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Five ideas for staying motivated!

Now that January has come to a close is it starting to feel really hard to stay motivated? Here are my five ideas to keep you on track.

Are you struggling to keep your motivation?

Perhaps you made a resolution at the the beginning of the the year or set yourself a goal during lockdown but are finding your motivation is waning.

It’s been a strange time hasn’t it? We’ve been through a stressful season and are still facing lots of change and uncertainty. I think we can all forgive ourselves if we’ve taken things a bit slower and changed our focus to get through the hard times.

Don’t get frustrated that you’re not where you expected to be. Be kind to yourself. Accept where you are, then decide that you don’t have to stay here!

Strategies to help you achieve your goals!

I’ve used the strategies below to staying motivated during my fitness journey. I think you’ll find at least one that will help you with your goal too! Here are the valuable lessons I’ve learned getting started and keeping going with a goal.

I hadn’t worked out for a while and I was feeling lazy. The problem was; I’d stopped my routine and had lost all motivation. I’d fallen into a routine that was comfortable; I quite liked being in with my family every night, hanging out in front of the TV and not having to get up early for gym classes. At the same time, I felt guilty for not doing anything to stay health but it felt like a big task to try to fit workouts into my schedule again. I didn’t really want to get out there in the cold or get up stupidly early for a class and I couldn’t really face it.

Go on, Eat the Frog!
Mark Twain

I knew I needed to get creative, dig deep and just get on with it before I regretted my decision to not take action forever! Try out the following tactics that I used for staying motivated:

Accountability

I committed to a personal trainer friend that I would follow a schedule and although I’d stopped, I recalled my commitment and this really helped. If you want to start an organising project tell someone, tell everyone, what you intend to do and by when. If you feel ok with it (you may be not be entirely comfortable) make a public declaration on social media or contact someone you know will hold you to your commitment.

Get clear on your goal

When I get stuck, I think about why I want it, what will I gain and what the end result be. I visualise the finish line, the crowds and the amazing sense of achievement I’ll feel, so that I know what I’m aiming for. For your decluttering project, you need to see the result for staying motivated – imagine the room you want to work on without the excess stuff in it. Walk around the room in your head, what will it look like, what will it feel like to be in that room, how will you be able to use that space? Why do you need this now and what difference will it make to you and your household?

Believe You Can and You’re Halfway There
Theodore Roosevelt

Get inspired

I’ve watched documentaries about amazing people who run ultra-marathons. I don’t ever intend to do that myself but if it’s possible to achieve such amazing things with the human body surely I can manage to run for 25 minutes!

Read a book, find images or quotes that make you feel positive about your process or watch a film or TV show like Marie Kondo’s Tidying Up series to see what’s possible.

Create a plan

A plan with target dates or deadlines is great for staying motivated – I decided I want to exercise 2-3 times per week but keep my weekends free. I plan ahead each week and put the time in my diary so I know when and what time I’ll be exercising. You could create a plan outlining the actions you need to take, decide what date you want to be finished and block out time in your diary for the activities (preparation, decluttering session(s), charity shop runs etc) you need to carry out to complete on time.

Gain Support

I agree with my husband the days that work well for him to do the school run, and what commitments he has, so that I can easily plan my exercise routine. I regularly run with a friend so am committed to helping her keep fit and I ask my husband to give me encouragement when I’m tempted to cancel a session. When planning your declutter task, ask for help – ask a friend, family member or search for a ‘Professional Organiser near me’ to provide support. If you don’t need anyone to help you, you may still want someone to give you encouragement, enquire how you are doing and give you moral support when the going gets tough. It’s great help for staying motivated.

You don’t have to do this alone in-fact you’ll be so much more successful if you visualise your success and draw on others to support you. If you need expert advice or practical support, I’m here for you!

About OrganisedWell

Would you like help getting organised?

Laura Williams, Founder and Professional Organiser

If you need guidance, ideas and practical support to make more of your home, organise your possessions in a way that supports your best life or to get started with your decluttering project, then give me a call.

I provide tailored advice and practical support to clients looking to make changes, to create calm, ordered space and free up time and money to focus on the important things in life.
I specialise in organising rooms, garages, wardrobes, paperwork and much more; see my services or get in touch.

How to start your New Year declutter!

It’s a New Year and a great opportunity for a fresh start. If you’re keen to be better organised this year you’ll need to start with a New Year declutter; let me show you how!

If you’re keen to be better organised this year you’ll need to start with a New Year declutter; let me show you how!

Welcome 2019; it’s a New Year and an opportunity for a fresh start! Clearing out the old, unloved items and things that are no longer useful is a great way to set you up for the year ahead. You will gain more space, greater clarity and focus, a calmer environment and become more conscious about what you bring into your home. You will also save yourself time, money and effort finding the things that you do need.

What is decluttering?

Decluttering is the process of removing the possessions that are piled up or stuffed in drawers and cupboards, filling your home and your head with physical and mental noise, but no longer adding value to your life. Think of the items that are no longer useful or loved, old or broken, that you know you should do something with but haven’t got to or can’t face making a decision about.

A great way to set yourself up for change is to tidy away the old and pass on the things that you no longer need.

My 5-step guide to starting your New Year declutter!

Before you start any practical work, you need to get clear on what you want to achieve and why. Try to visualise what you want your home to look and feel like. What benefits will this change bring you and your family? This vision will help to guide your approach and keep you motivated when it feels hard!

Prepare your space; make sure you have some space to spread things out in front of you. Have bags ready for donations, recycling and rubbish.
Start with a small task that will be easy to achieve or feel like you’ve made a difference. It may not seem worth it but starting small gives you the fundamentals for good organisation.
Your pen pot is a great place to start. Pens clutter every room but you can never find one when you need it. It’s a quick task and will save you time everyday. Zip round the house and gather all pens in one place. Pick up each one (therefore connecting with each item) and test it’s value (does it still work/do you love it?)
Practice your decision making skills – if it is no longer useful or you don’t love it, can you foresee needing to use it in the next 6-12 months? If not, someone else could benefit from it; do you want to sell or donate it?
For items you choose to keep, decide where it should live in your home. Giving it a home will enable you to tidy it away easily and find it again when you need it

Congratulations you’ve achieved your first declutter task! It may not feel huge but you’ve started on your journey. Celebrate! Go for a walk, have a cup of tea, read a chapter of your book (guilt free).

Now pick another small task and repeat!

Here are 10 other quick declutter tasks you might like to try.

Kitchen cutlery drawer
Underwear drawer
T-shirt drawer
Under the bed
Desk drawer
Cupboard under the sink
Bathroom cabinet
Towel cupboard
Shoe collection
Coats

If you struggle to get started or staying motivated ask for help. A friend or relative may be able to help. If you need expert advice or practical support, I’m here! Call me on 07970 989955.

About OrganisedWell

Would you like help getting organised?

I provide tailored advice and practical support to clients looking to make changes, to create calm, ordered space and free up time and money to focus on the important things in life. I specialise in organising rooms, garages, wardrobes, paperwork and much more; see my services or get in touch.

As Featured!

We’ve been busy sharing ideas and inspiration. Visit out As Featured page to see and hear what we’ve been up to!

Sunday Evening Organising

There never seems to be enough time in my week for everything I want to achieve so I love it when I find a hack for getting ahead!

Avoid Disorganised Monday Mornings

There never seems to be enough time in my week for everything I want to achieve so I love it when I find a hack for getting ahead!

Don’t you hate it when you always feel on the back foot; your morning is a crazy rush, whilst trying to get ready yourself, you dig out a school uniform only to find that there isn’t a clean school cardigan. You play hunt the school shoes with your youngest when you really need to be leaving the house and when you finally get out of the door, you realise you’ve left a bag behind.

During the day, your diary pops up a reminder for an event that you didn’t realise was coming up and haven’t prepared for, so you end up rushing to get prepared. You also need to zip round and sort out the house as you realise your friend is popping round for a coffee after school pick up. Later in the day your hungry family come back from work and school and are asking what’s for dinner. You haven’t had the head space to plan anything or shop for any ingredients.

Six Sunday Evening Organising Tips

Here are my 6 top tips for getting organised on a Sunday evening so that you’re well prepared for the week ahead.

