[00:00:00] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: ... Welcome, I am Marketing Expert and Business Coach Melissa Kellogg Lueck, and this is the Doing Business Like a Woman podcast, where we are exploring and teaching you how women are reinventing the way business is done and money is made to help you create greater impact and financial freedom, one business at a time.
[00:00:24] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: Okay. Hello. Hello friends. Thank you so much for joining us today. I have a special guest to introduce you to and I'm so excited to dive right in. This is gonna be a real valuable session for you all about organization, which we all. Need more of. So I'm gonna go ahead and introduce my guest and then we're gonna dive right in.
[00:00:52] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: I have with us today Tracy Hoth She is a 17 year veteran, professional [00:01:00] organizer, and certified life coach who is on a mission to empower coaches to create streamlined and organ organized businesses. She is the host of the top 1% globally ranked organized coach, podcast, and creator of the Organized Coach Academy, where she simplifies everything to help coaches become organized CEOs.
[00:01:24] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: Welcome Tracy. Thank you so much for joining us today, and I'm really glad you're here.
[00:01:30] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: Thanks, Melissa. I'm so excited to be here and talk about getting organized. I know. I love it. And so we were introduced by my friend Robin McIntyre. She's a student of yours, and she has literally been telling me about you and your work for years.
[00:01:50] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: And I'm like, oh, that's great, honey. That's, I'm so glad you're getting organized. And, but she would continue to tell me and tell me and tell me, and then. [00:02:00] Earlier this year, I'm like, what month are we in earlier this year? She's like, Tracy's having you know this special and just, just go check it out for me.
[00:02:10] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: I know I've told you about her, but just go check it out. Because she's gonna be doubling her prices. And I was like, all right, I'll go check it out. And so that's how I got introduced to you and to Organized Coach Academy. And I looked through all the things and I really think, I mean, it was just like, I don't know, you know how.
[00:02:31] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: Things happen for a reason, right? Yes. I believe things happen for a reason, and it was just the perfect time for me to be introduced to your work because I think year, I think this year is not intentionally planned this way, but has become like the year of systems for me. Ooh. And so when I was looking over your stuff, I was just in this place where I really needed to organize.
[00:02:58] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: You know? I felt like I just had. [00:03:00] Tasks and projects and things coming at me from all angles and clients coming at me from all angles. And thank God, right? I was feeling very blessed to have all the activity happening, but I just wasn't able to get it organized. And so I'm like, do I hire someone? And so I talked to my business coach about it and she was like, well, you know.
[00:03:25] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: Where you're at now, if you hire someone and bring them into this, you're just gonna be spending the time that you would be getting organized yourself, you know, managing them and overseeing their activities. Yes. So you're gonna spend the time anyway. So I was like, all right, I need to get some things organized myself.
[00:03:49] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: I have the capability of managing this business, but I'm just not organized. And so that's how I came to you and, and I'm so glad because [00:04:00] I haven't done the whole academy, but Right. I've picked and I've been picking and choosing what I know is gonna really give me some big wins. So I would love to hear from you.
[00:04:11] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: I mean, that's my whole problem, but what are some of the. Big problems that you often see are the reasons that clients come to you. Ooh, such a good question. First Robin. Thank you. You're amazing. You'll be listening to this. I will tag her. Yes, and Robin. Everyone needs more people like Robin in your life.
[00:04:32] Tracy Hoth: Oh my gosh, she's such an encouragement to me. Okay, so why do people come? They can't find what they need. They're stressed out because maybe they do have an assistant, and like you just said, they can't get what the people need. They don't even know what they're doing. So they're spending their time finding the things that the assistant needs to do their job, and they could have just done the job themself, you know, faster [00:05:00] than that.
[00:05:00] Tracy Hoth: So there's those people. There's people that have like a DHD or some sort of neurodivergent or gap in what they. Feel like they can do. So that might look like prioritizing. They're not priorit able to prioritize well or they don't have a, a system to execute their to-dos. Like where do they write all these things?
[00:05:22] Tracy Hoth: They don't have one place, so they have scattered places and so they just feel overwhelmed. All of it. And something you said stood out, like we often maybe energetically turn away. Clients in business because we're thinking, well, oh my gosh, if I get those people, I don't have that organized. I need, so I need to do so many things.
[00:05:44] Tracy Hoth: So we're not getting the people that we want possibly because we don't have anything in place too. So, mm-hmm. Lots of those different things. But I think a lot of it's the overwhelm or the stress or the anxiety sets them up because they're not [00:06:00] able to find what they need, which is the definition of organizing, knowing what you have and being able to find it when you need it.
[00:06:06] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: Yeah. Yeah. And that was totally me as well. Like not, you know, energetically not really being open to new business, new opportunities because I was feeling overwhelmed, like, where am I gonna put. Put any of it, you know? Yeah. I feel so stretched right now that if anything more comes at me, I'm, you know, I'm gonna drop the ball or I'm gonna keep dropping the ball.
[00:06:30] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: Right, right. And what I love about your approach, and I'd love for you to talk more about this, but what I love about your approach is like, it's very simple and here's the framework, but. Y you know, I'm here to help you apply it to your specific way of doing things, right? So it wasn't so rigid to where it takes away, you know, you have to have exactly your system.
[00:06:56] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: It's a pretty simple framework. Yes, [00:07:00] and I like that. And I also then within my program, have a call a month so that people can bring, here's my specific situation. Here's what my business looks like, so how can I make this work? Or, I feel like this part. I can't figure out how to customize it to make it work for me.
[00:07:19] Tracy Hoth: Mm-hmm. And we have a community too, inside Slack that you could ask questions anytime, but I love helping people solve those problems. But yes, having the simple framework, and so for me it's like if we have an organized mindset, and that's where it really all begins. Mm-hmm. And we have an organized computer and we have systems.
[00:07:40] Tracy Hoth: That's kind of my three part. Like if you have those three things and you can break it down like that, then you are gonna be an organized CEO because you have those three things. And so the My Organized Coach Academy includes those three parts. We look at your mindset, we look at your computer and how to be most efficient and find things.
[00:07:59] Tracy Hoth: And then [00:08:00] we also look at systems. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And that was really helpful for me thinking about, 'cause I wanted to skip over the mindset part at the beginning of your program. Everyone does. I'm just being honest that, you know, it needs to go in the middle. I mean, at the beginning. Yeah. And but I was like, no, you gotta just, 'cause I know the importance of mindset.
[00:08:22] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: Like that's what I coach my clients on all the time too. And so. So I made myself go through that and I really did see how the way I was thinking about organization is the beginning of the problem. So talk a little bit more about that. Mm-hmm. Yes. I mean, it come, goes back to what do you believe about yourself.
[00:08:46] Tracy Hoth: What's your identity as a person who can get organized, who is organized, and what do you believe about your ability to get there? I mean, is it even possible for you? Have you always been a messy person? Does your [00:09:00] brain not think like that? Like, what is it that that's keeping you from getting organized?
[00:09:05] Tracy Hoth: And I will tell people, just answer the question like, why am I not already organized? Then you have to think like, oh, 'cause I don't have time. I don't know how, there's no, I don't know what kind of structure. So is it a skill gap or is it a mindset gap? Is it beliefs that you have about yourself? Because I'll go, we'll teach you both, but it's you being clear on what's happening in your mind about what it is and the reasons why you're not already organized.
[00:09:35] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: Yeah, yeah. And for me it was like. A lot of the, I should be able to figure this out. Yes. That's a big one. I should be able to do this. I don't need to pay for this 'cause I should be able to. Why? Why do people think they should be able to you? We are never taught that anywhere. Nobody teaches you how to organize, especially [00:10:00] coming in or creating your own business.
[00:10:03] Tracy Hoth: We have. We have all the things we have to do, and so to think that we should know how to organize it too is just crazy. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We didn't come out of the womb organized. And even if your mom or your parent taught you or was an example to you to get organized, it doesn't mean it transfers to your business.
[00:10:27] Tracy Hoth: For me, like I have been organizing in people's homes and offices for 17 years, but when I started my online business. All of a sudden I'm like, what am I doing? Like I gotta figure this out. I gotta use my organizing steps. I got to learn how to make this simple so my brain can remember it and use the concept of the wonderful one.
