We met via Zoom this morning with Mindy from Abundance Organizing. She led the meeting with the sentiment that right now the “official” rules for professional organizing need to be set aside. Doing what you can to keep yourself working and healthy is what you need to focus on.

With the pandemic, making sure “Basic Needs” (the bottom two rows, physical needs and safety) from Maslow’s Pyramid are met is the priority. Only once those are met, can you start addressing more of the pyramid.

Once your basic needs are met, you can focus on these to improve your ability to work:

Physical Space
Time
State of Mind

Physical Space

There are a lot of ways you can improve the space you’re working in. If you have one place you like to go to every day, great! But it’s ok if you like to roam about your house that’s ok too. Mindy suggests to really pay attention to your lighting. Seeking out or setting up good light can make a significant difference. “If there’s something not quite right but you can’t put your finger on it, it’s probably your lighting.”

Another thing is visual clutter. “If you have to put it in a box, put that behind you out of your line of sight, then do it.” She joked that this is not what she would normally recommend as an organizer.

Clutter impacts your mental health in many ways. It can raise your cortisol (the stress hormone) levels and increase anxiety. There is a growing body of research on its negative effects, especially among women. This New York Times article talks about it.

Also, the effect of eliminating clutter to help you work might be due to the Zeigarnik Effect: the human tendency to remember interrupted or incomplete tasks or events more easily than tasks that have been completed. The more you can avoid being reminded by uncompleted tasks the more you’ll be able to focus on what you need to be doing.

One cobbler was in the middle of a renovation and was ordering furniture when Covid-19 stay at home orders happened. Mindy suggested that if she still wants to move forward with the renovation, Havenly would be a great resource. They have interior designers on staff that you tell what you like and what you need, and they design your room for you including picking out the furniture. If you’re spending a ton of time at home (like we all are now) and have the resources, it might be worthwhile to check it out.

Time

Mindy strongly suggests setting a schedule with your family daily. It’s a great chance to discuss your goals and encourages domestic harmony. She likes working in blocks and setting timers. When you set a timer, you no longer have to keep an eye on the clock. It frees up your brain to focus on what’s in front of you, rather than what time it is.

Having a schedule you set up that morning or the night before with your family serves a similar purpose. Your brain can let go of the “what should I be doing now” and focus on what you actually want to work on. Or, if its a dreaded job, you know you only have to do it till that work block is over.

State of Mind

This is a biggie. First find a way to wash yourself every day, even if it’s only your face. Self-care isn’t (always) massages and pedicures - it’s actually caring for yourself. Bathing can trigger other good self-care routines which will improve your mental and physical well being.

Show yourself some grace. If you’ve got a friend who’s picked up 4 new hobbies and is learning a new language, great for them! But if it’s all you can do to put pants on, then celebrate that! This isn’t a staycation, it’s quarantine.

We’ve been thrown into this new world. Nicholas Bloom, an economics professor from Stanford, says “It’s like you join the army, then on day three you’re told you’re going to be parachute-jumping at lunchtime, and you’re given a parachute and thrown out of the plane. No training, no preparation.” Even if you were used to working from home, you weren’t used to it with the kids home, the stores closed, the inability to meet anyone in person. (You can read more from Nicholas on Vox here.)

While we can’t meet anyone in person, it’s been wonderful to stay connected to our fellow Cobblers via Zoom each week. Everyone is contributing to the conversation, helping us all to stay saner, and if nothing else, at least we know there are other people who are in the same boat we are. Even if we don’t wear real pants in that boat.

We’ll meet again next Thursday at 8:30 a.m. via Zoom at bit.ly/cobblerscollective.

How to Work from Home