Paper Doll on How to Celebrate Organizing and Productivity with Friends
DO IT TODAY
Back in March, I told you all about my fabulous friend-of-the-blog (and of the blogger — me!), Kara Cutruzzula in Paper Doll Interviews Motivational Wordsmith Kara Cutruzzula. Writer/editor/playwright/lyricist/librettist & all-around-cool-kitten Kara and I have been collaborating for years and sharing one another’s achievements, and today is a chance to share something fun we’ve created together.
If you didn’t get the chance to read that post back, I recommend you jump over to do that. (There are some cool comedic and musical interludes!) We covered Kara’s talents at writing dialogue, especially spitfire-fast banter for whip-smart female characters like those in The Gilmore Girls and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and her skills at writing musicals. That post dug deep into Kara’s background and the resources she creates, including her uplifting Brass Ring Daily newsletter, and her books:
Do It For Yourself: A Motivational Journal,
and her forthcoming Do It Or Don’t: A Boundary-Creating Journal.
In that prior blog post, I also told you that Kara and I had recorded an episode of her Do It Now podcast to air in the podcast’s second season — and that episode is out now!
Today with Julie Bestry: Letting Go of the Stress of Getting Things Done
And it’s not just out, but it’s hot! The episode premiered last Monday, while I was off celebrating a long Mother’s Day weekend with Paper Mommy. Meanwhile, Kara promoted our lively conversation in her Brass Ring Daily newsletter, and listeners really took to it. Kara even forwarded one fabulous email message she received:
“I just wanted to share that on average, I listen to zero podcast episodes a year (it’s not a format that works for my brain usually) — and I could have listened to another two hours of you two talking. I enjoyed that so much this morning. Thank you for making this and sharing it, and to Julie of course. Inspiring as always, and so expansive. Wow. ❤️ thank you.”
Given that Paper Doll readers know how extensively I like to cover a topic, and how delightful and wise Kara is, I’m pretty sure we could have spoken for another two hours — maybe even another two days!
Kara’s podcast usually involves interviews with people I’d consider a much bigger deal than I am — Broadway bigwigs (performers, producers, and stage managers), screenwriters, musicians, journalists, and others who do their work on a big stage (no pun intended). But what we all have in common is the need to get things done each day, and that’s exactly what Kara asks guests about as a jumping off point — what we’re doing that day, and what goes into making sure we get it done.
I’d been fascinated by, and had taken gems away from, every episode of the podcast’s first season, and I was a little uncertain as to what new I could bring to the table. It’s not like I could break into song or share any behind-the-scene secrets from Hamilton or Six. (Oh, if only I could!) But it took all of two seconds for Kara to put me at ease, Oprah-style, and we were off and running. We covered a lot of ground, including:
- Body doubling (as we discussed in Paper Doll Sees Double: Body Doubling for Productivity and Paper Doll Shares 8 Virtual Co-Working Sites to Amp Up Your Productivity)
- Brain dumps, administrative tasks, and making your schedule work
- Setting boundaries, closing loops, and getting back to people without interrupting your flow
- Time blocking to achieve your most meaningful work (as covered in Playing With Blocks: Success Strategies for Time Blocking Productivity Struggling To Get Things Done? Paper Doll’s Advice & The Task Management & Time Blocking Virtual Summit 2022, and Highlights from the 2023 Task Management & Time Blocking Summit
- Using the 1-2-3 system to make sure you’re accomplishing essential tasks and deep work
- Toxic productivity and the necessity of letting go of the stress, shame, and overwhelm of not doing “enough” (alluding to my five part series: Toxic Productivity In the Workplace and What Comes Next, Toxic Productivity Part 2: How to Change Your Mindset,Toxic Productivity, Part 3: Get Off the To-Do List Hamster Wheel, Toxic Productivity, Part 4: Find the Flip Side of Productivity Hacks, and Toxic Productivity Part 5: Technology and a Hungry Ghost)
- Overwhelm and the complexity of living in the 21st century
- Paper shame, the call to do everything digitally, and permission to go the analog route
- Living (and working) authentically for the way your brain works
- Plus, a book recommendation that Kara followed up on and ended up loving! (You’ll have to listen to the podcast to hear which book it was, unless you’re one of the dozens of people I’ve pressed to read it in the last few months!)
