February 24, 2025 • 45 mins
Join Misty Lynch as she dives into the practical world of organization with Tracy Hoth, owner of Simply Squared Away. Discover how to transform overwhelming spaces and chaotic schedules into seamless systems.
Where to find Tracy Hoth
Where to find Misty
Websites:
Instagram: @mistylynchcfp
- Explore the real definition of organization beyond Instagram perfection.
- Learn the five steps to organizing any space with the memorable SPASM method.
- Understand the importance of assigning homes and setting limits for your items.
- Discover how digital organization can enhance business efficiency.
- Uncover strategies to manage time and prioritize effectively as a business owner.
Where to find Tracy Hoth
- Website: simplysquaredaway.com
- The Organized Coach Podcast
- Facebook: @simplysquaredaway
- Instagram: @tracyhoth
Where to find Misty
Websites:
Instagram: @mistylynchcfp
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the Demistifying Money podcast, where each week you
will hear unforgettable conversations with expert guests about success, money, business,
and small steps you can take to elevate your life
and wealth. Now here's your host, Misty Lynch.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Hello everyone, thank you for joining us for this episode
of Demystifying Money.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Today, I am talking with Tracy Hoath.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
She is the owner of Simply Squared Away, and we're
going to talk about the five steps of organization. Now,
some of you might be managing your career, your family,
maybe parents, all sorts of schedules that you have and
things on your plate, and I think that talking about
being organized and organization can be.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Such a transferable skill.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
So we're going to talk about some of the basics
today so they can maybe help you feel less overwhelmed,
less stressed, and get the things done that need to
get done. So, Tracy, thank you so much for joining
me today. I'm so excited to be here and talk
about my favorite topic, organization.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
This episode of Demystifying Money with Misdy Lynch is proudly
sponsored by Soundview Financial Advisors. Visit www dot Soundview financial
advisors dot com to learn more.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
So I think organization it's it's something that some people
feel like they're just not organized or that they don't
you know, or there's you know, maybe people in their
business who are in operations that are very organized and
have things in So what made you want to start
your business.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Simply squared away?
Speaker 2 (01:37):
And how did you get into the field or this
area of wanting to help people with organization. Tell me
about your story and how you came about it. Are
you just naturally good at it or did it take
a little work.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
I would say.
Speaker 5 (01:49):
I'm a little more. I like to look at it
like our clutter tolerance.
Speaker 6 (01:53):
I have a little lower of a clutter tolerance, so
I don't want clutter around. But it was seventeen years ago,
so back in two thousand and eight, back then, you know,
we I would collect pictures of magazines of closets mainly
and then new because after talking to friends and other moms,
(02:14):
I had kids, young kids back then, they were always
needing to organize or they were always needing to clean
and be at home, and I always wanted to go
out and do stuff, and I thought I can help them,
like get organized so that we can do more.
Speaker 5 (02:29):
So when my kids started We're all in school.
Speaker 6 (02:31):
I began organizing for people, and I've been doing that
since two thousand and eight, and in about twenty eighteen,
I kind of shifted my focus and added life coaching,
so I worked more with the mindset of organization and
combined all the practical stuff that I'd been doing, and
now I also help business owners and coaches organize their business.
(02:54):
Because once I started my online part of my business,
I even was overwhelmed with the processes and the systems
and how to store all this stuff on my computer.
Speaker 5 (03:04):
So once I applied all the tools.
Speaker 6 (03:07):
To that, then I thought, oh, if I'm somewhat organized,
what are other people dealing with and struggling with in
their business? And so I started helping business owners.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
I think it's I think it's interesting a couple of
things you said, because I also added life coaching skills
to my business around twenty nine because I feel like
a lot of the things that we do for people,
you know, I'm you know, helping people on the financial
end get organized, understand where things are, what they're doing,
how they're operating, and a lot of times, really that
(03:38):
piece of organization, you can have somebody who's very very
good in one area of their life, maybe everything is
neat and tidy, and then when it comes to you
know what bills are where and who has what it's
it's completely overwhelming. So I do think the life coaching
piece comes in when it comes to how people think
and feel about all of these stuff and things, and
(04:00):
there is really a lot to it, I think, especially
if you're somebody who feels like they can never stay
on top of things, they always have to stay home,
they can't go out, you know, they're always cleaning, or
if they feel like they've got things under control. So
I think it's so interesting that you added in that
mindset piece too. But i'd love to hear a little
bit more about you know, you mentioned the five steps
(04:21):
of organization, so we can maybe start there and then
see how that has helped.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Some of your business clients and some other people.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
So I'd love to hear, like, what do you think
the first step is for people who are just they
want to be more organized, maybe that's their goal this year.
Speaker 6 (04:38):
Yeah, Okay, let me back up because I have to
comment on when I would go into people's homes and
help them organize in their offices, paper, whatever it was
I when I brought life coaching into it, I thought, Oh,
they'll never be able to do it without someone there
helping them. And that's what's so magical about the mindset.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
Piece of it is I could.
Speaker 6 (04:57):
Tell them on calls like virtual calls, and they did
it themselves, and their whole life changed and they became
a person who was organized, their identity shifted, and so
that's it's just magical seeing the two work together.
Speaker 5 (05:13):
Like all the practical stuff, No, and I agree.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
I think that there's really only so much you can
do without living with the person and being able to
do it for them. So that is such an important piece,
especially for someone who just identifies that way. You're right,
right from a lot of stories we tell ourselves like
I am bad with money, I am a hot mess.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
I am that you know. And I think the more
you tell your brain.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
That, the more it agrees and gives you evidence of that, right,
And that parallels with money and with organization are so similar.
Speaker 6 (05:45):
Like it's an identity that you have and that you've
grown up with and thought about yourself for a long time.
But I like to think about first what people think
the definition of organization is, because a lot of times
we see in Instagram pictures and it's like color coded
and everything's decantered into perfect matching. You know, I don't
(06:07):
think any of that means you're organized. It's just knowing
what you have and being able to find it when
you need it. So your organization could look totally different
than someone else's and both of you are still organized,
and you don't have to spend the rest of your
time decantering things into clear containers and spending money on containers.
(06:28):
If you can find what you need and you know
what you have, and the people in your home know
what you have and can find it, then you're organized
and go do what else you want in your life.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
I think that's an interesting definition because I am somebody
who has very low tolerance for clutter. And I remember
opening up one of my like hall closets or something
and looking for a particular something. So it might have
been makeup or perfume or something I knew I owned,
and it was I.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
Couldn't find it.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
I got so frustrated so fast with the clutter that
immediately I realized all so much of this stuff has
to go, because you're right, if you know, if you
know what you have and you can't find it.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
That's right, that's a waste.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
That's why people overspend, It's why we buy things that
we don't need or already have. And so I think
that it's it's.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
For some of us we can't.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
Handle yeah that and have to get rid of it immediately,
and other people just you know, maybe the things just
continue to pile up and pile up and then you
really forget, which is a huge financial problem if you're
buying things you already own, or if you don't know
where to where to even go to look. And it's
funny you mentioned the pantries because my husband was a
clear container or you know, container store.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
Fan, and I didn't. I couldn't see the.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Dates anymore because everything was taken out of the buy
and I was like, I want to throw all this
out because I think it's all so it just wasn't
like I understand, like the esthetics of it, but for me,
I'm like, this isn't practical.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
So I know that it's hard to look at that.
And then how does that make us feel though? When
we're seeing these these perfectly laid.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Out closets and homes and desks with nothing on them,
like when you're talking to somebody like how are they
typically you know, when they say how they would describe organization,
like how are they saying it?
Speaker 3 (08:16):
And it doesn't kind.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
Of reflect on, you know, their aversion to it when
they're saying what they think it means.
Speaker 6 (08:23):
Well, I think it gives them such relief knowing that
the definition that I say, but knowing that then they're
all of a sudden like ah, and then we can
find evidence in some places that they really are organized,
and then all of a sudden, their shoulders drop and
they can see like, Okay, I can do that. It
(08:43):
just doesn't need to look like that picture in order
for me to to believe that I'm an organized person.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
Yeah, I think the picture.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
I mean, I'm sure some people probably feel if they're
thinking that organization means perfection, like oh, I'm ashamed of myself.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Look at look at the.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
You know how I've kept things, And so I think
that's a good way to point it out, being like, no,
this is really yeah all it is. So that's you know,
I think that can be liberating.
Speaker 6 (09:11):
Yeah, some people, And that's one of the things in
my community, we post pictures that are normal pictures, you know,
like all of us are kind.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
Of in the same boat.
Speaker 6 (09:20):
Maybe people aren't having the grand houses that have the
money to spend on all those containers, and so you
get to see kind of making me think of magazines.
You know, you see the perfect person. No, you see
normal people that have normal houses that their pantry, you know,
looks like what you would think a normal pantry would.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
Look like, right, not when it's staged to sell the home.
Speaker 6 (09:43):
No. On the other and then it's like the layers
of an onion. I mean, if you want to get
to that, great, Like it's fun and it's pretty and
it makes you happy when you walk in, that's great,
and I encourage that.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
But let's take one layer of the onion at a time.
Speaker 6 (09:59):
Declutter some, get some systems in place, contain some things,
and then next time around, go a little bit deeper.
Now you kind of know what you like and what
you use, and then just keep going from there, and
then if you want to buy matching containers at some point,
then that's great.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
That will make you happy.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
So once they can define organization, yeah, and what comes
next for people who maybe they hear the definition and they
feel like, Okay, maybe I'm not so bad, but they
still have work to do.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
So what comes next? Well, well, then I think about
the five steps.
Speaker 6 (10:32):
Let's before we talk about that, just talk about where
to start. And there's no right or wrong place on
where to start organizing. I think you can ask yourself
some questions, like what would make me the happiest if
I organize this space?
Speaker 3 (10:49):
What is a quick win?
Speaker 6 (10:51):
Maybe it's not a whole room, maybe it's just like
a quick win is maybe a drawer you use all
the time or the top of your desk would be
a quick win. Or what would have the biggest impact
on my life? Maybe that would be like the bedroom
because you're sleeping in there, or the closet because you
get up every morning, or you know. So just asking
yourself those three questions and then pick one of those
(11:14):
and get started. And then comes the steps to organizing.
And I've been organizing for seventeen years and these steps
are kind of goofy, but they're memorable and they work
for absolutely everything. For your time, if you want to
organize your schedule, if you want to organize a project
that you're starting, if you want to organize a closet,
(11:36):
or even your mind, if you want to organize your
mind because you're feeling overwhelmed.
Speaker 5 (11:40):
You follow these steps for everything.
Speaker 6 (11:43):
So the acronym is spasm spasm and the first step
to organizing anything is to sort. Okay, so we're going
to sort like items into like items. And I always say,
if you're emptying like a drawer, then sort it. As
(12:04):
you go pull something out, say what category is this?
Put it in like items with like items. If you're
organizing your mind, get a sheet of paper, write down.
You can even sort it into to do's and errands
and business or home or finances, whatever it is, or
just thoughts that you're thinking. You can organize it in
(12:25):
as you pull it out of your mind. Or a project,
write down everything you're thinking about that has to do
with that project. So sorting and if people are overwhelmed.
I used to even with my clients, say okay, we're
going to walk in this room, find the light switch,
go down from the light switch, and we're going to
start right there. I remember standing in front of a
garage that was just packed to the brim and I
(12:49):
just said, you know what, we just walk forward, pick
up the first thing we see and say what is this?
And put it into a pile of like items and
keep going.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
I think that's a good first step because I think
people think they're going to go all the way to
the end, like making a decision and throwing it at
the dumpster, and you know, maybe that just identifying what
it is, and then I think that's where a lot
of people might see that they have a lot of
the same things, or that they keep continuing to purchase
the same the same kind of stuff because they keep
(13:19):
thinking that they need it. So I think then that
could happen in your closet too. There might be you know,
some shirts and you're like, wow, that pile of blue
shirts is getting pretty big. Yeah, so that's a good thing,
and I think anybody can do that that does not
take a lot of mental effort or stress. That is,
that's fairly simple and everything still has a place at
(13:39):
that time.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
Yes, yep.
Speaker 6 (13:42):
So yeah, sorting and that's what's helpful too, because how
many times have you, like, let's just say, gone into
your closet and said, okay, I'm going to get rid
of some stuff and walked up to something and said, okay, well,
I don't know, I don't know if I should do
I don't know, and then you just leave because it's
that decision making that so hard in the beginning.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
If you're thinking, you have to decide if you get
rid of it or not.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Yeah, no, So sorting it is I think that's a
great first step. And there might be certain things that
we realize are piles of you know, even with children,
these are tiny, small thing, you know. So I think
that could be helpful to just even start to identify.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
Maybe where we're headed next.
Speaker 6 (14:24):
Yes, and so the next step is to purge. And
this is when you go back through each pile and
you make decisions on what you're going to keep, what
you're going to trash, donate.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
Sell, whatever it is.
Speaker 6 (14:36):
I like to do a couple things here. One method
is choosing your favorites. And so especially you mentioned kids.
If you have kids and you walk into a pile
and say, okay, what are we getting rid of, it
might all of a sudden make them clam up and
not like, no, you're not getting rid of my toys.
So I like to choose my favorites or have them pick, Like,
(14:57):
what are your five favorite things that you play with
all the time, What are your five favorite genes? What
are the five tasks that you love doing and you
want to spend your time doing so now you know,
then you can move on to the next ones. And
you know, even my kids were with me the other
day and they're like, Mom, when is the last time
you wore that? We were just going through some of
(15:18):
my jewelry and they're like, when is the last.
Speaker 3 (15:20):
Time you wore that?
Speaker 6 (15:21):
Yeah, So going through some of the typical questions, would
you pay full price for that item again?
Speaker 5 (15:27):
When is the last time you used it? Does it fit?
Speaker 3 (15:30):
Do you love it?
Speaker 6 (15:31):
Does it have the space? You know, all of those
kinds of things. Could someone else be using it? That
might be a good one too. Sometimes we hold onto
things because someone gave them to us, or they're special,
or you have a good memory of that. But you
could trust that you'll have everything you need when you
need it, and could someone else be using this item
(15:52):
right now?
Speaker 3 (15:53):
Yeah? That one I think is.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
You know, even when when my father passed away and
we were going through the class and stuff, I was
just I kept thinking like there was a few things
that kept and then everything else. I was just like, Oh,
he would want somebody else to have these boots more.
He would want like rather than have things sit here,
like just knowing like maybe this could help some other
family or other child. Like.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
I think that does.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Kind of reframe getting you know, moving your stuff around,
getting it out of your house and having it go
somewhere else, I think. And there's a lot of places
that are in need too, furniture, all sorts of different things.
So right, that's a really good way, even for children,
because I noticed with my kids, you're right if you say.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
What are we getting rid of? Immediately?
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Everything is important, everything is their favorite. But if you say,
can you put this in a pile for like more
like younger kids, or when you liked it when you
were in kindergarten, you know, and then they can identify
the baby books with this, and then it's almost easier
to be like, Okay, who maybe these you know, somebody
else could maybe use these more. And that's almost exciting
because I do think a lot of kids are you
(16:58):
know not, I think they only have so many things.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
In the world that they claim to be hard.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
But I think it just makes it a little more,
a little more engaging, and a little less like of
a threat.
Speaker 6 (17:11):
Even if they think of Sometimes with adults it's you
think of a charity that you want to give to,
and that makes it important to you. Even with kids,
if they thought of a friend that could like their
little cousin or whoever that's younger that could use that,
that'd be fun.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
And also I do think that those things tend to
pile up.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
Very quickly. Yeah, with the kids, clothes and the stuff.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
And I remember there's a few ages that my kids
just blew right past a couple of tags on Yeah,
you can't we return it, we turn it back into money.
Would be my favorite thing to do first, if possible,
But a lot of times it is really Yeah, just
figuring out where to make space because if you don't, eventually.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
You're going to run out of space.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
I mean I don't have a huge home. We have
a small closets. The home was built about one hundred
years ago, so like it starts to get really gramps past.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
So I like loading things.
Speaker 6 (18:07):
Well, and that's where you can't stay organized because there
is just too much stuff. One of the things I
love is thinking about the container that you're given. If
that's your home size, your closet size, the dressers or drawers,
your kitchen, and just accepting that this is the size
of the container I have right now, and I can
make decisions and keep my favorite things that fit into
(18:30):
this container.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
Yeah, and I think that's a good thing.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Even you're right, like if you start with organizing one
little piece of maybe it's your car or your desk,
I'd be like, this is what we've got, how can
I make better use of it and keep it organized?
Because you're right, it's it can get challenging, especially if
this is a test that you've put off for a
long time.
Speaker 6 (18:51):
Yes, yeah, so sort, purge and now you have what
you're going to keep, and then you assign homes. So
that a is assign homes and you're going to use.
It's kind of like a puzzle. You have to figure
out where things fit, what do you use more often,
what needs to be most accessible.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
So you make.
Speaker 6 (19:10):
Decisions and you assign everything a home. And that's where
it becomes. Once everything has a home, when company comes,
it's easy to pick up because things have homes. It's
when things don't have homes then you haven't assigned it
yet that it becomes hard. It becomes clutter, it becomes delayed.
Decisions Like I haven't decided yet where the home is.
(19:32):
So now it's sitting here and I have to do
something with it.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
Yeah, No, I think that's good.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
And then I think it makes you think about your
space too, and they continue you have right because there
might be some things that are like they don't belong
in the back of your closet or your trunk, and
that's just where you've thrown them, but that's not the
home where you'd go look for them first if you
were thinking about that item later.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
So very very important. And I think that.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
Again, a lot of times we were searching for something
that we know we have it's just the wrong home.
Speaker 6 (20:02):
Yes, And when you're thinking about assigning a home too,
you can ask yourself, where would I think to look
for this if I was looking for it, And a
lot of times everyone's individual. So trust that got instinct
where you would look for it and put it there
because that fits.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
Now if it was on the counter on.
Speaker 6 (20:20):
The floor, don't trust that, but you know, figure out
where you want to store it.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
Definitely, I like that one. That one makes sense.
Speaker 6 (20:27):
Yeah, And then set limits is the fourth step, and
setting limits is the containering step. So notice that it's
not until the fourth step, So don't go buy new containers,
a new planner, a new you know.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
But the new planner is going to change my life
right now, all these containers are going to change everything.
Speaker 3 (20:49):
Don't buy it until then.
Speaker 6 (20:51):
The whole point of that is to set a limit
on the size. So a limit could be a drawer,
it could be a shelf size, it could be dividers
in a or baskets bins. Once that limit is full,
once the container is full, that's the trigger for you
to know.
Speaker 5 (21:10):
Okay, we got to go back through the steps.
Speaker 6 (21:12):
So I notice this, like in my socks section of
my drawer, when that socks starts spilling over, it's like,
oh yeah, this was the container, the limit and it's
set and now it's overflowing, so we need to go
back through.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
I think that it definitely makes sense, especially for people
like me who might be overpackers when it comes to
their suitcase and they're flying where they might have everything,
and then if it doesn't shut, they have to go
back through because that is the container we have. Yes,
some things don't make the They make the first round,
but they don't make the second round of cuts.
Speaker 5 (21:45):
Yeah, trying to.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
Get a little bit short, because really there's only so
much you can do in so much space. So I
think that's smart, and I think a lot of times,
once those drawers start to go to the point where
you can't shot them on overflowing, something in the back
is really really going to get neglected.
