This is the newest release (v41) of the “What’s Interesting?” feature has my latest finds that inform, educate, and relate to organizing and life balance. These unique, inspiring, motivation-related discoveries reflect this month’s blog theme.

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

What do you find interesting?

What’s Interesting? – 5 Best MOTIVATION Discoveries

1. Interesting Read – Motivation and Words

The Words We Choose – Your Guide to How and Why Words Matter, author, speaker, and coach Terre Short encourages you to use words authentic to your values and intentions. Through stories, reflections, and activities, Short supports healthy communication, influence, and engagement with words that connect us to ourselves, loved ones, people at work, our written word, and more.

Short says, “You can transform your communication through the power of your words.” Explaining how we speak an average of 16,000 words every day, which “represents a lot of daily word choices...Our daily experiences are shaped by words spoken to and by us. What impact did your words have today?”

If you are motivated to strengthen your relationships, become more emotionally intelligent, improve how you talk to yourself, and align your words, values, and intentions, this book is for you.

2. Interesting Product – Motivation and Labeling

A common organizing principle is to label your stuff. Why? It helps you know at a glance what a box, drawer, or file contains without extensive searching. Having things labeled increases motivation to establish “homes” for your belongings. This makes them easier to retrieve and return.

BoxBrain brings new meaning to labeling. They created “smart labels for smart living.” Their water-resistant labels help you organize your life, especially when packing, unpacking, and storing your things. The labels are color-coded with a QR code connected to their app.

I love BoxBrain’s simple 3-step process:

1. Grab Some Labels – There are 3 sizes and 5 colors.

2. Slap ‘Em On Your Stuff – Label your boxes with the color-coded labels. For example, use blue labels for kitchen items, yellow labels for toys, or green for the home office.

3. Know Where Your Stuff Is – Using your smartphone, scan the label, then enter keywords and photos. Use the keyword search to locate an item quickly.

“Motivation increases when you take action, even if it’s tiny. ”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

3. Interesting Article – Motivation and Organizing Mistakes

Have you ever worked on an organizing project and made a mistake that crushed your motivation? Maybe you underestimated the needed storage space, took on too many simultaneous projects, or purchased organizing containers before decluttering. Guess what? You’re not alone.

In the recent Redfin article, “Organizing Mistakes: 27 Slip-Ups to Avoid During Your Next Project,” Jamie Forbes features professional organizers, including me (#5). We share our best advice for making your next organizing project a success.

My suggestion is to keep like with like. By corralling similar items together, you can make more informed decisions, stop overbuying, know what you own, and quickly access your belongings.

4. Interesting Resource – Motivation and Downsizing

Are you or someone you know thinking about downsizing to a smaller home but aren’t 100% sure? If so, you’ll love the 10 Signs It’s Time to Downsize and Sell Your Home infographic from HomeLight. The real estate company explains how important timing can be in making that decision. Waiting can cost you more to run a larger home. Also, downsizing as you age can be more challenging due to health or mobility issues.

Motivations to downsize include feeling overwhelmed with home maintenance, your career or family no longer tying you to your location, you want a lifestyle change, or your home no longer fits your needs.

Downsizing is a compelling motivator to make a life change.

5. Interesting Thought – Motivation and Progress

A fascinating aspect of motivation is how it increases when you take action, even if it’s tiny. Progress, no matter how small, is still forward movement. So, when you are feeling discouraged or overwhelmed, instead of giving up, do one little thing. You’ll be amazed how an action will change your perspective from being stuck to feeling hopeful, energized, and motivated.

Do you have an interesting motivation-related discovery? Which of these resonates with you? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

Have you ever tried to build a new habit, make a change in your life, or learn something new? Think of one of those times. Did you go it alone? Or did you have help and support? For most of us, when we’re doing something outside our skill set or comfort zone, reaching out for help is the secret sauce for success.

You might remember that I set a big goal to create a healthier lifestyle almost a year ago. My main objectives were to change my eating habits, exercise more, and lose weight. Could I have done this without help? Definitely not! My husband, family, friends, and Noom coaches and lessons provide support. I’m still working on my goals, and I’ve made significant progress. I’m 25 pounds lighter, feel better physically, and am more flexible and energetic.

The ‘Noom lessons’ help me tremendously. The app sends me daily articles that deep dive into the psychology of weight loss, provide encouragement, include practical advice, and describe ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle. One piece of Noom’s wisdom that resonated with me was “Practice makes progress.”

Notice it doesn’t say ‘practice makes perfect,’ a familiar phrase. Because what or who is perfect?

I love how the practice-makes-progress concept encourages experimentation and ongoing action. Practice infers something you are working on and supports a growth mindset. It allows space for success, failure, and learning. Progress inspires incremental change.

“Practice makes progress.”

— Noom

I recognize how instrumental enlisting help is for achieving my goals. My organizing clients also experience these benefits. I love being on their support team.

