Paper Doll
Paper Doll Wraps Up, Declutters, and Updates 2020
It’s been quite the year. “Unprecedented,” you might say. (Or, better yet, let’s not say. How about we purge that word from our vocabulary?) Before we turn the calendar page to 2021, there are a few additions and updates for the posts you read (or might have missed) over the past year.
PANDEMIC PRODUCTIVITY
The Now Normal: When the New Normal Changes Quickly
Back in March, none of us knew what the next nine months would bring. I’d acknowledged the difficulty of being at home, whether that meant working from home, home-schooling, or dealing with family and their foibles 24/7, and noted that at least, to some extent, we’d get used to it, or at least we’d have to get used to the “Now Normal” of things constantly changing and us not getting used to things. Little did we know how long (how very, very long) we’d be getting used to things constantly changing. I gave you all permission (as much as anyone needs permission from random internet bloggers) to be OK with not being OK.
Now, on the cusp of 2021, there’s light (in the form of a vaccine) at the end of this tunnel. But I suspect things will never go back to exactly where they were. Remote work had already been increasing (by 173% between 2005 and 2018); 2020 gave companies the impetus to make this a more permanent option. Companies that had believed workers could never be as productive when working remotely found that the opposite was true. According to research collated by Apollo Technical:
- Performance can improve up to 13% when working remotely (in a quieter, more convenient workspaces)
- Remote work yielded greater worker satisfaction
- Remote workers spend 15% less time avoiding work tasks
- Anecdotally, once supervisors trust the work-from-home approach and stop micromanaging, productivity increases.
This doesn’t mean we can extrapolate only good things to come out of more people working from home. Even once children and life partners are no longer in the home/work space, the distractions of household tasks (especially for women) will likely adversely impact productivity, and research indicates that productivity may take a hit due to prolonged lack of social interaction (especially for extroverts, like moi).
Some workplaces will stay 100% remote; others will return to traditional venues; and I suspect many employees will demand greater flexibility, and companies will want to consider the reduced overhead associated with smaller (or no) dedicated offices. The only thing we know for sure is that things will continue to change, and we’ll have to be nimble, accepting that the sand will keep shifting under our feet. As L.P. Hartley once wrote, “The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.”
The only thing we know for sure is that things will continue to change...As L.P. Hartley wrote, 'The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.' Share on XPaper Doll’s Ultimate Guide to Organizing a Virtual Field Trip
This post proved to be one of the most popular during the early pandemic. Organizing our days to include breaks, including virtual day trips to escape monotony, became a necessity this year, and rarely a week went by when a reader did not email or tweet or post to tell me about other cool virtual field trips.
Friend of the blog Janet Barclay knows that Paper Doll is a consummate Jane Austen fan, and forwarded Celebrate Jane Austen’s Birthday With a 360-Degree, Interactive Tour of Her House, and from there it was a quick hop, skip, and virtual jump to the Emma Thompson-narrated Twelve Days of Christmas special. There are also paid live virtual tours of Jane Austen’s House from Home, trails, and exhibitions. (Two live tours in January each go for £5, or about $6.78).
Discovery Education has developed a variety of live and on-demand, family-friendly interactive field trips. Each is free and includes a companion guide with hands-on learning activities! Take your kids to “visit” the Johnson Space Museum in Houston, see the cars of the future, hobnob with polar bears in the Tundra, and so much more. Whether you need a virtual field trip to break up winter vacation, quell home-schooling doldrums, or reverse just too little play time, Discover Education is a delightful addition to the options in my post.
Perhaps you binged too much of The Crown and need a reality check? Take a virtual tour of Buckingham Palace. Prefer a different venue? How about the Taj Mahal, the White House, or the Vatican?
Virtual Museums started an interactive map of the world’s museums available to virtual visitors. (Create an account to track and rate your visits.) From the Canadian Museum of Human Rights to South Korea’s National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art to the mysterious fossils of the Graz Natural History Museum in Austria, new field trips for grownups are appearing all the time.
And if you need the the kind of field trip that takes you away from the hubbub, Escapista may be to your liking. Escapista has developed a manifesto to explain its approach to selecting opportunities for immersive meditative experiences, from pausing by a snowy river to Norway’s “Slow TV” experience of ten hours on a train. (Click the speaker icon to turn on the audio.)
Be sure to organize time in your life to relax and to learn for fun.
Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? 5 Strategies to Cope With Pandemic Time Dilation
There’s an irony of mentioning time dilation between two long weekends marked by Christmas and the new year. I’ve lost count of how many people have told me they checked for the mail on Friday or took the trash to the curb on the wrong day.
In the original post, I explained why our body clocks became so borked during our quarantine and recommended five strategies, with LOTS of tactical suggestions, for keeping everyone from becoming unstuck in time:
- Put structure in your life.
- Enhance novelty.
- Create vivid sensory clues for the passing of time!
- Get what you know you need! (Daylight, sleep, exercise, and for those of you who’ve had the same pair of sweats in rotation since St. Patrick’s Day, get dressed!)
- Take a technology break.
As a professional organizer and productivity coach, my job is to help people get more out of their time. But efficiency isn’t everything. In a year like we’ve had, and going forward, some daydreaming and navel-gazing preserves sanity. If you find yourself losing track of time too often, add in a bit of structure to your day and use technology to get a quick “beep-boop.” But do give yourself permission to enjoy the one small benefit of this year, living by your natural body clock.
Organize Your Health: Parental Wisdom, Innovation, and the New Time Timer® Wash
Don’t touch your face. Wear a mask. Wash your hands. It’s good advice, so listen to your mom. Listen to mine.
READING RENEWAL
12 Ways to Organize Your Life to Read More — Part 1 (When, Where, What, With Whom)
I’m not the only embracing tips for reading more. Oprah, the ultimate book club leader, may have ended her print magazine, but the December issue offered up 20 Simple Ways to Read More and Enjoy More Books in 2021. (Personally, though, I preferred my take on developing a reading nook. What do you think, readers?)
12 Ways to Organize Your Life to Read More — Part 2 (Reading Lists, Challenges & Ice Cream Samples)
Want to read more in 2021? You’ve got a bounty of options for finding recommended reading lists. One of my favorites is the NPR Book Concierge. (Find annual suggestions going back to 2013.)
If, instead of looking for a specific title, you want to find a 2021 reading challenge that, well, challenges you, opportunities abound, including:
The Uncorked Librarian (Most intriguing suggestion: read a book set on a train.)
Modern Mrs. Darcy (This year, it’s not just reading prompts, but an entire interactive kit for creating your personalized reading life!)
GirlXOXO Master List of Reading Challenges (While I’ll skip the challenge to read mysteries with cats as main characters, there are certainly lists galore for every taste!)
Meanwhile, who would be up for a Paper Doll reading challenge to embrace books on organizing and productivity?
How To Make Your Reading Time More Productive With Book Summaries
My coverage of book summaries focused on non-fiction. Unless you’re in 11th grade English class (sorry, kids), you probably don’t want summaries of novels. However, you can get ice cream tastes of fiction, to see if you like an author’s style.
- Most people are familiar with Amazon’s “Look Inside” feature, which allows you to click a link above the book cover and read a handful of pages. But did you know that many Kindle books have “Send a free sample” link so you can preview chapters? Check in the browser version, not the app, below the “purchase with one click” section and above the “add to list” button.
- You can also get a free audio sample. Check for a link under the book cover.
- Literary Hub has daily offerings of novel excerpts. Click on the book cover you want to try, and the resulting page provides short author bio and a selection from the novel. Titles range from new releases, like Mrs. Murakami’s Garden, to reprints of classics, like Betty Smith’s Tomorrow Will Be Better. (Literary Hub also has short stories excerpted from short story collections.)
PAPERWORK DECLUTTERED
Organize for an Accident: Don’t Crash Your Car Insurance Paperwork
In April and May, due to much of the country quarantining and people driving far fewer miles, many insurance companies offered 15%-25% premium rebates to customers.
While rebates largely disappeared by June, that doesn’t mean you should be paying full price if you’re still staying close to home. For example, if your workplace has decided to go “permanently remote,” and you no longer have a commute, it’s worth contacting your insurance agent about potentially lowing your premiums now that you are regularly driving less each week. One option insurance companies are exploring is vehicle telematics, little “black boxes” that keep track of your speed, mileage, and precision at accelerating and decelerating, and report back to the insurance company. Safer drivers get better rates.
Similarly, if your college-age student is not currently on campus and is attending school remotely (from your home), that means your car is in the driveway most of the time, not states or time zones away. Review your situation with your agent for the greatest number of discounts.
Paper Doll On Narwhals, Fake News, and How To Get A REAL ID
Everything in the post is still accurate except for the enforcement deadline. Due to COVID, the federal government delayed enforcing REAL ID by one year, to October 1, 2021. Remember, as of next October, if you don’t have Real ID-compliant identfication, you won’t be able to board a domestic flight or enter federal courthouses or restricted federal facilities, like military bases, nuclear power plants, or the White House.
Paper Doll Says The Tax Man Cometh: Organize Your Tax Forms
The forms are the same, but a few the rules have changed. Kiplinger’s Magazine covers a few dozen of the Tax Changes and Key Amounts for the 2020 Tax Year.
ORGANIZING ADVICE, PLAIN AND SIMPLE
The Truth About Celebrity Organizers, Magic Wands, and the Reality of Professional Organizing
As you head into 2021 armed with resolutions to get more organized, please review my counsel in this post. I stand by my word that there are no magic wands!
And in a future post, I’ll have more to say about advice from celebrity organizers with regard to organizing by color. Here’s a preview:
(Readers, if you like curry in your pumpkin pie, feel free to tell Jacki directly!)
Organize Away Frustration: Practice The Only Good Kind of “Intolerance”
This is the perfect week for you to take note of whatever frustrated you during the holiday season: a light system with too many broken bulbs, an artificial tree that has seen better days, a sense of obligation to send holiday cards to people who haven’t so much as liked one of your Facebook posts in a decade. Stop tolerating what doesn’t work for you, and if you don’t know the solution, seek help to find one.
Paper Doll Peeks Behind the Curtain with Superstar Coach, Author & Speaker Leslie Josel
Our talk about 1980s sweaters may have been dated, but discussion of student procrastination is not. This fall was the first semester that was 100% in COVID times; even stellar students struggled, and “taking an incomplete” has become a common refrain. If you have (or are) a student, Leslie’s How To Do It Now, Because It’s Not Going Away should be on your bookshelf.
Organizing in Retrospect: A Confessional Look Back at 2020
Writing this post, I realized I accomplished more than I realized. (Which would have been easy; when people asked what I’d been doing this year, I was often at a loss for words. “Missing my mom, my friends, and my travel plans, eating too much cheese, and craving Chinese food” seemed like an ineffective response.
This quiet lull before the new year is the perfect time to pull out your calendar and scan your To Do lists. Take notice of your achievements; in a year like this, it’s easy to forget small (and even not-so-small) victories. Ask your friends and loved ones to report back on the successes they recall from your year. Tally them up. Whether you use this in your next performance evaluation at work or just to buck up your self-esteem, remember that surviving this year intact is an accomplishment!
CLUTTER-FREE HOLIDAY GIFTS
In a Downton Abbey-themed post a few years ago, I told you about Give Back Box, a program whereby you could gather up the items your new holiday presents made redundant and easily ship them off to charity. This year, especially, when a touch-free donation option is especially useful, I encourage you to explore Give Back Box.
Clutter-Free Holiday Gifts for the Weird Year of 2020 (Part 1): New Twists on Old Favorites
For those of you looking for gifts of cooking classes, two highly praised options came in after deadline: King Arthur Baking‘s impressive calendar of interactive, online cooking and baking classes, and Milk Street‘s live-streamed and recorded, self-paced virtual classes. (If you give a cooking class gift to someone with whom you live, you get to eat the homework!)
Clutter-Free Holiday Gifts for the Weird Year of 2020 (Part 2): Giving Well, Giving Back
In addition to tangible gifts that give back to others, I wrote about charitable giving in your recipient’s name. Due to COVID, new tax laws let most taxpayers deduct cash donations of up to $300 made by December 31, 2020 when filing taxes in 2021 – even if you don’t itemize. (Note, this is a “per return” deduction, meaning married couples get the same $300 deduction as singletons. Consult your tax advisor.)
Clutter-Free Holiday Gifts for the Weird Year of 2020 (Part 3): Organizing Yourself & Others
Finally, I hope one of the gifts you give yourself is the time and opportunity to keep reading organizing and productivity advice here at Paper Doll.
Thank you, my dear readers, and have a happy, healthy 2021!
Paper Doll Post:
Clutter-Free Holiday Gifts for the Weird Year of 2020 (Part 3): Organizing Yourself & Others
What? Another post on clutter-free gifts? Yes!
First, Paper Doll gave you Clutter-Free Holiday Gifts for the Weird Year of 2020 (Part 1): New Twists on Old Favorites so you could give more memorable gifts of experiences. Then, I shared Clutter-Free Holiday Gifts for the Weird Year of 2020 (Part 2): Giving Well, Giving Back, to help you give gifts that give back to those less fortunate while still showing love to your friends and family (and acknowledging that they made it through this wackadoodle year).
Today’s post is different. While you can give these gifts, both tangible items and services, to the people on your list, they are (or can be) primarily for you, to help you make your life more organized.
Maybe Grandma sent you a check? Perhaps you got gift cards to order things online and avoid the stores? It’s possible one advantage of quarantining was that you didn’t have to lay in a supply of small, impersonal gifts to give acquaintances at the office in case they popped by your desk with small, impersonal gifts for you! If you have a little money left over, or if you’re good about budgeting for things that make your life better, then here’s a gift list to make your 2021 more productive and less stressed.
ORGANIZE YOUR PAPER
“Stuff” doesn’t automatically mean clutter. For example, paper shredders help you eliminate unnecessary paper while protecting your identity. How overflowing are your file folders? When was the last time you purged your files?
AmazonBasics 12-Sheet Cross-Cut Paper and Credit Card Home Office Shredder
Fireproof safes and bank safe deposit boxes allow you to safeguard your VIPs (very important papers, like birth certificates and passports) so they are protected and available when you need them.
SentrySafe 1170 Fireproof Box with Key Lock
Label makers prompt you to decide how you will categorize your papers, and then give you clear, bold labels to encourage you to put papers where they belong.
And tickler files? They ensure that your action paperwork, the tiny pieces of paper that reflect tasks you have to perform, actually awaits you until the day you need to access it.
Smead Desk File/Sorter Daily (1-31) and Monthly (Jan-Dec)
For some patented Paper Doll advice on selecting these gifts for yourself (or others), start here:
Shredding the Documents: Finding Your Shredding Solution – This classic post tells you everything you need to know about safely turning personal information into confetti.
Safeguard Your Very Important Papers: Safe Deposit Box Basics – Another post from the vault, this walks you through the basics of keeping your personal documents as safe as Fort Knox.
Wirecutter: The Best Fireproof Document Safe – The Wirecutter, an arm of The New York Times, reviews all sorts of home and office products, from toasters to luggage to, yes, safes.
How To Avoid Paper Management Mistakes–Part 3: Libel of Labels – It should be no surprise that Paper Doll has a lot to say about labeling your files to keep everything organized.
Tickle Yourself Organized – This is my best-selling ebook. It tells you how to use a tickler file, but it’s really a primer on keeping your action-related paperwork straight.
Do I Have To Keep This Piece of Paper? – The biggest reason people hold onto papers long after they’ve served their purpose is fear, primarily fear of not having a receipt or document when it’s needed. This ebook gives you the straight dope so that you can confidently maintain what you need and safely shred or discard the rest.
Although Paper Doll loves organizing paper, I know you need other resources to keep your “stuff” in place. Here’s a sampling of other gifts (for yourself or loved ones) to make life more organized.
ORGANIZING YOUR STUFF
Every holiday season, every birthday, every shopping trip brings more stuff (especially the expensive stuff) into your home. As much as you may work to develop systems to keep everything in order, sometimes little things wander away. (Sometimes, little people and little creatures help them wander away!) A little over a year ago, I wrote about bluetooth tracker solutions for keeping track of all your goodies.
Paper Doll Finds Your Lost Keys, Wallets, and Phones: Bluetooth Trackers 2019
Paper Doll Finds Your Lost Eyeglasses: Technology Beyond Checking the Top of Your Head (This has been my most popular blog cover, ever!)
Avoid the Lost & Found: Keep Track of Your New Goodies with Tile
The most popular of all of the Bluetooth trackers I’ve covered has been Tile, and the company is offering 20% off all Limited Edition Tile products (Pros, Mates, Slims, and combo packs) through December 22, 2020. (Reading this later in the week? Check back next week for a discount link that will carry into the New Year.) My favorite of the Limited Edition items is the Holiday Luxe, below.
You’re probably not traveling on planes, heading to campus, or dragging your backpack to the local coffee shop to get work done. Sigh. It’s been that kind of year. But, with hope, 2021 will be a year when we’ll all get back to going places and schlepping our stuff with us. When that happens, my favorite tool for keeping cables, chargers, pens, ear pods, and other fiddly items in check is Cocoon’s Grid-It!
As much as I’ve always been a fan of the Grid-It in various sizes, and as often as I’d used it for work and conferences, I wasn’t prepared for how much it could simplify my traveling life until I used it in Italy in 2018 and the UK in 2019. I never had to search for a pen, a charger, or the right cable, and I never left anything behind in the hotel.
From little 7″ x 5″ Grid-Its to medium and large sizes, some with pockets designed to also accommodate tablets or laptops, to the extra-large 11″ x 15″ luggage accessory versions to the Grid-Its built into backpacks, you should be able to find something to lock down your essentials.
Expert tip: Pretend-pack for an imaginary “trip,” either a for a day on campus or a week on the road, and lay out your resources on a flat surface with just a little space around each item. Measure the real estate to help you figure out the size(s) of the Grid-It(s) you might want.
ORGANIZE YOUR TIME
You need a place to keep track of your appointments, tasks, and goals. Those of us who prefer paper planners to map out our lives need to consider the features we need. I was recently a guest on Penny Zenker’s Take Back Time podcast. You can listen to Boosting Productivity with Paper Planners (Part 1) now, and I’ll be back here to put up the link to the second part once it goes live. [Editor’s note: Part 2 went live in February 2021.]
While these interviews won’t tell you which planner to pick, it will give you some ideas to guide you toward the elements that will help you overcome your time-planning challenges. Part 2 will help you narrow down which specific planners are more your style.
Speaking of planning your time, I can’t talk enough about Time Timer. (But you’ve probably noticed that!) Last month, in Organize Your Health: Parental Wisdom, Innovation, and the New Time Timer® Wash, we talked about their nifty new device, perfect for guiding any tiny humans (or adults who have trouble perceiving the passage of time) with healthy hand-washing habits.
At this point, Time Timer has so many new products, it can be hard to keep them straight. But if you’d like to brighten up your winter while visualizing the passage of time, the colorful, new Time Timer MOD – Home Edition collection might be up your alley. (Oh, and 1% of the proceeds from this product go toward supporting inclusive education initiatives.)
The MODs are the first of the non-electronic versions to stray from the original “red disk” concept, but it’s not merely a stylistic decision. Research shows that color can have a big impact on our moods; you can select more calming or energizing color schemes, depending on your needs. (This can be especially beneficial for those with attention differences or anxiety.) Available colors include Lake Day Blue, Dreamsicle Orange, Cotton Ball White, Pale Shale, and you can mix and match the removable silicone cases (sold separately in neutral or color value packs).
ORGANIZE YOUR COMPUTER
Are you a Mac or a PC? (Yes, I’m sure there’s even one Linux user among you.) Do you use your computer to Zoom with friends and colleagues or to keep your business running? Maybe you (or your kids) are focused on homework, or perhaps you’re an author trying to write a masterpiece. Your computer may be for bookkeeping, or photos, emailing, or gaming. There are thousands of apps and software to help you organize your information, your tasks, and your thoughts, and experts to guide you.
But no matter why you use your computer, there are two resources that you should consider for keeping everything safe and secure: a password manager and a back-up program. I’m product-agnostic, for the most part, but for both, I have a belt-and-suspenders approach, using at least two methods to protect my tech.
For generating strong passwords and keeping them organized, I use both Mac’s built-in Keychain system and LastPass. Other popular alternatives are 1-Password, Dashlane, and RoboForm. Wikipedia has a great chart comparing the features of about twenty password managers.
Whatever you pick should allow you to maintain all the passwords from all of your devices with minimal strain and maximum confidence. The kinds of features you want include strong data encryption, two-factor authentication (2FA), the ability to sync across multiple devices, secure sharing of passwords, and auto-filing of your passwords.
The key to backing up is automation; if you have to remember to back up, someday you’ll forget.
The key to backing up is automation; if you have to remember to back up, someday you'll forget. Share on XTo back up my hard drive, I use Mac’s Time Machine (backed up to a local hard drive) and Backblaze (to back up all my data in the cloud).
A few years ago, I wrote 9 Ways To Keep Your Writing Safe for Alexa Bigwarfe’s Write Publish Sell website. Although it’s focused on helping authors develop a digital back-up plan, it’ll get you thinking about what kind of back-up solutions you need.