Speaker 5 (22:04):
Yeah, for sure, you won't even be able to find it.
Speaker 3 (22:06):
Books.
Speaker 5 (22:06):
A lot of times this happens with clients. They love books,
and so their bookshelves are full.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
So then what happens to these books? They start stacking
up all over the house.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Yeah, I've switched to being a library person because I
was buying a lot of books, but I don't reread
them most of the time, only business books.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
While I go back through fiction, I hardly ever reread.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
And so I started to go to library and I've
saved thousands of dollars doing it because I.
Speaker 3 (22:29):
Just and also there was no there wasn't much space
to put them all.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
And my sister, who's the opposite, she has so many
different books, and if if she moved, I think like
boxes and boxes would just be books. Yeah, and I
don't know if if necessarily again, could somebody else be
using this?
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Is there anything that you know? Is there any other
you know, it's just it does take up a lot
of space.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
I understand, like, and why we do it. It's our
favorite things. There's lots of reasons to buy anything to support, Yeah,
all different reasons, but once it's starting to kind of
become overwhelming or take up too much.
Speaker 5 (23:11):
Well, and what's been coming up in our community.
Speaker 6 (23:13):
Too about books lately, is it's an identity that you have.
A lot of people have the identity that books are
there that represents being educated, or being smart, or being
a reader, and that's their identity. So to get rid
of them makes it really hard. So that's where a
lot of the mindset comes in. Okay, I mean that
(23:36):
served you at a stage in your life, and now
if you want to keep it, that's fine. But if
you're moving forward and your whole you're not even interested
in those topics anymore. Like what is it that you're
interested in, what aligns with that and then making decisions
from there.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
Yeah, that definitely makes a lot of sense. And that's
probably going to be a lot of people's They're going
to have their one thing, their favorite thing that they
love to spend money on. I've seen that times when
I've looked at the budget and sometimes it's closed, sometimes
it's shoes, sometimes it's books, all of those things. But
certain point, you're right, it definitely makes sense to start
to yeah, set those limits.
Speaker 6 (24:12):
Yeah, and then the final step is to maintain. Unfortunately everything,
you know, our weight, our help, our garden, everything needs maintenance.
Because life changes and things are coming in. It always
requires maintenance. And so the key with maintenance, and the
secret I tell people is to tie it to something
that you already do.
Speaker 5 (24:32):
And I always use the example of taxes.
Speaker 6 (24:34):
We do our taxes once a year, So tie going
through your paper in your files and cleaning everything out
to tax time. So when you're prepping, just add an
extra hour or two and get those papers cleared out
so that you're ready for the next year. Or with kids,
it's a lot of times it's the school year or
the beginning or the end, or you know whatever it is.
(24:57):
Going through your mail. If you make coffee every morning,
tie it to that and sit down and get through
processing your mail.
Speaker 3 (25:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
I think once you once you're in maintenance mode, it
does become easier because I don't know, magically, there still
seems to be a lot of things to get rid
of every time. I every year when I do this,
But I think that you know, or if it's changing
the seasons, when you're you know, with your closet, you know,
I think that there's a lot of times where it
just might naturally fall into in taxes, that's just very
(25:28):
much a normal time to get organized, or when people
are buying, you know, and they're shopping for something big
or alone and they have to get everything organized. I
think there's a lot of times where we where we.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
Do it because we have to.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
But I think if it's if it's done on a
regular basis, that can be so helpful when we because
sometimes we need to find things quickly and we don't
have a lot of time. And so I think that
I was seeing even some organization some tips coming out
of you know, from the fires in LA where people
are saying, grab your laundry basket.
Speaker 3 (25:58):
Those are going to be the.
Speaker 2 (25:59):
Clothesy like all of these things, like if you had
to quickly your documents being in a fire, like in
a fireproof save or all in one place so you
can just go and get your passports, all of those things.
Having things organized is so helpful when you're under pressure.
Speaker 3 (26:16):
Or when you have to get things done.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
So I think that it's just a really I think
it's a very healthy thing to do. I think financially
and also mental health wise, it can be very very
helpful to know, you know where all of those things are.
And you mentioned before when we were talking about digital organization,
and I'm curious about how that is becoming for business
owners or for really a lot of different people who
(26:39):
maybe are trying to they can they feel like they
have a dozen passwords, or they're just feel overwhelmed with
all of the stuff that they have to remember and
where things are. How has digital organization changed since your
career started to where it is now.
Speaker 6 (26:56):
Yes, so you have to have some sort of struck
sure with your digital organization. And the first step and
a tool that I use is called the Wonderful One.
It's the power of One. It's deciding on one location
that you're going to have as your hub, and that's
going to be where you store everything. So if it's
just you, you can do that on your computer or
(27:18):
possibly you'd have a cloud storage system. So I use
the Google workspace, so everything is in Google and I
know that that's where it is.
Speaker 5 (27:28):
So I've reduced all the decision fatigue, like, oh wait.
Speaker 6 (27:31):
Is that on this external hard drive? Is this on
my computer? I don't know, but you just know. So
you have that power of one. And then I like
such a simple file structure, and I teach like funneling
information is helpful for your brain to practice. And so
(27:51):
I think something comes into your computer, you have one
of two folders that you would put it in, either
home or business.
Speaker 3 (27:59):
And so that's simple.
Speaker 6 (28:00):
You already know, okay, it's going to go in one
of those two places. And then for business, I like
to use only five file folders. So it's either operations,
which is behind the scenes of your business, marketing, which
is outward facing. My content I always have to say
my content in front of it. Now you guys, can
(28:21):
you know people can rename them what they want. But
my content's anything I create, anything that is my presentation,
my whatever. And then education is anybody else's content that's
on my computer. So these are my mentors and coaching
programs I'm in, or things freebies I downloaded. And then
(28:41):
the fifth folder is clients and so anything to do
with your clients that you would keep there, and every
business that I've worked with so far can fit everything
into those five folders, and then you make subfolders in
they're if needed. I like to keep things really simple.
If you don't have a lot of stuff in there,
don't make subfolders. But if you do, as you see
(29:04):
what's in there, and guess what. The first thing we
do is make those five folders and we sort. We
sort everything on our computer into those five folders. So
I have a class that people can take to learn
about more about that. But such simple structures. And when
people see that, they're like, oh my gosh, because how
many times have they made a duplicate and can't find
(29:25):
something and spent thirty minutes searching for things?
Speaker 3 (29:28):
I think that and that becomes very stressful.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Also, you know a lot of us, especially for running businesses,
and you mentioned having like a marketing folder or like
my content folder, A lot of us are not only
running our businesses but creating content, creating marketing material. Maybe
we're doing a presentation or going on a podcast or
seminar or whatever, and we know we did it already, right, but.
Speaker 3 (29:52):
It might have been years.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
Were like trying to figure out where that is by
like what would I have named that document.
Speaker 3 (29:59):
Or around what M did I do that? It can
be so difficult and then you're right.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
We ended up spending a lot of time recreating things
that maybe we could just refresh or repurpose right again.
And that can be you know, obviously, our time is
super valuable, especially when we're trying to run our businesses.
So I think that is really I think that's a
really good way for people to start to break down
mm hmm.
Speaker 6 (30:21):
The thing's really really simple. And you can make simple
folders like that in home as well.
Speaker 3 (30:26):
So I have a.
Speaker 6 (30:28):
Family and then with each of our names in there,
even my parents, so their will goes in there. All
that's within family and money, health, because I collect a
lot of health stuff I notice, and just some basic
folders like that.
Speaker 5 (30:42):
Yeah, I like to keep names really broad.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
I think that's good though, because it doesn't make it
it's not gonna it's gonna be less confusing when you
go to find it and being like, oh, I read
this interesting article about you know, about food or about that,
and it's going to go in the in the healtholder.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
Right, So I think that could be. That could be
great because we've never had more access to information. But
I do feel like there's maybe it's overwhelming how much
information we have access to and how much stuff we
can see and read.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
And then if you're like, oh, if you just go
back through things like what did I like or what
did I like, it can be hard to even find
those things over again. So I like that, especially when
it comes to and it's very important for business and finance,
for sure, to have a folder where you know your
tech stuff will go because you're going to need it,
(31:31):
or your receipts are expensed. All of those financial things
to be in one spot is super helpful.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
So what are some of the things that you're noticing?
Speaker 2 (31:39):
I know that you know there might be maybe people
are feeling a little bit overwhelmed or a little bit stressed,
you know lately, I know a lot of times, you know,
it could just be a natural part of being in business.
But what are some of the things you mentioned that
now you're working with business owners, So what are some
of the things that you're you're helping people that you're
(32:00):
seeing people come to you and say that this is
part of their business they're struggling with. Is it just
that there's so many different things to do that maybe
they're staying stuck, or how do you help a business
owner really start to feel empowered with this end of
their business.
Speaker 5 (32:17):
Yeah, there's a couple categories.
Speaker 6 (32:20):
I'd say, first their mindset, what are they believing about themselves?
Then we look at their digital space. How can they
get more organized just with file structure. But then also
I love teaching people about the bookmark spar and how
they can set that up and organize it in such
a simple way they can find everything they need in
one click. So some of that, and then also I've
(32:45):
run my business with four dashboards, and so an idea dashboard,
a business dashboard that has all the links, Like how
many links do we need to find? And then how
do we find them? So those kinds of things, and
then time time is a big one, like how do
we know what we're going to do when we sit
(33:06):
down to work?
Speaker 5 (33:07):
How do we organize that? What kinds of workflows do we.
Speaker 3 (33:10):
Want to implement?
Speaker 6 (33:12):
And then the final one is systems or processes? What
kinds of processes do we need? What kinds of systems
do we need to set up to make running of
the business easier and not bottlenecked by your own disorganization?
And then you feel good about running it, and then
you can focus on your clients and creating stuff they
(33:33):
need and marketing more so that you get the clients
you want to have.
Speaker 2 (33:37):
And I think that that you mentioned the organization of
your time, because a lot of people I talk to
say like, Oh, I'd love to be doing more of
this marketing, but I'm just I'm so busy, I have
no time to do it. But I think if your
calendar is being set by who is texting you that
morning or calling you or in your face, you're going
(34:00):
to always be putting out fires. And I feel like
that does end up happening with a lot of people,
and then they feel like that there's just no not
enough time.
Speaker 3 (34:09):
M h. Such a common.
Speaker 2 (34:11):
Managing that calendar can be so can be so helpful,
especially if there's important things that you should be doing
with your business, but maybe maybe part of you doesn't
want to and so it gets pushed to the back.
So I think that time, you know, even if you're
not a time blocking calendar a very strict person, I
think having some sort of organization around that can be
(34:33):
very helpful, even if it's a particular day or some
sort of timeframe.
Speaker 6 (34:38):
Yeah, this year, I'm implementing the twelve week year, and
I think that helps. And what I help clients do
a lot is just prioritizing. Okay, let's look at it.
Let's choose what you're going to work on for this
twelve in the next twelve weeks, and let's break it
down so that you know exactly how to do it
and it's not overwhelming. I think the prioritizing, especially with
(35:00):
people with ADHD, prioritization is a challenge, and so breaking
those projects down, identifying what your focus is going to.
Speaker 5 (35:09):
Be, all of that.
Speaker 6 (35:11):
It's just is helpful to have someone else's eyes on
that and walk you through how to do it, and
then it is a skill. I think you get better
and better at it. But yeah, so we're doing the
twelve week year. I have a weekly accountability meeting where
we're scoring ourselves and it's really helped me to stay focused, like, oh,
this is my goal. I need to achieve this, and
(35:31):
so I need to do these tasks in order to
make the progress I want.
Speaker 3 (35:36):
And I think that.
Speaker 2 (35:37):
Having those having those goals and those timeframes, because a
lot there's so many people I talk to you that
have a big goal. Maybe they want to write a book,
maybe they want to you know, go back to they
but they don't put any time from around it, so
it just seems like it'll never happen until there's more time.
Speaker 5 (35:54):
There's right, and there's time.
Speaker 3 (35:56):
This is the time exists.
Speaker 2 (35:57):
So I think having those kind of shorter term like
very targeted specialized, whether it's you know, a quarter or
you know, the twelve weeks that you're mentioning, or if
you you know, if you have somebody else who's expecting
something of you, And I think that accountability can be
very helpful, especially when you're starting to prove to your
brain that you.
Speaker 3 (36:14):
Can yes, yes, yes, that can be so helpful. There's
a lot of a lot of people just say.
Speaker 2 (36:20):
Like like they're at the mercy of you know, everyone else, like, oh,
there's just not enough time, so I'll just keep moving.
But we're busy, but maybe not making as much progress
as we'd like.
Speaker 3 (36:32):
Sometimes exactly, Yeah, that's really helpful.
Speaker 2 (36:35):
What are some of the other things that you've done
with some clients, different different programs or things. If people
are interested in learning more about this that you know,
they could potentially.
Speaker 3 (36:44):
You know, go to your website or meet with you
to talk.
Speaker 6 (36:46):
About Yeah, so on my website simply squared away dot com.
I just made sure there's the file naming formula cheat sheets.
So you even mentioned how would I name it? So
it's a file naming convention that makes it really logical
but really consistent. I guess is the right word. So
(37:06):
there's that on there. I have that class how to
teach the five files the only five files you need,
and how to the three aspects of an organized business.
This I do one on one coaching with people, and
so in one on one coaching, we work on the
organization part of it, and then we also do business
(37:27):
stuff like I'm teaching someone or planning with them their
launch for one on one coaching, so we're working through
like what emails, what's the structure, what's the timeline that
we want to do, that kind of thing, and then
helping people set up systems. One of my clients recently
just had some medical issues and she said, Tracy, it
(37:48):
was so amazing because I have these systems in place.
My podcast went out every week and I could trust
that it was all.
Speaker 3 (37:57):
Going to work because I had these systems set up.
Speaker 2 (38:00):
I think that's it's it's really important for business owners
to think about getting these systems in place and getting
organized because if you think about who you would want
to hire as a coach, if you think about who
you'd want to hire as a financial planner, it's not
necessarily going to be somebody who is always winging it
or feeling stressed out or isn't like because I feel
(38:23):
like that kind of energy translates. You can feel it,
you know, when somebody is feeling like they're constantly overwhelmed
and anxious or they you know, and I think that
that when you want to become this business, maybe you're
not there yet. Maybe you're starting to believe that you
could be this coach or this price. I think that
like thinking about like how would you want them to
like wake up in the morning and start their dead.
Speaker 3 (38:45):
Like what is the feeling?
Speaker 2 (38:47):
Yes, because that can be what people feel when they
work with you.
Speaker 3 (38:52):
You know that.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
You know, if you're going to call Tracy, she's going
to have a process in place for becoming a client.
It's not going to be like hold on, let me
email you something, let me find this contract I don't
know where it is, Like it's going to be very
clean and easy, and so I think that that's something
that when we're looking for anybody to help us with
anything or to buy a product or service, having those
systems in place organization, I think that that can help
(39:16):
us make more money and it can help us be
better business owners. And even the last podcast I recently
spoke with somebody who was talking about exit planning for businesses.
The businesses that get sold for a teap they're not organized, Yeah,
other numbers they don't know, and so that value that
they've been building up in their business their whole life working.
If they haven't done a good job documenting their process
(39:38):
or their systems or anything like that, they tend to
have a lot of trouble transitioning. And so it's just
something to always be thinking about. Not that we're thinking
about the end of our business when we're say launching,
what we can though, we can think about kind of
having that value and what we can do to improve
that and present it we need to. I think that's
(39:58):
such a I think that's such a great skill for
new business owners or anybody in any state to learn.
Speaker 3 (40:02):
But it does have an impact in the end, yes,
And it's.
Speaker 6 (40:07):
So in both I have organized coach academy where I
have those six modules and some bonuses, but right now
I'm adding in AI assistance in there to make all
of that so much easier for my clients. So they
just go in there, they're like, this is what I've
been doing, this is how it works, and it'll spit out.
Here's your process, here's your documented process. So you have
(40:30):
that and it's formatted the way I like it formatted,
and they have it in seconds.
Speaker 2 (40:34):
So it's so much easier than it used to be.
I should say definitely. I think that there are so
many tools. There's so many things that we can think about.
Not okay, that's just another thing, like how could we
use that? How could that save us some time and
some effort. I work in a very highly regulated field
where you know, there might be someone who says, I
(40:55):
want to see your policies and procedures. I need to
see this at any time. But most of us don't
have that. But what if we did. What if we
did have to show people like how does you know?
How do people go from me to B? How do
we serve clients? Where is everything located?
Speaker 1 (41:10):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (41:11):
I think having that kind of organization can be so
so valuable and then you can scale then.
Speaker 3 (41:18):
You yes, ghow well, and then you're.
Speaker 6 (41:20):
Ready to hire asistance an assistant because you have some
of that in place. And I know one of my
clients has a team and she she's just so stressed
because she the team can't find anything. So she is
always spending so much time trying to find the things
that her team needs. So if we had all of
(41:41):
it structured in place, and you were practicing this funnel
of information as it comes into your business, and you
had a home for everything, it just is so much
more peace. And little by little we work on that
and get it set up and then you're you're skilled
in that area and you can move forward.
Speaker 2 (41:56):
Yeah, and as you mentioned with your team growing, like
because you were talking about sorting through your favorite things
with business, if you're looking at all of the steps
and all of the things that need to be done
every day, you can start to figure out which ones'
what I outsource first, which one is what I hire
somebody to use? Is being like I have to do
all the things all the time, and that'll eventually slow
you down. But I think event you can start to recognize,
(42:18):
oh yeah, this that one can go that one can
be automated and then really start to feel like you're
more in control of your business. Thank you so much
for joining me today. I really think this is such
an interesting topic. I think that the more people I
talk to who are experiencing overwhelm and burnout, I do
think that something like this, even getting organized in like.
Speaker 3 (42:42):
A tiny area of their life, whether it's the junk
drawer or their car there.
Speaker 2 (42:47):
Does could lead to feeling that sense of accomplishment where
maybe taking action can get them out of that spirale
like there's just too much, and I feel like that
is one of the only ways out is through taking
action and getting something done. So I love that you're
helping people with these very simple, very understandable steps. So please, Yeah,
repeat your website and where people could find you if
(43:09):
they want to follow you and learn more. I think
it's just been such a such an interesting thing that
I think all of us could use a little refresher
on for sure.
Speaker 3 (43:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (43:16):
My website simply squared away dot com. My podcast is
the Organized Coach Podcast, so start there listen. All the
freebies I mentioned are on the homepage of my website
and my Instagram is at Tracy Hoath, I'm most active
on there.
Speaker 3 (43:35):
Well, thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (43:37):
I think if you're listening and you feel like organization
has been something that's been a bit of a struggle
for you, or maybe you feel really really organized at work,
but then you get home and you can't, you can't
get out of your own way there, I think that
definitely head over to her website look at some of
these freebies. I think there's a lot we can do.
It's so important, especially as there's more things on our platives.
(43:58):
We have more technology, more passwords, more log ins, more
things that we're able to keep things organized, so we
can give more space in our brains to do the
things that.
Speaker 3 (44:09):
We enjoy and that we want to be doing. So
thank you so much, Tracy.
Speaker 2 (44:13):
And if you're looking to get your finances organized, please
head over to Misty Lunch dot com. There you can
you can either grab a copy of the book Demistifying Money,
listen to some episodes of the podcast, or you can
head over.
Speaker 3 (44:24):
To some of your financial advisors from there. If you're
looking to work with.
