It’s a busy time of year. Maybe you’re already in play mode. Or perhaps you’re scrambling to finish up those year-end projects so you can enjoy your time off during the holidays. We often feel an ongoing push-pull between resting and producing. And our balance between the two can become completely off-kilter. At other times, there is a better mix.

Life can be incredibly confusing this time of year. You have a ton to accomplish, but you’d rather be off to enjoy the sounds, sights, and scents of this twinkly, festive season with your family and friends.

Deadlines and Deliverables

I’m pushing to prepare several workshops for the first quarter of 2024. I’m so excited about them! Stay tuned for updates, which I’ll announce soon. The first round of deliverables is almost complete. Then, I’ll be able to enjoy the break and festivities even more.

My guess is you are in the midst of things, too. Maybe you’re preparing and organizing your home for a houseful of guests. Perhaps you’re doing some last-minute holiday gift shopping or putting the finishing touches on your holiday décor. Or, like me, maybe you’re focusing intently on completing your 2023 goals and projects.

An Inspired Perspective

Whatever is going on, I came across an idea in Glennon Doyle’s Untamed, which I thought would help. It’s a beautiful perspective, which I, for one, want to hold close. She wrote,

“Hard work is important. So are play and nonproductivity. My worth is tied not to my productivity but to my existence. I am worthy of rest.”

— Glennon Doyle

I love this! As someone driven to work hard and be productive, I need this reminder. Perhaps you do, too. Life is not just about work. While I know this, I want to embrace Doyle’s message even more. I will thoroughly lean into the joy of playing, being, and resting. I will let go of defining my worth by what I produce.

How is your balance this season? What do you want more of? What do you want to release? How can I help?

Last week, I wrote about the transitions we’re experiencing as the seasons change. While fall doesn’t officially begin for several weeks, its unofficial start has happened. You’re back from summer vacation, the kiddos have returned to school, and your plate is piled high with numerous projects, goals, and activities. Your schedule is packed, and your daily patterns are changing. Do you feel calm and prepared, or anxious and not ready?

Transitions can be tricky and uncomfortable. However, intregrating mindfulness into the mix can bring calm and confidence to this next phase.

There are six ways to feel ready as you prepare for your busy season. You can use these strategies for any shift you’re experiencing, such as starting a new day, month, season, year, project, or life change.

6 Ways to Mindfully Prepare for Your New Season

1. Prepare Emotionally

Your emotional state benefits greatly when you prioritize your self-care. To fortify your energy reserves and to create a positive emotional state:

• Get enough sleep

• Eat healthfully

• Hydrate

• Move your body

• Make time for just you

• Engage in nourishing activities

2. Prepare Environment

Clutter can cause blockages in your thinking, well-being, creativity, daily flow, and routines. Make time to let go of the physical things you no longer need, want, are in your way, or are no longer relevant for this new phase. Clear the path for your new season. What can you declutter now?

3. Clarify Goals & Why

Did you create an ambitious list of goals at the start of this year? This change of seasons presents an excellent time to revisit and reset. Ask:

• What one or two things do you want to accomplish this season?

• What will success look or feel like when you accomplish those?

• What is driving you to get there?

• What is your why?

Taking the time to clarify will be valuable. The clarity will help with more effortless and less stressful decision-making when your choices align with your goals and overarching why.

“Integrate mindfulness to bring calm and confidence to this next phase.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

4. Gather Your Team

The busy season makes it a terrific time to gather more support. Collect your go-to peeps- family, friends, colleagues, and professionals. There is no reason to go it alone. Who will be on your team? They can help you:

• Succeed

• Provide accountability

• Brainstorm and discuss ideas

• Navigate frustrations and challenges

• Cheer you on

5. Gather Your Resources

Aside from your ‘team,’ what else will help you prepare for this season? What physical supplies or products will be beneficial? What about finding resources for ideas or referrals?

As we’re in the back-to-school mode, images of sharpened pencils, blank notebooks, and boxes of new, colorful crayons fill my thoughts. While our kiddos are adults now and not in that stage, I remember when they were. Returning to school meant gathering the essential supplies, which helped them feel prepared and ready to learn. What do you need to feel prepared?

6. Schedule Downtime
During the fullness of this new season, plan time to stop. We aren’t designed to be constantly doing. We also need time to just be. Whether you make time daily, every week, or once a month, build breaks from the busyness. Each of us has different refueling needs. My daily mindfulness meditation practice and walks in nature keep me grounded and calm. They give me a quiet space to practice mindfulness, restore my energy, and prepare me to engage more fully after I pause.

New Podcast: Helping You Reset for the New Season

A few weeks ago, I enjoyed talking with the engaging, delightful podcast host, writer, and my new friend Kara Cutruzzula on her “Do It Today” podcast. Our conversation covered many topics, including ways to get ready for the new season. Listen to our conversation below:

If you are gathering your team and would like support from me as your Virtual Professional Organizer, let’s talk. I’d love to help as you travel on this next part of your journey. Call 914-271-5673, email me at linda@ohsoorganized.com, or click here to contact me through this site.

What helps you mindfully prepare for change? How do transition times affect you? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

Stephen Powers - Coney Island Is Still DreamlandEach month we focus on a different topic. For March we’ll be talking about next steps. We’ve had inspiring conversations over the last five years on this topic. I’m going to revisit some of those ideas and select my favorite ones to highlight and share with you.

Top 5 Wonderful Ideas for Figuring Out Your Next Step . . .

1. Go Small

Figuring out the next step can overwhelm us to the point of procrastination or inaction. This often happens because we’re thinking too far and too many steps ahead. One favorite strategy is to reduce “next” to the smallest possible and most doable action. This takes the scary out of the equation and supercharges the idea that, “I can do this!” For more about this concept, read my post How to Make Next Smaller and Actually Feel Wonderful. 

2. Breathe Deeply

If you’re like most of us, “busy” has become your new normal. It’s not just us, but also our children that are scheduled from morning to night. There’s little fluff time in our days. Our busy-ness can make it hard to think, plan and be effective. One of my favorite strategies to help the too busy syndrome is by taking a purposeful, mindful pause. Try some nice, slow deep breathing. To understand more about this strategy, read Why Breathing is Next?

3. Let Go

There are times when what we thought should be next, doesn’t happen. Our plan gets interrupted. Instead, if we opt to exercise our flexibility muscles, we can activate and get to next by letting go of our original plan. For more about this idea, read How to Do Next.

4. Get Comfortable
Energy gets expended when we’re working on figuring out our next step. It’s best to do that from a place of calm and restfulness. Getting back to the basics like getting a good night’s sleep and having a nutritious breakfast can help activate the brain and body to work with and not against you. To learn more, read The 7-Step Journey.

5. Ask Questions
We can become complacent, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But what happens when we’re in that place is that we stop asking questions. We stop being curious. We stop pursuing goals. Next isn’t even on the list because there is no list. We’re content with things as they are. However, if you’re looking to shift from that place and figure out next, there’s nothing like a great question to get the pump primed for action. For more about this idea, read What’s Your Next Step?

It’s your turn. Which getting to next idea makes sense to you? Or, do you have another strategy that works well. Come join the conversation and share with us! 

There’s busy and then there’s busy. We all have days or periods of time when we get away from purposeful action and instead feel pulled by emergencies or other people’s agendas. We get caught in that whirlwind of activity, but not necessarily activity we’ve chosen.

Perhaps we’ve lost sight of that “white space” in our schedules. In fact, not only have we lost sight of it, we’ve completely lost it. There is none. We’re scheduled from morning until night. We’re on the go with no time to think or regroup. We can function like this for a while, but soon overwhelm, exhaustion, and confusion sets in.

It’s time. It’s time to pause. It’s time to stop and take a few deep, long breaths. Before doing that next thing…stop. Before making that next decision…stop. Just breathe. Nice and slowly. Breathe. Regroup.

Next will become clearer. Next will become more purposeful.

Have you experienced the power of breathing? Has it helped you reset where you are? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation.