Category: Coaching

Find Focus and Fight Distraction!

Recently, I recorded a live video on my back deck. I wanted to talk about Focus. I was feeling out of focus, just blurry. And I was taking steps to get back on track and thought that would be helpful to my community to talk through.

What is really funny to me is that the video did not go well!

The day before, a friend had mentioned that she had “seen my car videos on Instagram”. I do not want that to Be The Thing! “Colleen recording from her Car”! So, I wanted to shake things up a little. I couldn’t record from my front stairs, as I have also done, because we were watering the grass that morning. So, back deck was plan C. I scrapped the first recording. On my second try, as soon as I started recording, my neighbor came out of his house (I live in the Chicago area and my back door is very close to my neighbor’s back door). So I adjusted. And then his dog – and I like my neighbors and the dog – started barking. And then there was a train a mile away that decided to blow its horn. A Lot.

You get the idea.

And this was a recording about focus. Life is just funny.

Sometimes I feel out of focus. I think we all do.

I could spend time dissecting WHY I lost focus. And that is important long term, I suppose. Personally, I am clear on WHY I was feeling unfocused last week. But for today’s purpose, I want to talk about how to find focus again, sharing basic tools to Find Focus and Fight Distraction.

First, we have to start with recognizing the lack of focus. Then, we can think about what to do about it!

When I teach productivity and time management, I mention that one of the most empowering things to know is that we ourselves can change and improve our situation for better productivity and satisfaction. Knowing there are adjustments that I can make helps me to feel better immediately!

So the topic of Focus, and what adjustments we can make when focus is lacking. Because I know for me, I can’t always force focus. And sometimes I try. Early in lockdown, it came to light that I talk to myself while I work from home. Often, to loudly tell myself to FOCUS! And yelling at me, forcing focus… doesn’t work.

Let’s look at what DOES work!

  • The first step, as it always is in coaching, is Awareness. In this case, awareness that you’re out of focus.
  • I have several check-in points in my days:
    • I can use times of transition – like leaving the house, or coming home, or leaving a client’s house or arriving at my next appointment; or
    • There are natural times, too, like getting up, getting out of the shower, transitioning from work day to family time, etc., and these are all great opportunities to check in on myself and my focus.
  • Many times a day, I do a Body Scan
    • If I am feeling unfocused, I can ask some easy questions and check in with me.
    • First question is, What needs need to be met?
      • Maybe I am STARVING! Yep, that can steal focus and cause distraction.
        • Blood sugar can dip, our brains (and bodies) need food and energy to function.
      • Maybe I am Thirsty.
      • I can check in on that body scan – is there anywhere that I am holding tension? Do I have pain or discomfort anywhere?
      • Am I too hot or too cold? I have to say, in summer, I often find myself unfocused because my office is REALLY HOT in the late afternoon and that makes me drowsy. So, I can pull the blinds, turn on a fan, move to a different area of the house, etc! If I’m aware!
      • Maybe it’s time to get up, stretch, take a nature break, etc!
  • Awareness, too – Here is something we don’t often realize that affects us: Our senses.
    • Working in a too dark or too light room can be distracting, even if we don’t realize it. So, check in!
    • Noises – more or less – yes, these matter, too!  Often, we have auditory distractions that are not consciously registering.  So, intentionally scan our selves and our surroundings can help us adjust our environment
  • Other tools we can use:
    • Breathwork:
      • Also in my time management classes, I teach basic breathwork.
      • I teach my participants square breathing – Inhale for 4 counts, hold for 4 counts, exhale for 4 counts and hold 4 counts. That’s IT! This can be a 30-60-90 second exercise – I usually call it a mini-vacation – where we concentrate just on our breath.
      • The re-focusing of our thoughts with the added bonus of an more oxygenated brain almost always helps me to refocus.
    • The Pomodoro Method for productivity,
      • The cycle of 25 minutes of work and 5 minutes of rest that we practice in my Finish Line Friday sessions is a tool I use ALL DAY EVERY DAY to get things done.
      • 25 minutes of work 5 minutes of break, and the reminders to re-focus, just in case I have gotten off track.
      • If we’re going to talk about rest, that leads me to the reminder of my recent podcast on rest and recovery. Check that out if you would like to know more.
    • Body Doubling:
      • If you find you’re feeling distracted, and lacking focus, by all means try some of these other tools as well, but also consider phoning or checking in w a friend via text, then open a zoom room or join a group!
      • You can change your location, too, to work near someone around you who IS focused. Since it’s back-to-school time, I think of a library.
      • In college, I would set up in the library and the entire space was dedicated to focus! Quiet, separate from personal distractions, just the work I needed to do in front of me, and other people around me who were seeking the same focused work! So consider what that looks like for you!
  • What does finding your focus look like to you? Consider these tools next time you feel the focus un-focusing!

Intention: Don’t Leave Important Things Up To Chance

I started composing this content in the car on the way to drop off my son at college.  We took two cars.  I lost the coin flip and had most of the stuff in my car, and my husband and our son were in the other.  And our two different GPS apps sent us two different ways, so we got same place by different routes, different expressways here in the Midwest, around the same time.  Which is good to know, as we’ve often debated which way is faster.

We flipped a coin so my son didn’t feel pressured to choose between my husband or I to ride with, and we didn’t have to feel bad if my son didn’t choose us.  But I digress.

I have a digital document where my editorial content lives.  All my ideas, bits of writings, a schedule outline for the next few months.  In preparation for the solo drive and the thinking time I would have as I drove, I looked at the first two pages of it.  I add new info at the top, and also have the schedule pinned there.  It’s a ridiculously long document, probably close to 50 pages if I printed it, and I will NOT.  Some day soon I need to just delete most of it since I’m shifting my thinking these days. 

But there was a single line at the top left over from the recent Never Be Late Again content, I suddenly realized that yes, that was today’s topic. Not leaving our day up to chance.

So, having left the topic seemingly up to chance, I am going to talk about NOT leaving our day up to chance.

The Sunday we took my son back to school, I spent my time staying out of my son’s way, first, and second, getting my newsletter ready to send out on Tuesday.

Because I did not want to leave the completion of that up to chance.  It’s important to me to publish my newsletter and podcast and I need to be intentional around those tasks to ensure they are completed.

