I’m happy to bring you the newest installment (v6) of the “What’s Interesting?” feature where I share my latest discoveries that inform, educate, and relate to organizing and life balance

I’ve included unique and inspiring enlisting help-related finds, which reflect this month’s blog theme. You’re a wonderfully engaged group. I look forward to your participation and additions to the collection I’ve sourced for you.

What do you find interesting?

What’s Interesting? . . .

1. Interesting Read – Letting Go Help

After meeting the Minimalists, Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, at the NAPO conference this past April, I was inspired to read their book, Everything That Remains. It’s a memoir about two friends and how they went from being unhappy, stressed, and burdened by their possessions to changing how they lived and focused their energy.

Their journey included repeatedly asking this powerful question, “Does this thing add value to my life?"  That enabled them to let go of clutter and embrace minimalism.

Ryan writes, “When we get rid of the superabundance of stuff, however, we can make room for life’s more important aspects.”

2. Interesting Fact – Mood Help

Some easy fixes and help for improving your mood include scent and nature. If you’re feeling tired, eat a peppermint. For a non-caloric alternative, place a few drops of peppermint oil on a tissue, hold it to your nose, and breathe deeply. The aroma will stimulate the part of your brain that is responsible for arousal.

According to researchers at the University of Essex in England, to improve your mood and self-esteem, engage in five minutes of outdoor activity every day.

Experience an added benefit by being outside next to a body of water like a river or lake.

3. Interesting Conference – Disorganization Help

The Institute for Challenging Disorganization (ICD) will have its' annual conference in Cleveland, Ohio, September 17-19, 2015.

Organizing and related professionals will gather from all over the globe to learn about compassion fatigue, hoarding, ADHD, memory loss, nervous system resilience, and the latest research on chronic disorganization.

I'm looking forward to attending and learning from the experts so that I can better help my clients. Are you going? I'd love to see you there!

4. Interesting Product – Colorful Help

Do you need help organizing your papers and desk supplies? Check out Poppin, a line of functional, colorful, and joyful organizing products. Their packaging and messaging even make deliveries fun.

It’s hard to choose my favorite product because they have so many, but one is the Softie This + That Tray, which comes in twelve beautiful colors, like most of their line.

I keep one on my computer tray to organize sticky notes and small toys. Can you guess which color I have?

5. Interesting Resource – Consignment Help

Do you have clothing and accessories in excellent condition that you no longer want? Would you like to sell them in a hassle-free way?

Try ThredUp, a unique online service that makes consigning simple. Items consigned that don’t sell, you can opt to donate or return to you.

6. Interesting Thought – Community Help

Every one of us experiences challenges. Find the people in your life who will lift you up, help you with your struggles, celebrate your successes, and be your cheerleader. They are your community.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. What are your interesting finds? Do any of these resonate with you?  Join the conversation!

Given that it’s the era of iPhone, iPad, iThis and iThat, I thought that it would be interesting to add a few more iThings to the list. How about iHelp and iAskforhelp? These are very different yet equally important. We tend to lean more heavily towards one “i” than the other. Which direction do you gravitate towards?

Let’s dig deeper by asking some questions.

iHelp

• When was the last time you helped someone?

• Was it months ago? Years ago?

• Was it today or yesterday?

• Were you asked to help or did you volunteer to help?

• How often do you find yourself in the helping mode?

• Who do you help? Do you help family, friends, colleagues, or clients?

• What are the benefits you receive from helping others? 

“It’s impossible to do everything ourselves.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

iAskforhelp

• When was the last time you asked for help?

• Do you freely ask for help?

• Do you feel guilty asking others for assistance?

• Do you feel like things will get done better, faster, or more efficiently if you do them yourself?

• When you aren’t sure about the next step, do you procrastinate or reach out for help?

• What type of help are you most comfortable asking for? Is it for home repairs, life guidance, organizing help, or family care?

• What type of help are you most uncomfortable asking for?

• What prevents you from enlisting help?

• Last time you asked for help, what was the outcome?

• What are the benefits you receive by enlisting help?

While I would like to have a combination of both helping and enlisting help, I’m more often in the helping others mode between clients that are in need of organizing help, coordinating care as my mom ages in place, and my role as President for ICD.

Yet even though I’m often in the iHelp mode, I recognize the value of asking for help. It’s impossible to do everything ourselves. I’m a huge advocate of teams, especially building teams. The energy of a focused group can accomplish way more than the energy of one.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. What is your relationship to helping and enlisting help? Come join the conversation!

You know what happens when you go, go, go? You get burned out, out, out. So I’d say that my motivation to slow down is pretty darn high right now because I’ve been on the go for a long stretch…a very long stretch.

Here’s the good news. I’ve planned some time off to slow my motor. Yet, as I write this in advance of our mini vacation so that it will post while I’m off the grid, I’m still in the go, go, go mode. As a matter of fact, after I write this post I need to write my pack list and pack. And before I wrote this I had a client that needed organizing help, an interview to finish writing, bills to pay, errands to run, emails to respond to, and a rental car to return. I bet this sounds all too familiar, right?

I won’t tell you what time it is, but let’s just say, it’s late. I’ve had a bit too much caffeine today. That in combination with the adrenaline pumping will give me enough energy to sprint some more. Then I can shift into low gear. I’m looking forward to changing my pace.

The point is that I am highly motivated to slow down. I’ve been pushing and doing and doing some more. It’s time for a break. It’s time to not do. It’s time to enjoy our family and suspend all agendas and to do lists.

I’m looking forward to our road trip to the mountains where we’ll meet up with our daughters. By the time you read this, I will have had days of unwinding, decompressing, relaxing, and unplugging. I might be unrecognizable. Let’s hope so. What will relaxed look and feel like?

How about you? Will you take off time this summer? What motivates you to change your pace? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation.

What happens when you lose your groove? Do you know what I mean? You’ve established a habit. You’ve committed to a habit and then life gets in the way. How do you come back? How do you re-motivate yourself to return to that thing, that habit that you know and love?

As I sat to write my weekly post, I realized that this is exactly what I’ve experienced. It’s been three weeks since my last post. In the past five plus years, I’ve written one blog post per week with a few exceptions. It’s a habit I enjoy, find creative and have been committed to.

However, I’ve faced some challenges in these recent weeks that forced me to let go of certain commitments (as in writing the weekly blog post and engaging as actively on social media) so that I could handle others. Yes there was guilt. Yes there was disappointment. But it was also necessary to let go to make room for some emergencies and out of the ordinary challenges.

Here are some reminders I gave myself about motivation:

• I can come back at any time.

• I need to be flexible because there are only 24 hours in a day.

• Some of those 24 hours are needed for sleep, which is essential for recharging.

• If I’m exhausted, I won’t have the energy or motivation to do anything.

• Return to your source for centering. Water and sun restore me.

• If I’ve gotten way off track, take one tiny step towards that “project” or habit and it will feed my motivation.

• Practice self-compassion.

• Listen to your cheerleaders.

• Just start.

• Let go of perfect.

Needless to say, I’ve missed all of you. I’ve missed our conversations. I’m glad to be back after taking a break to tend to some family and professional challenges. I get that I expect a lot from myself. Does this sound familiar? I get that there’s a balance between doing and not doing. I’m working on that.

What about you? Does any of this resonate? Has life ever gotten in the way and thrown you off course? It’s temporary. What do you do to re-motivate? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation.