#98 - Organize – Making Space for What Matters

0:00Speaker 1:This episode is part of a special series where I walk you through the Yabble framework, which is the way I help small business owners build inspiring, fun and sustainable businesses that actually fit their lives. If you missed episode two, we talked about wayfinding, the W in W-O-L and how to reconnect with your why. Today we're moving on to the O organize and no, not in the color-coded Pinterest perfect way. We're talking about making space for what really matters.

0:32Speaker 1:Hey there and welcome to Pattern Shift, the podcast where creative business owners like you learn to build a business that's inspiring, fun and sustainable. I'm Saskia de Feiter, a business strategist, guide maker and all-round creative entrepreneur. I help business owners in the needle and fiber craft world, just like you, navigate all those icky words, branding, marketing and strategy in a way that actually works for your creative brain. Here we talk about everything from running a values-driven business to simplifying your marketing without burning out.

1:12Speaker 1:Whether you're just starting out or looking to refine your business, you're in the right place. So settle in, grab a cup of tea, coffee or, you know, broekladich you do, you and let's get started. So about clearing space to support what really matters. As a small business owner in the textile craft world, I've had so many moments where everything just felt heavy, overwhelming, like wading through thick mud, and sometimes I can't tell myself if I'm exhausted and motivated or just drowning in decisions, and it's probably all of those things at once.

1:54Speaker 1:We accumulate so much tasks, tabs, digital clutter, emotional weight. When I had the shop I had so much stuff that I used for decorating the windows, the shop. There was just stuff everywhere. We're so busy keeping up that we don't even feel like we can pause to clear any of it. But organizing I mean real organizing isn't about tidying for the sake of it. It's about creating space, space to breathe, space to focus, space to build your business around your energy and your values, to stop working in your business and start working on your business.

2:41Speaker 1:So what does organizing actually mean in business? It isn't about having the prettiest notion set up or the most aesthetic calendar, though I really love both of those things. I actually designed the calendar and I love my notion, but it's a rabbit hole covered in chocolate. It's delicious and it's dangerous. And here's what I've learned over almost hole covered in chocolate. It's delicious and it's dangerous. And here's what I've learned over almost two decades in business Good enough is enough and consistency beats reinvention.

3:15Speaker 1:Every single time. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking the next tool or the next app will magically solve it all, but I can tell you you still have to do the work. What works for me is a simple, flexible combo. Bullet journaling brings together mindfulness and productivity in a day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month reflection process. A digital calendar brings structure, and Notion is for planning bigger projects, where I want to kind of build a database and connecting things together.

3:53Speaker 1:So these tools each serve a purpose. I have tried Trello and Asana and Apple Notes, but I've always come back to what actually works for me. So when we talk about organizing, what I'm really saying is build systems that support you, your brain and your real, actual life. Find what's good enough and stop trying to perfect it and, most of all, make space for what matters. Why? Simplicity is kindness and perhaps especially for neurodivergent brains, the thing about simplicity is that it can feel like a relief and a restriction at the same time, and a restriction at the same time.

4:44Speaker 1:As someone with ADHD, I crave simplicity, but I also secretly fear it. What if I get bored? What if this feels limiting? And I've come to understand this that clutter means friction, and friction isn't helpful for my kind of brain and, I dare to say, for no one. Mess, whether it's physical, mental or digital, really just slows me down. A messy desk Hard to think. A full drive it can make my brain feel overloaded. Notifications, random to-do lists, yarn piles, friction everywhere.

5:20Speaker 1:And when I started really actually decluttering not just my space but also my systems and my calendar, a huge shift happened. I moved from working in my business to actually working on it. I stopped doing busy work and started returning to what brings me joy creativity and alignment, because we sometimes forget why we even started this in the first place. Keeping things clear and uncluttered gives you the space to work on the things that you actually love doing, things that you actually love doing.

5:58Speaker 1:But there's an emotional side to decluttering. It's not easy and there's feelings of guilt, fear, fomo, the shoulds. All those things come up, especially when it comes to things like social media or how we're supposed to show up online. You don't have to do it like everyone else. In fact, I believe you really shouldn't. The more you build your business around what feels energizing and motivating, the better your business will feel, not just to you, but to the people you are trying to reach as well.

6:34Speaker 1:So take the time to listen to your body, your energy, your actual needs, not what's trending, not what your competitor is doing. What do you need? And being brave and the decluttering is a huge part in getting more clear about you, who you are in your business and what you need. It kind of all works together. So if you make small shifts, they can create big spaces. If this is resonating with you, I wanted to give you permission not just to start throwing everything away and like clearing your desk in one big swipe.

7:30Speaker 1:I know how that can work. Sometimes you get inspired by listening to a podcast or something and you're like I'm going to do it completely different from now on. But that can usually leave you really tired in a room full of mess everywhere. This happens to me and it might not be the best way forward. So just let me say this small shifts are really powerful. Recently I've made a few small shifts that created so much more calm and clarity and space in my business.

8:05Speaker 1:I've been restructuring how I sent newsletters. I've been simplifying my offers. I'm redesigning my week to fit how I actually function Now, organizing as a creative act. Let me talk about that. Planning and structuring your business might feel like admin, like boring, but no, it's creative work, it's an act of care and having systems and boundaries gives you freedom. They create breathing room, space to think, to play, to rest, to do what makes you tick.

8:43Speaker 1:I don't work weekends and I try not to work evenings. That space is sacred. I need it not just to rest but also to integrate what I've been doing, to simmer a little bit, to get some other input. That is not just about work, because when you're always on, always going, it's so easy to burn out. And I used to say burnout will never happen to me. I'm enjoying myself way too much and I think I even said burnout doesn't exist, yeah, and then it happens to me, and it happens multiple times.

9:28Speaker 1:When I reflect back, I know now that what we called different things in the past has been burnout for me and it's been connected to many things. It's been connected to a neurodivergent brain, but also to, yeah, keep just going, going, going, going and never allowing myself to stop, to be that perfectionist that's never happy with what they've done. I am so glad to say I'm not that person anymore. Of course, I still have to pay attention to signs of when I'm doing too much, but now I see it as a creative opportunity.

10:12Speaker 1:When I feel like something is off, I don't feel good. Like something is off, I don't feel good, I feel like I'm rushed all the time. I see it as an opportunity to do something creative that will help me and my clients to live a better life. So, yeah, try to make those things work for you. When you declutter your space, your business, your life, your mind, your everything, you get to create a spacious business. Your business can be soft and slow and structured, and not rushed and spiky and chaotic, and you don't have to choose between frolicking in the fields of flowers and getting stuff done.

11:00Speaker 1:This is not about doing less. It's about creating room for what you love. This isn't all necessarily about doing less. It's about creating room for what you love to do, so that you can be yourself in your business, you can shine and people will find you because you are uniquely you and you take care of yourself. I always like to give you something to try out. So here's a journaling prompt for your journal. Whether you have a bullet journal or just a piece of paper or whatever, you need pen and paper.

11:40Speaker 1:I recommend writing because the act of writing multiple times have been discovered, that it just lodges in your brain more than when you type. So here we go. You type, so here we go. What's one thing I keep doing in my business that's no longer serving me, and what would it look like to let that go or make that easier? How can things be more simple? Okay, let that simmer. You don't have to do this right away. It's something to think about in the coming week and I'd love to hear what you come up with and if you've done the exercise, just let me know.

12:30Speaker 1:So this episode is your invitation to simplify with intention, to organize, not for perfection, but to give you some peace, some space. And if you would like to do that in good company, come join us in the Yevo community. It's where we explore this kind of work together, with care and curiosity and lots of fun. Next time we'll step into the launch phase, bringing your ideas into the world in a way that aligns with your capacity and your vision. Until then, breathe, simplify, keep knitting and eating your fibers and show up in your own way.

13:11Speaker 1:Thanks for listening.