Organize Anything

We all know what a To-Do List is, but have you heard of a "worry list"?

No? Then read on as I talk about a "hack" that's making a huge difference for me - instead of writing down all my tasks and chores, I write down what's worrying me/taking my mental attention, and it's changing everything about how I prioritize my day.

https://loom.ly/XzrLlBo

The List You're Not Making (But Probably Should Be) Why a worry list may be more useful than your to-do list. I often encourage people to make lists.

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1702690651862263&set=a.748173683980636

The event designer makes a case for filling your fall calendar with people and play.

I'm so excited and proud to be part of this book. Here's the official media release.

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ICD® releases “The Chronic Disorganization Tapestry,” a comprehensive, expert-written resource for individuals, professional organizers, and related practitioners
LARCHMONT, NY — A new book released August 6, 2026 by the Institute for Challenging Disorganization® aims to help those impacted by chronic disorganization as well as the professionals who work with them.

The book is titled The Chronic Disorganization Tapestry: How to Thrive Despite Organizing Challenges. Chronic disorganization is defined as disorganization that persists over a long period of time, frequently undermines quality of life, and recurs despite repeated self-help attempts.

This challenge is faced by millions of people globally, which is why the nonprofit ICD® aims to offer resources and education. The guidebook is intended not just for professional organizers but also for those who are affected by chronic disorganization and other related professionals who work with people impacted by organizing challenges.

“Whether you live with chronic disorganization or are an organizing professional working with clients, this easy-to-implement guidebook supports anyone who recognizes—and wants to address—the frustration of disorganization,” said Nacho Eguiarte, Director of Publications for ICD. “As the premier resource on chronic disorganization, ICD needed to offer clear and practical solutions for those whose quality of life has been affected by it. The Tapestry, as we affectionately call it, provides hope and guidance to face any organizing challenge successfully in your life.”

The book’s 12 chapters each tackle a chronic disorganization topic, including communicating, aging, hoarding behaviors, life transitions that impact organizing, time management, productivity, and how to give and receive support. Each chapter includes definitions, case studies, how the issue impacts people, and strategies. The strategies also include real examples, offering actionable steps for those seeking to make lasting changes in their lives.

Chronic disorganization may be present with brain-based challenges such as ADHD, anxiety, depression, hoarding disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, or traumatic brain injury. Thus, the chapters are carefully structured to help neurodivergent minds process details faster.

“The ICD Book Publication Task Force worked closely with our authors to create a valuable resource for both professionals and those with lived experience managing chronic disorganization,” said Carolyn Caldwell, Task Force Chair. “The book is specifically structured to make it easy for the neurodivergent reader to consume. Authors have included valuable resource material and information along with strategies and practical tips anyone can apply to their situation.”

One chapter discusses how ADHD impacts organizing. The chapter author, Sara Skillen, offers a real story about “Jo.” Rather than diving right in, Jo’s professional organizer began working with her by talking about her needs and goals as well as her challenges.

“‘Getting organized’ isn’t a one-time activity, and professional organizers don’t come over and tell you what to do,” Skillen explained. “Our work digs deeper into how people will organize differently and strives to find solutions that work for them long term.”

Skillen offered some of the solutions that helped Jo, such as tackling the easiest decisions in the room first. She checked pacing and matched it to Jo’s preference and provided a flexible but clear structure for the order of operations.

For Dr. Catherine A. Roster, a researcher from the University of New Mexico, the book is “the authoritative resource for understanding chronic disorganization. As its title suggests, the book skillfully weaves together a richly detailed but highly accessible description of the characteristics, contributing factors, and challenges of living with or working with individuals affected by chronic disorganization.” According to Dr Ari Tuckman, “It is loaded with strategies to not only help clients manage the stuff in their life but to feel good about the process and themselves.”

The book is available for purchase worldwide through all Amazon markets and through IngramSpark’s network of distribution and retail partners including Barnes & Noble.

Learn more at https://www.challengingdisorganization.org/the-chronic-disorganization-tapestry/.

About ICD

The Institute for Challenging Disorganization® is a 501(c)(3) educational organization that aims to provide education, research, and strategies to benefit people challenged by chronic disorganization. Our community is made up of professional organizers, productivity specialists, and other related professionals who work to help those affected by chronic disorganization. ICD partners with counselors, coaches, therapists, researchers, and doctors so subscribers can provide clients with strategies for working with their brains’ natural tendencies and access to the latest research, techniques, and best practices. Learn more at challengingdisorganization.org.

Why Due Dates Motivate Progress and How to Benefit From Them An unfinished quilt became the inspiration for a simple framework that can help you finally complete the creative projects that have been haunting you.

In this week's newsletter, I explore the idea of "lifestyle shrinkflation" - and why organization isn't really about neat closets or labelled bins. It's about removing the everyday friction that keeps us from saying "yes" to the people, places, and experiences that make life meaningful!

https://loom.ly/gNvm8X0

Lifestyle Shrinkflation: Is Your World Getting Smaller? How organization helps protect your independence, expand your possibilities, and preserve the life you still want to live. Lately, I've noticed three words coming up in conversations more often than ever.

We have plenty of books about retirement. They focus on the same things. Finances. Healthcare. Where to live. What to do with all that empty time.

This is not that book.

Barbara Pagano wrote *The 60-Something Crisis* for people who have checked those boxes and still feel something missing. The boredom that creeps in after the first year of freedom. The quiet question that won't go away: is this all there is?

She interviewed over two hundred retirees. She read the research. She also lived it. This is a book about the last third of life, not as a slow decline, but as a stage of genuine growth. It won a Nautilus Book Award. It deserves to.

Here are five lessons:

1. Happiness is not the goal. Fulfillment is.
Happiness is a feeling. It comes and goes. Fulfillment is something else. It is the sense that you are using your time, your skills, your energy on things that matter to you. You can be fulfilled on a hard day. You can be happy on an easy one. Pagano argues that retirees focus too much on the easy and lose sight of the meaningful. Stop asking: Does this make me happy? Start asking: Does this feel worth doing?

2. Passion is overrated. Desire is better.
The self-help industry loves passion. Find your passion. Follow your passion. Live your passion. Pagano thinks this is unhelpful. Passion is a high bar. Many people reach their sixties without a burning vocation. They feel like failures. She offers an alternative: desire. What do you want to try? What are you curious about? What would you do if you didn't have to be good at it? Desire is smaller than passion. It is also more accessible. And following small desires often leads to bigger ones.

3. You have to learn risk-taking all over again.
You spent decades managing risk. Saving for retirement. Building a career. Raising children. Playing it safe. Now the stakes have changed. The worst that can happen is often not that bad. But the muscle for taking risks has atrophied.

Pagano writes about the importance of small, deliberate risks. Signing up for a class you might fail. Traveling somewhere unfamiliar. Starting a project with no guarantee of success. Not reckless. Just brave enough. Each risk builds confidence for the next.

4. Kinship changes after sixty.
Your social world shifts. Colleagues retire. Friends move. Family dynamics evolve. The casual connections of the workplace disappear. Pagano argues that building new kinship networks is not optional. It is essential.

This does not mean replacing old friends. It means adding new ones. Different generations. Different backgrounds. Different life experiences. Proximity is not enough. You have to be intentional. You have to show up. You have to risk the awkwardness of being the new person again.

5. Freedom is not the absence of structure. It is the presence of choice.
Many retirees struggle with the open expanse of unstructured time. They thought freedom would feel like liberation. It feels like vertigo. Pagano's insight: freedom requires its own kind of discipline. Not the discipline of a boss or a schedule. The discipline of choosing what matters. You do not have to fill every hour. But you cannot drift through every hour either. The sweet spot is between too much structure and too little. Enough to feel purposeful. Enough to feel free.

*The 60-Something Crisis* is not a book about slowing down. It is a book about speeding up, in a different direction. It asks more of you than most retirement books. It also offers more.

Pagano writes: "You are not winding down. You are winding up."

That is the whole argument. That is the whole gift. Read it if you are ready to believe it.

BOOK: https://amzn.to/4eyBjal