Can you feel it?

Autumn is falling around us. We’re entering the final quarter of the year as of September 22 (vernal equinox) – and entering the season of wrapping-up. Reaping. Closure.

Granted, closure can happen any time of the year. But there’s something about the cool nights, longer shadows, and turning leaves that puts me in a mind to notice the pull of endings.

Creating closure

When you’re creative, learning to integrate the rhythms of closure can bring more depth and sustainability to your work. Allowing yourself to mindfully end a project helps you reap the lessons and celebrate the significance of your work.

Personally, I have a hard time with this. I forget. I find the creating (springtime) part of the process so invigorating, I sometimes leap in headlong without looking back. Not only does that leave piles of unfinished residue in my wake, it deprives me of the opportunity to honor my discoveries and the path I took to get where I am now.

Harvest

It’s fall 2009. At the moment, I’m bringing closure to:

• the belief that I have to run my business all by myself
• an existence without health insurance
• my Dream Office/Wish Kit class
• the content of my old 2008 Inspired Organizing program
• working 72 hours per week while withholding self-nourishment

I feel a mix of things as I notice where I’m inviting closure. I feel a few pangs. I’m moving toward good things, but it’s so powerful to notice where I’ve been.

Celebration

The other part of this process is acknowledgment and celebration. Although Thanksgiving isn’t for a while yet, gratitude doesn’t have to be reserved for one day in November.

In this season of closure and harvest, I’m celebrating past and recent accomplishments like…

• asking for and receiving a pay increase at my part-time job
• filling my upcoming Inspired Organizing class with 11 (12?) amazing women
• deepening several friendships and finding support there for my heart
• gaining clarity about my spiritual path
• making conscious, significant strides toward paying down my debt

I suppose there are some who prefer to stay in perpetual creating mode – forever summer – and resist the pull of reflection. I certainly do sometimes.

I invite you to notice – and share if you like -

• What’s ending in your work and life right now?
• What are you harvesting that is worthy of acknowledgment?

6 comments

Beauty isn’t just for the rich and famous

You might have wondered what on earth art is doing in the middle of a newsletter about organizing. Technically nothing. Nothing, that is, if your goal is to have nothing more than a meticulously, painfully spotless workspace.

If you want a workspace that inspires you, though, beauty is of tremendous creative and energetic value.

A good example of functional beauty

Since several readers asked, I’m coming clean about the about the blue rose wallpaper in my office mentioned in the last newsletter.

Really (no offense intended to my landlord), the stuff is horrid. The pattern is blue-on-blue clusters of roses that stagger up the wall in diagonal lines. The paper was hung so the rose bunch patterns don’t line up at the edges. When we first looked at the house I said, “That’s got to go.”

Chances are good that you have something like this in your house. A bad view, dark paneling, odd colors. Whatever it is, after a while it becomes invisible. Sort of.

“Making do”

Let’s not get into why I tolerate the wallpaper. We all have projects that don’t get done – me included.

Here’s the secret that helps me tolerate the crazy rose wallpaper: I have a lot of beauty around me.

Outside my window is a garden view. On the walls I’ve displayed inspirational collages that mean a lot to me and evoke good feelings when I look at them. There’s lots of natural light. One day, I’m even going to buy one of these to add a feeling of serenity and calm in my office (and I’ve told her so).

The beauty I’ve created in my space balances out the wallpaper. That’s the secret.

The other secret: clutter’s not always The Problem

I’ve done many 1-on-1 sessions with people who want to deal with clutter “once and for all” in their session. Instead, they end up excited to create beauty and inspiration around them. They find that even if clutter remains, the space they work in becomes more pleasant and enjoyable to work in.

Beauty might sound superficial. I used to think so myself. But when there’s beauty in your space, it balances out chaos and clutter. Beauty feeds the spirit and creates a container that nourishes your heart.

It’s in your budget

Most people resist creating beauty in their space because they assume it’s expensive. We assume it must look like a designer did it and is ready for the cover of House Beautiful. If you believe this, think again.

Beauty is by your definition alone. You are your own authority on what is beautiful to you. Not Martha F. Not your mother in law. Not Pottery Barn. Beauty is defined by what you love.

Love pink? Buy a gallon of paint for $18.Love flowers? Cut some from the yard.

Want inspiration? Post images you love on your walls or collect magazines and make inspiring collages. Many of the artists I feature offer prints of their work, making their beauty accessible to many.

Beauty doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive – it’s there to nourish you and make you feel loved.

And aren’t you worth it?

As I’ve said time and again, you matter. Your work matters. When you create a space that nourishes you, your creativity and productivity flow. You have more fun. You like going into your space to work.

If you’re still not convinced that beauty matters, remember that there are people in the world who are waiting for you to show up. People who need your special gift and the way that you share it.

Having a space that nourishes you (with its beauty and inspiration), gives you the energetic resources you need to reach the people (and organizations, animals, and planet) that need you most.

Beauty is fuel.

My plea/challenge

If time were no object, think for a moment about one thing you would do to bring beauty into your space.

It could be as simple as adding a cool, shimmering glass of water or as complex as ripping down all the wallpaper.

Just reflect for a moment about one thing that would nourish you.

And, in the next two weeks, commit to taking one step toward creating it. When you do, let me know. I’d love to know what happens.

Care to comment?

The upside of piles and why your brain likes them so much.

Maybe you loved taking human biology in school – maybe you hated it. I was a fan, myself, until we reached the chapter about the brain.

The stomach? Got it.

The heart and lungs? Got it.

The filtering liver – a little mysterious – though comprehensible. But, to me, the human brain was a gray globby thing that made no sense at all.

The problem? The aforementioned “globby” part. I couldn’t see the mechanics. Studying neuron cell diagrams didn’t help one bit. I just couldn’t wrap my brain around how that tofu-like mass could made my body move, see, or think.

Now that I’m a more patient grown-up, I’ve dedicated myself to learning about the brain to include in my work. At Inspired Home Office, of course, we talk a lot about the brain since it has such a profound impact on how you concentrate (or not) and how you organize your stuff.

Ready for some nerdy stuff?

Some research circa-1970, discovered specific neurons in your brain that process the edges of objects. Object edges? Crazy. There are, in fact, even neurons that respond to the distance between and the movement of object edges, too.

Uneducated, but my guess is that this edge-noticing neuron helped our ancestors visually track prey and predators.

Even if you’re not hunting buffalo or running from an angry mastodon, this research is relevant to organizing your workspace.

Edges in your office

Take a good look around your workspace, and I’ll bet you’ll find object edges everywhere.

Your computer screen has them. Papers have them. Books, files, pens – you name it. It stands to reason that the more edges your brain has to process, the more likely you and your brain might get overwhelmed. All those edges!

Lumps

A lot of creative people, including many of my clients, like lumps. Compared to lots of scattered papers, for example, lumps of papers are soothing. Scattered papers have tons of edges. A lump, by contrast, only has one set of edges.

See where I’m going with this?

If you pile stuff together, you’re actually giving your edge-processing neurons a break. How cool is that?

The trouble starts when you can’t find what you need in your lumps. You can’t always see what’s in your lumps because, well, they’re in a lump!

Helpful lumps and woozles

With apologies to Christopher Robin and Pooh, if you like to lump, you can put your things into helpful lumps:

• Helpful lumps allow you to see things and not forget about them
• Helpful lumps allow you to mentally process as few edges as possible
• Helpful lumps take up less space than a regular lump

My favorite kind of helpful lump looks like this:

This type of stair-step file holder has a small footprint on your desk, but allows you to see everything at once. (URL added to photos for your convenience – I’m not a vendor for the companies that carry these products.)

Incidentally, I’m not crazy about the folders with clasps (in photo) since they’re hard to get into. But the black wire thing is awesome.

Other helpful lumps can look like this (Notice the lack of a lid? Definitely a good thing.):

Or this…

Mine?

Okay, I’ll show you. It looks like this:

Client files were removed for privacy – I’m not that neat. Oh, and don’t talk to me about the wallpaper. It’s a project, trust me.

Other ideas? Your helpful lumps don’t have to live in a folder. I worked with a client recently who was thinking about putting up shelves and giving each project its own basket on the shelf, like a little nest for each idea to incubate in.

Be creative with making more helpful lumps. Trust what you need.

Things to try

Do you have a bunch of randomly sorted items that make your brain process edges?

Play with putting them into helpful lumps using the examples above and see what happens. It can be surprisingly fun!

Care to comment?

Feeling spacey? Get some space.

Perhaps it’s just one of those messages from the Universe, but I have had almost the same exact conversation with three clients in the last week.

That usually means one of two things: 1. there’s a lesson I need to learn myself or 2. it means it’s time to write a newsletter about it. It’s ususally both.

So here’s the scenario:

You’ve got something you’re working on. The deadline isn’t tomorrow, but it’s coming up. You’ve been procrastinating doing it for a while and you know it’s time to crack down and get it done.

So you sit down at your computer to get it done, but first you check your email. Then you check the weather. Then you check email again. You know where I’m going with this, right? The Thing doesn’t never get done. (Yes, you heard me right with my double negative.)

The creative process can’t be forced.

Have you ever asked someone who speaks a foreign language to “say something” in that language? You know what happens: they blank. They look around in the sky for inspiration to strike, but they’re on the spot and nothing comes out.

The same thing happens when you’re trying to create by force.

Most people hold the mistaken belief that creativity means producing something. They look at a piece of artwork or hear a song and think: “they’re so creative.”

Creativity actually comes before production.

I know this is abstract, but hang in there with me.

Have you ever been struck by an idea so brilliant and so exciting, you can’t wait to create it? What were you doing when it occurred? A lot of the time, these flashes of inspiration come while you’re in lah-lah land, zoning out, doing mundane stuff.

Have you ever noticed that they don’t come when you’re under the gun, straining, slumped over the computer like Quasimodo? Nothing happens then, does it. There’s a reason for this: creativity needs space.

But we don’t give it space. We try to force it. We push, thinking: “I’ve GOT to get this done.”  All that email and weather-checking is an attempt to buy you time. Your brain has other ideas.

The positive side of procrastination

Procrastination has a positive intention: to give your brain the space it needs to rest, regroup, and pop out another brilliant, twinkly idea.

When you force productivity, it backfires. Things that “should” be simple, take forever. Talk about frustrating.

How to get space to work for you

I was talking to a client recently who cracked her own code. She noticed that every time she was pushing herself, her body was in a certain posture and she felt a specific emotion.

One day, she decided to do something about it (I’m so proud): she took a break.

She discovered that taking a break, walking away, wiping down counters in the kitchen, somehow that was enough. When she went back to work, The Thing was easy.

What are you forcing?

Me? Well, I have an incredible, exciting program I’ll be sharing with you… Sometime soon. But I’m sitting on my hands right now. I realized this week that it needs to percolate longer because trying to force it out by September 1st wasn’t working.

If you’ve been putting off a project or trying to get something accomplished, you hereby have my permission to stop. Better yet, give yourself permission.

Things to try

1. Ask yourself what you’re needing. What do you really need? Is it a glass of water? A stroll by a river? To drive 75 mph blaring old Bruce Springsteen tunes? Whatever it is…

2. Do it. You’ll be glad you did.

3. Come back to the project later. When you come back, you’ll be nourished by the space and have renewed energy. Give it a whirl and let me know how it goes (I’ll keep you posted on my project, too).

Care to comment?

One day I was sitting at my desk and I got an idea for this thing I’d been thinking about. It was HUGE and I got really excited. I just had to write it down somewhere.

Even though I’m pretty savvy with computers, I needed to get this idea on paper. BIG paper. I wanted to scribble and draw and use my whole body in the creative idea-generating process. I was so jazzed.

Then I looked around my office and crud! - there was nothing to write on!

Lemons into lemonade

So, I got out an old roll of wrapping paper and taped it to the wall, white-side out.  Tentative at first, I scratched out the basic idea and then excitedly filled in the gaps with broad, colorful strokes. It was great! It was huge!

This was the first step I took in getting my business, Inspired Home Office, off the ground. That wrapping paper stayed up for the first 6 months of my business’ life, serving as a guide. A visual reminder. A map.

When I stopped needing it, I took it down, rolled it back up and used it for holiday presents (talk about recycling!).

If you can see it, you can do it.

Have you ever had the urge to plan a big project, but got stuck?

Anytime you’re planning something big and involved, you need three things:

• A clear, invigorating idea of where you want to go
• Specific steps to get you there
• A way of reminding yourself what’s next and tracking what you’ve completed

Personalizing what you need

With these 3 things as your guide, you can plan and execute a project any way you like. How would you like to track your big projects?

Here are 3 tracking variations I’ve seen – and the basic elements that each one entails. Which one sounds most like you?

Neat and tidy

• Big picture plans turned into into specific, measurable goals
• Breaking goals down into steps
• Put all of the steps in your system with timelines
• Follow up at the end and evaluate

Big and messy

• Huge wall charts on butcher paper with markers
• Dry erase boards, cork boards, and lots of stickies
• Ideas represented by colors, symbols, and shapes
• Oversize calendars with important dates circled

A combination of both

• A map or mindmap that’s broken down into smaller steps
• Aspects of the neat and the messy, tidy and big mixed together
• Systems that blend your creative mind and your planning mind

Reflect and listen

Do any of these 3 descriptions sound like you – or how you’d like to be? Have you attempted some of these, but feel disappointed with either the lack of clarity or results?

If your projects feel haphazard at best or remain incomplete for long periods of time, ask yourself:

What do I need that would help me love staying on track?

Listen deeply and you’ll be surprised by the ideas that come to you.

Care to comment?

An inspired look at reducing your paper-induced stress

Since the ancient Egyptians began writing on papyrus 5000 years ago, humans have been making decisions about where to store these flimsy pieces of plant pulp.

Fortunately for us in the modern era, paper isn’t as fragile, expensive, or prone to rot as those hammered fronds. But it does mean that we can acquire a lot more of it than the ancients ever did. A ton. Even in our technology-rich world, people still rely heavily on print and paper.

Look on your desk right now and you might find things like mail, bank statements, records, books, checks, correspondence, receipts, printed emails, files, and more. All of it paper. Ra help us!

Paper’s like water

The interesting thing about paper is that it’s a lot like water. If there’s a clear direction, it will end up where it needs to go with a minimum of fuss. It will “go with the flow.”

When the direction of the flow of paper isn’t defined, it will pool up in unexpected places and in undesirable volumes. When life gets crazy and when you put off handling mail for a while, it can become a tsunami-like wall of paper.

Today, we’ll hone in on the kind of paper that comes to you unbidden: mail.

What’s in your mail?

Simply put, mail is made up of containers (envelopes, boxes) and contents (everything inside them). But it’s not that simple. It can include postcards, newsletters, coupons, fliers, catalogs, and more. It gets sent to you equally by people you want to hear from and people you don’t.

Some mail requires action: urgent, moderately urgent, not urgent at all. Mail comes from someone who wants you to respond in some way. As if you don’t have enough to do.

This may be obvious, but because there are so many choices to make about all this mail it’s often easier to deposit it in one location and close the door.

Where does it come from?

Come rain or snow or storm of night, the stuff I get in my mailbox arrives every day at about 10am. When we first moved into our house a year ago, we had no system. So the mail piled up. Our personal mail, business mail, stuff for the previous tenants. Everything. It was a mess.

At a spot in the kitchen where everything was landing already anyway, I set up a mini-mailbox. There, we divided the mail by who it was addressed to.

Now, it’s my daily routine to pick up my mail and sort it at the mini-box. I open everything immediately and discard of all the things I don’t want: envelopes, inserts, credit card offers, etc. I have plans to put a recycle bin and a shredder nearby, so all that’s left over will be the items that need action.

Where does it go?

Deciding where to put things once they come into your life is a personal decision that is unique to you.

To discover what works best for you, watch how you obtain your mail and observe the path it travels from the mailbox to your desk. Over time, you will begin to notice where it pools up and stagnates.

Where do you put it?

Where things accumulate, you need a way to remind yourself to take the next action step.

If, for example, that piece of mail is a bill, where would you like to put it so that you remember to pay it? If it’s a conference registration form, where will it live so you remember to take the next step (like filling it out or checking your budget)?

Everyone does it differently according to their own preferences. I have one client who uses a vertical file folder system with a file for bills and a file for receipts to enter into her bookkeeping software. I like to file it out of sight after putting a task in my organizing software.

What would work for you? Follow these steps to find out.

Things to try

1. Notice where your paper comes from

For a few days, bring a heightened awareness to the myriad sources of mail and paper in your workspace. You don’t need to fix or change anything, just notice with curiosity the places it all comes from.

2. Stem the tide

You may see after a few days that there are ways to reduce the volume of mail and paper.

When I noticed the number of catalogs we were getting, I called each business and requested to be removed from their mailing list. This may sound tedious, but the volume of mail decreased dramatically within a month – so there was less to sort.

When you start reducing the volume you have to deal with, it’s a profound way to care for yourself and nurture your business.

3. Think about where you want the things you need.

Look carefully at what kinds of things accumulate and notice what you need and trust the answers that come up for you. Often simple solutions are the most effective.

4 comments

Everybody knows that a daffodil won’t bloom outdoors in December. The cold and snow herald a time for the bulb to retreat into the dark earth and restore its vigor and strength.

Although sometimes we lose sight of this truth, you are also part of nature.

Are you fighting nature?

Many business models encourage perpetual productivity. But because our creativity is part of the natural cycle, there must be a time for replenishment, too.

Wintertime is as vital to the life of a plant as the glorious blooms of springtime and the fruits of summer and fall. So it is also with you. And your business.

Creativity takes time

Now, I’m not advocating that you close up shop tomorrow to return sometime in March.

But have you ever walked away from a project that’s been challenging you – to walk the dog, or take a shower, or pick up some eggs from the store and – BAM! The answer you were seeking appears, seemingly from nowhere?

That’s because you gave yourself some winter-time, some space for your brain to rest… and meanwhile the ideas are gestating inside, waiting to bloom.

How to make it hard on yourself

If you stay at your desk, glued to the monitor, trying to get… it… right… Nothing comes.

By forcing yourself to produce when it’s not yet time, you do damage to yourself. You stilt true progress and growth.

Perpetual productivity is painful

So why do you do this? Well, sometimes you need to “get the job done.” But oftentimes, the underlying factor is that the spring blossom and the summer fruit feel good.

You get a high from results. Another checkmark – but at what cost?

The Inspired Home Office 80/20 Rule

80% of creating and productivity is internal and 20% is external, visible work.

This doesn’t mean you need to sit at your desk, twiddling your thumbs for weeks on end. It just means that when you feel the urge to stop (writing, working on a project, whatever), you can trust that it really is time to stop.

And once you’ve stopped, you can choose to do something will nourish your heart and your mind. This will allow the next step will unfold naturally and organically.

Just like daffodils do.

How to work naturally

1. Notice when you force

Do you set up your schedule in a way that forces you to produce, without leaving time for contemplation or rest?

Do you commit to deadlines that seem reasonable, but really aren’t?

Do you notice feeling resentful for intrusions or extra demands on your time?

What choices do you make that contribute to these dymanics?

2. Listen to your inner knowing

While you’re working, listen for a tiny voice inside you that whispers, “I need a break now.” or “Stop.” This is your inner knowing.

It won’t roar, so be alert.

3. Do what the voice says

No, this isn’t a reference to that “I do what the voices in my head tell me to do” bumper sticker.

When you hear that tiny voice, take heed. Really.

You may come to find that the breaks you give yourself take less time than needlessly banging your head against the wall in frustration.

No matter what you do, a daffodil will take as long as it does to go from bulb to blossom. And so it is with you, too.

Care to comment?

The difference between functional and perfect.

A few years after Martha Stewart became a star (before the prison gig), she could be seen on television in her immaculate maison, wrapping perfect presents with satin ribbon and decorating sugar cookies with all the flair of Degas.

I don’t know how the family joke got started, but my mom took to referring to the Connecticut queen as “Martha F. Stewart.” Not to offend, but you can probably guess what the middle initial stood for.

Credit is due to Ms. Stewart for helping America reconnect with its neglected homes and discover that we could feather our nests and curl up into them. However, her inimitable style upped the ante for America’s working moms, in particular, and brought on a good case of resentment and guilt.

I think that was what my mom was getting at.

Is Martha in your office?

I was talking with a client the other day who’s been battling habitual clutter and winning. But when she mentioned that a small pile had developed on her desk, I could hear her voice get smaller and her energy shrank.

When I probed, she realized that her expectation of a clutter-free, functioning office was that it had to have nothing, nothing in it. Gleaming, ready for the photo shoot. Martha F. Stewart.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

The fact is, your office has to work for you, not the other way around. Your office is the place where you work – and work, by nature, is messy.

