19 | Disorganized? 3 Steps To Create an Organized Mindset and Culture in Your Business

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This is going to be a good one. This episode was fun for me to record. We’re going to talk about how to create an organized mindset and culture in your business. It does have practical steps, but I’m trying to focus more on your mind and the thoughts and what’s keeping you from creating an organized business. I teach it in three steps and I think you’re really gonna like it.

00:00:23
Are you ready to work less, feel more organized and productive, streamline repetitive tasks, and implement systems that allow your coaching business to run smoothly even without you? If so, you’re in the right place. Welcome to the Organized Coach podcast, your go-to source for practical tips and solutions. I’m your host, Tracy Hoth, professional organizer, certified life coach, simplifying expert, and most of all, down-to-earth fellow coach just like you. No matter if you think you’re missing the organizing gene, have ADHD or just love anything organizing, I’m here to help you become an organized coach with a business that works for you.

00:01:04
Pull up a seat and let’s get started. Episode 19 but before we get started, next week is the free Organize Your Digital Files workshop. Three steps and it’s free, so make sure you’re registered the links in the show notes or you can go to my website, simplysquaredaway.com and at the very top, the bar at the top will have a link to get registered or go to my Instagram at @tracyhoth and it is in the bio there. Okay, this episode, are you disorganized how to create an organized mindset and culture in your business?

00:01:43
Three simple steps that I’m going to walk you through. What is so cool is if you are a coach, this is what you do with your clients. I mean, I’m adding a couple of little things, but this is what you do in your specialty. So I love this, and we all have these things come up in our life for a reason. They are a gift to us.

00:02:04
What is it there for? Why is this happening? What are you supposed to learn during this organization process, during this struggle? It is so fun for me to look at this with my clients in different areas. How this topic came up

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is from a couple of different reasons. One of my friends was like, Tracy, you’ve given us a lot of steps, a lot of practical things, which I love. That’s kind of what I love to do. I want practical steps. But she says, what about the mindset?

00:02:37
There’s lots of things that are blocking us. I mean, we can know these things, but why aren’t we doing it? So this is an episode just for her and all of you. And then the other thing, it came up this week with one of my clients. She said, this is why I can’t get organized.

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That thought has been what’s kept her from getting organized. That’s why I can’t get organized. Now, there’s going to be a lot of thoughts that you might have. So think of what your specific belief is, what your story is, that you’ve carried maybe from childhood, and you have really good reasons why it’s there. But just what is the thought?

00:03:18
It’s all too much. I don’t have time. For me, I never follow through. I start, but I never finish. I can’t focus.

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I can’t get organized. What is your thought? A lot of you. It might be, I have ADHD. My mind doesn’t work like that.

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Whatever your thought is, I want you to just take a moment, push pause for a second, and just really think about it. If I were to ask you the question, why aren’t you organized? What would your answer be? That’s a good place to start to try to figure out the answer, what your thought is, what your belief in your story is. Step number one is to break up with the old. We need to really break up with this thought.

00:04:05
If you’re a coach, you know this. And like I said, you help your clients do this. I’m going to give you a couple of things that I like to help my clients with. One of the first things is just to dissect the sentence. What does it mean that I can’t get organized?

00:04:21
What does organized mean, first of all, in your mind, if you were to define what it would look like if you were organized? Not really the specific things, but what would happen in your business, in your life if you were organized, what would be different? What does it mean to be organized? And then even go into almost every word? I can’t get organized.

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What does get organized mean? What does can’t mean? Have you never been able to organize one single thing? Like, what do you mean by I can’t? Let’s say it’s I don’t have time.

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What does have time mean? What does that look like? Can we find the definition of that? What does it mean that I never follow through. If we were to dissect that sentence never.

00:05:06
What does that actually mean? Never 100%. What does follow through mean? Really just go through each word in the sentence and dissect the sentence. Right before I started recording this, I went on my Instagram just to look at a quote I had just posted because I wanted to include that.

00:05:24
And I saw a reel by Brooklyn Jolly and it just made me laugh. I think she got it from someone’s comment, Mary Duffield. I don’t know her, but I think it was from a comment she wrote in a previous reel. One of the things, if you’re going to create an organized mindset, the first step is to dissect that sentence, to break up with the sentence. If you’re going to create an organized culture in your business, you have to set the standard that there’s no more inner critic allowed, no more self doubt allowed.

00:05:56
No more self-deprecating comments allowed. That doesn’t mean they’re not going to come up. But when you have them, this is one of the things Brooklyn said to do, is to recognize that that is just a thought. For example, if your thought was, that’s why I can’t get organized, you can say, that’s why I can’t get organized.

00:06:14
See that this is just a thought. It’s just something I’m thinking. Or she said, that’s why I can’t get organized. Allegedly. And when she said that, it just made my shoulders relax.

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It was funny. It made me kind of giggle. Her facial expression in it made me laugh. I was imagining myself telling myself, I can’t do this. I don’t have time.

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Allegedly. It just made me laugh. Then it almost made me have this challenge, like, they think I can’t do this, but they’re wrong because of the way she said “allegedly” after it. So I am going to try to remember, because that’s the main problem. I’m going to try to remember to practice that.

00:06:59
I don’t have time. Allegedly. I never follow through. Allegedly. But this time could be different.

00:07:06
I start, but I never finish. Allegedly. When you have an organized culture, you’re going to stop the inner critic. Anytime you notice it, you don’t have to stop thinking it, but add something to it. This is just a thought.

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Oh, this is when that thought comes up. Oh, this is what I was thinking. Or add to make it fun. Allegedly. Okay, so you’re going to break up with the old.

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You have to know what the old is and then dissect it to begin to break up with it. And for that organized culture in your business, that’s just not allowed anymore. And when it comes up, because it will have a plan, have a sentence that you’re going to reply to it with. Number two, when we’re talking about how to create an organized mindset and culture in your business is to start with one area. One area.

00:08:01
The area I like to start with whenever possible, is the digital files. Because I think that once I teach you how to think about your business in a structurally organized way, that you will be able to see that it will help you see your business differently, and it will affect a lot of different areas. It’ll save you time. It’ll give you an instant boost because you have been able to create some file folders and some structure. You might not finish the process right away, but you’ll have that initial structure.

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You’ll know where to put things. You’ll know where to go to get things. And you’ll begin to practice that thinking process in your head. I told you in the beginning, I’m doing the free workshop. You need to be in attendance of this workshop if your digital files are not perfectly organized.

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Okay, join me. I am going to teach you how I break it down and make it super simple. I love teaching and breaking things down and making them simple. So join the workshop. I don’t care necessarily.

00:09:10
You’re starting with this one area. Let’s say you do choose to start with digital files. I don’t think that you need to have every single digital file perfectly organized. In by business, I don’t. I love that my podcast folder has a structure to it.

00:09:25
I love how I have it set up. It’s very organized. I know exactly what to do to go into it. But that’s just that folder. I also have my Operations folder, the back end of my business.

00:09:39
The inside of it I have that fairly organized. And the other thing I love about my digital file organization is that my programs organize Life Academy and Organize and Systemize to Scale, and my new program, the Organized Coach Academy, which I can’t wait to tell you about it. I have a naming system, a file naming system that is so good, and I love it because the inside of that folder that holds all the resources and assets for those programs are very organized because the file name practically organizes themselves. And you can get the file naming formula cheat sheet for free. I’ll include the link below this.

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So my digital files aren’t fully all perfectly organized, but the ones that I use the most are organized in a way that helps me find what I need in seconds, know where things go, and it helps me not waste time in my business. The other stuff, I can get to that later. It’s no big deal that it’s not perfect once in a while. And I have that in my monthly plan. Not that I follow that perfectly, but one week out of the month, one of my tasks is to go into my digital organization and clear off my desktop and go into a folder or two and make them organized.

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I tend to do it. If I open a folder and it’s kind of messy, I’ll clean it up. It’ll just take a couple of seconds. But if I want to go deeper and this is what you should do, because you’re just starting to organize your digital files is block off some time, maybe each week, maybe each month, maybe 15 minutes a day. However, it works in your schedule to be able to sort and purge and rearrange the things into your digital file structure.

00:11:25
You don’t have to start with digital files. Maybe you’re going to just start with your calendar and creating some systems in your calendar, and you want to start with one time block. Maybe go listen to the episode with Georgie Bryant for The Power Hour, and maybe that’s where you’re going to start. You’re starting in one area and focusing in one spot to be organized in that area. Maybe it’s just creating one system.

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So go back to last week, I think it was, and listen to the podcast production and how I created a system or a documentation. And SOP for that task, first, you’re going to break up with the old. Second, you’re going to start in one area. Now that creates an organized mindset. Why?

00:12:12
Because you’re going to have success in that area. You’re going to focus in one area. There’s an episode coming up with Kim job, and she talks about picking one project for 30 days. Make that one of your projects. Do that for 30 days.

00:12:26
Focus on that one area that you’re going to get organized in and just do that. I have to say, I am just so excited for all my guests that I have on. It is so fun and I am learning so much, and I just feel like it’s so beneficial to all the coaches out there. So if there’s a topic you want to hear, let me know. If you think that you have something to share, reach out to me that other coaches would appreciate and learn from.

00:12:53
I have a list of coaches that replied to a post I put in a Facebook group, and I am working through that. So if you are one of those coaches, I am working through the list for guests. But if you are someone that thinks they have something to share, please reach out. Okay, break up with the old. Start with one area that you’re focused on.

00:13:14
And if you have a team, have the whole team join you in that one area. And then number three, have bursts of organized thoughts. So I had a client today and we were talking about I think her thought was, I’ll do it later. In regards to following through on what she planned on her calendar, one thing that came up in our conversation was in an area that she has success is she would just do five minute bursts. And so we talked about, okay, how do we have five minute bursts?

