Archive for Productivity

corner of day timer with to-do list title at top of page against blue folder and coffee cup on desk. Power in micro goals

How to Stop Feeling Overwhelmed by Big Projects

Posted by Carolyn on

February 12, 2026

Why Breaking Tasks Into Smaller Steps Works

If you’re wondering how to stop feeling overwhelmed, the first step is realizing that the size of a task matters. When a project feels too big, your brain often freezes. You know what you want to accomplish, but the path to get there isn’t clear — and that’s when procrastination creeps in.

Breaking tasks into smaller steps creates clarity and momentum. Suddenly, what seemed impossible becomes doable. And the more bite-sized actions you complete, the more confidence you build to tackle the next step.

How to Stop Feeling Overwhelmed by Big Projects

Here’s the good news: feeling overwhelmed is normal. It happens to everyone — my clients, colleagues, and even me. The trick is to shrink the project into micro tasks so small that you can’t fail.

Think micro. Tiny. Minuscule. Nano. Whatever word clicks for you.

The goal is an action so small that you are guaranteed to be successful. Not maybe successful but guaranteed. Completing it feels almost silly — but that’s exactly what makes it powerful. These tiny steps bypass resistance and give your brain quick wins, which is the fastest way to overcome overwhelm.

How to Get Unstuck When You’re Procrastinating

When you’re stuck, it’s usually because you haven’t defined the very next step clearly. Sitting down to break a project into manageable pieces and writing them down provides a clear roadmap.

For example, let’s say you want to reduce the number of books in your home. You love your books, they’re everywhere, and the idea of tackling them all at once is overwhelming. Here’s how to break it down:

Micro Task 1: Choose one room.
Micro Task 2: Pick one bookcase in that room.
Micro Task 3: Pick a shelf on that bookcase.
Micro Task 4: Decide which end of the shelf to start from.
Micro Task 5: Choose a limit you can manage — 15 minutes, half a shelf, or 20 books.

Even if it feels ridiculously small, these steps guarantee progress. And when progress starts, momentum follows.

A Simple Decluttering Strategy When You Feel Overwhelmed

This method works for any project — at home or in business. It doesn’t matter if you’re decluttering, planning a new marketing campaign, or writing a big report. Shrinking the first step makes the task manageable and reduces stress.

The size of the step doesn’t matter — starting it does. A tiny, completed task is better than a huge, overwhelming one that keeps you stuck. Quick wins build confidence, which fuels the next action, and the next after that.

Small Steps to Achieve Big Goals in Your Home or Business

To stop feeling overwhelmed, commit to breaking every project into micro steps:

Define your very next action.
Make it so small you are guaranteed to be successful even if it feels almost silly.
Complete it. Celebrate it. Repeat.

By focusing on what’s achievable right now, you reduce overwhelm, minimize procrastination, and build real momentum toward your goals.

Remember, success doesn’t come from giant leaps. It comes from stacking small, achievable actions until they add up to something meaningful.

Tags : micro tasks, organizing strategies, Procrastination, professional organizers

Stepping Back to reflect is a key part of the planning process. It has its own step now.

GRWM: Stepping Back to Reflect

Posted by Carolyn on

January 30, 2026

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Planning for Prosperity Is Now a 5-Step Process

Everyone else was stepping back to reflect. Maybe I ought to as well?

A question landed in my inbox recently:

“Do you actually use that entire four-step planning process yourself — for your business or your life?”

It’s a fair question. Because we all know people who teach systems they don’t actually use or follow their own process and advice. But for me? Yes, completely; and ironically, using my own process this year is exactly why it changed.

For five years, Planning for Prosperity had four steps: Stepping Out, Stepping Up, Stepping In, and Stepping Through. That worked beautifully. Until this year, when my own planning process was unexpectedly influenced by those around me.

I Kept Bumping Into the Same Message: Reflect

During December and into January, I was working through my usual planning routine. Everywhere I turned — I mean everywhere — people were talking about spending more time reflecting. People I follow. My executive coach brother. Accounts I hadn’t paid attention to in a while. Even a workshop leader from one of my professional associations. All of them were emphasizing “Look back before you move forward.”

Now, I did have reflection in my process. But it lived inside what I called Stepping Out. It wasn’t the star of the show and shared space with the task of creating a bold vision that took one out of one’s comfort zone.

This year with so many people telling me that stepping back to reflect deserved more time and attention, I got curious. Instead of rushing past reflection so I could get to the “real” planning, I slowed down and gave it more room.

What I Noticed (And Didn’t Expect)

Let’s be honest — reflection is not always comfortable.

Looking at what didn’t work? Ugh.
Seeing where I played small? Also ugh.
Dreaming big enough to scare myself? Definitely out of my comfort zone.

But something shifted when I treated reflection as its own phase instead of a quick exercise to get through. My emotional reaction changed.

Instead of anxious, I felt curious.
>Instead of frustrated, I felt… surprisingly grateful.
>Instead of pressure, I felt grounded.

It stopped being “let’s review what went wrong” and became “ohhh… this is what I’m learning about myself.” Information learned from reflection on our past year informs our approach going forward. The process needs the energy of your attention to pull out all the information you can garner. That information feeds into the rest of the planning. What to do more, or less of? What needs a different approach? The reflection process needs strength and depth to support the other four steps with concrete information.

Step One Is Now “Stepping Back to Reflect”

Planning for Prosperity is now a five-step process, and it starts with Stepping Back. This step is about intentional reflection before planning forward. It creates awareness, emotional readiness, and clarity — not just a to-do list.

I was already using the exercise: What you wanted vs. what you got vs. how you contributed to that outcome. This is a powerful exercise that I love. It illuminates what was working and what wasn’t. The exercise spotlights one’s own behaviour – good back or indifferent – that contributed to that outcomes. It’s a fact-finding mission that produces insight and information.

With the reflection process taking the main stage in its own step, I added journaling prompts that took me deeper. For example:

What am I ready to leave behind?
What am I excited to carry forward?
When did I do hard things?
What actions actually moved the needle?

Those questions changed the tone of my planning. Instead of focusing on the gaps, I was looking at the gain. (Check out Dan Sullivan’s book The Gap and the Gain). I also started seeing evidence — resilience, growth, consistency, courage. From that place, visioning the year ahead felt energizing instead of forced. Once I had that clarity, the rest of the process felt more grounded and realistic.

Stepping Out — choosing goals that stretch me beyond what’s comfortable
Stepping Up — putting the real work, time, and money on the calendar, what is possible
Stepping In — managing the work by fine-tuning goals in focused 90-day blocks
Stepping Through — dealing with the fear, resistance, procrastination, and “gremlins” that always show up when we grow and evolve.

The structure is the same just better.

Why My Business Is Called Caldwell Evolution

As humans we are constantly evolving. That’s why my business is Caldwell Evolution – I’m here to support clients on their evolutionary journey. Our businesses evolve. Our tools should evolve too. This wasn’t a rebrand or a theory update. It came from sitting at my own desk, with my own plans, noticing what actually helped — and being willing to adjust.

Adding Stepping Back doesn’t slow the process down. It makes everything that follows more intentional, more sustainable, and honestly… a lot more helpful and therefore kinder.

And that’s a way better place to build a year from.

Planning Productivity

Your brain uses neuroplasticity to create new neuropathways that can be associated with new habits and beliefs.

Rewire Your Brain to Get Organized: Neuroplasticity in Action

Posted by Carolyn on

October 21, 2025

· 1 Comment

Have you ever wished you could just be more organized without feeling like it’s a constant struggle? The good news: your brain is capable of change. By leveraging neuroplasticity, you can make organization an easier, more natural habit.

Neuroplasticity is your brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life. This doesn’t just help with memory or learning a new skill. It also allows you to retrain your habits, including how you approach organization. A recent InsideHook article notes, London taxi drivers’ brains grew in the hippocampus over years of navigating the city’s streets, showing that consistent practice changes the brain structurally.

What is Neuroplasticity and Why Does it Matter?

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s remarkable ability to rewire itself by forming new neural connections throughout life. This doesn’t just help you memorize a new skill or learn a language—it allows you to retrain habits that may have seemed “hardwired,” including how you handle clutter, manage tasks, or maintain systems in your business. Studies show that consistent practice can physically change the structure of the brain. For example, London taxi drivers develop a larger hippocampus over years of navigating complex streets, illustrating that sustained mental effort leads to measurable brain growth.

The late Dr. James Doty, previously a clinical professor of neurosurgery at Stanford University and founder of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, extensively studied how our minds can influence our reality. In his book Mind Magic: The Neuroscience of Manifestation and How It Changes Everything, Doty explained how practices like attention, meditation, visualization, and compassion can change our brain structures, allowing us to move through the world in ways that help us see clearly and realize our dreams.

Whether you’re trying to clear the clutter from your home, streamline your workflow, or get consistent with marketing tasks, understanding how your brain forms habits gives you a roadmap to success.

Here’s how you can harness these principles in your daily life:

1. Neuroplasticity and Mindfulness: Awareness is the First Step

Before you can change a habit, or the beliefs ingrained into your subconscious, you have to notice it. You have to be aware that the beliefs exist. Mindfulness allows you to become aware of routines that come from subconscious thought patterns or beliefs. Although the book is listed as a biography, the late Dr. James Doty’s landmark book Into the Magic Shop outlines clearly both the mindfulness strategies for changing beliefs and the neuroscience behind it. For example, do you automatically pile items instead of putting them away? Do you avoiding starting a project because you are afraid it won’t be perfect? Do you avoid making yourself and your business visible because you are afraid you might fail – or be successful? By noticing these habits without judgment, you create a window for neuroplastic change. Mindful awareness is your first step toward rewiring your brain to support great organization of your home, office, to-do list or business activities.

2. Neuroplasticity and Fun: Everyday Challenges and Novelty

Your brain thrives on novelty and challenge. Everyday activities that stretch your mind — from solving puzzles to taking a new route on your walk — stimulate neuroplasticity. Traveling is a perfect example: navigating unfamiliar places forces your brain to adapt to new patterns, strengthening memory and problem-solving pathways. You don’t need a plane ticket to reap the benefits. Small changes in your daily routine, like changing your walking or driving route, engage your brain in the same way. Experiment with a digital app to use it differently. Change the time of routine activities in your day. Or simply, change how and where you eat lunch.

3. Locking in Neuroplasticity: Emotion, Interest, and Positive Associations

Our brains learn most effectively when experiences are tied to emotion, interest, or pleasure. Music, for instance, can prime your brain to form stronger connections. This is why pairing tasks with enjoyable stimuli makes new habits stick. Linking desired behaviors, like putting items away immediately or scheduling your day intentionally, with positive feelings makes them more likely to enter your subconscious and become automatic over time. Music, smell, taste are all senses that generate emotional responses based on previous experiences. These can be tied to activity to help you build new neuropathways and therefore habit. For example, play a favourite group of songs from a very happy time in your life to create an upbeat mood while you are sorting clothes. Drinking your favourite tea or coffee while working on a project can have the same impact.

Putting It All Together: 3 Tips to Apply These Strategies

Be Mindful of Small Habits: Pause before you act and notice what your brain is doing automatically. Catch the “default” behaviors and replace them with intentional ones.
Add Novelty to Routine Tasks: Change your environment, rearrange spaces, or try new methods for tasks you usually do on autopilot — this challenges your brain and strengthens new neural pathways.
Pair Tasks with Positive Stimuli: Listen to music you enjoy, light a favorite candle, or give yourself a mini reward while practicing new organizational, productivity or marketing activities. Emotion strengthens memory and habit formation.

By incorporating mindfulness, novelty, and positive associations, you’re not just organizing your environment — you’re training your brain to support the behaviors you want, making organization feel more natural and less of a chore. The more you practice, the easier it becomes, and the more your brain rewards you with clarity, focus, and confidence.

Mindfully I AM Evolving Coaching Mindfulness Organizing Strategies Productivity

the lower legs and feet of two people running on a dirt path. Taking small steps

Big Power in Micro Steps

Posted by Carolyn on

August 27, 2025

· No Comments

It started with a challenge…

and ended with using micro steps to accomplish 17 trips from point A to point B over 9 weeks. It would have been 18 if I hadn’t had the flu.

If you have been hanging around this blog for awhile, you know that I coach alpine skiing during the winter. So what does that have to do with micro steps?

This year, due to maintenance requirements, the coaches’ meeting location was changed from one building (South lodge) to another (North lodge). The challenge was that my boots, helmet, extra gear, skis etc all live at South. The meeting was called each Saturday and Sunday morning BEFORE the ski lifts opened. Which meant that

Could it be that micro tasks could be even more successful than a daily 15 minute declutter routine? I say yes; I think they can and that we ought to all jump on this bandwagon. Micro tasks could possibly even replace the 15 minute declutter routine.

How it Started

Mindlessly, I was stared at the shelf beside my desk. I had done so countless times before, while thinking through yet another online tech challenge. I have no recollection of sorting out the tech issue. It was clear there were things on the shelf I had not used in years and was never likely to use. In a split second, I decided to clear the shelf, wipe it off and remove to a donation pile those things I would not use. Like the audio CD for learning Spanish. I no longer have a CD player on my computer or portable device to play it.

In less than 5 minutes I had a clean shelf that was now half empty, a small bag of denotable items and a few items in recycling and garbage. The result of my micro task was a very satisfying declutter. The shelf is half empty, clean and can be used more effectively.

Micro Tasks

I soon determined that micro tasks could be done almost anywhere, almost any time. I’ve made a game of it. Just this morning, while waiting on the front door step for my son to load the car before leaving, I clipped back the trailing plants in the planter. The micro task took 5 minutes. Later while waiting for a video clip to upload, I wiped the windows sill, rinsed the stained-glass ornaments, took away the ones I no longer wanted and put everything back. Another 5 minutes.

I’ve defined micro task as a 5-10 minute task that can be completed with little or no additional equipment and contributes to clutter free living. Two days ago I took the ski jackets out of the front hall cupboard, inspected for rips and tears and transported to our off-season storage rack in the basement. I’ve got my eye on a shoe rack with 5 pairs of flip flops that haven’t left the rack in awhile – maybe 2 years. While waiting for the kettle to boil, I can scoop up the flip flops, inspect for integrity and bag for donation. This last task makes use of the concept of time layering along with micro tasks.

The Game

Try it.

Look for 5 minutes either between other projects or activities or while waiting for something else to happen (standing in line)
Look around for a 5 minute task that is super easy to accomplish. For example, while waiting for the pasta water to boil, take the cutlery out of the cutlery tray, wash the tray and replace the cutlery.
Make a game out of finding a micro task that doesn’t require any extra equipment (except maybe a cleaning cloth).
Make sure that the task contributes to either decluttering or getting something done. For example, I filed the top few items on my paper filing pile waiting for yet another video to upload,.
See how many of these you can do in one day.

The Benefit

Five minutes may not seem like alot of time. Those 5 minute tasks, however, all add up. The paper requires filing. The shelf requires decluttering and the flip flops require a new home. Add all those micro tasks together, all those 5 minute games, and eventually, you have a clutter free house.

Try it, and let me know how it goes.

Organizing Strategies Productivity

Tags : Goals, organizing strategies, Procrastination

desk owner is trying to get things done, pink notebook, pink flowers on white desk,

The Power of Accountability and Body-Doubling for Productivity

Posted by Carolyn on

September 24, 2024

· No Comments

Accountability and body doubling are two powerful strategies that can significantly boost productivity, especially for people with ADHD. As a certified professional organizer and productivity coach, I offer both services to help you stay focused and achieve your goals. But which one is right for you?

Accountability involves setting goals and having someone (like me!) check in to ensure you’re staying on track. This service is ideal if you’re self-driven but need external motivation. Knowing someone will follow up can give you that extra push to complete tasks, whether it’s decluttering, organizing, or sticking to new productivity habits.

Body doubling, on the other hand, involves having someone physically or virtually present while you work or workout. The body double doesn’t do the task for you but creates an environment of focus and shared energy. It’s perfect for those who struggle with distractions or need that extra sense of partnership—making it particularly helpful for ADHD. It is like having a training partner, whether or not they are training.

3 Key Tips for Choosing Between Accountability and Body Doubling:

Know your work style: If you thrive on independence but struggle with follow-through, accountability might be your best bet. If you work better with someone nearby, body doubling can offer that sense of shared focus.
Consider the task: Simple, straightforward tasks like email sorting may benefit from accountability, whereas overwhelming or emotional tasks, like decluttering sentimental items, may be easier with body doubling.
Experiment: It’s okay to try both! Some people find that body doubling works well for certain tasks, while accountability is better for ongoing projects.

To help you experience the benefits of these services firsthand, I’m offering an introductory sessions free of charge until the end of September. A group is gathering to provide community accountability AND body doubling to help each other get a few things done. Here I the link to sign up — don’t miss out!

Organizing Strategies Productivity

Tags : accountability, body double, organizing strategies, Procrastination, professional organizers

The Successful To-Do List

Posted by Carolyn on

September 3, 2024

· 2 Comments

Looking for the successful To-Do List? Does a successful To-Do List even exist?

Yes, it does. However, there are key factors to make it successful. Many years ago, I prepared this list of seven factors as part of a “Where are they all” series. Here is how to check off all seven.

1. Are all your To-Do Lists in one place?

Let’s start with how many To-Do Lists you have and where you keep them all. Are they all in one room? Frequently, clients complain they can’t keep track and the lists end up spread out across the house, office or desk.

Put all your lists, if you have more than one, in one place.

2. If they are in one room, are they all in one location in that room?

Ideally, you use only one, or a maximum of two lists. If you are using two, the first is a brain dump of all the things you can imagine you need to do. This list is a way of emptying your brain and to stop the thoughts from swirling. The second is the short list of things to do TODAY. Give your lists a designated home and make sure they get back there.

3. In that location, are they on one piece of paper, one file, one book or in one file folder?

There is not one single, perfect method to contain the successful To-Do List. There are however, more helpful strategies. I recommend keeping the list in a small notebook. If you identify as a woman or keep a purse, ideally the notebook fits in that purse. It ought to be small enough to carry with you and large enough to keep track of the list, plus any additional to do’s that come up during the day. Using a planner serves the same purpose and keeps the information with your daily activities. It doesn’t matter if this is digital or paper version. Keep it together.

4. Are similar or related items actions listed together?

One of the benefits of writing down the action items, is that related items can be identified. When our thoughts swirl in our head, these feel like unrelated, multiplying action items. Written down, those same items may only be one action with some qualifiers. For example the action item might be “pick up the birthday cake”. The qualifier might be “before 4 pm” or “and dropped off at party venue” or “pick up candles”.

5. Does each item start with a verb?

I call this “verbing up your To-Do List”. Our brains receive clear direction when the action item begins with a verb. If your action relates to getting organized, you might use words like sort, clear, purge, empty, or reduce. Your brain understands the clear action word and knows what to do. Using a verb to start each item removes confusion. On my To-Do List today is “complete weekly blog post on the successful to-do list”.

6. Are your To-Do List items sorted by date identified, date due, level of importance, level of urgency, relevance to your objectives?

Not all to do’s are created equal. Does your list help your brain understand which item to tackle first? Using the 2 list method, the “capture everything” list is just a brain dump of all your thoughts. It can be useful to sort this list by area of your life e.g. work, health and fitness. The today list represents items that are scheduled for today, are urgent or time sensitive. If you plan your time using time blocking, your to do’s for today are scheduled into the time blocks.

7. Do you know when the items have been accomplished?

An effective goal is one that is clearly measurable. A measurable goal means you know exactly when it has been accomplished. The same is true for the successful To-Do List items. With the birthday cake example above, you know exactly when that item is complete; it’s 4 pm and either you have dropped the cake at the venue or you haven’t. Once again, items written with a verb, and built-in completion details, provide your brain with clarity. These items are easier to accomplish. Accomplishing tasks is faster when your entire To-Do List is built with clear action items.

The successful To-Do List is easy to keep track of, easy to follow and contains clear, actionable items. “Verbed up”, your brain receives clear information about what it needs to direct you to do and when that task is done.

Clarity Organizing Strategies Productivity

Tags : Goals, Lists, organizing strategies, Time Management, To Do List

Simplify: More than Minimalism and Shedding

Posted by Carolyn on

August 7, 2024

· No Comments

Recently, I had an opportunity to simplify a few things in my own life. With a volunteer term completed, I transitioned responsibilities over to my successor. Although still in a related volunteer role, I was relieved of a handful of duties. My calendar was emptier and my time freer. That’s when I realized that to simplify is more than simply shedding or trying to minimize the stuff in our lives. It is also a key step in getting and staying organized.

The Difference: Simplifying vs Shedding

In the world of professional organizers, shedding usually means releasing or letting go. Just like male deer shed their antlers before the winter, and make room for a stronger rack to replace it, so do we shed items that no longer serve us. We let go of things we don’t use, like or need. Or sometimes to make room for something better.

Simplifying on the other hand, is more about making things easier. Processes get simplified to with less steps to make them easier, more manageable or shorter.

I once had a client who needed support decluttering and setting up an office after a move. In that process we also simplified the space and workflow so that everything the client needed to work with on a day-to-day basis was within arms reach, or certainly a short swivel chair swing (technical, organizer term “chair swing”) of her work space.

What About Minimalism?

Minimalism on the other hand, is about shedding a lot of things. It really answers the questions “how much can I do without?” or “how can I so more with as little as possible?”. Not everyone is happy to even attempt minimalist thinking or living.

Behind the Scenes

While it is true, having completed my volunteer position term, I was shedding duties and handing them to my successor. And that felt like simplifying things.

However, I had also been reviewing digital files and moving some to our shared online filing cabinet. While shedding the files in one part of the digital world, I was streamlining in another part.

The great part about shedding is it leaves space of new things. I now had time and space in my calendar and business life to refocus back to this blog, my newsletter and having some fun on social media.

Shedding, Simplifying and Organizing

It takes all three to get and stay organized. Try these tips to get you started:

Start with shedding. Be the deer in late fall and shed what no longer serves you, what will hinder your progress in your goals or what you no longer use.
Once the shedding is done, how can your work flow or processes be simplified? How can steps be reduced to accomplish the same goal. For one client, I simply mounted 2 removable hooks on the wall beside the outside door of the kitchen. One was for her daughter’s lunch bag the other was for the coat. These hooks completely simplified the “what to do with the lunch box/coat” after school. She would simply move the hook up as her daughter grew.
Finally, ensure that each item has a home. This home needs to be easy to access (retrieval) to easy to put the item back (storage). When storage and retrieval are easy, you’ve likely simplified and will be able to stay organized.

Declutter Office Organizing Organizing Strategies Organizing Time Productivity Uncategorized

Tags : Children, clothes, home office, minimalism, organizing strategies, simplify

Toddler with headphones smiling at camera.

Organize to Music

Posted by Carolyn on

August 1, 2024

· No Comments

I frequently encourage clients to organize to music. Put together your favourite playlist. Now see what can be accomplished before the 15 minutes playlist is done.

Bring in a Mel Robins podcast and boom! My theory has been pushed to the level of science based tools for not only organizing but focus, performance and healing. I highly recommend you listen to the entire show but for now, here is the summary.

Organize to Music for the Tough Stuff

When you listen to music that you associate with great times as a child or young adult, Your brain naturally relates to the mood and feeling of the time and place where you were regularly listening to that music. Favourite high school song? Special song when you and your life partner first met? THAT summer camp song? You know the ones…this the music that you know by heart and when it comes on the radio your mind goes immediately to that time, place and feeling.

Tip 1

Use the music to get through tough organizing. Since this music is guaranteed to put you in a great mood, use this for tackling a tough organizing project. The music will put you in a good and help you get through the tough stuff. Doesn’t have to be limited to organizing to music. My family had an ABBA record that was essential for tackling the Christmas dinner dishwashing at the farm.

Tip 2

After a tough organizing project, use your favourite memory music to reset your mindset. Clearing a loved one’s estate? Left feeling blue and discouraged? Put on your favourite memory music and it will immediately help reset your mindset.

Music for Performance

Have you got a favourite pump up song? If you were being announced on stage, what “walk on” song would you use? What music hypes you up? This music is actually helps you deliver better performance. Whether you listen to it before you have to perform or while you are performing, it will have the same result.

Tip 3

If you are getting ready to tackle an organizing project that is going to require a high level of energy (packing, moving, that over the top full garage?) put on your personal hype music. This music will put you in a state of peak performance and you will get more done. Need to be on top of your game? Put on your “walk on” song and use that increase in energy to get the results you want.