Similarly, I was talking with the college student before he left.  Last year when he started college, he quickly learned that the nice people who cleaned the bathrooms on his dorm floor cleaned the bathroom right around the time he planned to shower so he could make his 9 am class on time.  So he adjusted to a different time.

He is in a different dorm this year, so he needs to learn the rhythm of the new dorm, and this semester’s schedule.  We discussed what time his first class is every day this semester.  So he can adjust. 

When you gain that new information, as soon as you gain that information, you have the opportunity to adjust, to incorporate that new information and, uh, make your day make more sense.  All of that really makes me think about this phrase that’s on my list, don’t leave your day up to chance.

He and I also talked about how every day is different, and they should be, but our routines don’t have to be.  My son mentioned he has friends who are very chaotic when it comes to their routines, and that makes him really anxious. He knows that that’s not for him, and I absolutely respect that because it’s not for me, either. 

So, we can create routines around routine needs and tasks, we can be intentional about the important things, and we can leave the questions, the mysteries, the variables, etc., for other times of the day. 

The point is, being Intentional is NOT not leaving your routines or important things up to chance.  That’s it. It’s being intentional with how you want to spend the first or last 20 minutes to 2 hours, whatever that looks like for you, how you want to spend that for yourself. And not leaving it up to chance, not leaving it up to whim, or how the rest of the world feels like you need to spend your day. Right?

So what does that look like?

I’ve been re-working my own morning routines the last few weeks, adding in some things that I’d like to achieve.  And this is NOT ME wanting to pack even more productivity in my morning. No, I actually want to pack more meditation and calm and journaling in my morning and having a little more room to breathe.  So it’s not just packing more things, tasks, expectations, responsibilities into our morning. It is being intentional with what is IMPORTANT. For me, that is intentionally balancing productivity with rest and recovery, which we explored in a recent podcast.

Not leaving your day up to chance means it’s your turn to choose. And what does that look like for you? If you know that something is important in your day (“Important” means, meets a need, helps you meet your goals, supports what it is that you want to achieve), don’t leave it up to chance, to “Well, I’ll get to it if I get to it.”

So back to my original case study.  The most important thing that I could do on move-in day was to successfully get my son to school feeling supported, excited, capable, energized, whatever that looks like for him. And so what that looked like for us was, in the weeks leading up to move-in day, to check in regularly in the packing process to make sure he had what he needed. A successful transition was NOT going to happen by chance.

He did the work himself, because it is his work to do and he’s awesome. But I did things, too, to not leave success up to chance. My husband and I both independently filled the gas tanks the day before. I love that. We both did not want to leave success up to chance.

And in the midst of making sure that he had everything he needed, to not leave the important things up to chance, I made sure, because my next two days are going to be extremely busy supporting loved ones, that my important tasks also weren’t left up to chance.  I made sure to get my newsletter out on time, which is very important to me for lots of reasons. I hit “send” on that 48 hours in advance because it’s important.  I also started to think about the next day, when I would be back on the road again to help with a different loved one with a move in Michigan. I’d like to think all will be well, but that depends on many variables – weather, traffic, ease of move-in, that I don’t have control over!  And I’ll be ready to adjust, that’s fine.  Because I was intentional and completed the other important tasks already.

Another example to make my point: Years ago, a client said she was waiting for the day when she would wake up, spring out of bed and feel motivated and ready to organize, just spontaneously. She expected that she would wake up one day, and that was going to be her reality.  AND she was going to wait until that magic day came. But that day had NOT happened in 50 some years. I challenged her to say, if it has never happened before, are you sure that it is going to happen? And is organizing something you should leave up to chance?  This was somebody who had reached out to me because it was important for her to get organized, enough so to call somebody to find support. And I absolutely respect that. However, I wouldn’t want her to base future progress on the motivated morning that may or may not magically happen. The stars would align, the right combination of mood and energy and sleep and opportunity in the day, and suddenly, poof.  And I would challenge all of us to NOT use this way to strategize.

There are facets of our lives that are very important. And once we have established what those are, what those Focus Areas, people, relationships, situations, skill building, what it is in our life that’s important, we don’t leave those things up to chance.

I’m not saying that there can’t be flexibility. There MUST be flexibility, it’s not optional.  But if there’s something that you deem to be important, again, whatever that means to you, then don’t leave it up to chance. Do what you can to make that thing happen. And, I’m not saying it has to happen all at once. But we can’t wait for the perfect opportunity to happen before we act because that is unlikely to yield the results we are seeking. We have to DO the actions and recognize the important things that need done, and not leave important things up to chance.

The Importance of Rest and Recovery

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I am not an expert on Rest and Recovery (strong start, I know!). I wish I was, but I’m not.  But I am an expert in time management and productivity, and Rest and Recovery are definitely part of Time Management and Productivity.

As a coach, I have conversations with my clients about Rest and Recovery because they are the experts about themselves and together we can have a conversation about what they want. We can set intentions and make plans, based on what they need to flourish in life.

It’s interesting to me – I sat down to write this on a Sunday afternoon, and suddenly got so sleepy that I just wanted to take a little nap! And the best part is that, since it’s Sunday, I could and I did!

Today I want to talk about Rest and Recovery. And I want to tell you about my herb garden.

We have been in and out of town these last few weeks.  And still my garden grew.  I didn’t do anything to it (other than water it), or ask anything of it, but it still grew.

And, I think perhaps BECAUSE I ignored it and let it be and just do its thing, It Grew. 

Also interesting, the topic of “Rest and Recovery” has been an intended topic on my editorial content calendar for me for a month or two, but I have been too busy or had too many other things to talk about, to make time for it.

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that we can ask ourselves the question of “what would help us the most”, what can you do to help Future You the most. And sometimes the answer is “rest and recovery”.

When I started thinking about this topic, I came across this quote by Stacie Swift,

“Sometimes the reason everything feels too much is because it is. You’re only one lovely person who can only do and give so much. Be Kind to Yourself.” 

Relatedly, what is your phone battery life at this moment?  (Ha, just plugged mine in, when I thought to ask that.  It was at 39%.) I always start the day fully charged, but some days I can plow through most of the charge before the end of the day. 

And have you noticed? Once you know your phone battery is below a certain percent, you start to feel the pinch. You and I, we change our behavior, knowing that our battery life is limited.  We opt to not do things on our phone, perhaps we change the screen brightness or make other adjustments.  And we might obsess over when we can get it plugged in again. 

Because we don’t want to be caught at 8% and then really need to do something important.

I have a charging cord next to my desk that fits all three of my apple devices (airpods, phone and Ipad).  Once my phone is charged up again, I will plug in my Ipad (73%, read a book and did some streaming before I fell asleep last night.) I have habits around plugging in and recharging my devices, and also my self.

The past few months, I have spent a lot of time talking about what “Ready” looks like, how to be and feel ready for whatever life might throw our way. And that includes our own energy and self.

I am an active person, enthusiastic and full of movement.  But that energy has to come from somewhere and so I need to rest and recover. And regardless of what Your baseline is, I guarantee that you also need in your life to have regular sessions to rest and recover to survive, to maintain your usual daily life and to move ahead with whatever it is that you want to move ahead with.

Perhaps it is a sign of aging, but I cannot push my limits of energy and focus as far as I used to be able to.  I would prefer to think this is a sign of wisdom, but it could just be necessity! 

We can push and push and push for a while, with only a few negative effects. But the precursor to not feeling well is to feel run down, and we can’t ignore either feeling.

Opting out of recovery no longer works for me or is sustainable, and actually is a recipe for disaster.  Eventually, stress and fatigue and the effects of them come out, bidden or unbidden.

I liked this quote from @MegDurham_ on Insta,

“If you don’t want to burn out, stop living life like you’re on fire.”

I have never been good at taking it easy, and that is not actually what I am advocating for, unless you’d like to – and then go for it! What I have gotten better at is Regular Maintenance, including

  • Good sleep,
  • adequate hydration,
  • healthier food choices,
  • supplementation,
  • meditation,
  • choosing quiet time instead of interactions, and  
  • better scheduling (though I still stumble and even fall in this area sometime).

Let’s think about three kinds of energy: physical and mental and emotional energy (I guess this is my day to quote thought leaders, because I was reminded of these three kinds of energy by Brendon Bouchard on a recent podcast I listened to). And when I think about Rest and Recovery, it’s not just about energy – our bodies actually require time to mend.

I don’t usually like to talk about the negative, but we have to know this for ourselves: What is it that drains your battery?  I’ll share mine:

  • Worry / Concern.  When my kids are going through something big, I am going through it, too (whether they know it or not.)  OR when my mom or another loved one is in the hospital, that is a steady low-level drain of worry.  Jumping every time the phone rings, hypervigilance, analyzing details, communication, etc.
  • Energy vampires: yes that is really a thing. I bring positive energy with me, and some folks count on that positive energy, and that’s ok.  But some folks take more than I have to give.  In addition, I am an empathetic person and may take on the emotions of others in my environment if I am not careful. 
  • I mentioned in my recent hiking article and podcast that Rest and Recovery after major hikes MUST happen if I expect my body to continue to move.
  • Life! I have a family to love and a home to manage. I work full time plus add in the occasional singing gig; I volunteer for my Parish in ministries; I serve on our local School Board.  That is a lot, and I wouldn’t change a thing, but yes – I get tired!
  • This week, I encourage you to look around your life and determine where those energy leaks may be – the slow trickles and the big gushes!

And what do Rest and Recovery look like for you?  I use myself as an example a lot, because then I don’t have to change names or ask permission.  For me, Rest and Recovery look like….

  • A break from whatever my current exertion is, physical exercise, mental work, emotional overload.
    • It can be 30 seconds, it can be 5 minutes, it can be a day a week or a month.  But it is NOT optional.  When we try to make it optional and still push the limits, burnout or illness may occur.
  • Checking in with myself physically, mentally or emotionally, several times a day and determining what I might need in that moment to take care of me.
  • Adjusting my pace, either physically slowing down or taking a few moments to collect myself.
  • Actual interventions like food, water, rest, sleep, square breathing or actual meditation if I have more time;
  • Awareness for yourself if you are an extrovert (you find energy in interacting with other people), an introvert (you find energy from being along), or an ambivert (how you find energy changes between needing to be around others and needing to be alone), and acting accordingly.

This week, let me advocate for you and for me, and remind us all that Rest and Recovery are not just a really good idea, they are actually essential ingredients for our well-being. We can set the intention to acknowledge that Rest and Recovery time matter, we can be aware of how we are feeling, and we can make efforts to take care of ourselves.

How To Help Future You!

Last week in a video on Social Media, I asked the question “What would help you the most to be done with, to get completed this week?”

As in, asking myself: “If I could get this one thing… (fill in blank here…) done:

  • a lot of other things would fall into place;
  • I wouldn’t have to spend anymore mental energy on it;
  • I could move on to other tasks or projects; or
  • I could just stop thinking about it!”

For me, the answer last week was: moving clients to the scheduled column; and taking care of some errands that were once-and-dones (and not recurring errands).

Also, last week, I attended my monthly Leadership / Non-profit Mastermind meeting where we discussed how the summer schedule is often different than the rest of the year, and how that different schedule can provide different opportunities. And, how to take advantage of those different opportunities.

So, my question to you and to me this week, is to zoom out a little and ask:

  • “What would help you the most to be done with, to get completed this summer? What can you do now, in this more relaxed and expansive time, to set yourself up to succeed this Fall?

Summer is indeed different for me, schedule- and responsibility-wise. Professionally, not too much changes with my client load and presentations. But my other responsibilities are different. For example, I attend MANY fewer meetings in the summer.

Did you know? I am a school board member for my local school district. And summer has more committee work and planning since students are not in the buildings. The day-to-day work is much different. The work for me is more self-directed and the deadlines are farther in the future.

Of course, self directed learning is is sometimes dangerous territory – it’s easy to get distracted when working isn’t URGENT! But I digress.

The point is, for Board work, if I ask myself this question:

What would help the most to be done with, to get completed this summer? What to do now, in this more relaxed and expansive time, to set up to succeed this Fall?

The answer is, In the summer to do myself a favor this Fall, I can close out some small projects and clean up some documents that never seem to get completed during the year.

In addition to board work, I run a choir for my Parish. Post-pandemic, I am very happy to say that we returned to a more consistent schedule after Easter this past Spring. We still take summers off, but I know we will sing Masses this Fall. And for me, the most time consuming and stressful part of running a choir is NOT managing a dozen people or singing in front of hundreds, it is setting up our song lists every week and month.

So, to ask the question again, “What would help you the most to be done with, to get completed this summer? What can you do now, in this more relaxed and expansive time, to set yourself up to succeed this Fall?

Here is the thing – If you don’t know this, I am Catholic and the readings and therefore the song selection works on a rotating year schedule, and are determined years in advance. Which means I can use summer time to set the line-ups now for September 2023 to May 2024 and save myself a while lot of struggle during the busier time of year.

So this is how this tool, this question, can work!

Let’s break it down a little more!

  • First, we need to look at our Focus Areas (if you need to review, you can go back and check out episode #5, or check out this article).
  • Once we know what is important to us, we can look at what projects we can complete or perhaps start in this summer schedule. My board work and my choir work are both part of my Focus Area of Service, and since I know they are important to me, I can look a little closer at what to do this summer to help me all year round.
  • Once we’ve identified the project, we need to BREAK IT DOWN INTO LITTLE TINY PIECES. A highly effective strategy to fight overwhelm and to make progress on any task is to recognize that all large projects are a series of small projects.
  • And then take action, and stay on track! And, how to stay on track?
    • Remind yourself that completing this project will help future you!
    • It’s important to make room for those important but non-urgent (see my Eisenhower Box blog article, or re-listen to podcast episode #4!) tasks to still make they happen. Do not leave your scheduling up to chance! Dedicate white space – actually schedule time to complete those project pieces!
    • Perhaps you can schedule the project time in place of the typical scheduled time. For example, during the school year I have a monthly meeting on a Monday afternoons – I could absolutely use that found time this summer to work on my school board notes and projects.
    • Or
    • I can use a couple for hours on a Wednesday evening when we typically would be in rehearsal to work on my weekly mass line-ups for Fall, since I am often thinking musical thoughts that evening anyway!
    • Finally, create at least a little urgency, if you find that motivating. I know I do.
      • In talking to a friend and networking partner today, she said and I quote “Oh no rush on those items you promised, just take your time.” and I said “No! Never tell me to take my time, or I lose urgency!” So I will take care of our tasks ASAP and let her take her time in responding!

“What would help you the most to be done with, to get completed this week?” And this summer?

Once we have created multiple small projects instead of large ones, we can assign deadlines at regular intervals throughout the summer months to create some urgency and get things done! Do future you a favor, set your plan and then make some progress on those tasks that will help Future You the most!

Metrics In The Dentist Chair!

Today, I want to talk about metrics. Performance metrics, to be specific, though applied to personal development.

Metrics. Let me explain:

I don’t know if you know this. I didn’t, for certain.

At my dental check up this week, my very nice hygienist, Mary Kate, was very good at explaining what she was doing. I was meeting Mary Kate for the first time, and perhaps she is always this thorough but no one else had ever talked me through the process.

I’ve had teeth for 50-some years now and I just learned from Mary Kate about perio-charting or probe scores. So there you go. There’s your new idea for the day. Perio-charting or probe scores.

The hygienist uses a tool which I’ve never looked closely at before. It’s kind of pointy, looks a little scary. There are lines on the probe that allow the hygienist to quantify the health of my gums.

The goal is to not have a lot of recession, I guess, or dips in the gums around your teeth. And the farther your gums recede, the higher the number of stripes on this tool that they see when they poke your gums, and the more damage you have and the more concerned you need to be, or the more work that needs to be done.

I didn’t know this. Did you know this? I thought it was very cool!

As I sat in the dentist’s chair, I was already reflecting about this article that I wanted to write about Metrics and here I was presented with an excellent example of quantifying something that I didn’t even realize was quantifiable, in the interest of gauging current status and also checking in again later to determine progress over time.

Yep, that’s a Metric. Performance metrics are used to measure the behavior, activities and performance of a business. Or a person, for today’s purpose of my podcast and newsletter.

Mary Kate explained there is an objective, standard, quantifiable, reproducible number to measure gum health. If you have a score of four or under, your gums are pretty healthy. A little higher and we should start to worry. And a seven or eight is cause for alarm. (Mine were healthy, by the way!)

A different hygienist in a different office would still get the same number. Because a metric is information that is quantifiable and standardized. And the best part about Metrics is if we measure something, we can also improve upon it and measure our progress over time.

Every six months when I go in, they’re going to use the same tool and the same charting method. We will identify if there is a problem. And if take action to alleviate the problem, we can measure if it’s helping or not. This is huge, right? I mean, we all need to know this!

There are metrics, or habits or activities or progress, that we can identify as being important to us and quantify in some way. Of course, lots of factors are measurable and therefore trackable. And if we can track something, we also can improve something. My website expert Claire reminds me that “if you don’t track it, you can’t improve it”. It comes down to metrics.

So, with metrics, we can:

  • identify what metric, habit or data is important for us to track;
  • identify how or in what increments we want to track it;
  • consider what progress will look like (I would like to extend my walk time from 30 minutes daily to 40 minutes daily over the course of a week);
  • identify how and how often we want to track the habit or data; and
  • set up the habits and tools that help us make this all happen!

As you listen to my podcast about this article, consider that I can check the Podbean app where my podcast is hosted and see how many people listen. I can see the data (metrics) from day to day and from episode to episode. I have a “total downloads” over time. I can see that my numbers are much better at the 25th episode than they were at the first (thank goodness!).

Because “number of listens” and “downloads” are important metrics as an indicator of success, I could also try to boost my numbers more from week to week through marketing or advertising, and then track if those activities have a positive impact on my listens and downloads. Metrics.

Let’s look at where else this could apply.

Lately, I’ve been using metrics to track my health and wellness habits. I track if I completed the habit this day (“Yes, I took a walk” or “No, I did not take a walk”), how many minutes (30, 60, etc.), and how many steps overall in a day. Or…

  • How many hours of sleep I get a night.
  • How many cookies I eat a day (kidding!).
  • How many ounces of water I drink a day.
  • Did I meditate, and for how long?
  • My daily weight.
  • Morning journaling, by number of minutes.

Let’s make this useful to us. What is an area of your life you would like to improve upon, and what would be a metric around it?

