Ep 29: From Chaos to Control: How to Better Organize Your Space, Data, and Belongings

Wow, I can’t believe it. This is the last episode of our second season of Focus Forward. We started the season off with Rachel Hulstein-Lowe who joined me to talk about transitions and how to make them a little easier. We explored memory, college students, grief, cognitive flexibility, and much, much more. You supported us by downloading our new episodes, reviewing us on apple podcasts and Spotify, sending me emails of support, and subscribing to our podcast newsletter. My heart is truly full from it all. Thank you! We'll be back with more episodes for you early this fall 🍁 In the meantime....

Today, we’re ending season two with an exploration of a really important Executive Function skill - organization. Although there are many dimensions to organization, I’ve dedicated this episode to just three that are particularly important: space, data, and belongings. Discover new strategies, approaches, and tools you can use to become more organized and live a more fulfilling life overall!

Thank you again for your support and for being part of the Focus Forward community! Here are the show notes from today’s episode:

Finding Motivation to Get Organized

Decisional Balance Sheet for helping make a decision to change behavior: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Uwhjq0HZhGUdr6_Pfpq5U2flPjdb5jcLGmA54HNiO_c/edit?usp=sharing

Cassandra Aarsen’s Organization Quiz: Clutterbug.me

How to Help Your Child Get Organized: https://www.beyondbooksmart.com/executive-functioning-strategies-blog/how-to-help-your-child-get-organized

The Anxious, Stressed High School Student: An Executive Function Link: https://www.beyondbooksmart.com/executive-functioning-strategies-blog/the-anxious-stressed-high-school-student-an-executive-function-link

Gaining Calm by Organizing: How to Clear Your Space & Mind: https://www.beyondbooksmart.com/executive-functioning-strategies-blog/meditation-in-organization-how-to-clear-your-space-mind

Email Organization Inspiration

Best Practices for Outlook: https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/office/best-practices-for-outlook-f90e5f69-8832-4d89-95b3-bfdf76c82ef8

Get started with Gmail for Google Workspace: https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/9260550?hl=en

Sort’d, a Beyond BookSmart coach-recommended Chrome extension for Gmail organization: https://www.sortd.com/

Contact us!

Reach out to us at podcast@beyondbooksmart.com

IG/FB/TikTok @beyondbooksmartcoaching

Transcript

Wow, I can’t believe it. This is the last episode of our second season of Focus Forward. We started the season off with Rachel Hulstein-Lowe who joined me to talk about transitions and how to make them a little easier. We explored memory, college students, grief, cognitive flexibility, and much, much more. You supported us by downloading our new episodes, reviewing us on apple podcasts and spotify, sending me emails of support, and subscribing to our podcast newsletter. My heart is truly full from it all. Thank you! Today we’re ending season two with an exploration of a really important executive function skill - organization. A lot of what we see on social media and television might give the impression that organization is mostly arranging your stuff in rainbow order. I’m totally not dissing this - I’m always down for rainbow order, but it’s important to know that the EF skill of organization goes far, far beyond that.

Organized thoughts helps us get our needs met and our points across.

Organized writing helps the reader understand our message, gets better grades or more recognition at work and has a bigger impact on our audience.

Organized living and work spaces make it easier to find things which helps us stay more emotionally regulated and feel less stress or anxiety. I mean, have any of you felt like you’re gonna just lose it when you need to leave NOW and you can’t find your keys? That’s not just me, right?

When we are organized, we are able to work more efficiently and effectively and find it easier to get started on our work.

Organization keeps our computers and phones less full of digital clutter, leaving more storage space for the really important things.

Okay, I’ll stop now, but seriously, I could have a whole episode of me just listing all the ways that organization helps us. Because that would get boring and actually not be all that useful, today I’m going to narrow it down and just cover the skill of organizing our space, data, and belongings. I”ll take a look at three aspects of this: 1, how challenges with this aspect of organization can impact other EF areas, 2. What you can do before you get started with organization to make sure that your effort is really effective, and 3. Strategies that might help you get and stay organized.

How challenges with organization can impact other EF skills:

The impact of challenges with organization of our space, belongings, and data spread far beyond organization into other EF areas. Recognizing this impact can help you find the motivation to make some changes to the role organization plays in your life. Let’s take a look at some examples of how these challenges can play out.

Okay, so challenges with organization can make task initiation can be difficult. For example, if you know that it’s going to be a pain to find the paper you’ve been dreading working on because your schoolwork is not organized on your computer, it’s going to be all that much harder to get started. Or, if you need to work in your garden but your garden tools are not organized so you don’t know where your clippers or gloves are, it’s going to be much harder to get yourself out there to pull those weeds and harvest those beans. And this even applies to kids - I remember when my kids were little and the playroom was a big mess, they did not want to go in there to play, When we took the time to clean up at the end of each day, they were much more likely to go in and play the next day.

When our space and belongings are disorganized, it can impact our ability to pay attention and focus on what we’re doing. We might be trying to work but we get derailed when we have to stop to find things or get distracted by visual clutter on our desks. We can also miss important details when we’re not organized. Sometimes we may identify these struggles as just a focus problem, but you can see how your ability to focus and pay attention can be directly and negatively impacted by your stuff - tangible or digital.

Challenges with organization can also impact our time management. If we can’t find the thing we need to start, or it’s just too messy to get started, those activities will take way longer than we anticipate. With practice, we can generally predict how long certain activities will take, but we can’t predict how long it’ll take to find our car keys or clean off our desk. Starting from a place of organization makes it easier to more effectively manage our time.

And ultimately, struggling in many different EF areas will take a big hit on your confidence, self-esteem, and emotional regulation. Getting and staying organized won’t solve everything, but as we coaches see in our clients, it sure will help you feel better about yourself and reduce stress and anxiety, leaving more room in your brain and your physical space to work on other more rewarding stuff.

Okay, hopefully I’ve convinced you of the impact that challenges with organization can have on our lives. Let’s look at some actions we can take BEFORE we actually try to organize anything. I mean, you can jump ahead to putting things in rainbow order if you want, but I promise that if you take the time to do a little pre-game practice, you’ll be better at initiating and maintaining any organization system you set up for yourself.

A good starting place is to ask yourself “why?”. You’ve heard me talk about metacognition and the power of reflection before. Well, here’s a chance to practice it. It’s time to ask “Why are you motivated to get organized? Why are you even listening to this episode?” Simply asking the question can help start finding solutions that work. For me, much of my motivation is emotional regulation. You know my “can’t find your keys” example from earlier? I work very hard to stay organized so that I never have to deal with the emotional fall out from not being able to find something I need. It’s a big pet peeve of mine. And yes, I guess I could not have a system for keeping things organized and instead employ my emotional regulation strategies every time I can’t find my keys, but if I just stay more organized, then I naturally stay more regulated. Now, just ask my family how successful I am at knowing where my stuff is and not freaking out if I can’t find it….there may be some variance in answers, but I do think that I’ve really improved since I started working on it. Haha, if you’ve ever wondered if EF coaches are good at everything EF, well, here’s an example that proves we are not!

I learned a very cool tool from my colleague Lisa Wickenheiser, who will be sharing this as a coach panelist in our Back to School Relief Webinar next week on Wednesday, August 9. It’s called, “What? So What? Now What?”. Lisa explains “This tool can be tailored to individual needs; it can be as surface-level or deep as you’d like. The “What?” addresses the experience of the situation (what’s the context; what was the outcome; what was my role; how do I feel about it). The “So What?” allows us to consider the overall implications of all of those things. And the “What Next?” leads us to an action plan toward achievement.” I love this idea and can see how it can really help here. Try asking these questions in relation to your current organization system…..or lack thereof.

“What?” Might be “My room is so messy. I can’t see the floor because of all the clothes I didn’t put away.”

“So What” might be, “I can’t tell which clothes are clean or dirty so it’s taking me a long time to get ready in the morning which is making my parents mad”

“What Next” may lead to a decision - “it’s time to figure out a system for keeping my clothes organized and separated so I can find what I need when I need it. This could lead to me enjoying getting dressed instead of finding it stressful”

Let’s do another one.

“What?” might be “I have no system to organize my incoming work emails”

“So what?” might be “I’m missing important emails from my boss and this is holding up the project. It’s embarrassing and doesn’t reflect my true ability”

“What Next?” may lead to a plan for setting up email color coding, labels or folders and using filters. Also, setting aside time at the end of the workday to make sure nothing was overlooked.

Another tool that can help with making a decision about creating or changing your organization system is called the Decisional Balance Sheet. This tool is like a fancy pros and cons list. You create a matrix with Disadvantages and Advantages at the top and “changing” and “not changing” on the left. You then complete each corresponding quadrant, being sure to be really honest with yourself about changing and not changing how you approach organization. This tool can help you suss out why you are having trouble changing your organization system and help you find the motivation to change. If you’re more of a visual learner and you have no idea what I’m talking about, you can find a link in the show notes to an image so you can see what I mean.

Okay, one more before we move on to strategies. On her website clutterbug.me, organization expert Cassandra Aarssen has a great quiz that will tell you what kind of organization system might work best for you and will also help you understand why you might struggle with organization. She’s named the four types of organizers Bees, ladybugs, butterflies and crickets. Check it out! It’s fun and she’s really got some truly actionable suggestions and insight on what will work best for you. I took the quiz and it turns out I’m a cricket. If you take the quiz, email me and tell me what kind of bug you are!

Okay, so we’ve figured out why we want to make a change to our organization system and maybe what kind of bug we are. Now it’s time to take action. Or at least, time to start thinking about taking action.

Okay, so one thing that can get in the way of taking action is that there are about a billion ways to organize your stuff and not everything will work for everyone. It can be hard to know where to start. And sometimes what you try won’t be the right solution. And also, our needs change over time, so one thing might work for a while, but then suddenly, you’re struggling to keep up. I mean, even Marie Kondo had to admit that her system, which is fantastic, didn’t work as well for her once she had kids. But, don’t let that stop you, just try something, even if it’s a small change and then reflect on what does and doesn’t work and make changes from there. Hah, I’m making it sound easy. It’s not always easy, but try it! I’ll cheer you on!

Okay, so let’s check out a few strategies you might try.

A big challenge area for many students is backpack organization. Backpacks can be fun at first with all their pockets and zippers but it can also be overwhelming to manage it in an organized way. My best advice here is to keep any backpack organization system as simple as possible. Creating a list of what absolutely must go in your backpack is a good place to start. If you need to pack a small snack, period supplies, or other personal items, it can be helpful to contain those items in a smaller, zippered bag. Using folders or a binder to organize your class papers is key. And, again, simple is the way to go here. Try reducing the number of folders, notebooks or binders you carry. You may have to reassess and make changes to your schoolwork organization system after a couple weeks of school have passed, but starting from a place of simplicity is helpful. Another challenging aspect is maintaining the organization system you set up…..regularly cleaning out your backpack is a priority if you want it to stay organized. Stacking this habit with another one that you already do regularly can make it a little easier. And, as parents, we can scaffold our children’s habit-building by helping them clean out their backpacks at first and then backing off, little by little, until they’re ready to take it on themselves. A strategy we teach our school-aged clients is to treat their backpacks like a best friend. It may sound silly, but these bags really do support us like a best friend would. And best friends need love, kindness, and respect. How can we show this to our backpacks?

Okay, here’s a email and data organization tool from one of my adult clients, Michael. The second example I gave for the “What? So What? Now What?” tool was pulled directly from Michael’s experience. He was missing really important work emails and this was holding up projects and important processes. He also felt like it was not representative of his ability. Michael had already set up filters and color-coded flags on his incoming emails, but sometimes the important ones were still slipping through the cracks. After acknowledging that he IS human and this will happen sometimes, we started working on a system that could reduce the number of times it does happen. You might think his missing emails stems from challenges with attention, but what we determined was that he did not have an organized system for managing those emails and tasks. We borrowed an idea from James Clear in his book, Atomic Habits - he suggests thinking about “resetting” your space at the end of the day or when you’re done doing something so it’s ready for you the next time you enter that space. Michael created an “end of day reset”, we call it EDR for short. He made a list of all the things he could do at the end of a work day to set himself up for success the next day. He goes through his emails, checks his meeting notes for action items, makes sure any documents he created are filed correctly, and makes a list of what he needs to work on the next day, prioritizing the important tasks. He set a reminder to pop up on his computer at 4:30. The reminder has a list of the EDR steps for additional support and to lighten his mental load. Whenver I check in with Michael at a coaching session about his EDR and how it’s working for him, the look of happiness, relief, and satisfaction on his face tells me everything I need to know. This resetting strategy can be used for your physical space, too. Resetting my desk is how I end every work day. I know how much of a difference it makes for me the next day. I use that feeling as motivation to do it, even when I just want to be done.

A third tool that can be used by students and adults is the 3 tier file system. The name comes from those tiered racks you can keep on your desk to organize and file your papers, but the concept can apply to both our physical or digital stuff. Categorize things into three tiers or groups - papers can be grouped into need now, need later, recycling. That stuff in your basement? Keep, Donate, Throw away. Your kids’ clothes? What fits now, What they’ll grow into, and what to pass on to others. Keep it simple with three categories and you’ll find it easier to use.

Okay, so now that we’ve got our stuff organized, how do we maintain it? This is often the hardest part of managing the EF skill of organization. You can use reminders on your phone or computer, ask for help from a family member, friend, or your coach, put out visual reminders like a post-it note, stack what you need to do with another habit you’re already good at remembering to do, or remind yourself of why you want to stay organized to motivate yourself to keep up with it.

Whatever you do to remind yourself to keep up with your system, your organization system will be much easier to maintain if it’s as simple as is possible while still meeting your needs. Systems that require too much physical or mental effort or rely solely on your memory to operate will likely not be successful for the long-term. Lowering the cognitive or mental load of your system is helpful - you can do this by using color coding (rainbow order, people!), reminders, reusable lists, or some other order that makes sense to your brain. Basically, you want the system to be as accessible in the most time efficient way for you and your needs.

And, as I mentioned, asking for help can make a big difference. Maybe a friend or family member can help you clean out your room. A colleague or your boss could help you design a system to manage your work. As executive function coaches, organization is often a challenge area for our clients - we see that it really does help to have a person in your life who can give you some new ideas and inspiration and then add some accountability for you on top of that. In addition to support from real live people, you can also look online for help - pinterest is a great resource for inspiration. There are also a million blog posts and books you can read, shows you can watch.

Okay, that’s our show for today. I kind of feel like I’m leaving you in the lurch because there are so many other amazing strategies out there for organizing our space and data, but as always, I know you’ve got other stuff to go out and do today. A million thanks to all of you listeners who have joined me this second season. If you have any feedback or topic requests, please email me at podcast at beyondbooksmart.com. I’d love to hear from you. We’ll be back in October, celebrating ADHD Awareness month. We’ve got some good shows in the works for our third season and I can’t wait to share them with you.

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