Backsliding – Why we all need to understand this concept!

The definition of backsliding is to regress to a previous state. Nearly everyone has experienced backsliding in a variety of areas in their lives.

Here are some of the reasons for backsliding at home:

• Have a new or reoccurring health problem with yourself or a loved one
• Hold or plan a special event in or around your home
• Must assist a loved one or friend with an event outside the home (wedding, party, move)
• Add something “new” to your home, New Pet, New Person, New Furniture.
• Acquire a New “helpful” tool – Example: Robot vacuum
• Plan a re-model or redecorate your home, (Paint, Carpet, Flooring) 
• Get a new job or project that changes your daily or work week schedule
• Have an in-home maintenance emergency such as a pipe or roof leak, plumbing issue, pest issue
• Dealing with broken appliances – troubleshooting, getting replaced or repaired

Here are some of the reasons for backsliding at work:

• Changing office or workspace location
• New technology or system implementation
• Having to cross train staff or a new person
• Taking on the responsibilities of a colleague who is leaving or being promoted
• A large important project with an impending deadline
• Out of office travel
• Too many unplanned or last minute meetings to attend
• Support staff illnesses or absences causing delays of needed material or information
• Technology failure or system going offline

The best way to cope with backsliding is to accept the inevitable and plan for reduced progress. Acknowledgment and awareness of backsliding means more understanding of the process in your home and work life and less frustration with yourself and others.

PS If you want to know why a robot vacuum means backsliding, it means all floors need to be cleared of objects it can “suck up”, get stuck on or get lost underneath. Time will be spent searching for the robot who is hiding below something. Usual lost areas include bookcases, dressers, beds, closets. Items that a robot can “suck up” include bed linens, towels, clothing-especially long dresses or robes. Robot vacuums will also get stuck on some floor vents or behind a chair. Don’t get me started about robot vacuums and pets…. However, once a robot vacuum is understood and your home designed to accommodate it, the robot vacumn becomes a great time saving device.

Maybe – Five is all we Can Handle

When we are overwhelmed, it helps to simplify and concentrate on the most important.

Over the years, I have come up with the idea that Five Projects are all most people can effectively work on at one time. Yes, I know there are some outliers out there, but most  people can be extremely  successful with the total number of five active projects.

One way to look and remember this, is by simply looking at one of your hands. Image each finger is a project.  So maybe you are now looking down and thinking “I need 2 hands and maybe some feet”. If this is the case write all the projects down on a piece of paper. Then cull the list down to the top 5. These are the ones you can put on your “fingers’.

For those overambitious or hard working individuals out there, you can have a home hand and a work hand.

Always remember, however,  that five is the number to use. So when you are overwhelmed, get out the hand, and start naming your fingers with the top projects.  Select one to work or focus on, and just begin.

This is a best of post from 2010

Cleaning Distinctions – Let’s Make Them!

One of the difficulties we face as we age is seeing and smelling the dust, dirt and general debris. Sensory decline in older adults increases clutter potential. 

Make a distinction between light housekeeping and general housekeeping and deep cleaning services. Make a push for twice a year deep cleaning to your older or physically challenged clients.

For someone who is aging, especially those who are unfamiliar with housekeeping services, they may think “light housekeeping’ is good enough. But it really isn’t.  Light housekeeping services which are often provided as part of in- home care provider contracts, are just that. Light! Contracted Caregivers don’t seek to do more than is in their required contract. They may in fact be discouraged due to liability limits to do more.

Deep cleaning which involves lifting or moving the heavy furniture (to vacuum the carpet or floor below), dusting the heating or air vents and baseboards, is a household chore that needs to be done at least semi- annually.

Another area to observe for deep cleaning is the computer desk and  television corner. Older PC’s and TV monitors are notorious dust bunny attractors. Fans and air vent areas need to be checked and cleaned for dust build up.

Cleaning out the refrigerator is also a deep cleaning chore. In fact this is not an easy service to find help for. Deep cleaning a refrigerator can take an hours worth of time.  Light housecleaning services do not offer or desire to provide this helpful service.  Often this is because they don’t want to get into a battle with the homeowner about good food and bad. Reaching into the back or bottom of a refrigerator is not an easy job. Many refrigerators have various parts that need removal for deep cleaning and putting them back together is often a puzzle.

In-home servce intake providers (often LCSW) or professional organizers need to start serving as educators. At the onset of client work state firmly that a household will need to get some additional cleaning services in order to keep the house clean and safe, not only for the client but for the contracted caregivers.

Traffic Light Thinking

The traffic light is a great metaphor for reviewing where you are in terms of project development and productivity or creativity in general.

Project Development – Are you at a standstill? Have you come to a red light? Full stop?  Are you at a transitional time when you are in caution mode? Are you in the flow with the green light going full speed ahead? Knowing where you are on a project, in terms of the traffic light,  is a helpful tool for monitoring your activity and progress.

Creativity – Everyone is creative in their own way. You can look at your personal or professional creatively in terms of the traffic light. Are you being creative and flowing, as in being in the green light? Or are you in a cautionary or transitional phase as in yellow. Maybe you are at a stopping point and are at the red light waiting for time or inspiration. Again the secret is to be aware and clear on where you are in terms of the traffic light.

Knowing where you are at the traffic light is a great tool for understanding your productivity and creative status. Green may be good, but too much green may be exhausting and unhealthy.  A long time at yellow may mean you are in a transition and may need to try other things. This could include seek help from others such as a coach or make some required changes. Being in the red may be frustrating, but it can also be the well-needed rest. Red can also be the warning sign to make some changes

 

Try using the traffic light metaphor in measuring or examining some of your projects or activities. Let me know what you think.

 

A shout out to Shannon for getting me thinking about this today.

 

 

The Three Losses in Five Years Syndrome

Over the past 10 years, I have come across a subset of individuals who begin a sudden onset of chronic disorganization. These are individuals who are serving as family caretakers who have experienced at least three significant losses in their life over the span of 5 years. This subset has usually served as primary caretaker for either parent(s), spouse or sibling(s). Many of them also serve as the executor of one or more of these estates. Many of these individuals seem to take about 7 to 12 years after the final loss to come to terms with this in their life.

What I would like to see is a more active approach to treating this, more on the onset prevention than as an after effect treatment.

It would be beneficial to have physicians and their staffs work to identify caretakers who are already at two losses in five years, and encourage them to get additional support through grief counseling, caretaker support group participation and for those financially able, consider the services of a skilled professional organizer. A skilled professional organizer can do wonders to help the “primary caretaker client ” in terms of time management, goal setting, project planning and management. Many professional organizers can help establish bill paying and document management systems to handle the growing paperwork that complex and long-term medical conditions usually entail as well as documents for estates probate. A professional organizer can help the client simplify his or her life and environment as well as serve as a body double for difficult and often procrastinated tasks.

While a professional organizers services are not inexpensive, they are a valuable tool that may help the primary caretaker live a more vibrant and fulfilling life while and after experiencing heavy losses in their life.

The Three Losses in 5 Years are primarily death losses. For some, however, one of those losses can be the loss of a pet, divorce or significant job loss.

I believe more research and education is needed in this area. Let’s hope that this syndrome can be more clearly understood and helpful strategies for success developed and promoted to the general public.

 

This is a best of post

Curator Vs. Caretaker

Are you a caretaker or curator of your special materials? I am talking about your private or personal family collections. What is the difference you ask?

When we first inherit or start to collect material we may be just caretaking. And that is Okay. Curating before we are ready can be a big mistake.

Do you let the special material sit in the box and wait to deal with it later? If this is the case, then you are a caretaker.  Or do you sort, label, arrange or classify and make some sort of arrangement of the material?  Curators do that.

Good caretakers pack and store material carefully, in safe spaces free free from harm. Inquisitive little children or pets,  pests or rodents can be an issue. Water or humidity or excessive heat or even excessive temperature changes within a short period of time can be a safety factor. Bright lighting or direct sunlight can also be damaging to your collection.

Are you ready to go from caretaking to curating your collection? The time has to be right. Maybe you are too tired of caretaking the collection so perhaps the time is right to pass the collection along to someone else to curate. After all not all caretakers have to curate.

Wise curators are deliberate with their plan. They think it out before they proceed. They seek advise if they need it. They don’t have to go it alone. Books, associations, organizations and solo practitioners are out there to provide assistance and advice to the curator. Remember seek help and guidance and think it through.

 

Books 

An Ounce of Preservation – A Guide to the Care of Papers and Photographs by Craig A. Tuttle

How to Archive Family Keepsakes: Learn How to Preserve Family Photos, Memorabilia and Genealogy Records by Denise May Levenick

How to Organize Inherited Items: A Step-by-Step Guide for Dealing with Boxes of your Parent’s Stuff by Denise May Levenick 

Saving Stuff: How to Care for and Preserve Your Collectibles, Heirlooms, and Other Prized Possessions by Don Williams, Louisa Jaggar

The Unofficial Family Archivist: A Guide to Creating and Maintaining Family Papers, Photographs, and Memorabilia by Melissa Mannon 

Consultants

Terri Blanchette   http://timesorters.com

 

Website/Blogs

The ArmChair Genealogist  written by Lynn Palermo*     lynn@thearmchairgenealogist.com

The Family Curator written by Denise May Levenick

Family History Secrets written by Wendy Percival. This British site is more about writing and creating – but done in an interesting way.

The Practical Archivist written by Sally Jacobs

 

 

If you enjoyed this you might also enjoy an article I wrote about ephemera many year’s back called Don’t Throw That Away!

 

* This blog was inspired by a post a few months ago by Lynn Palermo regarding curating and creating. If you read my last blog post and book review you would know I am showing my work. Denise May Levenick’s book, How to Organize Inherited Items: A Step-by-Step Guide for Dealing with Boxes of your Parent’s Stuff, also uses the three concepts of Curator, Creator and Caretaker.

 

Show Your Work

Austin Kleon’s  Show Your Work: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered published  written in 2014  is a quick and helpful read for all ages,  Share Something Small Everyday is a simple yet wonderful concept  explained and nicely diagramed in chapter 3. This concept is perfect for aspiring creatives and artists to understand and immediately begin the process. Share Something Small Everyday is also a great strategy for young high school S.T.E.M. students who want to start distinguishing themselves from the rest of the pack

Open Up Your Cabinet of Curiosities , chapter 4 brings home the gem “Your influences are all worth sharing because they clue people in to who you are and what you do – sometimes even more than your own work.” Kleon.  In this regard, Austin believes you should always give credit where credit is due and don’t share what you can’t credit.

Learn to Take A Punch is a chapter about building resilience, something all creatives, leaders and visionaries need. I almost passed this by on the first glide by but realized the value upon preparing for this review.

This under 225 page book will take you no time to read, yet will provide some useful and practical insights for some parts of your own work  or your client’s. The thing to remember about this book is that it is SHORT, therefore don’t expect too much.  However, it’s the words and wisdom in this little book that will come in handy from time to time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time for Kudos

Kudos means a praising remark. We all like to be appreciated and acknowledged for our work or contributions. Let’s spend some time exploring kudos.

Why Give Kudos

There are a few reasons to give kudos. First, we all like to be acknowledged and appreciated. Second, appreciating someone’s work or efforts can sometimes be the catalyst to develop or deepen a new or existing personal or work relationship. Third, kudos are sometimes the sustaining embers in people’s lives.

How to Give Kudos

Kudos can be verbal or written. Kudos can be physically given as in a handwritten note, card or with a small token gift. Kudos can also be given via an email or on a blog posting can be made from time to time.

Receiving Kudos

It is nice to receive kudos. Kudos can be put up on a bulletin board or display shelf. Verbal kudos can be transformed to penned lines and inserted into an appreciation journal.

Appreciating the Giver of the Kudos

It is polite to acknowledge the sender for their sentiments or gifts, either by verbalizing your appreciation or by sending an acknowledging note.

Making Kudos Part of Your Routine

Take time to routinely reflect and send appropriate kudos to those around you. Kudos giving can be a nice break in a full or busy week. Kudos giving makes us look outside of ourselves, which can be helpful when we are too inward thinking.

Who can you give kudos to in your life?

Stay Tuned

Life is a little complicated – so it is a good time to tell my readers to check back from time to time. I will be resuming my blogging within the next few months. Meanwhile check back on some of the thoughts from 2012.

In The Flow

Carrot or Stick?

Rushing – All in your mind?

Resolutions

It is almost the official time of year when we work on setting resolutions.

Here is an easy way to get started on your resolutions for 2013. What can you do more of in 2013? What can you do less of?

The More

Smile More
Laugh More
Walk More
Drink More Water
Appreciate More
Read More
Write More
Listen More

The Less

Eat Less
Swear Less
Worry Less
Frown Less
Complain Less
Procrastinate Less
Talk Less

Do you want to make more progress in 2013? It may be a perfect time to start working with a transition coach to help you get more from your life in 2013.