From Wardrobe to Workload: Creating Harmony by Decluttering

My 3-year anniversary edition. Plus an important update.

Like most kids who grew up in the ‘90s, back when Oprah aired prime time at 4 pm, I picked up the odd tip from the talkshow titan when my mum attempted to listen but rarely sat down.

(I’m one of four kids.)

One of my biggest takeaways was from an episode on managing your wardrobe.

The rule of thumb was “Every time you add something to your wardrobe, you have to get rid of something else.”

Simple enough, right?

Wrong.

To put it bluntly, hoarding crap in your closet is a universal flaw.

Just think of every time you’ve protested parting ways with something because you might wear it someday.

Now think of every time you’ve struggled to find something in your closet because your heavily draped hangers were squished together, or you’ve wrestled an overstuffed drawer.

The worst, right?

The problem with holding onto stuff we don’t need while simultaneously adding more is we create conditions of cramming and overflow—which we internalize.

This leads to feelings of frustration and overwhelm as we go about our daily tasks (like getting dressed).

Thus, as Oprah preached 20 years ago, whatever is merely taking up space must be removed.

And her advice applies as much to your workload as it does to your wardrobe.

Workload Example

A month ago, I announced I was working toward my childhood dream of writing a book.

Upon congratulating me, several friends and family members added “You’ll have to stop your newsletter then.”

My initial reaction was “No.”

I was adamant about keeping it going since it’s been my biggest passion project and growth enhancer over the past three years.

I envisioned my book as an additional project I was fully capable of integrating since I can write and edit my newsletter faster now than when I started publishing 36 months ago.

But last weekend proved otherwise.

Despite allocating my Saturday to write (an opportunity I’d been sorely lacking), I couldn’t muster the energy to do so.

I wound up making a much healthier decision than I would’ve 18 months ago (before I stopped grinding and embraced a slower, more balanced pace of life).

I decided to have a well-deserved lazy day.

Instead of working on my book, I binged Nobody Wants This (which totally lives up to the hype) and had copious cups of tea by the fire.

It felt incredible to prioritize rest and upon reflecting on my slower-than-expected progress after five weeks of working on my book, I’ve finally come to terms with reality:

As long as I keep writing my weekly posts, my book writing will be shortchanged.

I’ve hit my stride with my weekly posts over 3 years and 151 editions.

Now it’s time to “refresh” my workload.

I have no desire to wrestle with “drawers and hangers” in the coming months, so I’ve made an important decision.

I’m hitting ‘Pause’ on my weekly Substack posts. From now until Christmas my book will be my priority on the writing front.

I’m excited about this change for two reasons.

Firstly, I’m proud of myself for the changes I’ve made over the past 18 months.

After burning out in summer 2023, I vowed to never extinguish my flame again. And following an injury in May that left me unable to work out for months, I am extremely grateful for my morning Pilates classes now.

A lot of supposed experts on Twitter claim you have to get up and write every morning to succeed.

But I’m at a point in my writing journey where I benefit from days off.

The past year and a half have reinforced the importance of harmony across all aspects of life and when one aspect starts to override the others, it’s important to rein it in to maintain an overall flow (FYI control and flow are core principles of Pilates).

Secondly, I’m proud of myself for knowing it’s time to “graduate” and move on to a bigger project.

It’s time to move the goalposts further.

Here’s a visual of my favourite soccer player “bending” the ball around every obstacle to highlight my goal (though full disclosure, I don’t watch soccer and “married a Spice Girl” is a large part of my “favourite player” attribution):

Read More of My Posts

In honour of my hitting ‘Pause’ after 3 years and 151 weeks of publishing, I’ve rounded up my favourite posts for you. So when you find yourself craving a slice of my Substack, check out the links below or peruse my archive.

I’ve grouped posts by theme below.

On Navigating Career Challenges

Here are seven of my rawest posts on overcoming challenges over the past three years:

1. The Paradox of Freedom. On the tradeoffs between being an employee and early-stage entrepreneur.

2. A Major Crossroads in My Solopreneur Journey. On being at a crossroads between getting a job and sticking with self-employment.

3. Therapy, Self-Awareness & Entrepreneurship. On succumbing to anxiety and burnout and seeking help to get back to myself.

4. Why I Wouldn't Delay Solopreneurship Because You’re Single. On not deferring dreams by waiting on “ideals.”

5. The Pain of Looking Back & The Power of Moving Forward. On reluctantly learning from the past and creating a better future.

6. Personal Brand, Professional Opportunities. On why I'm invested in tying my identity to my name.

7. My Big Break (And The Identity Shift Behind it). On the need for adequate support as an entrepreneur.

(Those who’ve been reading my writing since Fall 2021 can attest I’ve come a long way in infusing the personal into the professional. Through consistent effort, I’ve made enormous strides.)

On Empowerment, Healing & Well-being

1. Act It Out. On asking for what you want and being willing to walk away from alternatives.

2. Stumble & Stabilize. On the price of developing a new skill and finding peers to “stumble” with.

3. The Art of Healing. On fusing cracks in our lives with gold and celebrating our uniqueness.

4. Take Care of You. On being your own advocate at work and in healthcare.

5. Four Life Hacks From The Ultimate Online Community. On the life-changing magic of sending cold emails, being “bad,” and more.

6. Don’t Defer Happiness to a Future State You May Never Achieve. On the power of changing “one day” to “day one.”

7. Be Confident Enough To Let Go. On clearing out what no longer serves you to make space for what does.

8. Come-to-Jesus Moments. On how taking breaks can trigger major life changes.

9. Stop Holding Yourself Back. On conquering your fear of “taking up space.”

10. Keep Climbing. On what I learned from failing to reach the top of my biggest professional mountain to date.

On Online Course & Workshop Creation

1. What Every Course Creator Needs (But Doesn’t Know to Ask For). On my 5-step framework to design effective and engaging courses.

2. How to Create Engaging Online Workshops. On my 5-step process to design and deliver effective workshops.

3. Make Course Sales & Marketing Less Hard & More Robust. On a startup principle that helps you with both.

4. Why Most Cohort-Based Courses Are Designed to Fail. On the business opportunity most course creators sleep on.

5. Why Course Creators With Small Audiences Build The Best Courses. On the opportunity to start small and then scale.

6. This One Exercise Will Help You Decide Which Course to Create. On using what lights you up to illuminate the path forward.

7. Create Career Assets. On what solopreneurship taught me about scaling and avoiding burnout.

8. Three Valuable Resources to Structure Business Models & Ideas. On my biggest takeaways from working at a startup hub.

On Writing & Editing

1. Why Most Writing Falls Flat. On how to avoid boring people.

2. 7 Steps to Publish Weekly. On how to start writing consistently.

3. Embrace Being Bad. On a key lesson from 100 weeks of publishing.

As you read through my archive, feel free to add comments or drop me a note about anything that strikes you. I’ll still be checking my messages and notifications while my publishing is on pause. So I’d love to hear from you.

A Parting Reminder

As we settle into “cozy season,” I hope you remember this:

Source

Thanks for reading and have a wonder-full autumn,

Alexandra

P.S. Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians. I hope you have a wonderful long weekend with family and friends against the backdrop of beautiful fall foliage.