- “Building a canoe” — and what I’ve learned to consider differently since listening to the Do It Today podcast
- How do you know when you’re “done” for the day? (In other words, once you “do it today” how do you know that “today” is over?)
Having so much fun talking to Kara and riffing on these kinds of topics *almost* makes me wish she and I had a regular podcast where got to talk all the time!
You can catch Kara’s and my conversation on the podcast episode page, or at pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts, like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, Castro, Castbox, Podcast Addict, Player FM, and Deezer. (And no, I hadn’t heard of most of those services, either.) You can also subscribe to the podcast by RSS.
WORLD ORGANIZING DAY
This past Saturday, May 20, 2023, was World Organizing Day. To quote from NAPO‘s web site:
World Organizing Day is a global initiative founded by the International Federation of Professional Organizing Associations (IFPOA) to celebrate the work of organizing and productivity professionals.
This designated day aims to increase public awareness of the benefits of getting organized. It highlights the work of organizing and productivity professionals who enrich the personal and professional lives of their clients.
It also recognizes the accomplishments of individuals and organizations in their efforts to become more organized and productive.
With regard to benefits, it’s obvious that being more organized allows us to save time and money, and to be more productive. When we have organized systems and skills to get (and stay) organized, we can more effectively and efficiently use our space and find what we need when we need it.
However, the psychological benefits of organizing are manifold, as well. When we declutter our living and working spaces, we also reduce the psychological friction that stands between us and getting things done. We reduce frustration and overwhelm, giving ourselves a sense of confidence about our abilities and our surroundings, and increase our sense of ease around having others in our environment with us.
In honor of World Organizing Day, the Institute of Challenging Disorganization (ICD) is making four 90-minute sessions from their 2021 virtual conference available for free to professional organizers as well as to members of the public. Start by watching this video:
Next, go to the ICD website page for World Organizing Day. If you’re already a subscriber or otherwise have an account, you can just log in and go straight there; otherwise, you can quickly create an account.
Then you’ll be taken to the Request for Access to World Organizing Day online form. Once you fill in a few details, you’ll immediately be sent an email granting you access to watch any or all of the four available courses in the World Organizing Day 2023 Package, covering a wide variety of issues related to chronic and challenging disorganization:
- Thriving with Distraction: The Science and Strategies You Need to Know to Make a Transformative Impact in Your Client’s Life taught by Edward (Ned) Hallowell, M.D., author of many famous books on ADHD, including Driven to Distraction (Revised): Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder, Delivered from Distraction: Getting the Most out of Life with Attention Deficit Disorder, Driven to Distraction at Work: How to Focus and Be More Productive, and last year’s ADHD 2.0: New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction–from Childhood through Adulthood.
- A Fabulous Way to Build Resilience to Mitigate the Impact of Compassion Fatigue, taught by Barbara Rubel MA, BCETS, DAAETS, author of a variety of books on loss, grief, bereavement, and renewal.
- Neuroarchitecture Contributions To Challenge Disorganization, taught by Andréa de Paiva, MA, professor, founder of NeuroAU, and an architect seeking to bridge research, education and design.
- Turning Pain into Purpose: My OCD Journey, taught by Ethan S. Smith
Please note that while all four sessions are free of charge, they are only available through June 3, 2023.
OLD HOME WEEK & PRODUCTIVITY PEEPS
Meanwhile, as my colleagues across the planet were celebrating World Organizing Day, I went on a little road trip and got to enjoy camaraderie and talk about productivity with two people whose names might be familiar to Paper Doll readers.
Each March for the past several years, I’ve participated in the Task Management and Time Blocking Summit run by Francis Wade. As I’ve mentioned, not only do I know Francis from the productivity community, but we actually lived in the same dorm, the International Living Center, at Cornell University!
Although we’ve popped up on the same podcasts, webinars, and virtual meet-ups, Francis and I hadn’t seen each other in person in about 37 years! A few months ago, I found out Francis was flying in from Jamaica to Atlanta to present at an International Association for Strategy Professionals (IASP), and would be taking a quick jaunt to Alabama to see family and meet up with our fellow productivity colleague (and my fellow Evernote Certified Expert), Dr. Frank Buck. We knew we’d have to find a way to meet up!
You readers know Frank from when he interviewed me for his own podcast. And all three of us have crossed paths in a variety podcasts and summits recapped in Paper Doll posts, including those mentioned above and Paper Doll Picks: Organizing and Productivity Podcasts.
I wonder if anyone frets over (I mean, “embraces the challenges of”) logistical concerns more than organizing and productivity people. Over several weeks, we squared away the details of triangulating the travel details of our little circle. (See what I did here?) Francis was arriving from Jamaica and driving west to an outer suburb of Birmingham, Alabama to spend the weekend with family before heading back to Atlanta for his conference.
(Ignore the total time and mileage; I couldn’t figure out how to make Google show two separate routes simultaneously, so it added two routes together.)
Added to the complications of planning were my continuing reliance on COVID precautions (not dining indoors) and the fact that I don’t eat meat, but Frank took on the role of cruise director with aplomb and dove into research mode!
Once we knew Francis had arrived safely, I’d be driving southwest from Chattanooga, and Frank would drive a far shorter (but not insignificant) route westward. Through the magic of Google, we identified the unfortunately-named but absolutely delightful community of Trussville, Alabama for our meet-up. There were a few kerfuffles due to weather and communication (take note: always agree on which method of communication — email or texting or whatever — before arranging any muti-location adventure), but we still managed to arrive at our destination within moments of one another.
For anyone ever hoping to meet up with friends in the general vicinity of central Alabama (and I’m not sure how many of Paper Doll readers might find that likely), and not having a reason or inclination to go all the way to Birmingham, I can’t recommend Trussville more highly. This walkable community, filled with restaurants, shops, and a central “entertainment district“ with a communal dining pavilion, outdoor theater, and hanging-out lawn was perfect for getting together for a late lunch/early dinner.
Interrupted only a few times by bursts of rain that moved along in minutes, Francis, Frank, and I enjoyed an afternoon and evening of hearty discussion of productivity methods, Evernote, Artificial Intelligence, video editing, our respective families’ genealogical histories, the current politics of education in America, international perspectives on long-term strategic planning (as a nod to Francis’ conference topic), and the meaning of an all-gender bathroom pictogram (which apparently is not a common sight in Jamaica — we assured Francis that it’s just like any one-person bathroom available to all, like in one’s home or on an airplane, ).
At Pinchgut Pies, the fellas partook of a specialty “Gaitor Bait” pizza with alligator sausage, while I ordered a pesto-and-fresh-mozzarella pie; later, after hearty discussion of all of the above topics, plus early 20th-century treatments of polio and our experiences of 9/11 (Frank was a school principle; I was working in television), we sampled the wares of Cookie Dough Magic, which sells both ice cream and edible cookie dough.
After three years of COVID and not traveling to any professional gatherings in person, it was a delight to gather outside and talk to colleagues/friends (about productivity as well as personal topics), and getting to finally meet Frank in person, and seeing Francis for the first time in 37 years, seemed like something worth sharing with all of you readers.
Being organized and productive is wonderful, but we must remember that we do it in service of a greater good, to have the opportunity to accomplish not only our labors, but achieve our joys.
As Memorial Day weekend approaches and we head into a (hopefully) more sociable summer, may you be organized and productive, but I hope you also get to enjoy good company, good food, and good times.
Paper Doll Post:
Good friends are vitamins for the soul! I am so happy to see you with these smart people doing smart things.
If only you had been there with us, Doc! Let me know when you’re up for a jaunt to Jamaica!
What a joy-filled post! My mouth hurts from smiling through the entire thing. First of all, thank you for introducing us to Kara. After your interview with her, I subscribed to her Brass Ring daily. I love her inspiring messages and adventures. And how cool that you and she did a podcast together. It sounds like a fantastic experience. I can’t believe how much ‘ground’ you covered. Go, Julie!!!
I knew about WOD but missed that ICD is offering the 4 free courses from the 2021 Virtual Conference. Yay, ICD!!!
And finally, what sweet pictures of you with your pals. All that coordinating looked more than worth it for you to spend together in person. While I am absolutely AOK with Zoom and working virtually, there is nothing like being shoulder-to-shoulder with people.
You are such a great cheerleader, Linda! I’m not surprised that you love Kara, because she’s so easy to adore, but I am pleased thinking that so many of us are reading her newsletter each day.
Yes, yay ICD! I wish there had been MUCH more coverage and attention paid to World Organizing Day, on par with GO Month, even, but I am glad that ICD waved the flag.
And yes, I loved that the guys understood my discomfort with dining inside, and it was great to be out in the sunshine (while it lasted) and catching up.
Huge congratulations on the podcast and what a wealth of resources and info you have shared here. Blessings for the day after World Organizing Day! For me every day is organizing day. Before I began my “official” workday I organized some accounting papers just for fun.
It’s always informative reading your posts, Julie!
Kudos to you for taking the initiative to reconnect with colleagues, friends, and family!
My goal this year is to make a point of meeting up with friends, family, and former clients/friends every month.
Thank you for sharing your meetup experiences.
Thank you for your kind words, Sabrina! I’m usually a talker and you’re a do-er, but this week I was talking about doing, and your blog post was (at least in part) about talking to one’s self — and uplifting quotes. We had our own Freaky Friday on a Monday! 😉
I applaud your 2023 goal for connecting with more of your peeps! Thanks for reading!
Wow, what a packed post!
First, I’ve been enjoying Kara’s Brass Ring Daily ever since you turned me onto it. She’s terrific. I haven’t listened to the podcast yet, but I definitely will. I completely believe you guys could carry off an “all day podcast,” if there were such a thing!
So happy that you had this terrific trip/visit with friends. Looks like so much fun. It really is the “being together with people we love” that makes for the best memories.
And boy are you connected! You are a productivity guru for sure. You go, girl!
Packed, and yet the shortest post I’ve probably written in years! 😉
I can’t wait to hear what you think of the podcast once you listen; you can definitely get the sense that we’re long-lost sisters in productivity!
I don’t know that I’m *that* connected; I think the productivity realm is smaller than the professional organizing realm. There are practitioners who keep to themselves in both realms, and then there are the bloggers/podcasters/summit-makers, and I guess it’s easier for us to rub elbows when there are fewer of us?
Thanks so much for reading!
It was wonderful meeting you and Francis in person for the first time. Of course, it never would have happened had it not been for the amazing world of Zoom and all of the projects we have worked on together.
I’m so delighted that we got to accomplish this! You did all the heavy lifting, Frank. While Zoom and all those projects get credit, you get all the gold stars!
I listened to your podcast episode with Kara. You are such a good guest!
Awwwww, I’m blushing. Thank you, Hazel. But honestly, the more of these I do, the more I think it’s all up to there being a good host. When the host is interested and asks good questions, it gives the guest something to play off of, and that makes so much difference!
I really appreciate you listening, and I’m sure Kara does, too!
I am so happy for you, Julie. Not only that you and Kara shared that amazing podcast but also that you got out and met up with Francis and Frank.
I always learn from you and those you interview. You are an inspiration.
Have a very happy weekend.
Thanks so much, Diane. It was a really fun podcast to do, and I appreciate you reading and listening. Have a great long holiday weekend!
Thanks for a wonderful memento Julie!
This is such a gem – like a keepsake from our get-together.
It was unique – and probably won’t ever be repeated, now that I think about it…at least not in Trussville!
Francis
Frank (and his wife) and I will just have to come visit you in Jamaica! Thanks for making the time during your busy trip to visit with us. It was so much fun!