There has been a real buzz in the media this week about the new book Tap to Tidy from Stacey Solomon and lots of people have messaged me asking what I think about it and whether it can help fix their life! I love Personal Development and of course Organising, so my copy is on order but the important thing to remember is that self help books aren’t some form of magic wand. They should be used as part of your toolkit to improve an area of your life.
I have also helped clients, where a large part of the books which are in piles around the house are about Organising approaches or ways to live the life that you really want. Often, they have bought them thinking it would be a quick fix but then struggled to put the methods into practice in their own life.
When looking to make changes, consider these things:
- How do you learn? Are you the person which underlines and marks pages in a book or prefers instructional videos?
- What has worked well for you in the past? Think of a change you made and what made it successful.
- What are you wanting to achieve? Be clear and realistic on your goal.
- What will provide inspiration to keep going?
- Does it give you simple, practical tips which apply to your life?
- Do you have time to absorb it, or have you already got a pile of books or webinars which you have bought/earmarked?
- and the big one…. Accountability. How will you make sure it gets done and stay motivated when life is so busy? This could be a friend, colleague or a professional – someone who supports what you are trying to achieve. A fellow APDO colleague recently shared a Productivity statistic, that just by having an accountability partner increases your success by 64% and actually meeting with them increases that to 95%! That is why so many people, who could get fit on their own, rely on a Personal Trainer to keep them motivated.
By having a range of tools which help across these areas, you are more likely to achieve your goals. I heard Stacey Solomon on Heart Radio this morning and she was talking about her pilot TV programme, Sort Your Life Out, which is based on her book. She was talking about the ‘team’ of people they took in to help with the different organisation challenges the family was facing.
Recently, I have been doing the Couch 2 5K programme to get back into running as I knew that I wouldn’t do it by myself as something always got in the way and I struggled with motivation. I could have bought a book or done a Google search on running techniques and suggested times etc but it would have probably sat on the shelf and got forgotten amongst all the other demands on my time. However, having the accountability of the App and sharing publicly what I was trying to achieve, along with a structure to follow has given me the motivation to stick with it.
If you would like some support in sorting out your Life and Home, get in touch for a free discovery call today. As we are still in Lockdown restrictions, you can also get half price online sessions – but be quick as this offer will end when restrictions are lifted.
Louise Simpson is a Professional Organiser and Coach helping people reduce the feeling of overwhelm and get the time and space they need. She offers a range of support both virtually via Zoom and in Essex homes, to help with Organising, Decluttering and Productivity. You can find more about how she can help you improve your wellbeing here. She has been featured on BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio Essex and Podcasts. She is also a proud member of the Association of Professional Declutterers and Organisers.
Really good advice Louise. It’s so easy to get FOMO and think you need one more thing.
That’s an amazing statistic about accountability.. will bear that in mind more when creating my courses. I find assigning a buddy to my students helps most of them get more from the course.