I just completed a FREE printable for you and I hope you love it. It's my exclusive Get Organized Now! 2021 Monthly Organizing Calendar, filled with daily organizing TO DOs and inspiration to help you get and stay organized, and keep you motivated along the way. To access and print it, visit:
getorganizednow.com/free-resources.html

Happy organizing and happy new year!

Maria Gracia

P.S. Please forward this newsletter to friends and family so they, too, can access this resource. Thank you for spreading the love!

A few days ago, I received a question from GON Reader, Carolann in Naples, Florida. She asked...

My teenage nephew is having a focus issue. He can't stay organized. He seems to jump from idea to idea and gets bored with one and never finishes. I seem to have a similar situation, lots of unfinished projects started. What can you do to help us stay focused until we finish a project?

Here is my response to Carolann...and I'm hoping it will help others who are having trouble staying focused as well.

Losing focus is actually a very natural thing, and happens to everyone at some point. When it comes to teenagers (and I have a teenager of my own), there is a whole lot constantly going on in their brains taking up a whole lot of their cognitive resources. Plus, most teenagers haven't mastered the importance of priorities, especially when it comes to something they'd rather be doing. For instance, because my daughter is becoming increasingly interested in college choices (she's still a junior in high school), her 'current' math regularly takes second priority in her mind...and actions. I often have to steer her back on track to ensure she's getting her math done...because that may have an effect on her college choices later. I then recommend that she researches her colleges (big interest) when her math (low interest) for the day is done.

There are many reasons ALL of us humans lose focus...

Looking at the big picture. So often, we look at a project as a whole and it immediately feels overwhelming. You see the beginning, you see the end, and then you see the LONG road it's going to take to get there. That can be very discouraging.

Lack of structure. I'm not sure if your nephew is in full-time, hybrid, or virtual school during the global pandemic, but I will tell you that 'lack of focus' and 'lower grades' is real right now...and affecting lots of kids. Most schools and teachers are doing their best, but there is definitely something missing when kids are not in structured classrooms, with structured time periods, and teachers overseeing student work.

Distractions Very often, we invite our own distractions. It's easy and inviting to get distracted by our phones, TV, Pinterest or Facebook surfing, even something easy we can do like tossing clothes in the wash, etc. It's more challenging to figure out the 'first step' and the 'next step' etc. (and apply those steps) in the project we're supposed to be doing. Very often, we choose easy over challenging because...well...it's easier to do so.

Poor self-care, especially lack of rest and lots of sugar (both of what make many of us feel tired).

Low commitment level to something that isn't that exciting. When there is something someone really and truly wants to get done, it generally gets done. Let's say you could go on vacation today, money is no object, Covid is gone (let's pray for this scenario!), nothing is holding you back...except hopping on the Internet and making hotel and plane reservations. Trust me...MOST people will stay focused enough to make those plans concrete. Organizing the basement, or finishing a school project, doesn't usually generate that much passion and excitement.

Here are a few ideas to help you both get that focus back so you can get organized, start getting things done...and actually reach the finish line:

a) Take baby steps. All projects should immediately be broken down into baby steps. If your nephew has to read a book with 60 chapters, for instance, reading goals can be broken down into 4 chapters a day (or whatever is needed to get it done by the deadline). For you, if you want to organize the basement, break that down into one or two shelves in one closet, or one box a day. For someone who easily loses focus, each baby-step should be around 15 minutes. Then a short break before the next mini-goal and the next 15 minutes.

b) Set a definite day, definite time. Whatever mini-goal has to be done, get it entered into a paper or digital planner. Set a timer. When the timer goes off, set an alarm for 15 minutes, and work on that mini-goal until the timer sounds. When it does, you can choose to keep going, or stop, take a break, and begin on the next mini-goal. Don't say to yourself, 'I'll get to my project after all my household chores are done.' This is a recipe for, 'It's not going to get started today' because other TO DOs will take over.

c) Eliminate as many distractions as possible. With teenagers (and adults too), it's usually those darn phone notifications. You may have to set a rule: When you're working on a project, your phone is set to 'do not disturb' mode. Notice what you're being distracted by...and work on saying NO to these time stealers.

