The decisions you make relate to different points in time: the past, present, and future. Although you may not always view your choices this way, considering these time parameters can help reduce decision fatigue and create clarity surrounding decision-making.

Making thoughtful decisions can be challenging. Some common decision-making obstacles include:

• Having too many choices

• Lacking clarity

• Feeling rushed

• Asking unhelpful questions

• Deciding when you’re exhausted

• Being afraid to make the wrong choice

Any of these challenges can cause overwhelm, procrastination, or paralysis. However, when you ask questions based on time, it can cut through the noise, clarify your options, and motivate action.

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1. Question to Let Go of the Past

“What’s weighing down your backpack that needs to be released?”

— James Clear

In a recent edition of James Clear’s 3-2-1 newsletter, he explained how “unfinished tasks” carried in your “invisible backpack” weigh you down. Many of these tasks are ones you will think you “should do,” but will probably never get around to.

Clear suggests two strategies. To “lighten the load: finish the task or let it go.” Applying a past timeframe to your decision about completing or releasing a task can help.

Consider these questions:

• How long have you been worrying about and carrying these tasks with you?

• Are past goals or commitments holding you back?

• Which ones are no longer relevant, important, or necessary?
  
  
  
  

2. Question to Improve the Present

“What small change could you make to your surroundings that would steer you toward good habits and away from distractions?”

— James Clear

In another 3-2-1 newsletter, Clear encourages making tiny tweaks to your environment to support building better habits and reducing distractions. Only you know which habits you want to strengthen and which distractions are getting in your way.

Using the present timeframe idea to make proactive choices can be effective here. To do this, think about a current habit you want to build or improve. For example, let’s say you often run late to appointments. This is a source of stress for you and the people in your life. You want to be more punctual, yet find it challenging to get out of the house on time. Let’s say chronic lateness is caused by disorganization at home or your tendency to hyperfocus, which interrupts your sense of time.

Making a slight change in your environment to mitigate distractions and support a better habit could include things like:

• Gather everything you need the night before

• Wake up earlier to prepare

• Use labeled timers to help with transitions and activation

3. Question to Imagine the Future

“What will my future-self thank me for doing now?”

— Stephanie Sarkis, PhD

In Ari Tuckman’s book The ADHD Productivity Manual, he shares one of his favorite questions posed by Stephanie Sarkis, PhD. She asks, “What will my future-self thank me for doing now?”

Let’s apply the future timeframe lens to this inquiry. While the question asks you to do something in the present, it’s in service of your future self.

Think about a goal you want to achieve. Maybe it’s organizing your legal and end-of-life papers, downsizing, or eating healthier. None of these will be realized in the future without taking action now.

Embrace the future construct. Visualize what ‘done’ will look and feel like. This will motivate you now to take action and accomplish the future results you desire.

How to Make More Thoughtful Choices?

Making wise decisions begins with asking good questions. Including a time perspective can clarify your choices. Do you consider the past, present, and future when making decisions? How does using a time construct affect you?

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

How Can I Help?

Do you need support with organizing, letting go, or managing your time? I’d love to help! Virtual organizing is an extraordinary path forward – Local feel with a global reach.

Let’s talk. You can:

• Schedule a Discovery Call

• Email me at linda@ohsorganized.com or

• Call 914-271-5673

Organizing your time and space is possible, especially with support.

How is it already February? The past few months have been intense, and time has flown by. Based on recent conversations and my own experience, many people want to make changes but feel stuck.

Conflicting emotions include an urgency for change, confusion about what to change or how to move forward, and exhaustion even before starting. Additionally, the desire for change and the fear of the unknown can create further paralysis.

These feelings can show up in many ways, including:

• You are dissatisfied with the status quo.

• You want to make a shift but don’t know how to go about it.

• You’re exhausted from the news, endless possibilities, and uncertainty.

• You are unable to focus.

• You feel overwhelmed.

• You feel stuck and can’t figure out how to move forward.

• You want things to change but have no energy to make it happen.

• You want to press pause and postpone change.

• You want to take action but are afraid of doing it wrong.

• You don’t want to live this way anymore but lack clarity about changing things.

The Clarifying Question

Before making any change, selecting one area to focus on is essential. It can be tempting when pursuing change to get overly ambitious. There is nothing wrong with that. However, dividing your attention in too many directions can be overwhelming.

In The Power of Letting Go by John Purkiss, he poses this powerful and clarifying question:

“What do you want to change in your life?”

While you may have a long list of items, I encourage you to choose only one thing at a time. Don’t worry about what change to make or how or when you’ll make it. Release that noise. Begin with the question.

Which Change Will You Pursue?

You might want to pursue changes in several of the categories below. However, as mentioned, focusing on one area and one specific change at a time is most effective.

Change categories include:

• Career and Work

• Family and Relationships

• Finances

• Fun and Recreation

• Health and Wellness

• Personal Growth

• Physical Environment

• Spirituality

Here are some examples:

• If Fun and Recreation is the first category you focus on, you might add one fun activity each month, such as going to a movie, ice skating, or having a pizza and game night.

• If Health and Wellness is the first category you focus on, you might establish better sleep hygiene over several months. Establish consistent bedtime, reduce the ambient light, put away digital devices a few hours before bed, and take a warm bath.

• If Physical Environment is the first category you focus on, you might declutter and organize one area each month, such as the kitchen, clothing closet, or bathroom.

Integrate one change before pursuing additional ones.

“Integrate one change before pursuing additional ones.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

How to Work with the Clarifying Question

You know the clarifying question. Here’s one way to work with it:

• Find a quiet place to reflect.

• Close your eyes if that helps.

• Sit with John’s question: What do you want to change in your life?

• Notice what arises.

• Capture your thoughts.

• Scan your list.

• Note which categories your changes are in.

• Select one category and one specific change from that category to focus on first.

• Allow the other ideas and chatter to recede into the background for now.

• Once the change is well established, revisit your list to select the next change you want to pursue.

Do you feel more prepared to embrace change? Was the clarifying question helpful? What are you considering? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

How Can I Help?

Do you want support organizing, planning, or clarifying changes to pursue? I’d love to help! Virtual organizing is an extraordinary path forward – A local feel with a global reach.

Please schedule a Discovery Call, email me at linda@ohsorganized.com, or call 914-271-5673. Change is possible, especially with support.

In Essentialism, author and business strategist Greg McKeown says, “Research has shown that of all forms of human motivation the most effective one is progress.” How powerful is that? McKeown continues with, “Why? Because a small, concrete win creates momentum and affirms our faith in our future success.”

Have you experienced overwhelm or lack of clarity about a project or next step? Instead of being motivated, overwhelm creates inaction and paralysis. While keeping the big picture in mind can be helpful, it can also feel impossible to achieve. Think about the house you want to clear out to downsize and sell or the boxes of mementos and photos you have accumulated over decades that you need to edit and organize. You feel stuck and de-motivated because of the sheer volume of tasks and perceived time required to reach your goal.

Let’s return to the idea that progress is one of the most effective motivators. Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer developed the Progress Principle, resulting from a year-long study with hundreds of employees and over 12,000 analyzed diary entries. It highlights the essential role of progress in motivating people and improving their inner work lives. Here are some significant discoveries from the Progress Principle and its positive effect on motivation:

• Progress contributes to a positive inner work life (psychological state), which leads to more progress and increases creativity, engagement, productivity, and performance.
  
  

• Progress is the most significant indicator of employee happiness and performance, regardless of size. Even incremental progress has a positive effect on motivation.
  
  

• The Progress Principle draws on our innate human need for achievement and growth. When people feel they are making progress, they experience fulfillment and satisfaction, which motivates them to continue striving.
  
  

• The Progress Principle isn’t limited to the workplace. It can also be used for personal development and self-improvement. You can stay motivated and continue progressing toward your goals by recognizing and celebrating small wins.

“... of all forms of human motivation the most effective one is progress.”

— Greg McKeown

Are you struggling with motivation and activation? Are you stuck and finding it difficult to move forward? Advance one tiny action at a time. Notice how that boosts your motivation, builds confidence, and encourages a cycle of more movement. Trust the process. The act of doing creates momentum, motivation, and progress.

If you want help to figure out and take your next steps, contact me, Linda. Call at 914-271-5673, email linda@ohsoorganized.com, or visit ohsoorganized.com/contact. I’m here for you.

Letting go is usually intentional. At least, it seems purposeful most of the time for my clients and me. Holding on can create stress, conflict, overwhelm, disappointment, confusion, or anxiety. The same can be said for the process of letting go. Thinking about saying ‘good-bye’ to things or situations can be its own type of challenge. However, when we finally let go, it allows for open space, growth, and relief.

I often consider letting go like a muscle that needs exercise and practice. The more you use the letting go muscle, the easier the process becomes. Decision-making goes more smoothly, too, as you set boundaries or rules around what stays or goes.

What happens when you accidentally let go? You might wonder how someone can unintentionally let go like one giant, whoops. I experienced this last week.

You are probably familiar with the term “inbox zero.” Some set a goal to have no (as in nothing, none, nil, zilch) emails in their inbox. Instead of keeping all emails visible, you route incoming emails to specific, organized locations to achieve a clear inbox. They can move to the trash, action, or archive folders along with a cue to follow through on a trusted task list.

Let’s return to my saga. With full disclosure, I can’t tell you exactly how it happened, but I remember that multitasking was involved. I couldn’t repeat the mistake if I tried. But the result was that I accidentally deleted all the emails in my inbox and couldn’t get them back. There were about 100, and I had responded to most but not all of them.

My first reaction was panic. Then I tried to undo the error. In my frenzy, I think I made things worse. So, I stopped. I took several deep breaths and asked myself, “Linda, now what?” There were several options, including getting on the phone with tech support to see if they could help retrieve the deletions. I lacked time, confidence, and patience for that option. I was also in the middle of several deadlines and needed to focus on those instead of my big mistake. I knew how quickly my day could have deteriorated with negative self-talk, paralysis, and frustration. Those weren’t good options.

“Letting go allows for open space, growth, and relief.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

I felt calmer when I recognized that some emails could be retrieved through the “sent” email box if needed. In addition, if I missed something important, the sender would hopefully resend it to me. If you sent me an email and I never responded, please resend it. Thank you.

Letting Go: Unexpected Benefits

It’s been over a week without those deleted emails, and it’s been OK as of today. I let go of a lot and discovered some things along the way.

• There is no perfect.

• I’m human and make mistakes.

• Life goes on even without a full inbox.

• The most important things were handled.

• I recognized growth in how I kept my initial panic to a minimum.

• Resilience was visible as I quickly recovered from ‘the incident.’

• Multitasking can be dangerous.

• Appreciate the improved focus with fewer emails visible.

• Be grateful for the empty inbox, even if unintentional.

• Acknowledge the available time doing fun things like planting my small vegetable garden instead of stressing over retrieving emails.

• Find the humor in the situation.

• Remember the big picture.

In the end, letting go, while unexpected, was valuable. I’ve recovered from the mishap, appreciate a less full inbox, and feel lighter and less encumbered.

Have you ever let go accidentally? If so, what happened? What did you discover? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.