Getting Out of Your Element

Being someone who NEEDS routine, getting "out of my element" is a scary proposition for me. Trying new restaurants or new kinds of food is traumatizing. (Just ask Marcia and Dion when they talked me into eating at an Indian restaurant in Stirling)

The whole reason why I don't go to the gym has nothing to do with my own laziness (which I am), but it also stems from the fear of the unknown. "What if people laugh at me? I don't have the stamina to stay on an elliptical machine for more than 3 minutes (on a good day!). I look like a frikken moose for crying out loud!"

The crazy part about my own personal fears are they sound a lot like those people who want to attempt to get organized.

"What if I fail?"

"What if I can't maintain it?"

"I'm so afraid of change."

Well, if I can eat some kind of Indian "Coma" Chicken, albeit because I had two encouraging South Africans holding my hand the whole way, you can get out of your element as well. Sometimes having a friend, a coach, or someone else encouraging you along the way helps out tremendously!

In the last two years I haven't worn a short sleeved shirt (not even in the 120 degree Arizona weather), but in the last 4 months you will be hard pressed NOT to find me in a cute little shirt perfect for the heat. Mostly because I have finally had someone convince me that it isn't THAT bad.

If you would have recommended going to the batting cages at any point in my life, I would have laughed so hard I would have pissed myself! Last month, not only did I attempt to swing a bat I actually hit 80% of the balls shot at me!

I got out of my little apartment life and even joined a bowling league! Talk about CRAZY!

Of course, I can't take all of the credit for stepping a little out of the boundaries of the norm, that I owe to the guy who brings me flowers on a weekly basis just because he knows how much I love them. When I braved the batting cages, he let me watch him do it, we talked about timing, he let me miss the first few balls, and then he gave me just a few little pointers until I figured it out all on my own. Talk about feeling triumphant!

Not only have I found some new found fun, I also discovered that I am quite competitive! My little bowling team is first place for the summer league, I am bound and determined NOT to have to wear the Jake Plummer Denver Broncos jersey, and I am having a ball doing the things I was terrified to try.

If you are afraid to get out of your element, just find a couple of things that may be easy to achieve. Have a friend, a loved one, or a coach help encourage you along the way or even go with you. Beyond anything though, just enjoy it!

I knew no one would believe that I tried the Indian food so I just HAD to take a picture of it! Along with a bunch of the other things people won't believe I actually did!!!! Why not take your own pictures along the way so you can remember the satisfaction of a job well done!

From Old and Ugly to New and Beautiful

The transformation of my bedroom office continues! Now that I am absolutely ecstatic with the layout of my bedroom and not minding the intrusion of my desk in the room, I figured a little updating was in order.

I have been using a little tiny 4'ft table as my desk. It's short enough to fit inbetween my bed and the window seat, but it is hideously ugly! It had that faux wood finish and it was peeling off everywhere and I just couldn't handle it any more. So today, I ran out to Target and found a beautiful wrapping paper that would look nice with my bed. Then I hopped on over to Staples and grabbed a clear desk protector to place over the wrapping paper. This way it wouldn't get all nasty when I worked at the desk.

A simple cut, some double sided sticky tape and a pretty hat box later I have a beautiful new desk that makes my room look stunning!

Inside of the hat box, which I also picked up at Target, I have my headset for my podcasts, the cord for my camera and iPod and an extra headset for my phone. :o) It is PERFECT! Plus, it is a fantastic extension of my gorgeous bed!

With Organization Comes Reward

Yesterday, I bought myself flowers! Yep, a full dozen of golden roses just for little ol' me! Other than the fact that I deserve to have fresh flowers, the reason behind the glorious beauty is none other than I earned those babies!

This past week and a half has been a busy one! I went out of town with a couple of girlfriends, I bought a new car, I rearranged my bedroom, I organized my new little office space, I cleaned the apartment, the kids had spring break, my son turned 10, we went bowling and to the movies, finalized my trip to Scotland, spoke to an old friend and I still had to find time to help a client out with her Outlook calendar and work! All of that in the last 10 days! I sure as hell deserved the roses!

The main obstacle I set out to complete and one that has been driving me insane, kept me from getting a GREAT nights sleep, and one that nearly disabled my poor organizational empowered brain was my bedroom and the make shift office that has violated my space.

Talk about disabling! My room was no longer a sanctuary instead it was turned into a living nightmare and one that kept me from feeling at peace when I went to bed. I couldn't work at my desk, I couldn't sleep peacefully in my bed, and it was driving me nuts!

So I decided to take a bit of my own advice and reorganize my space. (Hmm, an organizer who organizes? Who would have thunk?) Sunday, the kids were off at their Dad's for Easter and I stayed at home and dug into the mess of my desk.

One of the things that was driving me insane about my bedroom was the fact that instead of looking at the gorgeous bed I have, you saw the nasty desk and computer monitor. Not that it was right in front, it was just dark and depressing and it drew your eye.

I also had an issue with space...I had very little! My bed is ginormous (a word I love to make up and use) and it leaves little for anything else. However, there was a 4 and a half foot space and a window seat that was on the side of the bed in the corner. I decided to squash my desk up against my bed, put the end table lamp on my desk and use the window seat as extra space for my printer.

On the wall that used to house my nightmare of destruction, I put a tall skinny table with my beautiful roses on it!

Sunday night I slept like a dream!

The best part is, now when you walk into my room, my desk is hidden behind all of the big poofy pillows that are on my bed and you don't even notice the computer monitor because your eye is following the nose and the warm scent of roses in bloom!

If you are finding that you are completely overwhelmed, unmotivated, not sleeping, not wanting to even look into the laundry room, take a few hours to yourself and really clean out, rearrange and organize your space. It is amazing what a few hours can do for your emotional well being. Besides, it's a great excuse to buy yourself something nice!

Happy Organizing!

Suzanne Babb

Organizing Scholarship

The school year is fast coming to an end and the kids are beyond ecstatic! They just finished up with Spring Break and although they are excited about going back to school to see their friends, they also know that it is one week closer to SUMMER! As exciting as summer tends to be, my daughter is looking even a bit further beyond the blistering heat of Arizona...High School!

Yep, my baby girl is going to be a freshman next year and although I am still in shock that my fat little Charlie Brown baby is one year away from being able to drive and 4 months away from high school, she is actually thinking ahead on this one. Jordyn has a horrible time in math and always has. She struggles to keep a D and if she does manage a C we throw a party! The poor kid hasn't had her cell phone all year and when she dipped to an F, the laptop was snagged as well. So, when she came home with her selected electives for high school and showed them to me, I just about had heart failures! She is taking French and Forensics as her two electives.

Internally I am screaming to myself, "Are you frikken kidding me?! You don't study for tests now, what makes you think you are going to be able to pass French and FORENSICS!" (Internally I was saying that!) Externally, it was what is motivating you to take Forensics and French? (We live 2 hours from Mexico so I was thinking Spanish.)

Then Jordyn did something that shocked the hell out of me. She explained that she would like to be an Egyptologist. She did some searching on the computer and she needs 12 years of college, she needs to know 5 different languages, the forensics will help her enhance her knowledge of research and public speaking, and she would like to get a jump start on it in high school and not wait for college. Apparently, only a few people are selected for the Egyptologist program and you need to be the best of the best. Her dream goal is to be in the position of if someone has a question regarding Egypt and its history, they come to her first. (Did I mention she is 14 and doesn't clean her room?)

As I was wondering who this child was in front of me and trying to figure out who to call to explain that my daughter was abducted by aliens, she spit out a small request. Can I buy her something to help her learn French before school starts? She knows she is going to struggle with the language and she wants to be prepared and know a bit more than the other kids and build up her confidence.

Talk about me being speechless! When I finally recovered from the shock, I uttered two statements. "Yes, I will buy you a computer program to help you with French." The second of the two statements..."You had better get a ton of scholarships, because I am not paying for 12 years of college!" :o)

Although this is a nice little ditty about the practicality of a teenager, what in the world does this have to do with organizing? A lot actually!

Not being organized is a lot like having an 'F' in Math. Things are in disarray, you are stressed beyond all belief, you don't want to have company over because your house is a wreck, your office looks like a war zone, and if your mom saw in your closets you would be grounded for life!

However, you can pull it up to a 'D' by hiding clutter under the beds, in the closets, out in the garage, etc. Depending on how motivated you are, you may even be able to get that bad boy up to a C with a little more effort and concentrating on completing the projects you start out on.

To get a 'B' or an 'A' when you are coming from an 'F' is the hardest of all! It's not about getting it one time, it's about maintaining that 'B' or an 'A'. For that, you are probably going to need some help! Like in Jordyn's case, she wants to start out before French with some software to help her learn the language. In an organizing sense, you will probably need to do some surfing around the internet and find sites to read about organizing specific projects, there are also some nifty books out there that will probably help you as well. Although these tools are helpful in a way, is it specifically assisting you with the areas that are unique to your situation?

That is where the "tutor" comes in at. You are going to need to adjust habits, create routines, have someone hold you accountable but also encourage you to keep on going. Constantly reminding you of the end goal! That is what an Organizing Coach is for. Your Organizing Coach is going to be the one to show you HOW, keep you motivated, give you the Cliff Notes, and help inspire you to keep on going!

Once you have achieved and maintained your 'A', the reward is the scholarship! A clean and organized home or office!!! Of course, just like a scholarship, you are still going to need to maintain your grade point average and you will definitely need to maintain your organizational routines. The best part is, you will always a back up and the reinforcements to help assist you! A study buddy aka Professional Organizer! No matter where you are in life, a Professional Organizer can come in and help you get through the chaos and show you a little bit of the light at the end of the tunnel. They can clear away what is bothering you most so that the task doesn't seem as daunting.

And after "12 years" you too can be the expert in your field where when they have a question they will come to you first! (She had better get those scholarships is all I have to say!)

Happy Organizing!

Suzanne Babb

When You Get to an Organizing Roadblock

I am sure that we have all hit a giant wall at some point in time where we are not motivated to do a dang gone thing, even though we know we have a ton of things to do! Cleaning out the garage, doing spring cleaning, taking things out to storage, cleaning out the closet, yuck! All of these things involve CLEANING! No wonder we aren't motivated to do it! I am not even going to go to the whole "excercise" routine! Makes me shudder to even go there!

However, when I am totally and completely unmotivated and when I need to get my butt in gear I do a couple of things.

1. I check out some great organizing websites that help to inspire me and give me some great ideas!
2. I throw on some great up beat music! Van Morrison, CCR, Bon Jovi, my Irish Jiggies!
3. Trip over my sons scooter that he left in the middle of the floor! - Nothing like a little pain to motivate you to clean!

Music is pretty self-explanatory. If you have some fun up-beat music that you absolutely love it can't help but put you in a wonderful mood.

As far as websites go, I have a couple that REALLY inspire me to clean and organize!

See Jane Work

Organized Living

Levenger

Fly Lady

Undiscovered Scotland - You need to have something fun and personal in the ol' motivational bucket!

Whether it's cleaning, organizing, working out, yard work, etc., try finding some favorite sites that you enjoy looking through, that help get your mind relaxed, and motivate you to get the show on the road! Save them all in your Favorites and create a special Motivational folder and store them all there. This way, when you need a boost you are all ready to go!

Happy Organizing!

Taking Organizing Out of the House

(Marcia, this is Brigadoon in Scotland!!!!!)

I am not sure about the rest of the world, but during the last week in Arizona we have had some of the most gorgeous weather! High 70's with a slight breeze and it is just calling out everyone's name to come and enjoy the wonderful weather before it turns into the bowels of Hell aka Summer.

The most wonderful part about this time of year is most of the restaraunts, coffee shops and even the bars have wondeful patios that you can spend your day enjoying the climate.

Seeing that I am up to my eyeballs and so far behind on a ton of projects, I have made a simple little list of the things I can take with me to new favorite patio and work on there.

For example:

1. Read through Ariane's "Neat & Simple Guide to Organizing Your Office"
2. Write some new blog posts for Online Organizing
3. Complete the binder of all of my favorite ezine articles, magazine columns, podcasts, and blog posts
4. Write up a couple of podcasts
5. Do bills...YUCK!!!!!!!
6. Figure out vacation times
7. Organize marketing projects

Now, I may not get through all of these things today, but the ones that I do finish will be done outside in the fresh air with wonderful handsome young men bringing everything my heart desires (that is on the menu) at my beck and call! It can't get much better than that when it comes to paying the bills!!!!

What are some of the things you can accomplish outside of the home or office today?

Happy Organizing!

Suzanne Babb

100 Surefire Ways to Organize Your Life!

I have truly been blessed in my life as I am surrounded by an incredible family, I have a tremendous business support group, my bloggy/newsletter friends are amazing, and I have been lucky enough to work with 3 over-the-top professional organizers who make me laugh, let me cry, and have seen my desk at it's WORST and still they let me contribute to our latest "organizing brain child"!

Together with Ariane Benefit, Beth Dargis and Marcia Francois; we have come up with a great little eBook that is full of organizational and time management tips to help you manage your busy schedule.

The best part is it is totally and completely free...ok, fine, there is one little thing I would like for you to do before I give away the "farm". ;o) No, I do not want your first born! (You can have mine, she's 14 and ALL attitude!)

All you need to do is sign up for my little Organize Me, Please! newsletter! If you are already a member of the newsletter, you will be getting your free copy on February 1st.

So, if it's time you cleared your clutter and got down to business enjoy our organizing gift to you! (Wait until you check out the layout! Ariane, did a PHENOMENAL job! It's stunning!)

Until next time,

Happy Organizing!

Falling In Love

A couple of weeks ago I did a podcast on organizing using Post It Notes. I must admit that I am a total sucker for the little wonders and if I can come up with a new way to use them, I am going for it! Up until this evening at 9pm, I would have shouted from the rooftops that I was indeed in the top 5 incredible Post It diva's that has ever existed! Maybe even in the top 3. But now, I sit here in bed and it has dawned on me that I must tip my humble newly colored head to Ms. Kelly at Modern June.

Would you look at this woman's door!?! Holy cow, I cannot tell you how much I am in love with the idea and the concept and I can't wait to hear about the method behind her Post It genius!

Cheers to you, Kelly, this is absolutely wonderful!!!

Reminiscent of the Past

Isn't it funny how life plays itself out? Here I am up to my eyeballs with extreme changes/enhancements to my company and I have a ton of things that need to get done and for the majority part of the day I have been reliving the past. Enjoying thinking back of moments gone by, friends I have lost touch with, special occasions that I laugh at the memories, and I rehash decisions I made. Sometimes I kick myself, but only for a moment because there is nothing that I can do about now and who wants to be mildly depressed? Not I!

Although I get a bit nostalgic, what I learn from revisiting the past is the regrets that I have and of those regrets the LARGEST that comes to mind is the NOT DOING. Not acting upon a dream. Not taking what I want. Afraid that I am making the wrong decision. Knowing that this non-action drives me up a flippin' wall I can use it to my benefit in the here and now.

Although the changes that are happening in my life can be a bit scary and exciting at the same time, I know that if I don't throw myself into it 100% I am going to be kicking myself in the keister 5 years down the road and my butt is getting a bit sore from the previous 5 years so why would I want to do it all over again?! The fear is unacceptable because I know the end result will be AMAZING and without fear and challenges what is the point?

How many times in your life, in your business, in your emotions have you been afraid of doing something because you didn't want to fail or you doubted the sanity behind the decision? What has that kept you from attaining; a promotion, your dream, love, money, respect? Although you can't go back and change a decision you made or didn't make, you can learn from your reaction, you can overcome the fear, and you can put your faith in YOURSELF.

So, on this wonderfully wet and dreary Arizona morning (which I am so thrilled to have some RAIN!!!!), I am going to make my list of all of things I "regret" not doing. I am going to put down WHY I didn't do them in the first place and I am going to overcome the fears that could possibly hold me back in the future.

Since I am learning from the past, I don't think they are "regrets" any more. Woo hoo! No Regrets! Now I can enjoy the wonderful rainy morning and get my butt in gear!

Never Giving Up

Tenacious. Vivacious. Pissing-Myself-Funny. Ambitious. Demanding. Selfish.

The above words were all adjectives used to describe me during a funny exercise at a recent meeting I hosted with a group of women business owners. There were others, but some things aren't always appropriate! :o) The exercise was meant to be a personality description, but it turned into using your personality traits and strengths to help grow our businesses.

For example: When I get something in my head there is absolutely nothing stopping me from getting what I want. I go after it 100% and I'm not happy until I get it. I'm quite selfish when it comes to getting my way. Not that I want it handed to me, I want to work my fanny off to achieve so I can pat myself on the back and say how great I am. :o) If I don't give myself kudos who else will, right?

After my divorce I wanted nothing more in life than to go to Scotland. I had visions of big strapping Scotsmen, tootling around the Highlands of Scotland, experiencing first hand history, the romanticism of castles, and seeing GREEN!

Being that I was a single mom of two, barely making enough money to support the three of us, let alone a trip abroad, especially since I had never been on a plane before, was a ludicrous dream. At least, that is what people told me.

The following year, I flew myself to Scotland, stayed for 10 days, trampled around the Highlands of Scotland, was attacked by a sheep, ate Haggis, and experienced a love that will never die. Ludicrous my hind end!

THAT is a personality trait. THAT is also something I have brought with me to my business. If I have that kind of tenacity in my personality, why not use it to my advantage in business?

My new goal in life? I am going back to Scotland and I am going to work with a Scottish company to get their business running effectively and efficiently enough to double their profits and take their company to the next level. Impossible? Not in my world!

What personality trait do you possess that can help take your business one step further?

On Fire!

Have you ever had one of those weeks or days that no matter what you do you are on frikken fire and you wish that it would never stop. This past week has been that week for me and I'm still reeling from how wonderful it has all been.

The crazy part is my recent blaze has more to do with my "environment" than it does with actual events, although those have been fantastic as well.

Take, for example, music. I am huge on auditory sensitivity. If there is an annoying buzzing or drumming it literally drives me insane, however, when it's something like listening to a killer drum Set, Josh Groban's 'Remember', or Bonnie Tyler's 'Holding Out for a Hero' I'm in heaven! Inspiration bursts from the seams and you couldn't stop the thoughts and ideas if you tried. Thus was my Monday. After a busy, wonderfully frustrating weekend, I stopped into a local restaurant for lunch and the music they were playing was beyond wonderful. In three hours of sitting at my table, I threw together a Business Restructure Model for a client, wrote a chapter in my latest eBook, put together my July newsletter, and outlined my Podcast topics that will be starting soon.

I have also become reaquainted with an old friend who has helped me profusely with "coming alive" again. It's so invigorating!!! When I come to a mental roadblock or if I start to become overwhelmed, I think back to an evening listening to friends play the drums and sing songs we all know and love. (I can't sing to save my life so I simply curl up on the couch, close my eyes and enjoy the moment. I would be a TOTAL mood killer! MY mood killer, to boot!)

It's moments like these that have helped me win contracts, create an aggressive business model for myself, implement new services, and sign on new employees this week! It has also made me realize that I need short term, long term and specific goals in my business, personal life, and friendships.

Sometimes, especially if you own your own business, the only person you can rely on to motivate you is YOU. It can be so hard to get past a nasty funk, especially if you feel like you are down in the microbaterial sludge with the rest of the bottom feeders. So, what can YOU do to motivate yourself?

1. Listen to great inspiring music. It doesn't MAKE you think it ENCOURAGES you to come alive.
2. Passionately talk about your hopes and dreams with a friend. Keep it POSITIVE.
3. Go out and lift your face to the sky and feel the sun on your face, listen to the wind blow through the trees and imagine the rain kissing your cheeks. (It's BLAZING hot in Arizona, we dream of rain!)
4. Go some place other than your office to work. If the weather is great, go outside and enjoy it. If you like to drive, get in the car and go! Whatever gets your brain moving!
5. Think back on fun moments throughout your life that made you laugh until you wanted to pee.

These can be the perfect things to do if you are hitting burn out or if you just need a bit of a pick me up. Whatever the scenario, if you need something to ignite your fanny on fire, then do it! I would give you MY personal fire starting secret, but then it wouldn't MY secret anymore, would it?

Have a great weekend and if you get a chance to listen to 'Come Monday' by Jimmy Buffet it is the PERFECT song to get you smiling just a bit and excited about the things to come...