Life Organized Podcast

Ep. 52 - When You Want Your Kids To Be Organized, Part 2

Last week we explored the importance of having an organized culture in your family.
In today's episode we'll talk about some kid-friendly, Life Organized Tools you can start teaching your kids beginning immediately.

Ep. 51 - When You Want Your Kids To Be Organized

I know, I know…if the kids were just more organized it would save EVERYONE so much hassle. But before I give you a list of things to teach your kids, let’s talk about YOU.
The quickest way to organized kids is to pave the way yourself, because “kids will follow your example, not your advice.”
This episode is rich with ideas about how YOU can develop a family culture that is organized – and it’s so much easier than you think.
This conversation was too rich to limit to one episode, so be sure to check out episode 52 where I’ll teach you kid-friendly Happy Gal tools that can help you teach your kids how to be more organized. 
See full show notes at http://lifeorganizedpodcast.com/52-2

Ep. 50 - When You Need To Get In The Groove

We all love how it feels when life is running on cruise control. We are better able to stay on top of things, we have more time for the things we love to do, and we aren’t fighting curve balls at every turn. But life inevitably transitions into different seasons, and when that happens, we lose our groove.
Well, we can’t prevent transition, but we can have a strategy to help us get right back into a rhythm. There is one go-to strategy that will always help us spring to action and create some momentum, so we can cut through the overwhelm and see priorities clearly. And that is our favorite Happy Gal tool: Home Base.
But in this episode, we take Home Base a little further.
Sure, Home Base is invaluable in helping us keep our homes in order. But what about other parts of our lives that get out of sync? Like our family, our work, and other commitments? 
In this episode, we leverage the Home Base concept to cut through the clutter of all kinds of important areas of our lives.
Home Base = getting back into the groove quickly.

Ep. 49 - When You Don’t Have Time To Exercise

I know, I know…so many things we have to do. Dishes, laundry, run the kids around, stay on top of work and all. the. things. Who has time for exercise?
YOU DO, and in this interview with Courtney Wyckoff from Momma Strong we talk about WHY exercise is so important, and HOW you can make time for it.
You are going to LOVE the refreshing approach Courtney takes to fitness and exercise. If you are discouraged or exhausted or totally turned off by the way the fitness industry so often leaves you feeling like you’ll never measure up, you are going to love Courtney’s refreshing approach. Almost in an act of rebellion, Courtney redefines the purpose of exercise as conditioning your body so you can show up in your life with confidence, and have the strength and desire to do all the things that make you feel alive - whether that is doing a cartwheel, hiking a mountain, or getting off the lounge chair and actually swimming with your kids. It’s not about how you look, it’s about the way you feel - and Momma Strong’s customized workouts promote the kind of health that doesn’t fade as you age.
For full show notes, go to LifeOrganizedPodcast.com/49

Ep. 48 - When School Is Starting

Well, here we are, heading back into the new school year.
 
And if you’re anything like me, I bet you’re happy and sad at the same time.
 
While a schedule and routine is sounding nice right about now, the hustle of a new school year can be a little daunting.
 
So in this episode I’m giving you lots of tips to help you start your school year out right, including a fantastic metaphor that will give you a fresh take on why things feel choppy as we transition into this new season - and what you can do about it.
Check out full show notes at LifeOrganizedPodcast.com/48

Ep. 47 - When You Wonder What An Organized Life Looks Like

When I was a little girl I was terrified of dogs. That never went away as an adult, so imagine my surprise when I suddenly found myself owning a golden doodle puppy in March of 2020 - and loving it! What seemed like the most unlikely situation taught me that we never really know what our potential is.
It may feel impossible to ever achieve an organized life, but the good news is if you are here at the podcast, you have the power to do it. You wouldn’t be interested in getting organized if you didn’t have the ability somewhere within you. James Allen said “Dreams are the seedlings of potential” - and just like any seed, if we give our deepest desires some quality attention, it’s exciting to think about what we can grow into. After all, I now love my little Oakley like I love my kids. If that could happen, anything is possible - even an organized life!
An organized life is a very individual pursuit, and in this episode I ask you to consider what an organized life might look like for you. What will it mean for your relationships, your finances, your health, how you run your home, how you spend your time, and what brings you purpose and fulfillment. As you pay attention to what comes to mind, take note. These are hints of the organized life you can create.
It’s a joy to watch my clients transform their lives as they diligently chip away at the clutter - and implement tools that enhance their lives from every angle. In this episode I encourage you to “plant” the seed of something you are interested in on your calendar, and nurture the seed with action, so you, too, can live the kind of organized life you have the potential to create.
 

Ep. 46 - When You Procrastinate

Even though we can laugh about our tendency to procrastination, when we are under a deadline procrastination doesn’t feel like a joke. 
Procrastination is one time management challenge that really gets in the way of living an organized life, and in this episode we talk about two ways we can outsmart it.
In the “dark playground” of procrastination, our brain tries to convince us that a deep dive through YouTube or rummaging through the pantry is more fun than taking action, but consider what you really want. When “fun” is laced with worry, anxiety, dread, and avoidance, is it really fun? Take some time to recognize that while your brain likes the idea of avoiding a task, procrastination may not be something you actually enjoy. Notice the “fog” of fake fun rolling in, and let that alert you to the need of some quick action before procrastination takes over.
Because your brain doesn’t want to work hard, it will head straight to the “dark playground” when it feels overwhelmed and doesn’t know where to start. If you can scale your next action down to it’s simplest step, and it’s something the brain can easily do, you’ll find much more motivation to get started.
As I share in my sticky label tool, there are many approaches to procrastination and this is just two of them. For some fun and entertaining more insights on procrastination, see the Brian Reagan and Tim Urban links below.
Tools Mentioned In This Episode:
Sticker Label Analogy
Links: 
Tim Urban - Ted Talk
Brian Regan - Science Fair

Ep. 45 - When The Paper Is Piling Up - Part 2

Ok, buckle up. This is the most technical episode I have ever recorded - and also the most helpful one if you struggle with your paper.
If you have piles and old files and are tired of fighting it all, you’ll be really glad you listened to today’s episode.
As we pick up the paper conversation again from episode 44, it’s time to figure out what to do with the paper once we pull any actions that need to be taken out of them. But knowing where to put it, how to find a document easily once it’s filed away, and when to toss it without having to spend hours decluttering the filing cabinet is a pretty tall order.
But when you have FreedomFiler, it does all the thinking for you. FreedomFiler is like having your own personal filing assistant helping you know what to do with your paper. The color-coded system is based on shelf-life, not category, so it makes it simple to find - and toss - any paper in our filing cabinet.
In this episode I give an overview of some of the FreedomFiler categories, and explain how it solves the typical dilemmas we face with reference paper. 
It’s just an introduction, but if you are as excited about it as I was the first time I heard about it, you’ll want to learn how to implement it in your own home.
Truly, FreedomFiler is the system that is most consistently celebrated by my clients. It has proven the test of time, and will keep your papers organized for years to come! 
Tools in this episode:
FreedomFiler
Links:
Episode 23 - When You want to Organize Your Paper
Organize Your Paper 
Order your FreedomFiler kit HERE and use code JENNY for 10% OFF
Jenny’s Freedom Filer Training
 

Ep. 44 - When The Paper Is Piling Up - Part 1

No matter the class, no matter the client, no matter the conversation, when the organizing conversation turns to paper, I see the same thing.
The inevitable eye roll. The overwhelm. The defeat.
Organizing paper creates a unique challenge because it requires us to organize both tangible and intangible clutter. Paper isn’t just an object - it is a container for a task. Which means we can’t stash it away and forget about it - and that’s where the problem comes in. 
In episode 44 we will talk about how to extract the intangible action out of a piece of paper so we have peace of mind filing it away. Until we do, we’ll keep letting the papers stack up, because “out of sight, out of mind” feels like a very real threat. So we leave paper out where we can see it…only to discover that this tactic quickly gets out of hand. A pile of papers or sticky notes can’t remind us to do anything when it gets covered up by yet more paper. Iin fact, all the “noise” just shuts us down. 
So in this episode I give you a place to start. The first step with paper is to pull the task out of it by adding it to your to do list, and manage the task from there. Then we can feel a lot more comfortable storing the paper in a filing cabinet somewhere.
And if you’re not quite comfortable or enchanted by the idea of a to do list, that’s where the Life Organized membership can help. Next month we are revolutionizing the way you manage a to do list, and you will find that with the right strategy, habits, and platform, your to do list can be like your own personal assistant, keeping you on track and helping you know what to do - and when to do it. 
Then once it’s in your to do list, we are ready to actually put the paper somewhere. But it isn’t as easy as it seems, because…Where do you put it? How can we find it if we need it? And when do we toss it so we don’t have so much paper building up over time? That’s all covered in part 2  in episode 45.
Tools taught in this episode:
The To-Do List
Links:
Life Organized Membership

Ep. 43 - When Your Personality Gets In The Way Of Getting Organized

Have you ever wondered why some people can be haunted by a sink full of dirty dishes - and others walk right past it without even noticing it? Is it simply a matter of habits? Or does personal play a bigger part than we give it credit for?
In this episode Laurie Palau from SimplyBOrganized.com shares how she uses the Enneagram personality test to help her clients find ways to get organized based on their unique personalities. With greater awareness of unconscious motivators and tendencies, we can know ahead of time how to set ourselves up for success - and give ourselves grace for the ways that organization might not exactly come naturally.
And because I know you’ll want this recap, I’m going to share the 9 Enneagram personality types here:
Type 1: The Reformer (perfectionistic and self-controlled)Type 2: The Helper (Caring, people-pleasing)Type 3: The Achiever (Success-oriented, driven)Type 4: The Individualist (Creative, sensitive)Type 5: The Investigator (Intense, cerebral)Type 6: The Loyalist (Committed, responsible)Type 7: The Enthusiast (Fun-loving, spontaneous)Type 8: The Challenger (Decisive, confrontational)Type 9: The Peacemaker (Easygoing, agreeable)
If you’re anything like me, you’re immediately starting to identify not only your own type, but the types you see in your family and other close relationships. But hold up - before you start trying to crack the code on everyone else, Laurie recommends we first learn more about how the enneagram personality test can help us understand ourselves. Consistent with our Life Organized membership strategy, we are in a much better position to help others when we have first organized our own clutter - including the unfair ways we might be judging ourselves. 
So what do we DO about all of this?
Get to know your personality type. Read through the different Enneagram types and see what feels like a fit. (Laurie finds that this can be more effective than taking a test.) Get even more clarity by asking yourself if you make decisions based on thought, feeling, or action. Now…head over to Simply B Organized and use code HAPPY20 for 20% off Laurie’s amazing program that can help you get organized in a way that works for you. 
Links: 
Enneagram personality test
Making The Best Of Your Core Type - use code HAPPY20 for 20% off