  • For example, recently I realized I need to drink more water, for myriad health reasons.
  • I read the recommendations and committed to drinking 100 ounces of fluids per day.
  • I tracked my normal water consumption and realized I was doing okay but I need to do better every day to reach the 100 ounces goal.
  • To make tracking easier, I fill a 32 oz. jar with filtered water first thing every morning and fill my water glasses and bottles through out the day from that jar. I consistently refill the jar one time during the day (64 total), so the goal this week is to refill the jar 2 times during the day to bring me to 96 ounces.
  • I TRACK THE NUMBER OF JARS! I set up an Evernote Document with the “ounces of water” metric, and also others (exercise, meditation, productivity, etc.). I can copy my list of metrics from day to day, and the the document has pre-formatted check boxes I can add to make tracking even easier. I broke the check boxes down into “32 oz jar” increments x 3 every day, and can click the box accordingly.
  • I have reminders on my phone late in the day to track the ounces and also to remind me to finish up if I haven’t yet met the 100 ounce goal.

Since I am tracking my habits, I know if I’m hitting my mark or not. I can celebrate the successes! “Yeah Me! Establishing good habits!”, which helps me stay motivated for tomorrow!

And if I’m not there yet, I can stop and realize that I’m not hitting my mark. Perhaps I give myself a little pep talk! “You know what, I’ve been doing really great. I’ve been exercising for 30 minutes a day. I get good sleep. I’ve been making healthy nutrition choices. But… I’m not drinking enough water.” And then I can ask me, “What else can I do to support this habit?”

Some of the supports are the ideas I am already using.

  • I made tracking fun by creating my own personalized Metrics Document with my list and motivational quotes at the top.
  • I made it easy by creating the daily template of metrics and their check boxes. And it’s also easy because I use Evernote all day every day so adding another document to that habit is easy.
  • I’m pretty consistent with tracking habits in the morning and mid day, but not so much in the evening, so I added another time for an evening reminder. And the timer goes off early enough in the evening that I can still catch up if I want to.
  • It’s fun for me to track metrics, so there’s a dopamine boost that I get from crossing things off the list.
  • And flexibility is actually a big plus, too. Creating my own check list based on my own metrics means that I can add a habit if I want to, or subtract it if I find that it’s no longer helpful.

So, do I want to meditate more, reach out to one family member daily, have time outside in fresh air… or what else? What else do I want to do that would support any kind of healthy habits or, um, wellness activities that I’m trying to accomplish?

Metrics are self knowledge, actual quantifiable data, that we can use to track and then improve behavior.

My challenge to you this week is to consider what is an area of your life you would like to work on, what would a metric to track to indicate progress and success, and to start tracking! I would love to hear from you about a performance metric, either personal or professional, that you want to improve and therefore track. If you have an app that you love and that I could share with others, please let me know!

Finish Your Week Strong With Finish Line Friday

Did you know? I host a free weekly productivity session, “Finish Line Friday”, for my community.

Based on the ideas of Accountability and Body Doubling (both recent Weekly Themes), my participants and I spend time together working side by side on our own tasks.

Statistically speaking, the most productive ratio of work to rest is 52 minutes of work and 10 minutes of rest, repeated in cycles. In Finish Line Friday, we use the Pomodoro Technique (read more here!) for productivity. The Pomodoro Technique takes the 52 / 10 ratio and breaks that into cycles of 25 minutes of work and 5 minutes of rest.

We work through 4 cycles of 25 and 5, and then wrap up and taking a little longer break before getting back to work.

Some of the benefits of Finish Line Friday include:

  • Camaraderie and a pleasant group to work with:
    • And some positive energy to share!
    • I am a verbal processor and it helps me to say out loud to others what I want to work on for the next 25 or 50 minutes
  • A deeper dive on Time Management:
    • Participants report arriving at a better grasp of just how long certain types of task take, and getting better about budgeting the time to get things done.
    • Similarly, participants have mentioned that FLF helps them to know what 25 minutes feel like. Or 50.
      • Which, again, helps us going forward with planning our work and our time.
      • We don’t often know what a certain amount of time feels like.  And since we all have many responsibilities, it is helpful to know how long to dedicate towards a project before we need to pause that work and switch to other work.
    • Breaking down projects into 25 minute chunks keeps us making progress without feeling overwhelmed!
  • Building the Productivity Muscles!
    • In life, we don’t always get to complete a task or project.  But making progress on it today, even if we just get to work on it for an hour or two, is still better than not working on it all.  And the more progress we make, the better idea we get of just what is left to finish until we can call the work complete!
  • Conversely, we’re reminded that productivity improves when breaks happen!
    • Using the Pomodoro Method helps me be better about taking breaks.  Whoo boy, I am seriously terrible about this sometimes!
    • I love it when I seem to hit a stride in my work and can just focus and keep working on getting a project complete.  So I have been known to just commit to work and sit… at  my computer… for 3 or 4 hours straight with hyperfocus.  And then… the brain starts to get fuzzy, my shoulders are tight and I have a headache, I’m starving, my feet fell asleep, my water glass has been empty for hours and now I am completely spent.  So, as much as I LOVE a good focus session when I am in the zone, I MUST get up and move around at regular intervals.

Consider joining us for Finish Line Friday, for productivity and a supportive community! Email me to sign up, Colleen@peaceofmindpo.com!

Body Double: Prepositions and Productivity

Let’s talk Prepositions.

And Productivity.

Prepositions and Productivity.

Last night, I had an epiphany: I realized I should think of this week’s topic as a podcast first and THEN an article, and not the other way around, which would be my usual approach. However, sometimes things are just easier to say than they are to write.

For example, what I want to talk about this week is something called Body Doubling. Body Doubling is… well, it’s many things. It’s an awareness. It is a strategy. It is a tool to use for greater productivity, if and when you need it. And isn’t that the best sort of tool or strategy, the one you can use as needed? And it all starts with awareness.

Another term for Body Doubling is “Parallel Work”, and I really like that term as well. Let’s face it, the term “Body Doubling” sometimes sounds like we’re talking about space aliens in some b movie from the 80s.

Body Doubling is the phenomenon? idea? awareness? that sometimes we work better with others. We may work better with others even if we aren’t working on the same work. With others, among others, around others, beside others, by and near other people, and any other prepositions we can use!

We can be motivated, inspired, accountable and anchored to our work simply by the presence of another person or persons. We can model the productivity to others, or be modeled to, to get the work done. We don’t necessarily have to work with people on the the same project. We can each work independently on what we need to complete. But just being in the midst of other people working can help us to stay more focused on our own work.

I’ve noticed an increase lately of conversations and articles about body doubling, probably from a similar increase in remote working and more generally accepted conversations about neurodiversity, since body doubling is a strategy that can work for all people, and also people with ADHD and other neuro-diversities.

My youngest son is away at college. While he was home for break, I mentioned that I had to hop on a zoom call, that a group of us were working on our own projects but together so we’re more committed to getting things done.  He said, “Oh, body doubling”.  Like it was obvious. I love that this idea is readily discussed and is accessible to him.  Body doubling is not news. Obviously, people have been working together for better productivity for EVER. But the idea that this is actually a strategy that can be used as necessary might be news to you.

Let’s look at different instances when Body Doubling shows up.

  • Before I had a name for it, I recognized that sometimes my sons needed to work at the dining room table together with me or with each other to get their homework done. And sometimes they needed to work alone. And it was helpful to know we had a choice.
  • Just yesterday, body doubling occurred when my husband asked me if I wanted to take a walk. Did it occur to me to take a walk on my own? Maybe. But since we agreed to walk and discussed when and where to go, we were more likely to make it happen (and we did!).
  • Years ago, a client and friend said it would be enough for me to just come and sit and read in her living room while she organized, because having someone there with her helped her to focus on the projects.
  • A bookkeeper friend shares office space with a friend during tax season because she knows she is less likely to get distracted when she is working side by side with someone else working on taxes.
  • A friend struggled early in lockdown when his office went fully remote. He had been unaware of the boost to productivity he experienced working side by side with coworkers until that was gone and he struggled to stay motivated and get things done.
  • A friend realized that a partner and friend along for the ride would make a dreaded errand less dreadful. So she enlisted a friend to join her for the errand and they made an afternoon of it. And the errand was completed.
  • As an organizer, I have known about body doubling for years because it is a strategy that comes from working with a professional organizer. Making an appointment to organize makes organizing happen. I am not doing the work for my clients but WITH them, anchoring them to the space and to the work.

Now that we know that body doubling works, let’s look at how to work it into our productivity practices.

  • The First Step Is Always Awareness:
    • Identify that body doubling is a strategy, and realize that you might be a person who benefits from it!
  • How To Use the Tool:
    • Ask yourself, How Do You Do Your Best Work? Identify what types of work benefits from body doubling.
      • For example, for me, intense brain work tasks and final edits are best done alone, silent and with no distraction. But most other types of my work benefit from working alongside others. So I plan accordingly.
    • Enlist Aid:
      • When looking for a body double, find someone who matches or improves your energy. If you’re struggling to get things done, reach out to someone who is motivated and positive!
      • “Phone a friend” but be choosy about the friend! Phone a friend, but make sure that friend will be someone who is supportive of your productivity!
      • Everyone Can Win: Set up an arrangement, like you will body double with your friend for her organizing project this week, and she can come over and be your body double for your closet project next week!
    • Join a Group!
      • A client (a college professor) has been part of Writing Groups for years. Fellow academics get together regularly, either in-person or virtually, and dedicate time just for goal setting and writing.
      • I joined Momentum Sessions (https://focus-sessions.momentumdash.com) so I can hop into a focus group to get work done. Seeing other folks on the screen in our zoom room helps me to stay on track!
      • Join me for Finish Line Friday every Friday morning!
      • For another way to feel like you have a body-double, try https://coffitivity.com/
    • Start Your Own Group:
      • A friend started a morning walking group in her neighborhood, to help her friends (for sure!) but also to help herself commit to walking!
      • Start a group at work!
        • Most office environments are geared to parallel work, but you may want to discuss how to avoid disruptions if you start a group.
        • Set up boundaries for group work, for example, quiet or silence for part of the time, expectations from the different group members, length of time per session, etc.
    • Check out your usual haunts – do you find that you can be more productive at your local coffee shop, library, college campus, etc? Make an appointment with yourself to work from there!

Now that you know more about body doubling and how it works, it’s time to step back and look at your tasks and work for this week and strategize how to make body doubling work for you!

Not Done Yet? Pay Attention to Your Neglect!

Wow, there is irony here. I drafted this article originally in early 2021. And it was neglected until now. And yes, I am absolutely paying attention to my neglect this week!

There are many things that I will never do or projects I will never complete, even if perhaps at one time I thought I would complete them.

And I am ok with that.

I’m encouraging you to be honest with – and OK! with – your self about those tasks or projects that you will never do, either.

Of course, if you know me and read my articles or listen to my podcasts – you know that I’m a big fan of goal setting and aspirations and dreams and plans. We all need them, and I will be your biggest cheerleader as you work towards them.

However, I also want us, you AND me, to mostly be realistic. (But still dream and aim HIGH!) Because, being realistic about the things we WILL NOT complete helps us to focus on and make time for the projects that we will do, that light us up and make our hearts sing!

This week, I challenge us to learn from our neglect.

For example, I own books that I have not yet read. I bought them upon the recommendations of others or glowing reviews or because they looked interesting. Perhaps they were a gift, or a loan from someone who thought I should read this book. I still have to choose if I am going to read the book or not, but I have also gotten much better about not taking on a book I probably won’t read. I can learn from my neglect of those books on the “To Read” shelf, parked there for years. Marie Kondo would say we can learn even from half-read books – we learned that we don’t want to read that book. And clearing away the books that I have neglected and that still don’t appeal to me moves the other books that I want to read up the priority list.

There has been other learning, as well. For example, I started writing this article 2 years ago. I had learned that, when I have a lot more free time, like in lockdown or while recovering from surgery, I still will not put together a jigsaw puzzle or elect to do an art project. So, if I come across a half-completed project in a drawer or cabinet, I will never say “Ooh, yes, this! Yeah, glitter!” Or whatever…

Now, again – don’t get me wrong: perhaps you are organizing a space and come across a project or a book or a long lost idea and say “Yes! Thank goodness I found this!” Sure, you got distracted or forgot about it but now that you have found it, you can’t wait to finish! Go for it!

I have certainly acted on neglected items in the last year, so this is NOT an article where I tell you to give up on your dreams. Long neglected, I thought about starting my own Finish Line Friday productivity session for months before picking a date and time and offering the first session. And I talked about starting a podcast for YEARS before actually launching mine back in November.

But, getting clear on what we do and do not want to spend time on is an important productivity concept. (For more on this, check out my article on Focus Areas.)

Where else can we learn from our neglect?

