136 | Digital Detox and Permission To Delete

I started the year doing a digital detox, and one of the things that I decided to do was I needed to give myself permission to let things go if they aren't working for me in terms of my digital life.

For example--I have a bunch of podcasts that have built up on my phone of things that I think I'm supposed to be listening to, or business books that I think I'm supposed to be reading because it's really, really important for me to read them, and I'm starting to do a better job in this particular digital detox of saying, does this thing serve me anymore? I'm giving you permission to delete those things that aren't serving you any longer!

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FULL TRANSCRIPT

You're listening to the Pro Organizer Studio podcast with Melissa Klug and Jen Kilbourne Obermeier. Thank you so much for joining in our mission is to broaden the horizons of savvy business women in the organizing industry by instilling confidence and inspiring authenticity. You'll gain new insight into strategies designed specifically for professional organizers.

 Hey, pro organizers. It's Melissa, and I'm coming to you today with a little mini podcast. This is just kind of like Melissa's musings or we can come up with a cooler name for it. But I was thinking about something this morning and then I'm like, you know what? I'm gonna go talk to all my podcast besties about it.

Just a really quick side note that maybe no one listening really cares about, about my personal life, but, uh, or how this happens, do you think I'm in like a podcast studio right now or like I'm in a really fancy No, I'm just at my desk in my house. My husband works at home and currently he is very loud on the phone.

We have discovered since the pandemic started, since he started working at home. He's a very loud. So I started trying to record this and he's like on the phone being super loud. Even though it's downstairs, I can still hear it, and one of my neighbors is putting siding on their house. So there's all this like construction noise.

So I hope that I'm just coming to you in your ears and it sounds melodious and, uh, and good. But anyway, I'm just kind of laughing because this is real life, right? Like we are entrepreneurs, we run our businesses, real life happens. It's not pretty and it's not, you know, like calm and, sometimes things are a little crazy.

But anyway, that's just a little bit of, of the behind the scenes. But that's what happens when I'm gonna come to you with these random things off the top of my head, it's gonna be a little bit more casual than maybe what you're used to. But okay. Onto my, uh, is it a rant? I don't know if it's a rant.

It's just, it's a commentary. It's something that I've learned this year that I think might be helpful to you guys, and it's this. I've been doing this thing, it is not a year's resolution, it's just trying to create some new habits and I have been trying to wake up early in the morning and I mean like really early in the morning and get my workout in downstairs in my house before the day starts.

I have been doing a pretty serious digital detox. I took so many apps off my phone. I have taken all of my entertainment apps off my phone. I chose to keep audiobooks and podcasts, but what this means is when I'm doing something like working out, for instance, I don't watch TV on my phone like I used to.

So this morning I'm on the Peloton and I was in a work mood. You know? Do you, do you guys do this too? Maybe I, maybe it's just me, but sometimes I'll be in work mode where I'm like, oh yeah,

I would love to listen to a work related podcast. Then there are other times when I'm like, Nope, I really, I can't switch my brain to work right now. I just need something entertainment value. So, I'll listen to a fiction, audiobook, whatever.

So let me back up and say for my digital detox, one of the things that I decided to do was I needed to give myself permission to let things go if they aren't working for me in terms of my digital life. For instance, I have a bunch of podcasts that have built up on my phone of things that I think I'm supposed to be listening to or. Business books that I think I'm supposed to be reading because it's really, really important for me to read them, and I'm starting to do a better job in this particular digital detox of saying, does this thing serve me anymore?

I have been trying to be really, really honest with myself about am I keeping things on my phone or am I saying I need to listen to this? And it's sort of like, Schoolwork, right? Like, my kids are required to learn algebra, even though they're like, when am I ever gonna use algebra?

Um, I feel sometimes, like there are certain podcasts or certain books or certain, you know, pieces of information out there, Instagram feeds, anything like that that I. Have to follow because you know they're going to, by the way, in my brain I go, but what if they have this one magical podcast episode that solves all of my business problems and I don't listen to it.

I just have gotten in this mindset of. , you know, this digital detox for me is really saying goodbye to things that don't serve my business or my life, or it just stresses me out. Sometimes it stresses me out to, to listen to something, cause I'm like, oh my gosh, I should be doing this, I should be doing this, I should be doing this.

It's just that constant like brain, you know, the brain jumping from side to side. Just the constant distraction that I'm really, really trying to get away in this digital detox. But the point of my story is I am on the Peloton this morning and I am listening to a podcast because as I said, I was in a business mood listening to a podcast from someone I will not name, but it is someone who is very big in the online marketing space.

And it is someone that I have kept in my podcast rotation for the reason that I just said like, what if I miss out on this amazing gem of information? But in doing that, I have also found that this person really is starting to have information that doesn't really align with my business.

I have kept this podcast in my rotation because I feel like, oh, if I don't listen to this, you know, she's a huge name in the online marketing space, which is what Pro Organizer Studio does.

We are an online business. And I was like, oh my gosh, well what if I missed like the most important thing ever on her podcast? Even though when I listen, I'm like, oh, I probably, I should listen to X, Y, Z podcast this week. Let me see what's up. I feel obligated to listen to it rather than being excited to listen to it.

and this morning I can't explain it. You know, you know, you have these epiphany moments of like, man, I don't like this . It happened to me in college. Halfway through college I changed my major because there was one day where I was like, I hate this. This is terrible. But you have these epiphany moments where I'm listening to this podcast and I'm just like actively annoyed by it.

I'm annoyed by what she's saying. I'm annoyed by what she's talking about. It doesn't align with me. It doesn't align with my business. And then I'm like, so why am I listening to it? Why am I listening to it? And here's the reason that I'm doing this podcast, which hopefully is not annoying you.

I am doing this podcast because you know how sometimes our clients need us to give them the permission. To get rid of something. We've all had that moment where you look at your client and they're like really kind of going back and forth on, oh, well maybe I should keep this, but I really don't like it.

And you just go, you're allowed to say goodbye to that object, or you're allowed to get rid of that thing. And they go, I am. Oh my gosh. Amazing. Or that client that you're like, Hey, if I put this in the trash, will that make you feel better? And they're like, yes, absolutely. I just don't wanna be the person that puts it in the trash.

Right? We all know those clients. This morning I had the most freeing moment of saying, I don't like this, and I am not going to continue listening to it because it is just taking up space in my brain. And I, and I'm annoyed. And just because I think I'm gonna miss out on something I, I'm, I'm saying goodbye to it.

And it really was. This may sound very silly, maybe you're listening to this and going like, man, I don't, I really do not know what she's talking about. Right. I am giving you permission to say goodbye to things in your business life that aren't working for you anymore. It might be following a thousand people on Instagram and trying to like all their posts.

It may be trying to post on Instagram every day, uh, or multiple times a day. Or you might say, you know what? Real's not my jam not doing it. By the way, if this podcast no longer serves you obvious. I work really hard and I love my, I love my organizing besties. I would be very sad if I were no longer serving your needs as an organizing entrepreneur, but I am giving you the permission.

Just like in Marie Kondo's book, she flat out says, if this book does not spark joy for you, you get rid of it. . Um, she actually doesn't ever use the phrase, get rid of, she says, you can. Gratefully let it go. But the point is, I want to give all of us permission, and, I'm giving myself permission to continue to do this, to say I am not going to consume media and take time, precious time out of my precious life to listen to stuff because I think I'm obligated to.

Or because I have FOMO of what if I miss that one most important episode? Or what if I miss that one important Instagram post? So I need to scroll for an hour and a half every day. I wanna give you the permission to say, you know what, no thanks. Not my jam anymore. I cannot explain to you. It's sort of like this, the feeling that I had when I, uh, first got organized.

If you haven't listened to my story, I used to. Completely disorganized. My house was a complete disaster and I found, you know, the religion of organization and I, I like, couldn't believe how much better my life felt because I had gotten organized. And that is the feeling I had this morning of, of gratefully saying, you know what, this podcast doesn't serve me anymore.

And I don't wanna make a big deal out of, I deleted one podcast. That's really not the lesson. The lesson is more I do not have to keep bringing things into my business life that do not serve me. So I'm gonna continue to give myself that permission, and I am giving you that permission to please just remember your gut drives your business so, so, so well.

If something is telling you, this doesn't work for me, this piece of advice doesn't work for me. This style doesn't work for me, this technique doesn't work for me, this person doesn't work for me. Any of those feelings that you have, it is absolutely fine to say, you know what? I'm gonna let this go and what I'm going to do is make the time to let in the things that really do work for me and work for my business.

So I'm going to find the Online Marketing Entrepreneur podcast that does speak to. And how I can help the audience at Pro Organizer Studio. I am going to listen to the entrepreneurs that really are going to be helpful for me in my organizing business, and I just wanna give you guys the ability and the permission to do the same.

Here's my advice to you. Even if you're not into doing a digital detox like I am doing. I really, suggest go through your phone today and just whether it's podcasts, whether it's Instagram feeds, whatever it is that is connecting with you with what I'm talking about, give yourself the permission today to go unfollow or delete the app or delete the podcast or delete whatever it is.

that you know, in your heart is kind of bugging you and it's not your jam, but you're having a hard time admitting to yourself that I can just let this go, and I think you're gonna be really, really, really happy that you did. All right, that's my mini So for the day, I hope you guys are having an awesome, awesome day.

Just a heads up, if you have not signed up for our email list, I'm about to send out an email to our whole list. Please go to inspired organizer.com. You can enter your email address. It's a limited number of emails, we try to send out things that are very helpful to you, and by the way, you can always unsubscribe if it's not your jam.

I just listened to myself in this whole podcast. I only want you to do things that serve you, but we would love to have you on our email list if you would like to be there, and I hope you have an absolutely fabulous day. Bye organizers.