Organize 365 Podcast Episode 124 - Productivity #8 Time Management & Goal Setting

Welcome to the Organized 365 Podcast. My name is Lisa Woodruff and I'm a professional organizer and blogger in Cincinnati, Ohio. I wanna help you get your home organized and help you organize life stages and unexpected events. So sit back, relax, and let's get organized. This week on the podcast, I am tackling time management and specifically a question that got posed to me, which was, Now that I no longer have kids' schedules dictating my time and have no clue how to start planning my time to get things done. I love this question and I'm seeing this, the more I'm talking with my mom, who is a baby boomer, about her generation and how they're spending their time, I have been noticing this and trying to figure out how to frame it into a podcast episode. So I currently am in the survival phase of my life and I'm able to work in and around my kids' schedules because I'm driving them everywhere. And people who are in the accumulation phase of life are typically working around an outside job they have or young children's schedules if they have children. But predominantly, by the time you get to the baby boomer generation, they don't have children at home anymore, and they might be helping their children care for their grandchildren, but they're pretty much in charge of their schedules. And for a lot of women in the baby boomer population, they're not working, or they might be working part-time, and they're not working at a full-time job anymore. And what I am seeing is the world is their oyster. They have all of the time in the world, and they're able to do a lot of things. They're able to volunteer, they're able to travel, they're able to help out their family. And they're able to spend their days however they want to. And sometimes when you have a lot of freedom, it is hard to make yourself do things like get your house organized, for example. So I'll just stay on that track for this whole podcast. Like, how do you, when you have all the time in the world, create a sense of urgency to get your house organized when you have all the time in the world to organize your house and you totally have your own schedule to set yourself? I think that the podcast I recorded before this about productivity, so two podcasts ago, where I told you about a day in my life, really showed you how I have a similar situation. Even though I am, I have the bookends of when I need to drive my kids certain places, I pretty much can plan how I spend my days. And as we move further into the future. Everyone is going to have more of an ability to plan their days how they want to plan their days as we move to a more freelancer-type society. So what I mean when I'm saying that is that there's this big entrepreneurial push right now that usually happens about this time in the 80-year cycle of generations where entrepreneurship is a really cool thing and a lot of people are doing it. And Our family has been entrepreneurs in every generation all the way back. Like, I would have been an entrepreneur whether or not it was the thing to do right now or not, because it's just how I'm wired. But there are a lot more people starting their own businesses, and maybe they're the first person in their family to ever go out on their own and not work a 9-to-5 job. In general, people are not working 9-to-5 jobs as much as they have in the past because technology allows us to work from home. Allows us to work in different time zones based on where our business is, and allows us to work virtually. So sometimes you may never even meet your boss because they're in a totally different city. Additionally, in the United States, there are a lot of extra fees for having people work in office buildings. There's insurance, there's maintenance, there's a lot of upkeep that never was really considered before because it's just how things were done as we moved into the Industrial Revolution. But now that everything's being done more virtually, a lot more assisted technology is coming on, artificial intelligence, the whole landscape of working is changing. What people do for employment is changing, how they do it, how they spend their days. And I find what I think is a trend that is going to continue is that more and more people are going to either work from home or work for themselves. And so they are going to be more in control of their day and their time, and it's going to become more of a, well, you just need to get your work done, and this is the amount of work that needs to get done in a week, versus we need you to sit at this desk for 40 hours in case this phone rings and do your work while you're sitting here. Like, that whole paradigm is starting to shift, and I think that there are a lot of things in society that are going to change because of it. Little side note, I think one big thing that will be changing is education. 'Cause we're not educating our students towards this, and our schools are a reflection of a 9-to-5 economy, even based on the times that they work here in the United States. And I just have a feeling it's gonna take a while for that to shift, but I think that's gonna shift. So while this question is asked to me from a baby boomer, I think it impacts everyone. How do we dictate our time? How do we get done what we want to get done in our time, whether we have a little bit of it Or we have a whole lot of it. And I think that comes down to focus and goal setting. I know I'm a big goal setter and, um, you know, I have a little bit of spontaneity, but sometimes when I say goal setting, people are like, oh, I don't need a goal for setting my house. Or sometimes goal setting has a negative connotation. And I want to change that for you if that's you. For me, the goals that I set, I'm 100% in charge of because I don't have a boss. Maybe you're my boss actually, but I don't have a boss. So I get to decide, you know, what my podcast episodes are, what the next product I come out with. But if I don't, if I just go hairy carry based on how I feel that day and I don't set out a goal and a scope and sequence of where I'm trying to lead you, then you will just feel like, well, that was great information Lisa shared with me, but I can't really take any actionable step on that. Or my life isn't actually changing listening to Lisa. It's kind of fun, she's funny, she talks fast, but like I can't say that it's impacted my life. And I am pretty sure that's not true because I get emails all the time about, oh my gosh, The Sunday Basket is amazing, or I'm in year 2 of organizing and you're right, this is so different, or I've just gotten to year 3 and I can't believe it really takes 3 years to organize your house, but you're right, everything you said would happen has happened. So I know I'm leading you down a path. And I've done that in a focused way, like kind of like a lesson plan for how you can get your house organized. And I heard somewhere someone said that the future, um, economy will be based on who is able to focus. So the ability that I put out this podcast every single week, that I have a website that is updated and maintained and I change every year to 18 months That I have an app that you can use. All of these things are because I am focused on helping you organize your house. Now my house is organized. I've organized mine. And we've organized a bunch of people's in Cincinnati. Like we can get in and out in a week now in organizing people's houses. I've figured out how to do this. I could move on to the next thing I wanna do in my life, but I'm going backwards, not backwards, but I'm reflecting and I'm helping you get organized. I am continually refocusing myself on this question of What do you, the Organized 365 reader and listener, need to take the next step to keep working towards a more organized life so that you have more time to do the things that you want to do and love to do and how you're going to impact the world? So focus. When we think about focus and I think about you, I want to ask you 2 questions. Number one, I think you're focused on organizing your house because you're listening to this podcast. So where are you in that focus? Are you just creating the Sunday basket? Are you in the first year of a home organization challenge? Have you decided to do the paper organizing course and you're organizing your paper? Are you just listening to the podcasts and getting your mindset right? And that's okay. I mean, I used to say this a lot and maybe it's time that you hear it again. If all you've been doing is listening to the podcasts and you haven't organized a single thing, You're doing great. I know that sounds funny, but you have to change your mindset about organization before you're ready to physically get organized. And when you have the time, maybe right now you have no time at home, you're in the survival phase and your parents are ill or someone's just passed away and you would love to get your home organized, but you physically don't have the time or energy to do it, that's okay. Keep listening because your organizational pathways in your brain are developing and growing and getting stronger and stronger. Mm-hmm. And when you do have the time and effort to tackle your house, you're going to be able to do it faster and with more clarity. So you're doing great. But I also would like to tell you that I set goals in planning for my marriage, for my children, for our finances. It's not just my business and it's not just home organization. And I think life happens to you or you proactively attack life. Always. And so if you have a lot of time and you don't know how to plan your day, part of it is because you're not working towards something. And maybe you don't want to grow a business and you're done raising your children in this woman's case, or you don't have children, so that's not it. So it's not child or business focused. But what about you? Like, are you married? So what are, what are your goals with your spouse? Do you want to travel? Okay, if you want to travel, then let's start planning that trip. Or do you want to, you know, get enrolled in a Bible study, be more hospitable, volunteer more in your community, start an organization and put your effort into that? As soon as you find something to put your time and effort into, you will be able to block that into your calendar and manage your time better. Now I'm gonna do this based on organizing your home. One thing that I'm going to specifically address to the downsizing And Legacy group of ladies is that because you can organize anytime, you don't have to organize anytime. I'm going to say that again. Because you can organize anytime, you don't have to organize anytime. Because you don't have to, because it's not like if you don't get this house organized, you're not going to be able to find the birth certificate to send your kid to