As organizers and coaches, the work we do with our clients is change-focused. We’re present as our clients navigate the joys and challenges of pursuing their goals. Change doesn’t happen without motivation. I’ve experienced the positive influences of being around motivated clients. I was curious if others had similar experiences. To understand more I reached out to this wonderful group of organizing and coaching colleagues – Margo Brown, Seana Turner, Stephanie Deakin, Ellen Delap, Andrea Sharb, Janet Barclay, Rachel Seavey, Helena Alkhas, Yota Schneider, Diane Quintana. I asked them, “How has your client work personally motivated you to take action?” I know you’ll love their inspiring, thoughtful responses as much as I do. My gratitude goes to each of them for sharing their personal stories about how their clients motivated them. Are you wondering how to get motivated? Keep reading to discover some wonderful surprises.

How has your client work personally motivated you to take action? . . .

Motivated to Face Fear

“My clients have motivated me to say ‘yes’ to challenges. They bring to light the fear they face as they step out of their comfort zone. Often, they take on life’s challenges with a willingness to move forward and openness to learning. In the past, I would have declined the opportunity to guest blog or said 'no' to a speaking engagement. Instead, I reflect on their courage and their ability to say ‘yes’ in the face of fear. In doing so, I too have said ‘yes’ to many wonderful opportunities that I would normally shy away from.”

Margo Brown – Productivity Coach & Author

Motivated to Start

“Ready, Set, ACTION. It sounds so easy! Yet the reason I get called in to work with clients is largely because it can be quite difficult indeed. Helping clients has reminded me that change is all about getting started. My husband and I had wanted to redo our front walkway – for a couple of years. After a client session I came home and thought, ‘I just need to take the first step...what would that be?’ I made one call and after that simply kept answering the next question until it was done. I’m so glad I started.”

Seana Turner – Professional Organizer, Blogger & Life Coach

Motivated to Change Habits

“So many of my clients struggle with guilt and shame, and are unable to make sustainable change. I believe that this is in large part because people don't understand their relationship to their possessions. So I set out to learn about our emotional attachments to our stuff. Why is it so hard for some people to let go? What happens inside them when they have to part with their things? What I learned surprised me, and motivated me to examine my own attachments in a new light and make some positive changes in my own habits and attitudes.”

Stephanie Deakin – Professional Organizer, Speaker & Trainer

Motivated to Simplify

“Working with my clients reinforces my focus on simplicity. Our work together requires energy, and keeping my personal life simple helps me keep energized for our sessions.  My clients help me verbalize my commitment to simplicity in sharing what works for me and how they can gain new perspectives on simplifying as well. Paper management is one specific area that I especially simplify at my home and office, shredding and recycling daily. My favorite mantra is Keep It Simple Sweetie!”

Ellen Delap, CPO® – Certified Professional Organizer, Certified Family Manager Coach, Productivity Consultant & Blogger

Motivated to Meditate

“As a coach, I’m honored to serve as witness to my clients’ progress. In doing so, I can’t help but be motivated by their successes to take action of my own, especially if the changes they’re focusing on are similar to changes I’m also focusing on in my life. Just yesterday I shared with a client who is experiencing success with making morning meditation a priority, what an inspiration she’s been to me in bringing regular meditation back into my morning routine.  It's hard to not be motivated as a coach.”

Andrea Sharb, CPO-CD®, ACC®, COC®, CPO® – Professional Organizer & Productivity/ADHD Coach

Motivated to Enhance

“One of the disadvantages of my line of work is ‘shoemaker’s children syndrome’ – updating and enhancing my own website usually takes a back seat to my client projects. However, when clients request certain features on their sites, it often helps me to consider exciting new possibilities for my own, propelling me to move forward with work that might not have felt terribly appealing otherwise.”

Janet Barclay – MVA, WordPress Designer, Blogger & Virtual Assistant

Motivated to Re-Purpose

“I’m constantly inspired by the dedication and hard work of my clients. But it’s their resourcefulness that motivates me to make changes in my own life. Though I’ve always been an avid “recycler,” my clients have inspired me to reuse more and waste less — especially with paper and plastic. Now I re-purpose items that otherwise would have gone in the trash. I’ve also realized possessions don’t make you happy, people do. I prioritize the things money can’t buy, like time spent with loved ones. And I appreciate the simple parts of life, like a walk on a beautiful day.”

