Life Organized Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 43 - When Your Personality Gets In The Way Of Getting Organized Jul 12, 2023

Show notes

Have you ever wondered why some people can be haunted by a sink full of dirty dishes - and others walk right past it without even noticing it? Is it simply a matter of habits? Or does personal play a bigger part than we give it credit for?

In this episode Laurie Palau from SimplyBOrganized.com shares how she uses the Enneagram personality test to help her clients find ways to get organized based on their unique personalities. With greater awareness of unconscious motivators and tendencies, we can know ahead of time how to set ourselves up for success - and give ourselves grace for the ways that organization might not exactly come naturally.

And because I know you’ll want this recap, I’m going to share the 9 Enneagram personality types here:

Type 1: The Reformer (perfectionistic and self-controlled)
Type 2: The Helper (Caring, people-pleasing)
Type 3: The Achiever (Success-oriented, driven)
Type 4: The Individualist (Creative, sensitive)
Type 5: The Investigator (Intense, cerebral)
Type 6: The Loyalist (Committed, responsible)
Type 7: The Enthusiast (Fun-loving, spontaneous)
Type 8: The Challenger (Decisive, confrontational)
Type 9: The Peacemaker (Easygoing, agreeable)

If you’re anything like me, you’re immediately starting to identify not only your own type, but the types you see in your family and other close relationships. But hold up - before you start trying to crack the code on everyone else, Laurie recommends we first learn more about how the enneagram personality test can help us understand ourselves. Consistent with our Life Organized membership strategy, we are in a much better position to help others when we have first organized our own clutter - including the unfair ways we might be judging ourselves.

So what do we DO about all of this?

Get to know your personality type. Read through the different Enneagram types and see what feels like a fit. (Laurie finds that this can be more effective than taking a test.) Get even more clarity by asking yourself if you make decisions based on thought, feeling, or action. Now…head over to Simply B Organized and use code HAPPY20 for 20% off Laurie’s amazing program that can help you get organized in a way that works for you.

Links:

Enneagram personality test
Making The Best Of Your Core Type - use code HAPPY20 for 20% off

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“Are things starting to click for you? Help this podcast reach others by leaving a 5 Star rating and review on your favorite listening app! (Thanks in advance!).” –Jenny

Ep. 42 - When The Kids Are Bored Jul 05, 2023

Show notes

Links For This Episode:

Tools For When Your Kids Are Bored, free

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We're midway into the summer - the honeymoon is over...

Kids are getting bored, fights are breaking out, and summer is starting to feel LONG.

But contrary to what the kids think, the real problem is not the lack of things to do –what we need to solve for is imbalance…

…because, just like us, kids feel better when they are living an organized life, and that means striking the right balance of work and play.

So right now is a great time for a summer reset. How can you plan activities, goals, and adventures that will really hit the mark? As Steven Covey says, we don’t want to climb all the way up a ladder just to realize that it was leaned up against the wrong wall – and too often our summer planning, though well-intended, doesn’t include things the kids are genuinely interested in (or want to support.). It’s important to do a little market research to get the kids’ buy in, so they are invested and excited about the activities that are meant to be fun and restore that much-needed balance.

But it’s also not just about fun. Summer can be an ideal time to learn essential life skills. With a little bit of thought and planning, you can be prepared for the long afternoons by teaching the kids home management, financial, and other personal skills that no one has time for during a busy school year.

And if you’d like a little help, message the word BORED to @jlthehappygal on Instagram, or click HERE, and I’ll send you a worksheet that will help the kids brainstorm all the fun things they’d like to learn and do this summer. These 4 thought provoking questions will help you understand what your kids really want this summer and make it easy for you to design activities that they will be eager to support. I’ll also send you THE PLAN – my personal list of age-appropriate skills that you can turn to when you know the kids need to learn and be productive.

Summer is a whole different ball game, and you can control the tempo much better when you’ve designed it with intention. Bored kids means imbalanced kids, and it is your job to help them become more aware of why they are feeling this way. Design your summer with some fun and some learning to minimize boredom…and you’ll create a summer they won’t forget!

Links For This Episode:

Tools For When Your Kids Are Bored, free

Ep. 41 - When You Get Home From Vacation Jun 28, 2023

Show notes

Have you ever come home from vacation and faced such a mountain of catch-up, so much that the trip almost doesn’t seem worth it?

I remember hearing once that you should expect catching up from a vacation to take at least as many days as the trip itself.

Well, I disagree.

