In October 2015 I was talking with my mom about some ideas she had for organizing a new business she was running. She was telling me some problems and I was trying to give some helpful suggestions. We were both on our way to bed and fully planned on visiting in the morning when we got sucked into this conversation.
You see, planning and organizing is FUN to me. I love this and it feeds my spirit. I love seeing what other people are doing to run their lives and to create the time to do the things that are important to them. I love seeing people grow and stretch and learn and gain a sense of control over what they allow to happen in their lives.
So, there we stood, on my stairs talking and talking. We have often talked about things like this. It was no new surprise that I enjoy these subjects, but she was ready to talk about it and wanted to know if I could help. She would tell me something she wanted to talk about the next day and I would get so excited and have all these ideas come to my mind. When we finally went to bed, about an hour later, I was looking forward to the next day and ready to talk about one of my favorite subjects.
The next morning I hurried and got the most necessary tasks done and then we set up shop at my kitchen table. I gave her a stack of blank paper and had her write out everything she could think of that needed to be made into tasks. I wanted her to try to group things together so that things having to do with the home were on the same page and things pertaining to her business were together, etc.
While she wrote things out, I took care of my children, sat next to her, suggested things I know she does and encouraged her to keep writing.
She wrote for awhile as she was trying to dump down onto paper all the things she was doing, wished she would do, things she wanted to start with her business, things she remembered sometimes, but not always, things she had been doing for years and even things she does out of habit.
I remember it snowed that day and things that I had scheduled, one by one were cancelled, which gave us even more time. We sat at my table talking and writing and sharing stories and ideas. After quiet time my girls wanted to play outside and we watched them out the window while we continued to plan and set things up.
My favorite part was putting all her tasks into her planning app. I held her phone and input tasks while we talked. I would ask her how often things needed to be repeated, or what days they need done, and we kept talking.
As dinner time approached, I was making headway and we were checking off the lists she had written down and adding them to her app. She offered to order pizza so I could keep going and not stop for dinner and we had my husband pick it up on his way home from work.
Here's a few words my mom had to share about that experience:
Amber hacked my life and I'm feeling way more on top of things! She helped me feel more successful, so I'm sharing what she did for me in hopes that it might inspire you.
You see, planning and organizing is FUN to me. I love this and it feeds my spirit. I love seeing what other people are doing to run their lives and to create the time to do the things that are important to them. I love seeing people grow and stretch and learn and gain a sense of control over what they allow to happen in their lives.
So, there we stood, on my stairs talking and talking. We have often talked about things like this. It was no new surprise that I enjoy these subjects, but she was ready to talk about it and wanted to know if I could help. She would tell me something she wanted to talk about the next day and I would get so excited and have all these ideas come to my mind. When we finally went to bed, about an hour later, I was looking forward to the next day and ready to talk about one of my favorite subjects.
The next morning I hurried and got the most necessary tasks done and then we set up shop at my kitchen table. I gave her a stack of blank paper and had her write out everything she could think of that needed to be made into tasks. I wanted her to try to group things together so that things having to do with the home were on the same page and things pertaining to her business were together, etc.
While she wrote things out, I took care of my children, sat next to her, suggested things I know she does and encouraged her to keep writing.
She wrote for awhile as she was trying to dump down onto paper all the things she was doing, wished she would do, things she wanted to start with her business, things she remembered sometimes, but not always, things she had been doing for years and even things she does out of habit.
I remember it snowed that day and things that I had scheduled, one by one were cancelled, which gave us even more time. We sat at my table talking and writing and sharing stories and ideas. After quiet time my girls wanted to play outside and we watched them out the window while we continued to plan and set things up.
My favorite part was putting all her tasks into her planning app. I held her phone and input tasks while we talked. I would ask her how often things needed to be repeated, or what days they need done, and we kept talking.
As dinner time approached, I was making headway and we were checking off the lists she had written down and adding them to her app. She offered to order pizza so I could keep going and not stop for dinner and we had my husband pick it up on his way home from work.
Here's a few words my mom had to share about that experience:
Amber hacked my life and I'm feeling way more on top of things! She helped me feel more successful, so I'm sharing what she did for me in hopes that it might inspire you.
1---I've used Franklin Dayplanners since the 80's, but wanted some of the benefits of using the phone--like convenience and portability, and keeping track of little daily, weekly, monthly things. I was having a hard time wrapping my head around not seeing my entire day at once though, because I'm a spatial learner and like to see the big picture.
2---What Amber did first was help me realize even more benefits of the using the app so I would feel inspired to try it. When I brought up my preferences, fears and concerns, she knew just what to say to help me look at my life and the phone app in a way that made it seem more doable, and made the lists I had seem tackle-able. If I had wanted to use a dayplanner, she could have helped me use that too. But after talking with her I decided it was possible to go paperless with her help.
3---Once we cleared up some of my objections and preconceived notions about the app, then she helped me organize everything I wanted help with. She and I are so different in our approach, and after talking to me she was able to understand how I look at things so she could address my needs. It was very personalized, and that gave me a lot of confidence that it would work.
4---Once everything was put into my phone, Amber made me promise to do two things: 1) use the app for 21 days and not resort to going back to paper; 2) When obstacles came up and I wanted to go back to my other unorganized way, I had to promise to either call Amber or tweak the app first.
3---Once we cleared up some of my objections and preconceived notions about the app, then she helped me organize everything I wanted help with. She and I are so different in our approach, and after talking to me she was able to understand how I look at things so she could address my needs. It was very personalized, and that gave me a lot of confidence that it would work.
4---Once everything was put into my phone, Amber made me promise to do two things: 1) use the app for 21 days and not resort to going back to paper; 2) When obstacles came up and I wanted to go back to my other unorganized way, I had to promise to either call Amber or tweak the app first.
Working with Amber helped me get on top of the things that I truly wanted to do but had continually fallen through the cracks. She showed me how to use the app to be more consistent in those little things that are bringing HUGE dividends now.
Also, since Amber has read practically every organizational book and experimented on herself, she was able to share with me things I would have NEVER thought to put on my recurring daily list, like GET READY FOR THE DAY, along with the little list of what that means for me: hair, makeup, earrings, etc. (All the little things I was trying to remember are getting done---meditation, reviewing goals, turning off the outside lights, etc. -- -on a consistent basis without little papers reminding me to turn off the porch light every morning. It's great!)
Thanks Amber for helping me create the life I crave!
I look back on that snowy day spent at the kitchen table with my mom as rewarding and FUN! And while my mom talks about it as being hard to push through sometimes, now that things are set up she is seeing huge rewards and achievements in her life on a daily basis. A little work in the beginning was all it took for her to see those results.
Small things, done daily over time have huge rewards.
I look back on that snowy day spent at the kitchen table with my mom as rewarding and FUN! And while my mom talks about it as being hard to push through sometimes, now that things are set up she is seeing huge rewards and achievements in her life on a daily basis. A little work in the beginning was all it took for her to see those results.
Small things, done daily over time have huge rewards.
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