The latest installment (v12) of the “What’s Interesting?” feature has my newest discoveries that inform, educate, and relate to organizing and life balance. I’ve included unique and inspiring possibility-thinking-related finds reflecting this month’s blog theme.

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

What’s Interesting? . . .

1. Interesting Read – Productivity Possibilities

How does productivity work? Why are some people and companies more productive than others? Why do some imagine and actualize possibilities while others struggle? Charles Duhigg, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, explores these questions in his latest book, Smarter Faster Better – The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business.

The book is “about how to recognize the choices that fuel true productivity” and “…how to succeed with less effort.” He explores eight concepts, including motivation, goal setting, and decision making, that emerged from studying experiences of highly productive people and the latest research in neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral economics.

Dughigg says, “…productivity is about making certain choices in certain ways. The way we choose to see ourselves and frame daily decisions; the stories we tell ourselves, and the easy goals we ignore; the sense of community we build among teammates; the creative cultures we establish as leaders: These are the things that separate the merely busy from the genuinely productive.”

2. Interesting Perspective - Organized Possibilities

While many believe there is a “right” way or just “one” way to be organized, let’s dispel that myth. It’s just not true. We are different.  We have diverse needs and preferences.

For organizing strategies to be effective and useful, they have to reflect our uniqueness. So, while I might prefer to have my clothes hanging in my closet, facing the same direction on matching hangers, by clothing type and in color order, you might prefer piling your clothes on the big, comfy chair in the corner of your bedroom. And you know what? If “chairdrobe” works for you, go for it! Being organized looks and feels different to each of us. What possibilities can you imagine when you take ‘should’ out of the organizing equation?

3. Interesting Research - Feel Good Possibilities

Have you noticed that in the digital age, we tend to use our fingers or voices to type, text, and communicate? We write by hand, much less. While there’s speed and efficiency when using our digital devices, we might miss out on a few things.

Research suggests that writing by hand helps the brain remember more and can make you feel good, too. Neuroscientist and author Kelly Lambert, Ph.D., says, “The brain’s reward center is connected to one of the movement centers…so one way to activate pleasure is through physical effort.” Next time you need a boost, pick up a pen and activate the possibilities.

4. Interesting Product – Time Possibilities

A favorite product I’ve featured many times is the Time Timer®, a simple time management tool designed to display time elapsing with the movement of a red disk on the timer’s face.

The company just developed a new accessory, a dry-erase board that integrates beautifully with the timer to highlight time-sensitive messages and appointments. This wonderful combo enhances the possibilities for managing our time more effectively.

5. Interesting Thought - Unleashing Possibilities

Are you having challenges moving forward, pursuing a new idea, or accomplishing a goal? Have you considered the power of your thoughts? What messages are you telling yourself? Are your thoughts enhancing or hindering your possibilities?

As the graphic here asks, “What’s stopping you?” Focus on positive thoughts and unleash amazing possibilities.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. What are your interesting finds? Which possibilities resonate with you?  You matter. I invite you to join the conversation!

Sometimes next isn’t obvious. Other times we know what next is, but procrastinate. We’re too tired. It’s late. We don’t feel like it. We’d rather be doing something else with our time. While I don’t find myself in this situation frequently, I have experienced knowing the next step then have activation challenges actually taking it. Have you experienced this?

As a matter of fact, I found myself in this situation just before I wrote this post. While my plan had been to write when I returned from organizing at my client’s home, other business and personal issues were handled instead. The late afternoon quickly morphed into evening and I still hadn’t written anything. This wasn’t good since I prefer to write earlier in the day when my brain is most alert.

I had several options and chose to continue as planned, which is why you’re reading this post. To make “next” more doable, I set the mood. I made a hot cup of tea, put on my comfy clothes, and plopped myself in front of a blank page.

I let go of my original plan. I let go of the fact that I wasn’t writing at my best time. Instead I just focused on next: the next word, the next sentence, and the next paragraph. And well, you see what happened. By creating the mood for next, next got done.

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

When we view change as a process rather than a singular event, we can discover seeds of change along the way.

What if we nurture and view these seeds as mini celebrations on our change journey? How does that alter our experience?

How can you embrace small changes?

3 Ways to Embrace Small Changes

Color

Making a small change by introducing a burst of color to a room, whether it’s a new throw pillow, a vase of fresh flowers, or a brightly painted wall, can be part of our change journey. Color is powerful. It can energize, soothe, or motivate us. It’s a visual cue that something is different and sets the mood for positive change to occur.

Habits

We all have habits and patterns. As much as I advocate systems and organization, sometimes it's essential to change our routines. It’s good for our souls and healthy for our brains. This past weekend, my husband and I made a small change by sleeping in our guest bedroom instead of our room. It was fun for one night to break our routine and enjoy a different perspective. Even though we were just across the hall, it felt like we went away on vacation.

Stuff

Several of my clients are getting ready to move. They’re making big life changes, which can feel overwhelming at times. Preparing includes organizing and letting go of “stuff” they no longer want with them for the next phase. Getting an entire house ready is a time-intensive process. Celebrating and acknowledging progress along the way is key to staying focused and motivated. Doing the “happy dance” to celebrate another decluttered closet or ten more bags ready to donate keeps the focus on now with a nod to next.

How do you embrace small changes? What mini-celebrations have you experienced? Come join the conversation!

Navigating Choices & DecisionsChoices are all around us. The small and large decisions we make are influenced by our perspective, experiences, and way our brain processes. The complexity of how our minds work means that some decisions we make are logical and some are not. Some are healthy and some are anything but.

Decisions can be made boldly, carelessly, doggedly, creatively, emotionally, logically, laboriously, or freely. We can toss a coin or spend days deliberating about options. Decisions can be made in solitude or collaboratively. Simple choices like, “What color shirt am I going to wear?” are juxtaposed by more challenging questions such as, “Which room should I organize first?”

According to the Time article, “Making Choices: How Your Brain Decides,” neuroscience journalist, Maia Szalazvitz, said that each day we’re asked to make thousands of small and large decisions. She refers to a California Institute of Technology study that examined how the brain decides. The study indicated that there are two distinct networks for decision-making. One network analyzes the overall value, the risk versus the reward of a specific choice. The other network guides behavior.

Sometimes the decisions we make are obvious and sometimes quite gray. This past weekend, I had the honor of being on a “Professional Ethics” panel, sponsored by the NAPO-NY chapter. We talked about the NAPO Code of Ethics and also shared various scenarios and sticky situations, which required discussing the ethical choices we might make. It was fascinating to hear the diversity of ideas, perspectives, agreements, and disagreements. But again, it all came back to choice. Do we take action, and if so, what? Or, are there times when it’s appropriate to do nothing, and taking no action is the choice?

What I love most is that we have the ability to choose. These choices are available to us at every moment. Our yeses, nos, and maybes of today, define our tomorrows.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. How do you decide? What allows you to be comfortable or satisfied with your decisions? What have you learned from making decisions? Come join the conversation.