Staying Productive in Times of Transition

Times of transition? Are you crazy? Aren’t we always in transition? YES! Things in our lives are constantly changing, we are constantly changing, our children, our jobs, our spouses..constantly in flux in one way or another. Yes, even Professional Organizers have to stop and refocus to improve their productivity.
Recently, I began offering some items for sale on Etsy, and in doing so, I had to change my focus from a referral based marketing system, to producing a good. This production was really stressful for me. I had to change the way I used my accounting systems, I had to focus on marketing to customer in different ways, and ultimately, I had to change my entire business model to account for the sale and manufacture of goods. Stress galore!
Then, on top of that, I had a really hard time focusing in on what needed to be done next. This really kept me up late at night and stressed me out.

These are the steps and tips I used to make myself more productive:
1. I calmed down and took a breath. I told myself that I could do it and that I needed to focus. By vocalizing this need, I was able to start doing what I needed to do. I defined my path.
2. Next, I sat down with a pencil and paper and wrote down all of the things I needed to do. And I kept writing. I kept this list with me always. This helped me keep track of and measure what I needed to do. Once I had a good list, I put all of the items on Post-it Notes. Yes…Post-its. I put them on my wall so that I could move them around and visualize their priority.
3. Once the functions and priorities were defined, I made a master to-do list. This meant that I needed to stop multi-tasking. What…stop multi-tasking, Ms. productive?? Yes! Focus means no more multi-tasking. Sorry folks.
4. Having a master to-do list really put me on the path to getting things done. This actually stressed me out more. Now that I knew what needed to be done, I had to perform. To make sure this happened, I blocked time out of my day each day to work on one aspect of my business to assure that the things I needed to do got done. I made sure that I worked in an area of my home that was quiet and without distraction. I didn’t start laundry or clean toilets. Nothing else was done.
5. I also found that regular intervals were better for me that long marathons on the weekends. When I scheduled long sessions on the weekends, I found that my schedule was intterupted more frequently. I found that consistency was key with 60-90 minute work sessions. This really helped me to not burn out.
6. Last, I managed to celebrate my successes. I proudly showed my work to friends and family and described m work with detail. This small last step really made the work I was doing feel real, and the support I gained by allowing my family to see what I was doing gave me a great feeling of accomplishment.

So the biggest piece of advise about change I can give is to slow down, and get excited,. but not too excited. A methodical sense of the forthcoming change allows the mind to focus on the path and not the change itself. I cannot, however, stress enough that preparation is key. Take the time to lay out what needs to be done. At the same time, don’t let it derail your goals.
A well thoughtout plan is half done.

My Mission

As a professional, and an organizer, I feel strongly that one must have a Mission Statement. In any Mission Statement, as defined by Entrepreneur.com is “A sentence describing a company’s function, markets and competitive advantages; a short written statement of your business goals and philosophies.” 

So, in a few words, my Mission and the Mission of Harmony Organizers, is to make the lost places of our homes.

My function is to organize and declutter homes to make them useful to the owner, in whatever form that takes. My advantage is that I come from a chronically disorgnanized home, so I know what all of those feelings surrounding it feel like. For so many people, shame, guilt and feelings of anxiety overwhelm the urge to reach out and ask for assistance. I always say assistance because using words like “help” imply that a wrong doing has been done, or that the individual asking is somehow beneath. I never feel that way.

When I enter a client’s home, I don’t see a mess; I don’t see the dust. I immediately see all of the possibilities with new eyes. What I do see with those new eyes, though, is that shame. I see the, “How did I let it get this way?” look. But you know, this happens to us all. We all go through periods of our lives when things get hectic. Sometimes for short periods, sometimes for long periods. Children happen. Work shifts change. Moves, holidays, depression, fights, weekends away, whatever the trigger….they happen to the best of us.

My Mission today is to tell you that you have an ally. You found me!