You and I share at least two things in common. We both have 24 hours in a day, and our days are finite. Yet how we experience and use our time varies widely.

Perhaps you are time-aware. You know how much time you have and spend it intentionally. Or maybe you have difficulty keeping track of time, feel time-poor, are easily distracted, and never have enough hours to get things done.

If you think of your relationship to time on a scale from zero to one hundred, with one end representing a total lack of time awareness and intentionality and the other representing high time awareness and intentionality, where would you place yourself? Whether your number is zero or one hundred, several concepts can improve your relationship with time and help you approach it more compassionately.

Time Management Scale

Before I share the strategies, review the Time Management Scale to get a sense of where you are right now. This isn’t an exact science, but the scale will help you identify your strengths and challenges. Understanding your relationship with time, combined with the concepts I’m about to share, can be a game-changer for you.

How to Use the Scale

• Reflect honestly on where you are today

• Identify your target range and desired habits

• Take consistent action to improve your score over time

Remember that small choices about how you spend your time today shape your future.

3 Ideas to Encourage More Compassionate and Aligned Time Management

There are three ways to align your time in a more compassionate and powerful way. As I mentioned earlier, the time available each day is fixed. Your life and the time you have left are finite. None of us knows how many days remain. How you use this precious resource shapes your life.

1. Energy

Have you noticed how your energy ebbs and flows throughout the day? For example, I have more energy and mental clarity earlier in the day, and my energy lessens as the day goes on. Matching high-brain-demand tasks, such as planning or writing, with the time of day I’m ‘fully charged’ works better for me. Lower-brain-demand tasks, like resetting spaces or grocery shopping, can be done when my energy is less.

As you plan your available time and how you will spend it, factor in your energy. A while ago, Executive Coach Marcy Stoudt introduced me to the reframing of time management as energy management.

It’s helpful to consider how you’re planning and using your time. One thing I’ve learned is how much longer tasks take when my energy isn’t aligned. For example, when I’m tired and my energy is low, it takes me two to three times as long to do certain tasks as when I’m well-rested and in my high-energy, brain-power part of the day.

Aligning your energy management with how you use your time is a compassionate practice.

“Small choices about how you spend your time today shape your future.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

2. Priorities

Have you noticed that some priorities, especially those tied to values, are fixed while others are flexible? For example, family might always be a top priority, so you’ll drop everything if someone in your family needs you. Or, when planning, family considerations drive your choices.

Flexible priorities are tasks, goals, and commitments that matter but don’t require immediate action or have a set deadline.

Flexible priorities could include:

• Projects with open deadlines

• Buy groceries sometime this week

• Meet a friend for coffee in the next few months

• Edit belongings to downsize

• Plant flowers in the garden

• Clean out the garage this season

• Improve sleep habits

• Try a meditation app

When considering your available time, aligning your priorities with your values and clarifying which tasks are fixed or flexible can lead to a more compassionate way forward.

3. Reality

Ah, yes! The old reality check. Here’s where time management can go sideways. Many people I know, including clients, struggle to align their available time with how long tasks take. This is where optimism needs to be balanced with a realistic understanding of time.

Has this happened to you? I see it most often on ambitious to-do lists. For example, you sit down to write your daily list. You have twenty or thirty items and expect to do them all today because they’re all “equally important.” Yet as the day goes on, you’ve only gotten to a few items. It’s clear you won’t finish everything. The day isn’t over, and you’re starting to feel stressed and defeated. Believe me, I get it. Reality and intention are two very different things.

• Reality Check 1: Not everything is equally important.

• Reality Check 2: Your list is too ambitious to complete in one day.

• Reality Check 3: Optimism is great, but balance it with a realistic understanding of your available time and how long tasks take.

• Reality Check 4: Reduce the size of your list. Curate a daily list of 1-5 items. Get those done, then review the time you have left before adding more to your day.

When you stop planning for an ideal day and start planning for the day you actually have, you gain a greater sense of control, accomplishment, and ease.

Are You Ready to Bring a More Compassionate Approach to Time Management?

The number is 24, as in the hours in a day. The number of days you have left is unknown. You have choices about how to spend your time. Use understanding and compassion as you plan and decide.

What will that look like for you? Which time management 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, disorganized, and time-stressed? Are you struggling to manage all your tasks, goals, and commitments? I’m here to help! You don’t have to do this alone. 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@ohsoorganized.com or

• Call 914-271-5673

Managing your time, getting organized, and living with more ease are possible, especially with support.

Life is full of signals and cues that often go unnoticed. Maybe you're distracted by thoughts, are overwhelmed, stressed, or feel too busy to slow down. The idea of being present or quieting yourself enough to notice a cue might seem out of reach.

Imagine you’re driving down a busy street. You approach an intersection with a red traffic light. That’s your visual cue to slow down and stop. What if you didn’t? If you ran through the intersection and ignored the signal, it could be disastrous.

What happens instead when you notice the cue (red light) and align your next action with it? You see the red light, take your foot off the gas, step on the brakes, and come to a complete stop.

By noticing the signal, you quickly identified your next steps. The direct benefit was that you chose an option that led to a positive outcome for you and those around you.

What Types of Cues Are Available to You?

Cues are sensory. They can come from what you see, hear, touch, taste, or smell.

The traffic light is an example of a visual cue that guides your next action. Many other types of signals appear in our daily lives.

