Have you ever felt like you were slipping back into the rut of disorganization? It take a lot of discipline to stay organized all the time...and we all get tired! If this sounds like you, I have a simple suggestion that just might help you out.
Be spontaneous!!
Break away from the day-to-day routine now and then and just do something different. Do something that you want to do. Allow yourself to be totally spontaneous. This will make you feel more in control. Your spirits will immediately be lifted and you will feel energized.
Hopefully, after doing something spontaneous, you will be ready to crack down and get organized again. Give it a try!
If you are like many people these days, you feel your days are so full that you do not have the time to do the things you really want to do in life. Taking time to stop and smell the roses just seems like a pipe dream. Well, it is not as hard as you may think. It is all about simplifying.
1) Disconnect from technology. We are connected to so many different types of technology that sometimes it can feel very overwhelming. Disconnecting does not mean getting get rid of your cell phone, pager or e-mail. It just means setting boundaries. Here are a few suggestions. Screen calls using caller ID. Let your answering machine or voice mail take some of your calls. On your automated greeting, make it clear when you are available and when you are not available. Turn off your cell phone and use it only when you need to call someone. Set aside a specific time each day to answer email or phone messages.
2) Watch less television. Did you ever think about how much time you and your family spend watching television on a daily basis? Cut the number of hours the TV is on by asking yourself what activities you could be doing with your family instead.
3) Take the most difficult task and complete it first. By getting the hardest tasks done and out of the way, you can concentrate on other tasks and not worry about the hard ones any more.
4) Get rid of clutter. Having too much stuff causes stress, because clutter takes time and effort to maintain and it distracts our attention from other things. Donating, selling or giving away unwanted and unused items are great ways of simplifying space and giving someone else the opportunity to put your items to good use.
5) Ditch debt. Debt is a big stress for many people. Look at consolidating and making one payment. Create a budget and focus on paying off your debt. Hide your credit cards and do not use them until you are debt free. Look at ways to curb spending by tracking your current spending habits. Devise a plan to save for your future.
Understand that simplifying your life is an ongoing process. Continue to learn new ways to simplify to make your life less stressful and more enjoyable.
march 29 -- april 4, 2009 this weeks "tip of the week" was sent from Linda from Honeoye, NY
Linda writes: "I was tired of laundry baskets with clean, but wrinkled, laundry waiting for me when I didn't have time to sort. I put a portable clothes rack in the laundry room with lots of hangers. Every single shirt in the house now gets hung up. When the dryer is done, I quickly hang all the shirts up on the rack.
If I have time, I sort what is left in the dryer right then and there in the laundry room. There is usually not that much left and it goes quickly. If I don't have time, at least the shirts aren't getting wrinkled!"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Do you have an organizing or time management tip that you would like to share? Click here and your tip could be the next one featured in our newsletter, our blog or on our website! For more organizing tips, check out www.andreadekker.com. It is full of great organizing tips for every area of your life.
Take a few minutes to plan your day by creating a simple to-do list. This is an effective way to feel more in control and get more done. Schedule your planning session first thing in the morning or last thing at night. Pat yourself on the back for all you accomplished the day before, and then, make plans for a happy and productive day ahead.
It's no secret that the economy is not the best right now! With that in mind, everyone is looking for ways to save money...but in order to save money, you need to be organized with your finances and start monitoring how you spend your hard earned money.
One way to cut back on your non-essential expenses is to start looking for ways to alter your routine and get a little more creative. I've attached a link to an article on Real SIMPLE's website that lists 10 ways to spend smarter.
When it comes to getting organized, there are many gadgets and gizmos out there and many more coming out all the time. It can be overwhelming to the novice and even to the veteran organizer as to what items are the most beneficial when it comes to getting organized. Here are some helpful ideas to get you started.
1. Label makers are the ultimate organizing gizmos! Not only can you easily and quickly label all of the files in your filing cabinet, you can label any type of containers with their contents so everything is easy to find. This is especially helpful if you have multiple containers with different items, like craft supplies.
2. Over-the-door hook racks can add needed space in different areas of the home. In the bathroom, use this rack to hang robes, towels and blow dryers. In the bedroom, use it to hang scarves, belts or jewelry. In the mudroom, the rack is useful for hanging jackets, umbrellas, etc.
3. A very inexpensive and easy-to-use gadget is the shelf divider. Dividers keep anything that is stacked in piles, like linens, t-shirts, sweaters, etc., upright and organized.
4. Under-the-bed storage containers can be used to store seasonal clothing or accessories that you're not using, as well as seasonal blankets, sheets and other whites. These containers tend to be longer so you could store certain size rolls of paper and other gift-wrapping supplies.
5. Adhesive hooks come in a variety sizes and finishes from casual (white) to dressy (metallic). Use them to hang up decorations for any season. Adhesive hooks are great to store keys. They are also good for hanging up pictures and can go on the back of doors if you need to add extra storage for coats.
6. The pegboard has become a versatile organizing gadget that is especially useful when it comes to using empty wall space to maximize storage potential. Accessories are available to use with the hooks to give you the ability to hang a variety of items. Not only is it great to use in the garage to hang and organize tools, you can make the pegboard decorative with paint and use it in other areas of the home.
7. Over-the-door pocket organizers are a wonderful way to organize a variety of small items. Many of these organizers contain clear pockets for visual ease in finding an item. Use pocket organizers to store gloves, mittens and scarves. Also consider using it in the pantry to store spices, seasonings and small packets of gravy, etc.
Boost your productivity and save some time with these 13 tips.
1.Make 3 lists – make one master list for projects you want to pursue in the future, make one to-do list for time-sensitive items, make one checklist to aid you in recurring tasks such as weekly cleaning, routine business tasks, packing, etc. When you write things down, you free your brain from trying to constantly remember all your tasks and ideas.
2.Clear the Clutter – Trash what you don’t need. Get rid of the duplicates of the duplicates. And quickly delete those e-mails or attachments from your mother or your best friend that you just have to forward.
3.Dedicate a Workspace for Yourself –If possible do not share your workspace. People need a sense of ownership in their tools. They need to know that the tool that they need that minute is available and not being used by someone else.
4.Take the First Step –It’s always easier to procrastinate and “give it some thought,” but you will have no success until you begin.
5.Concentrate on the MOST Important Tasks – I for one don’t always accomplish everything I’ve ever needed to do in one day but as long as the MOST important tasks are accomplished, everything else will fall into place.
6.If you Fail to Plan, you Plan to Fail – The most strategic time to think about the actions you need to take is not when you need to perform them, but beforehand, when you have perspective. This allows you to act rather than react, and your menu of options is much easier to prioritize.
7.FOCUS – I am suggesting, from personal experience, that having one primary focus and diving into it completely will give you a higher chance at success. However, you are free to work on multiple goals at the same time, some people can pull it off without stress, most cannot!
8.Do it Right the First Time –Why start a project and “waste your time” if you are just going to have to redo it later because you didn’t do it right the first time?
9.Only Spend Time on Things you CAN Control – Our impulsive thoughts always tend to waste our life-energy by focusing on things that we cannot control… Dwell more on what you can do rather than what you cannot.
10.Set Time Limits – One of the simplest things I do to increase my productivity is to use a timer throughout the day. For 30 minutes, I work like this, racing the clock and challenging myself to have it all done before the buzzer goes off. By the end, I am exhilarated, accomplished, and feel relaxed because I am no longer looking at what was an overwhelming mess 30 minutes earlier.
11.Reduce your Commitments – Learn to say NO to things that you aren’t passionate about and you will significantly reduce your stress and increase the amount of time you have to put towards a more productive activity.
12.Motivate Others: Inject Energy into your Environment – When a dance floor is empty at a party, most people simply won’t be the first people to start dancing, even if they want to. It often takes somebody who is confident and who is doing what they want to do to dance before others. This is then a trigger to others that allows them to start dancing as it seems normal. If you manage a house hold or an office, it is your job to inject it with energy…which will ultimately increase activity.
Stay Healthy – If you are not healthy, you will not be productive. Boost your immunity by reducing stress, exercising and eating right. You will be amazed at the effect is has on your productivity.
The weather is getting warmer and people are slowly making their way outside to start on some yard work…only to find that their garages are so cluttered and cramped that they can’t get to any of their yard tools.
Can you relate? Are you unable to move through your garage at all, never mind trying to park a car in there? Following the tips below will have your garage looking so good--your neighbors will want to hire you to do theirs! Here are some tips to help you reclaim your garage from the clutter:
1. Garage Function: The first step to reclaiming your garage is to decide how you are going to use your garage. For instance, will you be setting up a workbench area? Will you need storage space for extra canned goods, paint supplies and so forth? How about yard care storage? Oh yes, I almost forgot, parking the car!
2. Gather Your Tools: For this activity, your tools will consist of large trash bags, several boxes and a marker. The trash bags are for trash. Each of the boxes should be labeled as follows: donate, goes elsewhere, recycle and garage. You will likely need several boxes labeled garage.
3. Divide and Conquer: Divide your garage into quadrants or sections. You can divide it into as many sections as you like. Your plan should be to take small 'bites' out of the clutter and disarray. Once you have decided how large your sections will be, decide on how long you would like to spend in each section.
4. Section completion. At the end of your designated time period, take out the trash. Put the items for donation into your trunk to deliver them to your favorite charity drop-off on your next errand run that takes you by the charity. Put away the items that you put into the 'goes elsewhere' boxes. Take a well-deserved rest and be sure that you reward yourself for all of your hard work.
5. Repeat: Continue the steps above until you have made your way through your entire garage…this may take several days and/or weeks! Continue to get rid of trash and donated items, and keep stacking those boxes labeled “garage”
6. Zones: Once you have completed the de-cluttering, it is time to decide where your 'zones' or 'centers' will be. For instance, if you have a workbench zone, a yard care zone, and a pantry spillover zone, you need to plot out the 'footprint' of each zone. Once this is complete, it is time to move to the next step.
7. Garage boxes: Now is the time to address the boxes labeled 'garage'. Begin by sorting these items into boxes labeled with your 'zones'. Do not toss any of the emptied boxes just yet. You may need more for each zone.
When you have everything put away in each zone-- viola, you will have reclaimed you garage! Congratulations! Sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labors.
march 22 -- march 28, 2009 this weeks "tip of the week" was sent from Jacki from Bracey, VA
Jacki writes: "I got tired of trying to find the right over-the-counter medication or bandages in the closet. I purchased several plastic see through containers to sort everything. Using categories such as aches/pains, bandages, stomach problems, allergies, etc. I labeled each container.
Now I can easily find the treatment I am looking for AND I got rid of all the outdated medications. Being able to stack the containers also saves space in my closet."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Do you have an organizing or time management tip that you would like to share? Click here and your tip could be the next one featured in our newsletter, our blog or on our website! For more organizing tips, check out www.andreadekker.com. It is full of great organizing tips for every area of your life.
I always stress the importance of writing things down. When you write things down, it frees your mind for more big-picture thinking and you don't have to worry about the details.
That said, these are the 3 lists you absolutely must use to manage your time effectively:
1. Master list
This is a place for a "brain dump", a place for ideas you might want to pursue in the future or possible projects you need to tackle. You can work off one master list for months.
This could be business goals, house or yard projects, vacation ideas, etc. You can always continue to add more to this list…even if they are a long way off in the future. The important thing is that you have it written down so your brain doesn’t need to waste time remember it.
2. To-do list
This list can be monthly, weekly or daily. The difference between this list and the master list is that this one has a time deadline to it.
I have a monthly to-do list - with broad goals like go to the gym 10 - 12 times and then my daily to-do list which lists in detail, everything I need to do that day.
3. Checklist
This is a place with a list of items which you check off.
This list is ideal for anything you need to do regularly, like a list of weekly cleaning tasks, office supplies, routine business tasks, etc. I have a list in my spiral notebook of the steps to back up my files so I thought about it properly once and now I just follow my checklist.
Once you start using the right list for the right task, you'll be flying!
Do you have a home computer? What about a cell phone, digital camera, PDA, etc? Did you know that along with their intended purposes, these devices can actually help you get more organized too? This week, I wanted to talk a little bit about how you can use digital technology to get more organized. This is the last post for this series of digital organization so check the previous few posts for more ideas.
Research:
Last but certainly not least is research. If you haven’t figured it out by now, you can find pretty much any piece of information you want by searching on the Internet. Anything from recipes for a family picnic to information about your family tree…It’s all there…which can be kind of scary or it can be exciting because we now have access to an infinity of information that we can use to benefit us and help us get more organized!
Just think… the next time you want information about a product, service or business, all you have to do it type your question into Google or another search engine and you will get thousands of responses right at your fingertips. This type of information would have taken weeks to get before the introduction of the Internet.
Just think… the next time you need a gift or forget to get a gift you can simply log onto your favorite restaurant’s website, purchase a gift card and have it send to the person of your choice all in about 5 minutes. You don’t even have to leave your house. Same goes for shopping. Then next time you need a book, movie, winter coat, purse, etc. just log onto the store’s website, purchase what you want and it should arrive at your doorstep within days. Pretty convenient!
There is so much you can do if you go digital. You can save so much time and a lot of paper work…which will be a tremendous help when you look at your organization goals! Start today! Pick one thing and make it digital. Technology may seem overwhelming at times but if you use it correctly it can be a huge asset!
Do you have a home computer? What about a cell phone, digital camera, PDA, etc? Did you know that along with their intended purposes, these devices can actually help you get more organized too? This week, I wanted to talk a little bit about how you can use digital technology to get more organized. Check back for the rest of the week for more ideas.
Information Storage:
How many times have you thought, ‘I wish I could remember________” or “I wish I could remember where I put_________”. Well now you can remember if you take a little bit of time to create some basic lists in an Excel spreadsheet. Excel is a basic program that is usually installed on every computer. If you don’t have Excel, you can use Word instead.
Here are some ideas of lists you can create:
Holiday gift list: You will always remember what you got your mother-in-law for her birthday last year and you can document your Christmas ideas for your grandma. You can also keep track of how much you are spending on each gift so you can stick to your budget.
Home inventory list: Go through your home and put all of your valuable possessions on your inventory list. Be sure to include important information like serial numbers and warranty information. As you purchase new items, you can add them to your inventory list, and vice versa, if you get rid of items, you can delete them from the list. Don't forget to make a back up of your list and make sure your insurance agent has a copy. Also make sure a copy is kept in your safe deposit box.
Pantry list: Keep track of what food you are eating and need to buy with this list. Simply take notice of the food you usually buy and type it out as a list in Excel. Then print off several copies and tape it to the inside of your pantry or cupboard. When you run out of an item, circle it…and when it comes time to get groceries, simply take the list and purchase the circled items.
Contact list: Storing contact information on your computer will keep your office neater and is one step closer to the paperless office. Searching on the computer is more efficient than rummaging through a file of paper cards. In seconds, you can run a sort and locate contacts by company, name, etc. Storing information electronically is also effective for building mailing lists and printing labels. There are numerous programs on the market to organize contact information, such as Act, Outlook or Access. You can even store in a simple spreadsheet in Excel.
Other helpful lists: If you travel frequently, create a checklist containing all the steps you need to take to get organized for traveling, including what to pack. If you need to plan an event, create a checklist of all the tasks that need to be done. Create a household maintenance checklist of things to do around the house each season. Developing checklists and keeping them on your computer can go a long way in reducing stress. Having a list will also make it easier to delegate tasks to other people in your household.
The best part about creating all these lists in a digital format is that they are easily changed and/or updated at a moments notice. Also you can easily send them to another member of the family or print them off...what ever you need to do. It is a little bit of work to create the lists but once that is done, you will be able to benefit from them over and over again saving you lots of time in the long run!!
