THINGS I LOVE.
Below are some things that I find immensely helpful
to living + maintaining an organized life.
THINGS I LOVE.
Below are some tips + resources I find immensely helpful
to living + maintaining an organized life. Enjoy!
MORNING ROUTINES.
The way I look at it, you can either set the tone for your day when you wake up or the day will inevitably set its tone for you. For me, it's important to not be rushed or to "hit the ground running" the second I get out of bed. I find that type of stress can be the start of a thread through my day where I go go go go, don't think as clearly as I ordinarily would and often neglect the healthy choices I'd otherwise make until I'm depleted by the end of my day.
This is going to sound luxurious, but hear me out. My morning starts by making a cup of tea and getting back into bed to read a book until my brain has had a little more time to wake up (15 minutes).
When the tea is gone - and this is a non-negotiable - I make my bed (2 minutes). Making your bed every morning does three amazing things:
- it gives your brain a dose of feel-good chemicals because you've accomplished something productive at the start of your day (adding to said tone you are setting)
- it makes your bedroom look tidy even if there are piles lying around
- it sets you up to sleep better at night (more on this below under Evening Routines)
Once the bed is made, I lay down on my yoga mat (15 minutes minimum) and stretch out all the sleep kinks, gently warming my muscles up for the day's activities ahead.
After some stretching, I put on my Good Morning playlist and then "hit the ground running" with a mix of lovely, positive, motivating, key-to-my-tone-setting tunes.
You wouldn't get into a car parked on the streets of Chicago in winter and just start the engine, shift the gear and hit the gas pedal, would you? No. You'd warm up it up so that it doesn't break down immediately or over time. Why people are willing to invest a few minutes each morning into a vehicle they'll own temporarily and not a body + mind they'll own all their days on earth, is beyond me.
Stress is the direct cause of most problems in our lives, so I invite you to think about what small changes you can make to your morning routine so that your days start on a less stressful note. I also invite you to reframe the thought of this as "luxurious," into more of an idea of investing in yourself, your clarity and your productivity before you rush into a day that pulls you in all the directions.
EVENING ROUTINES.
If you want to sleep better and be less stressed, please read on.
Today's adults bewilder me thinking they can do more and be busier throughout the day than humans have ever before, and just hop into bed and expect to fall + stay asleep. We darken rooms and put babies to sleep with lullabies when it's their time, but we grown-ups generally go from firing on all stimulus cylinders to lights out, hoping for truly restful sleep so that we have the energy to do it all again tomorrow. This is a special type of insanity I like to blame on our egos being influenced since childhood to discern whether or not we are still a baby.
First things first, if you struggle with sleep in any way I encourage you to try a sleep app. Ask your friends or peers if they have one to recommend and discuss it, or try the Sleep Cycle app on my personal recommendation (it has helped this former night owl immensely to get to bed earlier over time and stick to a routine sleep window of 8 hours a night - a never for me since I was the aforementioned baby).
My Evening Routine is below and I invite your to consider implementing your own similar habits that encourage an easy wind-down, knowing that your investment in sleep is arguably the most important investment in your health + productivity that you can make.
HABITS.
Our first in-depth hour is free and there are many ways to structure our work together. My time is $125/hr.
For physical space organizing, if it is more efficient for me to work with one assistant, it is $165/hr. $205/hr with two assistants. $245/hr with three assistants.
To put some perspective on that, here are some examples:
- To get to work immediately, we can work at an hourly rate and charge forward.
- If you have a specific budget, you tell me how much you want to spend and I'll deliver a plan that works.
- Is time of the essence? Consider me your 'SWAT Team' - in and out, job done.
- For more complicated situations, I'll be your 'Special Agent' - fixing what's not working and refining processes for sustainable solutions.
- To reorganize your whole life, I become your 'Army General' - we attack everything that's holding you back so you can reclaim your life as you envision it.
In every case, I provide a clear breakdown of your personalized plan to accomplish your goals and a cost estimate within 24-72 hours following our initial complimentary meeting.
WHAT IF MY SITUATION IS SO EMBARRASSINGLY BAD, I JUST CAN'T FACE LETTING A STRANGER IN TO ASSESS?
Listen, the first step is usually the hardest for potential clients, but most initial complimentary meetings usually end with "Why didn't I deal with this sooner?" I promise that whatever seems bad to you, I've seen worse. And I never judge! I help people face their fears and conquer their mountain.
WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF PERSONAL REORGANIZING YOU'VE DONE?
- Problem identification and prioritization
- Time and attention management
- New habit development to stop new issues before they start
- Hard-to-ignore mounting projects like tax, legal, insurance, financial and bill messes
- Data gathering and organizing for Attorneys and CPAs
- Life transition help and dealing with a new normal, like death, marriage, divorce, career change, work-from-home, new babies, and schedules for coordination of care for assisted living, disability, rehab etc.
- Goal setting and guidance for physical health, fitness, mental health, budgeting, making time for family, friends or hobbies
- Financial fitness, making healthy targets, reducing spending, budget creation
- Event organizing and oversight
- General Life refresh, brainstorming guidance and accountability
- Digital file organizing
- COVID pivots
WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF HOME REORGANZING YOU'VE DONE?
- Total home reorganizing
- Space reorganizing or redesign for function and lasting results
- Sustainable system creation for life efficiency
- Total oversight of home moves including downsizing, coordinating contractors, ordering/receiving shipments, unpacking, organizing to get things set up right from the start
- Product sourcing and purchasing
- Storage guidance and coordination
- Coordinating donations and sale of belongings
- Wardrobe downsizing
WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF BUSINESS REORGANIZING YOU'VE DONE?
- Office/business reorganizing and spatial redesign for function
- Total operational overhauls
- Sustainable system/process creation
- Assessment of business gaps and targeted solution development
- Improvement of offerings
- Paper file transition to digital
- Office move oversight and new service set-up
- Employee handbook and contractor agreement preparation
- POS/CRM organizing or overhaul
- Hiring, onboarding and termination processes
- Compliance assistance
- Problem identification and prioritization
- Time and attention management
- New habit development to stop new issues before they start
- General Business refresh, brainstorming guidance and accountability
- Digital file organizing
- Hard-to-ignore mounting projects like tax, legal, insurance, employee benefits, financial and bill messes
- Data gathering and organizing for Attorneys and CPAs
- Business transition help dealing with retirement or business purchase agreements
- Goal setting and guidance for business health, personal + mental health, making time for priorities outside of your business
- Financial fitness, making healthy targets, reducing spending, budget creation
- Event organizing and oversight
- General Business refresh, brainstorming guidance and accountability
- Digital file organizing
- COVID pivots
DO YOU HAVE REFERENCES?
Absolutely! At the end of our first complimentary meeting, I am more than happy to connect you to a former client that I've worked with in a similar capacity so they can tell you about their experience directly.
HOW CAN I GUARANTEE CONFIDENTIALITY?
My client relationships are most successful when conducted with mutual transparency and respect. Projects start with us both signing a Working Relationship Agreement that has an NDA component. Every assistant I work with has signed an Independent Contractor/NDA Agreement too, which can be shared with you upon request.
CAN YOU HELP ME IF I DON'T LIVE IN NYC?
Yes! Remote sessions are always possible and I travel domestically if there are at least three clients for me to work within a local area. Share the website with that neighbor of yours or sibling who might also benefit from life reorganizing and we'll make it happen!