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.

Enjoy the latest release (v52) of the “What’s Interesting?” series, which features my most recent finds that inform, inspire, and connect to organizing and life balance. These unique, wonderfully human discoveries reflect this month’s blog theme.

You are an engaged, vibrant, and generous group. I am deeply grateful for your ongoing presence, positive energy, and contributions to this community. I look forward to your participation and further contributions to the collection I’ve sourced.

What do you find interesting?

What’s Interesting? – 5 Best Happy Human Discoveries

1. Interesting Workshop – Human Organizing

Are you feeling burdened and overwhelmed by clutter or disorganization? If you answered, “yes,” you’re not alone.

Research shows that cluttered spaces often contribute to stress, fatigue, anxiety, and even depression. But there’s good news—help is here!

If you’re ready to explore a kind, compassionate, and more human approach to decluttering and organizing, you’ll love this! Join me, Linda Samuels, Professional Organizer, for an engaging and transformative workshop—7 Easy Ways to Practice Mindful Organizing.

One workshop with your choice of two dates:

• December 2nd at 7:00-8:00pm Eastern or

• December 4th at Noon-1:00pm Eastern

By the end of the one-hour Zoom workshop, you’ll have strategies for immediate change. You will:

• Gain valuable insights about gentle organizing.

• Learn seven mindful organizing practices.

• Receive personalized support.

This is a great opportunity to prepare for the new year. When you bring more mindfulness and purpose to organizing, you can create calm, clarity, and breathing room. Reserve your spot today!

2. Interesting Resource – Human Helping

Last month, I went on a field trip with some of my Westchester NAPO Neighborhood group organizing colleagues to The Sharing Shelf in Port Chester, NY.

This remarkable nonprofit provides clothing, school supplies, and other essential necessities, including new socks, shoes, underwear, and hygiene products, to children and teens in Westchester County.

They offer a Wardrobe Pack, which includes a week’s worth of seasonally appropriate clothing tailored to a child’s needs. They also have a Teen Boutique, a free store where teens can “shop and select their own clothing with privacy and respect.”

The Sharing Shelf reports that children facing clothing insecurity “often miss school.” The research shows that “Nearly 14% of Westchester children are chronically absent from school, and clothing is one critical cause.”

Donations of new or gently used clothing in all sizes, from newborn to adult XXL, are accepted. Items should be clean and in good condition. Pieces that are stained or damaged will be sent to textile recycling. The Sharing Shelf has a Target registry and an Amazon wishlist, so you can order items they need.

“When you bring more mindfulness and purpose to organizing, you can create calm, clarity, and breathing room.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

3. Interesting Read – Human Doing

You’ve probably heard of FOMO, the fear of missing out. Have you heard of the opposite, JOMO, which is the joy of missing out?

In The Joy of Missing Out – Living More by Doing Less, Tanya Dalton, a productivity expert, author, and speaker, discusses the overwhelm many women experience due to:

• Striving to do too much

• Inability to say no

• Being unclear about priorities

• Not knowing where to start

Tanya encourages a mindset shift, saying, “We have to begin finding the joy of missing out on that extra noise in our lives and instead find happiness in a life centered around what’s truly important to us.” She encourages us to “stop the glorification of busy” and to stop worrying that we’re not enough or are not doing enough.

In this four-step liveWELL Method, which Tanya developed for herself, she now uses it to help others create a blueprint for reclaiming their time and living the life they desire. The steps are:

• Discovery – Identify your unique purpose, life priorities, and North Star.

• Clarity – Align your projects and tasks with your goals and priorities.

• Simplicity – Design systems that make your life easier, enabling you to manage it with less effort.

• Harmony – Build upon the first three steps to create harmony and the life you love.

Tanya says, “We need to discover the priorities that are unique to us, but first we have to take hold of the truth: we must be willing to not have it all.”

“We have to begin finding the joy of missing out on that extra noise in our lives and instead find happiness in a life centered around what’s truly important to us.”

— Tanya Dalton

4. Interesting Product – Human Curating

One of my favorite things to organize is cabinet drawers. The more chaotic, the better. A disorganized drawer presents an opportunity to edit, organize, and create order. Why does it matter?

Imagine the feeling of opening a drawer and finding exactly what you need right when you need it. No more searching or stress. It’s a good feeling, and a time-saver, too.

Recently, my husband asked me for drawer organizers and a design for his desk drawer. I recommended these lovely gray open bins, Terra Recycled Drawer Organizers from The Container Store. They also come in white and a variety of sizes. I liked them so much that I purchased more to organize a drawer in our shoe cabinet.

5. Interesting Thought – Human Experiencing

Let’s face it. Life can be stressful and chaotic. You make plans, and things change. You start a project, and something goes wrong. Your schedule is packed with little or no downtime.

However, even knowing this, you can experience joy in everyday moments. Let yourself be open to those tiny, ordinary moments. They can replenish your reserves, reinforce your gratitude wells, and help you feel more alive in a uniquely human way.

What can these joy-infused moments feel or look like? There are a few I recently experienced:

• Hearing a client acknowledge and feel positive about their progress.

• Seeing the afternoon sun backlight the red and orange leaves as the gentle breeze moves them softly against the blue sky.

• Holding hands with my husband.

• Experiencing progress, completing projects, or making purposeful choices in the service of growth and change.

• Taking the first flavorful bite of a new vegetarian chili recipe I just made, and it was delicious.

• Feeling warm water pouring over me as I shower.

• Seeing the autumn light fill the sky with a soft pink and orange glow.

• Hearing the voices of my loved ones, seeing their faces, or hugging them.

• Getting into bed at the end of a long day and feeling the comforting weight and softness of the bedding.

Human Organizing Experience

In a world flooded with AI, it’s important to keep the human connection strong and vibrant. I highlighted several ways to tap into your uniquely human qualities to improve organization, balance, gratitude, and generosity.

Which of these discoveries resonates most with you? Do you have any you’d like to add? I’d love to hear your thoughts and 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 is possible, especially with real human 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.

Fall brings changing colors, cooler weather, and hope for what can be. The new season offers many possibilities. There are countless options for activities to try, goals to pursue, information to gather, relationships to develop, stuff to declutter, and paths to explore. So many possibilities may seem endless, intimidating, or overwhelming.

What happens when you have too many choices? Does it prevent you from moving forward? Do you get stuck and struggle to make meaningful progress?

Judith Kolberg, an organizing industry thought leader, author, and friend, said, “We live in the Era of Endless, confronted by infinite information, incessant interruptions, constant distractions, unending work, and boundless stuff. All this endlessness butts up against the one thing that remains intractably finite: time.”

Possibilities are limitless, but our time is not. Knowing this, how can you move forward anyway? There are several strategies, such as narrowing the focus, facing the fear, and redefining the problem, that can help.

Narrow the Focus

I don’t know about you, but when I face too many choices, my brain begins to shut down. Sorting through multiple options and weighing their pros and cons can be overwhelming.

Narrowing your options can help you get unstuck. The ideal number might be evaluating three choices at a time. However, if that feels like too many, try two.

Let’s say you’re decluttering your closet. You have twenty pairs of pants, but you want to have only ten. First, organize them by color or category. Gather each group, such as black, navy, casual, or dress pants. Hold up two at a time from a group. Once that group is complete, move on to the next group.

Ask questions like:

• Do I like this pair more than the other one?

• Which pair fits or feels best?

• Is it worn out, repairable, or worth repairing?

• Are the pants the same?

• Do I need both?

These types of questions will help you:

• Narrow your options

• Get unstuck

• Reduce or eliminate overwhelm

• Help you reach your objective of having fewer pants

Modify and use this strategy when your focus is too broad. Break choices into several categories to place boundaries around possibilities and decision-making options.

Face the Fear

Endless possibilities can also bring up fear. When fear is present, it can be paralyzing, causing you to do nothing.

Reflect on these questions to see if fear is holding you back:

• When exploring new possibilities, is fear an obstacle?

• Is it about fear of choosing the wrong option?

• Is it about fear of making a mistake?

• Is it about fear of what others might think about your decision?

There are no guarantees in life. When you’re unsure, it’s natural to feel apprehensive. But don’t let that stop you. Instead of focusing on fear, reframe the ‘adventure’ as an experiment. This mindset will encourage you to try things with less pressure. Experimenting is about curiosity, learning, and growth, not punishment or black-and-white thinking.

As a reminder, I keep a sign on my desk. It says, “Overcome the fear of doing it wrong.”

“Possibilities are limitless, but our time is not.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

Redefine the Problem

When possibilities appear endless, it can cause confusion about goals and progress.

In the book Daily Creative, by author, creative, and podcast host Todd Henry, he said, “At times, the feeling of ‘stuck-ness’ is really nothing more than a lack of clarity about what meaningful progress truly is. Simply redefining the problem can provide a quick jolt of forward momentum.”

He continued and said, “Consider a project you’re struggling to make progress on. What are you really trying to do?” That’s such a powerful question! Clarifying can help you cut through the noise from competing factors, options, and possibilities. The strategy encourages you to revisit the challenge and then define what you need and want to do at that moment.

Working with Endless Possibilities

In an age of information and choice overload, it’s no wonder you get stuck. It’s no surprise that you’re struggling to make progress. However, now you have three strategies that can help with focus, fear, and problems. What helps you navigate limitless possibilities? Which idea resonates 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.