[PODCAST 255]: I Built a Machine that Makes Order Out of Chaos

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How would you like to have a “machine” that could turn chaos into order?

Today I’m sharing exactly how I did that, and by the end of this podcast (or article, if you’re reading!), you’re going to see the vision, learn the general PARTS of the machine and see exactly how it works. (And if you’ve already built your system, please share this with your friends so they can create one, too!)

Although helping people get organized and out of overwhelm is my passion, I didn’t always know how to do this. I literally grew up hiding piles under my bed, in my closet, under blankets, and in stacks of boxes. I could create clear space by moving things around, but I had no idea life without piles of stuff was possible.

And even after I learned how to declutter–and all my piles were gone, I still had MENTAL piles.

I can now say, however, that I haven’t had a pile in my life in over 15 years, and it’s because I built a machine (or a simple system) that made the process effortless.

And if you’re thinking, “This is way too good to be true!” Please listen to this episode because this has become’s my life’s work.

The details for building this machine are not a secret. You can find descriptions, instructions, and tons of examples throughout the podcasts here at LearnDoBecome Radio, all over our social media, and in the videos I post to YouTube. I truly want everyone to know how to create peace of mind.

And if you’re new here, we do offer additional programs and support for people who would like that–and who are excited to have community, coaching, and extra printables, videos, audios, etc., but you don’t have to buy a program or office supplies in order to build your own machine and get totally organized. (I’ll link details about our Steps to Everyday Productivity program at the end, in case you’re interested, but we are genuinely here to help you–with whatever level of support you would like!)

A few reasons we have chaos in the first place:

Sometimes it’s just a lack of systems–so we pile up dishes, shopping bags full of household goods, gifts, knick knacks, and other physical items that we could sort and organize in a better way.

Sometimes other people in our homes and offices are contributing to the disarray, and we don’t have clear boundaries.

Other times, we inherit things or feel a lot of emotion when we even think about parting with certain items, so we keep them in order to protect ourselves from feeling sad, angry, guilty, or frustrated.

But today I want to focus on the stuff that’s related to work we actually need to get done. These include papers, digital files, and physical items that have actions associated with them.

Essentially, our piles of “stuff” are holding information that we need, but we don’t know what to do with all of those items in order to create order in our brains.

One common solution is to divide the piles into smaller piles that have some kind of meaning–like things for a bathroom remodel will go together, financial documents will go together, school items can be kept in one pile, work things can be kept in another, etc.

But when we look at those smaller piles, our brains need to go through a thought process for every item over and over again. “What does this mean? What do I need to do?”

You’ve probably experienced this as you’ve scrolled thousands of emails and tried to connect the subject lines with what actions we need to take. That takes SO much energy when you multiply it by 10, 50, 2000, 5000, or 100,000 things, so our minds (as David Allen says) “go numb” to the piles.

Differentiating all of the projects, routines, tasks, etc. that are involved with getting the piles to go away makes you have to think too much, so you don’t go deeper.

Then the piles grow, and more things are coming at you. Perhaps you take a class for your business and get new ideas. Or you see a social media account and get tons of new recipe ideas. Then you decide you need to exercise more. Pretty soon, you don’t even know what to do with all those ideas, so you end up spinning in circles a lot–thinking it is your fault.

The Machine solves that problem.

I know it’s weird that I call my organization system a “machine,” so I looked up the definition. It’s “an apparatus using or applying mechanical power and having several parts, each with a definite function and together performing a particular task.”

So while what I’m describing may not be mechanical power, there ARE different parts with definite purposes, performing a particular task…getting YOU out of piles.

Here are a couple of fun before and after photos that came in recently.

This is Tracie’s:

And this is Lynette’s:

Beautiful, don’t you think? It feels so much better to walk into a space that has purpose instead of piles.

Ready to go a little deeper?

This machine I’m talking about–the STEP Command Central–has 15 components, and I explain them all over social media and, specifically, our YouTube channel, but just knowing them doesn’t help by itself because you end up just trying to stick things into those components–and you then have 15 places to scan and decide what to do.

Instead, you need to learn where to put things, how often to check them, and how to know that they’ll come back to you at the right time.

So we put the 15 components into 3 categories (daily/weekly/as needed), and this simplifies the categories.

As needed – these will just sit there, but the daily/weekly reminders will take you to those items when appropriate.

Weekly – you’ll have a scheduled weekly review to pay attention to all of these. Maybe Fridays at 4 or Sundays, in order to get ready for the week ahead!

Daily – this is a simple list so every day you can just focus on a few things. And as new things come into you, there is a very specific way those things can go into your system.

Here are a few examples:

1–Administrative tasks

A company where I made a return says “it should be processed in 2 weeks, but call back if not.”

I write down all the details, create a calendar reminder referencing that information, and keep that information in your Support Materials, Tickler, Project Management Software, or Digital/Paper files. Then I know it will come back to me.

2–Managing a big project with hundreds of parts

This past year, I did a huge revamp of our Steps to Everyday Productivity program. There was a lot of information to consider, revise, look at, keep in mind, manage, etc.: a photo of an outline for the program, all the pages in our existing program, suggested new video scripts, team brainstorms, testimonials to add in, handwritten ideas, etc.

We created a project in Asana, our project management software, made a section for each module, added and linked relevant details in the appropriate places, and put “STEP Revamp” on our Current Projects List.

I broke my shoulder during the busiest part of the project, so I typed with voice to text while I couldn’t use my arm.

I had to learn how to make it so easy that I could sit down for 10 minutes and get right to work. (Think about a big project you have and ask yourself if you can do that…)

The principles are the SAME for something like cleaning a closet. Whether you’re organizing items or projects, the steps are the same.

3–Parking spot for my dreams

There are a lot of things I want to do, but the timing hasn’t been right for all of them. I’m sure you know the feeling! There are books I want to read, skills like “playing ragtime music on the piano” I want to develop, and places I want to travel, for example.

I simply put these on my Someday List and check it every few months. (That can be part of a quarterly routine, if you need a reminder–or you could just say, “I’ll check this whenever I have bandwidth.” Your brain simply needs to know it can rest, without “losing” that option.)

We often look at messy rooms or messy offices, and we think that we just need a big block of time to dive in and clean up the mess, but what we really need is this machine, with distinct parts, that can help us to make decisions, pull things out of piles, and create clarity.

If you’re feeling excited about building your own, please click the link at the bottom of the page to learn more about STEP!

I’ll also link to our YouTube channel, so you can subscribe there and enjoy the videos we release each week!

And, of course, please share your comments or questions here so we can support you as you get your system in place. Getting out of overwhelm is totally possible, and I am so grateful for the chance to serve you!

xoxo

April