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Posts Tagged ‘organization and time management’
Saturday, March 14th, 2009
Do you get as sick and tired of junk mail like I do? About 90 % of what comes into my mailbox is a serious waste of my time and paper.
This article on how to stop junk mail is chock full of resources and ideas on how to cut out the junk mail. If you do just a couple of these tips, you will save your time and the environment.
Tags: organization and time management
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Friday, November 21st, 2008
I love daily doses of inspiration… Here are a few of my favorites… Please leave comments as to what yours are!
- TUT- Notes from the Universe that remind you of life’s magic and divinity.
- Daily Om Inspiration – Short essays of inspiration.
- Daily OM Horoscope – Unique daily horoscopes that give you inspirational insights based on your astrological sign every day.
- Beliefnet – Inspiration, Spirituality, Faith. – many newsletters to choose from.
- Lime – Info and resources to help you to live a healthier, greener lifestyle.
- SparkPeople – Health & fitness tips, recipes and motivation for a healthier lifestyle.
- A Course In Miracles – Register at Oprah.com and sign up. Marianne Williamson guides you through A Course in Miracles every day.
- Peter Walsh Clutter Crew – Register at Oprah.com and each month Peter Walsh will send you his exclusive step-by-step projects to help you create the home you’ve always dreamed of.
Tags: goals and habits, health and weightloss, inspiration and journaling, Life Balance, organization and time management, Spirituality
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Monday, May 5th, 2008
Whenever life is in transition or undergoing major change, it can become very overwhelming! The To Do list multiplies and brain power is zapped just as it is needed the most.
Major life change such as death, divorce, career shift, a newborn baby or even a wedding can send any highly capable person in to a tizzy and left wanting to crumple into a ball on the bathroom floor for few weeks.
Knowing techniques to cope with change can make all the difference in avoiding a major breakdown or feeling like a miserable failure. The first thing to remember is this is normal, life is always changing. And secondly, you are not the only person who has gone through this type of situation and the majority of them came out just fine in the end.
The strategy is to GET BACK TO THE BASICS or K.I.S.S. (Keep it Simple Silly – I hate calling anyone stupid…)
- Don’t start any new projects! Temporarily take anything off your plate that isn’t vital.
- Avoid buying anything unnecessary that requires more of your time (like setting up a new stereo/speaker system or figuring out how to use your new digital camera).
- Make healthy eating exercise, yoga and breathing a priority. Don’t start a new type of exercise, it will just frustrate you if you can’t keep up. Just walk if that is all you know how to do. Practice these instant stress management tips.
- Begin with the end in mind. Write out a description of the ideal situation you are working towards. Then work backwards through the steps to get where you need to be. Make a list of the absolute things you must do to get through this phase of your life and make those actions a priority with due dates. You are going to feel much better about getting those done than escaping to the couch to watch reality tv.
- Break your action steps into tiny manageable to dos that can be done with small doses of energy — that way you don’t burn out.
- Ask for help. Communicate your needs and expectations to others. Many people are willing to lend an extra hand in a time of need or will cut you some slack if they understand your situation. You just need to tell them! To keep your sanity, consider hiring a cleaning person or getting take out more than you usually would.
- Repeat this mantra over and over: This Too Shall Pass…
Before you know it, your current situation will have passed and it will just be a page in your diary.
Tags: organization and time management, stress mgmt and yoga
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Saturday, March 29th, 2008
Yesterday my daughter asked me what I was writing in a school composition book. (I keep a different notebook for each client and area of my business – a great practice that Suzanne of Let’s Talk Organizing introduced me to.) I explained I was taking notes for my business. My 7-year old smartly remarked, “But it is a school notebook … and you aren’t in school”.
So took advantage of this opportunity to launch a discussion on how even after you graduate from school, you must continue to learn and grow. Life begins to be your greatest teacher instead of school. It has been mine in both my professional and personal life.
As a business owner, I don’t have a manager advising me on where I need training or improvement. And as an adult, I don’t have my parents to tell me what time to go to bed or what I should be eating. It is up to me to determine where I need to grow and change. I must step up and become responsible. So what criteria do I use to make that decision? Here is a basic process to follow:
- Take a look at all the areas of your life and evaluate where you are least satisfied, most frustrated, receiving complaints from people in your life or where things just don’t seem to be moving forward. Then break your life into categories: Physical environment, career, wealth, health, giving, relationships, growth, and passions. Rank each category on a scale of 1 – 10. With 1 as the worst and a 10 being the best ever!
- Choose one area (usually with the lowest score) and write down your ultimate great vision for that aspect of your life. Imagine how that area looks and feels in your ideal life or day.
- Outline the steps you need to take to reach your ideal life in that category.
- Take the first step and break it into tiny turtle-like steps that can be achieved in small increments (one hour or one week). Set due dates for these steps.
- Begin to work on the first tiny step. And before you know it, you will have begun to move forward toward the life you really want.
My daughter seemed to find this “school of life” concept interesting and asked if she could write on my Composition Book. What she filled out made me laugh! This is what is reads:
Name: Allison
Subject: Career
School: Life
Grade: 37 (my age!)
Tags: goals and habits, inspiration and journaling, organization and time management
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Tuesday, February 26th, 2008
Spring is just about here! It is natural during this season, to feel the urge to clear away the clutter that has accumulated in our winter nests. Cleaning removes stagnant energy from your home to prepare your personal space for the positive, fresh energy of spring. As the dust and clutter is swept away, you inevitably sweep away some of the issues that may have been blocking you in your life.
Here is an exercise to clear out your physical and mental clutter at the same time — what better way to multi-task!
1. Before you begin spring cleaning, ask yourself what needs to be cleansed, what can be discarded, and how you can make your home a reflection of your BEST SELF.
2. Visualize your BEST SELF. Who is she? What does she look like, how does she dress? How does she impact the world? What does her environment look like?
3. Make a list of ADJECTIVES to describe your BEST SELF (i.e. fit and lean, organized, happy, modern, energized).
4. Make a list of each ROOM IN YOUR HOME. Next to the room name, write the adjectives that describe it (i.e. Family Room: worn, boring, cluttered). If you were to use those adjectives to describe yourself, would that be your BEST SELF?
5. Make a list of the CHANGES you need to make to each room and the stuff in it so that it reflects your BEST SELF list (i.e. fit and lean, organized, happy modern, energized). Perhaps you need to clear a closet filled with clothes that are out-dated and not your size. Or take all the high fat and sugar items out of your pantry. If we hold on to something that is no longer useful to us, we will never create a space for what we truly want to come into our lives.
6. Gather your tools and supplies around you– cleaners, cloths, and bags for items to be discarded, given away or put back in their proper place.
7. Choose one area to tackle first. Set up a time for each area on your calendar. Don’t do it all at once. You will get overwhelmed, tired and possibly give up all together.
You may find that with each piece of clutter you discard and each area that you clean, you begin to feel increasingly energized. Ridding yourself of unnecessary possessions can help you regain clarity of mind and refocus your vision. As your home becomes a reflection of your BEST SELF, you will begin living as your BEST SELF.
Tags: Life Balance, organization and time management
Posted in Life Balance | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, January 9th, 2008
When you are a small business owner, like myself, you have to become a jack of all trades when it comes to running your business. And so often it makes you feel like a master of none! Most of the time, it is ok to know a little bit about a lot (it certainly keeps life interesting). However, for me it becomes so frustrating when being a “master” in technology is necessary!
Like last summer, when I spilled coffee on my laptop and had to take a “break” from working for a week. And a couple of days ago, apparently my inbox was full on my website, and I had no idea that emails were bouncing like crazy. Well, after an hour of deleting old mail… I am finally back in business. However, I tried to email a couple of you and now my emails are bouncing from your server!!! So if you are trying to contact me… well, maybe you should check and see if your inbox is full!
Perhaps, the Universe thinks I need more lessons in patience… or I need to hire an I.T. person!!!
Tags: organization and time management
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Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008
A new year always sparks new resolutions. The top ones are usually to get organized, lose weight or save money.
One thing I know I want in the new year is more time… Here are 3 ways I know will save me time:
- Eliminate junk mail. I will take my name off the mass marketing mail lists. Click here to take your name off too!
- Stop the annoying dinner time sales calls. I will get on the DO NOT CALL list. Click here to stop those calls at your house too!
- Stop the credit card offers that I have to shred. I have enough cards already. Click here to stop those offers.
Tags: junk mail, organization and time management, productivity
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, November 7th, 2007
In my efforts to clean out the garage and to include my kids in the organizing overhaul, I gave them each jobs. I thought I was so clever in giving them tasks that would simultaneously help them enhance other skills they need to work on.
Here were their assignments:
- My 9-year-old’s job was to throw trash into the dumpster (to help her refine her basketball skills).
- My 7-year-old’s job was to label cardboard boxes with a Sharpie permanent marker (to help her practice handwriting and spelling).
All in all, the girls did good work. However, I did learn a couple DON’TS when involving kids in organizing.
- DON’T give them Styrofoam packing peanuts to throw away. Instead, the peanuts will end up crushed everywhere in tiny bits and impossible to pick up without a vacuum.
- DON’T give permanent markers to children without close supervision!
My 7-year-old got “label happy”. After she ran out of cardboard boxes, she proceeded to label unauthorized objects – like the wooden garage storage cabinets! I think she needs to work on her spelling still! See evidence below… Good thing I have a pretty good sense of humor. But I did warn her to please not label the kitchen cabinets.
Tags: organization and time management, Parenting
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Tuesday, November 6th, 2007
Fall in Arizona is like spring in colder parts of the country. Arizonans come out of hibernation once the temperatures dip below 100 degrees. This past week it has been about 93 degrees! So the “spring” cleaning begins…
Ahhhhh chooo! With each sneeze from dust of long ago forgotten boxes of stuff, I gain clarity on what is important. I am not a pack rat by any means, which is why I am surprised by what I manage to find tucked away in closets, nooks and crannies. I have discovered that I have held onto things for hidden emotional reasons. So as I clean out my physical attic, I clean out my emotional attic as well…
In preparation for moving, I am finding things that need to move away from me as well. Even if you aren’t moving, having the “I’m moving” mentality really helps cut to the chase of letting stuff go. So set a “moving date” deadline and get to work. After all, would you want to pack and unpack something you really don’t need? What a waste of time and energy! As I sort and cleanse the items to go, I ask myself these 4 important questions:
- Am I holding onto this “just in case” I need it? Well, if I haven’t needed it for the last year, then it must go unless it is a “good memory” item for my daughters to have. The “just in case” mentality generates a feeling that something is lacking rather than a feeling of abundance. Not so good according to the law of attraction.
- Is this item useful, beautiful, and does it make me happy? Yes, that chair from my grandmother is very useful, but not beautiful by my standards and does not make me happy. So I took a picture of it and sent it to Goodwill. Remove items that upset, annoy, depress or frustrate you. Anything that was broken and I knew I would never get around to fixing got dumped. Negative associations with things drain your energy whether you realize it or not. Bad feng shui!
- Am I keeping this item out of guilt? If so, deal with the guilty emotions and let it go! Yes, Grandma’s chair was kept out of guilt of releasing a family heirloom. I came to terms with letting go of grandma’s favorite chair doesn’t mean I don’t love and respect her.
- Does this item represent the person I am and where I want to go? Well, no, those gold dress pants I bought for a holiday party 5 years ago are just plain hideous and way too flashy for who I am. And besides, I detest formal, corporate holiday parties!
When clearing clutter, I find it more efficient and satisfying to clear one area at a time before moving onto a new room. Then I vacuum, dust and clean the area. Getting rid of stuff feels so good.
 If you have children, they often find the process quite traumatic. Please don’t ever mention the name, “Sparky”, to my daughter. Giving away her toy horse without her consent will probably haunt me for the rest of my life.
Clearing out kids’ stuff can be a tricky process. Check back soon for a post on how to clear out your kids stuff with minimal trauma and drama!
Tags: clutter, organization and time management
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Thursday, October 25th, 2007
Once you know what you are passionate about, the next step is finding the time in your schedule to do it – not an easy feat for busy, working parents.
For an unique approach to scheduling FUN time, check out Life Clever.
Tags: Life Balance, organization and time management
Posted in Life Balance | 1 Comment »
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