It’s not officially spring yet, even though we turned our clocks forward an hour, and spring’s cues began emerging weeks ago. Our beautiful purple crocuses have come and gone. I notice new growth daily- a patch of green here, some yellow blooms there. Seeds planted are beginning to flourish.

I appreciate the present and am simultaneously in awe of what will come next. What a hopeful time of year this is!

While the seeds I mentioned were literal ones yielding plants and blooms, there are other seedlings. You . . .

• Plant new ideas

• Create positive habits

• Change behaviors

• Alter mindset

• Chase goals

• Experiment

• Nurture relationships.

These require patience, compassion, consistency, awareness, trust, and receptivity. When we tend our garden in this way, those seeds will thrive.

Coach and artist Jane Pollak, CPCC, said, “Before you know it, the seeds you plant will leaf.” What a powerful idea! While you’re in the planting or becoming phase, it seems like nothing is happening. It’s hard to see any progress or change. The seeds sit quietly in the dirt. Movement and growth are imperceptible. You wait while occasionally adding water and fertilizer to stimulate growth.

While next might be nothing because you over or underwatered, more often, growth will be visible in time. I see this with my virtual organizing clients. The seeds planted begin with a goal and a desire for something else. Less clutter, more time, more space, or less stress. We use that seed idea and work to get there. I love helping with these internal and external transformations.

• Challenges with letting go bloom into ease of releasing.

• Stress caused by clutter morphs into calm from clearer spaces.

• Being overwhelmed by full schedules develops into relief by creating boundaries.

“Before you know it, the seeds you plant will leaf.”

— Jane Pollak, CPCC

You are now on the other side. You’ve patiently done the work. You’ve tended your garden even when you were unsure. You trusted the process so you could succeed. Your seeds have leafed.

What will be your next step? Do you want to reassess? Do you want to bask in the gorgeous blooms? Are you ready to plant new seeds to nurture? Progress and growth are yours. How will you build from here? What tiny step are you able to take? How can I help? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

Time is universal. We all have the same 24 hours in a day. Yet how we choose to use and feel about that time varies widely. You have scheduled and unscheduled time, hours spent doing what you enjoy and what you don’t. Your days can be intentional or haphazard, filled with obligations, commitments, fun, rest, and challenges.

Lately, I’ve noticed how many moments of joy and delight are present even in these uncertain times. With so much unrest and distress around us, why am I writing about happiness? Especially when life is hard, it’s essential to acknowledge and embrace moments that fill you with delight.

The pandemic changed our daily lives. Opportunities to try new things emerged during the shift. Surprisingly, in this chaos, some beautiful moments emerged. I’ll share a few things I’ve recently experienced, hoping they will spark some ideas for you. 

5 Ways to Take Time for Delight

1. Watch Tomatoes Grow

Earlier this month, I created my first mini garden in our greenhouse. One of the vegetables I planted were cherry tomatoes. Each day I check to see how they’re doing. I water or mist them as needed. Little yellow flowers started blooming, which are magically becoming tomatoes-to-be. Right now, they are round, green balls that will hopefully turn bright red. It’s a simple thing, but it makes me smile with delight every time I check on their growth. It feels good to nurture them and watch the changes.

2. Cut Hair with Scissors

You’re probably thinking, how else would you cut hair? Of course, you use scissors (or a clipper!) The thing is I’ve never cut hair other than the disastrous time I cut my mother’s hair when I was 10 years old. My husband hasn’t been able to get his hair cut during the pandemic, so I offered to “try.” I was amazed that Steve trusted me to cut, especially since he knew about the mom incident. While I don’t plan on opening a salon, it turns out I’m not half bad at cutting hair. The great discovery is that I love doing it!  I feel giddy when I cut. It’s so satisfying to snip away, kind of like hair decluttering. I’ve learned one lesson. Don’t say, “Oops,” if you chop off more than you meant to.

“Especially when life is hard, it’s essential to acknowledge and embrace moments that fill you with delight.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®

3. Walk Socially Distant with Friend

It wasn’t that long ago we could walk where we wanted, with whoever we wanted, as closely as we wanted, and mask-free. But times have changed. The only walks I’ve taken in these past months have been by myself or with my husband. Since New York recently loosened the stay-in-place orders, I felt comfortable trying a socially distant (and masked) walk with one of my friends. While we have had regular Zoom calls during this time, we haven’t seen each other in person. It felt beyond fantastic to be physically close to my good friend as we walked, talked, and looked at one another. And while it was a bit weird not to be able to hug, it was so joyful to be actually rather than virtually together. 

4. Sit in Different Chairs

I’ve found ways to experiment with new perspectives with so much time at home these past months. It’s not that I was bored, but I felt like shifting things around to see what would happen. We added a few new chairs to our outdoor collection, so we moved furniture around to integrate the pieces. We placed chairs where they had never been before, which encouraged us to sit in new locations. The change was surprising because the new placements had different views and feel. Now when I go outside, instead of sitting in the exact same spot, I like to move around to try out other positions. Oddly, these simple changes make me feel similar to being on vacation because they both bring about perspective shifts. 

5. Take the Less Traveled Path

I love walking in the woods and by the rivers. There are regular and favorite walks I take, like down the block or the path along the Hudson River. But there are other places I walk less frequently like a park several towns south of where I live. Over the weekend, my husband and I decided to go to the park we rarely visit. There were many changes from the last time we went there. I loved noticing and appreciating the differences. Our prior visit was in early spring when the daffodils were blooming, and the leaves on the trees were starting to green. This time, yellow flowers were gone, and the trees were so full that some of the trunks were hidden. There were birds and butterflies all around. I loved exploring the less familiar path with spectacular river views.

Time keeps moving, whether we’re having good days or tough ones. There are ways to make time for joy-filled moments. I’d love to hear your thoughts. What moments delight you? I invite you to join the conversation.

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!