Monday I shared some feelings of inadequacy I am having about being a woman with ADD, a woman who as organized and together as she appears to be, cannot get her act together. I announced that every Monday I would write about my organization frustrations and every Tuesday I would bring in Kristin, a Professional Organizer and owner of The Organized Lifestyle Store, Theorganizedlfestylestore.com/blog to join us to straighten me out. Here is her first reply to Monday’s blog, and if you didn’t read on Monday you must go back! Wendy (lifewithwendy.com).
Kristin’s Response:
I am thrilled to be embarking on this new project with Wendy, from Lifewithwendy.com, because she shares the struggle of so many women that I work with on a daily basis. In fact, she shares some of my own struggles as a busy woman running two businesses! She is brave and honest in sharing her life so candidly and accomplishes more everyday than she realizes! I believe many woman can benefit from knowing they are not alone.
I often say what appears to be the perfect life of some is really just a veiled myth. Organizing is hard work and balancing it all is even harder. It is my hope that I can share my own advice to not only help Wendy, but help all of you with your struggles to find the perfect life balance and the “organized lifestyle.”
Choosing the Christmas decorating over the mundane daily tasks is certainly the easier and more tempting route when you are faced with the a long laundry list of boring responsibilities. I loved Wendy’s description of needing “adult supervision.” My clients sometimes refer to me as their “babysitter,” to get their bills paid or projects completed. It is just the act of me keeping them accountable that helps them achieve their goals. Whether it is a spouse, a friend a boss, or a teacher, having someone else to keep us on track can be one of our best motivator to getting things done.
Let’s look at what worked for Wendy. She has a workout partner Caroline that she meets every morning. That gets her out of bed early in the morning, it keeps her focused because she needs to meet this person at a specific time every day. That person depends on her to be there and holds her accountable to working out each day. Wendy succeeds. If Wendy takes that concept and applies it to other areas of her life that aren’t quite working she might find more peace in her projects. Who is going to keep her accountable for the tasks she doesn’t like to do? If she can’t keep herself accountable to her own appointments and responsibilities, who in her support system can? Who can she delegate projects to in order to take herself out of the equation?
We are sometimes afraid to ask for help, but we have people all around us who can be willing participants. For example, maybe Wendy’s workout partner can ask her every morning what her three priorities are for the day. Wendy can think about them while she is running on the treadmill and her partner can check in with her each morning to see if she accomplished them.
Action Steps:
Make a list of the tasks you have been successful at recently. Ask yourself why? Observe your pattern.
Make a list of the tasks you have been unsuccessful at recently. Ask yourself why? Observe your pattern.
Who can hold you accountable for the tasks you have been ignoring or failing to achieve?
Kristin’s Response: