Organize Your Room, Organize Your Life

Tamara Zook's Organizing Tips Congratulations, you made it to another Spring! Sometimes just getting there can seem miraculous. I'm sure you've had thoughts about what you would like to accomplish this Spring, as well as this year!  What are the changes you would like to make and the fun you would like to have? I'd love to share some of the organizing tips I give my clients to make some of these things happen.   "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!" Inside that phrase is a clue for the lists, changes and fun you'd like to experience. I've coined it "Baby Blessings™."

"How small?", you ask. Start with fifteen minutes. Break down whatever is the first step to reaching your larger goal into something you can do in fifteen-minute increments. Experts say that we can do anything for fifteen minutes-even the worst tasks. I use this with myself and with my clients. When things are really scary or taxing, I remember to speak very nicely to myself and say, "Come on, Tamara, it is only for fifteen minutes. You can do it. Just think how wonderful it will be when you are done. You'll feel great and in only fifteen minutes." Sometimes I set a timer to remind myself when the fifteen minutes are up. At the beginning, those fifteen minutes are like the five-pound weights we start with at the gym. To anticipate that you could jump in and do more is actually a set-up for failure.

When you're at the very beginning of what feels like a tall mountain or even a mountain range-as may be the case with a room that has never been organized-you want to do all you can to support yourself to accomplish each step.  Then you won't find yourself quitting after just a few.

Our lives are complex. Many of us juggle several businesses, participate in many different activities, and at the same time keep track of our family members' schedules, wants and desires. When that little pushy voice creeps into your mind and tells you that you're not getting enough done, and you should do more than "just" a Baby Blessing™, look at the bigger picture and remember that each step will take you closer to your goal. Don't let that pushy little voice force you to pick up that fifty-pound weight until you're ready. Five is enough to start. The next day you may do another five-or move up to ten. Keep at it in increments of Baby Blessings™ and you'll reach your goal.