Some ways I help my virtual organizing clients are to:

• Define realistic goals

• Experiment with new habits

• Declutter and organize their things, thoughts, time, and space

• Create maintainable organizing systems

• Integrate accountability

• Reflect on the changes they are making

• Navigate overwhelm, backsliding, frustration, and discovery

• Celebrate their progress and success

We focus on small, consistent, gradual change. My clients practice new habits, experiment with organizing systems, shift their perspective, and make progress. It’s genuinely inspiring to see their positive changes.

What changes are you actively working on? Do you have help? Do you need help? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

Lori Deschene, Tiny BuddhaThe time has arrived for another engaging conversation with the popular “Ask the Expert” feature on The Other Side of Organized blog. We’ve enjoyed spirited dialogues about enlisting help with Janet Barclay, motivation with Dr. Shannon Reece, time management with Julie Morgenstern, clutter with Lorie Marrero, letting go with Geralin Thomas, next steps with Yota Schneider, and change with John Ryan. This month as we shift our focus, I’m excited to bring you writer, student of life and community builder, Lori Deschene to share her wisdom about success.

Lori appeared on my radar through Twitter a few years ago. Her uplifting and honest @tinybuddha tweets and posts that focus on “simple wisdom for complex lives” seemed to always appear at precisely the right time. I quickly became one of her fans along with her 300,000+ twitter followers. Talk about success! My sincere gratitude and thanks goes to Lori for taking the time to join us. Before we begin, here’s more about Lori.

Lori Deschene is the founder of tinybuddha.com, a community blog that features stories and insights from people from all over the globe. She recently published her first print book (through Conari Press), titled Tiny Buddha: Simple Wisdom for Life’s Hard Questions. A native of Massachusetts and an Emerson College graduate, Lori currently lives with her boyfriend in Los Angeles. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, website, or blog. 

Linda:  You’re an expert on redefining life success by reflecting on simple wisdom and considering new ways to apply it. What are some of the ways to do this?

Lori:  I actually wouldn’t refer to myself as an expert on redefining life success—but what a wonderful compliment! I write about my experiences and lessons, and publish stories and insights from other people. We all help and support each other by sharing what we’ve learned.

To answer your question, I’d have to first define “life success,” which is different for everyone.  If you’re looking to create your own definition of “life success,” I’d suggest identifying your top five core values, and measuring them against your current choices.

For example, my core values are: family, adventure, freedom, creativity, and meaningful work. Knowing this has helped me build a career and shape a lifestyle that honors the things that matter to me the most.

Linda:  What does success look like?

Lori:  Expanding on what I wrote above, success, for me, involves doing work that feels meaningful, creating in a way that feels personally satisfying, allowing myself enough time to explore and simply be, and seeing my family as often as possible.

I can’t answer this one for anyone else, and I think that’s the key to success: knowing we all define it for ourselves!

Linda:  How does our “fast-paced, always-on world” enhance or derail our success?

Lori:  This depends on what we want, and how we respond to the world around us. Some people require less downtime and enjoy leading fast-paced, constantly connected lives. So long as they’re not compromising their other priorities or their physical or emotional well being, there’s nothing wrong with that. Others spread themselves a little too thin, thinking they “should” do it, and fearing what they’ll lose if they don’t. Others still, like myself, require a greater sense of balance. For me, getting caught up in a busy lifestyle while pursuing success, as defined by other people, would lead to a sense of unhappiness.

I’ve learned that there are very few one-size-fits-all answers. We all need to come to know ourselves and learn to temper our pace accordingly. And we all need to find stillness within so that, no matter the pace we maintain, we don’t lose sight of what we need.

Linda:  Do you have a philosophy about success?

Lori:  At the risk of being redundant, my philosophy is that we each need to define it for ourselves!

Linda:  What has been your biggest personal challenge with navigating success?

Lori:  My biggest personal challenge has been determining what success means to me. For a long time, I had no idea what I wanted, largely because I didn’t know myself—or like myself, for that matter.

Growing up, I always thought I’d pursue acting after studying it (and writing) in college. I gravitated toward theater not simply because I loved it, although I did. A big part of me needed the validation of an audience, and wondered if maybe I’d feel less empty if I acquired fame, wealth, and mass admiration. It took me a long time to consider that maybe I could be happier if I stopped pursuing public approval and chasing wealth.

Now I focus on enjoying my time and honoring the people and things that matter to me. I still have my struggles, particularly when it comes to setting goals for the future. I haven’t been 100 percent sure of what I want to do next. But I know I feel less attached to specifics down the line.

I like the life I created, and I like myself within it.

Linda:  Is there anything you’d like to share about success that I haven’t asked?

Lori:  You asked some thought-provoking questions! I have nothing left to add. Thank you for featuring me here on your wonderful site!

You’re welcome, Lori. Thank you for your thoughtful insights about success and life choices. I love how you describe that we need to define success by our own terms. To do that, first identify your core values and then look at them in relation to your current choices. What a great place to begin. I invite all of you to join Lori and me as we continue the conversation. What are your thoughts about success?