Do you find that every time you sit down to focus on your job search those items on your to-do list get in your way? Or that messy closet suddenly needs cleaning out? Or do those negative thoughts that undermine your abilities pop into your head?

Staying organized and confident in your job search is key to success, so this step in our guided series is meant to clear away those obstacles. Here are steps to take to simplify, organize and silence the negative thoughts!

1. CLEAN OUT YOUR PHYSICAL SPACE

Organizational coach Laurie Palau offers a six-week, room-by-room clean out strategy that includes pointers on getting other family members to do their share. We love it. Get started >>

2. LET GO OF NEGATIVE THOUGHTS THAT AFFECT CONFIDENCE

  • Practice forgetting as a strategy for succeeding.  It’s easy to let old, negative thoughts cloud your thinking and prevent you from acting on ideas or thoughts. “It’s as if I am carrying around a 20-ton suitcase of unforgettable moments that weigh me down, keep me exhausted and block my ability to focus on the present moment.” To move on, you have to forget, a lesson Johanna Beyer learned listening to her son’s baseball coach.
  • Ditch the working mother guilt. Who will pick up the kids or handle all the many (many!) things that make your family’s life function? Questions like these may haunt you, but Lauren Smith Brody, author of The Fifth Trimester, offers helpful context and research to support the benefits of and strengths that come from working. And professional organizer and time management coach Julie Morgenstern, author of Time to Parent, offers a life-changing framework for letting go of the mom guilt around working by answering the question around how much time kids need to feel loved and secured. Learn more >>

3. TACKLE YOUR “TO DO” LIST

Sometimes making headway on small things has a bigger effect of building momentum and moving things forward. Crossing things off a list feels great and also helps eliminate some of the “to do’s” that loom over us and lead to procrastination.

 

+ THREE READS

10 Things Happy Moms Do Differently

4 Tips to a Personal Day without Guilt

How Organization Can Equal Freedom 

+ GET THE FULL SERIES