When Angella Gilbert returned to New Zealand after having lived abroad for fifteen years, she continued to work in management positions in various industries. At the same time she dipped into network marketing and discovered the pleasures, and sometimes challenges, of working from home.
Having always been an organised person, she had no difficulty in setting up her home office in her small home, to the chagrin of numerous friends struggling with their own messy home offices. They couldn’t figure out how she could create a clutter free and organised home office in a space which was a fraction of the size of their homes. So she worked with each of them in turn to establish ‘order from mayhem’ in their offices. And so Gioia was born.
During her overseas travels Angella lived in Italy for eight years and her favourite Italian word is ‘gioia’, meaning ‘joy’. The ethos of her business is to bring joy through harmony, balance and flow in peoples’ environments and their lives.
Professional organiser
A professional organiser and declutterer, Angella works with many small business owners from those just starting out, to those who are well on the way to creating successful businesses. She assists them to set up workable processes in their homes, business environments, and in their lives. “It’s about creating simple ways of getting everything done, with the minimum of fuss. Once processes have been established everything becomes easier, less stressful and we find that elusive thing called balance in our lives,” explains Angella. “When our environment is cluttered, our mind also becomes cluttered. As we clear and declutter the areas we live and work in, the tension starts to melt away.”
Angella’s clients find that once order and systems are established they are more relaxed and able to focus on what needs to be done. The most common complaint she hears is that of “overwhelm”. We have not become a paperless society! Good filing systems are integral to handling the paper whether in the office, or at home. If everything has a place, and it’s logical (to the client), then it’s going to be much easier to know where to put that piece of paper or important document, and to find it again. In an office everything needs to be organised so that what you’re working with on a daily basis is to hand, without being scattered all over your desk. In the home, if everything has its place then putting things away becomes a simple task.
As these processes are worked with and become embedded in our day to day life, we begin to see how we can strike a balance. Since the 1980’s women have been struggling with the ‘superwoman’ complex, how to be everything to everyone. We may think we’ve given up the idea of having to do it all ourselves, however as more and more women are joining the workplace or starting their own businesses, they are still juggling the responsibilities of business, home and family. Angella’s clients soon find out she is a fervent believer in the necessity of having balance and harmony in life.
Balance encompasses all areas of our lives, from business to family, friends, exercise, learning and education, and of course hobbies and fun. It’s vital that we allow time in our busy schedule to kick back and relax, whether it be taking a walk and enjoying nature, having a latte with a friend, or reading a good book. Our relationships benefit when we’re able to spend time with our loved ones; socialising with friends allows us to participate in their lives in a meaningful way; and taking time to go to a child’s soccer game can be an unexpected delight. Each one of these components adds another dimension to our lives and makes us happier human beings. When we take time out from our work activities to socialise and enjoy family and friends, delve into a hobby or exercise, we can return to our work rejuvenated and refreshed.
Angella’s tips for finding balance
- Plan family and friends time in your diary along with your work activities – become more focused on finding the time to spend with the people who are important to you, or just with yourself.
- When you live and work in a clutter free environment you’ll feel more relaxed and able to think clearly.
- Create easy workable systems and processes in your workplace, this will definitely reduce stress.
- Be spontaneous – put something off until tomorrow and ring a friend to go and see a movie, or get a babysitter and take your husband out to dinner.
- Take up a sport or hobby and schedule this as a regular activity in your diary.