Speaker 2 (44:27):
Somebody one on one to start building your financial plan
and getting your money in order. Thank you all so
much for joining us and we'll talk again next week.
Thank you for joining us on another insightful episode of
Demonsifying Money. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and.
Speaker 3 (44:43):
Leave a review.
Speaker 2 (44:44):
Stay tuned for more engaging conversations on our next episode,
and remember knowledge is the key to financial empowerment.
Welcome to the Demistifying Money podcast, where each week you
will hear unforgettable conversations with expert guests about success, money, business,
and small steps you can take to elevate your life
and wealth. Now here's your host, Misty Lynch.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Hello everyone, thank you for joining us for this episode
of Demystifying Money.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Today, I am talking with Tracy Hoath.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
She is the owner of Simply Squared Away, and we're
going to talk about the five steps of organization. Now,
some of you might be managing your career, your family,
maybe parents, all sorts of schedules that you have and
things on your plate, and I think that talking about
being organized and organization can be.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Such a transferable skill.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
So we're going to talk about some of the basics
today so they can maybe help you feel less overwhelmed,
less stressed, and get the things done that need to
get done. So, Tracy, thank you so much for joining
me today. I'm so excited to be here and talk
about my favorite topic, organization.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
This episode of Demystifying Money with Misdy Lynch is proudly
sponsored by Soundview Financial Advisors. Visit www dot Soundview financial
advisors dot com to learn more.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
So I think organization it's it's something that some people
feel like they're just not organized or that they don't
you know, or there's you know, maybe people in their
business who are in operations that are very organized and
have things in So what made you want to start
your business.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Simply squared away?
Speaker 2 (01:37):
And how did you get into the field or this
area of wanting to help people with organization. Tell me
about your story and how you came about it. Are
you just naturally good at it or did it take
a little work.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
I would say.
Speaker 5 (01:49):
I'm a little more. I like to look at it
like our clutter tolerance.
Speaker 6 (01:53):
I have a little lower of a clutter tolerance, so
I don't want clutter around. But it was seventeen years ago,
so back in two thousand and eight, back then, you know,
we I would collect pictures of magazines of closets mainly
and then new because after talking to friends and other moms,
(02:14):
I had kids, young kids back then, they were always
needing to organize or they were always needing to clean
and be at home, and I always wanted to go
out and do stuff, and I thought I can help them,
like get organized so that we can do more.
Speaker 5 (02:29):
So when my kids started We're all in school.
Speaker 6 (02:31):
I began organizing for people, and I've been doing that
since two thousand and eight, and in about twenty eighteen,
I kind of shifted my focus and added life coaching,
so I worked more with the mindset of organization and
combined all the practical stuff that I'd been doing, and
now I also help business owners and coaches organize their business.
(02:54):
Because once I started my online part of my business,
I even was overwhelmed with the processes and the systems
and how to store all this stuff on my computer.
Speaker 5 (03:04):
So once I applied all the tools.
Speaker 6 (03:07):
To that, then I thought, oh, if I'm somewhat organized,
what are other people dealing with and struggling with in
their business? And so I started helping business owners.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
I think it's I think it's interesting a couple of
things you said, because I also added life coaching skills
to my business around twenty nine because I feel like
a lot of the things that we do for people,
you know, I'm you know, helping people on the financial
end get organized, understand where things are, what they're doing,
how they're operating, and a lot of times, really that
(03:38):
piece of organization, you can have somebody who's very very
good in one area of their life, maybe everything is
neat and tidy, and then when it comes to you
know what bills are where and who has what it's
it's completely overwhelming. So I do think the life coaching
piece comes in when it comes to how people think
and feel about all of these stuff and things, and
(04:00):
there is really a lot to it, I think, especially
if you're somebody who feels like they can never stay
on top of things, they always have to stay home,
they can't go out, you know, they're always cleaning, or
if they feel like they've got things under control. So
I think it's so interesting that you added in that
mindset piece too. But i'd love to hear a little
bit more about you know, you mentioned the five steps
(04:21):
of organization, so we can maybe start there and then
see how that has helped.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Some of your business clients and some other people.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
So I'd love to hear, like, what do you think
the first step is for people who are just they
want to be more organized, maybe that's their goal this year.
Speaker 6 (04:38):
Yeah, Okay, let me back up because I have to
comment on when I would go into people's homes and
help them organize in their offices, paper, whatever it was
I when I brought life coaching into it, I thought, Oh,
they'll never be able to do it without someone there
helping them. And that's what's so magical about the mindset.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
Piece of it is I could.
Speaker 6 (04:57):
Tell them on calls like virtual calls, and they did
it themselves, and their whole life changed and they became
a person who was organized, their identity shifted, and so
that's it's just magical seeing the two work together.
Speaker 5 (05:13):
Like all the practical stuff, No, and I agree.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
I think that there's really only so much you can
do without living with the person and being able to
do it for them. So that is such an important piece,
especially for someone who just identifies that way. You're right,
right from a lot of stories we tell ourselves like
I am bad with money, I am a hot mess.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
I am that you know. And I think the more
you tell your brain.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
That, the more it agrees and gives you evidence of that, right,
And that parallels with money and with organization are so similar.
Speaker 6 (05:45):
Like it's an identity that you have and that you've
grown up with and thought about yourself for a long time.
But I like to think about first what people think
the definition of organization is, because a lot of times
we see in Instagram pictures and it's like color coded
and everything's decantered into perfect matching. You know, I don't
(06:07):
think any of that means you're organized. It's just knowing
what you have and being able to find it when
you need it. So your organization could look totally different
than someone else's and both of you are still organized,
and you don't have to spend the rest of your
time decantering things into clear containers and spending money on containers.
(06:28):
If you can find what you need and you know
what you have, and the people in your home know
what you have and can find it, then you're organized
and go do what else you want in your life.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
I think that's an interesting definition because I am somebody
who has very low tolerance for clutter. And I remember
opening up one of my like hall closets or something
and looking for a particular something. So it might have
been makeup or perfume or something I knew I owned,
and it was I.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
Couldn't find it.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
I got so frustrated so fast with the clutter that
immediately I realized all so much of this stuff has
to go, because you're right, if you know, if you
know what you have and you can't find it.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
That's right, that's a waste.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
That's why people overspend, It's why we buy things that
we don't need or already have. And so I think
that it's it's.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
For some of us we can't.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
Handle yeah that and have to get rid of it immediately,
and other people just you know, maybe the things just
continue to pile up and pile up and then you
really forget, which is a huge financial problem if you're
buying things you already own, or if you don't know
where to where to even go to look. And it's
funny you mentioned the pantries because my husband was a
clear container or you know, container store.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
Fan, and I didn't. I couldn't see the.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Dates anymore because everything was taken out of the buy
and I was like, I want to throw all this
out because I think it's all so it just wasn't
like I understand, like the esthetics of it, but for me,
I'm like, this isn't practical.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
So I know that it's hard to look at that.
And then how does that make us feel though? When
we're seeing these these perfectly laid.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Out closets and homes and desks with nothing on them,
like when you're talking to somebody like how are they
typically you know, when they say how they would describe organization,
like how are they saying it?
Speaker 3 (08:16):
And it doesn't kind.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
Of reflect on, you know, their aversion to it when
they're saying what they think it means.
Speaker 6 (08:23):
Well, I think it gives them such relief knowing that
the definition that I say, but knowing that then they're
all of a sudden like ah, and then we can
find evidence in some places that they really are organized,
and then all of a sudden, their shoulders drop and
they can see like, Okay, I can do that. It
(08:43):
just doesn't need to look like that picture in order
for me to to believe that I'm an organized person.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
Yeah, I think the picture.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
I mean, I'm sure some people probably feel if they're
thinking that organization means perfection, like oh, I'm ashamed of myself.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Look at look at the.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
You know how I've kept things, And so I think
that's a good way to point it out, being like, no,
this is really yeah all it is. So that's you know,
I think that can be liberating.
Speaker 6 (09:11):
Yeah, some people, And that's one of the things in
my community, we post pictures that are normal pictures, you know,
like all of us are kind.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
Of in the same boat.
Speaker 6 (09:20):
Maybe people aren't having the grand houses that have the
money to spend on all those containers, and so you
get to see kind of making me think of magazines.
You know, you see the perfect person. No, you see
normal people that have normal houses that their pantry, you know,
looks like what you would think a normal pantry would.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
Look like, right, not when it's staged to sell the home.
Speaker 6 (09:43):
No. On the other and then it's like the layers
of an onion. I mean, if you want to get
to that, great, Like it's fun and it's pretty and
it makes you happy when you walk in, that's great,
and I encourage that.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
But let's take one layer of the onion at a time.
Speaker 6 (09:59):
Declutter some, get some systems in place, contain some things,
and then next time around, go a little bit deeper.
Now you kind of know what you like and what
you use, and then just keep going from there, and
then if you want to buy matching containers at some point,
then that's great.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
That will make you happy.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
So once they can define organization, yeah, and what comes
next for people who maybe they hear the definition and they
feel like, Okay, maybe I'm not so bad, but they
still have work to do.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
So what comes next? Well, well, then I think about
the five steps.
Speaker 6 (10:32):
Let's before we talk about that, just talk about where
to start. And there's no right or wrong place on
where to start organizing. I think you can ask yourself
some questions, like what would make me the happiest if
I organize this space?
Speaker 3 (10:49):
What is a quick win?
Speaker 6 (10:51):
Maybe it's not a whole room, maybe it's just like
a quick win is maybe a drawer you use all
the time or the top of your desk would be
a quick win. Or what would have the biggest impact
on my life? Maybe that would be like the bedroom
because you're sleeping in there, or the closet because you
get up every morning, or you know. So just asking
yourself those three questions and then pick one of those
(11:14):
and get started. And then comes the steps to organizing.
And I've been organizing for seventeen years and these steps
are kind of goofy, but they're memorable and they work
for absolutely everything. For your time, if you want to
organize your schedule, if you want to organize a project
that you're starting, if you want to organize a closet,
(11:36):
or even your mind, if you want to organize your
mind because you're feeling overwhelmed.
Speaker 5 (11:40):
You follow these steps for everything.
Speaker 6 (11:43):
So the acronym is spasm spasm and the first step
to organizing anything is to sort. Okay, so we're going
to sort like items into like items. And I always say,
if you're emptying like a drawer, then sort it. As
(12:04):
you go pull something out, say what category is this?
Put it in like items with like items. If you're
organizing your mind, get a sheet of paper, write down.
You can even sort it into to do's and errands
and business or home or finances, whatever it is, or
just thoughts that you're thinking. You can organize it in
(12:25):
as you pull it out of your mind. Or a project,
write down everything you're thinking about that has to do
with that project. So sorting and if people are overwhelmed.
I used to even with my clients, say okay, we're
going to walk in this room, find the light switch,
go down from the light switch, and we're going to
start right there. I remember standing in front of a
garage that was just packed to the brim and I
(12:49):
just said, you know what, we just walk forward, pick
up the first thing we see and say what is this?
And put it into a pile of like items and
keep going.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
I think that's a good first step because I think
people think they're going to go all the way to
the end, like making a decision and throwing it at
the dumpster, and you know, maybe that just identifying what
it is, and then I think that's where a lot
of people might see that they have a lot of
the same things, or that they keep continuing to purchase
the same the same kind of stuff because they keep
(13:19):
thinking that they need it. So I think then that
could happen in your closet too. There might be you know,
some shirts and you're like, wow, that pile of blue
shirts is getting pretty big. Yeah, so that's a good thing,
and I think anybody can do that that does not
take a lot of mental effort or stress. That is,
that's fairly simple and everything still has a place at
(13:39):
that time.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
Yes, yep.
Speaker 6 (13:42):
So yeah, sorting and that's what's helpful too, because how
many times have you, like, let's just say, gone into
your closet and said, okay, I'm going to get rid
of some stuff and walked up to something and said, okay, well,
I don't know, I don't know if I should do
I don't know, and then you just leave because it's
that decision making that so hard in the beginning.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
If you're thinking, you have to decide if you get
rid of it or not.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Yeah, no, So sorting it is I think that's a
great first step. And there might be certain things that
we realize are piles of you know, even with children,
these are tiny, small thing, you know. So I think
that could be helpful to just even start to identify.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
Maybe where we're headed next.
Speaker 6 (14:24):
Yes, and so the next step is to purge. And
this is when you go back through each pile and
you make decisions on what you're going to keep, what
you're going to trash, donate.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
Sell, whatever it is.
Speaker 6 (14:36):
I like to do a couple things here. One method
is choosing your favorites. And so especially you mentioned kids.
If you have kids and you walk into a pile
and say, okay, what are we getting rid of, it
might all of a sudden make them clam up and
not like, no, you're not getting rid of my toys.
So I like to choose my favorites or have them pick, Like,
(14:57):
what are your five favorite things that you play with
all the time, What are your five favorite genes? What
are the five tasks that you love doing and you
want to spend your time doing so now you know,
then you can move on to the next ones. And
you know, even my kids were with me the other
day and they're like, Mom, when is the last time
you wore that? We were just going through some of
(15:18):
my jewelry and they're like, when is the last.
Speaker 3 (15:20):
Time you wore that?
Speaker 6 (15:21):
Yeah, So going through some of the typical questions, would
you pay full price for that item again?
Speaker 5 (15:27):
When is the last time you used it? Does it fit?
Speaker 3 (15:30):
Do you love it?
Speaker 6 (15:31):
Does it have the space? You know, all of those
kinds of things. Could someone else be using it? That
might be a good one too. Sometimes we hold onto
things because someone gave them to us, or they're special,
or you have a good memory of that. But you
could trust that you'll have everything you need when you
need it, and could someone else be using this item
(15:52):
right now?
Speaker 3 (15:53):
Yeah? That one I think is.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
You know, even when when my father passed away and
we were going through the class and stuff, I was
just I kept thinking like there was a few things
that kept and then everything else. I was just like, Oh,
he would want somebody else to have these boots more.
He would want like rather than have things sit here,
like just knowing like maybe this could help some other
family or other child. Like.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
I think that does.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Kind of reframe getting you know, moving your stuff around,
getting it out of your house and having it go
somewhere else, I think. And there's a lot of places
that are in need too, furniture, all sorts of different things.
So right, that's a really good way, even for children,
because I noticed with my kids, you're right if you say.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
What are we getting rid of? Immediately?
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Everything is important, everything is their favorite. But if you say,
can you put this in a pile for like more
like younger kids, or when you liked it when you
were in kindergarten, you know, and then they can identify
the baby books with this, and then it's almost easier
to be like, Okay, who maybe these you know, somebody
else could maybe use these more. And that's almost exciting
because I do think a lot of kids are you
(16:58):
know not, I think they only have so many things.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
In the world that they claim to be hard.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
But I think it just makes it a little more,
a little more engaging, and a little less like of
a threat.
Speaker 6 (17:11):
Even if they think of Sometimes with adults it's you
think of a charity that you want to give to,
and that makes it important to you. Even with kids,
if they thought of a friend that could like their
little cousin or whoever that's younger that could use that,
that'd be fun.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
And also I do think that those things tend to
pile up.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
Very quickly. Yeah, with the kids, clothes and the stuff.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
And I remember there's a few ages that my kids
just blew right past a couple of tags on Yeah,
you can't we return it, we turn it back into money.
Would be my favorite thing to do first, if possible,
But a lot of times it is really Yeah, just
figuring out where to make space because if you don't, eventually.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
You're going to run out of space.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
I mean I don't have a huge home. We have
a small closets. The home was built about one hundred
years ago, so like it starts to get really gramps past.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
So I like loading things.
Speaker 6 (18:07):
Well, and that's where you can't stay organized because there
is just too much stuff. One of the things I
love is thinking about the container that you're given. If
that's your home size, your closet size, the dressers or drawers,
your kitchen, and just accepting that this is the size
of the container I have right now, and I can
make decisions and keep my favorite things that fit into
(18:30):
this container.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
Yeah, and I think that's a good thing.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Even you're right, like if you start with organizing one
little piece of maybe it's your car or your desk,
I'd be like, this is what we've got, how can
I make better use of it and keep it organized?
Because you're right, it's it can get challenging, especially if
this is a test that you've put off for a
long time.
Speaker 6 (18:51):
Yes, yeah, so sort, purge and now you have what
you're going to keep, and then you assign homes. So
that a is assign homes and you're going to use.
It's kind of like a puzzle. You have to figure
out where things fit, what do you use more often,
what needs to be most accessible.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
So you make.
Speaker 6 (19:10):
Decisions and you assign everything a home. And that's where
it becomes. Once everything has a home, when company comes,
it's easy to pick up because things have homes. It's
when things don't have homes then you haven't assigned it
yet that it becomes hard. It becomes clutter, it becomes delayed.
Decisions Like I haven't decided yet where the home is.
(19:32):
So now it's sitting here and I have to do
something with it.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
Yeah, No, I think that's good.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
And then I think it makes you think about your
space too, and they continue you have right because there
might be some things that are like they don't belong
in the back of your closet or your trunk, and
that's just where you've thrown them, but that's not the
home where you'd go look for them first if you
were thinking about that item later.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
So very very important. And I think that.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
Again, a lot of times we were searching for something
that we know we have it's just the wrong home.
Speaker 6 (20:02):
Yes, And when you're thinking about assigning a home too,
you can ask yourself, where would I think to look
for this if I was looking for it, And a
lot of times everyone's individual. So trust that got instinct
where you would look for it and put it there
because that fits.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
Now if it was on the counter on.
Speaker 6 (20:20):
The floor, don't trust that, but you know, figure out
where you want to store it.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
Definitely, I like that one. That one makes sense.
Speaker 6 (20:27):
Yeah, And then set limits is the fourth step, and
setting limits is the containering step. So notice that it's
not until the fourth step, So don't go buy new containers,
a new planner, a new you know.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
But the new planner is going to change my life
right now, all these containers are going to change everything.
Speaker 3 (20:49):
Don't buy it until then.
Speaker 6 (20:51):
The whole point of that is to set a limit
on the size. So a limit could be a drawer,
it could be a shelf size, it could be dividers
in a or baskets bins. Once that limit is full,
once the container is full, that's the trigger for you
to know.
Speaker 5 (21:10):
Okay, we got to go back through the steps.
Speaker 6 (21:12):
So I notice this, like in my socks section of
my drawer, when that socks starts spilling over, it's like,
oh yeah, this was the container, the limit and it's
set and now it's overflowing, so we need to go
back through.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
I think that it definitely makes sense, especially for people
like me who might be overpackers when it comes to
their suitcase and they're flying where they might have everything,
and then if it doesn't shut, they have to go
back through because that is the container we have. Yes,
some things don't make the They make the first round,
but they don't make the second round of cuts.
Speaker 5 (21:45):
Yeah, trying to.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
Get a little bit short, because really there's only so
much you can do in so much space. So I
think that's smart, and I think a lot of times,
once those drawers start to go to the point where
you can't shot them on overflowing, something in the back
is really really going to get neglected.
Speaker 5 (22:04):
Yeah, for sure, you won't even be able to find it.
Speaker 3 (22:06):
Books.
Speaker 5 (22:06):
A lot of times this happens with clients. They love books,
and so their bookshelves are full.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
So then what happens to these books? They start stacking
up all over the house.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Yeah, I've switched to being a library person because I
was buying a lot of books, but I don't reread
them most of the time, only business books.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
While I go back through fiction, I hardly ever reread.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
And so I started to go to library and I've
saved thousands of dollars doing it because I.
Speaker 3 (22:29):
Just and also there was no there wasn't much space
to put them all.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
And my sister, who's the opposite, she has so many
different books, and if if she moved, I think like
boxes and boxes would just be books. Yeah, and I
don't know if if necessarily again, could somebody else be
using this?
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Is there anything that you know? Is there any other
you know, it's just it does take up a lot
of space.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
I understand, like, and why we do it. It's our
favorite things. There's lots of reasons to buy anything to support, Yeah,
all different reasons, but once it's starting to kind of
become overwhelming or take up too much.
Speaker 5 (23:11):
Well, and what's been coming up in our community.
Speaker 6 (23:13):
Too about books lately, is it's an identity that you have.
A lot of people have the identity that books are
there that represents being educated, or being smart, or being
a reader, and that's their identity. So to get rid
of them makes it really hard. So that's where a
lot of the mindset comes in. Okay, I mean that
(23:36):
served you at a stage in your life, and now
if you want to keep it, that's fine. But if
you're moving forward and your whole you're not even interested
in those topics anymore. Like what is it that you're
interested in, what aligns with that and then making decisions
from there.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
Yeah, that definitely makes a lot of sense. And that's
probably going to be a lot of people's They're going
to have their one thing, their favorite thing that they
love to spend money on. I've seen that times when
I've looked at the budget and sometimes it's closed, sometimes
it's shoes, sometimes it's books, all of those things. But
certain point, you're right, it definitely makes sense to start
to yeah, set those limits.
Speaker 6 (24:12):
Yeah, and then the final step is to maintain. Unfortunately everything,
you know, our weight, our help, our garden, everything needs maintenance.
Because life changes and things are coming in. It always
requires maintenance. And so the key with maintenance, and the
secret I tell people is to tie it to something
that you already do.
Speaker 5 (24:32):
And I always use the example of taxes.
Speaker 6 (24:34):
We do our taxes once a year, So tie going
through your paper in your files and cleaning everything out
to tax time. So when you're prepping, just add an
extra hour or two and get those papers cleared out
so that you're ready for the next year. Or with kids,
it's a lot of times it's the school year or
the beginning or the end, or you know whatever it is.
(24:57):
Going through your mail. If you make coffee every morning,
tie it to that and sit down and get through
processing your mail.
Speaker 3 (25:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
I think once you once you're in maintenance mode, it
does become easier because I don't know, magically, there still
seems to be a lot of things to get rid
of every time. I every year when I do this,
But I think that you know, or if it's changing
the seasons, when you're you know, with your closet, you know,
I think that there's a lot of times where it
just might naturally fall into in taxes, that's just very
(25:28):
much a normal time to get organized, or when people
are buying, you know, and they're shopping for something big
or alone and they have to get everything organized. I
think there's a lot of times where we where we.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
Do it because we have to.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
But I think if it's if it's done on a
regular basis, that can be so helpful when we because
sometimes we need to find things quickly and we don't
have a lot of time. And so I think that
I was seeing even some organization some tips coming out
of you know, from the fires in LA where people
are saying, grab your laundry basket.
Speaker 3 (25:58):
Those are going to be the.
Speaker 2 (25:59):
Clothesy like all of these things, like if you had
to quickly your documents being in a fire, like in
a fireproof save or all in one place so you
can just go and get your passports, all of those things.
Having things organized is so helpful when you're under pressure.
Speaker 3 (26:16):
Or when you have to get things done.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
So I think that it's just a really I think
it's a very healthy thing to do. I think financially
and also mental health wise, it can be very very
helpful to know, you know where all of those things are.
And you mentioned before when we were talking about digital organization,
and I'm curious about how that is becoming for business
owners or for really a lot of different people who
(26:39):
maybe are trying to they can they feel like they
have a dozen passwords, or they're just feel overwhelmed with
all of the stuff that they have to remember and
where things are. How has digital organization changed since your
career started to where it is now.
Speaker 6 (26:56):
Yes, so you have to have some sort of struck
sure with your digital organization. And the first step and
a tool that I use is called the Wonderful One.
It's the power of One. It's deciding on one location
that you're going to have as your hub, and that's
going to be where you store everything. So if it's
just you, you can do that on your computer or
(27:18):
possibly you'd have a cloud storage system. So I use
the Google workspace, so everything is in Google and I
know that that's where it is.
Speaker 5 (27:28):
So I've reduced all the decision fatigue, like, oh wait.
Speaker 6 (27:31):
Is that on this external hard drive? Is this on
my computer? I don't know, but you just know. So
you have that power of one. And then I like
such a simple file structure, and I teach like funneling
information is helpful for your brain to practice. And so
(27:51):
I think something comes into your computer, you have one
of two folders that you would put it in, either
home or business.
Speaker 3 (27:59):
And so that's simple.
Speaker 6 (28:00):
You already know, okay, it's going to go in one
of those two places. And then for business, I like
to use only five file folders. So it's either operations,
which is behind the scenes of your business, marketing, which
is outward facing. My content I always have to say
my content in front of it. Now you guys, can
(28:21):
you know people can rename them what they want. But
my content's anything I create, anything that is my presentation,
my whatever. And then education is anybody else's content that's
on my computer. So these are my mentors and coaching
programs I'm in, or things freebies I downloaded. And then
(28:41):
the fifth folder is clients and so anything to do
with your clients that you would keep there, and every
business that I've worked with so far can fit everything
into those five folders, and then you make subfolders in
they're if needed. I like to keep things really simple.
If you don't have a lot of stuff in there,
don't make subfolders. But if you do, as you see
(29:04):
what's in there, and guess what. The first thing we
do is make those five folders and we sort. We
sort everything on our computer into those five folders. So
I have a class that people can take to learn
about more about that. But such simple structures. And when
people see that, they're like, oh my gosh, because how
many times have they made a duplicate and can't find
(29:25):
something and spent thirty minutes searching for things?
Speaker 3 (29:28):
I think that and that becomes very stressful.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Also, you know a lot of us, especially for running businesses,
and you mentioned having like a marketing folder or like
my content folder, A lot of us are not only
running our businesses but creating content, creating marketing material. Maybe
we're doing a presentation or going on a podcast or
seminar or whatever, and we know we did it already, right, but.
Speaker 3 (29:52):
It might have been years.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
Were like trying to figure out where that is by
like what would I have named that document.
Speaker 3 (29:59):
Or around what M did I do that? It can
be so difficult and then you're right.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
We ended up spending a lot of time recreating things
that maybe we could just refresh or repurpose right again.
And that can be you know, obviously, our time is
super valuable, especially when we're trying to run our businesses.
So I think that is really I think that's a
really good way for people to start to break down
mm hmm.
Speaker 6 (30:21):
The thing's really really simple. And you can make simple
folders like that in home as well.
Speaker 3 (30:26):
So I have a.
Speaker 6 (30:28):
Family and then with each of our names in there,
even my parents, so their will goes in there. All
that's within family and money, health, because I collect a
lot of health stuff I notice, and just some basic
folders like that.
Speaker 5 (30:42):
Yeah, I like to keep names really broad.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
I think that's good though, because it doesn't make it
it's not gonna it's gonna be less confusing when you
go to find it and being like, oh, I read
this interesting article about you know, about food or about that,
and it's going to go in the in the healtholder.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
Right, So I think that could be. That could be
great because we've never had more access to information. But
I do feel like there's maybe it's overwhelming how much
information we have access to and how much stuff we
can see and read.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
And then if you're like, oh, if you just go
back through things like what did I like or what
did I like, it can be hard to even find
those things over again. So I like that, especially when
it comes to and it's very important for business and finance,
for sure, to have a folder where you know your
tech stuff will go because you're going to need it,
(31:31):
or your receipts are expensed. All of those financial things
to be in one spot is super helpful.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
So what are some of the things that you're noticing?
Speaker 2 (31:39):
I know that you know there might be maybe people
are feeling a little bit overwhelmed or a little bit stressed,
you know lately, I know a lot of times, you know,
it could just be a natural part of being in business.
But what are some of the things you mentioned that
now you're working with business owners, So what are some
of the things that you're you're helping people that you're
(32:00):
seeing people come to you and say that this is
part of their business they're struggling with. Is it just
that there's so many different things to do that maybe
they're staying stuck, or how do you help a business
owner really start to feel empowered with this end of
their business.
Speaker 5 (32:17):
Yeah, there's a couple categories.
Speaker 6 (32:20):
I'd say, first their mindset, what are they believing about themselves?
Then we look at their digital space. How can they
get more organized just with file structure. But then also
I love teaching people about the bookmark spar and how
they can set that up and organize it in such
a simple way they can find everything they need in
one click. So some of that, and then also I've
(32:45):
run my business with four dashboards, and so an idea dashboard,
a business dashboard that has all the links, Like how
many links do we need to find? And then how
do we find them? So those kinds of things, and
then time time is a big one, like how do
we know what we're going to do when we sit
(33:06):
down to work?
Speaker 5 (33:07):
How do we organize that? What kinds of workflows do we.
Speaker 3 (33:10):
Want to implement?
Speaker 6 (33:12):
And then the final one is systems or processes? What
kinds of processes do we need? What kinds of systems
do we need to set up to make running of
the business easier and not bottlenecked by your own disorganization?
And then you feel good about running it, and then
you can focus on your clients and creating stuff they
(33:33):
need and marketing more so that you get the clients
you want to have.
Speaker 2 (33:37):
And I think that that you mentioned the organization of
your time, because a lot of people I talk to
say like, Oh, I'd love to be doing more of
this marketing, but I'm just I'm so busy, I have
no time to do it. But I think if your
calendar is being set by who is texting you that
morning or calling you or in your face, you're going
(34:00):
to always be putting out fires. And I feel like
that does end up happening with a lot of people,
and then they feel like that there's just no not
enough time.