Here are some common ones and possible next steps:

• Green flashing light on the toothbrush > Recharge the battery

• Red flashing light on the air purifier > Change the filter

• Smell of coffee brewing > Review schedule for the day

• Last piece of toilet paper > Install a new roll

• Timer goes off > Wrap up what you’re doing

• Magazines spilling out of the basket > Sort and recycle the oldest ones

• Receiving W-2s, 1099s, and other tax forms > Prepare and file your income taxes

• Jaw tightening and shoulders up > Take a few slow, deep breaths with slightly longer exhales

• Purple crocus emerging > Smile because spring is almost here

What cue do you notice that guides you clearly to your next step?

“Cues are sensory. They can come from what you see, hear, touch, taste, or smell.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

The Value of Awareness

There are cues all around you. Spotting them is very helpful because it can lower stress, overwhelm, and feelings of busyness. Taking a moment to recognize an indicator gives you space to be aware of what you’re feeling and gently choose your next step.

What would help you put this into practice? In which areas could this be most beneficial? 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 or unsure? 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@ohsoorganized.com or

• Call 914-271-5673

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

Mindfulness practice is visible in several ways. There is the formal practice of mindfulness meditation and the informal practice of living mindfully. I engage in both daily, but not 100% of the time. Practicing mindfulness is being in the present moment with awareness of what you’re doing, feeling, or sensing without judgment. That can include focusing on the breath moving in and out of your body, returning your keys to their designated ‘home,’ noticing the leaves turning bright red as the season shifts, or feeling the tightness in your belly as you return to the office after working from home for the past 18 months. The body and mind constantly give us cues and opportunities to practice mindfulness and bring us back to the present moment.

Recently I found mindfulness cues and inspiration from an unlikely source- my cordless phone. Yes. I still have a landline. The messages displayed on the front of the telephone describe its status. While they serve a specific purpose in letting me know what my phone is doing, the words triggered ideas connected to mindfulness practices. As you continue reading, notice which cues and concepts resonate with you.

4 Mindfulness Cues I Discovered on My Phone

1. “Fully charged”

What does it mean to be “fully charged?” Are you ready for your day? Are you focused, aware, and living in this moment? In a mindfulness context, consider this as a reminder to be present. Be like that red “You Are Here” marker on a map. You are not ruminating about the past or worrying about the future. Your feet are firmly planted on the ground and you are here now. You are available and present.

2. “Missed call”

I mentioned earlier how I engage in daily mindfulness practice, but not 100% of the time. A “missed call” indicates you weren’t available when someone reached out. The person chose not to leave a message. Does that sound familiar? I equate the “missed call” to how our mind tends to wander, which is normal. Being aware when you’ve strayed brings you back to the present moment to engage more fully in your life. A mindful presence will improve your relationships, work, and pursuits.

“A mindful presence will improve your relationships, work, and pursuits.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVPO™

3. “Voice message”

Unlike the missed call, which has no message attached, the “voice message” includes information requiring a response or action. Considering mindfulness, what words do you tell yourself? Are they uplifting or self-deprecating? Is it time to record a new message? Use the “voice message” cue as a mindfulness check-in and a way to support your best self.

4. “Charging”

When we’re distracted, over-extended, and overwhelmed, it’s easy to skip the basics. We’re so entrenched with doing that we forget about our needs. In this stressed state, it’s more challenging to incorporate mindfulness. We eliminate the importance of renewal or “charging.” Our electronics need to be juiced up, or they stop working. Our minds and bodies need rejuvenation, too, or we’ll cease to function well. Let the “charging” cue be your self-care reminder. What helps you refocus and relax? For me, sleep is essential. But I also like to journal, meditate, do yoga, read, sit in the sun, be or talk with loved ones, watch movies, and walk by the water and woods. What will you include in your mindfulness charging station?

Just like my phone, many of our devices display messages. Usually, we take them at face value, which is how they were designed to function. But it’s fun to find inspiration and extend their meaning to create more mindfulness in our lives. Which ideas resonate with you? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

Several weeks ago, one of my colleagues, Sara Skillen, wrote a post about the power of the words we use, which can be kind, harsh, energizing, or demotivating. Expressions influence our behavior and choices, so awareness is essential. Negative self-talk is common. It’s also damaging because the berating can hurt your self-esteem and prevent you from moving forward.

When working with my virtual organizing clients, I listen in various ways and pay close attention to their words.  One of the changes, which frequently happen during our sessions, is a positive mindset shift. As most sessions are only one hour, this change occurs quickly. It’s exciting to see.

At the start of a virtual organizing session, I check-in and ask, “How are you doing?” We review what transpired in between sessions, discuss discoveries or challenges, and clarify the session’s focus along with their starting thoughts. Fear is one of the common emotions that surface. We don’t ignore or dwell on the words. We let them reverberate, re-clarify what we’re working on, and take action steps forward with encouragement and focus. When fear and overwhelm are met with a small action step, movement happens, and a positive shift occurs.

“When fear and overwhelm are met with a small action step, movement happens, and a positive shift occurs.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVPO

Positive Change Clients Experience

This is a small sample of the types of changes my clients have experienced in less than an hour. Their actions were on projects such as organizing papers, clothing, schedules, memorabilia, books, and housewares. Movement enabled them to progress on their organizing goals and morph their negative thoughts into positive and hopeful ones.

“Dread” became “not overwhelmed.”

 “Distracted” became “I made headway.”

“Frazzled” became “I feel good.”

“Stomach in a knot” became “better than expected.”

“Frustrated” became “I’m feeling better.”

“Worst fears” became “not scary anymore.”

“Terrified” became “I can do this!”

Recognizing the agency we have over certain parts of our lives is liberating. Our choices, when paired with action, will help us overcome fear and overwhelm. By acknowledging our emotions, we have the opportunity to work with them to bring about positive change in our lives. 

Have you experienced a change in thought patterns because of actions you took? What helps you shift from negative self-talk to something more useful? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.