There are two strategic times you can make big strides in vacation recovery, so you can be back up and running as soon as the next day. Join me in this episode for my tried and true tips, and or click HERE for a copy of my Vacation Recovery checklists.

Links from this episode:

Get Organized Fast – Your FREE guide to organize your home, time, and mindset
Vacation Recovery Checklist, free

Ep. 40 - When You Need A Little Self Care Jun 21, 2023

Show notes

At the time this episode is posted, we find ourselves in the heart of a family season… which might mean that your reservoir of self-care is running pretty dry. But the Chinese yin/yang symbol is a perfect metaphor for balance, teaching us that in the middle of one extreme we crave its opposite. That means that what might be missing from your summer right now is the kind of self-care that we give ourselves in a personal season.

So how do we do that in the summer, when there isn’t much time and everyone is competing for our attention? We implement one of my favorite tools, Power Hour, and create small, imperfect habits to nourish mind, body, and spirit.

In this episode I share the what, when, and how of implementing Power Hour, as well as a powerful new way to move forward in self-care habits.

For full show notes, click HERE.

Links:

Tools Taught In This Episode:

Power hour
Physiology before psychology
Keystone habits
It doesn’t have to look a certain way
Floors/ceilings
“Give me 6 hours to chop down a tree, and I’ll spend the first 4 sharpening the axe.” – Abraham Lincoln
“I’ve found that the more I expect of myself, the less I actually do.” – Stephen Guise, author of Mini Habits

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“Are things starting to click for you? Help this podcast reach others by leaving a 5 Star rating and review on your favorite listening app! (Thanks in advance!).” –Jenny

Ep. 39 - When Things Don’t Go As Planned Jun 14, 2023

Show notes

Well, as John Lennon said, “Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans.” There are plenty of ways we get to experience “life,” and the inspiration for this particular episode came to me as I was sitting on the front porch of our Airbnb home, looking out at the lake instead of boating on it, because our boat broke.

It was so tempting to sink into disappointment and negativity, because my brain wanted to keep telling me “We should be out on the water right now,” but that thought just led me to a vacation experience that I didn’t enjoy. So whether it is a vacation - or something different, like relationships, finances, health, or even as simple as your plan for your day - our brains have a tendency to generate a lot of clutter (in the form of negative thoughts) when things don’t go as planned.

Thoughts have power, and as I give you a glimpse into my vacation that didn’t go as planned, we really investigate the idea that “Your thoughts call the shots.”

In this episode we talk about using one specific tool to shift the way you experience things not going as planned, and this is something you’ll want to keep in your back pocket so you can pull it out when you need it. Download this episode and have it at the ready, because, as John Lennon said, life is just a series of events that happen instead of what we were planning on.

Tools Taught In This Episode:

When things don’t go as planned, identify the most troubling thought, and then sidestep it. Immediately look for ways to shift into gratitude for what IS happening.
Do you want to be right? Or do you want to be happy?

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“Are things starting to click for you? Help this podcast reach others by leaving a 5 Star rating and review on your favorite listening app! (Thanks in advance!).” –Jenny

Ep. 38 - When You Need A Little Boost Jun 07, 2023

Show notes

Wouldn’t it be nice to wake up every morning in a good mood? Or just have an extra boost of optimism or energy in your day? Subconsciously we are always looking for pick-me-ups that can do just that – and we often turn to spending money or snacking on junk food for that quick boost. But there is something we can do to experience a happier state more regularly – and that is to organize our home.

“A rising tide raises all boats,” and the state of our homes can be much like a rising or falling tide – we go up or down as our home vacillates between organized and unorganized. There is so much power in making this connection, because we can consciously design our lives to include more organization, so we can regularly experience that little boost.

In this episode, I share 3 easy ways we can organize more often, so we can give ourselves that little boost.

Create a routine, or regular time, to do organizing projects.
Turn to organizing in moments when you feel imbalanced our out of control
Bust some clutter every day with my Clutter Busters technique

Links:

Ep. 37 - When Your Kids Want Screens During The Summer May 31, 2023

Show notes

As we head into summer, kids and screen time might be on your mind. And that’s exactly why I interviewed Andrea Davis from betterscreentime.com. Andrea's mission is to teach parents how to worry less about technology and connect more with their kids. And what better time to focus on this than during the long days of summer that are around the corner?

Because kids’ brains are still developing, this is a particularly vulnerable time to place tech in their hands. That’s why it’s important to take an honest look at what is open and available in the cyberworld when you hand your children a device. Andrea suggests that you take the time to discuss with your kids what they love and don’t love about tech; when and where devices will be allowed; and installing passwords, protections, and limits to keep kids from accessing harmful material.

She also recommends designing your summer with intention as an alternative to screen time. This includes setting goals, teaching your kids important life skills, and keeping them busy with productive and engaging activities, which is exactly what my Organize Your Summer mini-course helps you to do. Healthy screen habits + Organize Your Summer make the perfect match!

Also in this episode, we talked about how technology can be viewed through the lens of the 3 C’s: Create, Connect, and Consume. Not all time spent on technology is to be avoided, as it assists you to be creative and also connect with family and friends. The 3rd C – Consume – is the aspect of technology that needs to be managed with time limits and boundaries.

And don’t you worry – there are plenty of tips for how to help teens with healthy screen use, especially when social media apps like snap chat appear to be a vital way they connect with their friends. Tactics such as installing an app on mom’s phone where it can be closely monitored, and choosing an app like Marco Polo that allows teens to connect with fewer true friends in a safe way rather than connecting with endless friends where dangers exist can help you navigate the tech journey with teens.

Andrea’s parting advice: Foster connection with your kids. Connecting one-on-one promotes strong relationships and good mental health, and also gives your kids a safe place to come when they do access something online that makes them uncomfortable.

What to do next:

Download Andrea’s FREE Quick Guide to Family Tech plan.
Check out Andrea’s Creating a Tech Healthy Family* (for families w/kids ages 5-13)
Or check out Untangling Teens and Tech* (for families w/teens ages 12-17)

*Use code HAPPY20 for a 20% discount, expires June 17, 2023.

Links:

Ep. 36 - When You Need To Organize Your Summer May 24, 2023

Show notes

Well, the last day of school is around the corner, and if you’re anything like my clients, you are feeling a little nervous about how this is all going to work once the kids are home for the summer…

…because it’s a big job. Entertaining the little ones, keeping a close eye on the big ones, staying on top of the never-ending stream of dirty dishes, and finding time to work, take care of yourself, or pretty much accomplish anything else.

If there is one magic bullet to help you organize your summer, it is the paradigm shift I am sharing in this episode.

The way you look at something really does make a difference – and this summer we need that difference!

So put in your air pods and walk your dog, fold the laundry, drive the carpool, or take a walk with me. Let’s spend a few minutes talking about how we can organize your summer.

“You will never have this summer with your children again. This summer is a gift. Breathe and notice. Study their little faces and feet. Relish the charms of the present. Enjoy this summer, Mama, it will be gone before you know it.” - Jen Hatmaker (edited)

Tools In This Episode:

Personal and Family Seasons

Links:

Ep. 35 - When You Need To Say No May 13, 2023

Show notes

Don’t you just hate that feeling that comes right after you say yes…when deep down you know you should have said no?

We’ve all been there.

You already have a busy day ahead, and your sister asks you to watch her kids that afternoon.

You’ve promised the kids you’ll take them swimming, but you hear yourself telling your boss you’ll have that project completed today.

Why do we do this?!

It’s not that saying yes is bad.

But we need an easy way to recognize when to say yes…and when to say no.

And that’s exactly what I give you in this episode.

It goes a little something like this:

“If I say yes to _______, I am saying no to ________”.

In this episode we will learn this mantra well - so you can avoid that awful moment when you should have said no - but didn’t.

And great news…you can get this tip as a friendly reminder on your phone right when you need it with the free download I'm offering at LifeOrganizedPodcast.com/no.

No more guilt. No more overwhelm. No more regret.

Just the peace of mind that comes with a well-timed no.

Links:

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“Are things starting to click for you? Help this podcast reach others by leaving a 5 Star rating and review on your favorite listening app! (Thanks in advance!).” –Jenny

Ep. 34 - When You Are A Mother May 10, 2023

Show notes

With Mother’s Day right around the corner, it seems fitting that we reflect about motherhood.

Lots of emotion around this subject, for sure.

Motherhood is equal parts difficult and amazing, and it’s pretty easy to feel like you’re not doing it right.

But in this episode I share an experience about how I stepped into my own as a mom.

It doesn’t look the way my mom did it.

And I realize now that that’s ok.

In this episode I share a mantra that has been a game changer for me - and hopefully it will be for you, too.

So this episode is my Mother’s Day gift to you.

Whatever it is you can give is exactly what your kids need from you.

Links:

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“Are things starting to click for you? Help this podcast reach others by leaving a 5 Star rating and review on your favorite listening app! (Thanks in advance!).” –Jenny

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