Have you experienced that feeling of overwhelm when trying to figure out your next step? If so, you’re not alone. Choosing what to do next can be a challenge. Why is that? There can be many reasons, including:

• Finding decision-making difficult

• Being unclear about the next step in a process

• Having difficulty prioritizing

• Feeling fearful of choosing the ‘wrong’ option

• Making the next step too big

• Finding it difficult to estimate how much time something will take

• Having too many options

• Thinking aspirationally rather than realistically

Since you might be feeling overwhelmed right now, I’m going to focus on a single idea. A while back, I saw a graphic by Liz Fosslien. She has a talent for making the complex immediately understandable. When I saw this image (see below), I thought about how it applied to next steps, especially regarding scope and what’s actually doable.

Often, when you’re thinking about what to do next, you consider everything you need to do instead of what you can realistically accomplish today. Aspirational thinking can derail your next step because your focus is too broad. You believe you can do it all right now. However, it’s only possible to accomplish a few things in a day.

How to Give Your Next Step a Reality Check

One of the best places to start when you’re trying to figure out what to do next is to acknowledge that only a small portion of what you want or need to do can happen today. That’s being realistic.

Next, select a few things you want to make progress on today. Review those options and choose one small, doable task to start with. Once that task is complete enough, move on to the next item on your list.

There’s nothing wrong with listing everything you want to do this week, month, year, or in life. However, when you want to get unstuck and take immediate action, it’s helpful to be more specific and realistic. Progress comes from narrowing your focus and managing your available time.

“Only a small portion of what you want or need to do can happen today.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

What’s Next for You?

Figuring out your next step can feel elusive at times. However, by narrowing the scope and being realistic about your available time, you can move forward with more ease. What helps you figure out what’s next? Which ideas resonate with you?

I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

How Can I Help?

Do you feel overwhelmed or disorganized? Do you want to take your next step but feel stuck? I’m here to help! Virtual organizing is an extraordinary path forward – Local feel with a global reach.

Let’s connect! I’m easy to reach.

• Schedule a Discovery Call

• Fill out the Contact form

• Email me at linda@ohsorganized.com or

• Call 914-271-5673

Moving forward and getting organized are possible, especially with support.

There are two challenges related to change that many of my clients face. The most common reason is overwhelm, often because the changes they seek are significant. Overwhelm can happen when you:

• Have difficulty deciding where to start

• Want to make multiple changes

• Are unsure whether what you want to accomplish is possible

• Engage in negative self-talk or unhelpful loops and scripts

• Are uncertain how you’ll have time to make the changes you seek

The second most common challenge is task activation. My clients often know what to do, yet struggle to take action. They may experience low mood, boredom with the task, self-doubt, exhaustion, or difficulty managing their time.

The good news is that even when you’re feeling overwhelmed and having difficulty activating, things can shift quickly in a positive direction. I’ve seen this happen consistently with my clients, and it’s inspiring to be part of.

Are you curious about how to shift from overwhelm to hope and from stuckness to action? If so, keep reading to learn a few helpful strategies.

Change Strategies That Work When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed and Stuck

Strategy 1: Go Small

You know the phrase, “Think big?” For the first strategy, do the exact opposite. Instead of focusing on all the changes you want to make, go small, really small. This shift creates a boundary.

Let’s say you want to edit and organize all the rooms in your home. The goal is doable, but the enormity of those tasks feels overwhelming. For now, set aside thinking about the big picture and focus on a single, small piece.

For example, you want to edit and organize your clothes, which are stored in many rooms, dressers, and closets. Select one small area to begin, such as a drawer, a shelf, a closet rod, or a bag stuffed in the basement. Anywhere is OK as long as the area is small.

You’ll notice almost immediately that your mood begins to regulate because you’ve contained the organizing task to something more manageable. Overwhelm and anxiety subside when you set boundaries around your area of focus.

Strategy 2: Engage in What’s Doable

Combine the first strategy, going small, with this next one. As you can imagine, it’s not enough to create a tinier boundary and shift your mindset. It must be paired with an action or task. By reducing stress and cortisol surges, activation becomes possible. You can calmly face your task.

Here’s the magic. Making progress on that one small thing has a wonderfully positive effect. Your thoughts transform from “I can’t do this” to “I’m getting it done!” Your mood shifts from blocked and negative to lighter, more energetic, and more excited about taking on more.

“Overwhelm and anxiety subside when you set boundaries around your area of focus.”

— Linda Samuels. CPO-CD®, CVOP™

Strategy 3: Enlist Help

The first two strategies are effective. However, if you’re ready for change and still feel unable to move forward, it’s time for the third option: Ask for help. This can come from a nonjudgmental friend, family member, or professional organizer like me. You don’t have to do this alone.

My clients recognize that having a partner on their organizing journey is the secret sauce. They appreciate ongoing support, discussions of solutions and challenges, help with decision-making, a thought partner, and encouragement.

Some recent client organizing tasks included:

• Decluttering the dining room table

• Refining a project management system

• Editing several bags of shirts

• Sorting and releasing old business files from a shelf

• Editing and letting go of a box of electronic material

For all of these projects, my clients’ starting point was feeling overwhelmed and unable to act. However, by narrowing the scope, focusing on one small part at a time, and enlisting external support, they improved their mood, accomplished a specific task, boosted their confidence, and were motivated to do more.

Why Does a Tiny Change Matter?

Small shifts are doable and sustainable. When you think about change, it can feel overwhelming, especially when the changes are big. However, by adjusting your mindset, narrowing the scope, and enlisting help, you can make progress. What helps you when you feel overwhelmed? How do you work with task activation? What resonates with you?

I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

How Can I Help?

Do you feel overwhelmed, disorganized, or paralyzed? Do you seek change, yet feel stuck? I’m here to help! Virtual organizing is an extraordinary path forward – Local feel with a global reach.

Let’s connect! I’m easy to reach.

• Schedule a Discovery Call

• Fill out the contact form

• Email me at linda@ohsorganized.com or

• Call 914-271-5673

Embracing change and getting organized are possible, especially with support.

Recently, I reread the first blog post I wrote on waiting. As humans, waiting is something we do, yet we’re not always happy about it. We want things to happen quickly, effortlessly, and painlessly. However, things don’t often go that way. Our patience gets tested as waiting can be a challenging experience.

Maybe you’re working toward a big goal that might take months, years, or even decades. Perhaps your energy is low, and progress looks different from what it did earlier in your life. You might also lack clarity about your goal or what your next step will be.

Developing your internal resources, including patience, resilience, and agency, can be beneficial. You can also enlist help from external resources, such as haulers, handymen, trade specialists, a coach, a therapist, or a professional organizer like myself.

Progress is possible. Reaching your goals is doable. Gathering the resources to get there is essential.

Over the past few months, my husband and I have been working on some home projects. They have taken different amounts of time to complete, and some are still ongoing. The biggest obstacles were setting priorities and managing time constraints. To finish these projects, we had to decide that they were still important enough to pursue. Once we agreed on that, we scheduled the time to complete them. The scheduling was pivotal. Without planning and scheduling, nothing would have happened.

During the process, I reaffirmed and learned a few things. Hopefully, some of these will resonate with you and be useful as you pursue your goals and projects.

5 Life Lessons I Learned About Patience and Promising Progress

Life Lesson #1:  I can tolerate discomfort.

I love the final result when we improve our home. It’s hard for me to tolerate the temporary chaos that happens. Stuff gets pulled out of place, messes spread to multiple areas, and order and organization are disrupted.

I often tell my clients that things usually get worse before they get better. When you’re organizing a closet, for example, and things are pulled out, it doesn’t look great. But as you start editing, rerouting, discarding, and donating, clarity begins to emerge. Once you organize the “keepers,” everything looks and feels better. However, there's a tipping point in the middle of the project where discomfort can surface.

Even though I’m happy when we’re fixing things, I tend to feel more anxious and stressed when we’re in reno mode. That discomfort motivates me to finish what we started as soon as possible. Interestingly, I can easily handle disorder in spaces I don’t live in. But in my own home, I prefer a certain level of order, calmness, and predictability.

Although I prefer not to be uncomfortable, I am capable of tolerating discomfort. This is especially true when it’s temporary or for a good reason. Acknowledging this made me feel less stressed and more accepting of the chaos.

Life Lesson #2: I can transform temporary chaos into an opportunity to reimagine.

One of the benefits of taking things apart is having time to edit, question, and reimagine. We recently disrupted our entryway to spackle, paint, and do some electrical work. Doing that allowed me to let go of some things and reimagine the placement of certain items, like my Pez collection and one of the rugs.

I also felt inspired to repaint three of the cabinets. One is a big project, which I’ll wait to do in warmer weather. The other two cabinets will be done soon. Without being open to chaos and committing to the entryway project, these other projects might not move forward.

Chaos doesn’t have to be negative. It can be an opportunity to bring positive changes. The temporary chaos stirred my creativity and desire to make more improvements.

Life Lesson #3: I can finish what I start when I prioritize and plan.

This might seem obvious, but when you want to accomplish something, whether it’s organizing, home improvement, or changing a habit, dedicating time and energy to it is essential.

Deciding that something is a priority is the first step. This may involve temporarily setting other things aside while you focus your resources on the main goal. After all, you can accomplish a lot, but not all at once. Something has to give.

Once you've identified your priority, the next step is to schedule and plan dedicated time to work on it. For us, that meant working several evenings and weekends. Again, without blocking out specific calendar dates, it would not have been completed.

I can wish all I want, but without making it a priority and including it in a scheduled plan, it’s unlikely to happen. There is great potential and power in recognizing what I’m capable of when I prioritize and plan.

“I can tolerate discomfort.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

Life Lesson #4: I can feel the joy and satisfaction that come with progress.

Done is great, but so is progress. No goal happens with one step. Progress happens one step, one action, and one commitment at a time. When working on the renovation projects, Steve and I took a moment to appreciate the progress along the way.

Momentum is a powerful force. Taking action motivates you to do more. Experiencing progress encourages further movement. Progress is satisfying and joy-inducing.

Steve and I made sure to see, feel, talk about, and celebrate the progress we've made. It was no small feat to get some of these projects started. We embraced the positive feelings that came with making progress.

Do you know the expression, “Stop and smell the roses?” For this one, let’s pause and celebrate the progress. You took action and worked hard. Now, enjoy it!

Life Lesson #5: I can be awed by my bad-ass husband.

After 42 years of marriage, I am still amazed by my husband. He is a talented man who, among his many skills, knows how to cook, play the drums, coordinate large-scale architectural woodworking projects, and handle almost any type of home improvement or repair project. He’s also a devoted volunteer, a great listener, a wonderful father, and an incredible husband and life partner.

Whether he was finishing the glass tiles in the bathroom, doing electrical work, plumbing, cutting through walls, spackling the ceiling, or painting surfaces, he not only knew what to do but also had the right tools to do it. He also taught me how to do some things, so we could work together on projects. I love that!

I am constantly inspired by Steve’s work ethic, humanity, skills, design sense, dedication, and talent. He was willing to let go of perfection to do his best and finish projects. I’m grateful for and in awe of the incredible human he is. Thank you, Honey!

How Do Patience and Progress Manifest for You?

Patience, or the lack of it, is part of being human. In fact, impatience can sometimes drive progress. When you feel stuck, progress may seem out of reach. However, leaning into that urge to move forward and pushing your patience to its limit can be one way to make progress. Prioritizing and planning are also helpful. What helps you move ahead?

Which ideas resonate most with you? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

How Can I Help?

Are you ready to make progress? Do you feel overwhelmed, stuck, or disorganized? I’m here to help! Virtual organizing is an extraordinary path forward – Local feel with a global reach.

Let’s talk. I’m easy to reach.

• Schedule a Discovery Call

• Fill out the Contact form

• Email me at linda@ohsorganized.com or

• Call 914-271-5673

Getting organized and making progress is possible, especially with support.

The things you say or think can act as possibility-blockers, preventing you from moving forward. They can be subtle or obvious. You might not notice how these phrases get in your way.

The blockers may sound like:

• “I can’t do this.”

• “It’s too hard.”

• “I can’t tolerate the discomfort.”

• “I’m just not good at this.”

• “I’m unable to figure this out.”

• “I don’t know where to start.”

• “I don’t have any skills.”

• “Nothing ever seems to work out.”

• “I’m really frustrated, and I don’t know what to do.”

• “I never finish anything.”

• “It has always been like this, and I can’t change it.

• “I’m feeling totally overwhelmed.”

• “Nobody ever taught me how to do this.”

• “I can barely get through today, let alone think about tomorrow.”

• “I’m stuck where I am.”

• “I’m too busy and don’t have time to find a solution.”

• “I can’t imagine what’s possible because my mind and space are so cluttered.”

That’s a lot to take in. Have you noticed yourself repeating any of these phrases? Maybe you have different go-to messages that aren’t helping you. Take a moment to identify which thoughts are shutting you down.

What did you find out?

Focusing on negative messages reinforces your lack of agency. You are paying attention to defeat. While you might not be able to eliminate negativity completely, there is hope. In fact, here is a three-step approach that can help. It consists of awareness, reframing, and action.

A Three-Step Approach: Transform the Impossible into Possible

Step 1: Develop Awareness

“The only limits to the possibilities in your life tomorrow are the ‘buts’ you use today.”

— Les Brown

Notice the messages that aren’t serving you. Each time you repeat them, those neural pathways in your brain become stronger. The applies to positive messages, too. Becoming aware of your thoughts is the first step in changing them.

• Observe and record.

• Write down your negative thoughts and messages without judgment.

• Make a note of how frequently they ‘visit’ you.

Step 2: Experiment with Reframing

“Take your mind off the problems for a moment, and focus on the positive possibilities. Consider how very much you are able to do.”

— Ralph Marston

Once you recognize which negative messages appear and how often they do, you’re ready for this next step.

When you notice yourself repeating the undesired words, use that as a cue to reframe them. Make a mental or written note. Intentionally craft a statement that reduces the power of negative thoughts and promotes healthier, more proactive messages.

Reframing examples:

•  “I can’t do this,” can become “I’m learning to do this.”

• “I don’t know where to start,” can become “Just start anywhere.”

• “Nobody ever taught me how to do this,” can become “I can learn and will ask for help.”

• “Nothing ever seems to work out,” can become “The past doesn’t have a hold over my future.”

Step 3: Do Something

“The possibilities are numerous once we decide to act and not react.”

— George Bernard Shaw

Negative messages can cause doubt and inaction. One way to overcome them is by taking action. After trying out the reframes, you’re ready to move on to this last step.

Ask yourself, “What tiny action can I take to move this project or situation forward?”

Make the action as small and simple as possible. That’s where the real change begins. By doing something, you shift from “I can’t” to “I can.”

Taking action changes your thinking and behavior. It helps you move from feeling stuck to being proactive.

Action also helps you to:

• Be more creative when facing challenges,

• Build momentum,

• Foster a sense of agency,

• Achieve your goals, and

• Nourish hope.

What Is Possible When You Change Your Message?

You’re human. You’ll have internal and external messages that are negative and unhelpful. However, by learning to acknowledge, reframe, and take action, you can change the course of today and the future. Words and thoughts matter. Are yours supporting or hindering your growth? Change the messages so you can thrive.

Which ideas resonate most with you? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

How Can I Help?

Do you feel overwhelmed, stuck, or disorganized? I’m here to help! Virtual organizing is an extraordinary path forward – Local feel with a global reach.

Let’s talk. I’m easy to reach.

• Schedule a Discovery Call

• Fill out the Contact form

• Email me at linda@ohsorganized.com or

• Call 914-271-5673

Getting organized and making progress is possible, especially with support.