Sara Madera Of Plan Creatively On How Simplifying & Decluttering Your Life Can Make You Happier
An Interview With Drew Gerber
Write down a list of everything you have to do — get it down on paper or on your phone, and out of your head. Don’t make remembering your tasks one of your tasks! Write down everything from work tasks to home tasks, including things you do regularly, like go grocery shopping or making meals.
We live in a time of great excess. We have access to fast fashion, fast food, and fast everything. But studies show that all of our “stuff” is not making us any happier. How can we simplify and focus on what’s important? How can we let go of all the clutter and excess and find true happiness? In this interview series, we are talking to coaches, mental health experts, and authors who share insights, stories, and personal anecdotes about “How Simplifying and Decluttering Your Life Can Make Us Happier.” As a part of this series, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Sara Madera.
After leading organizations and departments across the globe, Sara became a career coach and founded Plan Creatively after realizing the favorite part of every job was helping her team realize their goals. A naturally good listener and mother of 2, she is a career coach for working moms to help them thrive at work and at home, while still finding time for themselves. She’s an American who has lived in 8 cities across the world so she knows about simplifying and decluttering her life in order to move herself and family.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share your “backstory” with us? What was it that led you to your eventual career choice?
Growing up, my parents were therapists, so I learned early what it meant to be a good listener and non-judgmental. In High School I started working in theatre in high school and had numerous leadership experiences quite young. My parents and I would geek out over management strategies — what personality type is this person, what’s important to them, how can you best communicate with them, how can you motivate them?
With this training, it’s no surprise that the favorite part of all of my jobs since has been developing my teams. About 5 years ago, I got certified in coaching and it felt exactly right. My happy place.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
It’s hard to pick just one! I helped a non-profit set up in China, I was on the production team that opened Hong Kong Disneyland, I grew arts education opportunities in New York City, and I supported and encouraged a large multi-national company to speak up about their global values, including LGBTQ in Asia.
On the coaching side, I was working with a client around switching careers and in 2 sessions she got a job offer in her dream industry. Two! That must be a record.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
I recently created a program for moms headed back to the office- after maternity leave, working from home or an extended break with kids. The transition from mom to working mom, sometimes in a few short weeks or months is huge, and getting support strategically, emotionally and logistically is a real game changer for their long-term success.
Can you share with our readers a bit about why you are an authority on the topic of “How Simplifying and Decluttering Your Life Can Make You Happier”?
Beyond my experience crisscrossing the globe numerous times, I coach working moms who are often carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders! They are managing their jobs, their homes, their kids and their lives, their relationship with their spouse- and this is just the beginning. I work with these women to focus on what’s important to them, and let go of the rest — including the guilt!
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the main focus of our interview. We live in a time of excess. We have access to so much. But studies show that all of our “stuff” is not making us any happier. Can you articulate for our readers a few reasons why all of our possessions are not giving us happiness?
We are so lucky to live in a time that there is a solution available for nearly every problem. Need help opening a jar? Juicing a lemon? Organizing your car? Do you need someplace to hang your purse at a restaurant? The availability of products at our fingertips is astronomical.
And while many of these products are great and do solve a need, it’s often something we only need only once a year for a few minutes at most. The rest of the time it’s just creating clutter — because what do you do with it the other days of the year?
But, worse than the clutter, we aren’t giving our minds the opportunity to solve this problem ourselves! How amazing does it feel to figure out how to make dinner with the items you have in your refrigerator? Or create a craft with your kids out of leftover materials (i.e., trash)? Or to find a new use for that bookcase? The excitement and pride we feel lasts much longer than the pleasure we get from buying something new.
For moms, all of the products in the world won’t ease the physical and mental mind crunch they face every day.
On a broader societal level, how do you think this excessiveness may be harming our communities and society?
Clearly, if we focused our solutioning on creating less trash or dealing with the trash we already have rather than developing new products, we’d be a much more evolved society.
But even on a family level, memories are created through experiences and time together, not items received. By focusing on the number of gifts at Christmas rather than connecting through a simple activity like looking at Christmas lights, we are sending a message to the next generation about what’s important. We need to be mindful about the values we are passing down.
The irony of struggling with happiness in modern times is glaring. In many places in the world today, we have more than ever before in history. Yet despite this, so many people are unhappy. Why is simplifying a solution? How would simplifying help people to access happiness?
Many people, and particularly the ambitious driven women that I work with, are not looking for ways to cut corners or compromise on their family. But having “it all” — by this I mean a successful career and home life, hopefully with some time for themselves — might look different they originally thought. It might not mean having everything and everyone perfect all of the time, but it does mean picking and choosing what’s important to them. By simplifying their choices and not spreading themselves thin, they can enjoy the moments they have selected, rather than rushing to the next thing they have demanded of themselves.
Can you share some insights from your own experience? Where in your life have you transformed yourself from not having enough to finally experiencing enough? For example, many people feel they don’t have enough money. Yet, people define abundance differently, and often, those with the least money can feel the most abundant. Where in your health, wealth, or relationships have you transformed your life?
After my 2nd child was born, and nearly 4 years of pregnancy, breastfeeding and running my own marketing & communications business, I thought I was ready to get back into the full-time work force, out of the house and be a working professional again.
I threw myself into work. I took on extra assignments and worked nights and weekends. I was exhausted and stressed at home, often still working when I was there. I quickly grew unhappy and the last straw when was when I got so sick that I couldn’t leave the couch for months, unable to play and connect much with my active children.
It made me realize that I needed to leave that job, which I did. And I took the next year to heal, both my health and my relationship with my kids. The pandemic actually helped as it forced us to focus on our little unit, creating moments and entertaining ourselves with so little, even while working.
People, places, and things shape our lives. For example, your friends generate conversations that influence you. Where you live impacts what you eat and how you spend your time. The “things” in your life, like phones, technology, or books impact your recreation. Can you tell us a little about how people, places, and things in your own life impact your experience of “experiencing enough?”
When I first moved overseas, I moved with just the suitcases I took on the plane. I fell in love with the conversations I had with other travelers about where they had visited, what they had seen. I’m an adventurer by heart and I wanted to experience it all!
When I moved back to the U.S. I was surprised at how much people talked about their belongings and where they got them. It quickly replaced the conversations of adventure, and I missed that. It was a factor in moving overseas the 2nd time.
This time I’ve returned to the US after a decade away, with kids and many stories in tow, and I have a much more even approach to the “need” for both things and experiences. Having a yard (as small as it is!) is new for my kids, so we work to balance bigger adventures in our new area with smaller moments.
What advice would you give to younger people about “experiencing enough?”
My advice would be: Experiencing life isn’t about going to the hottest restaurant or travel destination and taking a picture of it. Rather it’s about noticing the elements around you. What is the shape of that leaf? What color is the sky? Is that rock shaped like a muppet? Does that guy look like his dog? Immersing ourselves in our surroundings is the best way to fully experience life.
This is the main question of our interview. Based on your experience and research, can you share your “five ways we can simplify and declutter our lives to make us happier?”
Let’s start by decluttering and simplifying our list of things to do!
One
Write down a list of everything you have to do — get it down on paper or on your phone, and out of your head. Don’t make remembering your tasks one of your tasks! Write down everything from work tasks to home tasks, including things you do regularly, like go grocery shopping or making meals.
Two
Once you’ve created your task list — ask yourself why you do each task and, if you can, name a value this task corresponds with in your life.
- Do you go grocery shopping in order to manage the budget, or because no one else can do it as well?
- Do you make dinner every night because healthy meals are a priority for you and your family?
Be clear about why you are doing these tasks.
Three
Look over your list and see if it reflect what’s important in your life. Do the values listed reflect you and your family? Does your list include things time together with your kids or husband, or on yourself? Take a moment and consider what you want.
Four
Take another pass at your list, taking off items that aren’t important to you and adding items that reflect your values. If there are items that aren’t important to you, but still need to happen — for example, food on the table at dinner time:
- Ask others in your family if this is important to them, and if they would like to take it over.
- Find ways to outsource (delivery, meal service, neighbor who loves to cook) or reduce time (meal prep at the beginning of the week, eat leftovers).
Five
Re-evaluate your list and enjoy living your life with intention! Every week, check in that your to-dos and your tasks are in alignment. This shift in how you approach how you spend your time will simplify your decisions, making it clear what to say “yes” to and what to say “no,” in effect decluttering your mind and your list!
*Note: this approach helps at work too! Rather than focusing on those “unpromotable tasks” this process can you move those strategic projects to the top of our priorities.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
I’d love for mothers to know that they don’t have to do it alone! Because those early newborn days were so lonely, we think we need to tackle every stage alone too, but in fact, a community of support surrounds you. Tap into it and it will help propel you forward faster, easier and more gracefully than you could managed alone.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
The best way is to sign up for my bi-monthly newsletter! You can also visit my website: www.plancreatively.com , on instagram: @plancreatively8, and on Linkedin: Sara Madera.
Thank you so much for these insights. This was so inspiring, and so important!
About The Interviewer: For 30 years, Drew Gerber has been inspiring those who want to change the world. Drew is the CEO of Wasabi Publicity, Inc., a full-service PR agency lauded by PR Week and Good Morning America. Wasabi Publicity, Inc. is a global marketing company that supports industry leaders, change agents, unconventional thinkers, companies and organizations that strive to make a difference. Whether it’s branding, traditional PR or social media marketing, every campaign is instilled with passion, creativity and brilliance to powerfully tell their clients’ story and amplify their intentions in the world. Schedule a free consultation at WasabiPublicity.com/Choosing-Publicity.
