welcome to checkbox consulting!

Welcome to my blog! I’m Christina Miser - the hand that checks each box for Checkbox Consulting. I started this company with the intention to provide a service to people who utter the words that stop them in their tracks:  

“I don’t know where to start.”

For those yearning for productivity and defeated by their disorganization, I offer peace of mind and a sense of accomplishment. Whether your closet is bursting with un-worn clothes and miscellaneous non-closet items, your garage is overflowing with boxes of “stuff” that go unused, your inbox is filled with 13,000 unread emails that’s causing you to miss the important messages or you have a home/business office that has paper everywhere, my goal is to provide you with partnership and a sense of ease.

I get it!

Here in Austin, there's a Tex-Mex Restaurant with a famous marquee that faces a busy downtown street that always has funny, relevant posts. I follow them on Instagram (it's called El Arroyo, if you're interested in following them). Earlier this year, they posted this:

Truer words have never been spoken. When I started this year, Checkbox Consulting was not even an option. I was in a decently paying job (albeit hating it), planning out when I was going to buy a house with my partner and actively making plans to travel with friends. And when I got the call on April 6th that my company was laying me off, I was instantly relieved and then absolutely terrified (like pretty much everyone else). After a couple of days wallowing, I pulled up my bootstraps and used the structure I knew best to keep me from complete and utter meltdown - I wrote out a list. Actually, multiple lists. They were lists of jobs to apply to, next steps to take, how to handle my finances, among many others.

I've always been an organized person and I've always loved organizing (the two are not always mutually exclusive). When I was a kid, my best friend and I would clean my sister's room. In high school, my friends gave me shout-outs in our senior year yearbook: "Thanks for trying to keep me organized." I lived in Boston for 10 years and moved at least 7 times during that time, which required me to regularly declutter and evaluate all of my belongings. My professional history is a slew of career choices that required me to be very organized to succeed in the roles: an executive assistant, an event producer, a sales manager. When I was laid off and started to look at what I wanted to do next, starting my own company as a professional organizer just made sense and was the only thing that didn't feel like a gut punch.

Which leads me to where I am now. Throwing my hat over the fence. Taking a risk on something that was unfathomable at the beginning of this year. Doing all the legal and financial stuff (obvi I had a checklist to keep me on track!), allowing friends and family to contribute to me (hiring me to clean out their emails and garages, help them move, etc.) and coming up with MY brand (with the help of some really amazing people). Sometimes it feels like I'm on the skinny branch, all alone and doomed to fail. Other times, I feel unstoppable like I'm flying, surrounded by support and there's no way I can fail.

I don't know what 2021 will bring. I'm buying a planner because, let's be honest, I can't not have a planner. 2020 has had me slow down and examine what's important to me. It's allowed me to put life into perspective. I'm not as terrified as I was back in April and while I'm scared, I'm not paralyzed. As long as I keep writing out my lists and checking the boxes, I won't get off the rollercoaster. Wanna come on the ride with me?