There are three things about me that people seem to be very curious about:
- Being single (again) – in particular, what’s it like on the dating scene?? (Yes, I do have some interesting stories!)
- Doing my cleanse/wellness reboot – pretty amazing results last time… doing it again now (Day 4 of 21)
- Organizing as a profession – What’s that like?
I’ll answer the safest! #3… my typical day as an organizer. (Maybe I’ll share more about the other two another time?! Not exactly organizing-related – but you’d be surprised at the crossover.)
A few weeks ago a friend mentioned this blog post idea to me, and I thought – love it. So… here’s a day I captured that week, along with a few helpful tips…
A day in the life of me
5:30 am Wake up / green juice / cardio workout on treadmill
TIP: LOVE the way green juice makes me feel but most days just don’t want to pull out my juicer, so I’ll grab a pre made juice. One of my favorites: Evolution (like to stock up when on sale but check expiration dates – sometimes they expire a couple days later so ones in back may be fresher)
6:15 Wake up boys
6:30 Wake up boys
6:45 Threaten boys
Whirlwind of getting dressed, having breakfast, making lunch, heading out door (often simultaneously). Definitely not picture perfect, but most days we make it to school in one piece.
TIP: Some good stuff I did during this time: grabbed a few easy, healthy snacks (favorites: Lara bars, raw nuts, apple, almond butter packet), water bottle, and my (already packed up the night before) stuff for day.
8:15 Drop off kids (with no matter how crazy the morning is an, “I love you! Have a great day!”)
8:16 Enjoy peaceful car + my on-the-road coffee as I drive to client’s house, then listen to downloaded business-related program.
TIP: Make most of travel time: Have downloads you’d like to listen to easily accessible. I’ll keep mine in browser bookmark so I can easily pull up on phone.
Currently doing a productivity course (Eben Pagan’s Wakeup Productive) CONFESSION: that 5:30 a workout didn’t really happen this day:/ But I am now trying to make Eben’s “personal success ritual” (setting day up strong) a reality. Will see if I can make it stick …. right now I’m 5 for 8.
PARENT TIP: Playing business / self-help-y stuff in the car is great punishment for misbehaving little passengers. Seriously.
9:00 1-1 Home Organizing Session with on-going client, so we knew exactly what we were going to tackle that day (home office).
How I start off with a NEW CLIENT
Had this been a new client, we would’ve spent some time understanding the current situation and getting clear on ultimate vision, and then checking out the physical space and coming up with action plan. Depending on scope of project, this can take five minutes – or up to an hour or two.
TIP: Getting this info and knowing how to best use it to develop SMART plan is a big key to lasting results.
PRIOR TO FIRST SESSION: Typically I talk with a potential client on phone first so I can get an idea of what’s going on, and then share a few options of how I can help. If we feel we’re a good match, we set up that first session.
12:00 p With eye on time, begin wrap up process so by the time session ends at 1:00, client is left with sense of peace, accomplishment and “wow – this was so worth it!” results.
TIP: If you can’t finish an organizing project, at least come to a clean stopping point. And schedule time to complete it. One of the most frustrating things about trying to get organized is having really good intentions, making great headway but not quite finishing. This adds to the existing stress because you’ve actually put in time and energy – and on top of that, feel like you failed. I’ve been there!
1:00 Head back my home office (half the time I’m in my car, listening to business stuff is LAST thing I want to do, so after returning a few calls, it’s just good music.)
1:30 Grab something for lunch from fridge (probably a somewhat healthy frozen entree)
1:45 Yoga mini-break
TIP: It’s crucial to take mini breaks in between projects / appointments to get balanced and give your mind a break. This is something I’ve been doing for a while and it makes a tremendous difference. I’ll may do a few yoga poses (especially on days I didn’t have yoga class) and drink water.
2:30 Work on business client’s website: Helping client create a more professional, aesthetically pleasing, user friendly (organized!) site that optimizes based on their marketing strategy.
Side(but IMPORTANT!)note for those in business of any kind
Whether you’re in business for yourself or work for someone else, organizing can play a big role in your success:
- How you work (from systems in place to finding exactly what you need when you need it)
- Where you’re putting your focus (and actually being able to focus!)
- How all your communication pieces (including yourself!) look, feel and perform
- Your level of enjoyment (working smarter = happier you = better results = happier you… a spiral up kind of thing)
Many businesses put all focus on sales, when if this shifted just a bit to these organizing-related factors above, they’d see big effects on bottom line, efficiency, and customer satisfaction. And self satisfaction!
TIPS: Look over the way you work (what customers see and what you see behind-the-scenes), note improvements to make, prioritize and then do.
IMPORTANT: Continue to evaluate and tweak. I’m doing for my own business now. If you’d like help with yours, let me know.
2:30 Head out to get kids (phone chat with girlfriend… all work and no play…. not so good. Doesn’t substitute for in person but I’ll take what I can get.)
2:45 Draft blog post (I’ll often jot down thoughts on clipboard when I’m waiting in carpool. Makes it much easier to jump into the actual writing part.)
TIP: Have a few things handy that you can do during “waiting times.”
IMPORTANT TIP: BUT!…. Don’t feel like you have to pack in something every minute! This particular day seems that way (I do have to be efficient with my time) but I make sure to get in really good downtime as well.
4:30 Office wrap up (At this point, my strong creative / thinking ability / focus is G.O.N.E. I’m trying to get in habit of wrapping up my day – processing emails, miscellaneous stuff.
5:30 Start thinking about dinner
TIP: Plan your meals out for the month, or at least week (easiest stuff on busy nights); do ONE main shopping trip weekly; and prep food whenever possible.
An obvious tip. That I don’t follow. You’d think I’d have it more together, but mapping out monthly meals makes me cringe. Am actually working towards a weekly plan because I know it’d make a huge difference in my late afternoon stress level. (Yes, I’m an organizer that despises too much structure!)
And that’s where my written timeline for that particular day ended.
I’m sure there were homework checkins, getting stuff ready for next day, laundry, dinner, clean up, house stuff, bedtime stuff for kids …. and more than likely DVR’d Bravo and a little wine.
10:00 Lights out (in my dreams… If I actually went to bed at 10pm every night, that 5:30am workout the next morning would be much more realistic!)
There you have it… probably more than you wanted to know to Question #3!
Any other organizing or whatever questions you have, send my way. And any tips for my dinnertime dilemma, please send my way too!
xo,
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