The late part of the summer is an intriguing time of year. Some of us, like me, are savoring the last days of the season. I’m looking forward to one final vacation before the cooler fall days arrive. For some, you have purchased your supplies, launched the kids off to college, and started your school year. In the northeast, we have about three weeks left before the kids go back. There are numerous ways you can help your kids switch from vacation to school mode. This can be done even if you’ve already begun the year. The tips I’m sharing will help make your transition and year go more smoothly and be more organized. 

The terrific design team at Stroller Envy was kind enough to create this fun infographic featuring my best organizing tips for back to school.

For a more in-depth look at the tips, check out my post, Organizing Help for Back to School. The seven tips coordinate with the infographic and include:

1. Cycle

2. Capture

3. Land

4. Center

5. Assess

6. Resources

7. Perspective

Have your kids returned or are about to go back to school? What is your go-to back to school organizing tip? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

As I’m just back from our summer vacation in Maine, I have to admit that my motivation to jump into regular activities (like writing and working on the next projects) hasn’t quite kicked in yet. Vacation mode of waking up without an alarm, wearing no watch, spending uninterrupted time with my family, and exploring new places continues to permeate my heart and mind.

I don’t know about you, but I like to give myself one full day post-vacation to unpack, do laundry, return calls, go through snail mail and email before resuming my normal pace. As I settle in to write this post, I have a vacation motivation experience I’d like to share with you.

I wouldn’t describe myself as athletic.  It’s not that I don’t enjoy a long walk, swimming or an occasional bike ride, but you won’t find me actively engaged in sports. I prefer gentle exercise and stretching.

How Three Mountains Boosted Motivation

Mohegan Island

During this vacation, there was a lot of exploring. We walked all over. Maine is such a gorgeous place with beautiful seascapes, rocky shores, and wonderfully lush terrain. For those that love to hike, it’s a paradise. Before our children joined us mid-week, my husband and I took an easy hike to the top of Monhegan Island. What a gorgeous, magical place. No cars are allowed on the island. It’s quiet and peaceful with an abundance of wildflowers gracing the hills. If you ever have a chance to travel there, which involves a ferry ride, definitely go.

While I was huffing and puffing a little bit, I made it to the top of the cliff. We sat and enjoyed our lunch. There were amazing views several hundred feet above sea level of blue sky above and water crashing against the shore below. The sun was bright. Sounds of rushing waves and seagulls squawking could be heard. One seagull decided to accompany us for lunch as we sat on the cliff’s edge. I think he was hoping for some scraps.

Cadillac Mountain

A few days later, the family took a trip to Acadia National Park. Our first stop was Cadillac Mountain with breathtaking 360-degree views of Mount Desert Island.  We did some walking off of the path and onto the sides of the cliffs. It was fairly easy, although you had to watch your footing. 

Champlain Mountain

Following that we took a longer hike to the top of Champlain Mountain. It was a 2.2-mile round trip hike, which seemed doable. We thought it was going to be on level ground and relatively easy. None of us realized beforehand that the hike was an uphill climb on uneven paths and involved vertically climbing the rocks at some points. Remember before when I said I wasn’t athletic? So as you might imagine, this was especially challenging for me. Our kids and their partners (30 years younger,) climbed easily and were way ahead of my husband and I. While I kept going, taking short breaks as needed, I was getting physically tired and wasn't sure I could make it to the top. Doubt set in.

Every so often, one of the kids would double back to check on us. Or, they’d call out to encourage us that we were getting close and almost there. At one point, my husband asked me if I wanted to stop and head back down. He knew I was having a hard time. However, I knew I was closer to the top than the bottom. I was determined and motivated to meet the family at the top. The last stretch was especially challenging, as it was almost a straight climb up without shade on sometimes-slippery rocks.

My husband climbed behind me to make sure I was OK. But I was slowing up even more. I asked him to climb in front of me to help give me the visual motivation and pacing that I needed to reach the top. We finally arrived. The kids were waiting and cheered us on.  The views were incredible and well worth the effort. 

So what kept me motivated to keep going?

There were a few things . . .

First there was the accountability piece: people were waiting for me. Secondly, the goal was within reach. It required that I push myself beyond my normal limits to get there. Isn’t that often the case? We’re so close to our goal and then we just give up. Yet when we do push through, it feels exhilarating. Lastly, there was the celebration. The woohooing, cheering and picture taking helped to commemorate the goal. When we’re struggling with motivation, our goal isn’t always so clear. The next time I’m feeling challenged, I’m going to conjure up images of climbing Champlain Mountain along with that wonderful feeling of making it to the top. We often need to reach beyond our comfort zone to arrive at our destination.

Do you have an image or story that you use to help motivate you? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation!

Isn’t time interesting in that we identify it using certain markers? Our markers can include annual traditions like the arrival of birthday cards or preparing supplies for the new school year. Time markers can be from big life events like births, graduations, or moves. Time markers can even include things like our daily wake-up alarms or buzzers ringing when the cookies are done baking.

One of the time markers that have delighted me for the past several years is the blooming of the hydrangeas. They are the visual punctuation, which lets me know that my special vacation at the beach with my girlfriends has arrived. It’s a time to relax, to reconnect, and to enjoy doing and not doing. It’s a time to have fun, to be silly, and also engage in reflective thoughts and conversations.

There are many different types of time markers and ways to honor or recognize the passage and meaning of time. There are also ways that we purposefully want to lose track of time like when we sleep or when we’re on vacation.

My husband recently shared with me an interesting tool from timeanddate.com that helps you measure time from when something happened to a certain date (like today.) I can see this being useful in many instances, especially because we often forget things like how long we’ve been married or lived in our homes or have been at a job or in business. I don’t know about you, but the longer I live, the harder it is to fathom how long I’ve been doing certain things. Using the tool, I confirmed that . . .

• 33 years and 10 days ago I was married
• 26 years, 1 month, and 28 days ago I became a mom
• 23 years, 5 months, and 28 days ago I launched Oh, So Organized!
• 1 year, 11 months, and 28 days ago I became President of ICD (Institute for Challenging Disorganization)
• 3 days from now I’ll become Immediate Past President of ICD

What I do know is that time goes all too quickly. It’s important to savor the moments, to celebrate the markers, to be mindful of the present. Before you know it days will pass, then years, then decades. Life is a wonderful journey with many bumps along the way. Enjoy the joys and the challenges.

What time markers have you noticed? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation!

You know what happens when you go, go, go? You get burned out, out, out. So I’d say that my motivation to slow down is pretty darn high right now because I’ve been on the go for a long stretch…a very long stretch.

Here’s the good news. I’ve planned some time off to slow my motor. Yet, as I write this in advance of our mini vacation so that it will post while I’m off the grid, I’m still in the go, go, go mode. As a matter of fact, after I write this post I need to write my pack list and pack. And before I wrote this I had a client that needed organizing help, an interview to finish writing, bills to pay, errands to run, emails to respond to, and a rental car to return. I bet this sounds all too familiar, right?

I won’t tell you what time it is, but let’s just say, it’s late. I’ve had a bit too much caffeine today. That in combination with the adrenaline pumping will give me enough energy to sprint some more. Then I can shift into low gear. I’m looking forward to changing my pace.

The point is that I am highly motivated to slow down. I’ve been pushing and doing and doing some more. It’s time for a break. It’s time to not do. It’s time to enjoy our family and suspend all agendas and to do lists.

I’m looking forward to our road trip to the mountains where we’ll meet up with our daughters. By the time you read this, I will have had days of unwinding, decompressing, relaxing, and unplugging. I might be unrecognizable. Let’s hope so. What will relaxed look and feel like?

How about you? Will you take off time this summer? What motivates you to change your pace? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation.