Golden Windows

Have you ever found yourself in a place of heightened productivity and/or organization? It may be realizing you’ve recently made multiple trips to the donation center, had the sudden urge to purge a closet, or the unexplained need to buy a new planner and allllllll the accessories. Whatever the behavior is that reveals itself and sparks a feeling of “wow, why am I feeling like this?” might be the result of being in or entering what Lisa Woodruff of Organize 365 calls a golden window. A golden window is a span of time where the stars seem to align perfectly and your energy, productivity and desire for organization is at it’s peak.

Everybody experiences these moments of productive bliss, though you might not realize you are in a golden window until it’s too late. Knowing when these windows happen will help you be prepared to fully embrace the extra energy you are able and willing to give your home and your home life. Recognizing a golden window can mean the difference between a started project and a finished one, so lets delve more into this pretty awesome phenomenon.

When do golden windows happen?

Golden windows tend to happen around life’s transitions. Whether it be a milestone birthday or a move, these things on the calendar can create the perfect opportunity to get your stuff done! The most common golden windows include:

• Moving

• Starting or leaving a job

• A new season of life (for example: new baby, divorce, retirement, marriage)

• Recovering from a major illness or loss

• Milestone birthdays (especially, for some reason, your 40th)

Why do these milestones make us feel this way?

Golden windows open due to heightened awareness paired with a willingness to act. Disrupting your normal routine can reveal these feelings because you are not buried in the monotony of a “normal” day/week/month.

I think it’s time for an example:

Your youngest child is heading off to college - their bags are packed, the car is loaded up and you will be dropping them off to live on their own for the first time ever. This isn’t something that happens very often, in fact, it just might disrupt not only one routine, but most of the routines in your life at the time. You no longer need to drive your child to (or attend) after school events, no more cooking dinners for them, dealing with their laundry (whether they do it or you do it, it’s still on your radar), and you all of a sudden have more mental space than you are used to. You may have more alone time with your spouse than ever, or you may be sitting alone on the couch after work with “nothing to do”.

You’ve got yourself a golden window!! This is the time where you are more alert to changes in and around your life. You have more free time, more physical space available than you have in a while, and your calendar is more clear. You might not feel like you want to clear out your child’s bedroom yet, but you may be super motivated to finally organize your office space into that craft space you’ve always envisioned. The errands and tasks you’ve been too busy to tend to are finally feeling doable, and are easily crossed off your list. You are on a roll!

Now the trick is: making sure you take full advantage of this time while you can, because there will be a time that window will close after you’ve established that new routine and settled into your new life. So how do we make sure that we don’t miss such an awesome opportunity?

1. Know when golden windows happen and why. Major life changes, milestone birthdays and the natural cycle of a year can all disrupt our routine enough to give us an extra push towards heightened productivity and organization.

2. Think about when your next golden window might be. As of the date of this blog post, it is probably right around the corner as we have a new year coming up! The opportunity for a new beginning with a new year often creates a golden window for most people at this time. Even amidst the holiday planning, there is a sense of a clean slate ahead. A new calendar, a new month, and so many plans for the future.

3. List out the things you would like to accomplish during your next golden window. It can range from simply going through your dresser to a full house declutter. Think back to other windows of opportunity when you had more energy - what can you realistically accomplish? Write a short list of your goals and make sure they are aligned with your season of life. If you are in the middle of a move over the new year, you might want to use this time to declutter and pack instead of working through that sourdough cookbook you have next to your bed.

4. Think about how you can gain some backup support for these goals. Do you have a friend that might want to join you? Are there some podcasts you can listen to while exercising or driving to help fuel the fire? Replacing the sourdough book with a decluttering book on your bedside table will be a good reminder of what you have planned.

5. My favorite: celebrate the wins! You may not get to everything you wanted to during this time, but with the help of some insight, the list and the support, I bet you did great! Reflect on what worked, what you enjoyed most, and how your life has changed. Take note of the positive impact you have made.

6. Look ahead to the next one and be ready for another round!

Now that we’ve got that covered, I think it’s important to stress that you do not always need to be productive. This is a reminder I need to hear every day because that is how I am wired - crossing things off my list creates such a dopamine hit for me, I want to keep going. Sometimes your body or your soul - or both - will be telling you to slow down. Listen to that, There is a time to take advantage of this energy, but there is also a time to rest.

We all have disruptions - positive and negative - to our routine, and the opening of a golden window can be the positive spin that guides you as you navigate through it. Now go download that podcast, switch out that bedside book, and get ready to take full advantage!