Category: Taking Care of Business

Find Your Focus Areas!

(Want to watch me share this article? Click here for a FB live: https://www.facebook.com/MColleenKlimczakCPO/videos/812165770032446)

It always delights me when someone quotes me back to me! At a recent meeting, a friend mentioned that her brother had attended one of my Stress Management presentations. Of course, she also mentioned that she asked him to do something and he said “No, that isn’t in my Focus Areas”! (No names are mentioned, for anonymity!)

In my Stress Management Presentations, I recommend identifying and then sticking with your Focus Areas.

The idea is to identify what is important to you, and subsequently, what is NOT important to you. And once you know what is important to you – what is a high priority for you – intentionally spend your time and energy and resources on the high priority areas of your life.

Being intentional on how we spend our resources is important when it comes to getting things done, decreasing stress and increasing feelings of accomplishment and satisfaction.

Reviewing my notes, I realize that Focus Areas come up a lot for me. For example:

  • When writing an agenda for a board meeting – “What is important? What do we have to make sure to talk about?”
  • EVERY WEEK when I check in with my 2 accountability partners, I report using my Focus Areas as writing prompts.
  • In a recent conversation about the lingering effects of lock down and the pandemic, as in, “even when in lockdown for months in my home, I still didn’t want to work on jigsaw puzzles or knit a blanket.”
  • Even in casual conversations with my son. As in “Mom, you should watch this entire YouTube series on conspiracy theories.”
    • “Um, no. No, I should not.” Binge watching anything, especially something on conspiracy theories, is NOT in my Focus Areas.

What is important to you? What are your Focus Areas? If you’re unclear on what your Focus Areas are, start by checking three places: Your bank account, your calendar and your texting history. “What is important to you” is what you spend your resources on. Resources like time, money and energy.

Here’s the other side of that statement, though. Are you spending your resources on the areas of your life that you WANT to be important to you? Meaning, do you feel like building your business is important to you, but upon review of your resources, you aren’t spending a lot of energy on that endeavor? Or family or relationships or faith, etc.? As I plan my work today, I use my focus areas to determine what I DO and DO NOT want to spend my time on.

OK, so my Focus Areas are:

  • Service and Faith: School Board Work, Community Work, Ministries at church including Choir, Cantoring and Baptismal Prep
  • Home / Family: First thing first, my husband and sons. Then family and friends. And “Home” is the care and nurturing of home, cleaning, cooking, projects, holidays, etc.
  • Personal / Wellness
  • Educate Me: educational pursuits, learning new skills, reading non-fiction, learning new music.
  • My Company. I have subcategories, or business specific focus areas, too. They are Coaching, Clients, Presentations, Marketing and Business Specific.

What might your Focus Areas be? Career, Family, Health, Hobbies or a specific interest, Adventures, Friends, Money, Spiritual Needs, Personal Growth, Physical Fitness, etc..

A caveat: Our Focus Areas are an internal choice. A quick way to identify what might NOT be one of your Focus Areas is any time the idea comes from outside of you and is accompanied by a Should. As in almost ALL ADVERTISING! or “Wow, you should totally get a tattoo and run off to South America if you want to live a fulfilled life like me.” Huh? Um, no, thanks.

Additionally, our Focus Areas can change and evolve over time, just like we do as humans.

Knowing what our Focus Areas are helps us to make good decisions on how to spend our resources. They also give us a rubric for deciding on how to NOT spend our resources. Even if it means we respond to a request with “No, I am not willing to do that, it is not important to me, or part of my Focus Areas”!

Small Bag of Chargers ALL THE TIME!

In last week’s newsletter, I shared two of my favorite travel tips, my packing cubes and an always-packed toiletry kit.

I was reminded of another favorite travel tip as I packed to travel this past weekend. And I can’t believe I haven’t written about it before now!

I have a small plastic pouch that makes my life better. It lives in my daily go-bag and contains the chargers I might need to charge my stuff.  ALL THE TIME. Plus the cubes to go in the wall or car outlet that hold multiple cords.

For most items, I am pretty tough on the question of duplicates. But this is one instance – tech accessories – when duplicates are OK and even encouraged! It is frustrating and un-safe to be caught without charged tech items.

I travel a lot and even if I didn’t, I’m still on the go ALL THE TIME. This handy little pouch goes almost every where with me. It lives in my go-bag every day for work and gets tossed in my luggage when we travel.


What’s in the bag right now?


We have cords in the cars, too, that STAY IN THE CAR.

Remembering to pack the items is easy. And since I have duplicates, it is also not a crisis if I leave one behind or more likely, share one with a family member that forgot theirs.


The other habit is that I always keep an extra new cord in the tech drawer next to my desk.  Then, if I need to give a cord to my sons (or my mom, like I did a couple of weeks ago) or I need to replace an old cord (like I did over the weekend), I use the back-up one from the drawer and add a new cord to my weekly Office Max order.  So we’re always covered!

Give a little thought this week to what chargers and tech accessories would go into your charger bag to give you peace of mind on the go!

Work Some Summer Into Your Work Routine!

Did you know? May is National Revise Your Work Schedule Month.

I work with clients on their work schedules, but that doesn’t translate well for an article! I won’t presume to tell you how to do your work, as you certainly know your industry better than I do! And I won’t presume to give you specific advice around your day to day schedule.

However, we can look at this idea from an organizational coaching perspective:

When it comes to re-considering our schedule, we first need to acknowledge the shift in seasons. Spring is here and Summer is close. This new season just feels different. And for many of us, years of school as a student or parent or perhaps a teacher or profession have us trained to feel the change at the end of the school year. May always feels like a transition time. 

And the shift to Summer often calls us to make some changes in our work schedule around our families, events or vacation time. Let’s consider how to work some summer into your work routine!

  • Plan some away-from-work time:
  • Bring summer to work with you.
    • Switch from hot coffee to an iced tea, try a hand lotion at your desk that smells like the beach or a handful of picked garden flowers, pack bright fruits and salads.
  • Look for ways to walk in the sun!
    • Speaking with a coaching client today, we were brainstorming about working more movement and sunlight into her work day. She mentioned a nearby park nearby where she ate lunch the other day while enjoying the beautiful view. Take the long way back to the office, walk outside at lunch time.
  • Change up your daily routine:
    • Think about what feels like summer to you! And then make some room for that in your day-to-day!
    • Let in the sun! In the summer, I start my day REALLY early with a walk and some time outside watering and puttering in my garden. It’s an energizing yet peaceful way to start my day before things get busy or the sun gets too hot!
    • Check out the days and times of local farmers markets in your area. I love to stop and browse for a few minutes between client appointments and pick up something fresh for dinner.
    • Sometimes in summer, I will drive home from appointments purposely through the area forest preserves and roll down my windows to enjoy the sights and smells of nature.
    • We change up our menu plans in the summer, for packed lunches and for dinner. We don’t turn on the oven much at all, and rely heavily on grilling and salads.

Clutter Hot Spot: Your Tech Accessories

The challenge with this hot spot is that there isn’t always just one spot.

Sometimes the tech pieces

are

all

over

the

place!

The original inspiration for the Clutter Hot Spot series was client interactions in January. And in one week, I had 3 clients who had tech accessories stirred up into every space we were organizing!

IF we ever hope to find them again, we need to assign JUST ONE HOME for our less-often used tech accessories.

In my office, our ONE tech accessory home is a desk drawer. Right next to me as I write this article. It’s not exciting or big or complicated. It holds tech items that we might need again. In preparation for writing this article, I looked in there earlier today. The boxes for my Apple watch and airpods are in there (new-ish). Extra lightning charging cables (we buy these a few at a time), charging cubes, earphone covers, users manuals, the extra cord that came with my new monitor in its labeled bag. Also, mesh bags for corralling tech accessories when we travel. A few items I came across are now obsolete, like my last two Fitbits and their very specialized chargers, and those are all now in the basket in the garage waiting for a E-Waste collection event.

Let’s review the important parts of the story above:

  • One and ONLY ONE home for tech accessories you might need again.
  • The habit of putting tech accessories in that ONE home when we get them, and putting them back in there after we use them!
  • Labeling the accessory and what it belongs with to eliminate future questions.
  • Everyone in the house knowing where the extra tech accessories live.
  • The habit around reviewing the technology at least once in a while, to determine what tech accessories we need to keep and which ones need to move along to E-Waste recycling.
  • Making sure your E-Waste actually gets recycled. Check your local recycling resources for E-Waste recycling near you. If you’re near me, check out my recycling page for resources. (https://peaceofmindpo.com/2019/06/26/organizing-resources-to-reduce-repurpose-and-recycle/)

Look around your home and establish that ONE SPOT for your extra tech accessories, and commit to moving your tech clutter there as you find it!

But, What If It Is Amazing?

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” – Marianne Williamson

It is so easy to believe the bad stuff. And there is a lot of bad stuff sometimes, I know. Most of our brains, especially brains with ADHD, or anxiety or depression, trend negative.


I pride myself on having a positive inner narrative, of making sure I keep an eye on the good things inside and around me. I know I am a much happier person that way, much more productive, certainly more pleasant to be around, and with positivity and good energy to share. And I do.


Recently, I identified a place in my mind where Fear had snuck in. In one small area, I had let fear guide me, keeping me from moving ahead on a project. And when I identified fear in one place, I also realized that I had let the fear in one area leak quietly into other areas of my life as well.


Sneaky thing, fear.


Fear was keeping me stuck. I had fear of failing and of succeeding, at the same time. Go figure! Illogical, of course, but sometimes our thoughts are illogical!


I worked through some things over the last week, using tools I have from my coaching practice on my own challenges. The first step is awareness that there is a problem. I completed perspective work, I listened to my intuition, I checked in on my own needs and values. Yes, I coached me with my coaching tools!


And what came to me was, “Fear can be scary, but what if the other side of the fear is AMAZING??


What if this scary thing, when I get through it, results in something totally awesome? Fear wants us to believe that negative things can happen, and they can, but so can amazing things, in equal measure. The AMAZING results are actually more likely than the failure, in this instance.


So let’s ask…. (and we will stick with organizing, though you can swap that word out for anything else you want, too):


What are you afraid of?

  • Afraid of failing at organizing?
    • Every thing we try is a learning experience, there really isn’t failure there.
  • Afraid that organizing might be difficult?
    • Ok, but how much more difficult is it to struggle every day?
  • Afraid that organizing might be easy, and I’ll realize I should have done it years ago?
    • Ok, but why bother beating yourself up about the past? Show past-you some grace and enjoy today’s success.
  • Afraid that the path might not be easy or straightforward?
    • It won’t be, and that is ok, too.


Now that I am aware that Fear had me stuck, I am looking more to the AMAZING part.

Yes, I have work to do. I already had work to do, now I can do without being afraid, too.

Yes, things may get hard. But things were hard anyway, and now maybe they can also get easier!

Fear is scary, but join me on the other side of Fear for AMAZING!

Being Organized is Good For Your Health!

I didn’t want to scare any readers with a dramatic headline, but the opposite is true, too – clutter and disorganization can be bad for our health!

This week, in preparation for upcoming health and wellness events, I’ve been seeking statistics on the correlation between health and wellness and clutter and disorganization. And, let me tell you, they are all connected.

I have been asked many times before – Which comes first? Health problems that lead to disorganization and clutter? Or clutter and disorganization that lead to health problems? And truthfully, I don’t know the answer. OR, the answer is “It depends”, which isn’t helpful.

More important than the answer to “Which came first?” is to recognize they are related! And clearing clutter and getting more organized can help us to feel better in lots of ways, too!

Most of my articles are how-to articles, but this week, I also want to remind us all of the “Why?” as in “Why do we organize and clear clutter?”

So, first the bad news (the good is coming, I promise!): Disorganization and Clutter in our physical spaces can be dangerous to our health and well-being. Consider:

  • Did you know? Household clutter can harbor bugs, rodents, moisture, mold and dust. Being around these environmental hazards can make us all feel poorly, but especially if we have allergies or breathing issues.
  • Did you know? Clutter can make it dangerous to move around our homes and workspaces. Hazards might include narrowed pathways, teetering piles of stuff and items left on the floor for us to trip over.
  • Did you know? There is a physical weight to clutter. Overpacked purses, briefcases, backpacks and luggage take a toll on our shoulders, necks and backs.
  • Imagine a cluttered car. Now imagine having to stomp on the breaks in that car to avoid an accident. Anything in a car that is not strapped down becomes a projectile in extreme braking or the event of an accident.
  • There are physiological and psychological effects of clutter and disorganization, too. Clutter and Disorganization can exacerbate the symptoms of health challenges such as anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression, diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure, to name just a few.

Fear not, though, because there is good news, too! Getting a handle on your clutter and disorganization can help improve your health and over well-being in MANY ways! Imagine with me:

  • Clear countertops and healthy food on hand in your kitchen helping you eat the way you feel you should for good health. A study from Cornell University found that the more cluttered a person’s kitchen counter is, the less likely they are to make healthy food choices.
  • Individuals living in clean homes are generally healthier than their counterparts living in clutter, according to research conducted at Indiana University.
  • Moving easily around your home if you can clear clutter and reduce risk of tripping or falling.
  • Being greeted by comfortable and inviting spaces in your home, which reduces stress and improves mood and immunity. According to The Anxiety and Depression Association of America, depression can cause clutter, and clutter can cause people to feel tired and more depressed!
  • Getting a better night’s sleep in an un-cluttered and peaceful bedroom. The National Sleep Foundation states that people who make their beds daily are more likely to sleep well every night, and 71 percent of us sleep better in a clean, fresh-smelling bedroom.
  • Feeling better when you can consistently take your prescription medications when you can find them when you need them, get them refilled on time and remember to take them because your routines support this habit.

So, as we decide to spend time on organizing and clearing clutter this week, let’s remember all the benefits that can we can reap!

Change the Toilet Paper Roll

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I had a much more interesting (I think) article topic planned for today. It was going to be visually stunning, thought-provoking, grammatically correct, entertaining and less than 500 words (because a friend told me long ago he would stop reading my articles at the 500 word mark).

However, a much better topic popped into my head as I swapped out the empty toilet paper roll at a client’s house this morning, and now I am going to talk about toilet paper. As a metaphor for life, of course.

Luckily, I have a habit of checking things such as toilet paper levels, hand towels, etc., before I use a washroom. I immediately determined the roll would be done after I was done. And another quick check told me there was no back-up roll in the usual spot.

I could have just left it – I didn’t use 99.5% of the roll, and hey, it’s not my house, after all. But:

1. I am not a jerk;
2. I firmly believe in leaving things better than I found them whenever I can;
3. I know the solution to this problem and it’s an easy fix; and
4. I may be the next person to use that washroom, and then I would be in trouble.

So, I spent the extra 2 minutes and ran downstairs to the pantry, grabbed a 6 pack and restocked the back-up rolls and the fresh roll. I had a few extras left over and left them out for the client to probably stock other places in her home. And here, reader, is the point.

Take the few extra minute to complete the tasks, especially THE EASY ONES because there is not reason not to. And to NOT complete these easy, everyday tasks can REALLY MESS UP YOUR DAY if they are neglected.

What other tasks fall into this category? The super easily fixed problem that could have wreaked havoc on your day later?

  • Put the scissors back where you found them instead of leaving them out.
  • Recycle the empty milk jug and make a note on the grocery list.
  • Empty the trash when it is full.
  • Charge your phone, and if you see your loved one’s phone near the charger but not on the charger, plug it in.
  • Change the batteries in the remote instead of leaving the task for the next poor sap who just wants to watch TV.
  • Change the toilet paper roll, or restock the empty tissue box, etc., and re-stock the back-up once a week.
  • Refill the hand soap dispenser once a week while you’re at it, because running out of soap is a pain.
  • Get gas on your way home when you realize you need it because you absolutely will not remember to leave time for it in the morning. (Don’t argue, you know I am right.)

Do these things. Because they take no time at all and can really keep your week humming along, and NOT doing them can really trip you up.

Do them because you’re not a jerk. Because it takes very little time to leave something better than you found it. Because most problems we encounter are actually pretty easy fixes if we don’t delay. And if you can’t be all these positive things, do the easy task because you may be the one who is majorly inconvenienced later!

Let’s get back to “Because… of External Motivators.”

I helped a client move out an old book shelf today to the curb. Because… tomorrow is trash day.

I spent time last evening with my bookkeeping and readied some invoices to send. Because… it’s the last few days of the month and I send out my billing on the last day of the month.

I reached out to a loved one today first thing. Because… it’s her birthday.

My husband left the house this morning at 6 am to catch the 6:25 am train. Because… well, that’s when it was scheduled to arrive.

I worked today instead of laying on my couch, eating snacks and doing nothing. Because… well, because I would be bored silly doing nothing, but also because… I get paid to work, I like to work and I like to get paid. Money is useful.

These are all examples of External Motivators. Motivation that comes from outside ourselves, from outside forces or sources.

This can backfire, of course, if we ONLY choose to take out the trash because it’s trash day, as opposed to taking it out because the bin is full or something is getting smelly.

It occurs to me that life may have been light in the area of external motivators during the last year. Perhaps we ignored reminders to make doctor appointments because of strict guidelines or social distancing. I just read a New Yorker article about how we haven’t had to Get Dressed in 16 months or so. Perhaps we haven’t tidied up the house too much because previously the expectation of hospitality was our motivator, but after we were unable to host for many months, our practices have grown lax.

As we return to slightly more normal routines, let’s start paying attention to – AGAIN – and get back in the habit of heeding external motivators!

Filing is For Retrieval, Not For Storage

I gave two presentations yesterday – well the same presentation to two different audiences – and I think I said this phrase a dozen times each. Filing is for retrieval, not for storage.

It is one of the first statements I make in my Clear the Clutter presentation, and I actually broke it down word by word for one of the groups. What can I say, I was inspired!

It can be a guiding phrase for us as we clear clutter from our home. Consider it a mantra! And here is a summary of all those 7 words can mean for you and me!

Filing.

Filing = putting things way.

Filing can be putting ANYTHING away, and not just papers. AWAY is the goal for organizing and clearing clutter. Putting clean laundry away is filing. Emptying the dishwasher and putting the dishes away is filing. Hanging up your coat when you come in the house is filing.

Filing is putting things away so you can expect to easily find them again.

Filing is for Retrieval, not for storage.

Retrieval = using again.

We put things away where they belong so we can find them again the next time we need them.

We expect to use things again, and we expect to use certain things together. We store related items together. We can ask ourselves “In what context will I need this item again?”

Sure, we could file our credit cards in a desk drawer, but that is not where we are going to use them, to retrieve them, again.

In our house, we store shoes in our closets, but we also keep a few pairs by the door because we use shoes when we leave the house. We use them all the time, and place them by the door for easy retrieval.

Not For Storage.

Not for Storage = Use your stuff, don’t just store your stuff

Most of us do not have unlimited storage.

I mean, hey – if you do, Good on you, we’re all just jealous. But most of us do not. And because storage is not limitless, we need to put limits on the stuff that we might store in our homes or businesses.

We should only be putting away the things that we actually expect to use again.

Now, sometimes we put something away, like a paid bill for reference, that we feasibly do expect to retrieve again. However, as the bill lingers, it becomes obsolete and grows less likely to be retrieved. We need to add in maintenance steps to our systems to purge those obsolete resources – papers, clothes, books, etc., once we no longer need them.

Next time you’re pondering a pile of clutter, and considering just tucking it in a drawer or in a bin, first remind yourself that “Filing is for retrieval, not for storage”. Maybe that pile of clutter just needs to GO instead of stay!

Enough But Not Too Much

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We traveled last week.

It was lovely.  We went to Michigan and relaxed at a house on a lake. 

The lake life is quieter and simple, especially this time of year.  We did manage to visit a nearby beach town for lunch one day (outdoors), and dipped our toes in Lake Michigan (it was 80 degrees that day!).  I also got to see my parents and one of my brothers, with masks and social distance of course, for the first time in a very long time. Hooray! But mostly we relaxed.

What I want to talk about is the variety of choices we make every day. ALL OF THE DECISIONS!

I was reminded how much of a relief it is, at times, to just have fewer choices, fewer decisions.

For example, we did a grocery run and bought we needed for 4 1/2 days, and not much more. 

At the lake house, there are things to do but … fewer than at home or during the summer.

I was reminded, as I packed for travel: we decide on what we will need, based on our plans and habits and routines and the weather, for a finite amount of time and  pack only those things (and maybe a few extra!). Getting ready is easier.  Decisions were made when I packed, so day to day I choose between jeans or a skort, sandals or sneakers.  Easy.

Simple.  Straightforward. Easier decisions, less mental clutter.

Enough but not too much. This is what being organized represents for me. What clearing clutter means to me.

I have been struggling today with a whole lot of mental clutter and the feeling of overwhelm.  Some of this can be attributed to what my friend and I call “Re-Entry”, those few days after you get home from a trip. And let’s face it – after the last year, we are out of practice with travel and the tasks around coming-home!  But I also recognized that life has been much simpler this last week. That I enjoyed the simpler schedule and fewer decisions (and sleeping in and enjoying time off, of course). 

I needed the reminder that I need Enough but not too much. Of EVERYTHING!

I’d like to learn from this awareness, for myself. I know these lessons. We probably all do. But we still need reminders and that’s how I will use this awareness. So…

I will gladly embrace my daily routines that keep my wellness and home and business humming along, taking time-wasting decision making out of my brain!

I will stop trying to complicate my days with many new ideas all at once!

I will look at fewer choices on how to spend my time and be more purposeful and intentional with my choice.

I will step back and pay attention to those instances in my days when I need to make choices. I will refer to the short list of focus areas where I want to and need to spend my time, and stick with just those when time or attention seem short.

Let’s stick with enough, but not too much.

Where can you go with that mantra this week? Cutting out time commitments, errands, clutter, wardrobe choices, visual stimuli? What can go, to simplify your day or week?