The type of “new” I’m talking about doesn’t come in a box or a bag. The power of this type of new comes in doing something you’ve never done. This new can push you past the procrastination, beyond the fear, and outside your comfort zone. This type of new can bring fun, joy, and clarity back to your days. Positive energy is generated when you commit to the goals you’ve been dreaming about, and then take the next action step.

Sometimes we need more time to germinate our ideas. This year, I was ready to go. I embraced the fresh start momentum the New Year brought. What about you? Even if you haven’t begun the process, you can start at any time. We each have different ways of capturing ideas and activating them. Decide what will be effective for you, then go and do.

To harness the new, there were four essentials to the approach I used, which you might find useful.

• Gather – Capture all potential goals and ideas in one place. Force them out of your head and onto something concrete like paper, computer, or recording. What becomes possible when they are released from your thoughts?

• Prioritize – Acknowledge that you can accomplish a lot, but be clear about what’s most important. Does your list seem too ambitious? By prioritizing, you can focus on the key goals first. What if you accomplished even half of the things you set out to do this year?

• Do – For the goals you decide to pursue, clarify what single next step brings you closer towards getting there. The smaller the step, the more doable it becomes. Anchor the step to your calendar and schedule the time to do it. Repeat this process until your goal is “done enough.”

• Marvel – Coming full circle back to the power of new, take time to appreciate what you’re doing and feeling. What’s possible now that you’ve captured your goals in one place? What happens now that you’ve determined what’s most important? What does knowing “next” mean? As you move ahead, what are you noticing? Has your energy changed? Has your perspective shifted?

There are many goals on my list. I’m in hot pursuit of some. Others are on the back burner. A few of the forward moving ones include taking a Comedy Improv class, meeting my Twitter buddy Yota Schneider face to face for the first time, designing and building a new office area, reorganizing a kitchen trouble spot, helping my Mom to transition, inviting the 2013 “Ask the Expert” guests for the blog, and planning more collaborative posts. As I’ve pursued these goals, the excitement and learning that’s accompanied them has been surprising. Perhaps it’s the adrenaline pumping and the new neural pathways forming. My energy flows intensely as the power of new is pursued.

What is possible for you? I’d love to hear from you. What’s on your list? What process do you use to get there? Come join the conversation.

Sue West

Last year the “Ask the Expert” feature was introduced on The Other Side of Organized blog! It quickly became a big success as we enjoyed inspiring conversations with industry leaders such as best-selling author Gretchen Rubin, time management guru Julie Morgenstern, and organizer and coach extraordinaire Denslow Brown. For 2013, the interview series continues with another dynamic group of experts. I’m thrilled to begin this year with author, coach and organizer, Sue West to share her wisdom about fresh starts.

Sue and I met several years ago through our professional organizing association, ICD. We’ve had many wonderful conversations about organizing, coaching, writing, life balance, and transitions. I am honored to know her as a friend and colleague. My gratitude and thanks goes to Sue for taking the time to join us. Before we begin, here’s more about her.

Sue West, CPO-CD, CPO, COC is a professional organizer, coach, and the author of Organize for A Fresh Start: Embrace Your Next Chapter in Life. She specializes in helping clients with life changes and transitions. Her clients have called her insightful, wise, inspiring, filled with hope, and gentle yet productive. Working primarily with people at mid-life or beyond, Sue works by phone or in person and holds workshops. You can connect with Sue on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, website and blog.

Linda:  You’re an expert on helping others navigate life transitions. What is your favorite tip for negotiating uncharted territory?

Sue:  I've always loved Oprah's column, "What I know for sure."  If you think about a big life change you've gone through, remember that feeling of being off-kilter?  We often focus on what we don't know, what's sad or uncomfortable, or seemingly impossible. So I always ask my clients, "What DO you know?" Focus on what's to be appreciated, what's working, what you know for sure (or almost sure, if you're feeling like a perfectionist). Once we start feeling stronger, we can move on.

Linda:  Fresh starts can be enervating or draining. What are a few strategies to help minimize overwhelm?

Sue:  Think "chapters" of time. Say you're starting a new business. This change affects your finances, sleep, exercise, nutrition, time for other interests, and many aspects of your life. Overwhelm can set in. Brainstorm with yourself or a coach, and get it all out of your head. On a second pass, break up your list by chapters in time and tackle one round of changes at a time.  A chapter could be when you start up, but still have a full-time job. A next chapter is when you decrease your full time hours, and so on.

Ask, “What's giving and what's taking my energy?” Hit the "pause" button for a few minutes daily and ask yourself those two questions. You'll gain perspective and able to change things for the better. 

Clear some physical space such as a desk, a shelf, or your home. Clearing the visual horizon clears your mind, is cathartic and energizing. People gain clarity and even control as they go through their things.  

More now than ever, use your preferred method of organizing your life.There's normally some mental or emotional fog, whether it's a positive or difficult life change. To mitigate its impact, take extra care to keep up your to do list and calendar. It is empowering in a time of change.

Linda:  A clean slate is an opportunity. How can we prepare physically or emotionally to experience positive results?

Sue:  When you've felt this way before, what strategies did you use? What strengthens and supports you?Similar strategies are likely to work now.  One of my clients had been using a lot of her time caring for her mother – visiting, errands, paperwork, finances, medical appointments, etc. When her mother died, my client was at a loss as to what to do with her newly found time… but lack of purpose.

My client worked with both a therapist and me to move forward, letting go of some of her past. She returned to what she had done before during difficult times, writing memories and stories about her mother. To her, it was useful to process her emotions, but also this reminded her to share stories with family, to honor her mother. By letting go, my client was less pulled by the past, and more open to what lay ahead. 

We incorporated her parents' things into her home, without overwhelming her space with too much of the past. Keep items that signify your strengths, your values and key memories.

Then we worked together on ways to fill her time with new purpose. She returned to hobbies and volunteer interests she had given up a long time ago - a wonderful and comfortable place for a new start.

Linda:  Do you have a philosophy about new beginnings?

Sue:  Our lives are a series of chapters. As you move to the next chapter, bring some of the past forward; don't ignore it because you feel the need to "start over." Build on what you know such as your strengths, your interests, values and your tried and true ways to bolster yourself. My parents taught me to look for the best in each person and for what I could learn. The same is true here, for our own selves!

Linda:  What has been your biggest personal challenge around second chances?

Sue:  I was raised to be self-motivated. I went through a set of big life changes about 10 years ago, and had a fresh start right in front of me. And yet, my closest friends believed in me more than I did.  Thank goodness for my temporary life preservers!  Reliance on other people didn't mean I'd become dependent on them or lose myself again. We need life preservers sometimes; it's a sign of strength and wisdom to invite in assistance.

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

Sue:  If something seems impossible, ask, “What is one small part of this that could be possible?”  If you're intent on a particular outcome, you'll miss the thing you needed to see along the way.

Thank you, Sue for your insights about transitions and fresh starts. There are so many nuggets of wisdom here, along with messages of hope. The idea of respecting and recognizing what you DO know as a focus for embracing the next chapter, resonates with me. I also responded to your idea of using our “temporary life preservers,” particularly when we’re going through major life changes. Your perspective that reaching out for help is a show of strength and wisdom, is refreshingly positive.

I invite all of you to join Sue and me as the conversation continues. We’d love to hear your thoughts about transitions, chapters, fresh starts, or anything else you’d like to share. Which ideas are you thinking about?

What becomes possible with a fresh start? I asked some of my wonderful colleagues (Peggy Pardo, Janet Barclay, Ellen Delap, Leslie Josel, Christy Lingo, Helena Alkhas, and Yota Schneider) to ponder this question and share their perspectives with us. Their insightful responses are filled with hope, possibilities, and understanding. My deepest gratitude goes to each of them for taking the time to reflect, and give us their positive, energizing words of wisdom. 

What becomes possible with a fresh start? . . .

Try Again

“With a fresh start you have endless possibilities. You have the opportunity to change direction, reinvent yourself, begin something new, undo a wrong, work smarter, and most importantly, the chance to try again.” 

Leslie Josel, Professional Organizer

Create Life You Want

“Everything is possible with a fresh start! A fresh start offers the opportunity for a new awareness and a clearer vision. Use the lessons you've learned from the past to help you create the life you want.”

Peggy Pardo, Interior Decorator, Professional Organizer, & Author

Clear Path for Success

“With a fresh start, you begin with optimism and release negativity. Fresh starts clear the path for success in any and every way.  It is giving yourself permission to begin again.”

Ellen Delap, Professional Organizer

Bring What’s Important

“A fresh start is an opportunity to eliminate the clutter. Whether you’re moving to a new home or simply breaking out a blank calendar for the New Year, you can choose to only bring over those things that are still important to you.”

Janet Barclay, Virtual Assistant, Web Designer, & Blogger

Apply Collective Life Wisdom

“Our daily fresh start provides a chance to learn a new skill, have a new experience, and apply our previously acquired skills and experiences to any challenges we are currently facing. Relish this chance to apply your collective life wisdom on a daily basis and perhaps even have a second (or third) chance to tackle life's challenges with new knowledge and perspective.”

Christy Lingo, Professional Organizer

Embrace New Experiences

“Fresh starts liberate us from limitations. They energize us to embrace new experiences and to have new perspectives in every situation. They serve as moments of transitions, rites of passages in our lives when we say to ourselves: this is THE moment I decide to...”

Helena Alkhas, Professional Organizer & Virtual Assistant

Take Risks Only Dreamed Of

“Just reading the words ‘fresh start’ makes me feel giddy. Standing on the edge of something brand new, a myriad feelings that range from excitement and nervousness to shyness and uncontrollable enthusiasm, may flood our being. We can rewrite our story and be the person we always wanted to be and see where this takes us. We can explore and try new things; take risks we've only dreamed of. Why not, after all? That's what new beginnings are all about. Stepping over the threshold of a newly opened door into the unknown and carrying the value of lessons learned, but leaving all that burdened us behind. I guess, what becomes possible with a fresh start is the chance to ‘shed our old skin’ and get one more chance at growing into our potential.”

Yota Schneider, Life Transitions Coach

Which ideas resonate with you? As this New Year is upon us, what are you thinking about? Come join the conversation and share your thoughts about fresh starts.

What I love about new anything is that it immediately creates the expectation that something will be different, better, or possible. Our old perspective has the opportunity to shift and change.

Our dog, Norton, who passed away years ago, was a great teacher of many things, including expectations. He was a conscientious listener. If we talked about going for a walk, Norton, who loved taking walks, would immediately go to the “leash cabinet,” and sit patiently staring at the top drawer that held his leash.  If we mentioned the word “treat,” another one of Norton’s favorites, his ears would perk up, he’d rush to the “treat cabinet,” and fixedly glare at it as strands of drool dangled from his mouth. Norton knew what to expect. He was joyful, enthusiastic, and organized.

These may seem like small things- knowing where to find the leash or the treats. However, consider the possibilities for you. What if you claimed this year to become more organized so that your surroundings supported your daily functioning? What if you were able to find what you needed when you needed it? What would that look like? What would it feel like? What would become possible? Would your days flow better? Would you experience less stress?

Shift your perspective from perpetual frustration to gradual clarity. Think about starting simply. Create a basic expectation like, “My car keys are on the hook next to the front door,” or “ The bills to be paid are in the open bin on my desk.” What small thing is not working? What might make a difference if you made a slight change?

Dogs are incredible teachers. In my book, The Other Side of Organized, I share more about Norton’s wisdom related to organizing and life balance. Each chapter begins with a “Norton” cartoon, like this one called “Norton Knows.”

It's a new year, a new month, a new day. What tiny thing can you alter? What will you expect tomorrow?

“Norton Knows” cartoon by Richard Rockwell and Linda Samuels