Taking Control: The Organizing Podcast

Do you feel like your holiday tasks are all in order and under control? No? Don't worry! You're not alone! That's why we've put together a handy holiday organizing checklist to help you get a good head start on all you need to accomplish for busy holiday of guests. Take a listen to the show this week, then head to the downloads area to grab the checklist for yourself. This week, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright help you put structure to your holiday organizing starting now!

Do you remember, back in grade school, the frustration you would feel when you would ask your teachers, “when am I ever going to use this?” Their answers were never satisfying, because you didn’t care. You didn’t want to do it, no matter what they had to say. Well, people, here’s the thing: Sorting is like grade school math. You’ll hate learning how to do it, because you’ll want so badly to move on to bigger and better things. And still, you’ll notice that sorting is a common theme here on Taking Control. That’s because the simple truth is that sorting is the most important foundational skill you can develop in your efforts to become a better organizer, and take control of your space and time. When you sort, you are exercising so many different muscles; time management, decision making, motivation and focus, all things that serve and support you in the whole organizing process. Today on Taking Control, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright share three facts about the sorting process to help you navigate the changes to come this holiday season.

We're in it, people — it's gift season. Whether you braved Black Friday here in the US, or if you're doing your shopping online, it's time to think about those closest to you and figure out how you can do your part to make the world better for them. This week on the show, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright share some organizing gift ideas, both online and off, in addition to suggestions on how to better give of yourself this holiday season.

You have a calendar, and that's a lot to be proud of. But once you get your system in place, it doesn't take long to discover that outside pressures can cause it to fall into scheduling disarray! This week on Taking Control, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright share tips and tools to get your schedule back into shape and take ownership of your time once again!

If there is one common theme many of us face when taking on an organizing project, it's overwhelm. We hear it in emails and calls to the show, and in coaching and training, too. But when overwhelm hits, it can take us to a dark place. What happens when you have so much on your plate that you feel you can't start at all? This week on the show, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright offer helpful tools to get you out of the dark place of overwhelm, and back into taking control of the most important resources in your life.

If you're struggling with ADHD, you're likely working hard on systems — processes and systems that help you stay on top of the complexities of life — and you trust those systems. But when those systems are stressed or compromised in any way, like so many dominoes, things start to fall apart. This week on the show, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright talk about how to face big change when you know that change is going to put your own trusted systems at risk.

If you're overwhelmed by disorganization, and someone tells you to "stop, slow down, make a plan," you're as likely to listen to them as you are to come right off the rails, take all your stuff to the middle of the street, and light it on fire. But wait, don't do that, this is important. This week on Taking Control, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright take on a listener question on clutter, and use the opportunity to address one of the most important aspects to big organizing challenges: Planning.

It's all about questions this week on Taking Control! We have been writing with with you fabulous listeners on Facebook and email and you've given us so many great ideas, from Evernote bill management to shared lists to tolerations! This week on the show, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright review a few listener emails and point to updates in their own systems as a result!

If you're struggling with tendencies in and around ADHD, figuring out how to pay attention to tasks at hand is a clear struggle. From distractions to diet to having the right tools at hand to streamline your time and work, there are countless means to not take care of your core responsibilities. This week on the show, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright take on tools and strategies for helping you pay better attention and keep working toward your goal of living the organized lifestyle.

We're taking on the Pandora's Box of listener questions: how do we recommend handling digital photo management in our effort to live the organized lifestyle? Well, that's big. If you're struggling with photo management, you're certainly not alone. This week on the show, Pete puts on his professional photographer hat to give some tips and tools that will help you think more clearly about the photos that are most important to you, decide what to keep, and be OK with yourself when you delete the photos you just don't need!

If you're like us, you probably have shelves of cookbooks and card boxes filled to overflowing with scraps of notes cataloging your favorite foods. But thanks to the brains at Evernote, you can clean up that mess and have better access to your favorite meals than ever before. This week on the show, Pete Wright and Nikki Kinzer talk about Evernote Food, and how you can get your recipes organized and searchable easily!

What do we do when we don't feel like doing anything? We call on our well-exercised Willpower Muscle, that's what! You see, willpower is not something you have, or something you don't have. It exists on a continuum, and like a muscle, it gets stronger with diligence and practice over time. This week on the show, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright talk about willpower, and share some core strategies for getting your own willpower muscle in great shape!

Kids back in school? Ours, too. That's why it's a great time to take stock of your new processes and make sure the right habits are sticking around! This week on the show, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright talk about creating an environment for back to school success that sticks all year long!

We've been outed! After a busy summer and projects and vacations galore, a steadfast listener poked us for not keeping up on our tolerations updates. It's true! But our silence does not equal apathy. This week on the show, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright review their summer tolerations lists, and share some great tips and lessons on getting done what needs to get done around the house!

It's Moving Tips Part 2! Following last week's conversation on preparing for the big move, this week we're talking about new systems. Your new home is a great opportunity: it's your chance to build the systems to help you live the organized lifestyle from scratch. From strategies for unpacking, to building systems logically, this is your choose to start anew and not settle! This week on the show, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright share strategies for making your move-in effective and efficient!