Do you have a home computer? What about a cell phone, digital camera, PDA, etc? Did you know that along with their intended purposes, these devices can actually help you get more organized too? This week, I wanted to talk a little bit about how you can use digital technology to get more organized. Check back for the rest of the week for more ideas.
Finances:
Did you know that you can track nearly all your finances on the Internet? Yup, that’s right; you can do pretty much everything from banking to bill paying with a click of the mouse! It may seem overwhelming at first but all you need to do is contact your bank, your credit card companies, utility companies, loan organizations, and even your mortgage company and they will probably help you to transfer you account to a “paperless” account or an “e-account” which means that instead of receiving a paper statement every month, you will receive an e-mail with you information. You can print off the statement if you wish and most companies have advantages for their customers who choose the paperless options.
Going digital with your finances will save you time and money (no postage). Most financial institutions now have safe and secure online payment programs. You can easily set up an account and have payments taken out automatically every month or you can set the amounts each month. There are numerous options available to make the process fast and efficient.
Think of the simplicity of this situation: your paycheck is directly deposited into the bank account of your choice, all your bills, monthly payments, church tithe, etc. are directly charged to your credit card each month and then at the end of the month your credit card payment is automatically withdrawn from your bank account which is then replenished with your next paycheck! No paper statements, no writing or mailing checks, no worrying that you might miss a payment or lose your statement because everything is automatic and digital. Well, this is how my husband and I have our finances set up and it is great! We have our passwords and can see where our money is at any moment during the day so our checkbooks are always balance.
Going digital with your finances could potentially save you tons of time, space, money…and your sanity. Get started this week.
Do you have a home computer? What about a cell phone, digital camera, PDA, etc? Did you know that along with their intended purposes, these devices can actually help you get more organized too? This week, I wanted to talk a little bit about how you can use digital technology to get more organized. Check back for the rest of the week for more ideas.
Your Calendar:
Consider putting away your paper calendar…I know this may be difficult! Organizing your schedule and events using an online calendar can help you maintain a very organized system and give you the ability to share it with others. Online calendars can give you such options as alerting you to upcoming events by text messaging or e-mailing reminders to your cell phone and including all the holidays so you don't have to enter them.
Another nice function of most digital calendars is that your entire family can access the calendar from any computer or cell phone connected to the internet.
The program I use is COZI. It is really great because you can get updates send to your e-mail or phone and you can even create your grocery list and have it sent to your phone when you are at the store!
Do you have a home computer? What about a cell phone, digital camera, PDA, etc? Did you know that along with their intended purposes, these devices can actually help you get more organized too? This week, I wanted to talk a little bit about how you can use digital technology to get more organized. Check back for the rest of the week for more ideas.
Digital Cameras:
The age of digital cameras has given us the ability to store photographs online instead of taking up space in boxes and photo albums. There are numerous options to store your photos, whether you utilize a program that is already installed on your computer or the program that came with your digital camera. In addition, there are down-loadable options available online. Don't forget to back up your files. There are a number of affordable back-up options available to keep all your important files and photographs saved if anything should happen to your computer.
Save yourself tons of time and money and go digital with your pictures. This is actually one of my personal goals this year! I want to have all my pictures and all my husband's childhood pictures scanned into our computer and properly stored on the internet and backed up for safe keeping. I'll let you know when I reach my goal!
Here are a few links to FREE programs you can use to organize your photos online or on your computer.
march 15 -- march 21, 2009 this weeks "tip of the week" was sent from Tiffany from Tolleson, AS
Tiffany writes: "When I've finished with a small box of facial tissues, I sometimes save the box with the plastic top intact. It's a great storage box for our daughter's small art parts-- beads, buttons, etc. and she can even cover and decorate the box if she chooses. The plastic top keeps the parts from spilling out, but leaves them easily accessible."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Do you have an organizing or time management tip that you would like to share? Click here and your tip could be the next one featured in our newsletter, our blog or on our website! For more organizing tips, check out www.andreadekker.com. It is full of great organizing tips for every area of your life.
If you would like register for our next class, simply contact us by clicking here! Boost Productivity at Home & Work: March 18 (6-9 PM) Are you looking for a way to increase you productivity at work? How would you like to have more time to do the things you really want to do each day? This class will show you how to do just that in one, compact workshop!
As with most things in life, clutter is much easier to prevent than it is to eliminate once it has crept into your home and life. Preventing clutter requires a change in habits—doing things differently to avoid letting the clutter in.
Let’s tackle a common form of clutter today, “almost-empty bottle clutter.” You’ve heard of it, right? OK…let me explain.
Almost-empty bottle clutter is a common form of clutter living in showers, under sinks and even in refrigerators. This form of clutter occurs when the user of a bottle (or tube or jar) of a product, such as lotion, shampoo, toothpaste, mustard or even mayonnaise, grows tired of attempting to get the last little bit of product out of the bottle or tube. Instead of fighting with the nearly empty bottle, the user of this bottle reaches for a full and easy to use bottle of the same product. However, instead of pitching the almost-empty bottle of product, it goes back in the fridge, shower or under the sink.
What happens over time is clutter. The almost empty bottles, tubes and jars get shoved to the back of the fridge or bathroom cabinet, while the fresh and nearly full bottles, tubes and jars, make their way to the front.
Prevent this going forward by making a vow to use up your bottles, tubes and jars, before opening a fresh one. (Store your extra products away from your in-use products, so your family has to get in on the use-it-up game, too.)
Having just one in-use bottle of product in your shower, under your sink or in your refrigerator will prevent clutter, and as you may have heard, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
This weekend, go through your refrigerator, pantry, bathroom, garage, craft room, etc. and throw out any "almost empty" bottles, tubes or containers and reclaim all that space! Then make an effort to maintain that level of organization. It will be easier that you might think.
Most people procrastinateat some time or another, and for many different reasons. We all need to find something, anything, to get us to take action because the truth is; the single most important characteristic of successful people is that they take action.
I like to think that I am immune to procrastination but I know that is not true. Just today I mentioned that I hadn’t done anything with my pictures in nearly 2 years!!!
If you canrelate, then see if any of my solutions will also help you fight the procrastination monster in your own life.
1. Do nothing until your most important task is done
If something needs to be done, resolve to do nothing else until that task is done. That means no email or internet surfing until that important task is complete!
2. Give yourself a self-imposed deadline.
Tell yourself that the task must be done by a certain time. When you actually do it, it usually takes you just a fraction of the time to complete instead of the hours you imagined.
3. Make yourself accountable to someone
I like being someone who keeps to my word so this works perfectly for me. Just knowing that I have to report back to someone makes me get moving and helps me get things done. I know it will work for you too!
4. Work on it for just 15 minutes
For bigger tasks, tell yourself you'll work on the task for just 15 minutes.
You can do anything for 15 minutes.
Usually by the time 15 minutes rolls around, you'll have built momentum and you'll then want to make some serious headway. But even if you don't want to continue, at least you've made progress.
5. Build in rewards
Reward yourself the minute it's done, depending on the size of the task, of course. Like a cup of coffee for making a difficult phone call. Please don't go out and buy a new dress to reward yourself just for doing the laundry!
This week, focus on areas of your life where you are currently procrastinating and make a decision to just do something, anything, for 15 minutes!
Corporations use the idea of retention dates to determine when to let documents go. Grocery stores call it shelf life. This concept works very well for the stuff in our individual lives as well.
Decide how long you need or want to keep your papers, books, records, clothes, furniture, or whatever. Then tag it with a date, on which you will let it go or replace it (if needed). The tag could be a sticky note, a label or a piece of masking tape.
The next time you come across something past your tagged retention date, you now have permission to be free of it.
It is a good practice to ask yourself: 'How long do I want this thing to be in my life? And, is it earning the space it takes up in my life by helping me live better?'
This week, let's tackle some of those tasks around the home and office that we don't get around to doing. I have specifically chosen Quick and Easy tasks so that you can build up some momentum and feel good about getting things done.
What gets you motivated? