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Three Ways to Make Meetings More Productive
Could this have been an email?
Photo by Canva.
Every Thursday, I share one action, habit, or project you may want to undertake in order to improve your health, happiness, and sense of well-being.
If you are finding value in our PROJECT OF THE WEEK Newsletter, we would greatly appreciate it if you would spread the word. Your friends and family can click HERE to sign-up.
PROJECT OF THE WEEK
Three Ways to Make Meeting More Productive
A few weeks ago, we discussed the value of having weekly family meetings in order to help even the most organized parents feel less overwhelmed and overworked.
Meetings often feel like a necessary evil. But they don't have to.
By putting a little thought, structure and intention into your meetings, they can become a fun and effective way to collaborate and move projects forward.
Before we discuss how to make meetings more productive, we need to recognize that every meeting doesn't necessarily need to remain a meeting.
Getting Started
We’ve all seen the memes on social media with the caption: This could have been an email.
But really, can the problem you are working to solve, be accomplished with a simple, straightforward email or phone call?
Don't be afraid to ask the question, "Is this meeting even necessary?"
Okay, you’ve decided a meeting is necessary. Here are three ways to stay on topic and on target for a productive meeting:
1. Set Time Limits on your Meetings
However long you set a meeting to last, is how long it will last. A 60-minute meeting is often no more effective than a 30-minute meeting. In fact, it may be less effective.
Consider what you need to accomplish in the meeting and then set the time. If you feel like you do need an hour to meet, it may be more effective to set the meeting for 45 minutes and then give everyone the last 15 minutes to type up what their action items are and take care of some immediate follow-ups.
This strategy can be great for phone calls too. If you need to call someone that can be challenging to get off the phone, let them know right off the bat that you only have 15 minutes to chat before your next commitment.
2. Create an Agenda
Regardless of whether you are running the meeting or just attending, it's important to write down both your questions and your objectives for the meeting. This will assure that you get what you need from the time you dedicated to the meeting.
3. Be Present for your Meetings
Don't multitask. Meetings are not a time to answer emails or work on other things. When we multi-task, we are clearly not present for the meeting we are attending and we are simultaneously not accomplishing other quality work.
PRO Tip: If a meeting is necessary, how often should you meet?
Is having a daily 45 Minute Team Meeting with your employees the best way to check in? Or is there a better way to be aware of what your employees are working on and how you can support them? Maybe the 45 Minute Daily Team Meeting turns into a 15 Minute Daily Team Huddle that is focused on building relationships and morale. In addition, you schedule Weekly 1:1 Meetings with each employee.
Depending on where you work, who your boss is, and how much control you have over your role will affect how much you can shape your work day. Remember - it’s always important to manage up, too.
Ready to Get Started?
If you feel excited about implementing this strategy and want some additional accountability and support to get started, the It’s All in the Planning Starter Pak was designed for you!
A Note from Happy Spaces
The goal is to add value to your life. If you think this project will add value:
Estimate how long you think it will take. I would recommend doubling the time you estimate.
Look at your calendar over the next week and pick a date and time to get started.
Make an appointment on your calendar for the estimated time.
If you estimate that completing this project will take longer than one hour, I recommend doing it over multiple days. This will support you in getting started!
Prior to starting this project, take a few minutes to make a step-by-step list of EVERY action you need to take to complete this project.
It's not all or nothing. You can choose to implement only the parts of this project that add value to your life.
An Accountability Partner can be a great support in following through on your goals and commitments.
We understand how challenging it can be to implement new habits and systems. For additional support please go to HappySpacesBySarah.com.
Creating a life you don't need a vacation from! ®
Sincerely,
Sarah Weingarten
Meet Sarah
Growing up as the oldest of nine siblings in Upstate New York, I learned to use organization to create sanity among the chaos. Today, I work together with individuals, families, and small businesses to create habits, systems, and spaces that support their needs, goals, and dreams. Clients often refer to our work together as "life-changing" and "better than decades of therapy". What I love most about my work is the lasting impact it has on real people's lives. Nothing makes me happier than hearing the many success stories of clients I have worked with.
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Do your kids have chores?
A little perspective could make your kids’ chores go a long way.
Photo by Canva.
Every Thursday, I share one action, habit, or project you may want to undertake in order to improve your health, happiness, and sense of well-being.
If you are finding value in our PROJECT OF THE WEEK Newsletter, we would greatly appreciate it if you would spread the word. Your friends and family can click HERE to sign-up.
PROJECT OF THE WEEK
Do Your Kids Have Chores?
Recently, someone asked one of my kids if they have chores.
She quickly replied. "No, I would hate that!"
I couldn't help but smile.
She was right. We don't have chores in our house.
We do have family responsibilities.
Everyone is responsible for cleaning up after themselves and supporting "the team.”
Everyone cleans up what they take out.
Everyone clears their own plate.
Everyone cleans the table where they eat.
Everyone puts their dirty clothes in their hamper.
Everyone hangs their wet towel.
I am sure you get the idea.
By everyone doing their fair share, there isn't much left over.
Why am I sharing this?
This is a great example of why it's so important to think about the words we choose and the perspective we take.
The same kid who said she would hate chores, rarely complains about her family responsibilities.
My guess is the girls are proud to fulfill their family responsibilities. They love showing everyone their rooms. They appreciate the fact that they can always find things when they take the time to put them away in the right place. They enjoy the structure of their day.
Their family responsibilities are quick and simple and yet allow our house to run smoothly.
Getting Started
This week’s getting started is all about your language. How can a change in verbiage or perspective help you or your family?
Is there a new habit you have been working on implementing or a project that has stalled? Or, are there repeated arguments over the same topic?
One of my favorite ways to change perspectives is to shift my words, which in turn shifts my thinking. Instead of saying, “I have to…” try “I get to…”.
Below are a few examples:
I have to wake up at 5:30 AM --> I get to wake up at 5:30 AM and enjoy my coffee while journaling.
I have to write a blog entry today --> I am lucky to create a new blog about something I am passionate about.
I have to go to the gym today --> I am lucky to have a body that is strong and healthy enough to work out.
I can't eat carbs --> I get to feel better and have less stomach aches by not eating carbs.
Try implementing this with your kids, too.
When your daughter complains about doing her laundry, try shifting her perspective to, “I get to help with laundry so that my mom and I can spend more time together.”
Same idea with setting the table for dinner, “I am lucky to be able to set our table and enjoy dinner with my family.”
Let us know how changing your perspective has positively influenced your life.
Ready to Get Started?
If you feel excited about implementing this strategy and want some additional accountability and support to get started, the It’s All in the Planning Starter Pak was designed for you!
A Note from Happy Spaces
The goal is to add value to your life. If you think this project will add value:
Estimate how long you think it will take. I would recommend doubling the time you estimate.
Look at your calendar over the next week and pick a date and time to get started.
Make an appointment on your calendar for the estimated time.
If you estimate that completing this project will take longer than one hour, I recommend doing it over multiple days. This will support you in getting started!
Prior to starting this project, take a few minutes to make a step-by-step list of EVERY action you need to take to complete this project.
It's not all or nothing. You can choose to implement only the parts of this project that add value to your life.
An Accountability Partner can be a great support in following through on your goals and commitments.
We understand how challenging it can be to implement new habits and systems. For additional support please go to HappySpacesBySarah.com.
Creating a life you don't need a vacation from! ®
Sincerely,
Sarah Weingarten
Meet Sarah
Growing up as the oldest of nine siblings in Upstate New York, I learned to use organization to create sanity among the chaos. Today, I work together with individuals, families, and small businesses to create habits, systems, and spaces that support their needs, goals, and dreams. Clients often refer to our work together as "life-changing" and "better than decades of therapy". What I love most about my work is the lasting impact it has on real people's lives. Nothing makes me happier than hearing the many success stories of clients I have worked with.
Follow Me
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Let Your Kids Take Over the Budget
What if you let your kids take over the budgeting reigns?
Photo by Canva.
Every Thursday, I share one action, habit, or project you may want to undertake in order to improve your health, happiness, and sense of well-being.
If you are finding value in our PROJECT OF THE WEEK Newsletter, we would greatly appreciate it if you would spread the word. Your friends and family can click HERE to sign-up.
PROJECT OF THE WEEK
Let Your Kids Take Over the Budget
I have shared quite a bit about my love of personal finance and setting ourselves up for solid financial futures. I strongly believe that starts with teaching our kids, at a young age, the value of things and how money is earned and spent. This can be done from the time kids are toddlers. Sticker charts are a rewards-based example of a way to show your child the value in their efforts and their reward for their hard work. The reward can be as simple as a piece of chocolate for picking up their toys, following a very serious make-believe session in the family room. We go to work and get rewarded, so why shouldn’t they?
Now, let’s take that a step further. Almost every kid goes through a sometimes entitled phase where they don’t quite understand how money works or how hard parents work to earn that money. They assume they can have whatever, whenever. In a world where dollars don’t always go as far as we’d like them to, I think it’s important to teach our kids the value of things early. So, we did a little experiment with my friend Nicole’s daughter. This year, rather than going school clothes and supply shopping with abandon, Nicole sat her daughter, Harper, down and explained how she determines the budget amount for school shopping and then how she determines how to spend that amount,
Getting Started
Harper is a 12 year old girl whose passion involves Broadway musicals, playing the piano, and hanging out with her bestie.
As kids often do, Harper would come home and ask Nicole for items she saw other kids have at summer camp or her friends brought to school. While Nicole is in a position to be able to provide Harper with what she asks for (within reason), she also wanted Harper to learn about budgeting and needs vs wants. So, when it came time to school shop, Harper was given a budget of $500. This may seem like a lot to you personally and that’s okay. Nicole came to this number, with Harper, in a very thoughtful way.
Nicole had Harper go through her closet and try on clothes to determine what still fits and what can be passed on to a younger cousin. In the last year, Harper has grown 2 inches, so Nicole knew her school clothes budget would need to be a little higher this year in order to incorporate more pant purchases in their shopping. And, by the end of this closet cleaning exercise, it was determined Harper literally did not have a single pair of pants that fit her - yoga, sweat, or jeans - and many of her shirts no longer covered her mid-drift, so new shirts were also added to the list.
Nicole then had Harper make a list of things she needed: basic short and long-sleeved shirts, a couple of pairs of jeans, yoga pants, socks, underwear, etc.
Nicole had Harper repeat the same closet exercise, but with her shoes this time. Luckily, Harper’s feet hadn’t grown much, if at all, and the shoes she currently had - a pair of sneakers, Doc Marten boots, sandals, and a pair of dress shoes - would suffice to start the year with.
Off to the mall they went! Harper’s friends all shop at American Eagle, so naturally that’s where Harper wanted to start too.
Nicole let Harper have free reign as she walked through the store. As long as the clothes met the school and family dress codes and were within Harper’s budget, she could get them.
Quickly Harper amassed quite the pile. Nicole was keeping track on her phone’s calculator of the grand total. This pile included “need” items that Harper had written on her list, but also included items that she really wanted. If we’re being honest, there were probably more want items than need items. It was at this point that Harper felt she was done shopping and ready to check out. Before walking to the registers, Nicole shared that she had been keeping track of the items on her calculator and if Harper purchased everything in her pile right then, the total bill would be $834 before tax. Harper was shocked.
Cue an upset kid who just had to have those ripped jeans and a few other things. Nicole explained that’s fine, but needs had to come first. Again reminding Harper that included basic tees, underwear, socks, and so on. So, Nicole made the suggestion that if Harper liked the jeans at American Eagle, but didn’t care much about where the tees came from, those could be purchased at another store. And quickly, they were back in business.
Harper remembered she had received a number of gift cards to Old Navy and Target for her birthday at the beginning of the summer. She asked if she could use those gift cards to buy her basic items and then use Nicole’s budget to buy the want items. Nicole agreed.
At this point, Harper also mentioned she had a gift card from her birthday to LuLulemon, so she wanted to stop there. Again, once she saw the prices of yoga pants, Harper decided to supplement her budget with the gift card and purchased a jacket there, but then went to Target and Old Navy for the pants.
At the end of their shopping extravaganza, Harper actually determined some of her wants weren’t important enough to purchase. She asked if the money she didn’t spend in the budget could be set aside for her to use in a month or two after school started in case there was something new she wanted (read: someone at school wore or had something she really liked). In total, of the $500 budget, Harper spent $375 on jeans and a few shirts she really wanted. She also spent $200 in gift cards to Lululemon, Old Navy, and Target to buy a jacket she wanted and then basic items that she needed.
Nicole asked Harper on their drive home to reflect on their shopping experience and Harper reiterated how surprised she was at her original total. She didn’t know that jeans could be easily $50, $60, or more per pair and the same was true for yoga pants and sweats. She also admitted that she liked the game of it - figuring out what she wanted and what she could afford and what she may want to come back for later.
Nicole noticed that the items purchased are all actually being worn and not just sitting in the closet with tags on them because Harper was only choosing to wear the same three or four shirt and pant combinations.
Overall, this life lesson went super smoothly and is something Nicole has admitted she’ll definitely be using in the future. Harper has already said she’ll definitely be asking for gift cards for holidays and birthdays in the future because she can buy what she wants when she wants. All in all, a great experiment.
Is this something you’d be willing to try with your tweens and teens? Have you already? How did it go?
Ready to Get Started?
If you feel excited about implementing this strategy and want some additional accountability and support to get started, the It’s All in the Planning Starter Pak was designed for you!
A Note from Happy Spaces
The goal is to add value to your life. If you think this project will add value:
Estimate how long you think it will take. I would recommend doubling the time you estimate.
Look at your calendar over the next week and pick a date and time to get started.
Make an appointment on your calendar for the estimated time.
If you estimate that completing this project will take longer than one hour, I recommend doing it over multiple days. This will support you in getting started!
Prior to starting this project, take a few minutes to make a step-by-step list of EVERY action you need to take to complete this project.
It's not all or nothing. You can choose to implement only the parts of this project that add value to your life.
An Accountability Partner can be a great support in following through on your goals and commitments.
We understand how challenging it can be to implement new habits and systems. For additional support please go to HappySpacesBySarah.com.
Creating a life you don't need a vacation from! ®
Sincerely,
Sarah Weingarten
Meet Sarah
Growing up as the oldest of nine siblings in Upstate New York, I learned to use organization to create sanity among the chaos. Today, I work together with individuals, families, and small businesses to create habits, systems, and spaces that support their needs, goals, and dreams. Clients often refer to our work together as "life-changing" and "better than decades of therapy". What I love most about my work is the lasting impact it has on real people's lives. Nothing makes me happier than hearing the many success stories of clients I have worked with.
Follow Me
Share this post
Don't Let Your Kids Fool You!
You may be surprised by how many responsibilities your kids can learn to do for themselves and to support the family
Photo by Canva.
Every Thursday, I share one action, habit, or project you may want to undertake in order to improve your health, happiness, and sense of well-being.
If you are finding value in our PROJECT OF THE WEEK Newsletter, we would greatly appreciate it if you would spread the word. Your friends and family can click HERE to sign-up.
PROJECT OF THE WEEK
Don't Let Your Kids Fool You!
If you are a parent and you are feeling overwhelmed, you are not alone!
It's true that we have A LOT on our plates. It's true that there are only so many hours in the day. It's also true that we CAN NOT do it all.
You may be thinking that this blog is about prioritizing. While I love working on how to more effectively prioritize, that is not what we are going to focus on today. Instead, I want to talk about delegating to those little people running your household!
While there are responsibilities that fall squarely on us, as parents, there are many responsibilities that your kids can learn to do for themselves and to support the family.
The younger your kids are when you start, the easier this life lesson is.
I know when kids are young, it feels like it's more work to help them meet their responsibilities than it is to just do it yourself. In the short run, you are correct. But, if you can take the long view, it will pay off in spades!
When having the debate with yourself about how much time and energy you should devote to your kids meeting their family responsibilities, also keep in mind that your most important role as a parent is to shape your kids into kind, hard-working, and self-sufficient adults.
It may be helpful to reframe the items that you think of as "chores" and "responsibilities" as "Life Skills".
By teaching your kids to be responsible for their fair share, you will take some items off your plate, while giving them the Life Skills they need to succeed.
Last week we discussed, "Whose Job is it Anyway?" and the value of listing out ALL family responsibilities and who is taking ownership of each.
This is a great starting point.
Getting Started
Take a few moments to think about:
What items are your kids responsible for?
Are they following through on their responsibility?
What items are you responsible for that they could take over?
Below are some ideas of responsibilities that you may be able to take off your plate while teaching your child new Life Skills.
I was going to list recommended ages below, but I also know every kid is different. It's important to meet them where they are and then support them to grow. I shared this last week, too, but if you’re looking for guidance on chores by age, this feels doable for most kids.
Responsibilities that your kids can take over:
Waking up on their own in the morning. - The more supportive you are about your child having a consistent sleep schedule, the easier this is for everyone!
Getting dressed in the morning - If this is hard, lay out the clothes the night before. If there are clothes you don't want your 4-year-old to wear to school, store them somewhere else. It's ok for them to be creative.
Putting their dirty clothes in the hamper.
Making their bed - Keep it simple. It doesn't have to look like Martha Stewart came through.
Picking up their room each morning and evening - This may get harder during the teenage years, but if you limit how many things live in their bedroom, this should take 2-5 minutes each morning and evening. For example, we don't keep toys in the bedroom. The only items ending up on the floor are stuffed animals, books, and clothes. Stuffed animals can be thrown back on the bed or in a basket. Books can get thrown on the dresser or bookcase. And, clothes can land in the hamper (where they should have been in the first place - HA!)
After each meal, bring their dish to the sink / As they get older, place their dishes directly into the dishwasher.
Wipe the dining table after each meal.
Vacuuming a specific room/area - You could create a schedule for when each child needs to vacuum each room/area. You likely will need to do this if you have pets. Personally, I have found it more effective to have my daughter vacuum when she makes a mess (ugh, glitter). This takes the vacuuming responsibility off my plate and lets her see the natural consequence.
Picking up their toys. Your preschoolers are doing this at school! Put the cleanup song on and watch them go!
Putting their clean laundry away. - Their drawers don't need to be neat. Just separated by category.
Doing their laundry. - You don't want your college freshman dying all of his clothes blue on the first week of school.
Scheduling their doctor appointments & adding them to the calendar.
Scheduling tutoring sessions & adding them to the calendar.
Coordinating their transportation for their activities.
If they get a car, have them take care of the car maintenance.
*You may have noticed that the above list of responsibilities are mostly single-task-oriented items that should not take long. It's best to have kids complete responsibilities on a regular schedule that are quick. Your kids should not have to spend an hour cleaning their room on a Saturday morning. Instead, they should spend 2-5 minutes once or twice a day.
Think of yourself as "The Manager". You are supporting your team in meeting their goals and responsibilities.
There should be rewards for a job well done and natural consequences for not following through.
When possible, It's best to decide on the rewards ahead of time, as well as the natural consequences, and to make sure you clearly communicate it to your kids. For example: “Harper, if your room is not picked up before you leave for school today, you will not have access to your iPad this evening.”
If doing their own laundry is their responsibility and they decide to leave it until they have no more clothes, then that's their decision. And they will reap the natural consequence. I think it's great to support them in brainstorming solutions that they are open to trying. Maybe a laundry schedule would be helpful? Or adding a “what clothing will be needed this week” to the Family Meeting discussions. Make sure they know you are there to help, not judge, and let them take the lead.
I know this is easier said than done. I also know, from both personal experience and from working with busy families, that supporting your kids to learn new Life Skills and Responsibilities is well worth the effort!
Ready to Get Started?
If you feel excited about implementing this strategy and want some additional accountability and support to get started, the It’s All in the Planning Starter Pak was designed for you!
A Note from Happy Spaces
The goal is to add value to your life. If you think this project will add value:
Estimate how long you think it will take. I would recommend doubling the time you estimate.
Look at your calendar over the next week and pick a date and time to get started.
Make an appointment on your calendar for the estimated time.
If you estimate that completing this project will take longer than one hour, I recommend doing it over multiple days. This will support you in getting started!
Prior to starting this project, take a few minutes to make a step-by-step list of EVERY action you need to take to complete this project.
It's not all or nothing. You can choose to implement only the parts of this project that add value to your life.
An Accountability Partner can be a great support in following through on your goals and commitments.
We understand how challenging it can be to implement new habits and systems. For additional support please go to HappySpacesBySarah.com.
Creating a life you don't need a vacation from! ®
Sincerely,
Sarah Weingarten
Meet Sarah
Growing up as the oldest of nine siblings in Upstate New York, I learned to use organization to create sanity among the chaos. Today, I work together with individuals, families, and small businesses to create habits, systems, and spaces that support their needs, goals, and dreams. Clients often refer to our work together as "life-changing" and "better than decades of therapy". What I love most about my work is the lasting impact it has on real people's lives. Nothing makes me happier than hearing the many success stories of clients I have worked with.
Follow Me
Share this post
Whose Job Is It Anyway?
Formalizing everyone's Family Responsibilities can make a big difference in your day-to-day lives.
Photo by Canva.
Every Thursday, I share one action, habit, or project you may want to undertake in order to improve your health, happiness, and sense of well-being.
If you are finding value in our PROJECT OF THE WEEK Newsletter, we would greatly appreciate it if you would spread the word. Your friends and family can click HERE to sign-up.
PROJECT OF THE WEEK
Whose Job is It Anyway?
Last week we discussed how Weekly Family Meetings are a tool to reduce overwhelm and support stronger family communication.
This week we are going to discuss how formalizing everyone's Family Responsibilities can also make a big difference.
Before we get started, I want to take a moment to recognize how it's human nature to overestimate our responsibilities, while underestimating the amount of time and energy other's are spending on their responsibilities.
Getting Started
What does formalizing Family Responsibilities look like?
The first step is for all adults and teens to start making a list of all their responsibilities, big and small.
Over the next week, continue to add to the list, as new responsibilities come up.
This isn't a one-and-done exercise, so don't worry if you miss something. However, the more thorough the list, the more supported you will feel from the start.
Schedule a time to meet at the end of the week. This meeting can be added on, before or after, the weekly Family Meeting, but should not be discussed at the same time. Have everyone bring their list of responsibilities to the meeting.
I would recommend one person volunteering to be the "secretary" and for them to bring their laptop to the meeting. Feel free to add this responsibility to your list!
During the meeting, the "secretary' should type up each responsibility and list, next to it, who is responsible. You can do this in any format you like, but using Excel might be helpful.
There is no right or wrong way to organize the list. As a family you should decide what makes the most sense to you.
it might be helpful to have everything listed out by person.
Or it might be easier to have responsibilities listed out by day of the week, weekly, monthly, and as needed.
If you use Excel, you could easily sort it both ways.
How to make the most of formalizing your Family Responsibilities!
Make sure you are listing out all the tiny tasks that you undertake to make your family life run smoothly.
This is often where one partner can feel overwhelmed, while the other partner has no idea why.
When your daughter is invited to a birthday party, who is in charge of checking the family calendar, adding it to the family calendar, RSVPing and buying the birthday present? It's not just taking your daughter to the party.
Who is in charge of checking your 9-year old son's planner and homework folder each night and taking any required actions?
Who is in charge of washing your daughter's water bottle and emptying her lunch box when she gets home from school, so that it's ready to re-pack for the following day?
Who is responsible for driving the kids to activities and taking them to the playground after school?
Decide how to split the responsibilities in a way that works for everyone!
When working with families, it's common that issues can be simply eliminated by changing how certain responsibilities are split up.
It's common that one partner will cook and the other partner will clean. This can lead to disagreements over how messy one partner is when cooking and how that effects the partner cleaning up.
A simple solution is for one partner to be in charge of cooking, setting the table, and cleaning up each night. While you can rotate who is responsible, no one needs to worry about how they are meeting their responsibility.
Whoever is in charge of the kids in the morning should be responsible for cleaning up whatever breakfast they cook and getting the kids out the door. This eliminates one person slacking off, knowing their partner will pick up behind them.
Be smart about when certain responsibilities are assigned. Someone should be responsible for unloading the dishwasher before breakfast. This way, there is no excuse for letting dishes pile up and leaving them for one person at the end of the day.
Also, think about what you can do at the end of the day or beginning of the next to make your life easier. Does running the dishwasher every night, even if its not completely full, set you up for success the next morning? Then do it. Same is true about packing lunch the night before or laying clothes out in the morning before jumping in the shower.
If you are a single parent, this exercise will still be helpful. You can use this list to see where you may be able to get support. Remember, kids can help with a lot!
Be sure to review your list of Family Responsibilities at your Weekly Family Meetings.
I also recommend listing our your kids’ names next to responsibilities that are age appropriate. This is a great printable to help determine what chores make the most sense by age.
It is also a great practice to rotate responsibilities. This helps with everyone’s understating of how much effort each task requires.
Happy Planning!
Ready to Get Started?
If you feel excited about implementing this strategy and want some additional accountability and support to get started, the It’s All in the Planning Starter Pak was designed for you!
A Note from Happy Spaces
The goal is to add value to your life. If you think this project will add value:
Estimate how long you think it will take. I would recommend doubling the time you estimate.
Look at your calendar over the next week and pick a date and time to get started.
Make an appointment on your calendar for the estimated time.
If you estimate that completing this project will take longer than one hour, I recommend doing it over multiple days. This will support you in getting started!
Prior to starting this project, take a few minutes to make a step-by-step list of EVERY action you need to take to complete this project.
It's not all or nothing. You can choose to implement only the parts of this project that add value to your life.
An Accountability Partner can be a great support in following through on your goals and commitments.
We understand how challenging it can be to implement new habits and systems. For additional support please go to HappySpacesBySarah.com.
Creating a life you don't need a vacation from! ®
Sincerely,
Sarah Weingarten
Meet Sarah
Growing up as the oldest of nine siblings in Upstate New York, I learned to use organization to create sanity among the chaos. Today, I work together with individuals, families, and small businesses to create habits, systems, and spaces that support their needs, goals, and dreams. Clients often refer to our work together as "life-changing" and "better than decades of therapy". What I love most about my work is the lasting impact it has on real people's lives. Nothing makes me happier than hearing the many success stories of clients I have worked with.
Follow Me
Share this post
The Value of Weekly Meetings
Regular Family Meetings teach your family the value of planning and strong communication skills.
Photo by Canva.
Every Thursday, I share one action, habit, or project you may want to undertake in order to improve your health, happiness, and sense of well-being.
If you are finding value in our PROJECT OF THE WEEK Newsletter, we would greatly appreciate it if you would spread the word. Your friends and family can click HERE to sign-up.
PROJECT OF THE WEEK
The Value of Weekly Family Meetings
I cannot count the number of conversations that I have had with parents about how they feel overwhelmed and overworked, despite being organized and having a consistent plan.
While there is no one perfect solution, implementing Weekly Family Meetings can go a long way.
There are many benefits to meeting as a family regularly:
You create the time and space for everyone to coordinate their schedules, activities, and responsibilities.
Regular Family Meetings teach your family the value of planning and strong communication skills.
You have regular opportunities to lead by example.
You allow for natural consequences for not planning, which is the most effective teaching tool.
Getting Started
What does having Weekly Family Meetings look like?
I recommend picking one day a week to meet as a family. Sunday evenings are probably best, but any day can work.
Everyone should bring their calendars and/or planners to the meeting.
Yes, this includes your kids and your partner!
If your child can write, I recommend they start using a planner.
Each adult should bring their Agenda Items to the meeting. This is your opportunity to talk as a family about any and all items that are important. Creating an Agenda shouldn't be time-consuming. You can keep an Agenda List in a shared location that you update throughout the week. My friend has a Note on her iPhone that is shared with her husband and daughter. Throughout the week, they add items to discuss at their Family Meeting to this list. They keep a grocery shopping list this way too.
It's important that everyone has time at the meeting to share what their week looks like. This includes activities and appointments they have planned, what rides are needed, and if anyone needs help or support with any of their responsibilities.
As a parent, it's equally important to share your responsibilities and what your schedule looks like. This is what will support teaching by example and natural consequences.
For example, you share that you have a work meeting on Wednesday evening and will not be home until 7:30 pm. Your son forgets to share that he has a presentation in Social Studies on Thursday. On Wednesday night, when you get home, your son meets you at the door letting you know he has a presentation the next day and he needs poster board RIGHT NOW. This is a great opportunity to show him the consequences of not planning ahead and that he is going to have to figure out a different solution.
How can you best use the Family Meeting as a teaching tool?
Depending on where your child is in their ability to plan, will determine how much support they need.
If your student needs a lot of support, I would recommend sitting down with them for 20 minutes earlier in the day, to plan out their week, in their planner. Take some time to look through the family calendar and their school portal and have them write everything down in their Academic Planner. This includes orthodontist appointments, sports practices and games, school assignments, and play dates with friends.
If your student is not great at planning, but also refuses your help, that's ok. Let the Family Meeting be the teacher.
During the Family Meeting, use open-ended questions to help your student learn and grow.
For example, if your student remembers to tell you that they have a presentation on Thursday, take a moment to ask, "What is your plan for the presentation?"
Depending on their answer, you may need to ask some additional questions.
"Is there anything you need from me in order to do well?"
"Are there any materials that you need in order to complete the presentation?" (Hint: THIS should be where the poster board or other items that need to be purchased are mentioned.)
This is not a gotcha game. You want to be as supportive as possible AND you want to give them space to both fly and fall, while they are in a supportive environment.
Trust me! Freshman year of college is NOT the best time to learn.
Is meeting once a week enough?
Meeting once a week should be enough as far as having a formal meeting.
It's a great habit to check in each night and confirm what everyone has going on the next day. This is also an opportunity to reinforce to your kids that you understand plans can change and we all have to adapt and overcome depending on the day. If you have dinner together every night, this is a great way to end dinner.
You could also have a Family Check-In each night at 7:00 pm.
Make your Family Meetings as fun as possible.
Maybe you meet and then go out for ice cream. Or maybe you play a quick game of cards after or watch a movie together.
The goal of the Family Meeting is to make everyone's lives smoother.
How can you make your family look forward to your Weekly Family Meeting?
P.S. If you don't have kids, but have a partner, this is just as valuable.
Good luck!
Additional Resources
I highly recommend that all kids that are able to write should have their own planner. Here is a link to my favorite Academic Planner!
Ready to Get Started?
If you feel excited about implementing this strategy and want some additional accountability and support to get started, the It’s All in the Planning Starter Pak was designed for you!
A Note from Happy Spaces
The goal is to add value to your life. If you think this project will add value:
Estimate how long you think it will take. I would recommend doubling the time you estimate.
Look at your calendar over the next week and pick a date and time to get started.
Make an appointment on your calendar for the estimated time.
If you estimate that completing this project will take longer than one hour, I recommend doing it over multiple days. This will support you in getting started!
Prior to starting this project, take a few minutes to make a step-by-step list of EVERY action you need to take to complete this project.
It's not all or nothing. You can choose to implement only the parts of this project that add value to your life.
An Accountability Partner can be a great support in following through on your goals and commitments.
We understand how challenging it can be to implement new habits and systems. For additional support please go to HappySpacesBySarah.com.
Creating a life you don't need a vacation from! ®
Sincerely,
Sarah Weingarten
Meet Sarah
Growing up as the oldest of nine siblings in Upstate New York, I learned to use organization to create sanity among the chaos. Today, I work together with individuals, families, and small businesses to create habits, systems, and spaces that support their needs, goals, and dreams. Clients often refer to our work together as "life-changing" and "better than decades of therapy". What I love most about my work is the lasting impact it has on real people's lives. Nothing makes me happier than hearing the many success stories of clients I have worked with.
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Real Results from Consistent Effort Over Time
Real results come from consistent effort over time.
Photo by Canva.
Every Thursday, I share one action, habit, or project you may want to undertake in order to improve your health, happiness, and sense of well-being.
If you are finding value in our PROJECT OF THE WEEK Newsletter, we would greatly appreciate it if you would spread the word. Your friends and family can click HERE to sign-up.
PROJECT OF THE WEEK
Real Results from Consistent Effort Over Time
It's great to have big goals and dreams for the future!
I even keep a Dream Journal where I write down 10 dreams each day that I think would be amazing, but for now, are only dreams.
For me, when I first start thinking about what my next big goal should be, I can start to feel intimidated.
I love the idea of achieving the goal, but almost always feel overwhelmed by the amount of work and uncomfortable moments that will be necessary to make it happen.
What I try to keep in mind is that the road to success is actually lined with small consistent steps forward.
This, Project of The Week Newsletter, is a great example.
Getting Started
When I first imagined creating a weekly newsletter that would add real value to people's lives, it felt both exciting and overwhelming.
Would anyone really want to read it? Would I run out of content? How in the world will I have time to write it and email it out EVERY week?
I knew, if this was something I really wanted to make happen, I needed a plan that incorporated small, consistent actions on a regular basis, and I needed support.
So, I got started. First, I spent a few hours attempting to figure out MailChimp. This was the part that was completely foreign to me, but it was free and I figured it worth investing a little time. (Guess what? We didn’t end up using MailChimp.)
It didn’t take me long to realize it was worth investing in support with designing the Blog & Newsletter.
I reached out to Lindsey Morano, my amazing website designer, to see if she could help. Luckily for me, she could and was excited to do so!
My next big fear was that I was going to run out of content. So I sat down and typed up 52 Blog Ideas. I figured, if I had ideas for the first year, I would be ok.
As you probably know by now, I love all things productivity. This turned out to not only be easy, but super fun! And guess what? I found myself with more than 52 ideas.
I was feeling confident that I could have a beautifully designed blog and that I would not run out of ideas.
Now, I needed to figure out how I was going to consistently make it happen.
