Category: Things I Wish I’d Known

Hope In Normalizing: “I Can Do This, Too”

This week, I want to introduce an idea called Normalizing, and why I think it is a useful and hopeful idea.

I was talking to a friend recently about a health challenge she is facing.

She was saying that we can believe we are all alone in what we are suffering with because we’ve never really talked about it with anyone.  However, when you start talking to people about your health issue, suddenly you find out that the problem is common, that many people have the same problem, or at least know somebody with the problem.

Ummm… let’s say gallbladder issues.  (And no, I do not have gallbladder issues, and neither does she, I’m just using this as an example).

Imagine: I’m feeling fine, and then one day, I’m not feeling so fine.  I muddle through for a few weeks or even months, with flare-ups and the like, getting better between and then another flare up happens. I finally go to the doctor. They run their tests, give me a diagnosis, share some strategies with me and also schedule a surgery because the gallbladder has to be removed.

Now that I know more and need to make plans, I mention my health challenge at work (because I need time off), or I bring it up with friends or family or the lady at the grocery store because now that I have a diagnosis and a plan, I feel more comfortable talking about it…

And when I bring it up, I find out that EVERYONE has had this problem, or knows someone who has had this problem.

You know the stories you hear, “my husband / wife / parent / child / coworker / friend / sibling has or had this problem”. We all may want to feel special and unique, but probably not when it comes to our gallbladder!

Hearing the stories about how what we thought was one-of-a-kind really isn’t… that is not a bad thing. I actually consider it kind of a good thing.  It feels hopeful to me.

In coaching, we talk about normalizing. Per Dictionary.com, Normalizing may mean “to cause (something previously considered abnormal or unacceptable) to be treated as normal”. 

This can be negative like when we learn to tolerate something that might be negative so that it becomes our new normal.  But it can also be a positive thing, when we expand our understanding of what can be typical and normal, so we no longer feel shame or worry about an issue or circumstance.

As in, when you find out that this issue that you’re having that is probably really rocking your world if you are in the middle of it and things are sore or are uncomfortable is actually 100% survivable.  And do-able.

Like when you’ve got something medical going on and all you seem to do is go to doctor’s appointments and do follow-up and it feels like a full-time job. And it’s really impacting your life and you feel frustrated. You feel like you’re alone in this. Like no one is going to understand. 

And yet, they will.

We can’t necessarily see our way through this situation because we have never been in it before.  We don’t know how long it will take, or when we may start to feel better.  But… other people know.  Other people have faced it and have come out the other side.

So we normalize. We normalize because sometimes we need to hear that we are not alone in whatever it is we’re going through. Sometimes we need to feel like we’re not alone AND that someone else in a similar situation has figured it out.

They have figured it out. And therefore, so can I.

If somebody else has figured all this out, I can too. And there is hope. There is hope in that. I can, too.

Let’s switch it up, I will use Blackberry Jam as an analogy.

Last year I learned how to make and can jam. Like preserves, hot water bath, mason jars, shelf stable, etc.

I had promised a loved one that I would find someone to make jam for an event, and I did not find a jam maker so I became the jam maker.   Here’s the thing.  I knew that I could.  I had a working knowledge of what was involved. And we have YouTube and websites and books, plus there is Amazon.com for ordering the tools.  It’s all there.  It’s all learnable. It’s all there. I knew I could do it.

I like to think I am pretty smart, and I am definitely curious and open to learning.  And hey, people living hundreds of years ago with none of the resources I have now figured it out.  I can do this.  And I did. And it was good!

Now I know how to make jam and also preserve it.  I’m pretty sure I still have some in my cabinet from last Fall. I still have all the tools and the know-how, to do it again. We can call that normalized.

Sometimes, my coaching clients or myself or any one of us, really, can think that the situation that we find ourselves in at this moment is so singular that no one has ever figured out what to do about it. And therefore, we can’t even hope to make things better.

And that’s not true.  I’m here to tell you that’s not true because I guarantee you there have been similar situations where people have figured things out and have come through on the other side just fine.

I consider normalizing to be optimistic. I consider normalizing, when done right, to be hopeful. When we are in the midst of something that we don’t know how to figure out, it’s hopeful to know that someone else figured it out. You are most likely able, you’re going to be able to figure it out as well.  And next time, you can be the resource for somebody.

We have more resources right now than we ever had ever in history to figure things out, ever. You have more resources now than anyone has ever had before. Whoa.

But it’s true. We have more knowledge now than anyone has ever had before. How hopeful and optimistic is that?! It’s awesome. And, if you want to figure things out for yourself, I am here to help. 

Independence Day: From What? For What?

This week, in this country, we celebrate Independence Day.

I want to respect why we celebrate Independence Day, and also ask the question about the word independence – for ourselves, independence from what?  What do we choose independence from, and what do we choose it for?

Whenever I hear the phrase, “The Fourth of July”, my brain goes to a silly joke. A traveler from the US goes to another country for vacation in the summer.  He asks his hosts why they don’t have The Fourth of July in their country.  The hosts assure him “of course we have The Fourth of July, right after the third and before the 5th.  The calendar would look odd without it.” Or something along those lines.

So, I’ll stick with calling it Independence Day.  But that also sends my brain down a little trail around the word “independence.”  And that’s what I want to talk about today. Independence, as in being free of something.  And free to do something else.

Is there something that you are currently dependent on, or a situation that you are currently in that you seek to be independent from? Let’s consider, is there a situation or relationship that isn’t currently working? And what would we choose instead?

Could you benefit from independence from a habit that is not supporting you? And what would we choose?

And let’s turn it into more positive language – perhaps it’s not independence from something.  But, instead something that you’d like to see improved, enhanced.   As in, if I made these positive changes, I could be independent to do x, y or z.

Whatever that looks like for you. Independence Day.

As I consider Independence, I’m reminded that sometimes we don’t even realize what we are dependent on.  It is more likely that we haven’t identified the habits or things that we need independence from, and less likely that there just aren’t any.

Perhaps it’s a mindset, a way of thinking, that isn’t serving us.

How to?

  • We start with knowing what it looks like when we’re being our best selves.
  • We Identify what is keeping us from being our best selves.
  • We break down those things, habits, ways of being that are in the way and we take action to change them. 
  • And, starting the process all over again. And that’s ok.

We can always be learning and improving.

What is it that you would need to become independent from?  And what are we using our independence for?

As both an organizational coach and a certified professional organizer, let’s use Independence from Our Stuff as an example.

Perhaps you have unhealthy habits around your stuff, and you could benefit from independence from those habits and your stuff!  I subscribe to emails from a woman named Dana White with the Website, YouTube channel etc., “A Slob Comes Clean”.  In her content she talks about her “deslobification” journey and I really respect her insight and perspective of how a disorganized person got organized.  It’s great, if you want to check her out. 

Recently, she was talking about shopping, and how her negative habits around shopping were contributing to her mounting clutter.  She mentioned that she used to go to garage sales and fill up the car all the time with more stuff because she was waiting for stuff to be the answer to her life questions.

She was creating bigger problems for herself by continuing with unhealthy habits.

To break free from the stuff, she also needed to be less dependent on the habits around acquiring more stuff.  If this was you or me in this example, we can see that we need to break free of bad habits to become independent of our clutter.

What if you need to assert your independence from negative thoughts or thinking that isn’t helping you.

Working with a coaching client the other day, we were discussing how her thoughts often get stuck in a rut, just circling or spinning, without a way to move on from that spinning (and leaving her overwhelmed, stressed out, distracted, etc.).

Can you relate?  I can relate.

This client was seeking independence from these swirling negative thoughts because she knew there was more happiness, peace and calm to be found on the other side. 

She is sometimes unhappy, overwhelmed, distracted, etc.  She is SUPER smart, accomplished professionally, has a satisfying personal life… and she still needs independence from her current thinking habits.

Again, can you relate?  I can relate.

As we worked it through. She expressed what is going on in her head. She recognized where she wants to go and how she wants to be, and she recognized she isn’t there yet. She also identified what was holding her back from happiness and peace. And getting a handle on her swirling thoughts would give her the freedom to think how she wants to think.

Anecdotally, we discovered together that writing down the thoughts that were swirling in her head would give her a chance to inspect and organize them and also make a record her learning.  So she wouldn’t have to keep thinking the same thoughts over and over again, and she could think about something else instead.  Sounds like independence to me.

I will say that for me, I have, over time, broken free of or become more independent of my perfectionist tendencies.  That way of being didn’t serve me well. I struggled with perfectionism and therefore procrastination when my kids were really little.  Time management was harder when they were little and  my responsibilities and my time were not my own. But I could change my tendencies and that is what I managed to do.

I am no longer a perfectionist because who has the time?

Was that quick? No.

Was it easy? Probably not, but I don’t remember.

Is it possible? Yes, it absolutely is. And now I can live differently. And better.

But that’s the question I’m asking you today as we celebrate Independence Day, what is it that you would like to become independent from?

What habits are no longer serving you?

What is it time for you to separate yourself from?  Thing. Habit, thought, whatever.

I look forward to hearing what that could be for you. I hope that you are, uh, motivated to think of things like that. I am thinking big thoughts this summer, but that was one that I wanted to share with.

Happy Independence Day, how ever you would like to embrace it!

Re-Entry After Travel: Bumps in the Road

Let’s call this one Re-Entry 2.0, or “Things to do your first 24 hours home!“

We traveled the last week of May for a family wedding in Baltimore.

In the interest of getting the Midwest grandparents (4) to the East Coast wedding, last Fall we rented a 15 passenger van for the event. This was my husband’s idea and it was brilliant. He and I took turns driving on the 11-ish hour trip to and from Baltimore. Seriously, he is brilliant. He even downloaded to his phone the top 100 songs from 1963 as a road-trip soundtrack. Our passengers were happy.

Here is a picture of the bus, or officially, the “Bus (NotSchoolBus)”. I’m calling it a “Bus (NotSchoolBus)” because that is the category type listed for it on the Safety Compliance Certification Label, a.k.a., the door jamb label.

Here's a shot of me and my co-pilot somewhere on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Me and my co-pilot (my son) somewhere on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

The wedding was beautiful and the reception was great! I am so happy for my niece and my new nephew. They are delightful people who deserve every good thing in life. I love the rest of my family, too. There were good times and great memories made. For the most part, every bit of planning yielded the expected and desired results. Lots of laughs, some Euchre (IFKYK), lots of food, adventures, ice cream, hiking and hanging out and of course the wedding!

AND there were a few snags. I will not go into details, but I will say that everyone is fine and now home. However, after two ambulance rides and ER visits, the Courtyard by Marriott Baltimore BWI may never let our family stay there again. Ever. And I don’t really blame them for that.

There were many uncertainties as we returned and some concern that we may have to adjust our travels or even travel back to Baltimore. And because of all the extra unexpected pieces, being intentional about re-entry was more important than ever. Here are suggestions to help you tackle Re-Entry and also set yourself up to succeed and even to travel again!

A cloudy and choppy day in Annapolis, MD

Unpack the car.

All the way. Yes, all the way. This is our usual practice, but it became necessary and not optional because we had to return the bus to the rental company. Everything had to come out of the bus, all luggage, all rubbish was disposed of, etc.

We also might take the car to the carwash and give it a vacuum, if we had traveled in our own car.

Unpack the bags.

All of them. YES, all of them.

You don’t want to wait and find a neglected apple or granola bar in your hiking backpack a few weeks down the road. Or dirty clothes or shoes, etc. Unpack the bags.

I was reminded of how important this step is when I found my mom’s handicap parking hangtag in one of our bags. Did I mention? My family lives in Michigan, and I live in Chicago. Thankfully I found the hangtag right away and it was out via UPS overnight delivery first thing the next morning.

Multiple loads of laundry were started and completed, and the dressier items like suits and dresses were taken to the cleaners.

Put the bags away.

Yes AWAY. All the bags. You could argue that if I was worried that I might have to travel again for an emergency, perhaps it would make sense to leave a suitcase out. And as an organizer, I will say – unless you know you have a trip planned, it never makes sense to leave a suitcase out. Working with so many clients over the years, very often I will walk into a closet or bedroom or basement storage space or garage, and one of the first things we do to make improvements is to put away the luggage that never made it back to its storage space. Such an obvious solution. Take the few extra minutes and put the bags away.

Toiletries: Re-fill and repack, order extras.

I know I have spoken about this step before, in podcasts last Spring and Summer. It was even more important that I re-filled and re-packed my supplies this week, though, in case I need to travel again soon.

Recharge stuff.

I have a power bank that lives in my travel tech bag, and I used it on our adventure. Not knowing what this week might bring, I made sure to re-charge it. I charged my portable keyboard for my IPad for the same reason. My daily habit, travel or not, is to recharge my phone, AirPods, Apple watch and IPad at night so those are good to go whenever.

Buy groceries.

We needed to restock A LOT of items when we got back from our adventures, and I knew that was a necessity even before we left. I planned a trip to Costco for our first day back and I let Costco do the cooking this week (I’m looking at you, rotisserie chicken, stuffed peppers and backed chicken alfredo). Later that day, I placed the Jewel grocery order for all the stuff I don’t buy at Costco. Within 24 hours of arriving home, the cabinets and fridge were back to normal levels.

So this next step is where the Re-Entry 2.0 comes in.

We were gone for 6 days! And it was awesome! As I described in a text today, “Weekend was mostly amazing, with just a few snags”. I can unpack, repack and re-stock. I can re-charge actual batteries.

But… I also need to re-charge metaphorical batteries.

With the few snags, I actually asked for flexibility and grace via email and texts when people needed something from me this week. I don’t usually feel the need to explain myself or excuse a delay, but this week was not a typical week for lots of reasons.

I restocked groceries, purchased prepared foods and I didn’t expect myself or anyone else to cook. I slept. I was very tired. At writing time, I still am. These last few days, I gave up trying to stay up when my brain and body said ‘enough’. I re-committed to most of my healthy habits: hydrated, returned to exercising, healthier food options, etc.. And, I set myself up to succeed in case I was called away out of town again.

Now… I just need to tackle the rest of the to-do list! But that is another episode for another day!

The Daily List Right In Front Of Me

I worked with a new client recently. It was truly a pleasure to meet and work with them. It is great to meet someone who, like many of us, is already on this journey to more intention, more productivity, to figuring out what it is they want to accomplish today and also in life. And who is ready to try different tools to help them do that.

Maybe you have the exact perfect tools to help you do exactly what you want to do, and that’s awesome. Good for you. I love that for you.

I’m there, too, but I’m also always looking for new ideas because I try them out for myself and collect those ideas and share them with all of you, my community.

I worked with two productivity coaching clients this week in their work spaces.

One client realized for themselves in the last month that a daily to-do list could help them get more done, so they are exploring a daily list. This person is a graphic designer, and they created their own visually appealing daily one-page. The list is not too structured. There were check boxes and empty lines so they could write their lists of tasks and projects and intentions and make it completely different for themselves every day, depending on what their day held.

Their process includes printing tomorrow’s form today and taking a few minutes to jot down tomorrow’s plan as they wrap up today. Doing this ahead of time means they are more likely to capture tasks they want to complete first thing in the morning, or perhaps there are timed events on the calendar already that they want to remember, like “8 am, take kids to school”, “10 am, Zoom call with potential client”, “Noon, physically create that product or buy supplies, etc.”

For this client, they also add personal stuff, like take a shower, start some laundry, stop at the grocery, make dinner. You know, the things that we have to do in life.

The other client I worked on the Daily List with is further along in her business and her productivity coaching journey. She has consistent, well established and supportive routines around most of her personal tasks, so her Daily List is specifically for business related items. Many of these items are hosted on digital to-do lists, too, or shared with her assistant, but this client really values this Daily List “in [her] face ALL THE TIME” to keep her on track. (I know she is a listener, so she’s going to know I am talking about her).

And this client and I have worked together over time. She is an established business owner and has figured out more processes and systems. Her personal tasks and routines happen consistently, so her Daily List is for items like: team management and helping the team members to thrive; strategic planning and big picture planning for the company; working with her assistant to plan the week, etc.

When I was first starting my business 21 years ago, I had a wonderful mentor who was already an established professional organizer, Pamela. She shared with me then her daily one-page planning sheet, with areas for calls to make, personal metrics like exercise and water consumption, appointments, tasks, etc. I used a similar form for many years. Now, I use digital tools and reminders, but a good list in my bullet journal – in front of my face – is sometimes what is required for me to get things done on a busy day!

What do all of these people and strategies have in common?

  • Many of us benefit from having visual and tangible reminders in front of our faces!
  • We recognize the value of carving out time today to plan for tomorrow.
  • We make sure to check in with today’s list multiple times a day to keep us on track.

I want to dive a little deeper into a few more important characteristics of the Daily List that will help you succeed.

Realistic Time Estimates.

With one of the recent clients, we discussed realistic time estimates.

I know I have spoken about realistic time estimates in other podcast episodes and articles. It is very important to identify just how long regular tasks take. For example, I believe I take quick showers in the morning. With this article on my mind this morning, I decided to actually time my shower. And if “quick showers” means 5 minutes or so… well, it turns out I DO NOT take quick showers. Or, I take two quick showers, meaning this morning’s shower was more like 10-12 minutes.

Please don’t judge.

But this is useful information. I can use it to form my plan for my day. If someone says “Let’s go do that thing” I can say that realistically, it will take me 20 -30 minutes to get ready, instead of my optimistic (and incorrect) belief that it will take me 10 minutes.

That is just one very simple example. We all have beliefs around how long we think tasks take. Or commutes. Or cooking a meal. But if we don’t factor in the rest of the steps, or if we aren’t aware of how long things really take, we are setting ourselves up to fail.

Time Cushion and Rest.

Another characteristic of a successful Daily List is factoring in rest or at least a time cushion.

I stumble on this one all the time. The Daily List needs to have extra time factored in for transition time, or nature breaks or lunch or even a moment to step outside and breathe some fresh air. There is always more work to be done, but I will get back to it happier and more refreshed if I factor in a little extra time for rest or delays or flexibility.

Identify Routine tasks.

My clients and I also talked this week about our different types of tasks from day to day.

If you like a detailed list, there are economies we can achieve with topping our list with the 5-10 tasks we need to accomplish every day to just survive, aka. our daily routine. “Take shower, brush teeth, work out, take vitamins, eat breakfast, pack lunch”. Perhaps “make bed, start laundry, walk dog”. Basics. But for some of us, we like to cross these tasks off the list, as well, just like the work specific, family specific or other responsibilities. However, we don’t likely need to rewrite them every day. We can park them at the top of the list because they are different than our daily work today.

Priorities.

And once we have figured out how to manage those routine tasks, let’s look at prioritizing the rest of the items on the Daily List.

Maybe it’s just me, but I usually have more on my list than I can possibly get done in a day.

Again, asking you not to judge, here. I know this AND it still happens. So it is very important that at the start of every day, I review the list and determine what can feasibly happen in the time I have today, and then I put the tasks in order of importance and urgency. “Launching my new website” is super important, but will take many more hours than I have today AND no one but me is waiting for that task’s completion. Following up with clients, moving more urgent projects along, taking care of tasks that other people are relying on me to complete so they can do their work – yes, those will end up at the top of today’s list, along with realistic time estimates as to how long I expect the tasks to take.

So, to recap, perhaps you would benefit from a Daily List IN FRONT OF YOU every day. Perhaps it’s paper, perhaps it is digital. You do you. But there are characteristics that will make the Daily List and the process successful:

  • Planning ahead, like the day before, to wrap up today and look at tomorrow.
  • Checking in on the Daily List regularly.
  • Realistic Time Estimates for our regular tasks.
  • Factoring in time cushion and rest.
  • Recognizing the difference between routine tasks and the rest of your Daily List.
  • Prioritized tasks, so that the most important work gets done.

Hope this helps!

“Better than Expected”.

How should I take this statement? “This was better than I expected.”

I feel like I need to talk about this. And I just have to laugh. I had two in-person clients recently who were new to me and to the organizing process. I met a new client this week who is an amazing person. My clients are so cool. I get to meet such great people. This new client is a good human being doing such good things.

I also worked with a new client last week, that particular client is the daughter of an existing client and wanted me to help her with a project.

Two different clients, two different days, two completely different projects. And they both said “This was better than I expected.”

This week’s client had questions about productivity, time management and routines. That is my jam. I love that.

Last week’s client needed in-person organizing of things. She needed help with closets and organizing, with getting her closet organized around her new job and getting ready in the morning in professional clothes. Routines, too, but mostly the physical structure around getting her clothes organized. That was awesome. Such a satisfying project.

And, as I always do, I checked in with my clients as our appointments progressed. We check in around the agenda for the day, the scope of work, their expectations and how they feel we are doing.

Each of them said “Wow, this is not what I expected at all.”

Obviously, my next question always then is,

“Okay, well, is that good or bad?” and then

“What were your expectations, that this is not what you expected?”,

Yes, I do have questions ready to ask when my clients tell me these things, because they are not the first to say it nor will they be the last. Thankfully, they said, and most do, “No, in a good way, as in ‘This is going much better than I expected.'”

Thank goodness.

They meant: it was going well, they were excited about the process and they were really happy with the work that we had accomplished.

I want to acknowledge that even though apparently they were expecting the process to be rough, they still were willing to take the leap and make the appointment. I want to appreciate that they were brave and that even though they thought it might be hard, they were still committed enough to making change and to the process that they wanted to do it anyway. That is major. They could have just not wanted to do that but they stuck with it. I really respect that they were willing to make that happen even though that apparently they thought it was going to be torture.

I would like to dispel some myths around working with a professional organizer or organizational coach.

Myth #1, I will come in and take over the plan.

I will not, I promise. I tell my organizing and coaching clients, “the agenda is your agenda”. The agenda for our appointments is created by my client with my input around what my clients want to create, what my clients want to see happen. The agenda is your agenda.

For example, let’s imagine that you call me and say, “I want to get organized. I want to organize my closets. I want to maximize the storage space in the closet that I have so that I can find the clothes that I need for getting dressed for work in the morning better.” Great. And I’m not going to come in and say, “you called me and want to work in your closet, but now that I am here, I want to organize your kitchen”.

The agenda is your agenda. Keep in mind, we can adjust the agenda if you’d like, but that is also up to you. Sometimes when we’re making good progress, you may say “I’d like to pause this project and get your opinion on these other two spaces in my house before you go.” And we can do that. But you are still creating the agenda. I’m not there to make you do anything you don’t want to do.

Myth #1.5, If you are unclear on your goals, I am going to tell you what to do.

I see this as related to the first myth, and I assure you, we can figure this out together, too.

Perhaps you know you want to get organized, but you don’t know where to start or which projects are most important, etc. And we can figure out that together, too.

Myth #2, You will be judged or shamed for any disorganization.

No, you will not. I promise you. You are awesome. You have many strengths and skills. And I am betting you are more organized than you think. Most of my clients are more organized than they realize.

And if you’re not, that’s ok, too. I am organized, and I am here to help. I’ve heard from many of my clients over the years that they have been shamed or judged for being disorganized. Hear me now, I’m not going to shame you and neither should any other organizer or coach. There is no shame, there’s no judgment. I don’t expect everyone’s space to be organized. If it were, why would you need an organizer?!

What does happen is active listening, which is not judgment. If you’re calling an organizer or a coach, you are hoping to change your situation or environment. That is not judging, that is hearing what you’re saying. And that how your situation currently is not how you want it to be. That you want it to be different, and we work together to make it different. I can help you, and I have dozens of ideas to help. I’m not going to shame you, there is no judgment. I’m not going to yell, shake my finger or turn around and walk away.

Myth #3, “I’m so overwhelmed, I don’t know where to start.”

Well, this might not be a myth, you really might be overwhelmed. But I am not. And I will help us figure out where to start.

Myth #4: “You’re going to make me get rid of everything.”

I hear this one ALL THE TIME. At organizing appointments, at presentations – ALL THE TIME.

My goal is not to make you get rid of things. That may be an outcome, but that is not the broad goal.

Very often the “getting organized” conversation requires that we change things, right? If the current situation isn’t working, then yes, we need to change.

And, at times, that means we have to purge things completely from our home. And sometimes it means our things need to go elsewhere in our home.

For example, last week when I was working with my client on her closet, I didn’t make her get rid of anything. She had already decided that a few things didn’t work for her anymore, style wise, and we set those aside to donate. But for the majority of our time together, we discussed that with the limited space she had for her current clothes, she could separate her clothes by seasons and put the wintry clothes into storage until Fall. She didn’t get rid of it, we just stored it differently.

There were also some seasonal items like Halloween costumes and Christmas pajamas, so we put those away until Fall, too. The few items that left were her idea. Sometimes purging is part of the solution and sometime it is not, and that will be up to you.

Not a Myth, #5: I understand that calling an organizer or a coach is a leap of faith. To let a stranger into your home and your life is a really big deal. I, and any good organizer or coach, is going to go to great lengths to make you comfortable. I respect your brave decision.

Not a Myth, #6: There might be homework. In coaching, there almost always is, even if it is just processing the learning we gain during our sessions. There’s no mandatory homework. There might be things that you and I agree would be really great ways to move you forward, and we can agree that you will accomplish them, for example, in the two weeks before our next appointment so that we can keep making progress. But that is agreed upon, mutually respectfully. Logically, in terms of what you want to accomplish in the timeframe in which you want to accomplish it. Back to the beginning, “the agenda is your agenda”, right?

To recap,

Whatever it is people expect to have happen, more often than not, I hear a “Wow, that went way better” or “that was more fun that I expected” or “this was the first time someone didn’t yell at me about organizing” or “we got so much done in our time together!”.

Thankfully, that’s what I get more than anything is that the session went way differently, but way better than I had expected.

Please ask questions. Let me know what your preconceived notions are so we can talk about them. If you have fears of any kind, reach out and we can talk them through. Don’t let fear of the unknown keep you from taking the leap and making your life better. Organizing and organizational coaching isn’t painful. It is work, to do and be and get better, but it will most likely go better than expected!

May Asks A Lot Of Us

Tell me if it’s just me, because hey – maybe it is. But the month of May asks a lot of us, doesn’t it?

May has a crazy-busy event schedule. I don’t happen to have anybody graduating from anything this year, or any other major life events for my sons this year.  I understand, though, for those who do! We were reflecting over the weekend that two years ago this week, in a 9 day span, the Klimczak household had an engagement in Michigan, a college graduation in Indiana and a high school graduation in Illinois with all of the assorted extra events attached with those as well.  Oh, and a round of Covid, and two sons started new jobs.

May is just busy.  I was talking to an accountability partner on our bi-weekly call last week and she mentioned, aptly, that the pace is wearing on her.  Yes, I would agree.

May asks a lot of us. Even just the typical stuff.

My body clock is shifting from hibernation mode to active mode.  It’s brighter earlier and energy has returned. If anybody has seasonal affective disorder, you know what I mean.

Brightness has returned. We are up earlier and out later in the evening because it’s still daylight.  The biological shift to be out and about and do more things is a real thing.

Days are longer, temperatures are warmer. I planted a container garden so I need to switch my habits this time of year to factor in watering my plants every day.

I also shifted my routine to add daily walking into the schedule first thing since it’s bright earlier.

Energy shifts. Routines shift.

Last week, while I was starting to work on this content, I was driving to pick up my college student son from campus to move him home until August.  I was saying to a friend that even though it is only 56 degrees and cloudy today, it is the beginning of our summer.

It is that shift to summer for us because John moved home and this is his summer break. Like I said, it might not look like summer, but it’s our summer because John is home for summer break and the household and routines shift.

And there is the end-of-the-year school year extravaganzas. I had the opportunity to address the National Junior Honor Society induction ceremony at Central Middle School last week. What a great group of kids. I’m telling you, all those parents and all those kids should be so proud.  End of the school year concerts, graduations, ceremonies. And then the weddings, graduation parties, etc.

Yes, the schedule is revving up. We have a wedding in our family the end of May in Baltimore, and that is a really big deal!

May is often a month of transitions, so it doesn’t surprise me that historically May is “Revise your Work Schedule” Month. 

We change our schedule for biological reasons, in response to the seasons and shifts in daylight. We change our schedules around our different roles in our lives.

I don’t have children in elementary school or high school anymore. But because of my board of education work, I am still attached to the academic schedule. Our last day of classes is the first week in June.

So, let’s take a look at how to manage all of this.

The first step is the awareness that it’s happening. Awareness that it’s “That Time of Year”. Awareness that, thankfully, things are also wrapping up at the same times that other things are getting started. When my kids were younger, we would add in Spring and Summer sports to the calendar and then school year responsibilities would slowly taper off.  Maybe you have responsibilities that only happen in the winter. Many groups and meetings take summer breaks. My choir at church breaks for the summer. Responsibilities shift, and in some ways, the load is lightened, which is nice.

Awareness. Awareness. Awareness. Identify if it’s happening, and that it is happening to you. Take this as an opportunity to make changes if you’d like. 

Since culturally and biologically things are shifting anyway, you could also take advantage of this as an opportunity to choose to make some shifts for yourself. And so how do we do that? How do we make those shifts?

Start with awareness.

In my call last week with my accountability partner, she mentioned that writing up the report for our call helped her review what she had accomplished in the last two weeks and also what she hopes to accomplish in the next two weeks. That is how our sessions work.

Our accountability calls was a good way for her to get her thoughts out of her brain and on to paper (or in an email) where she could put them in order for herself.

I mentioned the same to her, that the wall full of post-it notes that had been next to me, as a product of a very professional busy couple of last couple of weeks, have been taken down as the tasks have been completed, and the wall is now clear.

As I said, awareness that it’s happening. And what to do about it.

Grab a calendar, paper or digital.  In my accountability call, I stated I would pull out a paper calendar so I can visualize the next three months. I will map out when we travel in the next three months. For the wedding, for a week in Michigan, taking my son back to college, concerts and other scheduled events. Putting the big boulders on the calendar and making sure that the big stuff gets taken care of helps us determine what we else we can say yes to and what we can’t.

Also, grabbing that calendar and the to do list and getting all of the ideas out of our brains and into a usable form really helps. Yes, now is the time. So I’m saying that out loud for you and for me.

Then look at the tasks attached to transitions.  I spoke to graduating 8th graders and their parents, right? They are heading off to high school in a few short months, and these kinds of transitions have other tasks and steps attached to them.  The book list – perhaps summer reading? The supply list. What do we need, clothing-wise? Sports physicals and Fall sports training that starts on August 1?  What do we need to do to start to embrace the new calendar or schedule? What are the things that we can do now to get us better ready for that transition in the fall? Plotting those on the calendar is super important.

These are all important things to think about, and they’re kind of the next natural progression of these major lifestyle shifts now.

We should be busy enjoying the successful ends of some things, but remembering that with the ending of one thing often comes the beginning of something else.

My son moved home for the summer after a really great semester, but in August he will move into an apartment and we will need to do some planning now for that then. We have to start looking at what does he need to be more independent when he moves into his apartment in August. And that is not a question to ask in August. That’s a question to ask now, or as soon as possible.

At least when your mom’s an organizer, I guess it is. Just some things to think about!

To recap:

  • Be aware that transitions are happening.
  • Make some decisions for yourself about how you want things to go.
  • Grab a calendar and look forward to the next 3 months-ish.
  • Grab that to-do list and make some notes and plans to make the transitions go more smoothly, and also to set yourself up to succeed when transitions come again.

I’m wishing you a great May, a great start of summer.

I hope you take time to celebrate events and milestones, that you take time to plan some relaxing times for the next few months.  Transitions are inevitable, but how can we embrace them and act on them and take an active and intentional hand in crafting them so they don’t just happen to us. They are things that we make happen in the way that we want to make them happen. And I hope that with a little planning now, you can embrace the transitions and the adjusted schedule for summer with as much ease and joy as possible.

Success Requires Practice. A Lot Of Practice.

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I can’t believe I am saying this, but I recently published my 500th blog article.

That is noteworthy, at least to me. I could never have predicted, all those years ago, when I started publishing blog articles that I would have stuck with it for this long. Or I couldn’t have predicted way back when on which day, far away in the future, that I would publish my 100th, or 300th or 500th article. And, by the way, that day was April 15th, 2024.

My first blog post was on May 19, 2010.

I vacillate most days between either wanting to take down old posts that have become outdated due to technology advances or life changes for me, or wanting to leave every post up forever because they’ve become a journal or diary of sorts. I will most likely leave them be.

2010 seems a long time ago. My sons, now 19, 24 and 26, were 5.5, 10 and 12. Personally, my organizing questions then were much different than my organizing questions now. And my business has certainly grown and changed in those 14 years. Next month I will celebrate my 21st year in business. Wow.

I started my company as a mother of two small boys who wanted more flexibility in her schedule than an office job downtown could provide. Soon after, I had our third son. My company survived the economic downturn in 2008 and a global pandemic in 2020. I was doing my end of the month bookkeeping the other day, and my monthly numbers are back up to pre-pandemic levels and beyond. That is very exciting. And more importantly, I am serving and reaching more people than ever, and those numbers are truly more important that the monetary numbers any day.

But today I want to talk about the How. As in, how does one publish 500 articles in 14 years? Which averages out to 36- ish articles a year.

But to the How? With consistency and practice.

And that is where I want to go today.

You may not know this about me, or maybe you do – In addition to being a certified professional organizer, I am also a board member for my local Board of Education. And this week, I get to address our middle school National Junior Honor Society at their formal induction ceremony. When this podcast episode drops, they will have already heard this speech. They deserve to hear it first.
It’s for them.

But as I pondered today what I wanted to say to the students this week, and that in my podcast and newsletter, I wanted to share that I have hit the 500th article milestone, the two topics came together.

So, here’s my advice to our National Junior Honor Society members, and the rest of us, too, about consistency and practice.

Good evening, students, parents and special guests, staff and administrators.

Students, I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak to you this evening. Thank you, Mrs. Gibbons.

We have to practice what we hope to be.  Let’s start there.

Greatness, or success or healthy habits or athletic prowess or anything we want to achieve is not going to just happen. Sorry. But it will not just happen by accident. These accomplishments will not happen by chance, and they certainly won’t happen overnight or in an instant. Consistency and practice are key.

Now, please understand me, I love happy accidents. I love serendipitous events. Where what went into that event yielded amazing and unexpectedly awesome results! But we can’t count on those to happen. That’s what makes them accidents. So we need to work, for ourselves, on what we want to achieve. And not leave it up to chance.

Some of you may have natural talents like music or athletics or creative writing or being a great friend. Those are amazing, of course! And, we can still always improve.

You may not know this, but I sing professionally. I have been singing and playing the flute since I was in elementary school, just like some of you. And now, I get paid to do it, how cool is that? I was rehearsing over the weekend for a gig, and I was reminded that we have to practice for what we want to achieve. I needed to learn new songs and I had to practice to keep my breathing strong and to not stumble over awkward words. I put in the work so I can consistently achieve my desired results.

I also direct a choir at my church, and when we’re rehearsing together and someone makes a mistake – including me – we all brush it off and learn from it and then we move on. That’s why we rehearse, to make our mistakes and learn from them and get better, so when we perform for real, we are ready. I say that often to my choir, “That’s Why We Rehearse!”

And the more we practice, the better we’re going to get.

My challenge to you today is to make your days a practice of being good students or athletes, of being a good friend, a good human being, of being good leaders. Consistently practice being a good You.

As NJHS members, you have the opportunity to be leaders in your school community, in our Evergreen Park community and in our global community. I do, too. We have the opportunity to make our communities better, and the lives of the people in our communities better.

How amazing is that?! And we get to do that every day. That’s what leadership means, that we have the opportunity to make things better and that we should use that opportunity to do so.

National Junior Honor Society is a group of leaders. You have proven through academic achievement and service that you have the commitment, desire and consistency required to continue to be better and to help our community to be better.  

Better looks different for different people, and that’s okay. I’m not suggesting that we have be perfect. Ever. That’s ridiculous. Some days are rough, and we learn from those, too, and come back stronger from the learning. But we can always be better. Better than yesterday, but not as great as we will be tomorrow. We can always strive for better. Not perfect, not even great or good some days, but always better.

And so we have to practice consistently to make that happen.

Consistent practice towards a goal teaches us how to learn. I say to my choir that I love the professional challenge that comes with having to learn a new song.  We learn how to learn.  

Learning will never stop. It shouldn’t ever stop. 

When we stop learning, we stop growing.

We can practice learning.  We can practice being curious. We can practice being open.  We can practice appreciating others. 

Because here’s a secret. Even though we’re the leaders, we never stop learning from others. Ever. 

More over, we should seek to learn from others. 

We shouldn’t just let it happen. That’s one of those practice items, right? That’s why we rehearse. 

We should actively seek to learn from others. Actively learn. Actively practice what it is we want to achieve. Actively try to be better every day. Because we can consistently practice at being a good You and Me.

I congratulate you this evening.

I appreciate you. 

I seek to learn from you. 

I can’t wait to see what the next academic year brings and beyond. 

And I’m here with you. I can’t wait to be here with you on this journey. I’m willing to help however I can.

Thank you for your time, and congratulations.

Thanks for sticking with me to the end. I love having the opportunity to speak to our students, they are an amazing group of people. I take my responsibilities to my school district and students very seriously, and my commitment to you, my community, seriously as well. And my wish for all of us is to keep improving every day, in big and small ways, with consistent practice towards Better.

How To Not Get Distracted

A participant at a recent presentation asked me how to stay focused on her organizing projects.

She was talking about it in this context: if you’re already working on a project, how to make sure you actually stay in the space where you are working, and not get distracted and leave the space.

Or, if you do get distracted, how to make sure you come back.

I mention in my presentations that we don’t want to be butterflies when we organize. Flitting from room to room and project to project without purpose or focus. We end up in a different room, nothing has been accomplished and we’re not sure where the last few hours went!

This is a great question, and I hear this question a lot. And I know it resonated with other people attending the same presentation.

Yes, There are many strategies we can use to stay focused on our organizing projects and anchored to the space and the work. Some of these strategies can include:

  • Start the project with all of your tools and supplies with you. We can easily get distracted if we keep having to run to different parts of the house for garbage bags, a pen, tape, boxes, etc. Gather your tools and supplies first.
  • Bring in a friend and have them work with you. Perhaps you can swap organizing sessions – your closet this weekend and their closet next weekend!
    • This particular participant had attended the presentation with her sister, so I used the two of them as an example.
    • And a reminder, this is called body doubling, having a person working near you to set that example and help you stay focused.
      • That’s one of the benefits of working with an organizer, that body doubling component.
      • You can also take advantage of body doubling virtually, if you and a friend want to facetime each other while working on projects to chat and process your decision making, tell stories about items, etc.
  • Make the space enjoyable to be in. Turn on music, add a fan or a space heater, turn on the lights and open up the windows. Bring in a favorite beverage, non alcoholic, of course. Let’s do what we can to make this a more pleasant experience.
  • Make yourself some promises! Make sure you have some kind of reward planned for the end of your work session, the end of the project, etc.
  • One of my favorite strategies is to Set timers:
    • One thing that I do with my clients and myself is set a timer and tackle a project in really small bursts.
    • So I may set a timer for 20 minutes and see how much I can get done in that time until the timer goes off.
    • Sometimes I’m feeling so motivated after those first 20 minutes that I will set it for another 20 minutes and stick with it, or I will turn off the timer altogether and just say, oh, I’m doing great here. I can’t wait till I’m finished, so I’m just going to keep plugging along.

I want want to dig a little deeper today on this focus and attention question from both an organizing and also an organizational coaching perspective. Because if we often get distracted, we also have to unlearn that habit. And we need to re-learn healthier and more productive habits.

Breaking distraction habits and learning more productive ones instead is absolutely possible, but not without a plan and some strategies!

I’ll use my current situation as an example.

I started writing this content on a Sunday afternoon while I was also planning to do some batch cooking for the week. I prepped and chopped and assembled. I now have chili on the stove, simmering. I have 2 meatloaves in the crockpot. In addition, I have a rotisserie chicken from Costco that will be turned into dinner a little later. And between those three things, I will have meals for many days this week.

I like to batch-cook, and I especially love the results of cooking multiple meals at a time because it makes my life easier during the week. HOWEVER, there are days when I am cooking and I’ve been in the kitchen for a while, and all I want to do is be anywhere but in the kitchen.

I feel that very strongly sometimes. Like when it has been a lot of work, on top of a busy day. And all I want to do is be anywhere else. I want to go read a book. I want to go do something other than cook. I want to be anywhere else. But I also stop the impulse on that one because I know that sticking with the kitchen project for just a few more minutes – finishing the clean-up, putting the last few dishes in the dishwasher and wiping down the counters – is the better course of action. And then I can take a longer break, right?

Instead of responding to that misguided impulse to be anywhere else and leaving the work undone, I recognize the impulse, and I remind myself that if I stay just a few more minutes, I will be completely done instead of almost done, and I can enjoy my well earned rest a little more.

Let’s break that down.

  • Recognize the impulse, the distraction, the desire to go and do something else.
  • And stop for a minute and think it through.
    • Do I really need to be somewhere else right now, or am I just bored with this? Or, I’m tired, there are other things I also need to do, etc.

Let’s face it, there could be lots of reasons why I don’t want to be doing that project anymore, and it would be tempting to leave.

But – again – if I realize the distraction, and remind myself to stick with it just a few more minutes, I can be completely done instead of just almost done, and then I can enjoy that rest a little more, or I can go and do something else with a clear conscience.

We recognize and then examine the impulse and decide if it’s just an impulse or if it’s actually a good idea. And usually, we’re better of just sticking with the task a few more minutes, and we’ll get the job done.

I think I say this every week lately, but we start with Awareness, awareness, awareness!

Another more specific way to fight distraction and stay focused on a project is to zoom in on your task. As in, narrow your focus on the project in front of you.

I’ve been working with a new client for a few months now. Recently we were going through papers from 2015. This happens a lot, no judgement. She moved offices at work and at home and there were a number of things that were bundled up, and because there wasn’t anything truly pressing or important in there, they just kind of got shuffled aside. We came across a to-do list from years ago. She read it and then laughed and shared it with me, her organizer. And it says at the top, “declutter”.

A great idea and to-do and intention, but it’s just word on a piece of paper at that point.

My suggestion would be to get more specific on what “declutter” entails, or what “get organized” looks like. If we don’t get more specific, those things are never going to actually happen.

One way to stay to on task or focused on a project is to make your action ridiculously specific. So instead of just saying get organized or declutter, let’s try this: I want to complete some organizing projects for spring. In the first hour that I have today, I will will review my closet and dresser and my clothes. When I’m done with that, I want to re-pack the items in the furnace room that we’ve set aside for my college student to move into an apartment in the Fall. And after that, I want to review the bottom drawer of my office file cabinet and shred items from more than 4 years ago, now that our taxes are filed.

Right? So all of those items would be on the list and on the task list, but it would be far more specific than get organized or declutter.

And when we can look at big projects in terms of being a series of small projects, it makes it easier for us to stay focused on those projects so we can see results.

For example, let’s say – I’m going to organize the basement this weekend. But what if your basement is huge and a hot mess? You could say instead, “I’m going to organize the shelves in the laundry room, and then I’ll review all the old paint on the floor by the door, and then I will review the towels and toiletries in the downstairs linen closet by the bathroom.”

If we don’t narrow our focus, it’s no wonder we can get distracted. Breaking down big tasks into smaller tasks help us to feel motivated, fight the impulse to get distracted, and helps us to see results. And positive results keep us coming back!

I get the “How TO Stay On Track” question from my coaching clients as well, and some of the strategies are the same!

My coaching client may say “I want to get organized”, and I will say – awesome! But let’s get specific. What does that look like? What results do you seek? What are actions you can take every day, and how can I support you in taking them?

ZOOOOMing in, narrowing in, focusing in to stay motivated:
Does getting organized mean getting more done in your day? Switching your work and bill paying over digital and online? Figuring out your family’s schedule for the summer? Planning a trip and figuring out what that looks like for you and your family? Getting a handle on your health and wellness? Organizing the physical space in your home, of course?

Yep, we can do that. We can do all of those things, but we can’t just start with a global “OK, I want to get organized”. The first thing that we would ask in a coaching session would be to bring that into what can we accomplish in today’s session? What can we accomplish, you know, in the next 30 minutes that will help you to activate those ideas on your own, you know, in the next week or two before we speak again.

ZOOOOMing in. We can do lots of things, but we have to bring it in and we have to get specific. Because that will help us to stay motivated and anchored to the work.

When we get specific and break things down into smaller bits, it means we actually start to feel some accomplishment as we complete those smaller bits. We can track progress, we can see improvements. We can remind ourselves of our progress if we get distracted or we get off track. Um, all of those things, uh, are, again, tools to help us to stay on track, and if we get distracted, to get back on track as well.

And we can break the distraction habit and use these strategies to get back on track. Because distractions will come! But we’re bigger and better than our distractions.

“My Tree Has Leaves!” What Do You Need, To Thrive?

“My tree has leaves!”

I stood in my dining room this morning and exclaimed this excitedly out loud to absolutely no one.

I was drinking my coffee and gazing out my newly washed (over the weekend) front windows and admiring the sunshine and realized my new little tree has leaves! This is noteworthy, trust me.

You see, we had a tree in front of our house for many years. He was so beautiful in the Fall that people would stop and ask if they could pick up some of his leaves because they were so brilliantly colored.

And then, after one of those years with blight or borers, he wasn’t doing so well. We did what we could to help him out for a few years, fertilizer and extra water, etc., but his days were numbered, and eventually our village’s arborist said the tree needed to go before the tree hurt someone or someone’s car if he fell over, or infected other trees.

So we had the tree cut down. We liked having a tree in the front yard, though, so the next Spring we had another tree planted. This new tree had two seasons to thrive, but he never did. The second season, I think he had one leaf. Just one. Sadly, he, too, had to go.

We were assured that our yard and the placement and the type of tree were not the problems, that more likely that particular sapling wasn’t healthy. Fast forward to last Fall when we had another tree installed. Hope springs eternal, right? And since he was installed in the Fall after leaves fell, we had no way of knowing if he was healthy or not. But he is! And now that Spring is here, he has leaves! Now you know why I was rejoicing!

I heard a statement many months ago and it has stuck with me. It was a Facebook reel or tik-tok, and I don’t remember who said it, so if you know and can tell me, I will cite it appropriately. Here’s the quote – “Seeds aren’t lazy and neither are you.”

Meaning, if a seed doesn’t grow, we don’t say the seed is lazy. No one tells the seeds they are lazy. And if you aren’t flourishing, it’s probably not because you’re lazy. Seeds aren’t lazy and neither are you.

What is more likely is that the seed and you don’t have what is needed to thrive.

Like my original tree or my first little sapling. After my original tree was weakened, we tried to support him but he was too far gone. And my first little sapling – well, I have no idea why he didn’t thrive but we were assured that the environment we provided would support a sapling, just not that one apparently.

We can ask what a tree needs – a hospitable environment, the right climate, sunshine, water, opportunity. And patience. And then we step back and let it grow.

Sometimes, a plant can receive too much care. Yes, that is a possibility. Metaphorically and actually.

A couple summers ago, I had what I thought were fruit flies. Except – we don’t leave fruit or any other food out on the counter. And the fruit fly solutions according to the internet, like vinegar and dish soap in a jar or the cool ultraviolet fan thing I bought on Amazon, did not work. And the fruit flies were on my houseplants. So after a little more googling, I determined that the reason the anti-fruit fly solutions weren’t working was because what I thought were fruit flies were fungus gnats. Which I feel sound monumentally more disgusting. But, I digress.

The solution to the fungus gnats, by the way, was to water my plants less and also use a peppermint spray from Amazon that cleared up the gnats in a week. It turns out, you CAN care too much. I was apparently overwatering. I cared a little too much.

Taking the metaphorical leap, often we need to adjust our supports or environment to help us grow. Sometimes we don’t have what we need to thrive, either not enough or too much! And sometimes we just aren’t in the right situation.

Awareness. Awareness. Awareness.

For us to flourish, we may need to take a moment or some time to review where we are, what we need, what we don’t need, and how we will know we are flourishing. But what do we do with that statement? I always want to recommend actionable steps that we can apply this week, or whatever week you are listening to this episode!

Sticking with the plant theme, I will share that I am a joyous but indifferent gardener. I love to plant veggies and herbs and to care for them outside in the summer. I like the “getting my hands in the dirt” and “puttering in the garden” parts of gardening, they are fun and relaxing to me. I also love the “using fresh veggies and herbs from the garden in my cooking” part, I find that fun, too, and it supports my desire to eat healthy and well.

It seems that in my garden and in life, we can walk through the process for a better yield, whether that is tomatoes or priorities or productivity or whatever it is we’re looking to improve! And as I write this article, I realized that last week’s PACT goals article could have been all about gardening, too – the process and not a once-and-done event!

To review, PACT goals stand for: Purpose; Action; Continuous; and Trackable.

Let’s start with our Purpose. For example, I can say “I want to be a better gardener.” And in this example, “better” means more yield per plants.

Next, I need to determine my Actions. I can educate myself by talking to other gardeners (who actually know what they are doing!), reading books or reading up on-line. Once I know more, I could choose to plant dozens of types of vegetables this summer and hope that some of them work out. OR, I could narrow in on fewer types of vegetables and get better at those specifically. Given my small back yard, I will choose to focus on a few types of vegetables and get better at those specifically. For example, I love growing (and eating!) tomatoes but my plants didn’t produce much of anything last year. So I need to learn and take new actions!

Once I know more, I can decide and then act to water more often or less, provide more sun or less, more or less pruning, etc. I can pay attention to what other inputs or supports I can use to improve my outputs. I always use physical supports like a tomato cage, because sometimes we all need more support!

Continuous care is required for plant success. Once I know what actions to take, I need to be consistent with taking them! I will add morning gardening into my summer morning routine, to water and tend. And I will be ready to observe and adjust my regular activities, too, based on progress. And I can track the progress, like plant height, growth, number of flowers (that will turn into tomatoes later), and yield at the end of the season, to learn from the process.

Well-intentioned care, not too much and not too little, and a supportive environment will help my little sapling and my garden grow this summer. Goal setting, and PACT goals specifically, can help us flourish by determining the right supports for us and what we want to achieve, the routine and habits around implementing those supports, and how to make adjustments to be successful.

I took a walk last evening, and I noticed the two trees in front of a neighbors house have the same red-brown leaves my little leafy sapling has (I believe he is a maple). These two trees tall and full and gracious, sharing their shade and beauty with the neighborhood. That is what I want for my little tree and, metaphorically, what I want for you as well. Have a great week!

PACT: A Different Way To Set Goals

It’s a new quarter, a new season. Today, and any day, really, is a great day to check in with your progress towards your goals.

And I want to have a new and different conversation about goals today because I have a cool new concept to share!

I had to chuckle – on this morning’s accountability call, I mentioned to my partner that I was writing an article about PACT goals for today’s podcast. And… I admitted that I started it two weeks ago, and I didn’t get it done in time to record last week. Because I had a million other things to do last Monday (like, for REAL!).

Irony? That I didn’t meet a goal to write about goals because I couldn’t / didn’t dedicate the time to get it done? Yes, I think so.

As I set my goals for Q2 in April, I glanced at my goals for Q1 of 2024, and some were “once-and-done’s”. 

  • Complete the surgical procedure on my nose – done.  (Focus Area Health and Wellness)
  • Lent and Easter, liturgically with my parish and my choir – done! (Focus Area Service)
  • Attend a specific concert on March 29  – done (and it was awesome). (Focus Area Personal / Supporting Independent Art)

However, some of the goals require more of a process, and I have goals from Q1 that migrated to Q2:

  • Make progress towards coaching certification by recording coaching clients for an upcoming deadline.
  • Make progress on a major project I am working on for NAPO, the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals.
  • Attend 12 live music / independent artist concerts in 2024 (one a month).

And I would guess, you have a similar blend of once-and-done goals and also progress goals. In past articles and podcase episodes, we have talked about SMART goals, and I LOVE a good SMART Goal!  A SMART goal is:

  • Specific,
  • Measurable,
  • Attainable,
  • Relevant and
  • Time Specific

For example, here’s a SMART goal:

“I will publish new blog articles and podcast content every week this quarter until I reach 500 posts by June 1, in celebration of my company’s 21st anniversary in June.” This is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and has a time frame attached.

Now, how will I accomplish this goal? This is NOT a once-and-done goal or event since it will take consistent effort for the next 7 weeks to accomplish.

Last Spring, I wrote an article and recorded a podcast Episode about Metrics. 

Metrics In The Dentist Chair!

Metrics are quantifiable items we can measure, to determine progress. Achieving our goal is amazing!  Success is grand, for sure. But it is also an event.  It is a snapshot moment – goal achieved!  Done!  But more often, the work continues.

To make the goals and the work happen, from day to day, we need to bring the waypoints closer in.  We need manageable portions to bite off on a daily or weekly basis in addition to that one big goal we will accomplish at the end of a predetermined amount of time.

Enter – PACT goals. PACT goals are the tool within a tool, the intentional and incremental goals within a big, lofty SMART goal. Per Julie Simpson on Hire.com, “What are PACT Goals? The Lesser-Known Technique to Set Smarter Goals”, PACT “is a goal-setting technique that focuses on output rather than the outcome”.

PACT stands for

  • Purpose,
  • Actions,
  • Continuous and
  • Trackable.

It seems then, that often, the journey is the point.

Sometimes we need to set PACT goals to give us the support to meet our SMART goals. And sometimes we need to use PACT goals to create better habits for forever.

Let’s break this down! Purpose. Actions. Continuous and Trackable. I like the idea of continuous movement towards our goals. Let’s use my Publication Goal above as an example.

The question of “Purpose” is important for setting goals. We want to know that we are achieving what we want to achieve. That just makes sense. We want to know our purpose and we want to be purposeful (think “intentional”). And once we figure out what we are awesome at and what we are meant to do in life, as in what we want to do intentionally with our time in small and large pieces, then that’s our purpose.

When we set purposeful goals, we want to know that what we’re seeking to achieve aligns with who we are, what we want in life, etc.. And publishing high quality and supportive content for my community definitely aligns with my professional goals.

At a class last week, I heard the nicest feedback! A participant said ” You bring such positive energy!”. Yep, that’s the plan! And when it comes to our goals, we want to be purposeful, we want to be intentional, and to know that the goal that we are setting fits into the context of who we are and what we want in life.

And since success towards my publishing goal is not something I can just knock out the day before my June 1 deadline, I need to be intentional on how I spend my time in the next 7 weeks. I need to PURPOSEFUL in my actions.

And, on to Action! Action, because we’re talking about goal setting here, right? We’re talking about making progress. We’re talking about moving forward. All of those words are active words.

Progress requires action almost all the time. What are the actions that we need to take to move us towards our PACT goals? Working towards the publication goal, my actions have included in the last week spending 30 minutes each day on the project:

  • Review my voice memos on my phone, rename them and send them as an attachment to my email.
  • Upload to the transcription service that I use and have all the unpublished memos transcribed.
  • Match up all the voice memos / transcriptions with my list of published articles and podcast topics, and delete any duplicates.
  • Add the unpublished topics to my editorial content calendar.

And now that I know what I want to write about and publish, I will carve out an hour on the calendar 3 – 4 days a week for writing / editing.

And, since PACT goals need to be trackable, every one of those steps I listed above is trackable with metrics. I went from 30 voice memos down to 10. I went from 45 transcriptions down to 11. I increased, after deleting many duplicate topics, from 20 to 35 topics on my editorial calendar. And now I can track “writing minutes” weekly as progress towards the goal. Action.

Next up, and forever – Continuous.

Purpose and Actions are easy to see, but I think what sets PACT goals apart are the Continuous and Trackable aspects.

Let’s talk about continuous and trackable. Using as an example, my goal of publication by June 1. I’ve set my intentions, I have determined my actions. Now I need to do them! What would continuous progress look like towards my goal look like? I can determine that, and then make the progress towards that goal. And beyond, of course, because I have a waypoint, a milestone in mind, but I certainly won’t stop writing after the June 1 deadline.

I need to take action every day or multiple times a week. Continuous might not mean every minute of every day, but it certainly will mean regular consistent, continuous progress towards the goal.

Perhaps a wellness goal is a good example, too – 30 minutes of cardio 5 times a week is purposeful, continuous and trackable action, and a habit that will help you for life. As I mentioned earlier, sometimes the journey is the point.

Finally, let’s talk “Trackable”.

How do we make progress happen? How do we measure progress and not just “I’m feeling better about the process” or “I am less stressed with writing”, or “I am having more fun”.

“Progress” is sometimes difficult to quantify. But when we determine our purpose and actions, and the interval which makes them continuous, we can track progress. In my example, I can track articles published, words written, minutes or hours worth of writing or editing, engagement with my readers by number of likes or shares, etc. These are trackable items. Which also means, I can track improvements from week to week by paying attention to trends in the tracking.

How far have you come? What have you accomplished so far? Reviewing your tracking, what can you do to improve the process?

In addition to catching up on my writing process, which is what my actions in the past week were about, I can also track my progress moving forward. I have re-set my content process and will continue with these new strategies for a few weeks. And then I can look and see if my output has improved over that time. If it has – yeah! If it has not, I probably need to review and adjust my strategies.

To Review:

Setting PACT goals is a strategy that focuses on the process and not just the end product. We can use PACT goals with SMART goals, as the support to accomplish our SMART goals. OR we can use PACT goals as a method of continuous improvement. PACT stands for Purpose, Action, Continuous and Trackable, and can be used to help us focus on the process of progress and not just the event of achieving a goal.

I hope you found this helpful. If you would like to comment, please share with me on social media or drop me an email at colleen@peaceofmindpo.com, or drop me a DM on one of my social media platforms. I can’t wait to hear about how PACT goals helped you move forward.