  • Clothes in the closet that are never worn can tell us what colors or fabric types we prefer or not. OR they can tell us that the events the clothes were purchsed for either need to happen (so schedule them!) or the item needs to go!
  • To-Do items on our task list that continue to crop up without completion may be the sign that that task is not as important as we thought it was.
  • Or, Road trips dreamed of, but never planned, or foods purchased towards a health goal that has never coalesced.
  • Piles of clutter in our home or office that started out with good intentions and now just languish and cause us anxiety.

If you have a pile of uncompleted projects (UFO’s per a friend who quilts, or “Un Finished Objects”!) or uncompleted tasks on the to-do list, here is how to think through the process.

  • Identify the tasks or projects that are neglected. Recognize the neglect is occurring.
  • Ask yourself some questions!
    • Is this project or task my responsibility to complete, or someone else’s?
    • Was this my idea or someone else’s?
    • Do I really want to complete this project?
    • Does this project / task still fit into my goals or vision of myself and my future?
    • Will the outcome make me happy or am I doing it for someone else or under someone else’s expectations?
    • Is this unfinished because I lack the tools, or the time or the know how? (And how to remedy this!)
    • If resources were unlimited, would I complete this project? (This one is super helpful! If time / money were not object, would I jump at the chance to do this thing?!)
  • Some of the questions may be answered with a “Yes, this is my idea and I still want to do this thing, and here is when I will do it!” And that is awesome.
  • And some of them are not, so Let go of the guilt. Let go of the expectations. Let go of the clutter that goes with them. Make space for the things that you do want to do, that are YOUR choices and that will light you up!

[(I find this so fascinating – when I first started this blog article, I was listening to a live-stream from Adam Ezra group, and he is talking about prioritizing and making the work we do joyous! (https://www.adamezra.com/) ]

Looping back to the beginning, for example, even though I won’t craft or put together a jigsaw puzzle, I WILL: read voraciously, learn how to play the ukelele, post Facebook Lives with songs solo and with my hubby, learn about new musical artists, etc. THOSE things will happen. And the books that have sat neglected for too long and that I no longer want to read have been purged from my reading pile to make room for the books I DO want to read!

Look around this week, identify your neglected items and ask yourself some questions to Learn From Your Neglect!

Adopt the “Clean As You Go” Habit

“Are you a ‘Clean-As-Yo-Go’ person?”

Why yes, yes I am. 

This article, and the related podcast, will be highlighted in Clutter Awareness Week, the 4th week in March.

I want to share an idea that can shift your thinking.

Let’s start Clutter Awareness Week by being aware of how we create clutter and how we can make a simple change that helps clutter NOT EVEN HAPPEN!

Clean As You Go (CAYG for today) as a strategy makes life flow so much more smoothly.

There aren’t messes to clean up because they either never existed or they’re already gone. Because, let’s face it, I am more certain about having the time to take care of things now in this moment than I am of having the opportunity later.

And if you know me at all, obviously, I’m not actually talking about cleaning. Or not just about cleaning.

At Thanksgiving, my brother and I were chatting in the kitchen as I put together a casserole.  Amid whatever else we were talking about, most likely life and/ or Euchre, which are one and the same for my family when we’re all together, he commented – “Ah, you are a Clean As You Go person.”  This is the same brother who claims I have turned OCD into a business model to which I object, but his observation was no surprise. And in this case, it felt more like an acknowledgement of like and like. 

And, yes I am absolutely a Clean As You Go person.

I won’t say messes don’t happen, because – Of Course They Do! They just don’t stay. Messes aren’t there because they’re already gone. Clutter doesn’t stay.

AS I baked cookies the other night for a friend, I realized the process was an excellent example of how CAYG makes life easier.

  • I have cookie baking down to a science, for real.  Baking is a love language for me. I was making a double batch of basic chocolate chip cookies. Recipe by memory, full butter and eggs, extra vanilla of course, two kinds of chips.
  • A friend on Facebook accused me of storebought cookies (gasp! the horror!) because in a picture I posted, my cookies were too consistent and “pretty”. I shared the secrets of my kitchen aid mixer, parchment paper and steel spring loaded 1.5″ cookie baller. Yep, we are pros. But I digress.
  • Let’s look at my baking through the Clean As You Go lens:
    • I start with clean counters, of course. Mine is not a big kitchen, so clean counters ensure available work space.
    • I run a sink of hot soapy water.
    • I take out and line up all the ingredients:
      • butter was on the counter coming to room temperature;
      • brown sugar, white sugar, flour containers from one shelf in my baking cabinet;
      • vanilla, salt, soda and chocolate chips from the shelf below;
      • eggs from the fridge;
      • kitchen aid mixer, measuring scoops and spoons.
    • I am working towards a clear counter again by the time I am done.
    • I measure out then put away the sugars as they cream together with the butter.
    • I splash in the vanilla and put that away, too.
    • I add the eggs, tossing the shells in the garbage disposal and putting the carton away while the eggs beat into the mix.
    • I add the flour, salt and soda then chips, put those away, and immediately slide the measuring scoops and spoons into the sink to be washed.
    • The counter cleared of ingredients is the signal to me that all of the ingredients are in the dough.
    • Other than the inevitable scattered dusting of flour and sugars when I start to ball the dough, the counter is clear of stuff and ready for my cookie sheets
    • I am working towards a clear counter again by the time I am done.

WAIT, WHAT?

For the third time,
“I am working towards a clear counter again by the time I am done.”

“The counter clear of ingredients is the signal to me that all of the ingredients are in the dough.“

Yep, that is what CAYG can do for you. And, as I mentioned earlier, I’m not actually talking about cleaning or baking, or not just cleaning or baking. This is Life.

Another trick I’ve learned to make really good cookies is to move the cookie sheets around in my oven half way through their baking cycle. So I set a 6 minute timer, shift the cookie shets to different shelves, and then bake for 5 more minutes.

And I use those 5 and 6 minute blocks of time amid the baking cycles to finish balling up the cookie dough on another clean cookie sheet, load the mixing bowl and measuring cups in the dishwasher, wipe down the mixer and put it away and wipe off the counter so I have somewhere to put my cooling cookies when they come out of the oven. By the time the first pans come out to cool, the kitchen is back to clean.

Cleaning as you go, in cookies and in life, make It makes life flow so much more smoothly.

Where else can we use CAYG?

  • I use it when I travel, immediately repacking my dirty clothes into empty packing cubes so when it comes time to leave, I’m already packed.
  • How about when I put my tools back in my tool bag while at a client house? I don’t want to leave a mess at a ckient’s house, and I don’t want to forget anything behind.
  • Or this idea, one of my very early articles about my morning line-up?

Let’s step out of my kitchen and into my office for another example:

We can use the CAYG strategy in our email in-box, too. My email inbox is sorted with the most recent items first (of course). As I act on email messages and complete the messages or tasks associated with them, I move them to subfolders and out of my main in-box. Back to the goals listed above, translated from baking to productivity,

“I am working towards fewer email messages (mine is never at Zero, but it’s less!”) again by the time I am done.”


“No new emails in my inbox is the signal to me that the work is complete.”


And once this strategy is a practice, so much of this can be accomplished with clear focus during small blocks of time!

My challenge to you this week, then, is to look around at your physical spaces and also at your calendar / tasks / etc.!, and determine where else this strategy can be applied! Then pick an area and flex that CAYG muscle in that area until it becomes a habit! (and then, of course, move on to the next area!)

What My Producer Learned From Me About Organizing

I recorded the 15th episode of my podcast last week.

15 episodes.

15 Episodes!

Since I launched my podcast in November, the process has become smoother. Thank GOODNESS! Not that the process was hard, but getting over the initial fears and and bumps in the road took a little time. Everything was new and different, so I had to adjust and also learn how to make the process a sustainable habit integrated into my typical weekly schedule.

And I learned. Hooray!
And I had help. Also Hooray!


My producer Chris Lanuti with BroadcastBasement.com set up my accounts across all the podcast platforms and created my graphics. He makes me sound good every week, writes my descriptions every week (I like his better than mine), and continues to guide me along the podcasting path.

I am gratified to say that while I have been learning SO MUCH from Chris, he mentioned that he has learned a lot from our time together, as well. He is present as I record every episode and then he produces the episode, taking out all my goofs and ums / ahs, adding my theme music, etc. So the poor guy listens to me at least twice through every episode and content area! And he has learned a few things in all that listening!

As I grow professionally and grow my podcast, I would like to have guests with me for some episodes. Chris offered to be my first guest, and here are highlights from our recording session!

What My Producer Has Learned From Me About Organizing:

Prioritize Your To Do List!

Chris says he has always been a list guy, but sometimes he would look at the unprioritized list, only cross off a few things in a day and feel frustrated that he didn’t get anything done.  And yep, I feel the same sometimes!

But the better quesiton is, for Chris and for all of us, did he get done the work that NEEDED to be done TODAY? After listening to the organizing podcasts, he is better about prioritizing what is on the list.

For example, using the Eisenhower Box idea (Podcast Link, Blog Article Link), his tasks are broken into three categories: “Top”, “Next” and “Ahead”. And he gets more done more easily, without tasks slipping through the cracks.

  • “Top” tasks are both urgent and important and need to be done today.
  • “Next” tasks are important tasks that can perhaps wait a day or two or more. They’re important but they are not yet urgent. And
  • “Ahead” is a parking place for ideas for later, in the next month or two, or longer.   The ideas are safely kept on the list until it’s time to work on them.

How can you better categorize your to-do list to get more done?

***********************************************

Client communication / Newsletter:

In January, as we recorded one of my episodes, we were discussing “unsubscribes” from our client email platform (we both use Constant Contact).  I think we both had maybe 2 unsubscribes one week. He mentioned he didn’t usually click to see who unsubscribed but he did that week and was suprised to see they were people he knew pretty well and saw occasionally. And it felt personal!

So we both had to get over the fact that Yes, subscribers may come and go sometimes, especially in January when folks are cleaning out their inboxes! But that lead to the conversation around newsletters and communcating with our clients.

A Podcast is a tool of communication in itself!  But we have to communicate more directly, too, so let’s talk newsletters!

We both use newsletters to reach out to our community. Consistent, value-added communications are the best way to keep in touch. Recently, he changed the format of the newsletters he sends out. He said he “stole” the idea from me, but it’s a generally accepted practice, so I called it “incorporating a good idea”: In the same way that I have sections of my weekly newsletter to highlight my different product offerings, he now has info on the current episodes, an “if you missed a recent episode, here’s where you can listen”, and calls-to-action to check out and actually subscribe to the podcast plus check out other podcasts he also hosts.

Chris is better about segmenting his address list than I am.  His lists segmented by which podcast a person listens to, current advertisers, possible advertisers, etc. My address lists are segmented, depending on where I met someone (networking, classes, clients, etc), but I send out the same newsletter to all my subscribers every week.  Because…

  • I’ve been in business for 20 years, and the lines have blurred for many of my community members!
    • Organizing clients have become friends or networking partners or coaching clients, class participants have become coaching or organizing clients or friends, etc.
  • I consider you all my Community. And
  • Any subscriber can reach out to me for any reason, to hire me to coach, to organize, to set up a presention, to share an organizing or recyling resource, etc.

How can you better communicate with your community?

***************************************************

Experts: In business and in life, Find your experts.  Use your experts.  Be the expert for others.

Chris and I talked a bit about who our experts are, and how we use those connections that we have.

An example of how I use my experts is hiring Chris to set up and now produce my podcast. Since 2020, the not-knowing-how kept me from starting my podcast. Chris and I had talked about it, but it took me two years to take the leap. It took some courage, but I had the idea and the expert to help me get from idea from to finished product.

In the interview, I also mentioned how I puzzled for months over how to set up my business – C Corp, S Corp, LLC? I pondered, I read lots of information, I worried. And then I realized I had an attorney, my friend and networking partner, who could tell me what sort of business structure would best suit me and my situation. One phone call and about 15 minutes later, I was on my way (and she is still my legal expert, www.KerlinWalshLaw.com).

We must consider how long something will take us to figure out versus how someone else – our expert – can complete a task more quickly and competently than we can. This is a slow lesson to learn sometimes, but when we step out of our own way and let our experts practice their art, we can regain time (and therefore money), mitigate stress and have things done right the first time!

What expert do you know that could make your life easier today? Call Them!!!

Give a listen this week!

If you would like to know more about getting started with your own podcast, or if you want to check out any of the other podcasts from the Broadcast Basement, check these out!