Organize from a Place of Joy!
by Jennifer Zwiebel, Intuitive Organizer and Coach
It seems that just as soon as the New Year’s been rung in, people are off and running in a mad dash to FINALLY get organized. I love that energy of action and determination, but I’ve seen time and again how quickly that energy fizzles out, leaving people overwhelmed with half-organized piles of paper and lots of storage containers that don’t fit anywhere.
Try it differently this year and it could be the last time “getting organized” makes your resolution list! Here are some tips that will help you create space to breathe, think and thrive:
Come to the process from a place of joy. Don’t waste energy getting upset about the mess or beating yourself up for being “disorganized.” Show yourself some compassion and make one small change that will bring you joy in your space.
Get clear. Give your self time to simply assess the situation — without judgment. Put your emotions aside, even for a few minutes, and look at what needs to get done.
Start small. Choose ONE small area (I began with my night table when I started this process for myself) and focus only on that.
Maintain. When your first area is complete, maintain it for at least a week before you start something else. Maintenance is at the heart of organizing. Without consciously shifting your habits around maintaining your space, everything will fall back into old patterns (and mess).
Validate yourself. Actively bring your attention to everything you accomplish, however small or silly it feels. Congratulate yourself on going through a pile of clothes or setting up a pen cup. Say it out loud, write it down — what you focus on expands, and by bringing awareness to your success, you’ll create more of it.
Here’s an exercise you can use to start you off:
Take five minutes in a quiet place to reflect on how you feel about “organizing.” Write down the feelings that come up for you when you think about your space, how it makes you feel, how you feel about the way you take care of it, what it says about you, what you think is possible and what you think is impossible to change.
Then, read it over and see where you’re being judgmental and critical, and where you’re being compassionate. Choose one critical feeling that is blocking you from moving forward and “put it in a box,” while you do some organizing. See what fees up for you when you set that feeling aside — and let me know what you discover! (Feel free to email me at Jennifer@jenniferzwiebel.com.)
Jennifer Zwiebel is an Intuitive Organizer and Coach who partners with students and adults to help them live, work and think more clearly. Jennifer is the co-author of The Organized Student: Teaching Children the Skills for Success in School and Beyond.
Jennifer will be leading a workshop on Getting Organized at The WonderGirls February 21st event, Life 101: Nurturing Your Best Self!
