1. Don't have a catch-all spot in your home or office. A mountain of clutter will form there and you will have to expend a lot of energy to get rid of it. You will never seem to have enough time or motivation to tackle it. Put things back where they belong to eliminate catch-all spots. If the belonging doesn't have a home, create one for it or decide whether you actually need it.
2. Don't try to accomplish all your organizing goals in one day. You will get overwhelmed and frustrated trying to do too much at once. Do a little daily until you finish.
3. Don't put off tasks until tomorrow. If you need to start organizing, start today. Just start!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Simplify: 7 Tips for Simplifying Your Life
A dear friend gave a lot of thought to a birthday gift for me last year. She knows that I don’t care much for gifts that create clutter so she gave me a metal sign in large, bold letters that spells “Simplify”. What a perfect gift for me! I had just the place to hang it in my office. It reminds me as I am writing and working on ideas for my organizing clients what organizing is about.
Here are 7 tips for simplifying your life:
1. Simplify your work day. Reduce interruptions and stay focused on the task at hand. Turn off your email and phone if you are working on an important project. Set aside routine time for business reading and for working on projects.
2. Simplify your desk. Clear your desk of unnecessary papers and knick-knacks. If you don’t use something on your desktop daily, put it in a drawer or on a bookshelf to free up your work space.
3. Simplify task completion. Focus on one task at a time instead of multi-tasking. One finished task is worth more than three unfinished ones.
4. Simplify your surroundings. Eliminate clutter. Clear out your closets, chests, pantry and cabinets. If you don’t use it, love it or need it – lose it!
5. Simplify cleaning. You can’t clean clutter. Simplify your cleaning by completely de-cluttering first. Cleaning becomes simple, easy and quick when you are not trying to clean around stuff.
6. Simplify your schedule. To keep your schedule simple, think twice before adding anything new. Before signing up for another activity or starting a new hobby, decide what you will give up in its place.
7. Simplify shopping. Avoid running out of staples and making last minute trips to the store by keeping an extra of regularly used items on hand. When you get the last of an item out of the pantry or cabinet, put it on your grocery list immediately to pick up next trip.
Here are 7 tips for simplifying your life:
1. Simplify your work day. Reduce interruptions and stay focused on the task at hand. Turn off your email and phone if you are working on an important project. Set aside routine time for business reading and for working on projects.
2. Simplify your desk. Clear your desk of unnecessary papers and knick-knacks. If you don’t use something on your desktop daily, put it in a drawer or on a bookshelf to free up your work space.
3. Simplify task completion. Focus on one task at a time instead of multi-tasking. One finished task is worth more than three unfinished ones.
4. Simplify your surroundings. Eliminate clutter. Clear out your closets, chests, pantry and cabinets. If you don’t use it, love it or need it – lose it!
5. Simplify cleaning. You can’t clean clutter. Simplify your cleaning by completely de-cluttering first. Cleaning becomes simple, easy and quick when you are not trying to clean around stuff.
6. Simplify your schedule. To keep your schedule simple, think twice before adding anything new. Before signing up for another activity or starting a new hobby, decide what you will give up in its place.
7. Simplify shopping. Avoid running out of staples and making last minute trips to the store by keeping an extra of regularly used items on hand. When you get the last of an item out of the pantry or cabinet, put it on your grocery list immediately to pick up next trip.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Saved By My To-Do List
Even organizers have "those days" once in a while. I had something on my mind yesterday and was stressing. I know better than to worry or let things I can't control bother me, but sometimes it just happens.
My to-do list saved me. Every evening before I CFB (close for business), I choose the things from my Master List that I want to get done the next day. That is my to-do list.
My Master List is a list of all my thoughts, ideas, tasks to be done, wants, needs...all the stuff rattling around in my head. I write it all down so I don't lose my thoughts and ideas or forget something important or even the small stuff.
As I mentioned, my to-do list is the things I want to accomplish that day. Yesterday, when my mind was elsewhere, I would lose focus, but my to-do list kept bringing my mind back to where I needed to be and helped me get back on track. I won't say it was my most productive day, but I did manage to get the most important tasks on the list done. As distracted as I was, the day would have been a complete waste without my to-do list.
My to-do list saved me. Every evening before I CFB (close for business), I choose the things from my Master List that I want to get done the next day. That is my to-do list.
My Master List is a list of all my thoughts, ideas, tasks to be done, wants, needs...all the stuff rattling around in my head. I write it all down so I don't lose my thoughts and ideas or forget something important or even the small stuff.
As I mentioned, my to-do list is the things I want to accomplish that day. Yesterday, when my mind was elsewhere, I would lose focus, but my to-do list kept bringing my mind back to where I needed to be and helped me get back on track. I won't say it was my most productive day, but I did manage to get the most important tasks on the list done. As distracted as I was, the day would have been a complete waste without my to-do list.
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