Announcer: Welcome to Business Life 360 with Kristi K., where we get to know thought leaders and innovators trends and impact in the world of business, and we see firsthand how business and life have evolved and now helping us all learn, lead and grow is our host, Kristi Kay.

Kristi K.: Welcome to Business Life 360, I'm Kristi K..

This show finds us at the intersection of business and life with a new workplace landscape and our personal lives overlapping like never before leaving your viewers wondering Are we working from home or living at work?

With that new overlap, top of mind, there are emerging skill sets and habits that, if adopted, can be game changers paying dividends for life.

So to that end, on this episode, we're all learning together three new habits from top experts.

Strategies to organize and to clutter our workspace and our home once and for all to take our fast paced, multifaceted lives and mindfully meditate and to look within to read our bodies and to better manage our pain and enhance our gut health.

Taking action to be more efficient and feel better in work and in life.

So kick back and come along with me or in this no excuse learning moment together.

This is business life 360.

Announcer: Business Life 360 with Kristi Kay is made possible by Medica, a locally owned, nationally recognized, not for profit health care network that has a strong commitment to clinical excellence, providing safe, high quality patient care and addressing social issues that impact health.

The John B and Lillian Inept College of Business and Innovation at the University of Toledo.

Developing lifelong leaders for the world of business.

And by the Greater Toledo Community Foundation, also by viewers like you.

Thank you.

Kristi K.: Our first game changing life habit is that of organizing our business, home and life.

And with us as Alejandra Costello, a professional organizer from Alejandro TV, who works with thousands in an online community to get their businesses and lives organized so they can thrive.

Alejandro, welcome.

And boy, do we need you to help us get it all together?

So on this episode, we're learning positive habits to last a lifetime.

And you are in the space that is most everyone's nemesis, dare I say it, getting organized, decluttering in business and in life.

So tell us a little bit more about your business and how did you develop your interest and your expertize in this area Alejandra Costello: Yeah.

Well, thanks for having me.

I developed my interest when I was a child.

I have always loved to organize.

I use organizing as a way to deal with my anxiety as a child And it lasted all the way through college in one of my first careers in 2008.

I came across the National Association of Professional Organizers and realized that there is this whole industry of people that help people get organized.

And I knew right then and there that this is somethin that I wanted to do that I'm good at.

I also love to help people, and so I like taking those two things and starting a business just felt very, very natural.

Kristi K.: So you have said to me that anyone can get organized.

So would you please explain that to me?

And how can you help the person that may seemingly be the least organized?

Alejandra Costello: I feel like it's a skill set that can be developed.

It just takes practice.

I feel like someone needs to be curious about it.

Continue practicing, learn the skill set and slowly but surely, they will improve their quality of life.

Kristi K.: For sure.

Now your approach to organization is a little bit different.

You have kind of an interesting niche.

Would you tell us a little bit more about some of the specifics?

Alejandra Costello: Sure.

So when I am working with someone, the very first step is really doing some foundational work.

So understanding what is their root cause for why they are disorganized, why do they have clutter in their home?

Because you can, you know, you can get organized, you can set up systems.

But if you never addressed how something got that way, chances are it's not going to stick.

So the root cause understanding what their goals are, why they want to get organized, what's missing in their life, what do they want more of?

Once we have a clear understanding of that, then the focus is around decluttering.

So getting the noise out of the home, anything that's causing distraction, getting in the way, it's not needed to get it out.

And then it's about setting up organizing systems.

So everything has a home, it's easy to maintain.

And then the last step is doing all of the consistent maintenance, putting things away, setting up routines, things like that.

Kristi K.: So I may or may not be speaking about myself when I say that there is some emotional attachment that people have to their items and their things.

How do you suggest we all address that when that starts to happen?

But yet we're trying to declutter.

Alejandra Costello: I always say keep the like all of the things that you feel emotionally attached to, the photos, the letters, the cards, the kids' artwork, things like that.

Save that as the last category to focus on because it takes a lot of time.

It takes a lot of energy.

It's a lot of decision making and instead focus on things that are non-emotional, Kristi K.: Let's talk about that desk and that office How can we begin to get that organized?

Alejandra Costello: Yeah.

So the office, the office is really it's almos always the number one place that has clutter in the office.

It's important to have systems in place, so everything has a home.

So you know exactly where to go for your tax documents throughout the year.

You know exactly where to put your mail.

You know exactly where you're active.

Project papers are going to go.

So give everything a home.

If you are a visual person, you want to somehow have something that's visual, whether it's a label or the actual like piece of paper, like keeping it out on a wall or somewhere where you're going to see it and be reminded to use it.

So we have systems before you can set up systems, it's sorting everything out.

Knowing what you have, knowing what you can get rid of or put somewhere else, not in the prime real estate of the office and then and then the maintenance.

Kristi K.: Alejandro when the pandemic hit, you really became creative with your business.

Tell our viewers and our listeners a little bit more about how you really pivoted and made a difference in thousands of people's lives online.

Alejandra Costello: Yeah.

So when the pandemic started, my husband and I, who is also my business partner, we knew that we wanted.

To give back and help the world, and the best way that we could help the world is by helping people get organized.

And so one Saturday, we sent out an email to our community said that we are going to all jump on the phone and we're all going to organize together.

And about 1000 people showed up to this phone call.

We organized for seven hours straight.

We did lots of sharing.

And after that phone call, we knew I just had this knowing that we need to continue showing up for the community, continue giving back.

People are feeling isolated, distracted.

And so for the next six or seven weeks, we hopped on Zoom where we could see each other and we all got organized together.

People showed their spaces, the before and afters.

We transformed the isolation into community, the distraction into productivity.

And it was such a magical seven weeks at the end.

We knew we had to continue going because the success stories were just, like, completely overwhelming.

And that's when we started our membership.

Community called Team Organize.

Kristi K.: Lists some of the benefits of this game changing habit for business and in life.

Alejandra Costello: Feeling focused, feeling productive, feeling effective, efficient at work, at home.

It's walking into a space and feeling calm, feeling relaxed, feeling peace of mind.

It's those are like, what we're really after and I.

And if you can really get clear and what is that feeling that you're looking for that will give you a compelling reason to get organized, to spend your time, spend your energy sorting through the clutter.

So having that compelling y and constantly reminding yourself of that can be an effective, effective way to get from from starting all the way to finishing.

Kristi K.: Absolutely.

Alejandra, thank you so much for being on Business Life 360 and for being an organizational game changer.

We are so glad you joined us.

Alejandra Costello: Thank you for having me.

Kristi K.: And now let's head out for our next game changing habit.

Particularly since the pandemic, we talk about resilience and being able to work through the peaks and valleys of the work life intersection, research continues to show levels of stress, loneliness, isolation, anxiety, depression and suicide Adapting a new habits to bring adrenalin, cortisol and stress down is particularly timely.

So come with me so that we can learn together some strategies to get calm and refocused in the middle of a life and workday that may feel out of balance.

Kristi K.: Well, visiting Jenn McCullough, a 21 year expert in mindfulness and meditation, and we're in her peaceful studio to learn about how to build a positive, game changing habit of mindful meditation, which can benefit each of us for a lifetime.

Jenn McCullough.

It is so nice to be with you here today.

Jenn McCullough: It's very nice to be here with you also.

Kristi K.: So we are here talking about mindful meditation, and you have been in this business for 21 years.

Yes.

We're here in this lovely studio and it's been a busy day.

I'm kind of one of these crazy get it done.

Make it happen.

Check the box girls.

Yes, as are many people I know.

Yeah.

So talk to us a little bit more about what this definition in this practice of mindful meditation is.

Jenn McCullough: Well, mindfulness is about first and foremost being in the present moment.

You know, we get so busy with thinking about all this stuff we have to do in the future.

Or we may get stuck on something that may have happened in the past or didn't happen in the past.

And and by being in the future too much or in the past too much, we can get really stressed with that and get bogged down with that.

And so the mindfulness practice helps us come back to the present moment and access the simple joys of the present moment, but also helps us just be, you know, not focusing on things that are outside of what's actually happening in this moment.

Kristi K.: Which is so hard to do this day and age.

Jenn McCullough: It's very hard to do.

It's it's a practice.

Kristi K.: Now as we talk about mindful meditation, what are some of the benefits that you are noticing in terms of physiological benefits to each of us?

Alejandra Costello: Definitely, like some of the the easy things to feel right away is just a lowering of the tension.

I mean, I'm pointing to my shoulders because I usually feel it there.

So releasing tension in the physical body, the muscles, and you know, that tightness builds up over time.

So being able to relax some of that helps us to avoid some chronic pain and those kinds of things that build up.

Also, when we're practicing being the present and calming ourselves down.

We are lowering our cortisol levels and the other stress hormones.

We are lowering our blood pressure.

We are slowing the heart rate down a little bit, which i very helpful to actually have some control over that.

So I'm coming from the TV studio to the Zen Studio.

Now here we are.

I have been working.

I am trying to kind of start to begin this practice right now of mindful meditation.

What is the first thing I should do?

Kristi K.: I know you and I are here now on cushions.

And.

Kristi K.: Sitting cross-legged and kind of starting to calm down.

Let's walk our viewers and our listeners through some of the first steps that you would suggest in getting started in this fabulous habit.

Jenn McCullough: Because we are in our minds so much.

A huge shift is to get out of our minds, so to speak and into the body.

So the first thing I would invite you to do is to be aware of the ground.

Notice the ground underneath you.

We happen to be sitting, so we're going to notice where our body is touching the ground If we were standing, we would no Just be present in wherever you are.

And then from there, I would invite you to notice the air on your skin.

Just be present with the air on your skin.

Maybe there's a little movement of air, the temperature.

Kristi K.: And what happens at this moment when the noises and the external factors and the thoughts of all the things I have to do start to creep in.

Jenn McCullough: So a huge part of being mindful is being in the present.

So we want to get out of our head, which can time travel past future other places?

Dinner, what I have to do when I get home.

All right.

But I'm going to be right here right now.

Ground.

Body hair and my breath, and then when the thoughts come in thinking, that's all it is, there's just a little acknowledgment and then there's is return to the breath, return to the body, returned to the moment and it's a practice safe because the mind doesn't want to do that.

It is.

Kids will say it's too boring.

Grown ups will just say it's a it's a form of restlessness that we all have.

It's not unique to any one.

We all have it.

And so it is truly a training to help us.

So to help create those that ability to return to the present moment we really have to set up ways to cultivate that that habit.

Kristi K.: So example, I go back to the office and here I am.

I've just taken all those wonderful tips that you've given me.

I am not going to have the luxury of having this comfortable cushion or mat necessarily.

However, I can still do some of these things and adapt to that particular environment.

Are there several steps that I should say, OK, it's the it's the grounding, it's the breathing, it's the present mindedness.

Jenn McCullough: Absolutely.

So you can honestly, here we are sitting on the ground, but you could be sitting in the office chair, you could be standing in the grocery line.

You could be anywhere, really.

And you just pause and you feel the ground, you feel your body.

You take a mindful breath, maybe take a look aroun and different thoughts of all the million thoughts.

Are there not a problem?

Mm-Hmm.

And so it's something you can do anywhere.

Kristi K.: So, Jen, when you are part of Business Life 360, we have something called quick hits, which helps our viewers to get to know you a little bit better.

So we're going to be back with that in just a little while.

Are you ready?

Jenn McCullough: Absolutely.

Kristi K.: OK, see you in a bit.

OK. Often here on Business Life 360, we talk about the how of enhancing that intersection of business and life.

Recently, I heard it described as not working from home, but rather living at work.

So with this new workplace landscape, as we talk about game changing positive habits that we could build for a lifetime.

The three areas that we're going to address are how to manage our body pain, far greater quality of life, eating for digestive health.

We hear about this gut health regularly.

And thirdly, habits and remedies for self-care so much to talk about and so little time.

Kylie's study is a natural wellness practitioner and licensed acupuncturist from Chromatica, who is going to help us develop positive game changing habits.

Kylie, thank you so much for bringing your expertize to the studio of Business Life 360.

Kylie Study: Thank you for having me, Kristi Kristi K.: So nice to have you here.

And the first thing I really want to talk about with you is this habit of being able to manage our pain and be able to kind of look within and say, What are the things that we can do to help ourselves feel better?

Kylie Study: Unfortunately, chronic pain is something that a lot of people live with back pain, knee pain, arthritis, and you kind of have to figure out your pain and what your pain needs.

And I like to say with pain, it can change day to day.

So we have to figure out what kind of day it is.

Things like movement, exercise activity can be helpful with your pain, but you have to figure out where your pain is at on that day.

Kristi K.: some specific strategies or remedies, if you will, that can help us manage our pain?

You mentioned a little bit about CBD and perhaps some supplements.

Kylie Study: Yeah, absolutely.

So always consult your health care provider before you start any new supplement vitamin exercise routine.

Of course, we want to be safe.

There are several things you can doing and movement exercise is good.

There are some topicals that contain things like menthol that will kind of tingle and increase blood flow to the area.

Topical CBD some people find that helpful as well.

Also, there are some great supplements, such as tumor.

That's what gives food that bright yellow, beautiful spice that is a natural anti-inflammatory and that can be taken internall to help with some of that inflammation to help the pain help you get back on your feet.

I really like that as well.

That's those are great suggestions.

And again, talking with a practitioner before starting any of these things is always a good idea.

Kylie Study: Absolutely.

Kristi K.: Mm-Hmm.

Now, something I really want to hear more about is you are an acupuncturist.

Tell our viewers a little bit more about what that practice entails and some of the benefits and some of the kind of potential healing powers, if you will, that that acupuncture may have.

Kylie Study: So, yes, I am a licensed acupuncturist.

I am board certified and trained and studied for four years to do this.

Yes, I stick needles and people all day.

They're very tiny, sterile, single use needles.

The practice of acupuncture has been around for thousands of years.

We insert those tiny little needles at specific points on the body called acupuncture points when we're trying to do things like help symptoms such as pain Kristi K.: Talk to us, if you would, about some of the potential habits that we can get into that are positive and perhaps game changing as it relates to feeling better as it ties to gut health.

Kylie Study: Absolutely.

A lot of health care practitioners really believe that gut health is at the root of our overall health.

Our gut makes our diet digest.

Our food makes our energy force of our guts not working efficiently.

We're not working efficiently.

Stress, which is big for a lot of peopl right now, can really wreak havoc on our gut.

So we want to make sure we're doing some work to take care of our digestive health.

Trying to stick to eating small meals is always important.

If you're starting to feel pretty bloated or tired after you eat, that tells me your digestive system struggling a little bit.

It's not working efficiently.

That's when things like digestive enzymes or digestive bitters those can be taken.

Those can help your digestive system digest your food a little, but take a little burden off your gut for you Kristi K.: Give us some examples of an enzyme supplements that we may be able to take that may help us feel better.

Kylie Study: So digestive enzymes are something that your body produces.

Naturally, this a different enzymes.

They break down fats, proteins, starches, a digestive enzymes supplement.

Is that in a pill form, giving your body an additional dose of what it's already making to help it properly digest your food so you can extract those nutrients that you need help you feel better.

Kristi K.: Are there foods that are supernatural foods and wonderful foods that can really help us and we can incorporate as happens in our lives that will also make our gut healthier?

Kylie Study: Sure, I think one of the big things besides what you eat, it's how and when you eat.

Eating small, consistent meals, taking in a big old meal is just going to overburden your digestive system.

So we like to eat small meals.

Of course, we want to eat our fruits and veggies.

That's always important good fiber in there, and I really like to say eat for the season.

Nature gave us these certain foods at certain times a year for a reason.

So right now, it's cold outside what's in season here.

Root vegetables, hard squashes, things like sweet potatoes.

But.

Heroes cooked right, not fried, of course, and things like the hard squashes, those are very nutrient dense and rich.

To help us get through this cold winter, give us that extra energy that we need.

Kristi K.: Now as you talk about that as well, the third area I'd like to talk to you about, in addition to sort of pain management and gut health, is self-care.

one of my hot buttons and something that I feel really strongly about, that we really need to adapt in terms of a healthy lifestyle Can you help us by giving us suggestions on habits we can adopt in our lives that truly help us to take better care of ourselves?

Kylie Study: Self-care is absolutely important, and I think we're really finally realizing if we don't take care of ourselves, we can't be there, take care of others, we can't do the things we want or need to do.

So self-care is absolutely important.

I think self-care can look a little different for everyone And you've talked about things like meditation, deep breathing, which I love, but calling a friend can be an important thing doing some exercise or movement Do you have hobbies?

And I think too, as we talked about food and things what you eat and what you do, how do you take care of your body is also very important.

Kristi K.: Now, as we think of those three area that we just talked about, are there some takeaways that our viewers and listeners have that you could say, OK, if you did three things today to really implement these positive lifestyle, game changing habits, what would those be?

Kylie Study: So I would always say, of course, put yourself first that self-care is important.

Listen to your body.

I think that's always the most important.

And just remember to enjoy and live life and not let the stress get to you as well.

Kristi K.: What an interesting practice.

And this has been a terrific conversation about anything and everything we can do to really manage that internal pain, our gut health and to be more, I would say, kind of conscious of our self-care.

So Kylie's duty, thank you so much for your perspective.

Kylie Study: Thank you, Kristi.

Kristi K.: Kylie's unique skill set and natural wellness perspective has been enlightening, and we certainly appreciate her sharing her expertize here on Business Life 360.

So, Jen, here we go, this is quick, hits time, are you ready Our viewers get to know you a little bit better.

Jenn McCullough: I'm ready.

Kristi K.: OK, let's do this thing.

Here we go one thing that put you on the path to mindfulness.

Jenn McCullough: Oh gosh.

Yoga classes.

Taking a yoga class and feeling relaxed at the end.

Kristi K.: What was your favorite subject in school gym?

Very telling your go to visualization or happy place.

Jenn McCullough: Being at a beach.

Kristi K.: That's mine to help myself.

Who is your role model?

Jenn McCullough: Hmm.

Who is my role model?

Oh, that's so hard.

I would say my two sons.

Kristi K.: Very nice.

Jenn McCullough: They inspire me.

Kristi K.: What stresses you out?

Jenn McCullough: People being mean to other people?

Kristi K.: I'm glad you didn't say quick hits number two.

And lastly, how do you define success?

Jenn McCullough: Hmm.

Success is finding some helping people find peace.

Kristi K.: Thank you so much, Jen.

It has been a pleasure.

Jenn McCullough: OK, thank you so much.

Kristi K.: We've just learned together three game changing positive habits to take action and improve that intersection of business and life.

Getting serious about getting organized, about implementing steps for inner peace and being in the driver's seat for a quality, healthy lifestyle.

Our three sustainable habits that we can adapt with commitment and structure.

Top of mind.

That's a wrap on this episode of Business Life 360, where we learn about trending innovations, leadership and healthy working lifestyle influences to truly impact change.

I'm Kristi K. reminding you that life is short.

Take action now to be the force in your world.

We'll see you in the next business life.

360.

Announcer: Connect with Kristi K. on LinkedIn at Kristi K. Hoffman and hear the Business Life 360 conversation on FM 91 on Thursday mornings.

To watch previous episodes and more, visit our website at WGTE.org/B360.

Business Life 360 with Kristi K. is made possible by ProMedica, a locally owned, nationally recognized, not for profit health care network that has a strong commitment to clinical excellence, providing safe, high quality patient care and addressing social issues that impact health.

The John B and Lillian E Neff College of Business and Innovation at the University of Toledo.

Developing lifelong leaders for the world of business.

And by the Greater Toledo Community Foundation, also by viewers like you.

Thank you.