camp. Or, you know, you can go on vacation, you can do all these things, or you can organize your house. It's like just one of the things that you can pick. Then you don't have to, and you're not going to make the progress that someone that joins the 100-day challenge is going to make if they do the 15 minutes every single day three times through. They're going to get their whole house organized in one year, and you're going to have listened to a bunch of podcasts. So what I will say is that you need to set goals, and we're specifically going to talk about home organizing goals. So your goals should be weekly, monthly. Monthly and quarterly. It's really hard for our brain, based on what I'm reading, to project out more than 90 to 100 days, which is why the new challenge is not 40 weeks, it's 100 days. That's the paid Home Organization Challenge. So if you're just starting to do this, if you're just starting to get a handle on your time management, I don't want you to overwhelm yourself. When you do your Sunday Basket planning, I want you to set your goal for that week. So as you're doing the Sunday basket and saying, can this wait until next Sunday? And you get that little pile of papers in front of you that need to be done this week, that's your goal this week is to get those pile of papers done. Call the people, mail the thing, reply to the correspondence, order whatever you need to order, whatever that pile is. But I would also encourage you to have one organizational goal. So your first organizational goal will be to do a Sunday basket. If you're listening to this podcast and you have not created a Sunday basket yet, create a Sunday basket. Start that system of, of weekly planning and organization. That planning piece is going to help you have better time management. The other thing about time management is your calendar can easily get filled up with other people's goals and not your goals if you're just putting things on your calendar every time someone asks you to say yes. So in order to have time management and to be in more control of your calendar, you need to start putting things on your calendar that are— you are in control of for you. And then when people ask you if you're available, you're not, because you've made a goal with yourself. So if organizing your house is one of your goals, that needs to go on your calendar. And if you're not raising children right now or working outside of the home, And you have a lot of extra time, I would say— I would encourage you, I guess, to spend an hour or 2 a day or one full day organizing your house. Because here's the thing, if you're in the downsizing and legacy group, you are either a baby boomer or a silent generation. You have a lot of stuff. You have probably lived in that house 30 to 40 years. You have your stuff, your kids' stuff, past relatives' stuff. Sometimes your brother's or your sister's stuff is in your house. You have photos, you have mementos, you have paper coming out your ears, and you're making great progress. I know because you guys are in the 40 Weeks to One Whole House, or you're in the 100-Day Challenge, or the old mastermind group. I know you guys are making an amazing amount of, of progress, but I also know That when the baby boomers come in those groups, they're working on paper for 3, 4, 5, 6 months. But people in the millennial group, you know, they're in the accumulation group, they can work on paper for a week and be done. They just don't have the quantity that you have. The other thing that I would say to those of you that are baby boomers in the downsizing phase of your life is that everything that you can get organized now and make a decision on now yourself, Is something you're not asking your children to do in the future. And what a blessing that is, like to actually decide that you're not going to use those paints anymore and get rid of them out of the basement so that your kids someday don't have to make that decision for you. Because you're very healthy, you're going to live a long time, don't worry about it. But anything can happen at any time. I know when my mother-in-law fell in January, she wasn't planning on being away from her house for, I think it was 12 weeks. She was in the hospital and then she was in rehab because she broke her pelvis in 2 places. She's very healthy. She's very active. She lives on her own. She's extremely independent. But she ended up away from her house for 12 weeks. And so Greg and I had to maintain her perfectly organized home, which was so easy. But there was still a lot of work to do— mail and bills and, you know, visiting her and just making sure the sump pump was still working and all of those things. But her house is already organized. If you fall tomorrow and you have to be in rehab for 12 weeks, like, does that scare you? I have a friend who's my age and she ended up in the hospital overnight and in rehab, and she now has a lifelong illness. That means she has a lot less energy going forward. And praise the Lord, she's still alive and listening, and I love you, you know who you are. But it just makes the disorganization of your house so much more overwhelming. So one thing I would say, now that you have all of the time and nothing is dictating your time, you have to create your own sense of urgency to get things done. You have all the time in the world, but do you really have all the time in the world? And is it weighing on you? Like, if you're listening to this podcast, you're going, oh well, I don't want— you know, I enjoy how I'm spending my time and I don't want to go spend weeks in my basement. That's fine. I'm not saying that you need to, but is it weighing on you? Like, does it bother you that your storage room isn't organized? Does it bother you you haven't done anything with your photos yet? Does it bother you that you have drawers and drawers of paperwork in your files? And if you took a couple of days and really culled that down, you could fill out the medical and financial binders that I have. And then if, God forbid, you did fall, Your kids could just go grab those binders off the shelf and bring them to the hospital, and it would have your blood type and your— and the medicines that you're on and your insurance information, and all of that would be right there. Like, and make it so easy for anybody who ever has to care for you. Like, in my mind, I want to make— I want to live an organized life, but I also want to make sure that if anything happens to me, that Greg has what he needs to take care of the kids, right? And I'm not there yet. Like, I don't have everything filled out yet. But I am working towards it. So you need to create a sense of urgency and continue down the organizational path. So in my opinion, here is the ideal path. Like if you were to say today, all right, I am all in, I'm going to get organized. Number 1, create a Sunday basket. I know, not a shock. Everybody knew that one. You were saying it in unison. I heard you. Number 2, at the time of this recording is October. I am no longer going to let people join the 100-day challenge willy-nilly here, there, and everywhere because I don't find that it really works well for them if they join mid-cycle. So the new starts to the 100-day organization challenge, which is really like a coaching program— you get in there with me and I show you every day what you need to do, I give you the task every single day— will be January 1st, Memorial Day, and Labor Day. Those are the three times that you can join. If, like you're finding out right now, you're like, okay, I have a Sunday basket and I now have to wait till January to join this, then you should be doing the paper organization challenge between now and then. So you should be working on paper whenever you're not in one of the home organization challenges. And if you're in those challenges, then you have a to-do list. Now the the paper organization challenge is. Self-study. So it's done on your own, but it has every single paper resource I've ever created in the program. So you don't have to buy it. You don't have to buy the medical journal. You don't have to buy the financial journal or the income and expense sheets or the 10 Steps to Organize Paper ebook or the color-coded papers. They're all in this program. And you could find more information if you go to organize365.com and click on paper organization. You'll see the paper organization Workshop, which I haven't really mentioned on the podcast. It used to be the Get All Your Papers Organized in One Weekend that you would buy. It was a physical kit, and now it's the Get All Your Papers Organized Solution, and it's more of a self-study class that guides you through all the different kinds of papers that you find in your house. Now, in order to explain this to you more, really dive in deeper than what I have here on the podcast, and for people who aren't listening to the podcast, I am starting a webinar, and you can find information by going to organize365.com/mindset-webinar, or it's also in the show notes, organize365.com/mindset-webinar. So if you're thinking, okay, I understand this whole thing, I've got to get more time management, I have to, I have to make a plan for getting organized. Honestly, where this came from was I have been creating these organizational systems for you over almost the last 5 years, right? And I've created one at a time and added them to the next thing and added them to the next thing. But now I'm done creating, at least for a while. And I thought, okay, if somebody brand new comes to Organize 365, well, where the heck do they start? Like, how do they, how do they get plugged into all of these different resources and actually make the proactive progress that they need to on getting organized? Or what if they just read the Mindset of Organization book and they're ready to get started? How do they get started from not having done the Sunday basket even? Where do they get started? So the mindset webinar goes through the 4 phases of life, the 3 stages of organization, talks about starting your Sunday basket, and then explains the paper management and the home organization management and the fact that it's going to take 3 years to get your house organized, but you can definitely do it. So I hope that answers the question of how you manage your time as opposed to having your time managed for you. So setting goals weekly, once you're used to setting a weekly goal, then you go to setting a monthly goal. And after you set a monthly goal, you can set an overarching quarterly goal for yourself. So go to organize365.com/mindsetdev. I'll see you next Friday. Are you ready to get your house organized? Take the 100-Day Home Organization Challenge with daily organizational assignments, daily videos of those spaces organized in my home, weekly printable checklists, and more. Sign up at www.organize365.com/webinar. 100— Days.