Episoder
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How does our laundry room explode? And is there any way we can have it looking like a magazine? Let's discuss. Now, you may not have a laundry room. Yours may be in the basement, so yours may not work the way my laundry room does. As I'm talking about this, it may be a different space in your house. It may be a spare bedroom. It may be a home office. Or it may be the dining room table. I'm going to go through two more spaces in the next two weeks. So if you're like, āI have bomb explosions in every room of my house,ā there are different kinds of explosions. So we're gonna talk about the different kinds.
Before the Sunday BasketĀ®, everything Iām going to tell you about would be in the laundry room plus my bills, mail, my actionables. So when I got to Sunday, I would be like āwhat do I have going on?ā āWhere are my things?ā No one is ONLY doing laundry in their laundry room. Period. No one is. So Iām going to encourage you to go on over to organize365.com and sign up for the Free Week of The Productive Home SolutionĀ®, which is the laundry room.
Things that might end up in here are the following: things that you need for a project, but wonāt fit in your Sunday BasketĀ®. Things that are in process that we donāt want to forget. Items for the next holiday, for summer vacation, projects that are ongoing that get delayed, backpacks at the end of the school year (that donāt get emptied out until weeks before the next school year!). Things that may be incoming or outgoing into the house - birthday gifts that need to be wrapped, things that need to be returned, donated, or youāre not quite sure what to do with it yet.
The Free Week of The Productive Home SolutionĀ® is a great introduction to it, because the way I organize a room is not the way people normally would. Go ahead and clean out your laundry room, look at it with different eyes. Next week, weāre going to talk about my garage - which may be your storage area, your den, your porch, your family room, but we all have this space. Weāll check that out next week.
EPISODE RESOURCES:
The Sunday BasketĀ®
Free Week of The Productive Home SolutionĀ®
The Productive Home SolutionĀ®
Sign Up for the Organize 365Ā® Newsletter
Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365Ā® when you share on social media!
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Jayme and I were caught off guard by our nerves for this second in person workshop day. I think the reality was that we were using technology we were super familiar with running ourselves to promote more transparency and we werenāt in control. Two type Aās like to be in control! It was so good though and I think our biggest takeaways from this day and this pilot are:
We individualize so much for our students, why donāt we do the same for our teachers?
Allow real vulnerable conversations and be open to suggestions for improvement
When the teachers saw improvement in their main teaching role, they wanted it for their classrooms or personal life next.
Jayme had 65% of her staff participate and we were looking for their feedback. I noticed in these responses they are the ones I get from the Organize 356Ā® community. Accomplishment is the number one response I get when I ask people āHow does it feel to be organized?ā And this group of teachers were no different. This was after only 6 months of use too!! We used the Mentimeter app so that they could submit their answers via their phones so they could be open and vulnerable. We asked āWhat have you noticed about using the index cards?ā Here were a few of the responses:
Get things out of my head
My ideas are organized
I remember things better
I can prioritize tasks
Less stress
Saves time
Visibly see what I wanted to do but haven't yet.
So the second question we asked them was if they were taking work home. I was shocked that more teachers didnāt say yes. I really thought that was going to be higher until Jayme explained her expectations. Jayme has communicated with her staff how to effectively use their time. Just because itās called the Friday WorkboxĀ® AKA Teacher Workbox, you donāt have to do it on Fridays. She explained to them that she stays late on most Thursdays for games. Since the games donāt start until 6, she has 3 hours to process her workbox. This is helping them not bring work home. Here were the results to that second question.
No (9)
Yes (15)
Sometimes (9)
I was also curious to see how many teachers were using digital organization and to what extent. I was shocked that paper was the highest. I thought for sure because of all the buzz that it would be higher digital or hybrid, but nope. In the society of America, a capitalist country, we have our own rules within each organization, so there is not this one, main digital stream. This leads to paper!! And by the way, index cards are paper. Iāve been challenged on this. Think about it...would you rather have your teachers write something down quickly on an index card and continue instruction OR would you like them to pull out their phones? I would hope if you choose the latter there would be an expectation that it not be in the middle of instruction. But then two things happen, the teacher is trying to remember to put it in their phones later AND all the rabbit trails with all their shiny pathways distract the teachers and who knows how long that quick task of entering the idea or task will take! So what were the results of this question? ā¦
All Paper (17)
All Digital (3)
Hybrid of both (13)
And lastly I was feeling like, what else do they want? I had taken the time to teach the system of the Teacher Friday WorkboxĀ®. I had spent time with the Special Education team, getting them set. It was no surprise with success in their teacher role, now they wanted it in their classrooms and at home. Each teacher was invited to planning day. They got to plan in their personal life. There is so much invisible work required from teachers and they were getting relief from all those responsibilities. And that is why Jayme and I wanted to do this. We want educators to be fulfilled in home and work life, we want teacher retention and this is one way to achieve that!
EPISODE RESOURCES:
Teacher Friday WorkboxĀ®
Sign Up for the Organize 365Ā® Newsletter
On the Wednesday podcast, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365ĀĀ® community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps and triumphs along their organizing journey. I am grateful that you are reaching out to share with me and with this community. You can see and hear transformation in action. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.
Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365Ā® when you share on social media!
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Mangler du episoder?
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This month I am going to record a 4-part podcast series about how we prepare to get projects done, and then this summer Iām going to record a 7-part series about how to actually set a goal and achieve a goal that is a project inside of your home; specifically how do we start, continue, finish, and pick a new project.
You make so many mental decisions about how you want your projects and your process to be before you even start, and of course there are lots of pivots and iterations that happen along the way. But it is the mental preparation, the physical space preparation that you do that really helps you set and achieve goals.
What happens before you set the goal - specifically anything household related? And then when youāre in the middle of the goal or the project - how does your household change in regards to the physical spaces? I end up using multiple spaces in my house to keep the things that are related to those projects and to keep me on track.
The first one is the Sunday BasketĀ®. It is how you run the administration of a household. It is where you put the mail, your ideas, small items that need fixed, or things that need to be returned. Itās basically a really nice kitchen counter pile collector. Because we do so much inside our households, we have to acquire the items we need for projects weāre going to do before we actually are doing the projects. The Sunday BasketĀ® is also for all the little random things that we remember that we need to do that arenāt necessarily for next week. It adds to and enhances your planning routines. Itās the pink, purple, blue and green slash pocket items. I had this color system before I even manufactured the Sunday BasketĀ®. I filled up the blue, purple and green slash pockets immediately. I got to the pink and just stared at them and didnāt know how to really use them. I had personal goals, but didnāt have any slash pockets to give a physical weight or representation to those personal goals. Your pink slash pockets can be literally anything you want them to be. The nice thing about the Sunday BasketĀ® is itās fairly private. Nobodyās going into your Sunday BasketĀ®.
The Sunday BasketĀ® holds decades of your future hopes and dreams - personally, financially, for your family, for your home. It keeps the daily running of the house going and your weekly cadence of things coming in, things you need to do, things that can wait until next week. Thatās basic 101 Sunday BasketĀ® usage. But the beauty of the Sunday BasketĀ® is that all the next week, next month, next year or next decade ideas can also live in here and not get lost when the opportunity comes or youāre ready to do that big project or that big pink work.
EPISODE RESOURCES:
The Sunday BasketĀ®
Portable Sunday BasketĀ®
The Productive Home SolutionĀ®
The Paper SolutionĀ®
Sign Up for the Organize 365Ā® Newsletter
Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365Ā® when you share on social media!
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Now I want to share a bit of a deep dive about refinement of the Teacher Friday WorkboxĀ®. I find it ironic that we basically made up IEPs for the workboxes for teachers that create IEPs for students. Each teacher used their workbox differently due to their teaching knowledge, the way they learn and work, and the work they were responsible for. Jayme decided to purchase a red slash pocket for each student to help the teachers. This way each student had a designated spot for all the documentation each teacher needed for meetings and to qualify for the IEPs. It was also a great place to file away documentation of the student when they were caught being good. It is refreshing to sprinkle in a little positivity during the meetings!
Jayme was pleasantly surprised with the teacherās transparency in their struggles. Some of these teachers were new to the school and all of them were new to special education. They were being very vulnerable with the principal in the room. Just because a training is mandated didnāt mean the teachers were going to talk or be as transparent! We discovered some teachers felt they were touching their red slash pockets too much while other teachers felt overwhelmed by the sea of red, like a glaring light of responsibility begging for their attention. I offered the solution to organize by frequency and quantity of intervention. We took this one step further and gave less frequent weekly interacting students different colors. Jayme added to file them according to the due date. This was a huge relief of stress for the teachers.
The Teacher Friday WorkboxĀ® Is an Investment In the Teacher Not The Physical Workbox
We also uncovered that it would be beneficial for special education teachers to have an additional (portable) Teacher Friday WorkboxĀ®. These are a durable box and the school will likely not have to replace it. Invest in your staff or not, it will not cancel out the complexity of work a special education teacher carries or their cognitive load. These workboxes are there to provide organization for IEPs that the teachers are held accountable to the transformation of each individual student. Thereās a lot to organize, ok?
While yes, there is a physical box that goes with this personal development (and Jayme explained giving PGPās; we call them CEUās in Ohio), I see this as training, an investment in the person, the human. Some āpowers that beā have questioned ownership of these teacher workboxes once the school or district/corporation purchases them. Yes, a teacher could quit and lots of times items the school has purchased for them get left in the classroom on the teacherās last day. Jayme explained she could see it as an investment in the teacher and how some would see it as a physical product to be left behind. But the incoming teacher would have no knowledge of how to utilize the workbox. The training is like intellectual property now. And if the last scenario played out, the teacher could invest in a new workbox. There are teachers out there already purchasing their own workbox. But they canāt make the building or district change. The principal or superintendent - now that is someone who can encourage change in the building or on a larger scale!
Jaymeās building has noticed better communication across the board. Communication has improved due to transparency, work being made visible, teachers not feeling isolated, and work getting accomplished by dividing and conquering.
EPISODE RESOURCES:
Teacher Friday WorkboxĀ®
Sign Up for the Organize 365Ā® Newsletter
On the Wednesday podcast, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365ĀĀ® community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps and triumphs along their organizing journey. I am grateful that you are reaching out to share with me and with this community. You can see and hear transformation in action. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.
Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365Ā® when you share on social media!
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Weāve come to the downsizing & legacy stage of life. These are two different things, although I married them together about 6 years ago when I first wrote about this. Naturally people downsize, but I donāt think they always think about the implications of legacy. Some downsizing is based on your family of origin. A lot of people never get to legacy, but legacy can happen at any time. So in this podcast, downsizing isnāt because you are overwhelmed and want to live a minimalist lifestyle. Iām talking about downsizing because you donāt need this big of a house anymore. Itās a natural phase of life where you start to downsize the amount of possessions you have. Downsizing usually happens when youāve observed or been through a very major life event; it changes your perspective on time forever going forward.
Once you make the shift that people are more important than things, and that you want to spend your time with people instead of taking care of stuff - you start to let go of things on a regular basis. These cascades of downsizing happen 1) for the amount of house you want to clean and maintain, and 2) for the amount of stuff you want to clean and keep from the family of origin you have. This natural wanting to live in a smaller, easier to maintain house typically happens at the end of your 60s and into your 70s. The mental mindset when you have a life-altering event that makes you realize youāre not invincible seems to take place by 70.
What is the purpose or job in this phase of life? For downsizing - itās to continue to refine and curate the physical items you have around you that you still love and use and bring you joy in this season of life. For legacy - itās to have around you the things that remind you of who you are, where you came from, the legacy youāve put into your family and into the world. This is why Iām adamant about not having your memories in your storage room. If you love it and itās part of your legacy - frame it, put it on a shelf, put it anywhere so you can see it.
What is your capacity in downsizing & legacy? Over time your capacity will slow down, and youāll really want to use your capacity to spend time with family and friends, do the things youāre uniquely created to do, not more housework. How do we use the physical spaces in our home? You purposefully choose to live in smaller dwelling spaces so the way you use those smaller spaces changes. What scaffolding or support do we need to make this phase of life easier and more productive? We need understanding, for the generations behind this one who arenāt there yet who wonāt understand until they are in it, to listen to this podcast and think āyeah, that makes sense.ā
EPISODE RESOURCES:
The Paper SolutionĀ®
Portable Sunday BasketĀ®
The Sunday BasketĀ®
The Productive Home SolutionĀ®
Sign Up for the Organize 365Ā® Newsletter
Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365Ā® when you share on social media!
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I just knew in my heart of hearts that the Special Education staff was going to need support. Jaymeās building has ā of the student population that qualifies for special education!! How was I going to give that support? Did the staff have the time? So I called Jayme and we decided on a Zoom class and I invited them to be my guest at my upcoming paper organizing retreat. The staff was excited to learn together and Jayme was creative in carving out time for them to complete the training.
On Zoom
The Zoom training kind of turned into a Q&A. The teachers felt prepared for the IEP meetings until Jayme pointed out that if you have to leave during the meeting (which happened often), then they werenāt prepared. So they all threw out challenges and reasons why that happened. It was impactful for me to understand the variables and complexities involved in the IEP process. It was a non judgmental conversation rather quite productive in preparing them, Jayme and staff, and me, for the paper organizing retreat.
The Paper Organizing Retreat
I enjoyed getting to meet Jaymeās Special Education staff and understanding their challenges. It was interesting to learn how much traveling they do and how many entities they are responsible for due to creating IEPs. And not to mention that all of the IEPs have legal implications...at a Federal level. There are timelines and if one āiā doesnāt get dotted, the whole thing is invalid. I have been on both sides of this process and I know that the IEP meetings are emotionally volatile and the teachers need to be prepared with all the proper documentation. Not having a document or needing to get keys to access a document show unpreparedness and the teacher is perceived to be unorganized and unengaged. Jayme had a unique challenge that in the past her Special Education team had always been experienced and confident in āprocessingā IEPās. That was not the case going into this school year. Jayme needed to know just as much as her staff going into this school year. This brought a spotlight on the checklist she THOUGHT everyone had seen and was planning on using. Turned out there were multiple copies, some outdated, and some teachers had not seen the checklists. So there was a new digitally optimized checklist that was created initially in analog as they conversed. They identified tasks that needed to be completed (with dates) before, during, and after the IEP meetings to keep everything legal and moving forward. This was brilliant for Jayme because she had the master and will have it now for her career. The teachers could get access to it and edit it to their process and responsibilities, AND it was all on one page!!
Creating Individualized Teacher Workboxes for Those Who Create IEPās
Each teacher embraced the Teacher Friday WorkboxĀ®, but they realized they needed to customize it for the student population that they served as well as what felt good to them in an organizational sense. Also, it became obvious how much these teachers are on the move. Traveling between classrooms, meetings, and outside the building. Jayme invested in portable workboxes for the Special Education teachers.
**Canāt wait to find out why Jayme got red slash pockets for each student??
EPISODE RESOURCES:
Teacher Friday WorkboxĀ®
Sign Up for the Organize 365Ā® Newsletter
On the Wednesday podcast, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365ĀĀ® community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps and triumphs along their organizing journey. I am grateful that you are reaching out to share with me and with this community. You can see and hear transformation in action. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.
Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365Ā® when you share on social media!
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Sorry, I got a little long winded in that last podcast. But you know, the podcast where I talk about your 30s and 40s I can speak to you more authoritatively about because I have lived it. A lot of what Iām saying from here forward is speculation and purely observational. Some things you have to just experience to understand - like giving birth! Being in your 50s is so freeing because you realize that no one is paying attention to what you are doing. Theyāre worried about themselves, thinking about their own lives, their own dreams, their own hopes, ambitions, time, money, energy and capacity. Chasing who you are uniquely created to be and running after your own uniqueness and becoming as excellent as possible in the thing that you were gifted and created to do is like the rest of my lifeās mission.
In your 20s thereās so many possibilities - try it all. In your 30s, you need to be an independent adult. In your 40s you go ok, wellā¦I tried a lot of things in my 20s and 30s and these things arenāt moving into the second half of my life so they need to be decluttered, not only physically but mentally. I think thereās an extended new phase of life here, Iām going to call it āEmerging Uniqueness.ā Women today in their 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s have big plans, lofty plans. They love what they are doing and the impact theyāre making. Your 50s are a Golden Windowā¦a Golden Decade! If you had your children in your late 30s, this window will shift to later. So where you have your children (if you have them at all) does create where your fixed expenses and time constraints are going to be.
The theme of the 50s to me so far and what Iām observing is that women arenāt done. We havenāt even really gotten started, to be honest. We want to be on the list - on the to do list. Like, we would like to be above the dog. Once youāre decluttered and organized, you have a lot of capacity for the unexpected demands on your time and your money because you know how to move things around mentally and physically on your calendar in order to create the capacity when needed. I think that adulthood is self care. It has nothing to do with bubble baths, spas or whatever. Self care is taking care of yourself. In childhood, your parents took care of you. In emerging adulthood, youāre in between your parents and taking care of yourself. Now is your time.
What is our purpose or our job in this phase of life? Self care. Taking care of yourself and prioritizing yourself, in addition to everyone else that lives in your household. Planning - planning for you and what youāre doing next and continuing to dream - that is your purpose. What is your capacity? HUGE. Huge capacity, income, earning, time, and 50 years worth of knowledge. How do we use the physical spaces in our home? You understand time capacity now. You understand how limited it is, but also how exponential it is. So, just get your homework done. Once your physical spaces are decluttered and organized, youāre not in accumulation anymore - so it will stay maintained. What scaffolding or support do we need to make this phase of life easier and more productive? Once youāve done The Productive Home SolutionĀ® and The Paper SolutionĀ®, what you need is Planning Day. Not only will Planning Days help you plan the next 120 days, it will encourage you, inspire you, motivate you, and hold you accountable to keep growing, reaching further, and dreaming about what is possible. Make a list of the things that you want to do, be, and have in the second half of your lifeā¦and then start going after it!
EPISODE RESOURCES:
The Productive Home SolutionĀ®
The Paper SolutionĀ®
The Sunday BasketĀ® Home Planning Day
Sign Up for the Organize 365Ā® Newsletter
Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365Ā® when you share on social media!
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This is the recap of Day 1. I was driving to Jayme to teach the first workshop for her teachers about the Teacher Friday WorkboxĀ®. Iād been having conversations with other schools about implementing the Teacher Program in their schools. I was shocked by the one thing holding them back. The honest feedback I was receiving was that they were afraid theyād be shedding light on how overworked the teachers were and they knew the staff was resentful and considering quitting. They were afraid that making visible all of the invisible work they do would give them reason to submit their resignation!
Youāre Not Alone And Youāre Not Crazy
I shared this feedback with Jayme who laughed. āThey already know they are overworked!ā Jaymeās staff had two reactions to the Teacher Friday WorkboxĀ®. Some (especially new faculty) were afraid to do it wrong. Jayme assured them if they were just doing something they were doing it right. And the others had epiphanies saying, āIām not crazy, and Iām not alone.ā Those teachers discovered through the Teacher Friday WorkboxĀ® that other teachers felt the same as them. And it was cathartic to visualize all they really did and it was no longer a mystery why they felt overwhelmed. Jayme encourages other schools to understand that each teacher will embrace it at their own level and thatās ok. At one point too, Jayme did the time circles with the teachers once again reinforcing that their time was spread pretty thin.
The First Workshop
There I was with Jayme the principal, the assistant superintendent, and a room full of teachers. I couldnāt wait to hear all their feedback and realizations. But something interesting happened. I encouraged them to bring to light any issue within the building. This was another time they realized they werenāt alone in noticing the same issues. They were learning from each other. āDo the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better.ā Maya Angelou. We discussed the different colored slash pockets and their use in the Teacher Friday WorkboxĀ®. The mental wellness of the staff providing for the students is so important. Now teachers had a designated place to place important documents.
Red for behavioral matters like IEPās, 504ās, things with possible legal implications
Orange for calendars and computers - maybe they wanted to print off something actionable from a parent
Yellow out of the classroom; like field trips or projects for parents who help
Green reimbursement but some use it for grading or lesson plans
Blue teams; grade level, building level, parent, IEP, meetings (record questions for next meeting)
Purple attendance
Pink THE TEACHER! PD, peer reviews, or maybe just happy mail to remind you that you are a good teacher and the kids love you.
Jayme noticed two awesome unexpected side effects. The teachers were now task stacking due to accomplishing tasks of the same color. And there was a trickle down of sorts where teachers could offer similar solutions to students to tackle their assignments.
I Almost Turned Around
As I drove away recounting the workshop, all I could think of was the Special Education Team. They had no checklists and they were all new. They were new to the building, and most of them new to the Special Education Department. I knew they were going to need more support, so I arranged more time for the Special Education teachers. I do all of this in the name of teacher wellness, communication, and teacher retention!
EPISODE RESOURCES:
Teacher Friday WorkboxĀ®
Sign Up for the Organize 365Ā® Newsletter
On the Wednesday podcast, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365ĀĀ® community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps and triumphs along their organizing journey. I am grateful that you are reaching out to share with me and with this community. You can see and hear transformation in action. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.
Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365Ā® when you share on social media!
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āWhat do you wanna get mom?ā Is this the question you are asking your siblings? Are you starting to plan to get something for your mom for Motherās Day? You know Iām all about planning and I have a great idea that could be the perfect solution to your gift dilemma.
Youāll buy the $20 itemā¦but will you gift yourself organization?
We moms are where the holidays come from, right? And while you are shopping for your mom (if you are lucky enough to still have your mom), youāll probably pick up smaller priced items you want. I know this because I am a mom, too. But will you gift yourself organization? Probably not. We have discussed before that this is not a line item in the monthly budget. So now may be the perfect time to put a Sunday BasketĀ® or The Productive Home SolutionĀ® on your wish list and start dropping hints. While you love the flowers, now may be the time to say āenough with the flowers, will you please put that money towards organization?ā Organization leads to confidence. Confidence leads to believing in opportunity. Youāll have time to explore those opportunities when you become productive as a result of getting organized. Could there be a better gift? I mean actually? Mental sanity - I think most moms long for mental sanity.
And maybe you get it for your mom. There is no age where you are too old to start organizing. And really, itās kind of a gift for you too. You know as well as I do, that at the end of the day you can gift her organization now or do it yourself when you settle that estate. You two could be getting organized together.
How will you tell your childās teacher āThank Youā this year?
Itās also the time of year when the class goes in on a gift for the teacher. Itās possible their teacher may not know what it is at first. But once they realize the gift they have received??? Let me just tell you, on the Wednesday podcast there are some episodes coming up where once teachers got their hands on the Teacher Friday WorkboxĀ®, they actually ended up using it as a Sunday BasketĀ® for home. Teacherās value organization. Help your teachers to free up mental chaos at home this summer. Free up their time this summer so they can focus on their families and aspirations, and then they can return to the classroom refreshed. Who knows they may even grab the Teacher Friday WorkboxĀ® to stay organized at work, too! Did you know that office supplies are a teachersā love language?
What is included in The Productive Home SolutionĀ®?
The Productive Home SolutionĀ® Playbook
Online 52 Week Course with modules, worksheets, videos, and more
Online Community via our private app
The Productive Home SolutionĀ® Private Podcast
EPISODE RESOURCES:
Organize 365 Community App
The Sunday BasketĀ®
The Productive Home SolutionĀ®
The Teacher Friday WorkboxĀ®
The Sunday BasketĀ® Home Planning Day
Sign Up for the Organize 365Ā® Newsletter
Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365Ā® when you share on social media! -
Well, letās dive into our 40ās. What Iāve observed in these decades as you move through your 20ās, 30ās and 40ās to 50ās is if you can imagine driving a stick shift car where it doesnāt automatically cycle to the next gear, and youāre driving in second gear and you need to shift into third gear but you donāt and the car is whining. Thatās kind of how we are at the end of every decade - weāre whining. Weāre not ready to leave this decade because we donāt know the next decade and it makes us a little nervous and apprehensive.
For decades, 40 was midlife. Thatās no longer true. Until your 40ās, the answer to every organizational productivity problem was buy something, acquire something. Acquire the knowledge, the physical thing, the person. In your 40ās, everything is about letting go. Letting go of what is no longer serving you, letting go of future hopes and dreams that maybe have not materialized. This decluttering happens in every single area of your life in your 40ās. The process of making the decisions about what is staying and what is going is where the new capacity is unlocked. Organize 365Ā® is set up to walk alongside you, provide community, co-working, and all of the lessons that you ended in order to get your home organized because once you do that all the way through, weāve touched all the stuff and made decisions - it is so cathartic. So in your 40ās, your organization is a lot about your mindset and making your physical space match the next decades of your life and the person who you want to be.
What is our purpose in our 40ās? We are surviving - surviving in carpooling and driving, with limited time and financial resources. The purpose is to really move from just being an individual contributor to society, to figuring out what is your family, your ideals, your values. What is our capacity in our 40ās? This is a decade of constraint, capacity is limited and that is great because it requires you to push forward. If you have children, you become insular because you have to. They are humans that are growing so fast and they are depending on you. How do we use the physical spaces in our home in our 40ās? You will probably remodel some spaces, maybe more than once if you plan on living in your home long term. Youāll do bigger renovations in your 40ās than you did in your 30ās. What scaffolding or support do we need to make this phase of life easier and more productive? You need to learn the skill of organization. Thatās where The Productive Home SolutionĀ®, The Paper SolutionĀ®, and The Sunday BasketĀ® come in. Those products were designed to teach you and walk beside you as you really embrace who you are and what youāre uniquely created to do, and how your house will be organized and function for you. The essential thing I want to add to this phase of life are the Planning Days. They are a key differentiator in your 40ās, because you are deciding, you are making decisions and there really is no one guiding your thought process through making these decisions. What do you want to see manifest in the next four months in your household? How are you going to do that? Let's look at all the constraints on your time, on your money, on your business, let's look at the role that you're playing, how many people are in your family. Let's look at all your household responsibilities and your chores. What's your plan going to be for laundry and dishes and meal planning and cleaning?
Thereās so much time on the other side of 40. If you can use the time in your 40ās to get yourself organized, then when you do have the time in your 50ās itās amazing. Canāt wait to tell you about it next time.
EPISODE RESOURCES:
The Sunday BasketĀ®
The Paper SolutionĀ®
The Productive Home SolutionĀ®
The Sunday Basket Home Planning Day
Home Planning Day Prep
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By now Iām guessing most of you have heard the evolution of the Sunday BasketĀ®. The Sunday BasketĀ® organizes the invisible tasks of home life, right? And with a teaching background, I also know there is a lot of burnout. The Teacher Friday WorkboxĀ® is designed to organize the invisible tasks of teaching. So what if, just what if, an entire school would launch a pilot with Organize 365Ā® and they could feel supported and organized? Jayme was the principal who raised her hand and said I want to try this with my building for my teachers.
A Spark of a Conversation
Normally on the 4th of July people are spending time with their families and celebrating the holiday, right? Not go getters like Jayme and I; we were chatting about the opportunity of a Teacher Friday WorkboxĀ® pilot. Much to my surprise when I proposed a call, Jayme agreed. Our excitement for this pilot was ignited and put into action immediately. Jayme showed up in her minivan and we loaded it with workboxes for her building. She had 13 teachers come immediately to pick them up. There were teachers who knew what Jayme had been doing with her Teacher Friday WorkboxĀ® so they knew it worked and wanted to get started. More grabbed their workboxes after a meeting, and then more after the first training.
Too Much New to NOT Do The Pilot
Jayme was explaining to me some of the things she was expecting about the new school year which included new teachers (most of whom were new to special education), a new assistant principal, and more responsibility for her needing to be involved in student behavioral correction. I chuckled and knew with all that change and newness, the Teacher Friday WorkboxĀ® was going to save her 2023-2024 school year.
Are Your Teachers Ducks?
Have you heard the analogy of ducks looking calm on top of the water, but paddling like crazy under? Think of your teachers. Most are doing the same and thatās what leads to burnout. They donāt want you to see they are paddling so fast under water. The real trouble is when you see it - they are headed for burnout for sure. These are teachers who do not have an organizational solution in place. It would be ideal that the teacher understood the Sunday BasketĀ® before embarking on the Teacher Friday WorkboxĀ®. But this time, we had to light the fuse due to the time of year. We initially found some of the teachers were overwhelmed with being new to the Organize 365Ā® ecosystem, making visible the administrative tasks of a teacher on index cards (or some did a hybrid with sticky notes), and learning how to color code their work. When you clean up their mental chaos - you get teachers that will stay in their positions longer.
We Owe It To Our Teachers
I understand that the pressing question with all expenditures within the education budget boils down to āHow does this affect the student?ā Let me just say, a teacher with less anxiety, more mental bandwidth, and one that feels supported is best for the students! There is a school supply list for students; this should be on the school supply list for teachers. But there is no line item for organization, honestly, at home or in the workplace. I want to see all educators free up time and mental space for employment retention and a happy home life.
EPISODE RESOURCES:
The Sunday BasketĀ®
Teacher Friday WorkboxĀ®
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On the Wednesday podcast, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365ĀĀ® community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps and triumphs along their organizing journey. I am grateful that you are reaching out to share with me and with this community. You can see and hear transformation in action. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.
Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365Ā® when you share on social media!
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You are all adults! Why am I trying to force a square peg into a round hole? There are people writing in saying āI am organized and Iād like to have a planning resource.ā So here it is, all by its lonesome. I am breaking up The Productive Home SolutionĀ® for you more organized people. My school of thought was I originally wanted you to have all the āschool suppliesā to set you up for success. I realize you are adults and may want to have access to a planning resource without the resources to learn organization because you have already mastered it. Organize 365Ā® continues to revamp and change. As a teacher, I am a lifelong learner and plan to reiterate as many times as needed to provide the best solutions for you!
Planning Takes Back Your Mental Life
Planning Day is open to everyone! Iāve learned that planning is a higher level of executive function. Itās like building blocks and you canāt effectively plan until you have the basics down. Once you have the executive functions in place to organize, you can move on to planning. Planning makes room for productivity. Look at any productive person, that person that seems to have more hours in their day. At some point they have planned their time to have the outcome of so much productivity. There are plenty of decluttering challenges and productivity solutions, but Planning Day offers the actual skill of organizing life for productivity.
Planning Day Is Open To Everyone!
I want you to start planning for longer chunks of time. I will show you how to plan further out than just tomorrow or this week. In Planning Day, we are going to think about summer - May, June, July, and August! In summer, we eat differently, play differently, work differently, and it feels good to have a plan in place for those different habits. In your Planning Day workbook, we are going to look at your current habits. But I will challenge you to think about changes you want to make. Maybe since the kids will be home for summer, youāll want to workout before they get up - but you arenāt currently doing that. Also, you may discover you want to implement a new behavior. Do you know 45% of our life is habitual? I will help you decide what 1 or 2 new habits you want to focus on. Small changes over the course of time prevent overwhelm and result in productivity.
While you are registering for Planning Day, check out all the bundles and incentives we are currently offering.
EPISODE RESOURCES:
Your Year of Transformation Bundle (with kids)
Your Year of Transformation Bundle (without kids)
Complete Home Organization Bundle
Home Planning Day Supplies Bundle - Deluxe
Home Planning Day Supplies Bundle - Essentials
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Welcome to our next installment of our phases of organization, our phases of life. So here we are, in our 30ās. Weāre going to assume from this point forward that you are living independently and separate from your family home. I coined my own phase of life years ago (thanks Rhonda for the reminder!) for adulthood - accumulation. When you leave your childhood bedroom and you are living on your own, you realize you donāt own anything. Every time you decide you want to do something in your 20ās and 30ās, you end up going to a hardware store.
As you progress through your 30ās, the amount of discretionary income you have goes to negative. You usually donāt have any discretionary income by the time you are at the end of your 30ās. Same thing with your time - it goes to negative. How do we go from having some discretionary income and time to lacking both by the time you turn 40? In addition to accumulating supplies like a ladder, hammer, nails, etc., you accumulate other things. Also during your 30ās, you accumulate other people;a significant other, children, or pets. But this is why itās hard having developmental stages for adults - because not everyone ends up with a significant other, kids or pets. There are so many different variables, different possibilities. You get to choose. You get to decide what your life is going to be like.
What is our purpose or job in our 30ās? Our purpose is to fully embrace independence from our family of origin. You are going to firmly establish your household and take on the responsibilities of that fully. What is our capacity? In the beginning youāve got some time and money, but by the end itās very constrained and maxed out. Youāre trying to find a release valve, so to speak. How do we use the physical space in our home in our 30ās? This is when your home will do the most constant reordering. Your kitchen, kidās rooms (if you have kids), and living spaces will constantly be updated to fit how youāre living life in your 30ās. What scaffolding or support do we need to make this phase of life easier and more productive? Number one you know will be the Sunday BasketĀ®. You need household administration support - this will be your time to have a CEO meeting with yourself. The Productive Home SolutionĀ® is perfectly designed for people in their 30ās. The 2 binders from The Paper SolutionĀ® that are the most important in your 30ās are the Household Operations and Household Reference.
EPISODE RESOURCES:
The Sunday BasketĀ®
The Paper SolutionĀ®
The Productive Home SolutionĀ®
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Now that you know a little bit about Jayme and her background in educational instruction, letās move on to the responsibilities sheās had in different roles. Jayme has gone from assistant principal, where she barely left the building, to being the principal, where she was off campus frequently for personal development. But she has yet to be the superintendent!
Assistant Principal
First thing Jayme pointed out that was so interesting is, in different states, different geographical sections of school are called corporations or districts. And because we have previously learned that Jayme was a counselor, she added that not all schools have counselors. Did you know that it is common for each counselor to have 250-300 students assigned to them? I know Abby and Joey really valued counselors in their schools. Itās her previous title as counselor that makes it a natural strength as the assistant principal to be the liaison between the parents and staff. As assistant principal, Jayme was used to doing whatever her principal needed as well as overseeing special education needs within the school, IEPās, RIT, attendance, behavior and other miscellaneous responsibilities.
Principal
Jayme never had to worry about a budget as an assistant principal. Once she stepped into the role of principal, she found the magical money treeā¦not so magical now that she was in charge of it! She also found herself out of the building frequently for personal development. Thankfully her superintendent is great at communicating educational opportunities for her. Jayme is also the initiator of activities and signs off on them. One of the things that really impressed me upon a visit to her school during the pilot was Movie Day. This is the day before school breaks for Christmas. Jayme and I really talked in detail about the actual details of the day. I was so impressed with her organization and the fact that the students expect and understand the system of that day! If you want to sit with your friend who chose to drink Sprite then you better put a request in for Sprite too! A great takeaway from this conversation is that planning leads to expectation. Expectations are kind of like structure in this situation and that makes people feel safe knowing the next thing that will happen. And because of this organization and planning, her parents trust her to organize annual trips to DC and NYC.
Superintendent
This is the top dog, if you will, the CEO! We talk about invisible work. When you do it no one really notices until you donāt! And the public facing role of superintendent is very much like this. No one notices until they donāt attend an event. This person also faces the budget that Jayme has become familiar with multiplied by the number of schools theyāre in charge of. When Jaymeās school had a massive renovation, it wasnāt the groundskeeper that was reporting to the educational community what the progress and funding was, it was the superintendent! Sure, there are people supporting him in large projects, but ultimately he reports the good and the bad. When a superintendent makes a decision, there are multiple factors they are considering not just the population from one building. This is a very public, almost political, position due to reporting to the faculty, public, board, even the state!.
Enough background informationā¦ Next episode, weāre going to share how this whole pilot got started with a bang over the 4th of July weekend!
EPISODE RESOURCES:
Sign Up for the Organize 365Ā® Newsletter
On the Wednesday podcast, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365ĀĀ® community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps and triumphs along their organizing journey. I am grateful that you are reaching out to share with me and with this community. You can see and hear transformation in action. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.
Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365Ā® when you share on social media!
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It is astounding to me that we live in dwellings all over the world and we donāt have much at all (and nothing new) to explain the development of adults and the elderly. Surely this exists and I canāt find it yet?!? First, Iām going to explain what I have been able to find, and then Iām going to ask the same questions I did with the other phases of life.
The parabolas I came up with represent money and time. Then thereās the middle, straight line - itās housework. Itās never accounted for in any of these studies as life-long unpaid work. There are 3 types: cleaning, tasks of daily living, and life administration. What is our purpose in this phase? Do housework! This is our job at home. What is our capacity? Itās three-fold: how much time you have, how much money you have, and the third that is unique to you - your energy. Are you optimally energized for the role that you are in?
How do you use the physical spaces in your home during this phase? Houses havenāt changed much since the 50ās. But I can change your mindset about how to use your house.
What scaffolding or support do we need? There have been no organizational supports or structures put into place for the administration of households. You need a Sunday BasketĀ®, you need binders to replace your file cabinet, and you need The Productive Home SolutionĀ® in order to learn how to organize and optimize every part of your house. Different phases of life require different organizational structures and systems.
EPISODE RESOURCES:
Parabolas IllustrationThe Sunday BasketĀ®
The Paper SolutionĀ®
The Productive Home SolutionĀ®
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Jayme was a self proclaimed organized hoarder. Sheās always been a naturally organized person. In 2017, she hit rock bottom knowing she just had too much. It wasnāt until the windows were replaced in her house. You see when you have new windows installed, you have to move everything away from the windows so the installers have enough room. For about two weeks, all that stuff was in the middle of her room. THAT was chaos, but it shined a light on the fact that all the mess or hoarding at home was causing Jayme mental chaos. This is when Jayme found Organize 365Ā® and cleaned up her personal space, her home.
Cleaning Up Mental Chaos at Work
Jayme was used to pouring herself into work as a principal Monday through Friday and cleaned house on Saturdays. Jayme would stay as late as she needed to on Friday nights just to have peace of mind that she was prepared to walk back into school on Monday. If we are honest with ourselves, as educators, the one planning period you get is not ample planning time. When you plan as a teacher, you are able to deal with any distractions during instructional time. Jayme found the Education Friday WorkboxĀ® (now the Teacher Friday WorkboxĀ®) and was able to get organized at work. The Friday WorkboxĀ® allows her to plan and feel prepared, and thatās what she wants for her staff. She wants them to continue having a passion for teaching and not feeling burnt out.
Cleaning Up Mental Chaos at Home
This cleaning up of mental chaos is why Jayme was so excited to share the Education Friday WorkboxĀ® with her teachers. If she could just show them how to get organized in the classroom, they would see the benefit of having home organized, too. At Organize 365Ā®, we want to bring light to the invisible work you are doing and have a better plan to tackle it. It took Jayme about 18 months to get her home ādoneā and longer for work. Jayme encourages her staff to know it will take time. A first grader canāt read a book and write a full report, but after a few years of learning and doing, in 3rd grade maybe they can. And I never mix words about this, it will take time. Jayme finds herself still listening to the older podcasts and learning. She recognizes that the information lands differently now when she hears it based on her progress. She still hears new things she can add to what sheās already used to doing.
You have learned a lot about Jayme and next Jayme is going to help us understand the structure of schools and responsibilities of staff in the state of Indiana, specifically Greendale Middle School in Lawrenceburg, Indiana.
EPISODE RESOURCES:
Teacher Friday WorkboxĀ®
On the Wednesday podcast, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365ĀĀ® community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps and triumphs along their organizing journey. I am grateful that you are reaching out to share with me and with this community. You can see and hear transformation in action. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.
Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365Ā® when you share on social media!
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This is the next installment of the phases of life series. Weāre now in the phase of development called Emerging Adulthood. In my PhD studies, Iām trying to figure out the role that the developmental phases of life play in how we learn and do housework over the life cycle. Iāve always been interested in human growth and development. After 18, the amount of literature and research drops off quickly. The key distinguisher of this phase of life versus others is this feeling of being āin between.ā Things happen legally at certain ages (18, 21), but other things are assumed to be inherently known or done. This isnāt a US thing, it is a developed country thing. In Asia, until you are married your parents take care of you. In Italy, you live at home with no obligation that you would do the housework until youāre about 30. People are living at home longer now, and not owning homes until they are older.
I remember being in my 20ās. I went to a 4-year college, got married a year after graduation, and adopted my babies in my late 20ās. So I was a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM) with 2 kids by the time I was 30. I tell my kids that your 20ās are for trying things. Different jobs, schools, food, places to live - get experience so you know what you want to do by the time youāre in your 30ās. What does it mean to adult? By the time we are 30, we should be responsible for our finances, housework, where we are living, the job we want, and relationships. Finding friends in your 20ās is hard!
What is our capacity? Time and money wise - the amounts kind of melt together. You start having to pay for the ānot funā things in life - insurance, rent, utilities, etc. Things you never realize are part of adulthood. Then thereās how we use the physical spaces in our home during this phase. Most of the spaces will be smaller, but will still have zones. Our mini apartment (bedroom), a dorm room, an apartment or condo. Iām already extending my parenting horizon to 25, mostly because I have children with ADHD. Itās difficult for these new adults in this phase, but itās hard for us parents too. Weāre not done. Not that we are ever truly done - but the active parenting to a certain degree is done.
As your 20 year olds start to take on more responsibilities of adulthood, there are some that are more easily acquired and there are some that take longer and have more limitations. As the parents of adults, I am paying for and providing these things for our children, but Iām looking at it as we are property owners. Will this work all the way until they are 30? Then Iām doing it.
Organize 365Ā® has the Launch Program for 16-25 year olds. Inside of Launch, there are lessons for turning your bedroom into a mini apartment and understanding the zones, a starter Sunday BasketĀ®, and a binder with parts of the Medical, Financial, and Household Reference Binders for renters. Clothing, food, and entertainment are the biggest areas where you will fully embrace adulting.
What scaffolding or support do we need? Understanding. This is a phase, there are pluses and minuses. It can be challenging. Having a way to communicate what true adult responsibilities are and what that looks like when you are successful is difficult. Itās much better when the person in their 20ās can figure out what they want to know and then ask the parents. This is the phase of life when you realize the fact that you have to clean your bedroom for the rest of your life!
EPISODE RESOURCES:
Parabolas IllustrationLaunch Program
Kids Program
ADHD Bundle
The Sunday BasketĀ®
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I hope you all remember Jayme from the Teacher Pilot that I shared with you in previous episodes. Jayme found the Organize 365Ā® systems effective for home and then implemented them at work. Jayme was open to the idea of using her school as a pilot to see how the Teacher WorkboxĀ® could impact an entire building. In this series, weāll discuss everything from the idea to implementation and to the feedback.
Meet Jayme: Principal at Greendale Middle School in Lawrenceburg, Indiana
First off, I want you to know exactly who Jayme is and her background. The funniest request we have received is that people want to know Jaymeās thoughts. Never mind that I too was a teacher and founded this organizational system. Just kidding! But I was surprised by it nonetheless. Jayme shared that she always knew she wanted to be a teacher. She remembers playing school even as a child. As I learned more about Jayme, I was surprised how much we had in common when it came to our childhood aspirations. It was also reinforced through this episode that teachers are cut from the same cloth; that of passion for teaching and hearts of service.
School came pretty easy to Jayme with a floating B. She loved math, history, science, and to read. But to spell? That is a different story to this day! Before she even completed college, she was happy to keep her Fridays open so she could sub. She knew there would always be work on Fridays. Soon she met her husband Joe and decided to move to Indiana with Joe so they could live happily ever after together.
āIām not a workaholic, Iām passionate about teaching.ā
Jayme completed her degree in 1998 in elementary education and middle school certifications for social studies and science. She graduated to teach elementary, but ended up in middle school. She worked in the classroom for about 7 years until she got the desire to counsel the students. She went for her Masters for counseling and finished while she was pregnant with her first child, Pierce. Most of her experience has been with middle grades 6-8 in science and as a guidance counselor. Starting in 2000, Jayme was a school counselor for 4-Ā½ years. This is when she decided she needed another Masters for being a Principal and added another child to her life, Kennedy. Jayme shared she has always had a long commute, but appreciates the time to digest what is currently going on in life and work. With all this driving, education advancement, and growing - you could easily call her a workaholic but she prefers to identify it as her passion. But where does that passion go for some educators? We want to help educators retain that passion and put systems in place to prevent burnout.
When the Principal Gets Organized
Now that she had her Admin Masters, Jayme could be an assistant principal which allowed her to help students and teachers alike. In 2013, she became an assistant principal only to take over being a principal 1-1/2 years later when her friend and boss had to step down. Jayme thought, āIām basically already doing her job because she had to miss a lot of work.ā Jaymeās eyes were opened as to all the actual responsibilities once she was doing the role of principal for real. Jayme likes to delegate tasks with her assistant principal based on strengths.
Jayme was all too excited to share with her staff what had been working to keep her organized and kept burnout at bay.
I canāt wait to share with you how this pilot played out!!
On the Wednesday podcast, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365ĀĀ® community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps and triumphs along their organizing journey. I am grateful that you are reaching out to share with me and with this community. You can see and hear transformation in action. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.
Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365Ā® when you share on social media!
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The first in this series of podcasts is the childhood phase (0-18 years). We are going to walk through the entire life cycle of a human and look at a few specific questions. 1. What is our purpose during this phase of life? 2. What is our capacity, time and money wise? 3. How are we using the physical spaces in our home during this time? 4. What scaffolding or support do we need to make this phase of life easier and more productive?
What is the purpose or job of a child inside the household? There are two - the first is to develop and grow from a child to an adult, and the second is to learn and attend school. Thatās it. Some children will be able to add on a third, which is to be a productive, proactive person in the household by doing chores and helping. But some children will not and I think we need to normalize this. Because I always knew that developing from a child to an adult and attending school were the top two jobs of this phase of life, I didnāt add on the third category of household chores for my kids. I did add on bedroom chores, but not household chores.
What is the capacity of the child from zero to 18 inside of the house? Birth is when you have a lot more time than you do money. As a child moves from zero to 18, the amount of time and care they need will reduce and the amount of money they are able to generate will start to increase by the time they are 18. Itās a huge two decade phase of life. Children in this phase go from being a baby that canāt even hold a bottle to someone that can drive a car, has a job, goes out and gets their own food or makes their own dinner. The amount of physical, mental, emotional, social change that happens in childhood is huge.
How do children use the physical spaces in our homes? Their stuff is everywhere. The amount of stuff doesnāt change, but the types of things do. Theyāre mostly in our communal spaces; the kitchen, family room, main bathroom, and laundry room if theyāre old enough. Theyāre in their bedrooms or playrooms, sometimes in the basement or bonus rooms. As they get older, they start to get rid of more toys and be in their bedrooms most of the time. Then they can create zones - bookshelves, cube systems, a desk for schoolwork, etc.
What scaffolding or support do we need to make this phase of life easier and more productive? Kids need to learn how to clear their mind and organize their bedroom, and they need to learn how to plan for the week ahead and be productive. Hereās how I teach that in Organize 365Ā®. First, there are lessons for parents on how to teach the skill of organizing to your kids. How to organize everything related to babies, clothing, and everything else. Then kids ages 6-15 go though the course to learn about their mini apartments and all the zones they have. You have to organize a bedroom before you can clean it. I teach them what are zones in your bedroom and how to understand there are different areas of your bedroom that have different responsibilities. Lessons on clothing, sharing bedrooms, schoolwork, creating activity bags, organizing passion projects, and school memories or paperwork. Then you have a childās backpack. Their backpacks are the equivalent to our Sunday BasketĀ®. They go through their backpacks, make sure they have everything they need for Monday, pack their activity bags, and then write down their week on paper. In the Kids Program there is a sheet where they can fill out all their activities and events in the Before School, School Day, After School, and Evening categories.
Next week we are going to talk about emerging adulthood, which is 18-29.
EPISODE RESOURCES:
Parabolas IllustrationKids Program
Lisa School Binder
School Memory Binder
Launch Program
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In this new podcast series Iām going to talk about organization in each phase of life, but first I want to talk about phases of life. There is childhood (0-18), a new theory called emerging adulthood (18-29), middle adulthood and late adulthood. There is so much to these phases of life and layered on top of these is the capacity and the time limitation of variables as it relates to that phase of life. I picture this like two arches that mirror each other and intersect at two points.
We all know that childhood is pretty well established and studied. Then thereās the new theory called emerging adulthood where youāre in between childhood and full adulthood. Then thereās the years around 70-82 where I made up this idea of āreverse emerging adulthoodā because you have all this experience, but youāre at an in-between stage again where you are no longer an active contributing member of society.
The time and capacity continuum is frustrating for me because when I have time, I didnāt have the knowledge and capacity to act on it. And then when I donāt have the time, I have all the knowledge. A great example of this is menopause. The average age of menopause is 50 years old and that hasnāt changed in the last 2,000 years. However, the age that puberty happens has changed. So the mid-life ādipā most people experience corresponds with menopause. Ironically, when a person is in the generative phase of life and pauses to focus on their needs and desires, usually between 45 and 55, society labels this as a midlife crisis. However, it isnāt a crisis at all. Itās a natural rebalancing of energy and production in the middle of a long adult life cycle.
If I have to find academic support for everything I do or want to do in the future, itās going to take forever for us to really understand how households function throughout a lifespan, let alone how to organize them. So thatās why I wanted to first have this conversation about how I view a lifespan. I view it as inverse arches of time and capacity, and the golden windows where they cross over.
In this next series, what can you expect? Iām looking to unpack what our purpose is, what our capacity is, how we use physical space in our homes during certain phases of life, and what support we need to make this phase of life easier or less invisible. Basically Iām trying to figure out, what is the phase of life map of household organization? So if you were to map out household organization across the whole life phase, what would that look like?
EPISODE RESOURCES:
The Sunday BasketĀ®
Jump Start - Personal
Jump Start - Kitchen
The Kitchen Productivity & Profitability Blitz
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- Se mer