ORGANIZE YOUR THOUGHTS
After a year like 2020, it seems like we’ve all spent a little too much time at home with our thoughts. However, some of you may be surrounded by children and/or life partners who may act like children – and for you, it might be hard to get a moment alone with your thoughts. Going into a new year, we could all use a place to write down our ideas and dreams so we can organize them into an action plan.
Whether you open up a blank note in Evernote, Google Docs, or Word, or send emails to yourself, or keep a diary like the one you had in sixth grade (though perhaps without the lock and the “Keep Out: This Means You!” on the cover), give yourself a place to write.
Next, schedule writing and planning time in your calendar, like artist Julia Cameron’s famed morning pages, or block off time as a day-closing ritual, but make sure to honor your need for a “brain dump.” Add tasks to your To Do list, map out when and how you’re going to accomplish various goals, and log “big ideas,” whether in a blog post draft screen or in a journal. Speaking of which…
You may remember friend-of-the-blog Kara Cutruzzella, a kindred productivity spirit and an expert on creativity. (She interviewed me last year for Now Is the Right Time to Declare Bankruptcy on Your Projects.)
Well, this year, Kara published Do It For Yourself: A Motivational Journal with Abrams Books. It’s filled with 75 thought-provoking prompts; as Kara tells it – choose any goal and work through the five stages of the journal—getting going, building momentum, overcoming setbacks, following through, and seeking closure—or just open it to the phase you’re in now. Each exercise is designed to help reorient your outlook, overcome roadblocks, and encourage mindfulness, with powerful typographic quotes to inspire you along the way.
(Oh, and hey, if you enjoy a little free prompting to be both creative and productive, and especially if you like Broadway, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, or The Gilmore Girls, or you’ll love Kara’s newsletter, the Brass Ring Daily.)
PEOPLE TO HELP YOU ORGANIZE YOUR LIFE
Finally, I can attest that one clutter-free category – support from an organizing or productivity professional professional – can be the best gift you give yourself (or those seeking to make improvements in those areas). When you work with a professional organizer or productivity specialist who is a member of one or more of the following associations, you are putting yourself in the hands of a non-judgmental, trained, ethical expert ready to teach you how to achieve your goals.
To find a professional organizer near you (or your recipient), use the free referral services of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals (NAPO); for those with chronic or challenging disorganization or anyone working to overcome hoarding disorders, the Institute for Challenging Disorganization is a wonderful resource. If you’re reading from Canada, call on the Professional Organizers In Canada; in the UK, it’s the Association of Professional Declutterers & Organisers (APDO). We also have colleagues in Japan, The Netherlands, various locales in South America, and around the world. Help is available in person and virtually.
There are specialists in dozens of categories of organizing and productivity, for spaces (e.g., kitchens, garages, closets), client types (e.g., students, office workers, attorneys), and needs (like help with senior move management). If you’ve spent the past few months wishing you could get your photos in order, The Photo Managers (previously the Association of Personal Photo Organizers) can help. There are even professionals who can help you organize your genealogy, and yes, I’ve got a blog post coming up soon to tell you all about them!
Not sure what a professional organizer can do for you? I encourage you to read:
What Professional Organizers Really Do and How They Can Help – It’s an older post from Lifehacker for which I was interviewed, but I think it explains a lot.
In Checkbooks And Underwear Drawers: What Certified Professional Organizers Offer Our Clients
A HOLIDAY MESSAGE
As I write this, Thanksgiving and Hanukkah have already passed; Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s Eve are still on the horizon. I hope you are enjoying, and will continue to enjoy a healthy, safe, joyous, and organized holiday season. Whatever you give or receive, whether they are cluttery delights or clutter-free, please know that your readership is always a gift to me. Thank you!
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Paper Doll Post:
Clutter-Free Holiday Gifts for the Weird Year of 2020 (Part 2): Giving Well, Giving Back
Last time, we talked about finding 2020-friendly ways to give gifts of experiences that still keep everyone safe in this perplexing year. With the exception of yummy consumables, we mainly discussed intangibles. That’s because, as Cornell professor Thomas Gilovich’s 20-year study showed, we know that experiences are valued more deeply. They’re fleeting, so we don’t become inured to their charms. They’re personal – your trip to Disney World is not my trip to Disney World. And, to Paper Doll‘s mind, experiential gifts never weigh you down with obligation. You don’t have to store, vacuum, or dry-clean a visit to the theater or a day of mini-golf.
That said, please don’t think that tangible gifts automatically mean clutter. If someone wants and loves something, it won’t become clutter. But it’s possible to make a gift more than just not-clutter. What if your gift could not only please your recipients, but also make the world a better place?
2020 has been a hard year for everyone. Wouldn’t it be magnificent if we could soothe the plights of those whose 2020 was particularly difficult? Today, we’ll look at two ways to give well and give back: giving gifts that support those in need, and direct donation on someone’s behalf.
BUY ONE, GIVE ONE & GIVE BACK
Got a friend who is always on the phone? A tiny human with a lot of stuff to carry? Know anyone with cold heads or feet? (I mean, it is winter!) Know some readers? If you want to give well and give back, read on.
Popsockets makes decorative, round Pop-Grips you can stick on the back of your phone to make it easier to hold onto. (They also make mounts and digital wallets.) They flatten against your phone for a lean look, then “pop” out to let you grip them or to prop your phone on the desk.
Purchase one of their many designs, ranging from pop culture themes to sports to luminous colors, or design your own for your (or a friend’s) personal tastes. Even upload your business logo. PopGrips are interchangeable, so you can use whichever strikes your fancy that day.
From an organizer’s perspective, Popsockets make a nifty gift to keep from dropping your phone. That’s organized! But they go step beyond with what they call Poptivism! When you purchase a Popsocket design or one you’ve created yourself, 50% of the cost is donated to a charity you select in any of nine categories, ranging from arts and culture and civic participation, to health and education, to human services and more.
Read more about Popsockets’ corporate responsibility mission.
Bixbee makes backpacks (and lunch boxes, duffels, luggage, and sleeping bags) with an eye to the special ergonomic needs of tiny humans so they can carry and organize all of their “stuff” without getting weighed down.
The bright and hardy backpacks are designed for the little tykes’ unique measurements and aesthetic tastes. The medium/large backpacks weigh only two pounds and use contoured, air-mesh, adjustable shoulder straps with a sliding sternum strap to distribute the horizontal load. Each backpack has an interior padded pocket to carry and protect a laptop or tablet from drops or bumps.
So, Bixbee makes fun gifts for kids, but they don’t stop there. Bixbee’s “One Here. One There.” social mission finds them collaborating with US and international non-profits serving children in need of access to education.
Save 30% on the entire Bixbee store for their Back-to-School “Winter Edition” sale. Use the code: BTSWINTER.
Bombas – You’ve probably heard of Bombas, especially if you listen to podcasts or satellite radio. The commercials are unavoidable! If you know nothing else, when you hear “Bombas,” you probably think “socks.”
Socks may not seem like an exciting holiday gift. When I was little, I’d pester my (more than a decade older) sister to tell me what she was getting me for Hanukkah, and eventually, exasperated with inventing fake clues, she’d tell me she was getting me socks. I was equal parts dubious and disappointed.
But you know what? Socks are great gifts! (I got pair of menorah-themed Hanukkah socks last week!) They don’t merely keep your feet warm and cozy, but they allow you to express your personality in small, fun ways. My personal favorites (whether for kids or adults) are in the Bombas Sesame Street line.
But the cool thing about Bombas is that for every pair of socks purchased, they donate a pair of socks to someone affected by homelessness. They have donated more than 40 million items to more than 2,500 community organizations to date. It’s the ultimate in “get one, give one.”
We all need socks, so they’re never clutter. If you pick well, they’re comfy, cozy, and cute…and you can give back to those who really need help.
Learn more about how the Bombas partnership with Sesame Street is bringing awareness to the issue of family homelessness and its impact on families.
When I told my best friend I was writing about gifts that give back, she told me that I had to write about Love Your Melon, one of her daughter’s favorite companies. (Yes, her daughter is the medical student I wrote about recently.)
They make hats. (Pardon me, “beanies.”) Also, headbands, T-shirts, and blankets. Cute name. Cute stuff.
To be honest, I’d never heard of Love Your Melon, but I should have! Their brand is dedicated to giving a hat to every child battling cancer and supporting the fight against pediatric cancer. They give 50% of net (post-tax) profit from the sale of all Love Your Melon products to domestic and international organizations creating therapeutic experiences and funding charitable programming initiatives for children and families battling cancer. They’ve already disbursed more than $7 million and distributed 213,516 beanies.
(Because immunocompromised tiny humans can’t have visitors during the pandemic, Love Your Melon is also sending “Smiles Inside” boxes to hospitals. These people are good eggs.)
As you may have been able to tell from my three-part series on organizing your life to have more reading time, I’m a fan of books. So, I was delighted to learn that one of my favorite book-related apparel companies also gives back!
Out of Print has a mission to transform literary classics into apparel and accessories for bookish peeps. You and your recipients probably need (and want) T-shirts, sweatshirts, boxers, masks, scarves, and totes. Why not show off your literary style by buying from a company that donates books and supports literary programs around the world?
You probably have a Jane Austen fan on your list, someone who is always reading Maya Angelou, a Harry Potter aficionado, or someone who can’t get enough of Stephen King. From science fiction to British lit, from The Little Prince to 1984‘s Big Brother, Out of Print covers a lot of ground. Me? I’m having trouble deciding between T-shirts honoring Corduroy and Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel.
So, yes, as long as you’ll wear or use literary accessories, they won’t be clutter. But what about the philanthropic side of Out of Print? They’ve donated more than 3 million books to communities in need, and support a variety of literacy initiatives, including Words Alive and Liberation Library. Additionally, to support independent bookstores impacted by COVID, Out of Print donates a portion of their mask sales to the Book Industry Charitable Foundation (Binc).
Atoms makes sneakers – by all accounts, comfy and stylish ones – but that wasn’t enough to put them on my radar. Right around the beginning of the COVID pandemic, Atoms founders, Sidra Qasim and Waqas Ali, realized they could make masks. They reallocated Atoms’ production capabilities to produce masks that carried the same qualities as their sneakers. They designed them with an antimicrobial copper thread lining, and made them to be comfortable, breathable, and durable. Qasim and Ali pledged to donate one mask for each one sold, and to sell the masks at an affordable price.
Meanwhile, sometime in the spring, when people were saying, “You think maybe I should look into getting a mask?” Morning Brew, a daily business newsletter, recommended Atoms’ masks in its usual cheeky (no pun intended) style, and I took notice. At the time, they only had four colors, all on back order, and I had no idea what went into a good reusable mask, or even what a good mask price was. (I mean, did any of us know?)
So, I bought a mask. Actually, due to some fumble-fingered clicking, I accidentally bought a too-small mask for my huge head and realized it right away. I emailed, but expected my inquiry would get lost in the mid-pandemic, out-of-office email onslaught. Instead, I got an reply from the delightful Ray, who switched my “small” to a size more befitting my noggin, and had a charming customer service experience. My masks are comfy, don’t bother my ears, and never wrinkle.
Anyway, remember Qasim and Ali’s promise to donate masks? They did it, at cost, and for every Atoms mask purchased, Atoms donates one to a non-profit organization in need. They’ve already donated over 300,000 masks to organizations around the country, including the New York City Housing Authority, the Milwaukee Center for Community Action, Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp, the King County Office of Emergency Management, the Yakima Valley Community Foundation, the United Sherpa Association, the RESIST COVID TAKE 6! campaign, and For Freedoms.
In any other year, masks would be a weird gift, but in 2020, they make sense.
(Oh, and if you do decide to buy a pair of their sneakers, you can use my referral code link to get $20 off.)
GIFTS OF CHARITY
Most of us like unwrapping something shiny and new, but there are special opportunities at the holidays to provide gifts to someone that can have even more meaning. Consider these impeccable, time-tested options:
Heifer International lets you give the gift of self-reliance. Your donation purchases livestock (a flock of chicks or ducks, a hive of honeybees, a share of a water buffalo, or any of a myriad of life-sustaining options), resources, and training to bring promise to hungry families and the opportunity for a better life, both internationally and here at home.
Giving a gift through Heifer International takes the stress out of shopping while putting the meaning back into giving. You can pick an animal or flock from the full gift catalog or take the quiz to find your perfect donation match. (I got Chelsea Chick, but I may retake it to get this cutie, Al Paca!)
There are also gifts for entire villages (like water irrigation pumps and community stoves, which, while not as adorable as animals, are every bit as vital.
This year, you can also give a tangible gift so the person in whose name you are giving chicks, or goats, or ducks gets to unwrap something. Heifer is selling a variety of items, including:
Confetti Farm Animal Ornaments
Alpaca Blend Hand-Knitted Ornaments
Heifer Plush Animals
Heifer Guatamalan Animal Clutches
La Promesa Guatemalan Coffee
Eco Leather Passport Wallet
Feeding America, formerly called America’s Second Harvest, is the nation’s largest charitable hunger-relief foundation, serving children, senior citizens, the working poor, victims of disasters, and others experiencing food insecurity.
Feeding America supports more than 60,000 local programs, including food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, after-school programs, and Kids Cafes.
Habitat for Humanity is a worldwide, non-profit, non-denominational housing organization that builds simple, decent, affordable houses in partnership with those who lack adequate shelter. Houses are sold at no profit, with no interest charged on the mortgage, while homeowners and volunteers build the houses under trained supervision.
As a holiday or other gift, you might promise a loved one that you will work a certain number of hours in service to the cause (once the pandemic is over and it is safe to do so), and you could make a monetary donation in someone’s name and Habitat will send a gift acknowledgement.
Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger has a variety of advocacy initiatives, including fighting hunger among veterans and military families, eliminating barriers keeping senior citizens from nutrition programs, improving food security in Native American communities, and more. You can support their efforts with one-time or ongoing donations, or help fund-raise for events.
RIP Medical Debt – Did you know that 66% of bankruptcy filings are due to medical debt? Donations to this cause help wipe out medical debt and help improve the financial stability of vulnerable members of the community, including the elderly, veterans, and those near or at poverty level.
Modest Needs provides short-term emergency assistance. Modest Needs vets the applications, presents the stories of the applicants to prospective donors, and pays donations directly to the vendors or creditors (for medical bills, auto repairs, utility companies, etc.)
CHARITY GUIDANCE
Not sure where to donate? It’s impossible to evaluate every non-profit yourself to verify their operations for financial health, transparency, and accountability. Get some guidance:
Charity Navigator is the gold standard for researching the financial health and accountability of any charity you may be considering.
GiveWell – Instead of focusing solely on financials, assessing administrative or fundraising costs, GiveWell’s research aims to determine how much good a given program accomplishes per dollar spent. Rather than breadth, they focus on the few charities that stand out most (by their criteria) to “find and recommend high-impact giving opportunities.”
CharityWatch – Among other efforts, this charity watchdog evaluates social welfare organizations that are not eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions and religious charities that are exempt from filing tax forms.
GiveBlck is an easy-to-use, comprehensive database to advance racial equity in charitable giving. It showcases the diversity of causes among Black-founded non-profits. It does not evaluate, but provides a compendium of which charities serve the needs that echo what matters most to you or your recipients.
They say it’s better to give than to receive. How much better, then, it must be to give and to give back?
They say it's better to give than to receive. How much better, then, it must be to give and to give back? Share on XPaper Doll Post:
Clutter-Free Holiday Gifts for the Weird Year of 2020 (Part 1): New Twists on Old Favorites
You don’t need anyone to tell you that 2020 was a year like no other. And as we zoom (and Zoom) into the holiday season, some aspects of the gift-giving experience are as fraught as the living-through-this-year experience has been.
In normal times, we professional organizers encourage clutter-free gifts, particularly gifts of experiences. But these are not normal times. Perhaps you’re finding that approach to be a challenge this year? Maybe you’d like someone to tell you how you can make the holidays feel special given that so many gift options are not available for those trying to lead as safe a life as possible.
To that end, today’s post looks at options all across the spectrum and offers virtual alternatives to in-person experiences whenever possible. Consider these clutter-free gift suggestions:
EDUCATION
Advice for a normal year: Once learned, knowledge and skills are forever. Usually, my advice is that you consider lessons in cooking, music, or self-defense. Pre-pay for classes in ballroom dance, quilting, horseback riding, driver’s education, scrapbooking or whatever delights your recipient. The options are practically endless, bounded only by the offerings in your recipient’s community.
But in 2020? Well, educational opportunities still abound, but the best educational options are going to be virtual. Let’s say your recipient loves to cook (or, conversely, hates to cook, but likes the idea of becoming more adept in the kitchen). A virtual course, completely online, is going to be safer (and likely, more accessible) than in-person cooking classes.
For example, consider signing your recipient up a gift subscription for live or on-demand courses from chefs like Serena Wolf of Domesticate.Me. For $29.99/month (and there are also 3-, 6-, and 12-month options), membership in Serena’s cooking club gives you an all-access pass to her live and on-demand courses. (Note: All of Serena’s classes are free to healthcare workers.)
Ali Stafford, author of Bread Toast Crumbs, the Alexandra’s Kitchen blogger, offers similar $29/month memberships with multi-month packages for twice-monthly live cooking classes plus on-demand classes, as well as a $50 package for her book plus one live class. Portion of the proceeds from her classes goes to charity, including $4,000 each to Food Corps, The Okra Project, and Matahari Justice, as well as $1250 to the Hopewell Fund.
Want more variety in instructors? How about online classes from the League of Kitchens, Goldbelly Live! Cook-Alongs, or Sur La Table?
To support local venues, enter the type of class you’re seeking, your locale, and the word “virtual” to see who is offering classes or course memberships in your area.
Perhaps your giftee would like to learn a new language? Options range in price and style from Duolingo Plus (via an Apple or Google Play gift card) to 3 or 12 months or a lifetime of Rosetta Stone to Plimseur e-Gift certificates.
Not sure what kind of classes your BFF or M-I-L would like? MasterClass has you covered with a wide variety of options in the arts, sciences, business, and more. You can purchase a gift of one class or an annual membership pass, granting your recipient access to any/all of MasterClass’s 90+ instructors.
Joyce Carol Oates, Aaron Sorkin, Judy Blume, and James Patterson teach writing. Got some STEM learners on your list? Dr. Jane Goodall, astronaut Chris Hadfield, and Neil DeGrasse Tyson teach science conservation, space exploration, and scientific thinking and communication, respectively. Would your giftee appreciate learning acting from Helen Mirren and Natalie Portman, or perhaps they’d want more cooking advice, perhaps from Gordon Ramsay or Alice Waters?
FYI, for a limited time only (through December 28, 2020), there are two special deals. First, there’s a Holiday 2020 “Give One Annual Membership, Get One Free” deal. Also, current/active MasterClass members can give the gift of a MasterClass Annual Membership for 30% off the current rate.
ENTERTAINMENT
Advice for a normal year? We professional organizers always encourage experiential gifts over tangible ones because research shows that experiences are more memorable than possessions. Compare what you remember about your last vacation vs. what you received for your last birthday or holiday, and you’ll see why. Experiences are personal and vivid in ways that tangible gifts often are not. So, my traditonal advice for gifts of entertainment runs along these lines:
Buy your loved ones tickets to sporting events, concerts, or comedy clubs; take them to the symphony, a lecture series, or a theater event. Check out local community theaters, universities, and even high school schedules for their music and entertainment offerings. From a booklet of movie tickets to a Broadway show, their memories will live onafter the big holiday night or Christmas morning.
But in 2020? To stay safe and protect our loved ones, most of us are not attending sporting events, concerts, or comedy clubs. We’re not going to movies or theaters. Luckily, technology still gives us plenty of gift options.
Buying for TV and movie fans? Gift someone three months or a year of Amazon Prime, buy them a gift card for Netflix, or a monthly or yearly subscription to Hulu if you want to stick with the big guns. Or you could buy gifts of individual channels like Disney+ (for friends with kids or fans of Marvel movies), CBS All-Access (for those who love Star Trek), or Acorn or BritBox for fans of shows from the UK. Almost any streaming service offers a gift option, so a little searching may find you programming your recipient didn’t even know existed!
For serious cinephiles, The Criterion Channel might be your best bet, with gift subscriptions ranging from one to nine months or for a full year. Criterion brings your movie buff one thousand “important” classic and contemporary films, plus a constantly updated selection of Hollywood, international, art-house, and independent films from major studios and independent distributors.
Maybe your recipients prefer stage performances to cinemas? To keep them entertained, from Shakespeare to Hamilton, comedies to dramas, Ibsen to Spongebob (the musical), consider a monthly or annual gift subscription to BroadwayHD, ranging from $8.99/month to $99.99/year.
For music-oriented recipients, 2020 has little in the way of safe live events, but streaming music services abound. Consider gifting your loved ones premium levels of something like Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer (yeah, I’ve never heard of it either, but apparently it covers the globe and has 35 million songs), or Tidal.
PRACTICALITY
Advice for a normal year? Any drivers on your “nice” list would benefit from gift certificates for oil changes, car washes or detailing, and even annual memberships in AAA or their favorite auto club. Unlike the streaming services mentioned above, you can’t usually get a gift certificate for multiple months of internet, cable, satellite, or cellular service but you could gift your recipient cash earmarked for pre-paying those services. It’s practical, because it means your giftees will have extra pocket money to spend something fun that just pops up during the year. So, in the practical realm, the usual advice holds.
Special tip for 2020: In a year where many of our friends and family members, especially those with more delicate constitutions, are staying close to home, grocery delivery has become an important service. Depending on the availability in your giftees’ areas, consider gift cards for Instacart or Shipt (which is currently offering 50% off an annual membership for unlimited same-day deliveries, available through 12/27/20). Individual national and regional grocery stores, like Walmart, Aldi, Safeway, Publix, and Wegmans have their own services with gift options.
Iangelidaki, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
ADVENTURE
Advice for a normal year? In past years, I’ve advised: For the thrill-lovers on your list, choose certificates for hot-air balloon or zip lines. For racing lovers, try a ride-along at the NASCAR Racing Experience program or Daytona Speedway course. Athletes appreciate a week of baseball fantasy camp, pre-paid rounds of golf, and time in the batting cages.
But in 2020? I’m not sure what “adventure” really means to us in 2020, as even adventures that don’t require close contact with others usually require travel to get where you’re adventuring. Note that many of the usual adventure venues currently have “COVID guarantees” promising refunds if the activity isn’t available due to regulations or restrictions for 12 months from the date of purchase, so be sure to check. Consider gifts that allow for adventures with a social distancing component, like an annual National Parks Pass to explore the country’s great natural beauty and experience some elbow room.
PAMPERING
Advice for a normal year? In past years, to gift anyone with too much stress, I’ve advised: gift certificates for haircuts and styling, spa facials, or a massage. Many day spas have special packages for sportsmen and for teenagers (boys, as well as girls), gifts that most people are unlikely to purchase for themselves. For a friend struggling to quit smoking or lose weight, pre-paid sessions with a hypnotherapist or acupuncturist might be the offbeat support that helps them conquer their troubles. For a more lavish gift, consider a 3-month gym memberships or a night at a cozy bed & breakfast.
But in 2020? Yeah, gym memberships, nights at B&Bs, and spa days are on hold for most of us for a little longer. But that doesn’t mean you can’t give the gift of self-care without clutter. In addition to consumables (like spa and bath products), consider items that help your loved ones be their best selves. Fitness trackers, like Fitbit, make a good “big” gift for the outer self, and apps like Calm and Shine are good virtual stocking stuffers to nurture the inner self.
CONSUMABLES
Advice for a normal year? Let’s face it — dining is the ultimate clutter-free experience. By the end, the only clutter is the wrapping (and perhaps the extra calories). You can send one-time or subscription gifts for almost every food type you can imagine: cheese, fruit, vegetables, steaks, cookies, and more.
A few great options are Harry & David, Russ & Daughters, Goldbelly (shipping local restaurant delights nationwide), Mouth, and my personal favorite, Zingerman’s. (Editor’s note: Friend of the blog Linda Samuels recommends the artisanal fruits and preserves from American Spoon, so I’ve added that link, too.) If you don’t know what someone likes to eat, there are always gifts of ingredients, like spices from Penzeys, or hot sauce gift boxes from Fuegobox.
But for 2020? Let’s be real. We’ve been eating all year. We’ll be eating next year. Nobody is going to complain if you gift them with something they find delicious. As Paper Mommy would say, “Eat and be well!”
While gifts of experiences are key to having memorable holidays, we know that there are people on your list who want something they can hold in their hands. We have two more installments of Clutter-Free Holiday Gifts for the Weird Year of 2020. We’re going to look at gifts you can give to loved ones that also give back to others, and gifts that can make life more organized.
Paper Doll Post:
Organizing in Retrospect: A Confessional Look Back at 2020
I can’t imagine that 2020 was anyone’s favorite year. A global pandemic, a contentious election cycle, civil upheaval undergirding fights for justice, and unpredictable macro- and micro-economies were not on anyone’s wish list. Indeed, even the idea of a wish list seems preposterous now, as Robyn Schall explains:
This has absolutely finished me off I love her pic.twitter.com/6DaI0gxDEe
— wap rem x (@jackremmington) November 15, 2020
The year had other dashed hopes, disappointments, and dark moments. The National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals had to cancel April’s annual conference with only a few weeks’ advanced warning. A “girls’ getaway” to Ireland vanished. My inspiration to write disappeared as well, as writer’s block was my sole visitor in 2020.
Certainly the worst of all, Paper Mommy fractured two vertebrae just a few weeks into quarantine, leading to months of agony. I miss my mom, I miss my clients, I miss seeing people’s smiles. If anyone asks, tell them Paper Doll says this year has been yucky.
I miss my mom, I miss my clients, I miss seeing people's smiles. If anyone asks, tell them Paper Doll says this year has been yucky. Share on XIS HINDSIGHT 20/20 IN 2020?
Many of us in the productivity realm encourage our clients to pick a word or phrase for the coming year to help guide our mission. I’ll admit, I’m as guilty of magical thinking as the next person. I had feared that “Abundance” could bring an abundance of negative things. In retrospect, then, my choice of “Ample” seems almost absurd. (I’d even developed a funny social media tagline. “Ample: It’s not just for bosoms anymore!”) This year had an ample supply of absurdities.
Being a professional organizer and productivity specialist involves working from a position of positivity. Indeed, as we approach Thanksgiving, we’re all supposed to focus on gratitude, on the experiences and people who made the prior year worthwhile.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who has been finding it hard to reflect on this year and find positivity. Maybe it’s the same for you?
Some years seem best dealt with by offering a Viking funeral. “Set 2020 aflame and put it out to sea,” I often thought as March 243rd dragged on. However, my accountability partner and awesome colleague Dr. Melissa Gratias recently wrote a post called Taking Inventory of 2020 with Duct Tape, Henry the VIII, and Forrest Gump that put her own year in perspective. For her, this was an exercise in silencing her inner critic.
Read Melissa’s post, then come back and sing some Herman’s Hermits before you spend the next 5 weeks hearing nothing but Jingle Bells and Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
We’re often quick to criticize ourselves for all that we did not get done; this is even more true in 2020. I touched on this in my favorite post that I wrote this year, The Now Normal: When the New Normal Changes Quickly. There, I said simply that “It’s OK to not be OK.” It’s OK if you’ve had eight months at home with no commute and you still haven’t written the Great American Novel or downsized your closet into a capsule wardrobe.
Similarly, Melissa reminds readers in her post that our days, our years, and our lives are not merely the lowlights and highlights, but the a rich tapestry of everything that happened. To that, Paper Mommy would add that it’s important to consider all the things that didn’t happen, but not in a “my trip got canceled” way. In response to the question, “Tell me something good that happened today,” Paper Mommy has been known to respond, “Well, nothing bad happened today.” She’s not damning with faint praise. That’s her brand of positivity.
In response to, 'Tell me something good that happened today,' @PaperMommy has been known to respond, 'Well, nothing bad happened today.' She's not damning with faint praise. That's her brand of positivity. Share on X
So, to echo Melissa’s efforts, I thought I’d share some of my activities. (That said, my inner critic cuts me a lot more slack than hers. I’m just amazed we’ve made it to Thanksgiving week!)
TALKING (LITERALLY) ABOUT ORGANIZING AND PRODUCTIVITY
For much of this year, I’ve been unable to visit with my clients. I’ve touched base by phone and email, making sure they’re healthy and supported, and I’ve added virtual organizing and productivity services to my offerings. But the main way I’ve been able to share my thoughts has been via the internet.
Ray Sidney-Smith is a productivity/technology/management triple-threat consultant and trainer. I met him when we trained together as Evernote Certified Consultants, and he has become a bigwig in this area. In October, he asked me to be a panelist on the Anything But Idle podcast he hosts with Augusto Pinaud, bilingual productivity coach and all-around sweetie. Here’s the video, but you can listen at the episode page and subscribe via the links on the sidebar. Don’t be too surprised when I geek-out about paper planners.
Although my Halloween costume as a Work-From-Home solopreneur wasn’t quite as creative as Ray’s or Augusto’s, you won’t doubt my enthusiasm. Plus, my co-panelist was Penny Zenker, Focusologist, motivational speaker, and (Halloween) pirate. Thanks to meeting her on the Ray and Augusto’s show, I’ve now been a guest on two upcoming episodes of Penny’s Take Back Time podcast. (Watch this space for official scheduling.)
Earlier in the year, I was also guest on Maria White‘s Organize Your Stuff podcast, where Maria and I had a long talk about one of my favorite paper organizing topics, tickler files. (You do know about my ebook, Tickle Yourself Organized, right?)
Listen to my episode on Maria’s show here, and be sure to subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your juicy podcast goodness.
WRITING ABOUT ORGANIZING AND PRODUCTIVITY
As I mentioned, I had a pretty severe case of writer’s block this year. Or, actually, multiple cases, as it tended to come and go. Thus, I did not write the second edition of my first book, or the first edition of my second book.
However, when I was asked by others to write guest posts, ghostwrite, or contribute advice, I did manage to shoo the writer’s block away. Often, what I was asked to write was about organizing things other than paper, which helped clear the cobwebs. For example:
I wrote about how to keep kitchen pantries clean and organized in Home Organization: Tips from Professional Organizers for Porch.com.
When Redfin asked me to talk about how to tame the chaos in your child’s room for How to Get Your House in Order without Buying Anything New, I wrote more than they could fit, and now I’ve got a chapter for a book I hadn’t even anticipate writing when the pandemic began.
For Realtor.com, I held forth on 4 Types of Clutter: How Many Are You Hanging Onto?, including sentimental clutter, painful clutter, “sunk cost fallacy” clutter, and all that clutter related to one’s self-image.
And I was especially proud to have my advice appear in four different issues of Real Simple Magazine this year in pieces penned by Leslie Corona. If you’re a subscriber or picked these issues up on the newsstand, or if your public library is offering holds on magazines, you can find these articles in your print issues:
Organizing Challenge: Stow Your Purses and Totes in the February 2020 issue, pages 52-53, also appears in truncated form online as 3 Smart Ways to Keep Your Handbags and Totes Organized. Researching this topic was so much fun, it inspired me to write Organized Purses? It’s In the Bag!
For Real Simple’s big May 2020 “Get It Done” section, I contributed to Get it Done: Refresh Your Medicine Cabinet, page 58. Though the advice pre-dated COVID, it ended up being timely.
The most involved Real Simple piece was Your Road Map to a Tidy Garage, found on pages 58-60 in the October 2020 issue, and I was delighted to be tagged as a Real Simple “expert” along with NAPO colleagues Scott Roewer and Lisa Zaslow!
Long before the pandemic, Real Simple had asked me to weigh in on advice and products for organizing technology for travel. Travel soon became a hazily recalled habit of the past, like visiting malt shops or riding street cars, and that article never saw the light of day. Happily, a bit of the advice found new life as November 2020’s Organizing Challenge: Down to the Wires on page 50.
HELPING SOMEONE ELSE BE PRODUCTIVE
As I mentioned at the end of The Now Normal post, one of the things I did after lockdown began was edit Melissa Gratias’ book, Captain Corona and the 19 COVID Warriors. My role was small (Melissa is already a great writer) but satisfying, especially as the book took off. First local newspapers picked up the story, then People Magazine. A smile still spreads across my face when I hear Akil Jackson narrate Captain Corona.
And finally, even with writer’s block refusing to pack its bag and go, I feel really good about the blog posts I wrote this year, whether I was sharing advice for getting through a global pandemic or guidance for organizing time to read, or eliminating “tolerations” by using a shower curtain hook shaped like Marlo Thomas in That Girl.
LEARNING A LITTLE SOMETHING
In March, nobody could have imagined how much of our time would be spent tucked away at home, but I did anticipate that client work would be delayed for at least a few months. At first, my enthusiasm for continuing education was boundless, and I took a wide variety of NAPO courses and independent classes on:
Productivity — Oh my goodness, there were so many classes on productivity systems and tools, including the Getting Things Done rubric and using Evernote. (I watched so many webinars presented by my genius colleagues Stacey Harmon and the aforementioned Ray Sidney-Smith!)
Special topics in organizing — Like most of America, I found myself locked in multiple Zoom rooms a day. I took live classes like Color and Space Planning In Organizing: Personality, Autism, and ADHD, and Making Your Memorabilia Meaningful, and watched recordings of classes I’d abandoned live when technology failures amped up my stress level. (Was any sentence used more often than “You’re on mute!” this year?)
Higher Self coursework — I watched a recording of a NAPO University class called Bringing Meditation and Mindfulness Into Organizing and Productivity. By this point, probably late May, around the time I should have been in Ireland, my patience for Zoom coursework reached a low ebb. I was failing at being at all meditative or mindful! Hence, like Melissa (and half of the people I know), I took the exceptional (and free) Yale course, The Science of Well-Being, reinvigorating a passion for learning positive psychology (if not an interest in meditation).
Personal development — Although I’ve been studying Italian through Duolingo for two and a half years, by the time the pandemic started, I’d fallen into the habit of practicing all the lessons that came before everything got really hard.
Let’s just say, it was more fun translating “Non puoi finché non finisci la cena” (i.e., “You can’t until you finish your dinner” and “La mia scimmia mangia perché ha fame” (i.e., “My monkey eats because he is hungry”) than it was to push myself into learning the present perfect and past imperfect tenses.
I realized that even though people were quoting The Now Normal back to me, my embrace of “now” didn’t have to mean I only spoke in the present tense!
I also became a little paranoid as Duolingo started feeding me sentences that hit a little too close to home:
- Noi mangiamo molti tipi di formaggio. (We eat many types of cheese.)
- Ho una cucina; però non cucino. (I have a kitchen; however, I don’t cook.)
- Io mangio il formaggio fritto. (I eat fried cheese.)
When you stop interacting with actual people, it feels a little sad when your language learning app knows you so well.
GIVING CREDIT WHERE IT’S DUE
There’s still a little more than a month of this year. I don’t know whether to expect sea monsters or fireworks. I still believe that “It’s OK to not be OK,” and think we all deserve credit for making it this far. If you’re having trouble remembering your accomplishments, ask a friend or two. Chances are that they’re much more observant – and less critical – than your (or Melissa’s) inner critic.
Finally, just in case Melissa’s discussion of Ghost and my clip of Herman’s Hermits wasn’t enough, no reference to “I’m Henry VIII, I am” is complete without this rendition from The Patty Duke Show, the best darn program about identical cousins ever made!
Until next time, I wish you a happy, healthy, and safe Thanksgiving.
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