188 | Why You Still Don’t Feel Organized (Even Though You’re Doing All the Right Things)
The Organized Coach - Productivity, Business Systems, Time Management, ADHD, Routines, Life Coach, EntrepreneurShow Notes
All links mentioned in the post can be found here: https://simplysquaredaway.com/188 You’ve decluttered. You’ve created systems. You actually know how to organize. So why can one pile of papers on the counter make you feel like you’re a complete mess? There’s a big difference between being disorganized and feeling disorganized. And what’s happening around you doesn’t have to become evidence of who you are. In this episode, I share a recent coaching example of a client who came to our call feeling like a “hot mess,” even though she’s actually very organized. What she really had were open loops. Once we identified what needed to happen and when she was going to do it, nothing had actually been completed—but she felt completely different. That’s because feeling organized isn’t about the absence of disorder. It’s about your relationship to the disorder that’s currently there. We’ll talk about why “I’m a mess” feels so different from “These papers need decisions,” how our old 10-second scripts become well-worn paths in our brains, and why getting rid of more stuff may never make you feel organized if your definition of organized is “nothing left to organize.” You’ll also hear two simple analogies—being a good cook and rerouting while driving—that will help you rethink what it actually means to be organized. An organized person is someone who knows how to create order when and where she needs it. In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why feeling disorganized is different from being disorganized How open loops contribute to overwhelm Why a pile of papers doesn’t determine whether you’re organized How to replace judgment with thoughts that point you toward action Why your definition of “organized” may be impossible to achieve Why getting rid of more stuff won’t necessarily make you feel organized How to start collecting evidence that you already know how to create order Why getting back on track is evidence that you’re organized—not evidence that you failed
Instead of asking, “What still needs to be organized?” start noticing where you already demonstrate the skill of creating order. You may already possess the skill you’ve been waiting for your house to prove you have.
More from The Organized Coach - Productivity, Business Systems, Time Management, ADHD, Routines, Life Coach, Entrepreneur
All links mentioned in the post can be found here: https://simplysquaredaway.com/191 You know you need help in your business, but hiring someone can feel like a big—and expensive—next step. What if an intern could be the perfect solution? In this episode, I’m talking with Brittany Braswell about how entrepreneurs can use interns to delegate repeatable tasks, free up their time, and even get their businesses more organized in the process. Brittany shares how to decide what an intern could take off your plate, where to find interns, paid versus unpaid internships, creative ways to compensate them, and how to make training simpler than you might think. We also get into the practical questions that can make delegation feel overwhelming: passwords, logins, access, SOPs, and whether you need to have everything perfectly organized before you begin. If you’ve been thinking, “I need help, but I’m not ready to hire,” this episode may give you an entirely new option. In this episode, you’ll learn:
All links mentioned in the post can be found here: https://simplysquaredaway.com/190 Does your brain ever feel like it’s holding 100 things at once? Things you need to do, remember, buy, schedule, decide, or tell someone about? None of them may be a big deal on their own, but together, they can make life feel chaotic. In this episode, I’m sharing three simple systems that can instantly reduce some of that chaos without a fancy planner, complicated app, or elaborate productivity system. The first is a capture system. Instead of expecting your brain to remember every idea, task, appointment, and random thought that pops up, you need one trusted place to put it. I’m sharing the simple system I just started using with Siri and an Apple Reminders list called “Capture,” plus how I’m exploring using AI to help process everything I capture. The second system starts with a completely different way of looking at overwhelm: overwhelm is an organizing signal. Instead of letting “I don’t know where to start” stop you, you can use the same organizing skills you’d use on a cluttered closet to organize a project, your calendar, a decision, or everything swirling around in your head. Finally, we’ll talk about reset systems. Your home doesn’t stay organized because you organize it once. Life happens. Things come out, mail comes in, dishes get used, and clutter starts accumulating again. A simple reset gives you a way to return a high-chaos area to baseline before the mess compounds. In this episode, you’ll learn:
All links mentioned in the post can be found here: https://simplysquaredaway.com/189 What do you really want? And what if you’re not even sure how to answer that question? In this episode, I’m talking with money manifestation coach Jamie Berman about what manifestation actually means and how it can help us create more of what we want from abundance in our businesses and lives to becoming a more organized version of ourselves. Jamie shares how she went from being terrified of being seen and speaking in front of people to building a successful coaching business, and why learning to trust herself played such a big role in that transformation. We also talk about her decision to walk away from a successful niche when it no longer felt like the work she wanted to do. We get into manifestation from a faith perspective, including Jamie’s belief that it can be about partnering with God rather than trying to control everything ourselves. She explains why getting clear on what you want matters, how visualization and vision boards can help, and why taking action and surrendering the outcome can exist together. We also talk about what happens when you’re genuinely content with your life and don’t know what you want next. Jamie shares some really good questions for uncovering desires that have nothing to do with getting a bigger house, a nicer car, or more stuff. And, of course, I ask her how all of this applies to getting organized. If you’ve spent years believing, “I’m just not an organized person,” what would happen if you started seeing yourself as someone who could become organized and began practicing being her? In this episode, we talk about:
All links mentioned in the post can be found here: https://simplysquaredaway.com/187 Decluttering is NOT about the stuff. In this episode, I’m talking with professional organizer and Declutter Hub cofounder Lesley Spellman about what’s really happening underneath our clutter. We explore the emotions that can make letting go difficult, including guilt, aspiration, and the stories we attach to our belongings. Lesley shares three key ingredients for decluttering success: kindness toward yourself, having a meaningful goal for your home, and being realistic about your space, energy, and season of life. We also talk about why starting somewhere easier can help you build your “decluttering muscle” before tackling the sentimental stuff. Plus, we take a peek behind the scenes of The Declutter Hub to hear how Lesley and Ingrid organize their own business using Asana, SOPs, and simple systems that have evolved over time. If you’ve ever wondered why you know you want to declutter but still have such a hard time letting things go, this conversation will help you understand what may really be keeping you stuck.
All links mentioned in the post can be found at: https://simplysquaredaway.com/186 Learn more and join us at the ELEVATE retreat on 10/17/26: https://simplysquaredaway.com/elevate What’s keeping you from getting organized? You may think you need more time, better systems, or more motivation. But often, there are two gaps between where you are now and where you want to be: a skill gap and a mindset gap. In this episode, I break down both and show you how the SPACE Method helps you practice the skills of organizing, while your thoughts, beliefs, and identity can either move you forward or keep you stuck. I also share a lesson I learned while cross-stitching a Christmas stocking and why organizing isn’t just about reaching the finished result. It’s about who you become in the process. Plus, you’ll learn how to start building a “bank of evidence” with every small win so you can prove to yourself that becoming an organized person really is possible for you. In this episode, you’ll learn: