The Blog

The Big Picture: Can You See the Forest?

forest_optWe all have our moments of not “seeing the forest for the trees.” How many times are we so immersed in what we’re doing that we may be missing what is right in front of us?

When we focus on the small details we may succeed in targeting a specific goal, but sometimes, there is a bigger picture to consider. Stepping away can change our perspective, but it is certainly not always an easy task to look at our situations with an objective eye.  These may be the probable causes;

1. We don’t know where to begin to look

2.  We’re in too deep in the forest

3.  We’re too involved in our day-to-day matters.

Yesterday I was hired to organize a client’s home-office. While the immediate goal was to sort the paper piles and create an efficient filing system, there was evidence of significant chaos beyond that space.  But interestingly, the client living with the daily mayhem, failed to notice it.  He could not see the forest from the trees. He was in too deep and too involved in his day-to-day needs.

As a Professional Organizer,  the stepping away piece is the most valuable objective support I provide for my client.  Together, while our plan is to continue to focus on the home-office,  he is now more mindful of the bigger picture as well.

Sometimes I get overwhelmed too.  After all, I am human.  When I’m overcome with busy and stress,  I become short-sighted and cannot see beyond that moment.  I tend to get lost in detail.  I can easily feel defeated with too many things to deal with and admittedly, cannot see the forest for the trees.

Here’s some personal tips that may help clarify the big picture for you;

Share:  When you share with a another person (family member, friend, or professional) you can get a completely different point of view. Just talking it out provides great value.  Others may see things that you cannot and will perhaps confirm one of my favorite idioms,  “don’t believe everything you think.”

Slow down:  Sometimes it could be about the actual pace that obstructs the big picture.  Often when we are in a hurry, we are rushing around so much, we fail to notice what’s going on around us. Stop and smell the roses, trees and forest included.

Simplify: You can’t see the whole situation clearly because you’re looking too closely at small details, or because you’re too closely involved. Break it down.  Keep it simple.

Life can get busy and can sometimes feel un-manageable. Maybe take a step back. What do you see?

 

 

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The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

IMG_2012_optThe falling snow changed my plans today. My schedule went out the window with the very first snowflake. So it looks like I’m in for the day. But as I sit in front of the fireplace, I’m realizing that mother nature has just bestowed me the “gift of time.” How great is that?  I’m in pajamas, watching the snow gently fall, and although not leaving the house, there is an endless list of productive things I can do.  Where to begin?

Time is a luxury for sure, and how we use it, only clarifies our priorities.  For me, my passion is writing and so my first inclination is to craft this blog.  I’ll catch up on reading, e-mails, tele classes, and maybe if I’m lucky, I can even take a nap (but probably not, lol)

Weather is impactful.  When it interrupts our day, we are forced to stop, or at least pause.  For all of us who incurred the snow today, there was one thing we all had in common.  We were forced to slow down.

In the peak of a work week and holiday bustle, this is not an easy task. But apart from being a nuisance, perhaps this shift in focus was a good thing.  It might have caused you to slow down your busy pace.  Maybe you needed to.

In some form or another, we all paid attention to time.   If you anticipated the inclement weather, you were more apt to adjust your schedule accordingly with an earlier exit strategy this morning.  Leaving yourself adequate wiggle room was an option to consider, or time spent cancelling and re-scheduling appointments.

We always plan with good intentions but so many times, things happen out of our control to disrupt them.  We adjust and move on, and sometimes take away a lesson learned.  My favorite expression, “Man plans and G-d laughs,”  is so apropos.  It always wakes me up.

So today, I’m enjoying this unexpected gift of time.  Every very now and then, it’s nice to indulge in “self” time. How about you? What kind of adjustments did you make today?  Did you stop, pause, or slow down?

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Pacing Your Holiday Busy; Up Close and Personal

1435817704_optBelieve it or not, some of us already have the holiday table set, gifts already purchased as well as wrapped, and menus planned. But… then there’s everyone else. There are those who slowly and steadily accumulate gifts and check off diligently, and yet there are those who haven’t even begun to think about jumping into the frenzy. So where are YOU on the continuum?  One thing I know, for sure…it’s personal.  Very.

Having already celebrated Chanukah, I’m no longer channeled into the shopping cue, so I’m observing with a more objective eye.  I’m now more cognizant of the frenetic energy in each store I enter, and sense the heightened anxiety on everyone’s faces.

It’s so very easy to get caught up in the tumult around us. The stores are filled with the contagion of holiday busy and TV commercials are selling holiday joy every 10 minutes. Inevitably, we are lured into the madness. These influencers can interrupt our focus.

The challenge is in finding the balance.  Here’s how;  Don’t get caught up in other’s exuberance, find your own rhythm.  Above all, make your own choices. It’s your holiday,  your personal kind of joy. Don’t beat yourself up for not keeping up with the “idealized” version of the holidays.  Not everyone is shopping for cars, and diamonds, and expensive technology. Not everyone has the time or money to shop endlessly.

Keeping pace that’s within your comfort zone will be far more fulfilling than trying to measure up to somebody else’s.

Pacing your holiday busy means beating to your own drum.  It really has less to do with being more organized than the next guy, it’s more about knowing your natural life rhythm,  identifying your objectivesand the ability to manage time.  Certainly, effective time-management strategies play a huge role in customizing your pace. Taking on too much in a concentrated period of time is fruitless.  Evaluate your “busy” and be sure it’s filled with activities you enjoy. Holiday shopping, party invites, and celebratory dinners can overwhelm your schedule. Choose wisely.

Quite often, we burn out and stress out before the holiday even arrives. Instead, take a time out.  Find your personal pace and seize the opportunity to experience the great joy of celebrating your way.

Somehow, it all gets done.  It always does.  Even if your proclivity is to be the “last-minute” shopper, and you’re more inclined to wait it out, you could be just as productive as the early bird “doorbuster” shopper. Choose the kind of holiday busy that works best with your comfort level.

The holidays are indeed a beautiful time to celebrate life, family and friends.  The key is to let it be joyful, not stressful.  Listen to your inner voice and sync your personal pace with the holiday commotion. Perhaps you need to slow it down, or do less.  Pay attention.  Truly, that’s how to create a “happy” holiday.

Are you all “wrapped up” in holiday busy? How are you pacing yourself? If you’ve got a minute, come join in the conversation 🙂

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Slow Down…Are you Moving too Fast?

Have you ever been in such a hurry that in an attempt to get things done faster, it results in the contrary? Often, the effort to rush to complete one’s tasks becomes nothing short of futile.  As a result, things inevitably go wrong.  Mistakes are made.  We miss appointments or forget to do important things, and in the end, it actually wastes more time.

Do you think it’s because we genuinely have too much to do with too little time? Or, is it that we intentionally take on more, because we are so driven to earn more, accomplish more, and acquire more.  There is a difference.  One suggests we really do have a lot on our plate, but the latter implies that we are indeed creating our own pressure. It’s our competitive nature that fuels us. We have willingly enrolled in life’s fast-paced rat race to the finish.  Irregardless, both scenarios have a significant time-management component and good reason to think about slowing down.

We can all can agree that there is a price to pay for that compulsive drive to do more, to be better. And if we consider the harried pace in which we attempt to accomplish it all,  we are in danger of losing control.  Productivity obviously suffers but more importantly, one’s health and finance can be at risk too. Rushing through an over-scheduled day can be suffocating. It not only breeds stress, it can impact thoughtful decision making and yield a host of other negative consequences. Can you think of a time that a hasty decision had significant financial ramifications?

Yet with our busy lives, it is increasingly difficult to be “present” for each and every activity we engage in.  We frequently do a lot of tasks by sheer rote.  How many times are we operating on auto-pilot?  Too many, I’m afraid.  All too often, we are doing one thing while thinking about another. So many of us rushing around, doing, without even thinking.  Pushing the envelope, until we can push no more.

“You can only go as fast as the slowest part of you can go,”  said Bonnie Raitt after a 7 year hiatus from the studio. Wise words to contemplate. Classic take-away…know thyself.

So if your plate is too full, avoid trying to clean it all up in a hurry.   Stop.   Slow down.   Breathe.   It’s the only way to manage the overload.  It is far easier to focus on one task at a time and give it your proper attention, than rushing through too many simultaneously.  Nothing gets done well, just a lot of mediocre.

When you’re moving too fast,  it is difficult to make a connection between yourself and your task at hand. 

Conscious doing is far more effective than unconscious doing.  It is intentional participation.  No matter what it is that you’re doing, being “in the moment” will sharpen any experience and most likely emit better results. But we need to create the time and space to concentrate and pause.  In this way, we can  control our daily pace.  Beware of the dangers in unconscious multitasking. It can be an obstacle for getting things done, rather than a quicker solution.

As one who talks fast, walks fast, and works fast, I confess to doing just about everything fast.  It is very challenging to slow myself down, but when I do, I admit I feel more balanced.  My secret is committing to Pilates classes three times a week.  It is there that I can stop, breathe and get off the merry-go-round.

We can probably all benefit from slowing down a little, taking it down a notchReally, what’s the big rush? Where’s the fire?

So if you’re moving too fast,  how do you slow down?  What’s your secret?  I don’t mean to rush you, lol,  but I look forward to your comments. Inquiry minds want to know.

 

 

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