d) Sleep right. Eat right. Teenagers need eight to ten hours of sleep per night. Less is not a good thing. More is not a good thing. Adults can get by with a bit less...seven to nine hours. Eliminate as much added sugar as possible (it will drag anyone down) and eat light, healthy, small meals/snacks throughout the day. Make water the main beverage of choice.

e) Give yourself small incentives. Remember I mentioned that 'lack of passion'? It's real. Most people need incentives to keep their momentum up. When your nephew completes a 15-minute mini-goal, perhaps he enjoys a small snack, or he gets out of a chore, or he acquires phone time, etc.), for the next 15 minutes. And then he begins working on his next mini-goal...striving for his next incentive once it's accomplished. If your mini-goal is decluttering a box of stuff in the basement, when you're done, you can enjoy 15 minutes of reading your favorite novel or a brief, energizing walk outside...for the next 15 minutes...and then work on your next mini-goal, striving for your next accomplishment.

Staying focused on a project doesn't necessarily mean you start and finish it all at once. It does mean that you work on it in small pieces, daily, and see progress each and every day until you reach the end point.

For super quick details on how you can say goodbye to clutter, visit:

getorganizednow.com/rd-clutter.html

All people have clutter to some degree. You may have a little. You may have a ton. MOST people are somewhere right in the middle.

For anyone who has clutter, have no doubt in your mind that CLUTTER GROWS. Small clutter challenges soon turn into large clutter issues.

Plus, clutter is sneaky...it doesn't only show up in the pile of shoes you may have in your closet, the overload of toys in the toy room, the boxes of stuff in the basement, or the stuffed-to-the-max drawers and closets in your home. Clutter can actually invade your life in FOUR forms...

1. Physical Clutter
2. Paper Clutter
3. Digital Clutter
4. Emotional Clutter

Once clutter is here, it begins to wreak all sorts of havoc...

There is only one way to get rid of clutter...and that is by using a proven- effective clutter-removing system. Only then will you be able to face clutter head-on and have the clutter-free life you deserve.

Want to say goodbye to your clutter? I have just the thing you need for a glorious, clutter-free life. For more details, visit:

getorganizednow.com/rd-clutter.html

P.S. When you claim your very own copy of GOODBYE CLUTTER... before FRIDAY, January 15...you'll also get $144 in COMPLIMENTARY BONUSES (ALL written by me!)

___ 1. Do today's (January 12) Organizing TO DO provided in my January Organizing Checklist...especially if you have surface clutter. Visit GetOrganizedNow.com to access it.

___ 2. Have you succeeded with a mini-challenge or two? Review my January mini-challenges. Reply to this newsletter and tell me those you've started and completed...I would love to hear your progress! Visit GetOrganizedNow.com to access.

___ 3. Have you taken one of these four actions today? Read my 'Be a Clutter Buster' article before it disappears. Visit GetOrganizedNow.com to access it.

I'd love to hear from you.

I LOVE GON reader mail! Whether it's a comments, suggestions, or just a note to say hello, REPLY to this email with a short note.

And remember...there's no better time to get organized, than to Get Organized Now!

Warmly,

Maria Gracia
Get Organized Now!
getorganizednow.com

(c) Copyright 2021 by Maria Gracia, Get Organized Now!

* Copyright, contact and reprint information:
getorganizednow.com/contact.html

* You signed up to receive our Idea-Kit and/or our Newsletter at our Get Organized Now! Web site. We never add names unless you have voluntarily opted in.

* We never rent, trade or sell our email list to anyone. You'll never get an unsolicited email from a stranger as a result of joining this list.

* If you happen to purchase anything I recommend in this newsletter, or any of my communications, I may receive compensation. Still, I only recommend what I truly believe in and share with my friends and family. If you ever have an issue with anything I recommend, please let me know. I want to make sure I am always serving you at the highest level.

* To subscribe, visit:
getorganizednow.com/free-ezine.html


* To unsubscribe, if you absolutely must go, please click the link below. However . . .

YIKES! - If you unsubscribe, you'll lose all the complimentary organizing resources I share with my loyal readers each week. You'll lose the tips, reader ideas, reader clinics, complimentary videos, ebooks, resource recommendations, and the many valuable bonuses I offer each month. Please don't go. I love sending you all of this free training. I'd be lost and lonely without you. If there is something more you would like from my newsletters, then please reply to this email and let me know.
-- Maria Gracia