DO IT TODAY is a podcast hosted by Kara Cutruzzula, who asks friends and notable figures across creative industries about what they're doing that day—and how they're going to do it. It's an up close look at process and practice, a reminder for you to do your most meaningful work, and a mini dose of encouragement in 20 minutes or less.
Kara Cutruzzula: Hi everyone.
Welcome to Do It Today.
I'm Kara Cutruzzula, and today I am
talking with Linda Samuels, who's a
virtual professional organizer who
facilitates change in her client's lives.
Her company is called, oh,
so organized Finding balance
between chaos and Perfection.
Does this idea resonate with you?
Because it really resonates with me
and I'm so excited to talk to Linda
about all of this, especially at
this moment of change in seasons.
So Linda, thanks so much for being here.
where are you and what
are you doing today?
audioLindaSamuels11338709438: So
first of all, the most important thing
I'm doing today is talking with you,
and I'm so happy to be doing that,
and thank you for having me here.
so today, honestly, it
started as it normally does.
I like to have a slow start to my day.
I like to get up early and not
rush before the first thing.
So I meditate, I journal, I like to
have my coffee and breakfast while I'm
kind of reviewing my tasks for the day,
my schedule, and responding to emails.
Um, and that's kind of how I.
Start and then other things happen.
So I got to have a quick conversation
with our younger daughter, which
always makes me really happy.
I had a follow-up
conversation with a client.
I went to a Zoom meeting for
a group that I go to I'm a.
Professional organizer advisor for
this group called The Nest, which
is a wellness and professional
development, company for women.
And so they have different advisors.
So I attend that.
I'm hoping to take a nice walk by
the river today if it stops raining.
And then I have a couple
of projects I'm working on.
I have a workshop, about the
antidote to Discombobulation.
so I work on that.
And then, I have another, uh,
a round table that I'll be
leading, um, lessons learned.
And that's for a local organizers group.
So I'm gonna work a
little bit on that too.
Kara Cutruzzula: it sounds like
a lot of varied activities and I
was sort of struck by this, this
idea of not rushing in the morning.
I've just noticed, the difference in
attitude towards the rest of the day.
Starting from a place of not
feeling behind when you wake up,
not sort of scrambling compared
to that nice ease into the day.
how do you think that that changes
the tone or sets the tone for you?
audioLindaSamuels11338709438:
it makes all the difference.
there's so many things that I do that are.
Other focused.
I'm a helper by nature, and whether
that's my family, my clients,
you know, anyone I love to help.
And when you're someone that likes to
do that, if you don't feed yourself
first, you're gonna burn out super quick.
the idea of Taking my own pacing to
feed myself first, to wake up in a way
that I need to and put the good things
in, I'm then more available to others.
And so it really makes a huge difference.
And I don't think I always
had that ability to do it.
but at this point where
I'm at, it's an essential.
So for instance, um, if there's a morning
where for some reason I'm considering
not meditating, my husband will even say,
Meditating this morning, like he knows.
Kara Cutruzzula: It sounds
like you're going to.
You know, move through your day
with a sense of, control and, ease.
And I'm like, well, maybe I
should meditate like Linda.
would you have a sort of recommendation
first for someone who wants to try it out?
I.
audioLindaSamuels11338709438: the advice
that was given to me was that if you're
going to try it, it's great if you can
train with someone, even a short training.
But, I use, at this point when I use an
app Insight timer, which I like very much,
and there are one minute meditations,
there are one hour meditations, and
I'd say, average I would, I'd meditate
probably somewhere between 15 to 30
minutes in the morning, but there are
mornings where I know I just need to,
get myself to move a little faster.
And so I might only do a
five minute meditation.
it's not about perfection.
It's not really about
progressing anywhere.
It's just a practice that
helps me to settle myself.
And, be ready for the day.
So I find, you know, even during the
day, sometimes there's something that's
super stressful that happens and I would
say that it's not the formal practice
that I'm doing then, but I might.
Take the time to just
take a breath or two.
And again, the breath can be a meditation.
And often meditations are focused
around the breath, so it doesn't
have to be this huge, big thing.
and full disclosure, there are a lot
of people that meditate sitting up.
I actually meditate in bed.
I meditate, lying down,
Kara Cutruzzula: This sounds
amazing.
audioLindaSamuels11338709438:
yeah, I love to meditate.
You know, before I get up, it's
just a great way for me to start.
Kara Cutruzzula: so we are.
At the tail end of summer, we're talking
at this sort of last gasp of summer.
And I, don't love to say that because I
think it freaks people out, but I think
just this acknowledgement that like all
of our routines and habits are probably
going to change a little bit, as summer is
ending, do you have approaches that you
use with your clients for perhaps closing
down one season and starting the next.
audioLindaSamuels11338709438: Absolutely.
so one of the things that I
think is really, Fun to do.
it's what I call the success
check-in, I mean, you could
use it for wrapping up a season.