Speaker 3 (34:09):
M h. Such a common.
Speaker 2 (34:11):
Managing that calendar can be so can be so helpful,
especially if there's important things that you should be doing
with your business, but maybe maybe part of you doesn't
want to and so it gets pushed to the back.
So I think that time, you know, even if you're
not a time blocking calendar a very strict person, I
think having some sort of organization around that can be
(34:33):
very helpful, even if it's a particular day or some
sort of timeframe.
Speaker 6 (34:38):
Yeah, this year, I'm implementing the twelve week year, and
I think that helps. And what I help clients do
a lot is just prioritizing. Okay, let's look at it.
Let's choose what you're going to work on for this
twelve in the next twelve weeks, and let's break it
down so that you know exactly how to do it
and it's not overwhelming. I think the prioritizing, especially with
(35:00):
people with ADHD, prioritization is a challenge, and so breaking
those projects down, identifying what your focus is going to.
Speaker 5 (35:09):
Be, all of that.
Speaker 6 (35:11):
It's just is helpful to have someone else's eyes on
that and walk you through how to do it, and
then it is a skill. I think you get better
and better at it. But yeah, so we're doing the
twelve week year. I have a weekly accountability meeting where
we're scoring ourselves and it's really helped me to stay focused, like, oh,
this is my goal. I need to achieve this, and
(35:31):
so I need to do these tasks in order to
make the progress I want.
Speaker 3 (35:36):
And I think that.
Speaker 2 (35:37):
Having those having those goals and those timeframes, because a
lot there's so many people I talk to you that
have a big goal. Maybe they want to write a book,
maybe they want to you know, go back to they
but they don't put any time from around it, so
it just seems like it'll never happen until there's more time.
Speaker 5 (35:54):
There's right, and there's time.
Speaker 3 (35:56):
This is the time exists.
Speaker 2 (35:57):
So I think having those kind of shorter term like
very targeted specialized, whether it's you know, a quarter or
you know, the twelve weeks that you're mentioning, or if
you you know, if you have somebody else who's expecting
something of you, And I think that accountability can be
very helpful, especially when you're starting to prove to your
brain that you.
Speaker 3 (36:14):
Can yes, yes, yes, that can be so helpful. There's
a lot of a lot of people just say.
Speaker 2 (36:20):
Like like they're at the mercy of you know, everyone else, like, oh,
there's just not enough time, so I'll just keep moving.
But we're busy, but maybe not making as much progress
as we'd like.
Speaker 3 (36:32):
Sometimes exactly, Yeah, that's really helpful.
Speaker 2 (36:35):
What are some of the other things that you've done
with some clients, different different programs or things. If people
are interested in learning more about this that you know,
they could potentially.
Speaker 3 (36:44):
You know, go to your website or meet with you
to talk.
Speaker 6 (36:46):
About Yeah, so on my website simply squared away dot com.
I just made sure there's the file naming formula cheat sheets.
So you even mentioned how would I name it? So
it's a file naming convention that makes it really logical
but really consistent. I guess is the right word. So
(37:06):
there's that on there. I have that class how to
teach the five files the only five files you need,
and how to the three aspects of an organized business.
This I do one on one coaching with people, and
so in one on one coaching, we work on the
organization part of it, and then we also do business
(37:27):
stuff like I'm teaching someone or planning with them their
launch for one on one coaching, so we're working through
like what emails, what's the structure, what's the timeline that
we want to do, that kind of thing, and then
helping people set up systems. One of my clients recently
just had some medical issues and she said, Tracy, it
(37:48):
was so amazing because I have these systems in place.
My podcast went out every week and I could trust
that it was all.
Speaker 3 (37:57):
Going to work because I had these systems set up.
Speaker 2 (38:00):
I think that's it's it's really important for business owners
to think about getting these systems in place and getting
organized because if you think about who you would want
to hire as a coach, if you think about who
you'd want to hire as a financial planner, it's not
necessarily going to be somebody who is always winging it
or feeling stressed out or isn't like because I feel
(38:23):
like that kind of energy translates. You can feel it,
you know, when somebody is feeling like they're constantly overwhelmed
and anxious or they you know, and I think that
that when you want to become this business, maybe you're
not there yet. Maybe you're starting to believe that you
could be this coach or this price. I think that
like thinking about like how would you want them to
like wake up in the morning and start their dead.
Speaker 3 (38:45):
Like what is the feeling?
Speaker 2 (38:47):
Yes, because that can be what people feel when they
work with you.
Speaker 3 (38:52):
You know that.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
You know, if you're going to call Tracy, she's going
to have a process in place for becoming a client.
It's not going to be like hold on, let me
email you something, let me find this contract I don't
know where it is, Like it's going to be very
clean and easy, and so I think that that's something
that when we're looking for anybody to help us with
anything or to buy a product or service, having those
systems in place organization, I think that that can help
(39:16):
us make more money and it can help us be
better business owners. And even the last podcast I recently
spoke with somebody who was talking about exit planning for businesses.
The businesses that get sold for a teap they're not organized, Yeah,
other numbers they don't know, and so that value that
they've been building up in their business their whole life working.
If they haven't done a good job documenting their process
(39:38):
or their systems or anything like that, they tend to
have a lot of trouble transitioning. And so it's just
something to always be thinking about. Not that we're thinking
about the end of our business when we're say launching,
what we can though, we can think about kind of
having that value and what we can do to improve
that and present it we need to. I think that's
(39:58):
such a I think that's such a great skill for
new business owners or anybody in any state to learn.
Speaker 3 (40:02):
But it does have an impact in the end, yes,
And it's.
Speaker 6 (40:07):
So in both I have organized coach academy where I
have those six modules and some bonuses, but right now
I'm adding in AI assistance in there to make all
of that so much easier for my clients. So they
just go in there, they're like, this is what I've
been doing, this is how it works, and it'll spit out.
Here's your process, here's your documented process. So you have
(40:30):
that and it's formatted the way I like it formatted,
and they have it in seconds.
Speaker 2 (40:34):
So it's so much easier than it used to be.
I should say definitely. I think that there are so
many tools. There's so many things that we can think about.
Not okay, that's just another thing, like how could we
use that? How could that save us some time and
some effort. I work in a very highly regulated field
where you know, there might be someone who says, I
(40:55):
want to see your policies and procedures. I need to
see this at any time. But most of us don't
have that. But what if we did. What if we
did have to show people like how does you know?
How do people go from me to B? How do
we serve clients? Where is everything located?
Speaker 1 (41:10):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (41:11):
I think having that kind of organization can be so
so valuable and then you can scale then.
Speaker 3 (41:18):
You yes, ghow well, and then you're.
Speaker 6 (41:20):
Ready to hire asistance an assistant because you have some
of that in place. And I know one of my
clients has a team and she she's just so stressed
because she the team can't find anything. So she is
always spending so much time trying to find the things
that her team needs. So if we had all of
(41:41):
it structured in place, and you were practicing this funnel
of information as it comes into your business, and you
had a home for everything, it just is so much
more peace. And little by little we work on that
and get it set up and then you're you're skilled
in that area and you can move forward.
Speaker 2 (41:56):
Yeah, and as you mentioned with your team growing, like
because you were talking about sorting through your favorite things
with business, if you're looking at all of the steps
and all of the things that need to be done
every day, you can start to figure out which ones'
what I outsource first, which one is what I hire
somebody to use? Is being like I have to do
all the things all the time, and that'll eventually slow
you down. But I think event you can start to recognize,
(42:18):
oh yeah, this that one can go that one can
be automated and then really start to feel like you're
more in control of your business. Thank you so much
for joining me today. I really think this is such
an interesting topic. I think that the more people I
talk to who are experiencing overwhelm and burnout, I do
think that something like this, even getting organized in like.
Speaker 3 (42:42):
A tiny area of their life, whether it's the junk
drawer or their car there.
Speaker 2 (42:47):
Does could lead to feeling that sense of accomplishment where
maybe taking action can get them out of that spirale
like there's just too much, and I feel like that
is one of the only ways out is through taking
action and getting something done. So I love that you're
helping people with these very simple, very understandable steps. So please, Yeah,
repeat your website and where people could find you if
(43:09):
they want to follow you and learn more. I think
it's just been such a such an interesting thing that
I think all of us could use a little refresher
on for sure.
Speaker 3 (43:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (43:16):
My website simply squared away dot com. My podcast is
the Organized Coach Podcast, so start there listen. All the
freebies I mentioned are on the homepage of my website
and my Instagram is at Tracy Hoath, I'm most active
on there.
Speaker 3 (43:35):
Well, thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (43:37):
I think if you're listening and you feel like organization
has been something that's been a bit of a struggle
for you, or maybe you feel really really organized at work,
but then you get home and you can't, you can't
get out of your own way there, I think that
definitely head over to her website look at some of
these freebies. I think there's a lot we can do.
It's so important, especially as there's more things on our platives.
(43:58):
We have more technology, more passwords, more log ins, more
things that we're able to keep things organized, so we
can give more space in our brains to do the
things that.
Speaker 3 (44:09):
We enjoy and that we want to be doing. So
thank you so much, Tracy.
Speaker 2 (44:13):
And if you're looking to get your finances organized, please
head over to Misty Lunch dot com. There you can
you can either grab a copy of the book Demistifying Money,
listen to some episodes of the podcast, or you can
head over.
Speaker 3 (44:24):
To some of your financial advisors from there. If you're
looking to work with.
Speaker 2 (44:27):
Somebody one on one to start building your financial plan
and getting your money in order. Thank you all so
much for joining us and we'll talk again next week.
Thank you for joining us on another insightful episode of
Demonsifying Money. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and.
Speaker 3 (44:43):
Leave a review.
Speaker 2 (44:44):
Stay tuned for more engaging conversations on our next episode,
and remember knowledge is the key to financial empowerment.
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