July 2008 Contents
I. The Relaxed Goals of August
II. Energy Management: Translations from the Psych Research Lab, the Board Room, and the Shrink’s Couch
III. Friends in Print: When you feel like reading
IV. Creative Links
V. Newsletter and Info: Share this newsletter, subscribe, or unsubscribe

I. The Relaxed Goals of August
Well, now, everything is out of the closet that needs to come out and, after vacuuming, I can store my artwork away from my work space. That’s the good news.

The bad news (besides not selling art fast enough to eliminate any storage needs) is that I’ve unleashed a cascade of tasks that go with purging any space. Not difficult, just strings of actions to find out where things can go, and the physical timing of the several steps to get them there. Gathering and staging for a garage sale can easily become its own new project, so that got abandoned.

As a coach, I’m probably supposed to have an easier time keeping the Big Picture in mind while I’m doing the Next Step of finding a box to get old board games to the thrift store. But I get distracted by the messy box collection and start to lose steam. Maybe especially as a coach, I can get tired of how the Big Picture is also an invitation to constantly move toward goals, to better my life. It’s easy to want to push back and let the goal be --- well---just to be. To let my life be just fine. August is a good month for that - for those lifestyle goals that are often less go and more letting go.

Now that’s a goal for anyone, coach or not: clear out the closet AND stay relaxed about the tasks, the decisions, and the memories that come up. As an artist, I’ve learned certain stages of my work are all about letting go. Maybe I’ll transfer some of that quality to the rest of my closet work. Maybe I’ll just waltz back out to the messy box area and see what happens.
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II. Energy Management: Translations from the Psych Research Lab, the Board Room and the Shrink’s Couch
Morgenstern, Julie. When Organizing Isn’t Enough: SHED Your Stuff, Change Your Life. 2008.
Morgenstern is a long-time coach who has helped hundreds of people focus on the physical details of organizing time and space.* In her latest book, she offers deeper guidance as well, tying each of her proposed steps to identity and how identity shifts over the different chapters of our lives. Especially if you are ready for a change in your creative life, you could apply her tools directly to your artmaking.

Her SHED formula is
1. Separate the Treasure
2. Heave the Trash
3. Embrace (your new) Identity, and
4. Drive Yourself Forward

She’s quite humble in warning that her best concrete steps may not work at times and encourages deeper exploration of identity shifts to move through these stuck spots. In closet cleaning, for example, which “me” wanted to keep fabric and patterns to make my own clothes? Following that question led to honoring the many women in my childhood who used their great needle skills to help put food on the table. Realizing the childhood root of this, I can still honor them and my memories and also accept that I’m not making my own clothes any more.

Using her ways to find out from within whether our stuff is treasure or trash can clear lots of physical and emotional space. You may then feel a bit adrift without the props from your older identities and not yet inhabiting your new sense of self. Her calm approach with helping you be comfortable with this particular discomfort is reassuring and a much needed antidote to the organization gurus who focus on more brutal surface clean-outs.

She suggests starting with your wallet or purse, entry-way or bathroom. Reorganizing places you visit every day will pay back the most for your effort. (I probably should have started there and worked my way up to the closet.)
*Morgenstern, Julie. Never Check E-mail in the Morning. 2005.
Morgenstern, Julie. Organizing from the Inside Out. 2^nd Edition. 2004.
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III. Friends in Print: When you feel like reading
Britten, Rhonda.  Change Your Life in 30 Days: A Journey to Finding Your True Self. 2005.
Britten takes you through Makeover Bootcamp if you really want a new you. Her approach is similar to ‘taking a fearless and moral personal inventory’ as one does in 12-step programs. Discovering ways you fudge with the truth, make commitments that never get kept, and avoid taking risks are some of the checkpoints she has you take a look at. Although not for the faint of heart, she also includes ways to learn more confidence, recognize positives, and build self esteem.
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IV. Creative Links
It’s easier to send stuff out of our lives if it’s going to a good home. To give and get books for free, try bookmooch (www.bookmooch.com). Once you’ve got 10 titles to give away, you can also get 10 (the giver pays postage). Overall you may not reduce your quantity of books, but you can shift their content to support the next stage of creative life rather one that is on its way out.

To find a good home for a wedding gown and contribute to a good cause, go to www.makingmemories.org for those created since 2000 and for "Quilters Against Breast Cancer^TM"  (“If your passion is creating magnificent works of quilted art, then join with the quilters and stitchers worldwide who transform the unpolished gems of damaged wedding dresses into quilted jewels.”). Go to www.bridalgarden.org (click on Charity) for those earlier ‘vintage’ dresses.

V. E-mail changes. To change your e-mail address, subscribe, or unsubscribe please e-mail connect@dianereardon.com. If you use a spam filter, please add this e-mail address to your list of approved senders. This material is included on the breakTHROUGH Creativity Coaching (website www.dianereardon.com) All material is copyrighted ©, 31 July 2008, Diane Reardon. All rights reserved. Visit the website for back issues and details on scheduling a complimentary one-hour coaching session.
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