Wrapping up a project, but basically
what you're doing is you're
revisiting the past successes.
So let's say we're specifically talking
about wrapping up summer into fall.
So you're thinking about the
successes that you had in summer.
You're appreciating and learning from
any whoops or failures or mishaps that
happened, and then you're using those to
build upon and reset for the next season.
the review doesn't have to be
something time consuming or formal.
it could even just be a
willingness to think about it.
you know, kind of like taking
a walk down memory lane.
But for me personally, I'm a writer.
I know you're a writer too, so
I love to write things down.
So that's like a perfect
journaling type activity.
But you can also, let's say, look through
photos through the summer which might
jog your memory of things that happened.
also by looking at those
photos, it might bring on some,
reliving of happy experiences.
But when you're doing the review and
check-in, there's certain questions
that you might wanna ask yourself.
Things like, what did you do this summer?
Or, what projects did
you begin or complete?
where did you travel Or, What
new learning did you discover?
who did you enjoy spending time with?
Did you have time for yourself?
And what kind of self-care
did you engage in?
do you remember a favorite day that
you had and what made it significant
or what, challenges did you experience
and what did you learn for those?
So those are ways that you can kind
of, reflect on what was so that you
can make sense of it in some way.
That helps you to move forward to where
you're headed for the next season.
Kara Cutruzzula: you know, we all talk
about spring cleaning, but I feel like
fall cleaning has to be a thing too,
because, We have to switch out our,
summer clothes to our winter clothes,
and, we might have to, you know, move
things around if people are going back
to school, if you're starting new jobs.
You know, what have you seen in, in
your clients, who are trying to make
strides in organizing their life?
audioLindaSamuels11338709438:
first of all, I just wanted to
acknowledge what you're saying
about the shift of, of seasons.
So for example, the idea of spring
cleaning or fall cleaning, you
know, someone very clever in
marketing came up with those.
But the reality is that the seasons
and the change of seasons, which has
nothing to do with marketing, but it
has to do with like, Cycles of of life.
In a way.
These are wonderful times
to, do this sort of.
Recapping, reassessing, readjusting,
you know, you can do that at any moment.
You can reset for a day, in an
hour, you know, in a, a month.
But there's something very special
about resetting each season.
And living in the Northeast,
we have four seasons, so I've
grown up in four seasons and.
And there was something about
connecting to those that I find as
really integral sort of into the
process of how you're living your life.
Kara Cutruzzula: I was curious about this
connection between the organization of our
physical spaces and how that can create,
A cascade effect into like how we approach
our creative or work projects, basically.
You know, I've noticed if my desk
is a mess, if my desktop, my Google
drive, my files, my kitchen, if things
are in disarray, I really cannot
focus on my big creative projects.
cleaning up around me just
seems to set the stage for my
best kind of creative work.
And I'm just wondering if you've seen
that with people that you work with.
audioLindaSamuels11338709438:
there's so many themes that run
through the work that I do, but.
Very often, change is occurring and
we're working on some type of change
with change often comes letting go.
And it could be letting go of
physical stuff, clearing space.
It could be letting go of
ideas that no longer serve you.
There are all kinds of
letting go that happens.
It is really hard to move forward when
you feel stuck and overwhelmed by your
space, by things from the past that are
just they almost feel like a weight.
I would say that's how people
have described it, and I've
certainly experienced it myself.
Where you want to move forward,
but you're held back and.
sometimes those things, it's a
weight or a distraction in a way.
to prepare for a new season, there
are all kinds of things we need to do.
Like there's the physical space.
Absolutely.
preparing the environment, because as
you said, clutter can cause blockages and
thinking in our wellbeing, in the daily
flow or our routines, so, really a great
thing if you can make time to let go of
those things that you don't need anymore
and you don't want, and that are in your
way so that you physically, literally
can clear a path for this new season
or this new project and the new time.
But there's also preparing
emotionally and some of that
is prioritizing your self-care.
if you're gearing up for this,
New season and fall can be for
many of us, a really busy time.
Are you prioritizing your sleep and
you know, getting enough movement
in your day and doing nourishing
activities, hydrating, you know, to
fortify your energy and your reserves.
even things like.
Gathering your team have you collected
your go-to people, you know, your family
and your friends and your colleagues
and professional support who are gonna
be there to help you succeed and bounce
ideas off of and, you know, navigate
your frustrations or even cheer you on.
So all of those things help you move
forward and prepare for this next phase.
Kara Cutruzzula: what are some very
small, actionable things that we can
do on, say, a Monday afternoon to
set the stage for this next season.
audioLindaSamuels11338709438: you know
how we started at the beginning and
we talked about the daily practice,
the meditation practice, which could
be a lying down practice, which could
be a minute a day, you know, I'm also
thinking that there's a daily practice,
Of resetting or preparing yourself.
that might look like in the morning,
being intentional about what one to
five things you wanna focus on that day.
And then at the end of the
evening, deciding in advance
what is your stopping point and.
Taking some time at that time to
kind of wind down your day, so
you're handling some of these things.
So there are not too many
loose ends the next day.
I mean, look, we're never
gonna be done with everything.
that's the reality.
You know, we talk about productivity,
we talk about crossing stuff off our
list, but if we're living,
we're gonna have stuff to do.
And so what can you let go of and
what can you do a little bit of?
And then what is really the priority?
Where do you wanna really focus?
you know, even in moving forward to the
new season and figuring out, what you
can do to put aside even scheduling in
downtime, Like, it's okay not to do stuff,
you know, like that's really important
too, because if we're constantly busy
and doing, we can't even figure out what
we're trying to accomplish going forward,
Kara Cutruzzula: You know, my next
journal, which is out September
12th, is called Do It or Don't,
A Boundary Creating Journal.
And I wrote this and yet I do not take
some of the advice or I can't remember all
of the advice all the time, but you know,
there's a chapter called Make It Easy.
In which I advocate for setting up
systems for our creative work or our
work, work or relationships, setting up
sort of systems or guidelines around,
communication with our collaborators
or how we approach our deadlines.
And so you're not having to constantly,
Reinvent the wheel every time, or to
search for how do I respond to this,
or what do I really want to do or say?
this idea of making it easy on ourselves
seems to be in line with, what you
offer the people that you work with,
Like that should be our goal to sort
of say we're not going to eliminate
the to-do list and we're not going to
check everything off but maybe when we
do have these things in front of us,
approaching it with a sense of ease
and clarity might be the way forward.
audioLindaSamuels11338709438:
Somehow I think mixed with that
badge of busyness is also this
sense that we have to be perpetually
doing and accomplishing whatever.
like to get things done and to
be productive as much as the next
person, but I'm also realizing how
important it is to let that go too.
to allow yourself.
Not only to not be productive, but to
just be present being, and that's not like
a 24 7 thing where you're just sitting
and staring out the window or, watching
the leaves blow or the, the river run.
But, but we need a little of that
if you can't stop yourself long
enough to just be all the other
things that you're doing, you're.
gonna have a hard time being
present for those things and feeling
intentional about those things.
part of preparing for that next season
is really figuring out, well, what are
your goals and why are those your goals?
And if you take the time, it doesn't
have to be hours and hours, but to stop
and to really reflect on that, then
all the things you do will make sense.
Even the stopping doing
them will make sense.
just having that quiet for yourself too.
Kara Cutruzzula: You've written about
to-do lists and you advise people to
think about creating a not to-do list.
And when I read this, I was like, well,
I'll look at mine, but I know I have to
do all the things on this list because
otherwise why would they be there?
And then I started to kind of poke through
my list and I'm like, some of these
things are three months old, no longer
relevant to what it is important to me.
Now, some of these things are, Giant
projects that need to be broken down
into 50 to-dos and not, one line
with a little checkbox next to it.
But this idea of sort of clearing the,
brush, away from the things that are most
important to you really resonated with me.
And how can someone sort of look at.
What they have on their agenda
and assess, is this something
I really need to do, or is this
something that I do not need to do?
audioLindaSamuels11338709438:
So I think the step for that is,
having that conversation with
yourself why are you doing anything?
I'm not challenging you, I'm just
saying like, you ask yourself like,
what is driving you and what are the
things that are important to you?
And then, is this thing on my
list, does it align with that?
for instance, The why might be, the
things that drive, you have to do with,
family, with friends, with, making money,
with personal satisfaction through the
work that you're doing for, putting,
positive thoughts out in the world.
I mean, there's a zillion
reasons why we do what we do.
And then when we start to look at
our list of things, You can start
to see, well, does that tie into
the why of, of why I am living now?
Of course there are things that we
need to do that are just tasks of life.
We we may not like paying our bills,
but it's just one of those things.
There are an awful lot of other
things that end up on our list
that either could be delegated or
like you said, clear the brush?
Is that what you said?
I love that.
you know, they may have ended up on
that list, because they popped into our
head and we wanted a place to put them.
But when we look at them in the
context of the bigger picture, we're
realizing, you know what, this is
no longer something that I wanna
pursue and it's okay to let it go.
Or maybe it's something I can
delegate to someone else to do.
Or maybe it's just a.
Not now kind of thing.
Kara Cutruzzula: You have a website, a
blog, you've written a book, you have
a newsletter, and Instagram, Facebook,
LinkedIn, as we all do, a lot of people
who are making work and whose work
depends on connecting with people.
There are so many ways to be connected
So many notifications, so many
comments, so many ways to engage.
And one thing that sometimes overwhelms
me is the desire to respond, which then
sometimes contradicts with the need
to create work and do other things.
And I want to do both.
But I'm just wondering what some
strategies might be to control this
information that, it's things you actually
care about and want to do and, it's not.
trivial stuff.
you want to engage, but how can we do
that in a way that feels intentional?
audioLindaSamuels11338709438: I know
as a writer you're, putting things out
there but when you're putting something
out there and you set it up in a way
that allows people to respond, When they
respond, you wanna respond back, right?
That's like a natural thing because
you've put something in the universe
and you're creating a dialogue.
you're not looking necessarily for a one
way conversation, and so, as a blogger,
certainly I understand that, or even, you
know, being active on social media, but I
do draw, I do draw a time limit around it,
so it's not like I'm constantly looking
and doing, but I will take certain parts
of my day to check in to see if there's
something that needs a response But, I
don't let it take over everything because
again, I'm thinking of the bigger picture.
Why am I even doing it?
So it's twofold.
One, there's a lot of things that
get put out there for everyone
to read that is, Damaging and
awful and makes you feel terrible.
And my intent is to put stuff out
there that uplifts and informs and
helps people through the challenges
and struggles that I see all the time.
that's why I do it.
And if someone has responded
to it, I wanna be there, you
know, to, to respond back.
So that's how I look at it.
it's a conversation, but how much
time do you wanna spend on that
conversation because there are
other things that are going on.
And it's just a balance.
So I see it as a boundary issue.
you can think of it as a time
block or a boundary, but that's
kind of how I think of it.
Kara Cutruzzula: it all
comes back to boundaries.
Um, and I think that I, I often
think back to when my day-to-day life
was a lot busier and, and so I had
to compartmentalize things, and so
email batching was my best friend.
You know, I would look at my
inbox, but I would not open
anything unless it seemed urgent.
I absolutely would not respond to anything
until lunchtime or after lunchtime,
you know, like one or two o'clock.
And then I could just answer everything
in about 40 minutes and I sort of
close up that part of my life and then
be able to focus on, on deep work.
it's just so funny to remember things
that work for you in the past that
you completely abandoned and could
probably use, and, a new season might
be a great time to revisit that.
audioLindaSamuels11338709438: so that's
really interesting that you brought
that up because you just reflected
back on something that worked that
actually it could work for you now.
And, that's the beauty of kind of looking
back on past successes, which is kind
of where we started in a way of, There
are so many successful ways of working
and we don't always bring them forward.
When we move on, we kind of reinvent
or try something else or change
our habits, but very often bringing
something back that did work.
can work.
Again, not, it doesn't always, but
it sounds like something like that
could work really beautifully.
Kara Cutruzzula: I really did
appreciate those boundaries.
But I love this idea of remembering
the successes and remembering what
might've worked for you and , I
think can be so, so helpful.
So thank you for that.
Just sort of circle back to this
idea of closing down our days.
Do you have a closing up shop
routine or something that sort of.
Echoes the way in which you enter
your workday with the meditation
and, this like ease, which I'm,
I'm just gonna harp on forever now.
audioLindaSamuels11338709438: while
I have certain things set in my day,
I also give myself some flexibility.
you'll rarely see me scheduling things.
Butting up right to each other.
'cause I need a little flow in between
each thing to kind of reset, gather,
think about what just happened,
and be ready for the next thing.
And at the end of the day, I will stop.
I won't take clients after a certain hour.
and so then I know I'm starting
to shut down That working brain.
And that also means I'm probably not
gonna be working on other projects
and that will vary, probably by about
six o'clock at least, I'm gonna stop.
it might mean that I go take a walk by
myself or with a friend, and that's a
wonderful way to separate the workday
to the evening part of the day.
but at some point, I will change into
my pajamas, you know, bra off into the
pajamas, and that signals no more work.
So I'm not gonna answer emails,
I'm not gonna pick up the phone.
I am now on Linda time, and
again, it was not always that way.
You know, I, I've raised two daughters,
and so when you have little kids, there
is no, it's a very different pattern.
But at this stage of life, I can choose
to craft it in a way that supports what
I need and then allows me to support all
the other people that are in my life.
Kara Cutruzzula: I'm taking
pajama hour and just absolutely
using that in my own life.
what a great physical representation
of like, days over let's go.
this is, this is me time now.
well, I could talk to
you forever and ever.
thank you so much for making the time
and, helping us ease into the next season.
In a calm and more organized way,
I can't wait to learn more from
you in the near future as well.
You'll probably be getting
a call from me soon.
audioLindaSamuels11338709438:
Well, thank you so much.
it's such a joy to get to know you.
as I said before, I just.
The way that you write and what you put
out in the world and just keep doing it.
And thank you so much for having me today.
Kara Cutruzzula: Thanks, Linda.