The final keynote speaker of the SF Chapter of NAPO 19th Annual Conference (my original post here) was Judith Kolberg, whose book (co-authored with Kathleen Nadeau, Ph.D.), ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life has been on my shelf for at least 2 years. She founded of The National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization. As soon as she opened her mouth, she proved to be the kind of speaker you want to kick back and listen to for an hour or two. A wonderful story-teller, she had me on the brink of tears laughing at one point.

I know it’s not so funny hearing that she was funny. Hmm, well, imagine walking into someone’s home as a newbie organizer, to find stalagmite of paper pushing up from the floor and stalactite dropping down from the ceiling. (My apologies if this is your actual situation. If it is, and you want to do something about it, give her a call–that is, if you want to clear it out. Call a photographer if you’d like to submit a photo to the Guinness World Records.)

As a specialist in working with people with ADD, she has a particular sensitivity for the client’s perspective. Helping our clients understand what they can expect of the experience can be calming information. For example, she reminded us to explain to our clients how their office would get worse in the organizing process before it gets better. This can serve to pop any glorification bubble that may exist (everything will be easy and perfect now that the organizer is here!)

She graciously ended her talk saying she was “honored and thrilled to have been your keynote speaker.”

I’ll end this post by saying that I was honored and thrilled to have been in the audience.

Now I haven’t tried this yet (disclaimer). I did just sign up for an account and when I get home from my retreat, I’ll try it out full steam. This resource suggestions is based on the referral of Jocelyn Coverdale, session leader of Tech Savvy Organizing at the NAPO conference (original conference post here).

If this beta (and currently free) service works as well as she says it does, then I love it already. The premise is mobile note taking. You call a number from your cell phone and “jott” a message. It is transcribed and sent to your email. OR you can dictate a message to be sent to another email address–perfect for delegating to an assistant!

Great for capturing those thoughts that pop up in your head while out and about. Currently I use a blank book to capture these thoughts, so I’ll be interested to see how this compares in ease of use. By ease of use, I mean the whole process from capturing the thought to processing the new info into the appropriate place back in the office.

The other cool function mentioned is setting up a reminder. You can call in and set up a message to be sent to yourself on your phone (text message) at a specific time and day. (Keep in mind that if you pay for text-ing, you’ll be charged by your phone service.)

You can even Jott to your blog! There are all kinds of uses to check out. I’ll report back once I’ve tried some of them.

It’s web-based and thus Mac or PC access is fine.

After the NAPO conference on Saturday I didn’t go home… because it’s pre-birthday retreat and book writing time!

I won’t actually say where I am, but I’ll give some clues by way of quotes I’ve heard over the course of the day:

“They had great drinks and not overly pricey. I had 3 drinks and paid about $60–oh, there were 2 of us, so 6 drinks.”
– some guy

“Do you want a car pass for Yosemite?”
– Bruno from Switzerland

“Hey, Sugar Booger.”
– nice young man (EMT student I think) greeting his (presumably) loved one on the pay phone

“We saw the doctors cut an 8 inch hole around where the guy got stabbed. Then they pulled out one organ at a time to inspect them for punctures and bleeding. It was so gnarly!”
– EMT student recently back from Emergency Room field trip

“Yeah, I just got married. We’re going to get our rings tattooed on in a few weeks.”
– another EMT student

and the kicker:
“I already got in your pants, I don’t need to impress you anymore.”
– guy (who was not an EMT student) just before launching into a particularly painful tattoo story

The opening speaker for the 19th annual SF NAPO Conference (original conference post here) was Caterina Rando, business success coach and author.

She covered several subjects–this post is about what I particularly appreciated about her talk.

She had us draw an 8-sliced “pie” on a piece of paper. We then labeled each one: financial, significant relationship, health/fitness/vitality, physical environment, friends/family, recreation/rejuvenation, personal/professional/spiritual development, & career.

Then she had us put a star in the ones we felt strong in–these are our centers of power. And then a check mark in those we felt weak in–these are challenge areas.

We were then asked to choose one of the challenge areas we’d like to improve in. Her first question posed was: “Do you have a vision in that challenge area?” I could feel a collective “a-ha” resonating throughout the room of 200 people. In fact, the general consensus was that No! we do not have a vision of how we want to be in that area.

She then pointed out that we humans like to “hang out” in areas in which we feel strong, and not where we feel uncomfortable or inadequate. Thus, our centers of power become ever stronger, the challenge areas often left behind.

The first step to remedy a challenge area is to develop a vision. How do I want to see myself in that area? What does it feel like? How would I interact or respond when that area is a center of power?

The second step is to identify an action that will help make that center of power become a reality.

The third step is to DO IT! and keep reliving the vision.

(We already know I’m a huge fan of visualizing.) Which reminds me of another thing I really appreciated hearing from Caterina: she illuminated the importance of visualizing.

This is based on the understanding that there are 3 main sections of the brain. One being the reptilian brain which takes care of those basic functions like breathing and pumping blood throughout the body; one being the neo-cortex which is involved in conscious thought and language (the analyzing brain); the third being the limbic which is involved in emotion, motivation, and emotional association with memory (the emotional brain).

For visualization to work, we need both the analyzing and emotional brains pulling for us.

For example, when I state a visualization such as, “I want to fully engage with my audience when public speaking”, I am using the analytical brain. When I imagine and “feel” that state of being as already achieved, I am engaging the emotional brain.

I love this stuff! Thanks, Caterina!

Yesterday was the 19th annual conference for the San Francisco Chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers (I’m a member of the national organization.) 98-99% of some 200 attendees were women, some of whom had been in business for 25+ years, and some of whom were just contemplating a switch of careers to be an organizer. Talk about a nice group of people. Everyone seemed to be full of smiles and good humor. Naturally, everything flowed smoothly and on-time. =)

I had originally heard about the conference from the conference chair, Diane Judd who I met at a BACN (Bay Area Consultants Network) event in July. Even though she hadn’t seen me since then, she warmly greeted me by name when I checked in. I’m guessing she had smoothly taken a quick glance at my name tag, but, hey, who cares? It was a nice way to start the day because I didn’t know anyone when I showed up. Over the course of the day, seeing her interact with the organizing committee and other attendees, I could tell she had been a perfect candidate for chairing the conference. Gracious, friendly, and generally just “on it”. Good job, Diane!

It followed standard conference format: 2 keynote speakers (Judith Kolberg and Caterina Rando), several break-out sessions, a generous raffle to keep us ’til the very end, schwag bag of goodies, and plenty of food, coffee, & tea at the San Ramon Marriott Hotel.

Session subjects ranged from Face Reading, to Feng Shui for Organizers, to dealing with Icky Sticky Situations (working in toxic, or possibly dangerous situations), to a panel on “Green” Organizing, to Working with Design Professionals, to Networking and Developing an Organizing Business.

I’ll post more resources and reporting over the next several days.

The forty-ninth issue of the Project Simplify newsletter The Simplifier is now archived on our newsletter archives page.

Here is a brief summary of the contents:

1. A Note From Shawn
Reclaiming a villianized notion
2. Our Featured Quote
by Thomas Troward
3. Article: Time to Get Intentional!
by PS Head Simplifier Shawn Tuttle
4. This Week’s Simplification Tip
Revel in the joy of completion, and achieve more success
5. In the News
Quality study space in the home, sticking with a place for everything, and brand backlash
6. Featured at ProjectSimplify.com
The Latest Post in Each Category
7. Keep Smiling
Very Funny Cartoons

Read the full issue here.
Subscribe to The Simplifier here.
[posted by Lance]

This article was originally published in The Simplifier #49.

Article: Time to Get Intentional!

By Shawn Tuttle

The last article offered a definition of intention as “aligning with what you want”. By thinking about intention as creating a culture, we saw how being aware of your intention can inform the thoughts and actions that support a goal.

When referring to intention in the context of space and systems, as we did in the last article, you might get the impression of an a la carte menu–”I’ll simplify the office, my invoicing system, and my inbox.” This is comparable to the separating of subjects in school: there’s English, Psychology, and Economics. They have different textbooks, different teachers, and different objectives.

This is how we typically view our lives: we put ourselves in a central place then look out to the different aspects of our lives: work, family, household affairs, play, and self-growth. We set goals for each one, then do our best to achieve those goals.

Categorizing your life this way can be useful for certain activities, such as planning and goal setting. However, it can be harmful in that it invites a compartmentalized view of your life. In reality, a negative attitude about invoicing indirectly affects your relationship with loved ones; delegating your payroll to an outside agency has an indirect affect on your community volunteer work. Everything is interconnected.

Simplifying your life begins with your Simplicity Statement. But is a statement enough to change your life? Possibly. (Far be it from me to deny the possibility!) For most people though, there is more to be done. Time to get intentional! Meaning, time to line everything in your world up in support of your Simplicity Statement.

A different way of looking at your life
What is “everything” to be lined up? While spaces and systems are not to be overlooked, the emphasis is on focus, attitude, thoughts, beliefs, actions, relationships, communication, physical stuff and commitments—basically, all the ways you relate to the world. From this perspective, the means to your simplified self are your various ways of relating, and not the categories in your life.

Say you are working with a Simplicity Statement such as: “My thoughts and activities support my heartfelt goals in the spirit of fun and gratitude.” Using visualization exercises, you’ve developed a vision and feeling of what this Statement means to you–an inner experience of what it feels like to be thinking and acting in accordance with the statement. This feeling becomes your intention. Then, you set goals that are in line with your intention. (This is where compartmentalizing your life comes in handy!)

Enter: focus. Exercising focus within the culture of your intention can feel like strengthening a muscle that’s been flabby for years. When you recognize how distractions have been pulling you in all directions, training your mind to be decisive when determining what is or isn’t allowed can be like a magical transformation.

Enter: discipline. If each of the means to your goal is a pathway, then it’s your job to stay on the path. Whether you are spending time with friends or working on a project proposal, are your thoughts, attitudes, and words supporting your goals? It’s like building blocks. When you place the blocks strategically according to a plan, you can end up with a great building. But the number of details along the way can seem infinite! As with most efforts to become disciplined, sticking with your intentions gets easier with time.

The list of pathways is numerous, enough to drive anyone nuts trying to monitor all of them all the time. Try taking one at a time. For example you could begin with one that is easy to identify, like time commitments. If you’re a regular reader, you’ve already begun by taking inventory of these commitments.

What about a pathway, such as thought, which is more nebulous? Definitely calling on discipline here! Over the course of the day, as you transition into a new activity, clarify your big-picture intention and the focus of that activity. Then keep an eye on your thoughts, bringing them back to your intention and focus when they stray. Dedicate a day to being hypersensitive in this way for practice. Once you begin catching your thoughts wandering automatically, you can back off a bit.

You can try thinking about this as dedicating your undivided attention to your goals and intentions. A simple example: if one of your goals is to spend an hour of playtime outside with your family every week, then talking on the phone with a colleague during this time is totally inappropriate. As is thinking about the front yard landscaping project, or stopping to talk for half an hour with a friend you ran into. These don’t support your intention of engaging and being present with your family.

This holds true for most situations, ranging from family time, to processing your inbox, or running a meeting. Simplifying isn’t something to go do, it’s how you relate with the world. You do this by being aware of your means of interacting and pulling them in line with your intention.

”Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.” —William A. Foster

Since you have limitless possibilities for how your life plays out, consciously providing yourself with direction increases positive results. Let that direction permeate your interaction with the world!

—

Shawn Tuttle is founder of Project Simplify.