Are you feeling the fast whoosh of time passing with the holiday season arriving, the elections looming, and the year ending? It’s a lot to take in. You may feel overwhelmed. Perhaps you’re thinking about what goals you wanted to accomplish this year, the time left to do it, and what is actually possible.

Maybe your thoughts are occupied with ‘regular’ life maintenance to-dos plus hundreds of holiday-related tasks, including gift shopping, holiday meal prepping, guestroom readying, travel planning, and family and friends’ gatherings.

Breathe. You’re human, and you’re juggling many things.

I often say that life is in the joyful doing and presence of the moment. And while that’s all well and good, when you’re stressed and overwhelmed, accessing that presence can be more challenging.

With so much going on with work and family, externally and internally, this time of year, making tiny adjustments is helpful. Infusing compassion and mindfulness into your thoughts and actions will encourage a more joyful, fulfilling, and happier holiday season.

I offer you a thought, question, and strategy to help.

3 Ways to Prepare for a Compassionate Holiday Season

1. One Thought: “We don’t have to be perfect.”

Let’s remove the idea of perfection from the holiday season. Why impose more pressure, stress, or unrealistic expectations on yourself or others?

Try channeling your perfectionism energy differently. Focus your energy on one of these options instead:

• Excellence

• Personal best

• Good enough

• Progress

• Ease

• Done

As the Noom app said about overcoming thought distortions, “…it’s about recognizing that we don’t have to be perfect. We’re human.”

Which reframe of perfectionism (one suggested or something else) is helpful for you?

“Breathe. You’re human, and you’re juggling many things.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

2. One Question: “Am I putting myself in good positions and creating the conditions for success?”

One of my favorite recent discoveries is James Clear’s weekly 3-2-1 email, which my client told me about. The idea he wrote about last month feels relevant and worth sharing.

Clear wrote, “Forget about the outcome and focus on what precedes it.” He asks, “Am I putting myself in good positions and creating the conditions for success?”

Consider Clear’s question in the context of which actions and thoughts you can focus on to create a joyful, compassion-filled holiday season. They might include:

• Planning

• Lowering your expectations

• Creating boundaries

• Simplifying goals and tasks

• Decluttering

• Scheduling rest and renewal time

What will you choose to focus on to create a positive holiday season?

“We don’t have to be perfect.”

— James Clear

3. One Strategy: “Accept help.”

Do you tend to do everything yourself? Perhaps you don’t want to impose on others. Or, Seth Godin suggests you might think, “Doing the tasks is more efficient than coordinating the help.” Either philosophy results in you doing all the work, which can lead to resentment and exhaustion. Neither of those is a recipe for happy holidays.

Whatever the season, enlisting and accepting help improves your life. We’re human and benefit from the support and interactions with others. What type of help will benefit your life and infuse more ease? Who can you ask for help? How will that change your experience? If you’re having guests over and they offer to help, lean in and say “Yes.” Have tasks ready to delegate. It will make them feel comfortable and reduce pressure from your list.

Godin says, “It’s much more productive to accept help. When we have a project, part of the work is to enlist others in figuring out how to make the change we seek.”

Let me know if you’re stressed and need a thought partner, decluttering and organizing guide, planning help, or accountability buddy. In my virtual organizing sessions, I offer one-hour focused sessions, ongoing support, and personalized guidance to help you with your goals and challenges. I’m available and am ready to help.

Human Holiday

Do you know the 1953 movie Roman Holiday, starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck? This season, I encourage you to embody a Human Holiday.

• Let go of what you can.

• Invite in what you want.

• Enlist the help you need.

For a less stressful and happier holiday season and beyond, I’m here to help. Please schedule a Discovery Call, email me at linda@ohsorganized.com, or call 914-271-5673. Organization and ease are possible, especially with support.

When you feel disorganized, stuck, and overwhelmed, reaching out for help is beneficial. Getting support from a Virtual Professional Organizer can be the secret sauce for moving forward and living the life you crave.

You might be curious about:

• How does virtual organizing work?

• What is a typical virtual organizing session like?

• Will virtual organizing benefit me?

This guide to virtual organizing will help you discover the answers. If you have additional questions, contact me, Linda, anytime by email at linda@ohsoorganized.com or by phone at 914-271-5673.

Virtual organizing is an extraordinary path forward. My clients love working this way. One client recently said, “It’s like putting a needle on a compass. Now I can navigate.”

How Does Virtual Organizing Work?

Session Length & Frequency

• Typically, VO sessions are 60 minutes, although sometimes clients prefer 90-minute sessions.

• Meeting once per week is beneficial. However, the scheduling can be customized according to your preferences.

Platform Used

• Zoom is the preferred platform. However, FaceTime or the phone are alternative options.

• Calendly is used to schedule VO sessions. After scheduling, Calendly emails you a Zoom link and email and text reminders before each session.

• Have your phone, tablet, or laptop set up so we can see each other.

VO Rates

• Clients advance purchase single hours or packages of hours.

• The VO packages are beneficial because they offer savings on the hourly rate. Three, five, and twenty-hour packages are available.

• Credit cards, Zelle, or Venmo are accepted.

• Contact linda@ohsorganized.com for current rates.

Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™ - Virtual Organizing Session Ready

What is a Typical Virtual Organizing Session Like?

Session Description

• Virtual organizing is a flexible, creative, collaborative process. The objective for each session is to help you make progress on your goals with compassionate, non-judgmental support.

• Sessions begin by clarifying your goal for that session and reviewing how things went between sessions.

• The main part of the session can include planning, assessing, decluttering, organizing, overcoming obstacles, brainstorming, supporting decision-making, or many other options.

• At the end of each session, we do a quick wrap-up, discuss the “field work” you want to work on and schedule our next VO.

Pre-Session Prep

• Remove as many distractions as possible- phone calls, emails, pets, and people.

• Care for your personal needs before the session- hydrate, eat, and be well-rested.

• Set up your digital device (laptop, phone, or tablet) so I can see you and the area we’ll work on. You’ll want to be hands-free. A stand or tripod works well.

• If we are going to work on physical organizing, have some organizing supplies such as markers, sticky notes, masking tape, trash bags, bins, or boxes. These will help with sorting, donating, recycling, or re-routing.

• Think about what you want to accomplish by the end of the session. Do you want help with planning, working on a project you’re stuck on, or choosing a focus? My support can vary from brainstorming to planning to “sitting” with you as a body double while you process a challenging pile. There are many possibilities.

In Between and Post Sessions

• We can text or email between sessions to enhance progress and add accountability.

• With VO packages of three or more hours, I create a Project Session Journal (PSJ) for both of us to reference. After each session, you receive the updated PSJ, an ongoing record of your successes, challenges, discoveries, resources, and more. It helps reinforce the changes you are making, including building new neural pathways as you establish new habits.

• There will be doable, agreed-upon “field work” between sessions, enabling you to progress beyond our sessions.

“Virtual organizing is a flexible, creative, collaborative process.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

Will Virtual Organizing Benefit Me?

Client Loyalty Program (CLP)

• This program benefits loyal clients.

• The CLP is ongoing, and I manage the program for you.

• After every 10 VO sessions, you will automatically receive $25 off your next session or package.

More Virtual Organizing Benefits

• Client Favorites – How to Know If Virtual Organizing Will Benefit You

• Shorter Sessions – Virtual Organizing Clients Make Positive Change in About One Hour

• Decisive Next Steps – What Does Your Next Step Look Like During a Virtual Organizing Session?

• Life Transitions – 9 Marvelous Ways Virtual Professional Organizers Can Help with Transitions

• Positive Changes – What’s the Value of Enlisting Help As You Make a Positive Change?

• Less Clutter – Are You Curious What’s Possible When You Hire a Professional Organizer?

• Eliminate Overwhelm – How to Ask for Help and See Proven Benefits When Stuck and Overwhelmed

Help is Here

How have you benefitted from working with a Virtual Professional Organizer? What did you like about it? Did you experience any challenges? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

I'm here for you. Do you need help getting unstuck, making a plan, decluttering, or organizing? Please email me at linda@ohsorganized.com, call 914-271-5673, or schedule a Discovery Call. Moving forward is possible, especially with support.

This is the newest release (v46) of the “What’s Interesting?” feature, with my latest finds that inform, educate, and relate to organizing and life balance. These unique, inspiring enlisting help discoveries reflect this month’s blog theme.

You are a vibrant, 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?

“It is 100% okay to ask for help.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

What’s Interesting? – 5 Best Enlisting Help Discoveries

1. Interesting Read – Effortless Help

When you’re struggling to take action and make progress, doing so effortlessly may seem impossible. However, with this refreshing approach, help is here.

Greg McKeown, author of Effortless – Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most, said, “Not everything has to be so hard.” McKeown’s concept is “a whole new way to work and live. A way to achieve more with ease- to achieve more because you are at ease.”

There are three parts:

• Effortless State – How can we make it easier to focus?

• Effortless Action – How can we make essential work easier to do?

• Effortless Results – How can we get the highest return on the least effort?

In describing the Effortless State, McKeown said, “When our brains are at full capacity, everything feels harder.” The first step he suggests to “making things more effortless is to clear the clutter in our heads and our hearts.”

Everything can’t be effortless. However, “you can make more of the right things less impossible- then easier, then easy, and ultimately effortless.”

2. Interesting Perspective – Life Help

Have you ever experienced a difficult time triggered by a specific event? It was so dramatic that it changed your perspective and the course of your life. The death of a loved one, loss of a job, a move, health crisis, or divorce can cause significant pain and also be catalysts for growth and reimagining.

The word lifequake beautifully describes this phenomenon- “A significant, sudden and unexpected shift in the trajectory of your life that initially feels devastating but has the beneficial outcome of catalyzing personal growth, transformation, and rebirth.”

During times of change and transition, it is especially beneficial to ask for help. What lifequake have you experienced? What type of support was most valuable?

3. Interesting Resource – Win-Win-Win Help

Do you own new or gently used furniture, appliances, housewares, and building materials you no longer want? However, it’s not easy to find a taker. You’re confident someone else can use them. You don’t want your discards to go into the landfill.