Rachel Seavey – Professional Organizer, Extreme Cleaner & Recording Artist

Motivated to Exercise

“I have been working more and more with seniors and they all have one thing in common that made me pause and review how I want to reach that stage of my life: they're all healthy and very active. Our appointments are always scheduled for ‘after’ their classes. They're committed to it. I am known for disliking to exercise but working with these couples has been an eye opening experience to me and made me incorporate walks and breaks in my daily life.”

Helena Alkhas – Professional Organizer

Motivated to Get Unstuck

“Recently, I watched a client of mine take the leap and make a dramatic change in her life. It was long due and her self-respect depended on it. Watching her take off and claim her identity, inspired me to evaluate a situation I’d been stuck in for a while and make some changes myself. When I work with a client who is struggling to navigate through a life change and is plagued by self-doubt, I try to look at myself and evaluate where I stand. I want to make sure that, what I’m sharing or encouraging my client to consider or do, come from a place of integrity and authenticity.”

Yota Schneider – Life Coach & Mentor, Blogger & Retreats Facilitator

Motivated to Clarify Goals

“Being involved with my clients as they endeavor to make tough changes in their lives by tweaking their organizational systems (sometimes creating organizational systems from scratch), reworking habits, and daily routines continually motivates me to be clear about my goals – both work and personal. They inspire me to continually do my best to honor and work toward my stated goals. When I’m tempted to procrastinate working on a project or defer making a decision I think to myself what would I say to my client in this situation. Often that’s just the push I need to move myself forward.”

Diane Quintana, CPO®, CPO-CD® – Certified Professional Organizer, Certified Professional Organizer in Chronic Disorganization, ADD & Hoarding Specialist

My hope is that after reading these stories, you’ll catch some motivation mojo too. I’d love to hear from you. What are your thoughts, stories and ideas about motivation? How have other motivated you? I invite you to join the conversation!

It all started with a single “yes.” I’m amazed by how this one “yes” has provided me with an ongoing source of motivation.

Perhaps you’ve had a similar experience when one decision motivated a chain of actions.

What was the “yes?” About eighteen months ago, I said, “yes” to the invitation for applying to be on the Board as President-Elect of the Institute for Challenging Disorganization (ICD.) I was voted in and took office a year ago. My term ended yesterday as President-Elect. Today begins my first day as President. I’m passionate about ICD and look forward to continuing the great work that’s being done with a fantastic team of volunteers and staff.

There are many positive things that I’ve been motivated to do since making that one decision. What’s possible for you? Consider saying, “yes” to something that stretches you outside your comfort zone. Observe how this motivates your actions. How will motivation appear? These are a few areas where my motivation was supercharged:

Reading

I love reading and always have a big, rotating stack of “books to read” on my nightstand. In preparation for my new role, I’ve been motivated to read more books about leadership. Some of the gems have included Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek and Strengthsfinder 2.0 by Tom Rath. To my delight, the pile keeps growing.

Relaxing

Knowing that my new role will demand more of my time, I’ve been motivated to build in guilt-free relaxation time including weekends away. The weekends have provided me with longer stretches to unwind, relax, and think. They’ve included anniversary weekends with my husband in the Hudson Valley and wonderful beach weekends with the girlfriends at The Ocean House B&B on the Jersey Shore. There’s nothing quite like getting away or being by the sea to put things in perspective.

Exercising

The “yes” motivated me to exercise regularly. The day flows better when I begin with some simple stretching and walking. When possible, I take additional “green” breaks during the day in the woods or by the river. These are rejuvenating and great for my physical and emotional wellbeing.

Writing

Journaling, blogging, and letter writing have increased, or at least continued as a result of the “yes.” Writing is one of my creative outlets – a venue to process, develop, and share ideas.

Leaping

Motivation to try things I’ve never done has accompanied the “yes. Some of these firsts have included taking Comedy Improv classes, doing a Skype interview with Smead, and traveling to Japan later this year to speak at the JALO (Japan Association of Life Organizers) conference.

Connecting

Even when I was very young, it was always been about people and building relationships. During this time I’ve been motivated to continue nourishing my current relationships while building new ones. I’m grateful for my community of family, friends, colleagues, and readers like you.

Have you made a decision that has motivated you to take other actions? I’d love to hear about your experience? Come join the conversation!

As we welcome the new month, we also begin a new time of the year. New evokes opportunity, change, and growth. Time can feel expansive or limiting. What will time be like for you? Do you ever feel like you're not ready? Do you feel like it's not yet your time to do, to try, or to get out there?

“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.”

 - Albert Einstein

Is fear or lack of confidence holding you back?

• Maybe you don’t feel ready for organizing your paper piles.
• Maybe you don’t feel ready to say “yes” to a job with more responsibility.
• Maybe you don’t feel ready to volunteer.
• Maybe you don’t feel ready to try something outside your comfort zone.
• Maybe you don’t feel ready to . . . (fill in the blank).

Here’s the good news. Time helps us get ready, though we might not realize it at first. The “ready” can involve acquiring new skills or making a gentle perspective shift. We’re never 100% ready for venturing towards uncertainty. However, there’s a good chance that we’re ready enough. Know the power of taking small steps. Acknowledge your previous challenges and successes. These prepare you, so when the time comes, you’ll be ready enough.

This past week, I attended the NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers) conference in Phoenix where professional organizers from around the globe gathered to learn and exchange ideas about our industry. While there, I was invited to speak in Japan at the JALO (Japanese Association of Life Organizers) conference. I’ve never traveled to or presented in that part of the world. While I don’t have all the details worked out, time prepared me to be ready enough to say, “Yes” to this wonderful, exciting opportunity.How does time prepare you? What does ready enough look like? What becomes possible with a perspective shift?

Isn’t it funny how a few simple words can spark our thinking? This past weekend I was in St. Louis for an ICD meeting. In my room at the Springhill Suites, there was a message pad with a thought-provoking sentence printed on the top of each page. It said,

“Catch wandering ideas.”

I couldn’t believe how timely this was given that the New Year is when many of us do our idea gathering. I love this concept to “catch” or capture our thoughts by writing them down, thinking about them, or talking with others.

The fresh start that January brings, encourages us to experiment, consider alternate perspectives, and explore new ideas. As you mull over what "next" might be, perhaps you’ll find some of these strategies helpful.

Taking Risks

Unlike my daughter Allison, who is confident about cutting her own hair, I’ve always been afraid to mess with my curls. I delegate haircuts to the curly hair professionals. However, in one moment, that changed. Because I was overdue for a haircut, some unruly curls kept getting in my eye. I took what I perceived as a big risk. I picked up a scissor and cut the stragglers off.

My heart started racing, my eyes widened, and I burst out laughing. It felt thrilling to do something I’d never considered and that was completely outside of my comfort zone. I didn’t let fear prevent me from taking action. Yes, I admit this is almost a ridiculous story. It’s just hair.  But remember that often it’s just ________, which prevents us from doing that thing we fear. So when you’re afraid to face a new challenge, remember the “scissor incident.” Feel free to use it as your call to action.

Changing Perspective

The temperatures seem to have leveled out for now. However, last week much of the country experienced erratic winter weather. In New York we had a super cold 5° day. This was followed by a 30° day that felt downright balmy. Normally 30° would feel ridiculously cold, but in relation to 5°, it seemed like spring. So I questioned, “What is cold?” How is it possible to think that 30° is both cold and warm? It’s all a matter of perspective. Our ideas and beliefs are in relation to other factors that constantly change. Being open to these shifts in perspective will help us to reframe and consider ideas in a different way. What shift in thinking might help your “wandering ideas?”

Brainstorming

As I mentioned earlier, I was in St. Louis for an ICD Board meeting. This also included our annual Strategic Planning session, which I led (a first for me.) While there were many parts to the session, one section was devoted to brainstorming. We collected new ideas to integrate into our current plan. We shared them while leaving all judgments, explanations, or potential problems aside. Evaluating and prioritizing came later. And guess what? By allowing the space to brainstorm without judgment, many wonderful ideas emerged. As you move forward in these coming weeks, give yourself that gift of non-judgmental idea generating. Record your thoughts first. After that, you can be purposeful about how you organize, prioritize, or abandon them.

So how will you “catch wandering ideas?” Will taking risks, shifting perspectives, and brainstorming be useful strategies for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation!