Spotlight Series topic: Get Organized

Guest Name: Jennifer Robb

Guest Credential: Professional Organizer & Consultant E-RYT500, YACEP Yoga Instructor RYS200 Yoga School

Discussion Details: In this video we learn about how professional organizers can benefit you and your health!

Benefit of Watching: If you have ever felt overwhelmed in your own home or office, there are professional organizers that can help you! Watch this video to learn more.

Address of guest’s business:
https://professionalorganizerscollective.com

Natalie Johnston: All right, I have Jen with me again and she is coming back for the second month in a row. So, um, in May, May 27 from 7 o’clock to 8 o’clock, she’s going to be our featured speaker on organization because she has all these amazing skills. Um, and I, for one, didn’t even know that a person like Jen existed. And I was like, hold on, wait, what do you do that exists? That’s just amazing. And so, um, I was like, we need to have you come talk about this. And I think that a lot of us maybe busy moms or, um, people who just feel a little overwhelmed with day-to-day life, whether that’s with running kids places or with your job or maybe you travel a lot and just trying to keep your brain focused on one task or completing a task or maybe it’s like all those closets. I mean, I think in my own house, literally, I’ve had six closets on the list for the last 12 years to address. They’re still on the list. So, maybe you can tell us a little bit about organization, what you’re going to talk about, and how somebody like me with those closets on the 12-year list to deal with can can take that step or maybe we need your help to take that next step.

Jennifer Robb: Yeah, maybe. Thank you. All of the things. Yes. So, prior to being a yoga teacher, I was an organizer. I’ve been organizing homes and offices for 20 years. Um, and I thought it was going to be one thing, but it turned out to be a totally different thing. So, I thought it was going to be holiday decorations, changing out clothing seasonally, but it’s become adults with ADHD, transitions of life, remarriage, divorce, death in the family. um anytime there’s a big transition, you know, the life that we lead and the world that we live in is so incredibly busy and it’s not meant to be this way. So, we’re always just running around in circles chasing our tail. And from the beginning, you’re taught at school, you know, put the stuff in order, organize it, label it, categorize it, put it in a dresser, close the drawer, put it in a cupboard, close the drawer. And that doesn’t work for so many people. So many people need their things out where they can see them in order for them to function. And they may have always been told, “Well, you’re cluttery or you have all your crap out.” Like, I’m here to say that there are solutions and systems for everyone. So, if you need everything out where you can see it, we’re just maybe going to take your closet door off the hinges and open up your closet and make it more accessible. If time management is a problem, we’re going to work with you on time blocking and working backwards or whatever, you know, systems work best. Maybe we’ll color coat things. Maybe we’ll, you know, so basically what an organizer can do is come in and support you, break large, overwhelming tasks down into small, manageable projects, and then help you get from where you are to where you want to be. So, as an organizer, I would walk into your home and say, “In an ideal world, how would you want this space to function?” And you would probably laugh and say, “Yeah, right. Well, that would never happen. But if I could do this and this and this.” And then I would say, “Well, if we made this little change or shift here and there, we could make that happen.”

Natalie Johnston: So, how does your brain work to be able to tell you that?

Jennifer Robb: Okay. So, like a game of Tetris. Have you ever played Tetris when you were a little kid?

Natalie Johnston: Yeah.

Jennifer Robb: That’s how my brain works. But, and so that’s what I thought was going to happen when I started organizing. But then I had a child who was the total opposite of me. She was not organized. She couldn’t find her things. She always ran late. she and so instead of just giving her that label of ADHD, we decided, okay, well, there should be solutions that work for you, too. So, that’s when I’ve been working on this since she was a kid and she’s 20 now. So, she’s probably the most well-equipped 21-year-old with ADHD there is because we’ve worked so hard to find these accessible, visual, open systems that she can utilize and that create that foundation, that structure. So, if we can create a foundation and a structure that works for you, then it’s easier to keep up with things when all these wrenches get thrown into the picture because you’ve got you’ve laid your foundation and you’ve got your routines.

Natalie Johnston: So what you’re saying is there is hope for those of us who have had things on our list for 12 years and they’re still on the list or you know we just feel too overwhelmed with some of the priorities of life or maybe what we think are the priorities of life and we can keep ignoring the stuff that has been on our list. Um so there is hope.

Jennifer Robb: Yeah. And it’s okay to delegate or you know have help with this. I would never sit down and try to do my own taxes. that would be a waste of my time and maybe organizing is a waste of your time, you know, and so to have someone come in and sit with you and we pull everything out of that closet and then you just stay in that mindset of focus where you can make decisions. Keep that, don’t keep that, not sure about that, not you know, and then the organizer can be putting things in piles, taking them to the room they need to go to. So, it allows you to stay in that focused place of productivity instead of getting distracted by running all these things back to where they need to go.

Natalie Johnston: Yeah. And I think what you said, making decisions, that’s the hard part to jump in by yourself and you need sometimes help. Yeah. And I was thinking while you were talking too, some of you may be wondering like, why do I have an organizer coming to the free wellness events that I offer here and um you know, probably you already picked up on some of the language, but um Jen said so you can function. That was that was one of the phrases you used and it is. It’s part of our overall wellness. Like if you’re struggling with ADHD or um depression or you haven’t slept much because you have young kids or you’re in perimenopause and you haven’t slept or whatever it might be, this is going to affect your overall health and well-being and your ability to function for sure. And so having a skill like organization and and somebody like you to come in and really help somebody get back on track, just think about how like I just said this has been on my list for 12 years. Okay, what if I had invested in Jen 12 years ago and just got it done for 12 years? It’s been on my brain, but I could have freed up that space, right? And if you think about when you get something done and accomplished, no matter how small it is, what how does that make you feel?

Jennifer Robb: Like you can do hard things.

Natalie Johnston: Yeah. So, it’s kind of a no-brainer, but also one I didn’t know existed. So, I’m super excited to hear more and and hear more strategies. And I’m just wondering maybe can you share one thing like because you mentioned your daughter and I think a lot of us can relate to this like monkey brain situation um where we’re distracted and getting pulled in multiple areas. What is one strategy maybe that and I’m sure you’ll share more the actual night but maybe one thing that worked for her.

Jennifer Robb: Um so one thing that she has done it’s figure out whether you want to use a paper calendar or an electronic calendar and then stick with one or the other. Um, we can talk about reasons why you may choose one or the other. She really likes the um tool called a scribe. It’s just like a notebook. Kind of looks like a Kindle, but it’s a it’s an electronic notebook. So, she can keep her things electronically, so she can still use the search function to search for them, but she’s written them in her own handwriting, so they’re still kind of stuck in her brain. So, it’s a a nice happy medium between fully electronic and pen and paper. So, that’s one thing.

Natalie Johnston: So she uses it’s like an iPad pencil thing and the program is called Scribe.

Jennifer Robb: The actual notebook thing is called a scribe. Um and you can um save PDFs into it and then you can write on the PDFs or you can just have a blank piece of notebook paper. You can write on it and then circle it and it moves it to text. So she writes all of her work notes when she’s with her boss. She’s an executive assistant. And then if she circles all of that, it pops up into a transcribed paragraph that he can read typed out. It’s been a game changer for her.

Natalie Johnston: In my mind, I so want to try this. It’s a

Jennifer Robb: Yeah, it’s been a game changer. Um, so we can talk more about that and bring your questions. Bring your questions in with you and let’s answer them. Let’s help you find a solution. Um, tell us what your problem areas are, what your goals are, and then we’ll give you some action steps to get moving in the right direction.

Natalie Johnston: I love it. Okay, so she’s talking to you. If you are a busy mom and you’re like, I can’t keep keep up. I can’t keep track. Okay, there’s no excuse. You need to come and listen to Jen. Yeah, she’s going to help. Um, or maybe you are a busy dad working, trying to juggle the demands of work and family, whatever it might be. Or again, if you’re a traveling person, coming and going, bring your questions and let’s get stuff done here. We Yeah, we like to get stuff done. I’m excited. All right, we have we have to wait till May for that. So, mark your calendars, May 27th, 7 to 8. Thank you, Jen.

Jennifer Robb: Thank you.