Review your diary

Review your plans for the week ahead so that you know what’s coming up. Add time for any preparation and to complete any related tasks

Meal Plan

Make a meal plan for the week. That way you don’t need to think about dinner after your busy working day and when everyone is starving. We have a dry wipe board attached to the inside of a kitchen cabinet – we can open the door to review it whenever needed and whip it out to rewrite at the end of each week

Shopping List

Now you have a meal plan you can also make a food shopping list using a corner of the white board. You can take a photo or copy into your phone when you are ready to go to the shops.

Prepare Outfits

Put out children’s school uniform and your work outfits ready for the following morning.

Pack Bags

Ensure school, PE kit and work bags are packed, and coats and shoes are all in the launch area (hall way). When my daughter was young, I added a child height hook in the hallway so that she could be involved in managing her things. She felt so proud to be able to get her coat down from the hook and check everything she needed was in her school bag ready to leave the house!

Quick Tidy

Have a quick tidy round the house; recycle any kids drawings (unless they are special – pop those in your keep sake box), papers, notices (you’ve either actioned them or added them to your to do list, right!), magazines (if you’ve not read them by now – skim them to establish if they contain any articles you want to read, otherwise recycle). Pop dishes in the dishwasher or give them a quick wash. Return things back to where they belong and take with you anything that belongs upstairs.

Now you are much better organised for your week!

You might also like to read my recent blog where I share ideas on how to automate, simplify and schedule to make life run a little smoother.

Would you like help getting organised?

We provide tailored advice and practical support to clients looking to make changes, to create calm, ordered space and free up time and money to focus on the important things in life. We specialise in organising rooms, garages, wardrobes, paperwork and much more; see our services or get in touch.

book a free enquiry call with Laura

Buying Feels Good but Holding On is the Problem

It’s easy to buy more things (and get a real buzz from bagging a bargain) so it’s not surprising that we accumulate so much in our homes. As we accumulate more we also need to manage our storage and declutter more frequently to avoid being overwhelmed by stuff.

In today’s world the Consumer rules; it’s so easy to buy anything and everything to meet our wants and needs. Often we don’t really even need the item but it makes us feel good to buy something new. It’s amazing how we can buy clothing, easy-build furniture, electronics and goods from all over the world and have them arrive at our home within a few days. We don’t even need to leave the comfort of our own home to make the order.

I’m often asked how we can prevent this overwhelm so I’m sharing my top tips to help manage possessions.

Top Tips For Avoiding the Overwhelming Build up of Possessions

Be mindful about what you bring into your home

Consider your motivation for buying that new item. Do you already have a similar item at home? Do you really need it? Why do you need it? What will you gain from purchasing the item (and does the desire to purchase it outweigh the space that it will take up in your home)?

Think Before You Buy

If replacing items that are old or damaged, before you think about buying new, explore if it’s possible to repair the item before you purchase another. If you need to buy new, always ensure that you remove the old item – avoid the temptation to put it to one side and deal with it later. Recycle, donate, throw away asap – you already decided that it needs to go when you replaced it!

Can you Repair It?

Clothes purchases; consider if you can repair damage or have ill-fitting clothes adjusted. Review your wardrobe before shopping so that you know what you have and can avoid buying duplicates or similar items by mistake. If you still want to buy new clothes, ensure that you remove something that is now out of fashion or doesn’t fit as you’re adding the new item to your wardrobe. Sticking to a one-in-one-out rule will really help you to focus on maintaining rather than growing your wardrobe.

Cool Down Period

Test yourself. If you just have to have it, maybe a cool down period of a day or two will help you clarify whether you really need it or are just feeling that initial passion. It’s easy to be seduced by clever marketing and pricing strategies that create that feeling that you must have it there and then or you might miss out if you don’t! I find taking a photo and walking away a great strategy. I give myself a few days and if I still have to have it, then I go back for it.

We will always buy new things, but the key to successfully managing the flow of possessions is to consider purchases carefully and remove unwanted items to make space for the new.

If you would like support decluttering your home of those old purchases contact me. I’m based in Nottingham, work all over the Midlands, and can be part of your support network!

Book a Free Enquiry call with me at www.calendly.com/organisedwell/enquiry

UPDATE: I went clothes shopping and thought I’d share how I ensure that I don’t get wardrobe overload!