I reached out to a friend, the amazing Nicole Morelle, who I knew worked in Marketing, and asked if we could chat.
I shared my idea with Nicole and asked if she wanted to partner with me. Thankfully, she was equally excited and jumped on board.
Now I knew I needed a plan that involved routine actions on a weekly and monthly basis.
My next step was to schedule when I was going to work on the Project of the Week Newsletter.
Setting aside a consistent time to write each blog entry was at the core of making this a success.
This was also the most challenging part. After looking at my schedule, I realized there was no way to make this consistent, without letting something go. The only consistent time that I could make available was Wednesday mornings. This meant resigning from my BNI Chapter, which was a hard decision, but worth it.
As someone who loves to plan ahead, I was worried about how I would FEEL knowing each week, that I had to write a new blog entry or else.
I decided to write for about 12 weeks, before launching the Newsletter. This meant that we had a 12-blog cushion, for all the unexpected life events that inevitably happen.
This was a great decision!
By doing this, Nicole is able to edit and load a month’s worth of blogs at a time.
In addition to writing the Blog, there were other consistent actions that I needed to commit to on a monthly basis, to make this goal happen.
Below are the consistent efforts we make each month:
I write a new blog entry every Wednesday morning.
Around the first of the month, Nicole loads all the next month’s blogs onto the website, under Review.
The second week of the month, I read the following month's blogs and change their status to Scheduled.
Once the blogs are scheduled, Nicole creates and schedules the Newsletters to go out.
Nicole and I have a monthly standing meeting to discuss the Project of the Week Newsletter and how we want it to grow and improve.
Launching and maintaining a Weekly Blog was a big goal that felt impossible at the start.
Today, it is a reality because of the consistent times we set aside to work on it.
Is there a big goal you have been wanting to prioritize?
Can you schedule the same 45-minutes each week to work on it?
You will likely be shocked by the results!
Ready to Get Started?
If you feel excited about implementing this strategy and want some additional accountability and support to get started, the It’s All in the Planning Starter Pak was designed for you!
A Note from Happy Spaces
The goal is to add value to your life. If you think this project will add value:
Estimate how long you think it will take. I would recommend doubling the time you estimate.
Look at your calendar over the next week and pick a date and time to get started.
Make an appointment on your calendar for the estimated time.
If you estimate that completing this project will take longer than one hour, I recommend doing it over multiple days. This will support you in getting started!
Prior to starting this project, take a few minutes to make a step-by-step list of EVERY action you need to take to complete this project.
It's not all or nothing. You can choose to implement only the parts of this project that add value to your life.
An Accountability Partner can be a great support in following through on your goals and commitments.
We understand how challenging it can be to implement new habits and systems. For additional support please go to HappySpacesBySarah.com.
Creating a life you don't need a vacation from! ®
Sincerely,
Sarah Weingarten
Meet Sarah
Growing up as the oldest of nine siblings in Upstate New York, I learned to use organization to create sanity among the chaos. Today, I work together with individuals, families, and small businesses to create habits, systems, and spaces that support their needs, goals, and dreams. Clients often refer to our work together as "life-changing" and "better than decades of therapy". What I love most about my work is the lasting impact it has on real people's lives. Nothing makes me happier than hearing the many success stories of clients I have worked with.
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Turn Off Your Distractions
Turn off your distractions. Why is this concept so simple, yet so difficult?
Photo by Canva.
Every Thursday, I share one action, habit, or project you may want to undertake in order to improve your health, happiness, and sense of well-being.
If you are finding value in our PROJECT OF THE WEEK Newsletter, we would greatly appreciate it if you would spread the word. Your friends and family can click HERE to sign-up.
PROJECT OF THE WEEK
Turn Off Your Distractions
Why is this so simple in concept and so challenging in everyday life?
When we focus on a single task, we know that we deliver better quality work in a shorter amount of time.
Yet, we continue to find ourselves attempting to work on a task that requires focus and concentration, while our email is open, our phone is out, and surrounded by reminders of other 'to-do' items.
We are NOT going to talk about how to focus better or longer. We are NOT going to brainstorm ways to overcome our environment.
Today, we ARE going to recognize that environment matters and we can create an environment that supports our goals and needs.
Getting Started
As a professional organizer, I have seen over and over again how having an organized and calm work area can make all the difference.
I bet you think I am going to recommend that you organize you workspace!
Nope - not today!
Today, I want you to consider what location is best for tasks that require thought and focus. Hint: It's likely not your regular work space.
I love my desk. And sometimes I work at the dinning room table, which feels large and open.
However, when it's time to sit down and write this blog, you will find me in an arm chair, next to the window in my bedroom. It helps me settle in, get started, and stay focused.
Think about what location is best for you and for which task.
If you work from home, is there a quiet calm nook? If you work in an office, is there a conference room you can reserve? Or do you have a favorite coffee shop where you focus best?
Once you’ve found your place, think about what other distractions get in your way. How can you change your environment to eliminate them?
I would consider closing out of email.
Would it be helpful to leave your phone in the other room?
Is the music you have on in the background helpful or distracting?
We would love to hear your ideas and solutions!
Cheers to a focused day!
Ready to Get Started?
If you feel excited about implementing this strategy and want some additional accountability and support to get started, the It’s All in the Planning Starter Pak was designed for you!
A Note from Happy Spaces
The goal is to add value to your life. If you think this project will add value:
Estimate how long you think it will take. I would recommend doubling the time you estimate.
Look at your calendar over the next week and pick a date and time to get started.
Make an appointment on your calendar for the estimated time.
If you estimate that completing this project will take longer than one hour, I recommend doing it over multiple days. This will support you in getting started!
Prior to starting this project, take a few minutes to make a step-by-step list of EVERY action you need to take to complete this project.
It's not all or nothing. You can choose to implement only the parts of this project that add value to your life.
An Accountability Partner can be a great support in following through on your goals and commitments.
We understand how challenging it can be to implement new habits and systems. For additional support please go to HappySpacesBySarah.com.
Creating a life you don't need a vacation from! ®
Sincerely,
Sarah Weingarten
Meet Sarah
Growing up as the oldest of nine siblings in Upstate New York, I learned to use organization to create sanity among the chaos. Today, I work together with individuals, families, and small businesses to create habits, systems, and spaces that support their needs, goals, and dreams. Clients often refer to our work together as "life-changing" and "better than decades of therapy". What I love most about my work is the lasting impact it has on real people's lives. Nothing makes me happier than hearing the many success stories of clients I have worked with.
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When to Start a Habit
When to start a new habit is just as important as starting the habit.
Photo by Canva.
Every Thursday, I share one action, habit, or project you may want to undertake in order to improve your health, happiness, and sense of well-being.
If you are finding value in our PROJECT OF THE WEEK Newsletter, we would greatly appreciate it if you would spread the word. Your friends and family can click HERE to sign-up.
PROJECT OF THE WEEK
"WHEN" You Start a New Habit Can Make All the Difference
Behind every successful new initiative, goal achieved and finish line crossed is a list of tiny habits that were successfully implemented.
In order to meet your Monthly Sales Goal, you will likely need to implement habits around how many daily prospect calls you make, what time of day you follow-up on your leads, and at what time increment you send your follow-up emails.
If you are going to reach your goal of writing a book, you will need to successfully implement habits around when you are going to write each week, where you are going to do your writing, and how you are going to both get started and stay focused during each writing session.
Successfully crossing the finish line of a marathon is a testament to the habits you implemented around your training schedule, as well as your rest and recovery.
Getting Started
One factor that I think doesn't get enough attention is the value of choosing "WHEN" to start a new habit.
Choosing the right time to get started can make all the difference!
Before starting a new habit, take a few moments to think about what circumstances will make it easier to get started and be consistent.
There are slow and busy seasons at work and at home. There are times of year that are warmer and we want to be outside and times of year that are colder and it's easy to stay inside. Or, even better, times of the year when we want to travel. Even your week has slower and busier days.
Are there times of day, days of the week, or times of year that will make getting started easier?
Below are a few examples of how choosing the right time can have an impact on your success.
If you want to form the habit of walking outside each morning, I would recommend starting in the spring or summer. While the health benefits are equally as great on cold gray days, taking a walk in the warm sunshine is much more appealing and you’re likely to stick with the habit during the cold months.
There continues to be more and more research on the value of taking a cold shower or ice bath. No doubt this habit is much easier to start in the summer, when you know you will warm up fast.
If you want to form the habit of cooking more and eating out less, choose a quieter time of year. For most families, January is much quieter than July. On the flip side, if you love to cook on the grill, maybe July is best.
If you want to start a blog or write a book, you will need to start writing consistently. Think about what time of year and what time of day would be easiest to consistently write. If the only time you have to write is at 5:30AM, this may be easier to start in late spring/early summer, when the sun rises early. If you are carving out time from your work day, choose a slower season of work.
What habit do you want to implement or re-implement and when would be best to get started?
Additional Resources
There are many great resources on how to implement a new habit. Two books that I love are:
Atomic Habits by James Clear and The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
Ready to Get Started?
If you feel excited about implementing this strategy and want some additional accountability and support to get started, the It’s All in the Planning Starter Pak was designed for you!
A Note from Happy Spaces
The goal is to add value to your life. If you think this project will add value:
Estimate how long you think it will take. I would recommend doubling the time you estimate.
Look at your calendar over the next week and pick a date and time to get started.
Make an appointment on your calendar for the estimated time.
If you estimate that completing this project will take longer than one hour, I recommend doing it over multiple days. This will support you in getting started!
Prior to starting this project, take a few minutes to make a step-by-step list of EVERY action you need to take to complete this project.
It's not all or nothing. You can choose to implement only the parts of this project that add value to your life.
An Accountability Partner can be a great support in following through on your goals and commitments.
We understand how challenging it can be to implement new habits and systems. For additional support please go to HappySpacesBySarah.com.
Creating a life you don't need a vacation from! ®
Sincerely,
Sarah Weingarten
Meet Sarah
Growing up as the oldest of nine siblings in Upstate New York, I learned to use organization to create sanity among the chaos. Today, I work together with individuals, families, and small businesses to create habits, systems, and spaces that support their needs, goals, and dreams. Clients often refer to our work together as "life-changing" and "better than decades of therapy". What I love most about my work is the lasting impact it has on real people's lives. Nothing makes me happier than hearing the many success stories of clients I have worked with.
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How Structure Can Make All the Difference
The more structure and routine, the more freedom there is around choices.
Photo by Canva.
Every Thursday, I share one action, habit, or project you may want to undertake in order to improve your health, happiness, and sense of well-being.
If you are finding value in our PROJECT OF THE WEEK Newsletter, we would greatly appreciate it if you would spread the word. Your friends and family can click HERE to sign-up.
PROJECT OF THE WEEK
How Structure Can Make All the Difference!
As you likely know by now, I am all about structure and routine. The more structure and routine I have, the more freedom I feel around my life choices and where my time is going.
I highly value sleep and feel it's the most important piece to living a healthy, fulfilling life.
With a good night's sleep, I feel like there is nothing I can't accomplish or overcome.
For years, I have known that on nights when I read before bed, I sleep better.
Yet, I have found this to be one of the hardest habits to stick to.
At the end of the day, I'm exhausted. I feel like I don't have any energy left, and reading just feels like it's too much (until I start and then it's fine!).
So I would repeatedly find myself scrolling on Twitter or Instagram for those few minutes before lights out.
In March 2023, my Foster Daughter moved in.
I knew, for both of our sakes, creating a positive, relaxing bedtime routine would be key.
Every night, she has a bath, we read together, and then I turn on the bedtime story, "The Rabbit Who Wants To Fall Asleep” and leave her to fall asleep.
We play the bedtime story on Audible, which I currently only have on my phone.
Which in turn means, I leave my phone right outside her bedroom door for the 30 minute story each night.
Without having access to my phone, it has been simple to take the time to read each night, as part of my own bedtime routine.
After years of struggle, the only change was in the structure of my routine and my lack of access to my phone.
Every time I think about getting another device that can play Audible, I also think, I will surely go back to the nightly struggle to consistently read before bed.
Getting Started
Simply change your environment. I know, it’s easier said than done - or is it?
Changing my evening routine was all I needed to change the structure of my day and provide me the opportunity to read before bed again.
Have you experienced a change in your environment that has positively impacted a habit you have been working to implement?
We would love to hear about it!
Ready to Get Started?
If you feel excited about implementing this strategy and want some additional accountability and support to get started, the It’s All in the Planning Starter Pak was designed for you!
A Note from Happy Spaces
The goal is to add value to your life. If you think this project will add value:
Estimate how long you think it will take. I would recommend doubling the time you estimate.
Look at your calendar over the next week and pick a date and time to get started.
Make an appointment on your calendar for the estimated time.
If you estimate that completing this project will take longer than one hour, I recommend doing it over multiple days. This will support you in getting started!
Prior to starting this project, take a few minutes to make a step-by-step list of EVERY action you need to take to complete this project.
It's not all or nothing. You can choose to implement only the parts of this project that add value to your life.
An Accountability Partner can be a great support in following through on your goals and commitments.
We understand how challenging it can be to implement new habits and systems. For additional support please go to HappySpacesBySarah.com.
Creating a life you don't need a vacation from! ®
Sincerely,
Sarah Weingarten
Meet Sarah
Growing up as the oldest of nine siblings in Upstate New York, I learned to use organization to create sanity among the chaos. Today, I work together with individuals, families, and small businesses to create habits, systems, and spaces that support their needs, goals, and dreams. Clients often refer to our work together as "life-changing" and "better than decades of therapy". What I love most about my work is the lasting impact it has on real people's lives. Nothing makes me happier than hearing the many success stories of clients I have worked with.
Follow Me
Share this post
Most Things Are Not Worth Optimizing
Guess what? Most things are not worth optimizing.
Photo by Canva.
Every Thursday, I share one action, habit, or project you may want to undertake in order to improve your health, happiness, and sense of well-being.
If you are finding value in our PROJECT OF THE WEEK Newsletter, we would greatly appreciate it if you would spread the word. Your friends and family can click HERE to sign-up.
PROJECT OF THE WEEK
Most Things Are Not Worth Optimizing
You read that right. It's not a typo.
Our goal, with the Project Of The Week Newsletter is to share actions, habits and projects that may improve your health, happiness, and sense of well-being.
We are all about increasing productivity, but what does that really mean?
My definition of productivity is accomplishing what's important to you and making time for what matters most.
Productivity is NOT doing as much as possible in the least amount of time.
Being able to prioritize is key to leading a genuinely productive life.
Why are most things not worth optimizing?
Reason #1
Optimizing Take Time:
Determining the best way to do a task or projects takes time and effort. For a lot of tasks, jumping right in and getting it done takes less time than figuring out the best way to do it. If it's a task that you repeat, you will likely figure out ways to optimize it over time anyway.
Reason #2
Optimizing Often Leads to Procrastination Based on Perfectionism:
When we feel like we need to optimize everything we do, it's common to delay getting started.
Is it worth waiting two years to create the perfect process, in order to save 10 minutes on a project that takes 2 hours?
Reason #3
Optimizing Can Become an Excuse
If you set an expectation for yourself that you need to optimize everything you do, that can become an easy excuse to use to push off important projects. Reframing how you approach new tasks and projects can make a real impact.
As I often remind myself, "Progress, Not Perfection."
One area of my life where this has made a real impact is in completing all the administrative tasks for Happy Spaces.
When I launched Happy Spaces in 2016, I was determined to create the best business processes possible. As I have gained more experience in running a business, I have found it's best for me to set time slots aside to work on Administrative tasks, just jump right in, and keep it moving forward.
By working on Administrative tasks on a regular basis, for shorter time spurts, and not worrying about what order I complete the tasks, I find that it's much easier to get started. I rarely feel the need to procrastinate and I am crossing more items off my Next Action List.
Getting Started
When working with clients to get organized, this “roll up your sleeves” strategy has also proven effective.
For Onsite Organizing Sessions I work with clients for 4 to 8 hours. In this time, we are able to make a real impact on the organizational systems the client is using.
When working with a Professional Organizer, we start with pulling out all items and sorting it by category. Then we take the time to declutter items that are no longer adding value. Now we can see what items and categories are left, so that we can create new homes that function simply and effectively. Lastly, we will create labels to support the client in maintaining the new systems that we created.
While this may be an optimal process for working with a Professional Organizer, this is not what I recommend to clients when they are getting organized on their own. When clients try this on their own, they often pull everything out, start the sorting process, and then feel overwhelmed and just stop. Which, in the end, leaves their home or office feeling much worse.
Instead, I recommend using a much less optimized process, but one that has proven much more effective.
I recommend picking a small area and setting a timer for 20 minutes. Pull out what you can for 10 minutes and sort it. Next, take about 5 minutes to pull out any donations, recycling and trash. Lastly, take about 5 minutes to put the sorted items back in an organized manner.
Over time, you will create organized spaces, improve your organizational skills, and gain a clear idea of what organizing systems will make sense for your home.
Are there any projects on your list that you have not started because you don't feel like you know the best way to do it?
Ready to Get Started?
If you feel excited about implementing this strategy and want some additional accountability and support to get started, the It’s All in the Planning Starter Pak was designed for you!
A Note from Happy Spaces
The goal is to add value to your life. If you think this project will add value:
Estimate how long you think it will take. I would recommend doubling the time you estimate.
Look at your calendar over the next week and pick a date and time to get started.
Make an appointment on your calendar for the estimated time.
If you estimate that completing this project will take longer than one hour, I recommend doing it over multiple days. This will support you in getting started!
Prior to starting this project, take a few minutes to make a step-by-step list of EVERY action you need to take to complete this project.
It's not all or nothing. You can choose to implement only the parts of this project that add value to your life.
An Accountability Partner can be a great support in following through on your goals and commitments.
We understand how challenging it can be to implement new habits and systems. For additional support please go to HappySpacesBySarah.com.
Creating a life you don't need a vacation from! ®
Sincerely,
Sarah Weingarten
Meet Sarah
Growing up as the oldest of nine siblings in Upstate New York, I learned to use organization to create sanity among the chaos. Today, I work together with individuals, families, and small businesses to create habits, systems, and spaces that support their needs, goals, and dreams. Clients often refer to our work together as "life-changing" and "better than decades of therapy". What I love most about my work is the lasting impact it has on real people's lives. Nothing makes me happier than hearing the many success stories of clients I have worked with.
Follow Me
Share this post
Why You Should Digitize Your Memories
Memories, such as your family's photos and videos, are not replaceable.
Photo by Canva.
Every Thursday, I share one action, habit, or project you may want to undertake in order to improve your health, happiness, and sense of well-being.
If you are finding value in our PROJECT OF THE WEEK Newsletter, we would greatly appreciate it if you would spread the word. Your friends and family can click HERE to sign-up.
PROJECT OF THE WEEK
Why You Should Digitize Your Memories!
When working with clients, it is my job to ask questions that support the client in making smart decisions about what items are adding value and what items are not adding value to their lives. This is the key to creating a space that supports one's goals.
Another factor that we always account for is how replaceable an item is. Are you willing to give up a pair of high heels that have been collecting dust in your closet for five years, knowing full well you could easily buy another pair if the need strikes? The answer is likely yes. However, you’d be less likely to give up those blue Manolo Blahnik heels you bought for your wedding. Some items, particularly those attached to precious memories, are not worth letting go.
Then, there are items, such as your family's photos and videos, that are not replaceable.
Investing the time and money to digitize family photos and videos is SO valuable!
The Benefits to Digitizing Your Memories:
You memories are backed-up and protected.
Your memories are easy to access.
Your memories are easy to share with friends and family.
Simplifies the process of creating digital photo books and wall art.
The Risks of Not Digitizing Your Memories:
Your memories can easily be lost in a moldy storage environment, a flood or a fire.
You rarely find joy in looking back at your memories, since they are hard to access and potentially disorganized.
If you share a memory with a family member or friend, it may get lost.
Getting Started
How to Digitize Your Memories:
The first step is to decide how you are going to digitize your memories and what type of memories you have.
There are a number of companies that you can hire to digitize your memories.
Whatever company you choose, I recommend having them digitized so that you can save them to both an external hard drive and the cloud. I do not recommend having them digitized to a DVD format. Yes - they are still doing this!
I personally used Scan Cafe to digitize my family's VHS Tapes and Photos. If you sign-up for Scan Cafe’s emails, they are constantly running promotions. I was pleased with their customer service and responsiveness and felt my family’s memories were well cared for.
If you choose to hire a company that digitizes memories, I recommend taking a little time to pre-organize your items.
How to pre-organize photos:
Purchase Gallon and Quart sized Ziploc bags. These don’t need to be expensive - the Dollar Store carries these!
Spend some time briefly reviewing each photo and categorizing them into piles.
While you will need to set some time aside to do this, it likely will not take as long as you imagine.
When reviewing the photos, throw out the photos that are bad quality. Remember way back before digital cameras, we developed all of our photos. It’s time to let go of those photos that are fuzzy or one of the 10 from your breakfast in Italy. Be like Elsa - let it go!
For all other photos, create some large categories that make sense to you.
Below are some examples:
Immediate Family
Extended Family
Allison (Sister)
Allison's Wedding
NYC Trip 1999
Semester Abroad
For each category, start a pile on the floor or on a table and add a sticky note next to it with the category name.
Once you are done sorting the photos, add them to a Ziploc bag and label the bag with a permanent marker. Include the name of the category. You can dive deeper here if you want. For example: Allison’s Wedding Ceremony, Allison’s Wedding Reception, Allison’s Wedding Brunch.
Don't worry if you have more photos than you can fit in one bag; it's fine to have multiple bags for the same category.
By labeling the bags, the company that scans and digitizes your photos can create a folder with each category name and scan all the pictures in that category into that folder.
How to pre-organize videos:
This one is optional. I did not have a VCR, so I simply sent off all our VHS tapes. It was simple enough to watch then after they were digitized and label them.
The downside to not pre-watching the VHS tapes and determining the content is that I ended up paying for VHS tapes to be digitized that were such poor quality you can't see anything, as well as digitizing TV recordings of The Wizard of Oz and Winnie The Pooh. Whoops!
If I were to do it again, I would purchase a VCR and pre-watch them to make sure they are worth digitizing. If you label each VHS, the company digitizing them will label the file with that name.
Why Digitizing Your Memories is Worth the Investment!
I understand that this is an investment. It's not inexpensive.
That being said, I have never heard a client regret the money they spent digitizing their family's memories.
I have had many clients share how sad and frustrated they are by memories being lost, damaged, or destroyed.
If you add up the money you spend on experiences each year, you would likely find that you can digitize a lifetime worth of memories for less than you spend on eating out or taking a family trip.
Last year, I digitized our family's VHS tapes as a holiday present for my siblings. They appreciated it and I probably only spent a little more than I would have, had I bought them each a gift.
P.S. I do have 8 siblings, so this statement may not be true for you!
Have you digitized your memories?
We would love to hear about your experience!
Additional Resources
Hiring a Photo Manager is an option. You can find a Professional Photo Manager HERE.
If you are short on time or overwhelmed by the thought of undertaking this project, this is a great option!
Ready to Get Started?
If you feel excited about implementing this strategy and want some additional accountability and support to get started, the It’s All in the Planning Starter Pak was designed for you!
A Note from Happy Spaces
The goal is to add value to your life. If you think this project will add value:
Estimate how long you think it will take. I would recommend doubling the time you estimate.
Look at your calendar over the next week and pick a date and time to get started.
Make an appointment on your calendar for the estimated time.
If you estimate that completing this project will take longer than one hour, I recommend doing it over multiple days. This will support you in getting started!
Prior to starting this project, take a few minutes to make a step-by-step list of EVERY action you need to take to complete this project.
It's not all or nothing. You can choose to implement only the parts of this project that add value to your life.
An Accountability Partner can be a great support in following through on your goals and commitments.
We understand how challenging it can be to implement new habits and systems. For additional support please go to HappySpacesBySarah.com.
Creating a life you don't need a vacation from! ®
Sincerely,
Sarah Weingarten
Meet Sarah
Growing up as the oldest of nine siblings in Upstate New York, I learned to use organization to create sanity among the chaos. Today, I work together with individuals, families, and small businesses to create habits, systems, and spaces that support their needs, goals, and dreams. Clients often refer to our work together as "life-changing" and "better than decades of therapy". What I love most about my work is the lasting impact it has on real people's lives. Nothing makes me happier than hearing the many success stories of clients I have worked with.
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Does This Habit Still Add Value?
Are you doing something out of habit or because it adds value?
Photo by Canva.
Every Thursday, I share one action, habit, or project you may want to undertake in order to improve your health, happiness, and sense of well-being.
If you are finding value in our PROJECT OF THE WEEK Newsletter, we would greatly appreciate it if you would spread the word. Your friends and family can click HERE to sign-up.
PROJECT OF THE WEEK
Does this Habit Still Add Value?
As I am sure you know by now, I am a huge James Clear fan. Every week, James (I feel he wouldn’t mind if I call him James) sends out his 3-2-1 Newsletter. In this newsletter, he includes thoughts, ideas and questions that often lead me to valuable insights.
One question that I found valuable and often use in my day-to-day is:
"Does this habit still serve me or am I blindly following an old routine?"
- James Clear
Getting Started
There have been a lot of changes in my life in the past six months.
I moved from NYC to Niskayuna, NY.
I bought a house.
I went form being single to being responsible for a sweet, energetic 9 year-old girl.
Needless to say, I had a lot of habits, routines and responsibilities that I needed to reflect on.
Let's look at this in two ways:
Is this a habit that adds value, but no longer fits into my current routine?
OR
Is this a habit that is no longer adding value, but is simply a part of my routine?
Go ahead - read that again.
Is there a habit in your life that has added substantial value, but is no longer part of your daily/weekly routine?
In a prior Project of the Week Newsletter, we spoke about the value of One Sentence Journals. I find it both motivating and centering to take a few minutes in the morning to write out my personal and professional mission and my dreams. This helps me remember my why and think big.
After becoming a parent, my morning routine needed to shift. For the first few weeks, letting go of journaling was an easy way to save time in the morning. However, I could feel the difference. The mornings were go-go-go without a moment to think.
After spending a few minutes reflecting on my schedule, I realized that I could take those few moments, after dropping my daughter off at school, to drink my coffee and journal.
Now, this is one of my favorite parts of my day.
By being thoughtful about how to add this back into my schedule, I didn't have to reduce my sleep and I still have quality time in the morning with my daughter, while having breakfast and getting ready for school.
Is there a habit that you do routinely, without even thinking about it, but that is no longer adding value?
This question is equally as important.
The best part about forming new habits is that you don't have to think about them.
The potential downside is that because you don't have to think about them, you may continue with a habit long after it's usefulness wears off.
One of the amazing benefits of buying a house was that I now have a washer, dryer and dishwasher in the house. For anyone not from NYC, these are luxuries most NYC apartments don't have. Crazy, I know!
In NYC, there were washers and dryers in my building's basement. However, they were industrial grade and it was not uncommon for items to get damaged. I created the new habit of washing all my good clothes on delicate, in individual laundry bags, and then hang drying them in my shower. I know, it sounds crazy, but I never lost another item!
When I moved into my house, I found myself still putting those clothes in laundry bags and then hanging them in the basement to dry. Thankfully, I had a light bulb moment. I realized that now I could go back to only putting delicate clothing in individual laundry bags and only hang drying items that are not supposed to go in the dryer. You wouldn't believe how much time this saved!
Breaking the habit of hand washing all my dishes has been more comical. I love having a dishwasher. I intend to use it for all my dishes. Yet, I will catch myself hand-washing a dish, despite the dishwasher being right there. It's ironic how much I don't like doing dishes and yet how many times I still catch myself hand washing a dish.
Is there a habit in your life that you want to reimplement or is there a habit in your life that has outlived is usefulness?
We would love to hear about it!
Additional Resources
Interested in learning more about James Clear’s newsletter? Click here!
Ready to Get Started?
If you feel excited about implementing this strategy and want some additional accountability and support to get started, the It’s All in the Planning Starter Pak was designed for you!
A Note from Happy Spaces
The goal is to add value to your life. If you think this project will add value:
Estimate how long you think it will take. I would recommend doubling the time you estimate.
Look at your calendar over the next week and pick a date and time to get started.
Make an appointment on your calendar for the estimated time.
If you estimate that completing this project will take longer than one hour, I recommend doing it over multiple days. This will support you in getting started!
Prior to starting this project, take a few minutes to make a step-by-step list of EVERY action you need to take to complete this project.
It's not all or nothing. You can choose to implement only the parts of this project that add value to your life.
An Accountability Partner can be a great support in following through on your goals and commitments.
We understand how challenging it can be to implement new habits and systems. For additional support please go to HappySpacesBySarah.com.
Creating a life you don't need a vacation from! ®
Sincerely,
Sarah Weingarten
Meet Sarah
Growing up as the oldest of nine siblings in Upstate New York, I learned to use organization to create sanity among the chaos. Today, I work together with individuals, families, and small businesses to create habits, systems, and spaces that support their needs, goals, and dreams. Clients often refer to our work together as "life-changing" and "better than decades of therapy". What I love most about my work is the lasting impact it has on real people's lives. Nothing makes me happier than hearing the many success stories of clients I have worked with.
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How Opposite Strategies Can Both Be True
Do do opposites make a right?
Photo by Canva.
Every Thursday, I share one action, habit, or project you may want to undertake in order to improve your health, happiness, and sense of well-being.
If you are finding value in our PROJECT OF THE WEEK Newsletter, we would greatly appreciate it if you would spread the word. Your friends and family can click HERE to sign-up.
PROJECT OF THE WEEK
How Opposite Strategies Can Both Be True
We are all unique and it's important to understand what works for us individually, based on our current circumstances and mindset.
Just because a strategy works for your partner or boss, does not mean it will work for you. And, just because a strategy works for one type of task doesn’t mean it will work for a different task.
Think about it - there are so many different ways to approach a task, project, or even the management of your day.
Getting Started
Below are a few examples of opposite strategies that clients have found valuable to implement, depending on the situation:
Getting ready and dressed professionally for work, despite working remotely. Or, lets be honest, dressing professionally from the waist up, but still rocking those pj pants!
Waking up and jumping right into a task that you have been procrastinating,
Starting your workday with a task that takes deep thought.
Starting your workday by spending 30 minutes on email, so you feel like you can focus on your more important tasks.
Clearing our your email on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
Planning to spend 2 hours on Monday morning, working through your emails, so that you can focus the rest of the week.
Working on a project each day for 20 minutes.
Scheduling two 90-minute sessions each week to work on a project.
Completing educational requirements by watching recorded trainings.
Attending an educational conference in person with multiple educational course.
Scheduling all your meetings in the afternoons, so that you can focus in the morning.
Scheduling all your meetings on two or three days a week, so you can have two days with minimal distractions.
The key to being successful is finding what works for you in that moment and going with it. Let us know what opposite strategies work for you!
Ready to Get Started?
If you feel excited about implementing this strategy and want some additional accountability and support to get started, the It’s All in the Planning Starter Pak was designed for you!
A Note from Happy Spaces
The goal is to add value to your life. If you think this project will add value:
Estimate how long you think it will take. I would recommend doubling the time you estimate.
Look at your calendar over the next week and pick a date and time to get started.
Make an appointment on your calendar for the estimated time.
If you estimate that completing this project will take longer than one hour, I recommend doing it over multiple days. This will support you in getting started!
Prior to starting this project, take a few minutes to make a step-by-step list of EVERY action you need to take to complete this project.
It's not all or nothing. You can choose to implement only the parts of this project that add value to your life.
An Accountability Partner can be a great support in following through on your goals and commitments.
We understand how challenging it can be to implement new habits and systems. For additional support please go to HappySpacesBySarah.com.
Creating a life you don't need a vacation from! ®
Sincerely,
Sarah Weingarten
Meet Sarah
Growing up as the oldest of nine siblings in Upstate New York, I learned to use organization to create sanity among the chaos. Today, I work together with individuals, families, and small businesses to create habits, systems, and spaces that support their needs, goals, and dreams. Clients often refer to our work together as "life-changing" and "better than decades of therapy". What I love most about my work is the lasting impact it has on real people's lives. Nothing makes me happier than hearing the many success stories of clients I have worked with.
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Pick One Win!
All you need is one win.
Photo by Canva.
Every Thursday, I share one action, habit, or project you may want to undertake in order to improve your health, happiness, and sense of well-being.
If you are finding value in our PROJECT OF THE WEEK Newsletter, we would greatly appreciate it if you would spread the word. Your friends and family can click HERE to sign-up.
PROJECT OF THE WEEK
Pick One Win!
I love hearing about my client's big dreams and ambitious goals. I am often envious of their creativity and wide range of interests. For many of my clients this comes naturally and has been a key factor in them achieving great success.
On the flip side, it is also common for clients I work with to have over a 100 projects "in progress" at varying stages. While there is nothing inherently wrong about having various projects in progress at various stages, I often wonder if too many “in progress” projects causes additional anxiety and roadblocks that can easily be overcome.
Start by asking yourself:
What is the last project I completed?
Are there projects in progress, that have been in progress for over a year, and are still important to me?
How often do I buy all the supplies for a project, work on it once, and then forget about it?
How do I feel about the number of projects that I have "on my list"?
How do I prioritize all my projects?
How do I keep track of all my projects?
Having more open projects than you feel like you can achieve in a lifetime can be demoralizing and may be sapping all your energy.
Getting Started
First you pick the win. Then you build momentum.
This win can be directly related to a project that is stalled or it could be a really easy win that will help you build momentum and confidence in yourself.
In multiple studies, researchers have found that individuals who make their bed in the morning have a more productive day.
Why might this be true?
In my opinion, it has everything to do with starting your day with a win, building momentum, and feeling in control.
How does this look in my life?
I do my family’s laundry on Mondays and start it by 8:00AM.
It's not that I like Monday's or that I like doing laundry. It's that I like starting my week off with a win.
Mondays, more than any other day, are likely to go off course. By committing to doing laundry on Mondays, I know I have a win, even if the rest of the day's plans go out the window.
On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, I reserve 9:00AM to 10:30AM for a work project I value.
Tuesdays -- I make a plan for the week.
Wednesdays -- I write this newsletter.
Thursdays -- I work on a project that is important to Happy Spaces.
This allows me to start my day off strong and build momentum.
What WIN are you going to choose?
Below are some ideas:
Make your bed.
Do laundry.
Meditate for 1 minute.
Make a doctor's appointment.
Write for 12 minutes.
Read for 12 minutes.
Open all your mail, throw out or shred the envelopes and junk mail.
Deposit a check.
Pay a bill.
Schedule and commit to a 45 minute block on your calendar to work on the "Next Action" of a project that's important to you.
Remember - Just pick one and GO!
Additional Resources
James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, recommends figuring out how you can implement the "one-minute' rule when starting a new habit. If you want to become a writer, pick a time each day where you are going to write for one-minute. While it's true you won't achieve a lot of writing in this time, you will make writing a regular part of your day and you will start to feel like a writer. This is a big win!
Ready to Get Started?
If you feel excited about implementing this strategy and want some additional accountability and support to get started, the It’s All in the Planning Starter Pak was designed for you!
A Note from Happy Spaces
The goal is to add value to your life. If you think this project will add value:
Estimate how long you think it will take. I would recommend doubling the time you estimate.
Look at your calendar over the next week and pick a date and time to get started.
Make an appointment on your calendar for the estimated time.
If you estimate that completing this project will take longer than one hour, I recommend doing it over multiple days. This will support you in getting started!
Prior to starting this project, take a few minutes to make a step-by-step list of EVERY action you need to take to complete this project.
It's not all or nothing. You can choose to implement only the parts of this project that add value to your life.
An Accountability Partner can be a great support in following through on your goals and commitments.
We understand how challenging it can be to implement new habits and systems. For additional support please go to HappySpacesBySarah.com.
Creating a life you don't need a vacation from! ®
Sincerely,
Sarah Weingarten
Meet Sarah
Growing up as the oldest of nine siblings in Upstate New York, I learned to use organization to create sanity among the chaos. Today, I work together with individuals, families, and small businesses to create habits, systems, and spaces that support their needs, goals, and dreams. Clients often refer to our work together as "life-changing" and "better than decades of therapy". What I love most about my work is the lasting impact it has on real people's lives. Nothing makes me happier than hearing the many success stories of clients I have worked with.
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Take a Time Out
What do you do when your day gets turned upside down?
Photo by Sime Basioli on Unsplash
Every Thursday, I share one action, habit, or project you may want to undertake in order to improve your health, happiness, and sense of well-being.
If you are finding value in our PROJECT OF THE WEEK Newsletter, we would greatly appreciate it if you would spread the word. Your friends and family can click HERE to sign-up.
PROJECT OF THE WEEK
The Value of Taking a Time Out
It's Tuesday morning. We’re headed back into the office after a long Memorial Day weekend spent enjoying downtime with family and friends. You had a good night's sleep, the kids got off to school smoothly, and your work day is off to a strong start.
Suddenly, an email from a client pops into your inbox. The message stops you in your tracks. Your smooth, productive day feels long gone (cue wah, wah noise).
We have all been there!
It's much simpler to practice strategies that improve productivity when everything is going as planned. So, lets focus today on what happens when your day get's turned upside-down.
It could be an email from a client.
It could be negative feedback from your boss.
It could be a co-worker throwing you under the bus, to protect themselves.
In this situation, our first instinct is usually to respond and resolve whatever it is right away. The other option is to jump right back into what we were doing and respond to it later.
Getting Started
When a situation arises that tends to throw us off our game, it usually makes your mind start racing and often your heart rate too! Rather than fire off an email that will likely come back to haunt you or ignoring the situation all together, here’s an opportunity to "Take a Time Out."
I tell my clients, it's usually best to not respond right away. Taking a little time, often 24 to 48 hours, to think about how you want to reply, will give you time to formulate a thoughtful and smart response. I once had a mentor tell me “time is a tool” and we should use that tool like any other in our arsenal of tactics.
However, we also don’t want to leave the sender wondering if their message was received. Take a few moments to send a quick response. Thank them for reaching out and sharing their thoughts and let them know you are going to take a day or two to review and follow-up.
Below is a sample response:
"Thank you for your perspective and feedback. I will keep this in mind as I plan next steps to move forward. I am going to take a day or two to review options and get back to you ”
You may want to read, "Is Overthinking Your Superpower", to learn more about the value of taking some time to think through what decision is really best.
On the flip side, attempting to jump right back into what you were previously working on, will likely not turn out the way you hope.
You will likely find it hard to concentrate, which translates to not being as effective with your time and not producing the quality of work you are capable of.
It also will not help your mind settle down.
Here is another opportunity to “Take a Time Out"
Grab a piece of paper and a pen and take 10-15 minutes to write down all the thoughts swirling around in your head. Don't worry about how dumb they sound. You can shred this after. The goal is to get your thoughts on paper, so your brain can calm down.
By taking this time, you will bounce back quicker and have a much calmer, more centered day.
After finishing the writing exercise, check your calendar to see if you have 15-20 minutes to take a walk. Getting in some movement will further support you in reclaiming your day and formulating the best solution.
It's ok if you don't have time for the walk, but I highly recommend you make time for the Writing Exercise. You will get this time back 10 fold.
We would love to hear how this strategy works for you!
Ready to Get Started?
If you feel excited about implementing this strategy and want some additional accountability and support to get started, the It’s All in the Planning Starter Pak was designed for you!
A Note from Happy Spaces
The goal is to add value to your life. If you think this project will add value:
Estimate how long you think it will take. I would recommend doubling the time you estimate.
Look at your calendar over the next week and pick a date and time to get started.
Make an appointment on your calendar for the estimated time.
If you estimate that completing this project will take longer than one hour, I recommend doing it over multiple days. This will support you in getting started!
Prior to starting this project, take a few minutes to make a step-by-step list of EVERY action you need to take to complete this project.
It's not all or nothing. You can choose to implement only the parts of this project that add value to your life.
An Accountability Partner can be a great support in following through on your goals and commitments.
We understand how challenging it can be to implement new habits and systems. For additional support please go to HappySpacesBySarah.com.
Creating a life you don't need a vacation from! ®
Sincerely,
Sarah Weingarten
Meet Sarah
Growing up as the oldest of nine siblings in Upstate New York, I learned to use organization to create sanity among the chaos. Today, I work together with individuals, families, and small businesses to create habits, systems, and spaces that support their needs, goals, and dreams. Clients often refer to our work together as "life-changing" and "better than decades of therapy". What I love most about my work is the lasting impact it has on real people's lives. Nothing makes me happier than hearing the many success stories of clients I have worked with.
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When Downtime is Your Most Productive Choice!
Sometimes, the most effective option is downtime.
Photo by Parthiban V on Unsplash
Every Thursday, I share one action, habit, or project you may want to undertake in order to improve your health, happiness, and sense of well-being.
If you are finding value in our PROJECT OF THE WEEK Newsletter, we would greatly appreciate it if you would spread the word. Your friends and family can click HERE to sign-up.
PROJECT OF THE WEEK
When Downtime is Your Most Productive Choice!
As we head into Memorial Day Weekend, I find it necessary to remind myself that it’s okay to not use the long weekend to tackle a to-do list. Instead, choosing downtime may be your most productive choice!
Recently, I woke up on a Monday and felt exhausted. The prior week had been super busy and we had gone away for the weekend.
But it was Monday, my to-do list was long and I wanted to start the week off right. So I pushed through.
The evening was smooth, bedtime went great and everyone, including me, was asleep before 9:00 pm.
I thought that if I just got a good night's rest, Tuesday would be better. My body had other ideas.
I ended up getting sick overnight and being forced into canceling everything on Tuesday that was not a client meeting.
After spending the first half of Tuesday sleeping, I started to feel better. Following a full night’s sleep on Tuesday, I woke up Wednesday morning feeling like my normal self, ready to enjoy the day, and get stuff done.
In fact, the remainder of the week was SO much more productive.
This was a great reminder of how important it is to listen to your body and know when taking some downtime is your most productive choice.
Looking back, even though I did cross a number of items off my to-do list on Monday, they were not items that were overly important, and they, no doubt, took much longer to do than they would have if I had not been exhausted. In addition, I purposely did not do any work on Monday that required a lot of thinking. In other words, I did not do anything that important.
In the end, I didn't accomplish anything of value on Monday and I totally lost Tuesday.
In retrospect, I should have rested on Monday. Had I rested, I likely would have slept well on Monday night and then had a productive day on Tuesday.
This is a lesson that I have had to learn over and over again.
I need to recognize when taking the time to rest is my most effective work strategy.
Are you able to recognize when you need some downtime before it's too late?
We would love to hear about it!
Ready to Get Started?
If you feel excited about implementing this strategy and want some additional accountability and support to get started, the It’s All in the Planning Starter Pak was designed for you!
A Note from Happy Spaces
The goal is to add value to your life. If you think this project will add value:
Estimate how long you think it will take. I would recommend doubling the time you estimate.
Look at your calendar over the next week and pick a date and time to get started.
Make an appointment on your calendar for the estimated time.
If you estimate that completing this project will take longer than one hour, I recommend doing it over multiple days. This will support you in getting started!
Prior to starting this project, take a few minutes to make a step-by-step list of EVERY action you need to take to complete this project.
It's not all or nothing. You can choose to implement only the parts of this project that add value to your life.
An Accountability Partner can be a great support in following through on your goals and commitments.
We understand how challenging it can be to implement new habits and systems. For additional support please go to HappySpacesBySarah.com.
Creating a life you don't need a vacation from! ®
Sincerely,
Sarah Weingarten
Meet Sarah
Growing up as the oldest of nine siblings in Upstate New York, I learned to use organization to create sanity among the chaos. Today, I work together with individuals, families, and small businesses to create habits, systems, and spaces that support their needs, goals, and dreams. Clients often refer to our work together as "life-changing" and "better than decades of therapy". What I love most about my work is the lasting impact it has on real people's lives. Nothing makes me happier than hearing the many success stories of clients I have worked with.
Follow Me
Share this post
What is Getting in Your Way?
Get out of your own way!
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
Every Thursday, I share one action, habit, or project you may want to undertake in order to improve your health, happiness, and sense of well-being.
If you are finding value in our PROJECT OF THE WEEK Newsletter, we would greatly appreciate it if you would spread the word. Your friends and family can click HERE to sign-up.
PROJECT OF THE WEEK
What is getting in your way?
My goal for The Project of The Week Newsletter is to share one action, habit, or project you may want to undertake in order to improve your health, happiness, and sense of well-being.
We do our best to clearly define the benefits of implementing each project and to lay out a path for you to follow.
Today, I want to take a moment to reflect.
Has there been a project that you know would add value to your life, but you still have not started?
Is there a project that you started, but have not completed?
So, what’s getting in your way?
Getting Started
Take a moment to consider some common roadblocks to starting projects:
Are you struggling with saying NO to other people's priorities, and by default, not leaving time for your own?
Are you getting enough sleep?
Are you multi-tasking, and therefore, not making any real progress?
Do you have a list of Next Actions, so that you know exactly what to do when you set time aside to work on the project?
Are you struggling with disorganization and not able to find what you need when you need it?
Do you feel like the project is important, but yet, you never actually want to work on it when the time comes?
All of the possibilities listed above are very real. Maybe you have a long list of projects that you know would benefit you in the long run, but you also have a new baby at home. Less sleep, more surviving than thriving right now, and finding a new normal are all valid reasons to not have tackled organization in the nursery that you know will help you daily. But, what if you could just find a little time each day to make your life easier overall?
Below are some suggestions on how to Get Started and Keep Your Momentum Going:
Be specific
Where are you going to work on the project?
When are you going to work on the project?
Where are you going to 'store' any materials you need so that they are available to you when you need them?
Where are you going to keep your list of Next Actions?
Include how you are going to hold yourself accountable
Add your work sessions to your calendar
Set an alarm and label it so that you can't forget
If these strategies are not working and you continue to find yourself procrastinating on a project that you know is important, take a few moments to journal about why? Be sure to include any feelings that are coming up.
Our mind is powerful!
No productivity strategy is going to outsmart our brains.
You need to figure out what part of you doesn't want this project to happen and why?
Then you can go back and try some new Productivity Strategies!
Happy Spaces Tips & Tricks
Ask for help!
Just doing a portion of the full project each day will make great strides as a whole.
DO NOT beat yourself up if you don’t complete your daily task, but do ask yourself why if one day turns into several.
Ready to Get Started?
If you feel excited about implementing this strategy and want some additional accountability and support to get started, the It’s All in the Planning Starter Pak was designed for you!
A Note from Happy Spaces
The goal is to add value to your life. If you think this project will add value:
Estimate how long you think it will take. I would recommend doubling the time you estimate.
Look at your calendar over the next week and pick a date and time to get started.
Make an appointment on your calendar for the estimated time.
If you estimate that completing this project will take longer than one hour, I recommend doing it over multiple days. This will support you in getting started!
Prior to starting this project, take a few minutes to make a step-by-step list of EVERY action you need to take to complete this project.
It's not all or nothing. You can choose to implement only the parts of this project that add value to your life.
An Accountability Partner can be a great support in following through on your goals and commitments.
We understand how challenging it can be to implement new habits and systems. For additional support please go to HappySpacesBySarah.com.
Creating a life you don't need a vacation from! ®
Sincerely,
Sarah Weingarten
Meet Sarah
Growing up as the oldest of nine siblings in Upstate New York, I learned to use organization to create sanity among the chaos. Today, I work together with individuals, families, and small businesses to create habits, systems, and spaces that support their needs, goals, and dreams. Clients often refer to our work together as "life-changing" and "better than decades of therapy". What I love most about my work is the lasting impact it has on real people's lives. Nothing makes me happier than hearing the many success stories of clients I have worked with.
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Create Your Vision Board
Create your vision!
Photo by Nathan Lemon on Unsplash
Every Thursday, I share one action, habit, or project you may want to undertake in order to improve your health, happiness, and sense of well-being.
If you are finding value in our PROJECT OF THE WEEK Newsletter, we would greatly appreciate it if you would spread the word. Your friends and family can click HERE to sign-up.
PROJECT OF THE WEEK
Create a Vision Board
At Happy Spaces, our mission is to "Share, Teach and Inspire About the Power of Planning and Why Systems and Structure Matter".
Before you can make a plan, decide on what habits would support your goal, or implement a system to support transforming your goal into your new identity, you need to know your why.
Creating a Vision Board is a fun, visual way to keep front and center what's important to you.
Getting Started
What you will need:
Poster board
Glue stick
Scissors
A few magazines that have words and images that you relate to.
I recommend doing this with a friend or your family - your people! - it’s a fun activity that everyone can enjoy doing and benefit from.
Schedule an hour to make your Vision Board. Put it on the calendar!
Take some time to flip through the magazines. Look for images and words that represent the identities you are focusing on.
Below are a few ideas!
If you are focusing on health, you may want to cut out an image of a fridge full of healthy food, someone doing yoga, or the word "Health".
If you are focusing on personal growth, you may want to cut out an image of someone reading, pictures of books, or the word "Growth".
If you are focusing on spending more quality time with your family, you may want to cut out an image of a family spending time together, an activity you want to do with your family, or the words "Focus", "On", and "Family".
If you are focusing on time blocking and prioritizing your important projects over all the tasks that continuously pop up, you may want to cut out an image of a checklist, a project that is important to you, or the words, "Prioritize," "What", "Is", and "Important"
Once you have cutouts of multiple images and words, arrange them on your poster board.
Don’t forget to take a moment to reflect:
Do you feel like it represents your WHY?
Do you need to add any images or words?
Once you have everything arranged the way you like it, glue down all your cutouts.
Happy Spaces Tips & Tricks
Displaying your Vision Board is an important part of the process.
Think about where you could display your Vision Board so that you see it on a daily basis.
Is there a spot in the kitchen that is visible to you when you are making your morning coffee or doing the dishes?
Is there a spot in your bedroom, where you would see it when you are getting ready in the morning?
If you’re comfortable, take a picture of your vision board and tag @happyspacesbysarah on Instagram. We’d love to see what you’ve come up with!
Ready to Get Started?
If you feel excited about implementing this strategy and want some additional accountability and support to get started, the It’s All in the Planning Starter Pak was designed for you!
A Note from Happy Spaces
The goal is to add value to your life. If you think this project will add value:
Estimate how long you think it will take. I would recommend doubling the time you estimate.
Look at your calendar over the next week and pick a date and time to get started.
Make an appointment on your calendar for the estimated time.
If you estimate that completing this project will take longer than one hour, I recommend doing it over multiple days. This will support you in getting started!
Prior to starting this project, take a few minutes to make a step-by-step list of EVERY action you need to take to complete this project.
It's not all or nothing. You can choose to implement only the parts of this project that add value to your life.
An Accountability Partner can be a great support in following through on your goals and commitments.
We understand how challenging it can be to implement new habits and systems. For additional support please go to HappySpacesBySarah.com.
Creating a life you don't need a vacation from! ®
Sincerely,
Sarah Weingarten
Meet Sarah
Growing up as the oldest of nine siblings in Upstate New York, I learned to use organization to create sanity among the chaos. Today, I work together with individuals, families, and small businesses to create habits, systems, and spaces that support their needs, goals, and dreams. Clients often refer to our work together as "life-changing" and "better than decades of therapy". What I love most about my work is the lasting impact it has on real people's lives. Nothing makes me happier than hearing the many success stories of clients I have worked with.
Follow Me
Share this post
Choose "Your People" Wisely
Choose people that help make you a better you.
Photo by Elizeu Dias on Unsplash
Every Thursday, I share one action, habit, or project you may want to undertake in order to improve your health, happiness, and sense of well-being.
If you are finding value in our PROJECT OF THE WEEK Newsletter, we would greatly appreciate it if you would spread the word. Your friends and family can click HERE to sign-up.
PROJECT OF THE WEEK
Choose “Your People” Wisely
As humans, we need social connections. In fact, "Neuroscience suggests that we are neurologically wired to connect with others."
There are many benefits to social connection, including:
Lower Anxiety
Lower Depression
Improved Emotional Regulation
Higher Self-Esteem
Higher Levels of Empathy
Improved Immune Systems
Did you also know that humans are "pack animals"?
We often make decisions based on the actions of those we surround ourselves with.
It's commonly recognized how important it is to surround yourself with people who care about you and want what's best for you.
What is less talked about is the importance of surrounding yourself with people who have similar goals, work ethics, and identities.
Getting Started
We have focused these last few weeks on how to build strong financial habits.
If this is something you want to make a part of your identity, it's important to surround yourself with others who also value financial security. If all your friends commonly spend above their means, it's going to be challenging to be the only one working to live within a budget.
If you are working hard to create a healthy future for yourself and your family, it's important to surround yourself with individuals and families who are also health focused. Connecting with friends while hiking, at the playground, or for a picnic supports one identity; connecting with friends while going out to eat or binging Netflix all day, supports a different identity.
If you are working to grow yourself and your passion, it's important to surround yourself with people who share your growth mindset and work ethic. If the people you are surrounding yourself with are constantly complaining about their job and feel like there is nothing they can do to change their situation, they are not going to create the environment you need to grow and develop your passion.
Looking forward, it's really valuable to ask yourself if a new connection is going to support the identity you are working to build. There are many amazing people out there that may not be the right fit for where you are in your life. And, that’s okay!
What about all the amazing people in your life that have different priorities?
I’m sure there are wonderful people in your life currently that don’t necessarily support where you want to be. This could be a friend since grade school or even - gasp! - your siblings or other family members. There’s nothing “wrong” with the relationship. This just means your relationship will now look different than it has before.
Change is hard. While it's important to be sympathetic to your friends and family as they adjust to your new identity; it's equally important to directly address any perceived comments or actions that you feel are working against your goals.
You will likely need to have a conversation about the identity you are looking to build for yourself and set some new boundaries and expectations around what that looks like.
Schedule a conversation to brainstorm ideas for activities you would both like that fit your new identity. You may also want to discuss activities that you have commonly enjoyed together, and that no longer support the identity you are working to build for yourself. For example, you always meet the same college friend monthly for drinks after work. But, you’ve decided to drink less and move more. Could that drink now be an after-work walk, followed by a stop at your new favorite juice bar?
We commonly hear that it's best to lead by example. If you want your kids to eat healthier, you need to start eating healthy first.
Choosing who you surround yourself with, supports you in making changes, while others lead by example.
Who are "your people"?
Happy Spaces Tips & Tricks
Be aware of any unsupportive comments or actions that may be directed at your new behaviors or habits and how this affects your thoughts, stories about yourself, and actions.
If your friends and family are not willing to be supportive, it's important to recognize this. How important is the relationship if they can't support what is best for you?
Ready to Get Started?
If you feel excited about implementing this strategy and want some additional accountability and support to get started, the It’s All in the Planning Starter Pak was designed for you!
A Note from Happy Spaces
The goal is to add value to your life. If you think this project will add value:
Estimate how long you think it will take. I would recommend doubling the time you estimate.
Look at your calendar over the next week and pick a date and time to get started.
Make an appointment on your calendar for the estimated time.
If you estimate that completing this project will take longer than one hour, I recommend doing it over multiple days. This will support you in getting started!
Prior to starting this project, take a few minutes to make a step-by-step list of EVERY action you need to take to complete this project.
It's not all or nothing. You can choose to implement only the parts of this project that add value to your life.
An Accountability Partner can be a great support in following through on your goals and commitments.
We understand how challenging it can be to implement new habits and systems. For additional support please go to HappySpacesBySarah.com.
Creating a life you don't need a vacation from! ®
Sincerely,
Sarah Weingarten
Meet Sarah
Growing up as the oldest of nine siblings in Upstate New York, I learned to use organization to create sanity among the chaos. Today, I work together with individuals, families, and small businesses to create habits, systems, and spaces that support their needs, goals, and dreams. Clients often refer to our work together as "life-changing" and "better than decades of therapy". What I love most about my work is the lasting impact it has on real people's lives. Nothing makes me happier than hearing the many success stories of clients I have worked with.