life and / or our work.

Routines:

  • provide structure to our days, should we need it;
  • ensure that essential tasks are completed as often as necessary;
  • help us stay balanced and make sense of life and work;
  • save us time, help us be productive, eliminate stress;
  • are a great foundation for anything else that needs to happen daily or weekly.

We create routines through repetition. Our routines are attached to certain times of day – “I get out of bed at 6 and take a walk”; or certain events – “I take a shower and change my clothes when I get home from a client appointment”. And our routines are tools – tools to make our life run more smoothly. Or building blocks, providing a strong foundation.

Routines are habits, but they can also be changed or improved as changes in life requires them to change. And let’s face it, life has required many changes recently.

I tweaked my routines back in March as my state’s shelter-in-place orders began, and I usually tweak my routines for summer, as school and kid schedules change, so I know it is time! I can sense a change, a need to review and re-establish my routines when things start to feel a little out of sync, just a little wrong. As though I’m wearing the right shoes but on the wrong feet.

So, how to make changes? Or create a routine from the beginning?

Start with Needs.

I need to take a walk every day for optimal health, I need to take my supplements. I NEED to do these things, but the WHEN is more flexible.

During the school year or when my husband actually has to drive downtown, we walk at 5 am. Lately, it’s more like 6:15. Needs remain the same, WHEN can change.

List out your needs. You can list all your needs for the day, but I will start with morning. My morning (anything between waking up and starting my work day) Needs may include, in no particular order:

  • take a walk;
  • take my supplements;
  • make my bed;
  • make sure I have something planned for dinner (maybe even start something in the crock pot);
  • pray;
  • shower and get ready for my day;
  • start a load of laundry;
  • water my garden;
  • You get the picture.

Your list may be longer or shorter, and may contain tasks my list does not. And that’s just how it should be.

Next, assign any specific times to your needs and then put them in a logical order. Looking at the example above, I might order them like this…

  • 6:15 am Take a walk;
  • water my garden (when I get home from my walk, since I’m outside);
  • shower and get ready for my day (because it’s hot and I’m sweaty after my walk);
  • make my bed;
  • start a load of laundry;
  • take my supplements (coupled with the dinner planning, since I’m in the kitchen);
  • make sure I have something planned for dinner (maybe even start something in the crock pot);
  • pray (I do this at my desk, usually when I sit down to start working);
  • 8 am Start my work day.

Perhaps you have different routines for different times of day. I have personal or house specific routines around dinner time and bed time, and they are created the same way – start with needs, move on to times and convenient bundling.

And perhaps a routine for your work day would help you be more productive? Same process!

I suggest both a daily and weekly routine for work place productivity. My day-to-day schedule can change – today was not a typical Tuesday (I started with a 1.5 hour coaching call and then sang for a funeral), but the first few tasks I complete every day when I sit down at my computer – check email, check business social media accounts, confirm tomorrow’s clients – are the same whether I start at 8 am or noon.

When it comes to a weekly routine, I find it helpful to assign tasks to each day, for example:

  • Monday – strategic planning, client care
  • Tuesday – write article and publish newsletter
  • Wednesday – update website and social media
  • Thursday – check in around presentations
  • Friday – billing and invoices

If this idea works for you, great! Fill in your own essential tasks instead of mine. Just like a daily routine, having a weekly routine around NEEDS, in this case the NEEDS of my business, ensures the continued health and productivity of my business.

So, how can you tweak your routines this week? Determine your needs for your self and your home and your work. Make sure the Needs that need to be met daily are added to your routines, and the same for weekly.

Choose the best time for your routine tasks to be completed. Are you a morning person? A night owl? Maybe you hit your stride late in the day?

Look around – is there anyone in your house or office better equipped to do a certain task? Maybe there are tasks you can delegate!

Put your tasks in an order that saves time or makes sense. Try it out for a week or two and make sure it’s working for you! And expect you will need to review your routines every few months to make adjustments accordingly!

I will be working on my own daily and weekly routines this week, too! I know we will all be better off after spending a little time figuring out the best way to spend our time! Cheers!

Let’s Decide Now How the Next Few Months Will Go

Setting goals is a great way to make progress in life. Personal, professional, spiritual, wellness, you name it. The process lends clarity to our efforts, and provides deadlines and motivational boosts.

Today we are half way through 2020. Wow – July begins tomorrow! This should be a great day and time to set goals in your focus areas, move forward, do big things, etc…. But that feels heavy right now, doesn’t it?

Is it safe to say – the last few months weren’t what you expected? Personally, I know that to be the truth. If you set goals for 2020 back in January, perhaps you have made progress, or perhaps you barely recognize your reality today.

In business, we often look at the year by quarters. So, 2nd Quarter (Q2) of 2020 was April / May / June. And I can say with certainty that Q2 2020 was incomparable to any other quarter before. Ever. In business and in life. We saw it coming, back in Q1 2020. But let’s face it, we didn’t know really know what was coming.

2 Quarters completed, 2 Quarters to go

I’ve had two coaching conversations in the last 2 days about 3rd Quarter Goal Setting, 2020. And what both conversations had in common was that all parties involved – me and my two coaching partners – agreed that setting Q3 goals feels WAY TOO BIG for right now.

There are still unknowns. A LOT of unknowns. We’re still feeling our way through Phase 4 reopening here in Illinois. We’re carefully placing our feet for the next step on the path.

Goal!

Despite the unknowns, I still want to set goals for Q3 and Q4 2020 and I suggest you do the same. However, here are some things to think about as you set them!

What are your focus areas? I can’t answer this one for you, but as an example, mine are:
Wellness, Family, Home, Personal, Business, Educate Me and Service.
I set goals regularly in each of these focus areas. The “Focus” in focus areas works both ways – I only set goals that fit into one of these focus areas, AND I set goals in each of these areas. In theory, that means nothing gets neglected AND I make progress in the areas of my life I’ve decided are important.

For July, instead a few large goals, I am setting more incremental goals for smaller time frames. I am more likely to succeed on those smaller but more plentiful goals, and I will feel the motivation boost that comes from DONE! more often. (Today, a client and I deemed that boost ‘a happy dance’!)

Because I cannot control the world or others, I am setting goals that I actually can influence. For example, I’ll look at my own wellness, habits and internal growth. A goal for July may be schedule 10 Presentations for the second half of 2020, but perhaps those will be presentations I host myself. I won’t set a goal to “make new coaching clients call me”, but I can set a July goal to update my website and social media to include language about coaching.

Smaller goals allow for more flexibility, too, for mid-journey course corrections or adding new goals into the mix as life or circumstances dictate. Unfortunately, there is still uncertainty looking ahead at Quarter 3. But we can choose to make progress on our own goals in our own way at our own pace.

So, my friends, what will your next month look like? Your next quarter or half a year? Setting goals will help you determine your own future despite the “unknowns” we still face! So let’s get to it!

The Post-Deadline Lies We Tell Ourselves

Have you ever had these thoughts before:

“I can’t wait to finish this project… life will be so much easier when it is done.”

“I’ll have so much free time when this semester is over.”

“Wow, whatever will I do with all my free time after this project / deadline, etc.?”

Or, “After the holidays, things will finally settle down.”

A friend and client brought this up to me years ago – the game she plays when she is in the middle of a semester (she is a teacher) or writing an article: the “when I finish this, I will finally be able to slow down / take a break / relax for a while / few days / few months” game. But that break never seems to happen.

We work and work towards a deadline, and think fondly though fleetingly about how nice and relaxing it will be once that deadline is met and the project is complete. And then we complete the project and meet the deadline, yeah! Great, Way to Go!!

However…then the basic survival and maintenance tasks we have neglected while we hustled to meet our deadline clamor for our attention. The house is sort of a mess, the cabinets are a little bare, the desk top or work space is strewn with project remnants and papers, the laundry has piled up and your in-box is atrocious.

Plus, the other projects that have been neglected while we finish come rushing forward for our attention and we end up right back into overwhelm. There – can you see it? – the next deadline / project is already looming on the horizon! Agh!

So, what could we do instead?

When the deadline is successfully met, article submitted, we can revel for a bit in the glow of “Done”, “Finished”, “Accomplished”, before jumping into the next big project.

We can take some time to take care of those survival and maintenance tasks. Grab some lunch, some water, a break outside in the sunlight. Take a shower and start that load of laundry!

We can factor in recovery time (I am saying this to you and to my self). I am slowly and with resistance learning that we need to factor in recovery time after major efforts. Talking with a friend, they spent an entire weekend day tackling yard tasks and were sore. So the next day, they laid low and took it easy. Recovery.

We can find some closure around the project or semester or article or whatever that big THING was that you’ve been working on. Clean up your work space, file your papers or info, leave yourself a few notes for follow-up, send a few thank you’s to folks who lent a hand. Take a few deep breaths and smile.

We can clean out our brain with a 30- minute cranial cleanse of non-project related tasks and ideas, or collect any notes-for-someday you may have written yourself while in the throes of that project. For next time, keep a bullet journal or make notes in an Evernote or Google doc as random thoughts occur to you and save them for later so as not to distract from your deadline!

And during your next brief down-time, look ahead and schedule some of these catch-up tasks for yourself post-deadline. We can leave ourselves a plan, maybe a check list of self-care, recovery and clean up tasks, to give our tired post-deadline brain and body a break!

The Payton Jersey or the Sunrise Picture? (Organize you and your space for virtual meetings)

We should probably get good at Zoom calls. Even when social distancing is relaxed, many groups and businesses may still use virtual meetings and webinars to connect participants and members. I miss meeting with people in person, but I also recognize the benefits of virtual meetings and webinars, so I imagine some combination of in-person and on-line as we all go forward.

And, of course, as I offer suggestions about getting better at virtual calls, I’m not talking just about Zoom. These suggestions could work for Google Meet, Skype, FaceTime, etc.!

Load your virtual meeting app(s) on all your devices. Because sometimes tech fails or hits a snag. Or your device isn’t fully charged and you don’t realize that until 2 seconds before this week’s virtual staff meeting. It is good to have options.

Look around you, and look through your camera’s lens:

  • Early on in this social distancing time, I considered what I want people to see around me as I attend webinars. (A friend shared on FB how her parents were attending family Zoom calls but the camera was always pointed at the ceiling fan.)
  • While you ARE NOT ON A CALL, try out different spaces in your home for the best vantage point of what is behind you. Turn the camera on your laptop / iPad on and take a tour to find a nice backdrop. Perhaps you like the framed Chicago sports pictures on the wall behind your couch, or a warm and cozy bookshelf look in your office, or the nondescript sunset picture on your bedroom wall (just so long as it doesn’t look like a bedroom wall – awkward!).
  • Make sure you choose a backdrop that won’t change – like if your backdrop is near a door where people might wander through during your call!
  • Check your devices for the best camera. After some research (read “trial and error”), we determined my Ipad camera is better than my laptop camera. If I am presenting and need to share my screen for a handout, then I need to use my laptop. But for a better camera, I can use my Ipad.

OR… Consider Using a Virtual Background.

  • Also in the first weeks of this strange time, I tried out virtual backgrounds for my Zoom calls. I quickly discovered my laptop camera did not support virtual backgrounds without a green screen (which I did not have). If you’ve looked lately, on-line vendors aren’t shipping green screens until August.
  • My first solution was to create a green screen using green foam board, green masking tape and binder clips from a local office or educational supply store to mount the whole thing on the wall behind me. This works well!
  • The other solution is for Zoom calls that I attend (but not deliver). I attend on my iPad for that better camera, to support the background better with or without the green screen.
  • Plan ahead for the virtual background, and BEFORE your next meeting populate your saved photos for virtual backgrounds.

Once you have chosen your space, pay attention to lighting.

  • Don’t use overhead lighting, it casts unflattering shadows.
  • Don’t rely on daylight since much can change in an hour.
  • Use soft lighting in front of your face or to each side (almost equally).
  • Lighting is one of those areas in which the following is true: “You won’t notice it if it is good, but you will certainly notice if it is bad.”

Bring Your Supplies With You. If your chosen space is not your usual seating spot (one of mine is at my desk but the other is in a different room where I can close the door), plan to bring supplies with you. I have a tray for my stuff that I need during my own virtual presentations. The tray hold tissues, water or tea, my phone and charger if necessary, laptop and mouse, iPad and stand, etc.

Practice, practice, practice. After you’ve added the apps to your devices, start a meeting on one, invite yourself and join from the other devices, and get used to navigating between them, choose the better and view, etc. If you have been in a call having technical difficulties, you know you don’t want to be that person!

Spend a little time and practice this week to put your best virtual self forward!

Is the Phone Really Dead?

Someone: “My phone is dead.”

Me:  “Is the phone really dead?”

Someone: “Yes, it won’t charge.  It doesn’t hold a charge.  The charging light doesn’t even go on.  Tried it a couple of times, the phone is dead.”

Me: “Let’s break it down.  The problem might not be the phone, that is just the part we see.  The problem could be the phone (the most expensive item to replace, of course!), but it could also be

  • the cord, 
  • the cube, 
  • the outlet, 
  • the connection between any of these components, or
  • in many cases sometimes, ‘user error’ (a nice way to say I or you may be the problem).”
  • And the problem was the charging cube, in case you were wondering.  The phone recharged and works fine.

I love a good challenge.  I love to solve mysteries and problems like this.  And yes, sometimes, the phone really is dead and the problem is exactly what it presents itself to be.

But sometimes it is not.

“Is the ceiling fan really dead?”

“… It doesn’t turn and the light won’t turn on.”

Yes, but is the ceiling fan the problem, or:

  • Is there something wrong with the wall switch?
  • Is the circuit tripped?
  • Is it the on-off switch on the fan?
  • Is it the connections in or out of any of these?
  • (turns out, it was the connections in the ceiling to the base unit).

My handy husband and son spent an hour and solved the mystery a few weeks ago instead of just going out and spending money on a new fan which wouldn’t have worked either, because the problem was in the connections in the ceiling.

This works on more subjective challenges, too. 

“Hmmm, This person and I don’t seem to be communicating well.”  Is the problem with

  • the message? (one of you doesn’t want to hear it or want to say it?); 
  • how it is being said? (the tone, the jargon)
  • the method of communication?  (you would prefer to text, the other person prefers to talk on the phone)
  • the timing? (the sender or receiver is distracted by something else more important or urgent)
  • something even more  personal or subjective with either the sender or receiver that has nothing to do with the process or method?

If you have a problem to solve, whether it is objective, like fixing a cell phone or ceiling fan, or more subjective like interpersonal communications, it pays to take a moment and break down the problem into smaller pieces that can be examined on their own.  Perhaps the solution is right in front of you!

Use Small Steps to Measure Your Organizational Success

On a zoom call yesterday, a class participant asked “How should we measure progress in our organizing?”

What a great question. I was so excited she asked, and in that moment I realized that question would also make a great blog article topic for this week!

The short and truthful answer is

“Incrementally.”

As in, please measure your organizing progress in small increments instead of broad and large sweeping content.

Just last week, I suggested in my blog that we should all craft our Done List in this Strange Time. And I absolutely still mean that!

But Done can look different from person to person, project to project and even day to day.

So let’s talk about Incremental Progress instead of only Completion.

If you break down a large organizing project, it becomes easy to see that large projects are made up of many smaller projects. For example, if my large goal is to “Organize My 15 Year-old’s Room With Him”, some of the smaller projects I can cross off my list might be:

  • Order new platform bed and risers (Done)
  • Clean out the old toys in containers under the bed (Done)
  • review and re-organize the bookshelves (Done)
  • Move empty bookshelves downstairs (Done)
  • Assemble new bed and risers when they arrive (Done)
  • Order chair and new comforter (in process)

We are making progress – actually, he is making progress, as he has done most of the work himself! – and crossed many tasks off the list. Are we DONE with the WHOLE PROJECT? No. Are we making really good and completely satisfactory progress? Yep.

In working with a virtual organizing client lately, she and I discuss the cascade effect of organizing projects. More truthfully, I refer to it as the “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” effect. Are you familiar with this children’s book series? The book tells the story of cascading tasks…

“If you give a mouse of cookie, he will want a glass of milk.
If you give him a glass of milk he will probably ask for a straw.
When he is finished, he will ask for a napkin.
Then he will ask for a mirror, to make sure he doesn’t have a milk moustache.” etc..

The point is this: often when we move through our organizing projects, we realize that the path is not straight. Given the example above, I had a few steps to complete before my son could move forward. Also on my task list was “make room in storage room on bookshelves for John’s children’s books that he wants to keep” which meant I needed to review my books and purge some, and while I was at it, organize the books by category, etc., etc.

All of these tasks are moving us towards a broad goal, but they don’t all happen at once. If we only celebrated completely finished big projects, we wouldn’t celebrate very often and our motivation might lag.

Then, there is the subject of Maintenance. (More on Maintenance Here) Usually, our projects don’t stay completed. We have to maintain our progress, and often tweak or update the progress we have made. Just because I went through my books last week and purged a bag doesn’t mean that I will never again have to review and purge my books. That doesn’t mean that I did it wrong or incompletely: more books may come, some books will get loaned out, my interests will change. The task is DONE, and done well, but it will someday need to be done again. Maintenance is part of the organizing process.

In this strange Pause time, it is even more important to measure our success incrementally. I have tackled MANY organizing projects in the last month but I also spend a whole lot of time on Maintenance. And I, like you, find more areas I want to organize as I work through my days. The cool part about this Pause time (yes, the Cool Part!) is that some days I have the time to tackle that new project when it pops up!

To finish answering my class participant’s question, Measure your progress in incremental steps. Celebrate progress towards a goal. Set your time and work for half an hour and see how much work you can get done in that time. Don’t worry about or get hung up on only completion or perfectionism. Just start, and celebrate when you can!

Create a “Done List”, In This Strange Pause Time.

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I want to talk again about lists! (see my article from 2 weeks ago, It’s Time to Make Your Some Day Soon list).

This week, I challenge you to start your Done List. In the past two days, I’ve had two conversations about Done Lists. I LOVE a good Done List. Not a To-Do list of what still needs to be accomplished, but a DONE List, of accomplished tasks and completed goals. (Woot Woot!!)

There are lots of benefits to creating and keeping a Done List. Every week I share a Done List with my accountability partner, where I get to share successes from the last week based on my goals. A mini-celebration, if you’d like, with imaginary confetti and fan fare in my head. I get to share my Done List, re-assess what still needs to get accomplished, and craft this week’s plan. But first I get to celebrate!

What are some benefits of the Done List?

  • Dopamine boost that comes with a sense of accomplishment;
  • acknowledgement of learning;
  • release and stress relief from met deadlines;
  • a clear conscience!

Have you noticed? Time is passing strangely – the hours pass slowly but the days pass quickly. As the days pass without acknowledgement, our efforts could also pass without notice.

I have been amazed, though, by what people are accomplishing during this Pause Time. Big things, little things. We are all finding new and interesting ways to do our regular stuff, and also new and interesting ways to do new and interesting things. People are growing beyond their comfort zones and stepping up to help as needs require. Way to go, everyone!

Here is a little piece of my own Social Isolation Done List so far (in no particular order)? I…

  • successfully made yeast bread after years of telling myself I didn’t know how;
  • caught up on my VIRTUS training modules (there were many!);
  • took LOTS of Zoom webinars to find out how to host Zoom Webinars;
  • presented my first and then many more presentations as Webinars on Zoom (has been on my to-do list for years!);
  • recorded and shared a newly created Webinar with a training center just this morning;
  • transitioned many in-person clients to virtual organizing and coaching (also on my list for years!);
  • cantored for two Masses that were recorded and / or live-streamed for Holy Week;
  • made progress on the back-log of my non-fiction reading pile;
  • started to learn to play the ukelele;
  • attended meetings virtually last week that I can never seem to find time for in a normal week; and
  • cleaned up the yard for Spring.

Maybe your Done List is simpler: “Worked, maybe a lot; served others; made it through today; found beauty where I could; reached out and made connections with loved ones.” All important and noteworthy.

The point is, tracking our accomplishments can help us to find positivity and hope in this strange unsettled time. Days are passing without our usual noteworthy experiences – how many birthdays have already been celebrated without the parties, how many events have been rescheduled or cancelled all together? Weekends look different now, and may look remarkably like any other day.

So, my friends, make a conscious decision to create and maintain your Done List this week. Appreciate your own efforts and applaud your own accomplishments, with a little (or a lot of) celebration!