If you are in the middle of a project, it’s only natural that you have on hand the supplies you need to complete it. It might look like a mess, but that’s okay.

Something more like reality

I like Erma Bombeck. If you haven’t read any of her books, I highly recommend that you pick one up. Any of them. She used her wicked sense of humor to make poignant observations about motherhood, marriage, lost socks, and life in general.

Her philosophy, or so it seems to me, is that life is full and messy and you’d better find the funny in it so you can make it through. She made a point not to sweat the small stuff.

She’s more my kinda gal because her attitude parallels my own approach to office organization and design. If your space is functioning for you and your business, great. You can always tweak what isn’t working, but don’t chase after perfection. It will just make you tired.

Instead, find the love in your work, the fun in it, and make sure your space is functional enough to do it well. There’s time enough for Martha F later.

Things to try

1. Inspiration

You probably surround yourself with talismans and images without stopping to notice them very often. Look around your office and locate things that are beautiful and inspiring to you.

Take a moment to really soak in the energy and inspiration that they bring you.

2. Significance

Find something in your space that anyone else might think ugly or messy, but is significant to you.

Maybe you have a project going that is your Next Big Thing. Congratulate yourself on having the vision to bring it to fruition (even if you haven’t touched it in a while).

Or, if you have some object or collection that reminds you of a special person or event in your life, pause to reconnect with that meaningful memory. These are the deep roots that give us courage to fly.

3. Gratitude

Your workspace is a sacred container for your business. Take a deep, cleansing breath – and thank your office for supporting you.

Soak in the significance of having the space and tools together so that your business may thrive and help others.

By noticing the beauty and purpose of your office and its contents, you are nourishing and giving yourself the strength to carry on. What beautiful gifts you, in turn, can to give the world.

Care to comment?

Ahhh… the shower. It’s one of the best places in the house, in my opinion. I love it so much that, as a teen, my parents accused me of single-handedly lowering the water table.

When you’re in the shower there are several factors that make it prime idea-generating territory:

For one, it’s quiet.

The hiss of water drones out all kinds of distractions. And the fact that steamy water is cascading over you is soooo relaxing. You can’t hear and you feel good. Nice.

Plus, your brain is switched to auto-pilot mode. Did you ever notice that you wash the same way every day? I mean, how often do you ask yourself, “Hmmm… Should I go for the left ear first or the right one?” You don’t process, you just soap up, get clean, and rinse off. All of this happens without much participation from the frontal lobe.

Lastly, provided that you don’t tolerate intruders, you are left completely uninterrupted for 10, sometimes 20, decadent minutes. With no interruptions from the phone, tv, radio, spouse, kids, dogs, it’s “all you, all the time.” Ahh! Because of this, your brain is free! It can roam freely over terrain it might not traverse otherwise.

What you get

While you’re washing, you might come up with things like:

• A plausible interpretation for a dream you had this morning
• The name of that woman you want to call
• Something you want to put in your will
• Pick up milk and broccoli while you’re out
• A new service that could generate income for your business

The bottom line is that, in the shower, all the conditions are right and your brain is having a field day. Some of the stuff that pops up has the potential, if put to use, to directly benefit you, your business, your clients, your financial status, and so on.

So take a moment to appreciate your grey matter and modern plumbing. What a team!

How to keep your ideas from going down the drain

If you’re like a lot of people, ideas must get written down so you can remember to follow up on them later.

But, practically speaking, it’s hard to record when you’re soaking wet. Do not bring your new iPhone into the tub.

The trick is to duplicate the uninterrupted time you get in the shower when you have a dry, accessible recording device handy.

One way to do this is to just take a pen and notepad into bathroom, lock the door behind you, and jot down your thoughts before you hop in to get clean. Or, you can do this immediately after the shower. No one will ever know.

Before your day begins, even just once a week, you can indulge in a decadent moment with a fancy journal, a fountain pen, and a cup of tea.   One of my clients thought she might try using kids’ bathtub crayons on the tile to record her ideas. Go wild! Whatever it takes to get the ideas recorded.

Whatever you do, commit to writing down your thoughts so you can put them to use. It doesn’t take much extra time and, when your brain knows you’re taking it seriously, it will reward you with even better, more plentiful ideas.

Your turn! What tricks do you use to capture your ideas on the fly? I’d love to hear from you!

2 comments