Music for Concentration

Ever hear of music with binaural beats? This music helps with concentration. However, you need to be using headphones. Bi means two, right? Aural relates to hearing and ears. Therefore, two ears for two different frequencies that helps you brain into focus, calm or creative thinking. Organizing to music is not just for upbeat. In addition, it can be used for focus and concentration.

Tip 4

Put on some headphones and find a tract of binaural beats to help you when concentration or focus are key in your organizing project. An example might be sorting paper (tax files?) or books where you have to think about what you need to keep.

So, organizing to music is a real, science backed strategy. I highly recommend you listen to the entire podcast in order to hear the full science conversation. And then get your playlists ready and organizing will be easier, more fun and more productive. Have fun.

Organizing Strategies Productivity

Tags : Clearing Clutter, managing mess, organizing strategies

jumbled collection of many dishes on table

Backlog vs Day-to-Day: What’s the declutter difference?

Posted by Carolyn on

July 17, 2024

· No Comments

Many people don’t realize there is a declutter difference between backlog and day to day. Not all clutter is created equally. This will help.

The Declutter Dilemma

Touch it once. Deal with it now. Don’t put it down put it away.

These are all great organizing principles. EXCEPT they only apply to day-to-day decluttering.

If you are dealing with a backlog these strategies will have you frustrated, overwhelmed and a victim of decision fatigue in no time. UGH!

There is a declutter difference between the two type of organizing. One, clearing a backlog, is all about managing large amounts of material as quickly. On the other hand, managing paper, clothes, dishes or documents on a day-to-day basis is quite a separate process.

Here are some strategies that will help you manage the declutter difference and get your space organized to feel calmer and back in control.

Declutter the Backlog

You have a large amount of material to be reviewed, sorted, purged and then organized. Welcome to the backlog. Perhaps you are preparing for a house or condo sale, or maybe a move. Or, you simply have decided you need more space and less stuff so it’s time to take action.

Key Decision: The key decision for backlog is Discard or Keep. Make this decision as quickly as possible. Simply decide what is shed vs what is keep.
Make it Easy: If it’s paper you are sorting, have a recycling and shredding bag or box right beside you. Anything to keep is divided into FILE or ACTION.
Next Steps: Once this first sort has been done, you will likely find only 10-25% of the original pile is actually left with ACTION to be taken. Take out the recycling. Set up your shredder or find a local shredding company and pick a time to get the shredding out of the house.
Last Step: Take the necessary action and then FIND A HOME for the items to be kept. If you are moving, that might mean packing. Having decluttered already, you will be packing and moving much less.

Managing Day-to-Day

The decluttering difference with day-to-day organizing is to make sure the backlog never happens. The trick is to avoid an accumulation of belongings or paper, so that you don’t have to take the time or energy to ever clear the backlog.

Key Decision: The key decision for day-to-day organizing is “What action needs to be taken?”
Make it Easy: If the action to be taken requires less than 15 minutes, try and do it right away. Although this is not always possible, getting into the “do it now” attitude for those quick tasks will keep the clutter at bay. This is where “touch it once” makes sense.
Next Steps: Once the action is taken, the following question is “Where does this need to live?”. Every item needs to have a home where it can be easily stored and retrieved. Remember, however, once the action is taken, where it needs to live might be the recycling, shredding or garbage.
Last Steps: Put the item in its home. This is where “don’t put it down, put it away” comes in. You are done.

There is a decluttering difference between clearing a backlog versus maintaining a clutter free home or office on a day-to-day basis. Not all clutter is created equal. A different strategy is needed whether you are clearing the backlog to downsize or managing today’s mail. Have fun and keep going.

Declutter Habits Move Organizing Organizing Challenges Productivity

Tags : Accumulation, Clearing Clutter, Downsizing, managing mess, Organizing Maintenance, organizing strategies

orange/red full moon over leaves of forest or garden

Summer Solstice and Full Moon

Posted by Carolyn on

July 8, 2024

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With both the Summer Solstice and a Full Moon, the last weeks of spring promise renewal. The beginning of summer is a time for Mother Nature to bring rebirth to her garden.Try these three easy tips to help you take advantage of that renewal energy.