It started Sunday morning with bananas. Instead of focusing on the anxiety of all things COVID-19-related, I found inspiration in my next choice. As I entered the kitchen, I noticed the browning bananas sitting on top of the fruit bowl. They looked perfect for baking. The thing is, I haven’t baked in a while. Don't get me wrong. I love to bake, but I’ve been staying away from bread and sweet things these days. However, at that moment, the next thing I felt like doing was to make banana muffins. So I did, and added some dried sour cherries to the batter too (so delicious!)

Baking has always been fun and therapeutic, and this batch of muffins didn’t disappoint. I measured, mashed, mixed, and scooped. My spirits lifted as our home filled with the wafting, delicious scent coming from the oven.  And what fun is baking if you can’t share it? Together, my husband and I enjoyed the warm muffins and berry fruit salad breakfast.  We followed that with a nice long walk in the woods.

If I could, I would give you a banana muffin right now. Instead, I’ll share my recipe with you.

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Linda’s Banana Muffins

Oven: 400° | Yield: 12 muffins | Bake:  20-25 minutes

In a bowl, stir together and set aside:

1-3/4 cups flour

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup brown sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. ground clove

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

In another bowl, mix together

1 beaten egg

¾ cup milk

1/3 cup canola oil

In third bowl, mash

2 ripe bananas

Pour egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir. Stir in bananas. If desired, add 1/3 cup of dried sour cherries, dried cranberries, raisins, or chocolate morsels into the batter.

Grease cupcake pans with canola spray or butter. Fill cups one-half or more full. Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes.

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My impromptu baking made me think about the week of adjustments we’ve all had. With an increase in closures, cancellations, working from home, and staying in place orders, we’ve experienced unprecedented disruptions and change this week. Teachers were getting accustomed to teaching online, restaurants were retooling for curbside pick-up only or closing temporarily, loved ones were getting ill, trying to get tested, or stressing over if they had been infected or infected others. People that had never worked from home were navigating how to do that.

Most of us were figuring out ways to cope and self-soothe in this anxiety-laden time. Collectively we were doing things like walking (a lot) meditating, practicing yoga, crocheting, organizing, puzzling (as in doing jigsaw puzzles) journaling, jogging, watching, reading, gardening, checking in with others, and sleeping.

I also noticed that collectively we got inspired and creative about the new reality. We started experimenting with doing things differently because life changed overnight. It’s been fascinating to observe and partake in. Especially with next being more uncertain than ever, making choices that foster happiness and calm is essential. It’s a crazy, scary time. Yet even with the tumult, we have opportunities to get inspired, be creative, to experiment, examine our priorities, and express gratitude.

Like many of you, I miss the physical presence of being with my family, friends, and clients. Social distancing and isolation have been challenging for many of us. However, there too, people are getting creative about staying socially engaged, despite the distancing. This past week I Face Timed, which I don’t usually do. Using Zoom, I video-chatted with family and friends, had virtual organizing sessions with clients, took yoga classes, had breakfast with a group of girlfriends, and hosted a virtual cocktail party (so much fun!)

What has been different for you this week? Have you felt more creative or been inspired by your next choice? My heart is with each of you as you navigate and find your way during this unprecedented time. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Be well. Stay healthy. I invite you to join the conversation.

The newest installment (v19) of the “What’s Interesting?” feature is here with my recent discoveries that inform, educate, and relate to organizing and life balance. I’ve included unique and inspiring time-related finds, which reflect this month’s blog theme.

You are such a wonderfully engaged group and I am so grateful for you. I look forward to your participation and additions to the collection I’ve sourced. What do you find interesting?

What’s Interesting? . . .

1. Interesting Read – Time to Be Present 

If you want to enhance your health and well-being and be more aware in the moment, this book is for you. In Fully Present – The Science, Art, and Practice of Mindfulness, scientist Susan Smalley, Ph.D. and mindfulness teacher and practitioner, Diana Winston explore the scientific explanation for how mindfulness affects the brain and body in a positive, powerful, and compelling way.  The authors also share tips and exercises for developing and maintaining a meditation practice. They say, “You can learn to take an ordinary experience, give it your present-moment attention, and experience it as extra-ordinary.” Modern culture tends to cultivate mindless-ness. “The dominant American culture validates virtually mindless productivity, busyness, speed, and efficiency. The last thing we want to do is just bepresent.”  Smalley and Winston present an opening for us to think about how we spend our time. “Mindfulness is a means to rebalance doing and being.”  

2. Interesting Season  – Time to Organize

OK. The truth is that every season is a great season to get organized. With summer just starting, we’re poised for a new beginning. We can reset our organizing goals, take stock of our busy schedules and time, do some decluttering, and bring order and balance back into our lives. If you want to get organized, but are feeling overwhelmed and stuck, find an organizing buddy. Your buddy can be a compassionate and non-judgmental friend, family member or professional organizer like me. You’ll be amazed with how much you will accomplish in a short amount of time when your work side-by-side with someone else. I’m ready to help and am just a phone call (914-271-5673) or email (linda@ohsoorganized.com) away.

3. Interesting Product – Time to Roll

How do you roll with managing your to dos? Check out this new product, This Week Sticky Roll Notes from Knock Knock. With 26 feet of note-taking tape, you can place this list anywhere to remind you about what’s next. Just pull, tear, and then stick the strip to any surface like your mirror, desk, refrigerator, or door.  It’s a fun and flexible product that will help you better manage your time.

4. Interesting App – Time to Connect

If you like the idea of writing personalized cards, but can never find the time to do so, you’ll love Pixinote. This app combines old school with the digital age.  In just a few minutes using your cell phone, you can easily combine three lines of personalized text with one of your photos. A printed card in an envelope will show up in your loved one's mailbox several days later. Keeping in touch was never so easy. Your friends and family will appreciate receiving “good” mail and knowing that you took the time to connect with them.

5. Interesting Thought – Time to Steer

If you’re anything like me, time appears to be moving more and more swiftly with the passing of each year. Now more than ever, being intentional with how time is being spent seems essential. After all, we have a finite amount of time. While none of us know how long we’ll be here, we are in charge of the time we do have.

What are your interesting finds? Which of these resonate with you? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation!

Does this sound familiar? You’re ready to start your day. You’ve already dressed, showered, and had your breakfast. For all intensive purposes, you want to get going. However, you’re not quite settled or ready to begin. You might be feeling unsure of which project or task to start next. Maybe you’re feeling overwhelmed with the enormity of your to do list. You might be feeling uncomfortable, unsettled or anxious.

This is the perfect opportunity to introduce some mindfulness to help you find your next step.

5 Mindful Ways to Discover Your Next Step

Start With Your Breath

Using an anchor helps us to notice where we are. Your breath works beautifully as a place to focus. You can access it anywhere at anytime. Take a comfortable position sitting in a chair, standing, or even lying down. If it helps, you can close your eyes. Focus on your breathing. Don’t force it. Take a few minutes to notice your natural patterns of breathing in and breathing out. Let your attention focus solely on your breath. If your mind begins to wander, as minds will do, just bring your attention back to your breath. Breathing in…breathing out. The act of shifting your focus to your breath will help you think more clearly and calmly and make room for your next step.

Add a Dose of Gratitude

Before deep diving into figuring out next, take a few minutes to express gratitude. This can be done as informally or formally as you’d like. You can simply think the thoughts or write them down. There are no rules here. You can think about just one thing or person that you are grateful for, or you can generate a longer list. Take a few mindful minutes to focus your energy in this positive way. Expressing gratitude is another way of anchoring you and making you more open and available for next.

Secure What You Need

When we’re about to embark on a project or new task, it’s challenging to do that if we haven’t taken care of our needs. Ignoring them can leave us antsy. Take a few more minutes to notice what you need to feel settled. For example, before sitting down to write, I like to make a nice, big mug of tea that I can sip between thoughts. I make sure I’ve used the bathroom. I minimize distractions like closing out open windows on my desktop. Taking care of my basic needs, helps me to better focus on what comes next. We often ignore our needs. Slowing down long enough to be mindful of where we are and what we need is essential.

Make the Selection

Have you got a to do list? Is it floating around your head or written down? While I prefer a written list for myself, there’s no right or wrong here. However, for the selection part, I highly recommend capturing the options in some written form so that you can review them. It doesn’t have to be fancy or official. Keep in mind that most of us have many things to do in our lifetime. None of those things get done in a single day. Instead we make choices each day to do or not do what we need and want to do. With that in mind, and in order to keep overwhelm at bay, create a list of no more than three things. Don’t worry. If you complete those things, you can add more. And also remember that tomorrow is another day. But for today, for this next, just write a list of three. Now it’s time to choose. To help you decide think about things like:

• Do I have time today to work on this?

• Do I have the energy needed to focus?

• Would this step be better accomplished at another time or day?

• Does this have a deadline?

• Is this a priority?

• If I didn’t accomplish this, would it matter?

• Can I remove this from my list altogether?

• Can this be delegated to someone else?

• Do I want to get some quick and easy things accomplished quickly to get my motor going?

Remember, there’s no wrong choice. Remove judgment. Maybe next will be organizing the junk drawer, removing the extra hangers from your closet, or making plans for that upcoming party. You’re simply working on that next step. Build from there.

Take Your Next Step

Congratulations! You’ve anchored yourself with breathing and gratitude, taken care of your basic needs, and selected what you’d like to do next. You’re ready for action. Remember that next involves actually doing something. You’ve used some simple mindfulness strategies to arrive at this point. As you experience next, stay in the moment. Whatever you’ve chosen, allow yourself to be there with it. Focus on what you’re doing as you’re doing it- one movement, one step, and one action at a time.

What helps you figure out next? Have you used mindfulness in the process? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation!

Life is full of distractions. These distractions often have noise components that come from external and internal sources. With all of the noise and distractions, it can be especially challenging to focus on what’s most important. Noise in our environment can be overpowering. It’s essential to make time for quiet and stillness. By doing this, we create white space and breathing room. From this quiet we connect with our minds, bodies and others and ready ourselves for creativity, learning, and a fresh start. The start can be for the next moment, day, month, project or interaction.

There are many ways to bring quiet into your days. Some of us need more quiet than others. I’ve noticed that as I’ve aged, my need for quiet has increased. What have you noticed?

Mindfulness practices including meditation or integrating mindful living are ways of finding those quiet puntuations during your day. Another path to quiet is spending time with nature. You can be an observer and just sit, watch or listen. You can surround your being by taking a walk outdoors. You can set aside some time to be still and focus on the in and out movement of your breath.

All of these practices will quiet your mind, quiet your being, and give you some pause from the daily noise and distractions.

Enjoy this quiet moment . . .

How do you find quiet? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation!