In this episode of Transform Your Workplace, Brandon Laws sits down with Wendy Ellin, decluttering and organization expert, to learn how disorganization contributes to both personal and workplace stress. Wendy talks about her 3P Academy — targeted strategy courses for virtually any organizational issue — and best practices for helping employees find greater productivity, performance, and peace of mind both at home and at work.
GUEST AT A GLANCE
Wendy Ellin is a straight-shooting organization coach passionate about helping her clients implement organization strategies that work. She is also the creator of 3P Academy, organizational courses aimed at increasing learners’ productivity, performance, and peace of mind.
A QUICK GLIMPSE INTO OUR PODCAST
🔊 Podcast: Transform Your Workplace, sponsored by Xenium HR
🎙️ Host: Brandon Laws
📋 In his own words: “The Transform Your Workplace podcast is your go-to source for the latest workplace trends, big ideas, and time-tested methods straight from the mouths of industry experts and respected thought-leaders.”
GETTING THINGS DONE
Like many of us, Wendy Ellin is no stranger to Corporate America. Over the years, she has continued to see a common thread among her colleagues and leaders — that almost everyone around her, despite how successful they were, was stressed out and overwhelmed. “People were willing to work that way,” she said, “and I just didn’t understand it.”
Wendy had always used systems to keep her organized and ultimately mitigate stress. “So when I left Corporate America in 2000, I wanted to figure out what I could do to give back to the world. I realized that I had this gift for getting things done. If I could teach people how to work the way I worked, the job would look so much different.”
Ever since, Wendy has been transforming very busy, disorganized professionals’ lives. After all, stress comes in all shapes and sizes, “and so much of that due to a lack of organizational systems.”
PODCAST EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
The Stress of Disorganization
“They don’t feel good about it. They’re a little embarrassed about it, and they’re also worried about losing their job. But when’s the last time anyone ever asked, when they interviewed, ‘Hey, by the way, are you organized?’ Aren’t you gonna say ‘yes’? So it’s all these people that are suffering in silence, and organizations don’t even know that they have this problem.”
For Any Organizational Issue
“Productivity, performance, and peace of mind — which is why it’s called Wendy Ellin’s 3P Academy. It is for every single person out there that has any type of issue. When I say any type of issue, I mean procrastination, perfectionism, multi-tasking, setting boundaries around your time, creating a morning routine, technology, clutter, being on time.”
No Such Thing as Perfect
“Let me just say this: I am not looking for 100%. I am 80% organized. […] There’s no such thing as perfection, and it’s why people don’t do this — because if they can’t get it 100%, then why bother? And so I’m 80% organized, which looks like five work days ‘cause that’s all I care about. I’m off-the-grid on the weekends.”
Staying Consistent
“They have to not only implement them but stick with them long enough to reap the benefits. Right? You don’t go on Weight Watchers, and all of a sudden you lose 20 pounds. You go on Weight Watchers and, in the first week, you lose three. Next week, you lose three more, and all of a sudden you’re inching up to your goal.
It’s the same thing with getting organized. […] Well, the top three New Year’s resolutions are to lose weight, quit smoking, and get organized. What do they all have in common?
You gotta want it bad enough. There’s gotta be an end goal for you.”
Organization and Culture
“I was on the phone with a client the other day. […] She had a t-shirt on that said ‘You can’t love the culture and not support the people. Brilliant. And if you’re gonna be focused on the culture of your organization, you have to support your people. How do you support your people where they might have a problem? This is a big one that no one talks about.”
Seeing the Results
“So that at the end of this program, you’ve got people who are not living with physical clutter. They’re not living with electronic clutter. They can find and put their hands on anything they need immediately. They’re honoring their word about deliverables. They’re being realistic about how much they can get done in a 24-hour period. They’re actually setting boundaries around their time. They’re deciding that it doesn’t need to be a meeting, but maybe it just needs to be a conversation. […] They’re not multitasking anymore or switch-tasking ‘cause they know how to focus, and they’re not distracted.
They’re not procrastinating because there’s no need to. They’re not looking for perfectionism because this is 80%.”
LEARN MORE
Ready to get organized? Go to Wendy Ellin’s website and take the Productivity Assessment or get info about her 3P Academy.