00:13:45
When you notice the thought, I’ll do it later, she’s going to implement a five minute burst so she can do it later, but first she has to do a five minute burst. So that made me just think, what if we did that with organized thoughts? What if we had five minute bursts of organized thoughts? These thoughts are going to change your unintentional loops. They’re going to write a different story about who you are and create new neuropathways for you and intentionally provide the evidence that you are organized, that you do have time, that you do follow through.

00:14:20
Now, at first, you might have to brainstorm your five minutes and even make it 1 minute. It doesn’t have to be five minutes, but you might have to brainstorm and write these down. And I got to thinking, where would I write this? Where would I keep track of it? Where am I going to find it easily?

00:14:37
That when I notice my unintentional thoughts are coming up, what am I going to do that’s fast and easy. So I thought, oh, I could put a digital sticky note on your desktop. Or better yet, if you haven’t listened to the organize your BOOKMARKS bar, you need to go listen to that and take some action. But what you could do, and this is what I think I would do is write these thoughts down on a Google Doc and then save the Google Doc to your BOOKMARKS bar. You will just have to click on one button.

00:15:09
It’s going to open the Google Doc or whatever document you have. It’s going to open it and you’re going to be able to see them immediately on your screen for this client. Then as she’s thinking I’m going to do it later, she notices that’s a thought she wants to correct or change. Then she can pull open this document and read. It could have lists of why you want to do what you said you were going to do.

00:15:33
It could have a bunch of new thoughts. So like I said, at first you might have to brainstorm. So pull that document up and write some of these things down. You might just be writing one piece of evidence. So for example, if you think you don’t have time, you might write I have plenty of time.

00:15:50
You might find some evidence that you have plenty of time. I watched a show last night. I scrolled on my phone for 45 minutes. Then you might decide to recite a few wrote once or future you thoughts like I am moving to organization. I am a woman or a man who makes organization a priority.

00:16:13
Then you might write down some grateful thoughts, things that you are grateful for when it comes to organization. So I’m going to go on a little rant with some thoughts and ideas for you. You can take some of these and then I have the transcript that I include in my blog post. So if you go to my blog simplysquaredaway.com podcast, you can pull the episode up and copy and paste them even. You won’t even have to type them out and then put them in your document.

00:16:41
Maybe it’s just notes on your phone. Put them in your notes and then keep adding to them. And every time you notice those thoughts that are keeping you from getting organized, then pull up this note and go on a five minute burst. So here’s an example. I am moving to organization.

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I am someone who makes organization a priority. I’m so grateful for this podcast. I’m grateful for a mind that can learn new skills. I am choosing organization. What if I really am organized, but I’ve never allowed it to come out?

00:17:15
My silverware drawer is organized. My client calls are organized. I show up on time. My webinar I just did was organized. My calendar is organized.

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My morning routine is organized. Whatever it is, find as much evidence as you can and write those down. I have two email folders that work just like me with my podcast folder. I’m creating a culture of organization by creating these new thoughts in my mind. Organization makes me feel calm.

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It is worth the effort because it’ll save me time. I love being organized. I am going to change the future of my business and of me by the work that I’m putting in right now. This is worth it. I am organized.

00:17:59
I love organizing. It’s good to choose what’s good for me. I am here for the work. I am creating an organized business. Those are just some that I could think of in this moment.

00:18:11
Brainstorm a bunch of other ones. And the key there too, is to find the evidence. So I was working with a client and she said that she doesn’t follow through, she doesn’t finish things. And I said, really? Then we started looking for the evidence that she does.

00:18:28
She realized when she commits to other people, she always follows through. People can completely rely on her because she follows through. She had just gotten back from vacation. I showed her, you follow through. You actually planned this vacation, packed, went on the vacation, and now you’re home.

00:18:45
You followed through on that. We just kept going with all the things that she followed through on. She actually realized, oh, yeah, I really do follow through. Then she could believe it because the evidence that she kept finding. So find the evidence, write down and recite future thoughts.

00:19:03
And then write down where you are. You are in the middle. You are not at the beginning of your journey. You’re in the middle. And we’re in the middle for a while.

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So it’s good news. We might be here for a long time. And that’s why it’s also good to define, like I talked about before, what organization actually means. Okay, that’s enough for today. How to create an organized mindset and culture in your business.

00:19:26
I want you to take action. Find the thought that’s keeping you from creating that, dissect it and then have some fun. Use allegedly when you notice that it comes up. And then number two, choose one area. What one area are you going to do?

00:19:42
Definitely sign up for the three steps to organize your digital files. It is September 13, Wednesday at 02:00 P.m. Central. And then start your burst. Start your five minute burst document so you have somewhere to go to recite how you want to be thinking.

00:20:00
It’s like training your brain over and over. Have a beautiful day creating an organized mindset and culture. Talk to you next week.

00:20:11
Thanks for listening to the episode. Please share this episode with your coaching bestie and tag me on Instagram at @tracyhoth. And of course, I would be so grateful if you could subscribe and leave a written review on Apple podcasts. It’s the number one way you can thank me to thank you go. Grab the File Naming Formula Cheat Sheet and watch the workshop replay three secrets to organize your digital files.

00:20:35
Both are linked in the show notes. Until next time, have a beautiful week.