Habitat for Humanity is the resource you need. Habitat ReStores across the United States accept small and large donations of these items. The sales help Habitat’s work locally and globally. They offer free pickup of large items and tax donation receipts.

This is a win-win-win for the donors, the buyers, and the planet. You gain space, reduce clutter, let go of things you don’t want, keep items out of the landfill, support others, and receive a tax donation. People who need goods can purchase them at a reasonable price. The proceeds from Habitat Restores help families build decent, affordable homes to “achieve the strength, stability, and independence they need to build a better future.”

Click here to arrange a pickup from a Habitat ReStore near you.

4. Interesting Product – Organizing Help

There are tons of great products to help organize like-with-like. Bins, boxes, and dividers are organizing staples. The classic zipper pouch is another example.

EOOUT’s translucent waterproof mesh zipper pouches are an excellent solution for organizing:

• Cosmetics

• Toiletries

• Cords and chargers

• Game pieces

• Documents

• Projects

• Gadgets

• Toys

• Snacks

• Writing tools

• Office supplies

• Travel accessories

• Receipts

• Bills

While EOOUT offers several options, the 42-piece set is an excellent value at $19.99. It includes eight different-sized bags and 17 zipper colors. What items will these pouches help you organize?

5. Interesting Thought – Normalizing Help

Are you hesitant to ask for help? Do you feel guilty or feel like you “should” be able to do everything yourself? Are you afraid of getting support for fear of being judged? These are normal responses.

Here’s the thing. Without asking for help, you will potentially struggle longer than is needed. Without help, you might be more frustrated, stressed, and paralyzed.

Struggle no more. You deserve to get unstuck and move forward. It is 100% okay to ask for help. Who will you ask to be on your support team?

Can you share one enlisting help-related discovery? Which of these resonates with you? I’d love to hear your thoughts and invite you to join the conversation.

Do you want help getting unstuck, reducing overwhelm, or getting organized? If so, I’m here for you. Contact me, Linda, at linda@ohsorganized.com, call 914-271-5673, or schedule a Discovery Call. Making progress is possible, especially with support.

What is your tendency when you encounter something challenging? Your temperament or the circumstance will elicit different responses.

• Do you go it alone?

• Do you procrastinate?

• Do you reach out for help?

Challenges are opportunities. However, they can either motivate you to take action or cause you to be overwhelmed and paralyzed.

One of the things I admire about my virtual organizing clients is their willingness to seek help. They recognize that some challenges can be resolved quickly when they get the needed support. They usually know what result they want but need help figuring out the plan and steps. Or they may know what to do but want accountability and support while taking action.

When to Seek Help

When I have a challenge, I tend to go it alone first. I prefer to fix it myself, so I don’t have to bother anyone. But here’s the thing: I recognize that having agency and being able to ‘fix’ things is valuable. It’s as essential to know when to get support.

Enlist help to:

• Bounce ideas off of someone

• Make a plan

• Rely on someone else’s expertise or experience

• Delegate

• Do things you don’t want to do

• Have accountability

• Get support when you are stuck

You don’t have to do everything yourself. Build your team, your go-to people, who can help you navigate the challenges you face and the goals you seek.

“You don’t have to do everything yourself.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

Grateful for Help

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind. They’ve included wonderful vacation time and celebrations with family, mixed with many things going sideways. Our home needed help with a water filter replacement project, a new chimney liner, a replacement water pressure valve, a damaged driveway by one of our vendors, and a leaky roof. Oh. The joys of home ownership!

My husband, Steve, and I tagged-teamed the challenges. Steve is handy but time-poor. He handled some of these things by doing the work himself or getting help from a vendor. I assisted Steve with one of the projects (the water filter replacement) and hired vendors to get the other projects done.

Identifying the tasks we could do ourselves, the ones that needed to be done quickly, and those that required an outside vendor was vital.

Project Sprawl

Have you ever noticed how most projects are never as simple as you think? For example, the water filter we’ve used for years stopped selling replacement filters. This should have been a simple purchase and filter replacement, but it turned into a project.

Steve researched replacement options, ordered a new unit, and was ready to install it. Unfortunately, the box didn't include all the connection pieces he needed. After several trips to Home Depot, he was prepared for installation. When I saw the old unit removed from under the kitchen sink, I wanted to replace the liner paper. That involved removing the slide-out garbage can, cleaning the area, and cutting the new liner.

It didn’t stop there. We also decided to repaint under the sink to cover up some rust stains. As I write this, the paint is drying, and everything will soon be back in place.

No Need to Struggle Alone

My point is that getting help is a good thing. Don’t struggle alone. If you can do the thing yourself, great! But if you’re procrastinating, stuck, and overwhelmed, reach out for help.

What area of your life needs support? What have you recently asked for help with? How did that go? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

I'm ready if you need help getting unstuck, making a plan, decluttering, or organizing. Please email me at linda@ohsorganized.com, call 914-271-5673, or schedule a Discovery Call. Moving forward is possible, especially with support.