Gaining Insight

What an exhilarating and motivating weekend I had! I attended the Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference for Organizers in Bethesda. I always enjoy going to this conference to meet up with other organizers and to learn new ideas that can help me be a better organizer, and ultimately help my clients.

I attended motivating presentations, breakouts on specific topics such as providing green services, processing and management strategies for e-mail and working with the boomer generation. The highlight of the conference for me was listening to Julie Morgenstern's presentation on becoming a better organizer through the process of "shedding". Her latest book, When Organizing Isn't Enough SHED Your Stuff, Change Your Life, focuses on self discovery through the process of shedding both mental and physical clutter to achieve personal and professional success and happiness. Her Shed acronym is: separate the treasures; heave the trash; embrace your identity and drive yourself forward. I see this technique not only helping clients, but also helping me redefine my organizing practice.

Attending this conference confirmed for me that organizing and simplifying are really about change. Removing clutter in our minds, environments and schedules moves us towards positive change and allows us to focus on the priorities that we have determined are the most important to us now. This change allows us to live our lives as we have determined, without the distractions and roadblocks that clutter and being disorganized can sometimes cause.

Of course, there are many ideas I want to implement, books I purchased that I want to read, and now I have to make it happen. I figure it I implement two ideas I learned from conference, it will be well worth my time, energy and money.