[00:10:49] Tracy Hoth: Like deciding on one place, deciding on one system, you know, one tool instead of. Trying it all and giving into all the [00:11:00] distractions that are available to us. Yeah, for sure. So on that note, tell us a little bit how you got, about how you got into this work. Tell us your story a little bit. Well, back when I had little children, I stayed home with my four kids and when my youngest started preschool, I, I was like, I'm gonna be an organizer.
[00:11:22] Tracy Hoth: I had been collecting photos, you know, back then it was just magazine photos and then I. Started helping people get organized in their homes and in their offices. I started speaking on the topic. I started growing my email list, and then in 2017 I was introduced to coaching and I knew that I wanted to transition.
[00:11:43] Tracy Hoth: I didn't always wanna be in people's homes. It was a really physical job, and I was driving there, and so I. Got coach certified in 2018, and then I started helping people online. At first, I was like, people aren't gonna be able to get organized without me being there in person. And then I used [00:12:00] the tools that I was learning with the through coach training and the mindset and how we work and what's keeping you stuck.
[00:12:07] Tracy Hoth: And it was like, it blew my own mind that people could do it and I was helping them create plans and how to go about it, and then coaching them on the obstacles that were coming up. As I grew that my own business online, like I couldn't find things. I was making duplicates. I was doing all the things. And so I really had to back up and say, okay, Tracy, let's tackle this problem.
[00:12:31] Tracy Hoth: Let's make it really simple. And then once I did that, I realized, oh my gosh, there are so many business owners that have to be out there having worked with people in their homes and offices. I knew that. How are they doing it? Because they're not using those steps. They don't know how to do it. And so I just started helping business owners, coaches get organized and it was, it's just so fun.
[00:12:58] Tracy Hoth: I love it so much. I [00:13:00] love sharing screens and being on there to show 'em, you just do this. And they're like, oh my goodness. It's like their mind just opens up and they're like, it could be this simple. And I'm like, yes. We just need someone to show us how. So I've just loved it. Yeah, and I found myself, I love that because I found myself, even though I haven't like gone through all the things and followed you forever, I still like have you on my shoulder.
[00:13:26] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: Like I just, I was at a conference. For women entrepreneurs all week last week, and I just got back on Sunday and I've been exhausted and yesterday, Monday I sat down at my desk and I was just feeling totally overwhelmed and then there was a little trace down on my shoulder like just, just do a brain dump.
[00:13:45] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: Let's just dump it all out. Yes. Because we have that module on time and so we use, the great thing is my five organizing steps work for every single thing. So they work for digital stuff, physical stuff, you [00:14:00] know, our calendar, our mind. So whenever you're overwhelmed, whenever you feel like you have to-dos everywhere.
[00:14:06] Tracy Hoth: Just stop and do that, sort it into categories, calls, computer work, project one, home errands, and then purge, go back through the categories and purge, and then assign homes on your calendar to them and contain them in a time limit. Mm-hmm. And it's so easy then. Yeah. Yeah. It really helped me get out of over overwhelm, so that's, yeah.
[00:14:29] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: Amazing. Amazing work. Yeah, and it's so, you know, it's like the, it is so simple, but yet. Just knowing the process I think is very powerful. So talk a little bit about the cost of disorganization for business owners and what is it really costing us? Yes. So many things and, and each person that's listening can kind of think about themselves and their business and what it's costing you.[00:15:00]
[00:15:00] Tracy Hoth: But one of the biggest things is time. I mean, you're looking for things, you're searching, you're remaking things, you're overbuying. 'cause you can't even remember that course you bought two years ago that you don't know how to log into, you know, that kind of thing. So you're buying things and thinking that the answers out there somewhere.
[00:15:19] Tracy Hoth: And so time for sure. When I say that, I always want people to think, let's say there's a study that shows it, take it, people waste two and a half hours a day looking for things that they can't find that they need to do for their job. Wow. And so I think if you're looking for things and overwhelmed by your desktop and you're, you know, finding sites you need and how many tabs you have open, if we multiply that by your hourly rate or by a client.
[00:15:51] Tracy Hoth: It helps you see the money that it's costing you by wasting the time. Mm-hmm. So I always tell people, think about that, what the time it's [00:16:00] wasting. The other thing is your cortisol levels, like your health, your anxious, overwhelmed feelings that you have when you're trying to get a client, something that they need, but you don't know where it is and you're like going from one fire to the next instead of having a system or.
[00:16:18] Tracy Hoth: More, better, I guess, time management. Mm-hmm. Then I even think of time management. You could put an appointment on the calendar and give yourself an hour to do it, but if you can't find what you need and you waste the first 30 minutes trying to find stuff, then you've like, now you think you're bad at time management too, when really, if you were just more organized, you would've been able to find what you needed and get it done in the time you've allotted.
[00:16:42] Tracy Hoth: Yeah. Yeah. So those are some of the big ones. There was one other one I was thinking of. Oh, confidence, I think about this. So, and it kind of goes back to that energetic part of getting clients the confidence that you have because, you know, you feel like a, a [00:17:00] organized CEO, you're gonna go out and sell different, you're gonna receive, like, be able to receive clients because you're organized.
[00:17:07] Tracy Hoth: So I feel like that confidence thing is a big, a big one, you know? Mm-hmm. So those are some four. Do you think of other ones? Well, I think the, the cognitive or the brain space Oh, yes. That we spend, because I find my brain will try to hold onto all the things that I'm like. I'm using air quotes supposed to remember, right?
[00:17:33] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: Mm-hmm. And so that's been a big, huge, that's been a huge thing for me with going through your program is using the time organization and like the time and task organization has really helped me to. My brain to be able to let those things go, let those things go, and just rather than, oh, I'm forgetting.
[00:17:54] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: No, it's on the list. It's scheduled for this day. It's, you know, [00:18:00] it's on the calendar. There's a time spot for it. Like yeah. That really has helped me to down regulate from some anxiety. Yes, that, I love that you said that too. And it's not only. I mean, it's that example for sure, but then it's also the negative talk that you give yourself.
[00:18:21] Tracy Hoth: Mm-hmm. Like, I should have done this. I should know better. I should have a system in place. I should, you know, all that negative talk that we say to ourself as well. Mm-hmm. In that brain space. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And the, the, you know, my brain loves to offer. I don't have time or I don't have enough time. And when I am following my process for organizing my tasks and my time, then I can just point right back to that and be like, no, brain.
[00:18:51] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: We actually have plenty of time. Yeah. All the things are on the calendar. And have a, have [00:19:00] time already allotted to them. So there's, yeah, there's a, it brings for me a lot more, a lot more peace, I think. Yes. Yeah. Uhhuh and, and I think about too, you were saying the to-dos in your calendar and what you need to do, but even all the things where you need one place, like you want to relieve your brain of that remembering things.
[00:19:22] Tracy Hoth: So do you have one place you write your to-dos down, like in the middle of the. Call, where do you write that and how do you process it? Let's say there's something next to you, you write it on if you're in the middle of something, but then do you have a system for processing it? Mm-hmm. And do you have a place, one place that you write ideas?
[00:19:39] Tracy Hoth: Mm-hmm. And so those were some of the things too that I think are helping the decision making or the cognitive load in your mind, knowing where those places are that you or, or having designated. The one place that you keep track of ideas and to-dos and your links that you need and [00:20:00] all of that. Mm-hmm.
[00:20:02] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: Yeah, and I think we have to each develop our own systems because. Those thoughts and those ideas, those tasks come to, especially for us as women, we have things coming at us from all angles and half the ideas or the things that are requested of me don't happen when I'm sitting in front of my beautiful project management software come at me when I'm in the car, in the shower, making dinner, you know, all the other times.
[00:20:29] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: Mm-hmm. So, yeah, that's right. You have to have something to really process to collect those and process them. Yeah, and the, the process of testing something and being consistent with it for a week or a month or whatever time slot and then saying, okay, I like this about it. I didn't like this. I'm gonna test this next until we find a system and decide what works for us too is really important.
[00:20:55] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: Yeah, that's been really helpful for that. You approach it [00:21:00] that way because it's a lot less about judgment and doing things perfect and just. Knowing the basic framework and then approaching organization from there. Yeah, and, and something that came up with organization. I think people should look at it like a project and plan for it, like a project.
[00:21:20] Tracy Hoth: So they're gonna do it in Q2, let's say. At the beginning of the quarter, you're gonna plan on how you're gonna execute, organizing your business, and then you're gonna have an end date just like you would for redoing your website or you know. Some marketing T technique or a plan. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You have a start and end date and you have tasks along the way that you're gonna do when you approach organization like that.
[00:21:48] Tracy Hoth: It's not about, I'm gonna try this and I'm gonna do this once in a while, you know, and then you get discouraged 'cause it's not making headway. Mm-hmm. Kinda like eating, like if I just ate [00:22:00] healthy one day, but not the rest of the days, you know? So if you have a start and an end time on. The, the majority of the project, I think it's motivating because you see, oh my gosh, it's working, I'm seeing, I'm creating this evidence.
[00:22:13] Tracy Hoth: Now. Your mind shift, your mindset is shifting, and now it's all coming together. Yeah, I, I love that. And that you don't have to do it all at once. 'cause that's always my thinking, like, okay, I decided I'm gonna get organized and now I'm gonna do it all and I'm gonna do it this week before Friday. That's right.
[00:22:33] Tracy Hoth: And even if you break that project up, like in the quarter four, I'm gonna do my digital files in quarter one, I'm gonna focus on my systems. Like looking at it like that too is a great way to do it. Yeah, I love that. So how do you help those of us that feel like we are neurodiverse or maybe have even been diagnosed with A DHD?
[00:22:58] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: I know a lot of [00:23:00] entrepreneurs are either diagnosed or undiagnosed A DHD, and or maybe we just have beliefs about our ability to organize and it's just not for us. Like how do you approach that? First, I think that I make it so simple as far as the framework, like you mentioned, that it doesn't matter necessarily what, how you think or what is there when it comes to that.
[00:23:27] Tracy Hoth: The other thing, as far as my program is I have it. Many different things in there. Like I have a checklist and I have a checklist for each thing. I keep the video short. I have little tutorials so that it's easy. I've been told that it's helpful to have those parts of it in there. For someone that has a DHD, maybe a longer video's harder, not having a checklist, but then having those calls so we can customize something that's keeping you.
[00:23:55] Tracy Hoth: Stuck from that. Hmm. I know with one-on-one clients that I have [00:24:00] those, there's are some things with executive functioning that we work on, and again, that goes back to maybe prioritizing or maybe figuring out what their system would look like. So all those things kind of going at it where the. Person notices there's a problem.
[00:24:19] Tracy Hoth: I think I start there by looking at okay, then what's gonna help them? Mm-hmm. Having done it for so long, like a lot of people struggle with this organization that maybe are in that situation that they don't even think they can get organized or they haven't been able to find that success. So we try to find the places where they have the success they haven't even thought of before, and bring what's working for them into the new place.
[00:24:46] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: Nice. I love that. So let's talk about where should we start with organizing? So I know we could probably all raise our hands [00:25:00] and that if those of us that feel like we're disorganized in some aspect of our business or our life. So where do we start to get the biggest ROI. Yeah, I pick three areas and you can start with whichever one of these three that feel exciting, I guess.
[00:25:21] Tracy Hoth: But when I help someone, I have an offer that includes these three areas to work one-on-one. And so the first one is the bookmarks bar. And or the favorites bar, the favorite sidebar, whatever your browser uses mm-hmm. To set up the things that you go to often. Now, all of a sudden with one click you can get to all the, your calendar, your Google Drive, your.
[00:25:48] Tracy Hoth: Canva, whatever other things that you, your chat, GPT, whatever things you use all the time, you can get to it in one click. And then I also have folders for things. I love teaching people [00:26:00] to use the bookmarks bar to have folders for the current coaching program they're in. And in that folder you have a link to the login, you have a link to the.
[00:26:11] Tracy Hoth: The notes in a Google Doc that you take notes on when you're on calls. Mm-hmm. You have a link to everything you need for that program. I have my client notes linked in another folder, so when I have a client, I just open, like, hover that folder, go down to the initials of the client and open their notes.
[00:26:29] Tracy Hoth: The notes have the zoom link and the, any other resources we need with the dates. I just, it's just so easy to use the bookmarks bar, but people have never. Learned how to do that. They don't know how to do that. So showing someone, it's like the most exciting thing. That's one area because now all the tabs that they keep open 'cause they're worried they're not gonna be able to get back to 'em.
[00:26:52] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: Mm-hmm. We have 'em saved. So we just go through tab by tab. We're like, okay, do you know how to find that? Yep. And now they can close [00:27:00] all their tabs and it's like, Tracy, you don't know when the last time I closed my tabs were because they didn't know how to get back to 'em or they were worried about it.
[00:27:07] Tracy Hoth: Yeah. Another area is the digital files. I think once you know that you are confident to know where your files live, that it's so, it releases so much stress or frustration because you can find the things that you need. Mm-hmm. So I teach a. Five file folder system for businesses to use. That pretty much works.
[00:27:32] Tracy Hoth: Every once in a while we'll have maybe like a non coach, a small business owner that might have a different folder that's needed. But when you think about your computer, your files come into personal and business. And then in business they have five files. I can, I'll share 'em. I also have a class where I show you like the picture, how it would look, and I teach you how to do it so you can take the class.
[00:27:59] Tracy Hoth: But the five [00:28:00] files are operations. Is anything behind the scenes marketing Is anything outward facing? My content is anything you make. And then education is anything. Someone else has made. So all your certifications and the courses and the coaches. And then the fifth file is clients, so operations in marketing, my content education and clients.
[00:28:28] Tracy Hoth: And now you have trained your brain, something comes into your computer, you're downloading it, it goes into one of those five folders, if it's for business, and it just all of a sudden you're like, oh. I mean, I can remember that. That's pretty easy. Mm-hmm. It might take a while to get, to get, have that just so ingrained in your head.
[00:28:48] Tracy Hoth: And now I use those same five folders in my email. I use those same five folders in my Canva. So now my brain only has to remember that one system. Mm-hmm. And it makes it so [00:29:00] easy. So now organization becomes like, oh, my brain knows it only has to choose between five. Yeah. I implemented that in my asana too.
[00:29:10] Tracy Hoth: Oh, nice. Okay. So we can use it in that. Use it everywhere. So yeah, those two. So the bookmarks bar and the digital files, those are the two main places I would recommend someone starts. The other, the third one that I was gonna say is having, I run my business off business dashboards, I call 'em, they're Google sheets that I've.
[00:29:32] Tracy Hoth: Formatted. So they look amazing. They're super pretty. But my business dashboard has the tabs along the bottom, and there those are categories. And so I can find every single thing I need, all the links, like if I'm, I'm building out a funnel right now and I know where all the links for the funnel are.
[00:29:49] Tracy Hoth: 'cause it's on a tab called Funnels. You know, and I know if I'm gonna be on someone's podcast, I have a brand folder at the bottom and it has everything I would need, all my links, my [00:30:00] headshot link, my bio, and I just pull so I get to it because it's on my bookmarks bar, and then I can get to anything that I need in my business.
[00:30:09] Tracy Hoth: It's all the important things are linked in that dashboard. Cool. I love that. I haven't gotten that far yet, so Oh, you are gonna love it now you're making me excited. Yes, I know. Yeah, so all that's in Organized Coach Academy too, and I show you how I share screens and do tutorials and stuff, and you get to download, that's the only place that the business dashboard is available, is within the course.
[00:30:33] Tracy Hoth: And so yes, you can download that. I love that. And then you just start throwing your assets into it as you're. Needing something. Like if you go get a link to your free class, then you're like, oh, let me put that in here. So now I no longer have to go into here and click over here and go into that folder.
[00:30:52] Tracy Hoth: It's linked in your dashboard and I think that requires making it a standard in your business to [00:31:00] only do something once. Right? Like only create that link or find, make that file one once and then you put the link. Where it's supposed to be in the dashboard, right, right. Or yeah, or creating a, you know, the process.
[00:31:15] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: So my, based off what I learned from you, like my weekly, when I am planning out my week, I have all my tasks and they're broken up into your five categories. So I have those five categories in my Asana, my project management with all the tasks in there, and then I have 'em broken down into like. Daily, weekly, monthly, or one time or projects?
[00:31:41] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: Yes. And then I even use that same terminology on my calendar. So like operations. So you know, I have like an operations block. On my calendar. Ooh. But then I can just go to my, my Asana, my project manager and go into the operations [00:32:00] project and like all my tasks for the day are right there. Oh my goodness.
[00:32:04] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: I am so proud of you. I'm so excited. You should do a video on this and share it in our group. Okay. I'll, that's amazing. Yeah. Yeah. And so that was really helpful. So when I came back from this conference and you know, I had home stuff. You know, work stuff, follow up from the conference, all kinds of stuff. I did my dump list of all of that, and then I just, you know, continually asked myself what else, what else, what else was in my head.
[00:32:36] Tracy Hoth: Yeah. And then I went through each one of those things that came outta my head and I categorized it into those five categories. So it just went on that task list and then they all disappear from my dump list, which is really nice. Oh my goodness. And you're using now, I hadn't really thought about using it for to-dos, but I love that.
[00:32:55] Tracy Hoth: See, I'm learning from you now, we learning or [00:33:00] having only those five files now is, is translating over into another area of your life or another area of your business. Yeah. Yeah. That's amazing. Yeah, so that's really helped me out a lot. So. What do you, or how do you recommend we maintain a great organization system?
[00:33:21] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: Because I think oftentimes when we especially hire a coach like you, and you come in and you help us get all organized, and then I almost feel intimidated that I won't be able to keep up with it. Yeah. So how do you, you know, how do you recommend we keep up with it, maintain it, and keep going? Yes. And so when you organize, you think about the declutter section, the sort and purge, you think about the organizing, which is assigning homes and containing, and the last step, I'm calling it energize, where you.
[00:33:59] Tracy Hoth: [00:34:00] Enjoy the space. You go back and enjoy it and really think about that. Like you're in it, you open your computer, you see your desktop, you open your Google Drive, wherever you decided to keep things and you see the organization. But the other part of that is to tie it to something that you already do, tie maintaining it to something you already do.
[00:34:22] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: Hmm. Cleaning your desktop off is like cleaning your countertop off in your kitchen, like you have to put things away that have accumulated there on a regular basis or the top, even the top of your desk, like looking at the little notes you've written for yourself or if, if you're out and about and your system is to record.
[00:34:43] Tracy Hoth: Audio files or something or send yourself a text or whatever it is with ideas. There has to be a time when you maintain that and all that is, is putting that time on your calendar just like you're doing now with your other tasks. It's [00:35:00] just adding that to your calendar and at first you might, it might be something easy to skip over.
[00:35:07] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: So what do we need to do to encourage ourselves to make sure we do that? Is that we need to get accountable with someone. Do we need to have like a little checklist printed off and when you get to 10 because you've maintained it 10 times, you get a reward? Or like what kinds of little. Things could you do, could you time yourself and see how fast you could do it?
[00:35:29] Tracy Hoth: And then next time try to time yourself and go faster with the maintenance part of it or you know, just different things like that. But the, the last step of being organized is to maintain it. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So we just have to figure out what's gonna work and ha and put it, and I mean, really it's making an appointment for yourself.
[00:35:50] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: Yeah. Yes. Yeah. And then rewarding yourself accordingly. I mean, I'm a check. I get a lot of dopamine off that check in that box. Yes, I know. Oh, there's so many [00:36:00] apps now. Not that I want you to get another app because you literally could print a checklist and tape it behind your monitor and it would be just as good.
[00:36:07] Tracy Hoth: But there's so many of those, like habit apps and making a streak or you know. Yeah. Making sure they, you keep it up. Yeah. For me, and you might already, you might already meet with someone to be accountable. Mm-hmm. And maybe that's just something you say, okay, this is what I'm working on to maintain my organization, make sure I check in with you on that and show you my desktop or, you know, whatever it is.
[00:36:31] Tracy Hoth: Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. So, okay, so as we, you know, we've talked about a lot of things. Yeah. And so I'm sure everyone is fired up about getting organized in their business. What do you recommend? Where do we start? What are our first few steps to really get some traction around getting organized? I'd say first, ask yourself why you're not.
[00:36:58] Tracy Hoth: Not in a [00:37:00] judgmental way at all, just to see your reasons that come up. So then you kind of see like, oh, it's a mindset thing, or it's a skill thing. Do I need to learn something? Do I have no idea how to do it? That's the first thing. And then the practical thing, I would say to make, to decide on the one place you're gonna.
[00:37:21] Tracy Hoth: Organize first regarding digital files. So if you're gonna keep digital files on your computer, let's organize your computer. If it's gonna be in Google Drive, do it in Google Drive, but just start somewhere and make the five files okay, and begin to sort your all the files on your desktop and then in your documents, and then in your downloads.
[00:37:43] Tracy Hoth: Sort all of them into the five files and get the class. It's simply squared away.com/five files the number five, and then files. And you can watch that and see. It'll tell you what they are and it'll show you a picture of how to make 'em and [00:38:00] all that. Nice. Yeah, and it is very simple and you know, I think one of the things that I learned about myself in going through this is that I can use.
[00:38:13] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: My thoughts around not being good at organizing and telling myself, well, I need to get more organized, can sometimes be a stall tactic or a buffering exercise. Right. Do you. Yes. Experience that. Yeah, for sure. And it's so ingrained in there that it takes a while. So just to start saying, oh, there it is. I notice it's there again that I, I'm telling myself I'm not organized.
[00:38:40] Tracy Hoth: I'm saying the thought that I'm not organized. Mm-hmm. And just begin to notice that and then say, but, and I like someone shared one time to say it kind of cheeky, like say, but what if I really am like or something. But Oh, I do have evidence that I [00:39:00] am, and like start making a list of evidence that you are, or someone once said, well, I can plan a vacation.
[00:39:06] Tracy Hoth: Like no one's business. I have every detail mapped out. I know exactly where I keep 'em and I'm like, look, you're organized. And so that was one of her evidences that she was, or I made the five files. Mm-hmm. You know, I haven't gotten to the next step yet, but I did make 'em, so I'm on my way to get organized.
[00:39:23] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: Yeah, I'm organized there. Right? Yeah. It is about finding that evidence of where it's true that you are organized. Yeah. 'cause no, none of us are a hundred percent organized. I would imagine even Tracy Ho is not a hundred percent organized. Well, and so this gives me the opportunity to say to people too, if you can be, if you can know what you have and find it when you need it, 80% of the time.
[00:39:48] Tracy Hoth: You are organized, like we don't need to have perfection, we don't need to spend time when we could be marketing our business. Doing the little anal things like that could be our [00:40:00] reward if we're really enjoying that. But we need to be marketing our business and then we need to be doing specific tasks to get organized and to maintain it.
[00:40:09] Tracy Hoth: But yes, if you can find what you need 80% of the time you are organized. I love that. That's awesome. All right, so as we wrap up, is there anything else? That was a huge word of wisdom right there, but is there anything else that I haven't asked that you would like to make a point of saying or talking about?
[00:40:32] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: Man, I feel like we really covered it all. Gave some good examples. Your examples were so good and helpful too. Okay. So be encouraged. It's possible for every single person to organize their business, to organize their life. Just know that the skill of organizing transfers into the other parts of your life too.
[00:40:54] Tracy Hoth: So if you're learning it here in the Coach Academy, it's going to bleed over into your [00:41:00] home and into your life, which is a benefit. So you're investing in a skill that's going to. Really impact you and your life. Awesome. I love that. Thank you so much for stopping by today and tell everyone where they can learn more about you.
[00:41:16] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: Where's the best place to follow you and get in on all your goodness? Yes. Well, my website is simply squared away.com. You can get everything there on the website and then also listen to Organized Coach podcast. If you wanna start. Seeing what I'm about and what I teach. You'll like a lot of those episodes are really practical.
[00:41:38] Tracy Hoth: And then I just did a series on the mindset part of it and digging deep be below the surface of what's going on there. So that's kind of fun if you like that kind of stuff too. Awesome. Well thank you very much. I really appreciate you and I look forward to getting more and more organized. Yes, thanks Melissa, for having me.
[00:41:58] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: Take [00:42:00] care.
[00:42:01] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: Hey, if you like this podcast, I wanna invite you to become part of my community. The link is in the show notes. Each Friday, I'm gonna deliver to your inbox my weekly celebration, as well as my thoughts on the latest and business and marketing. I wanna keep you in the know about my upcoming events.
[00:42:20] Melissa Kellogg Lueck: Free trainings, book clubs, all the fun things, even some free gifts. And of course, I'm gonna let you know about these new podcast episodes. I'll see you there.
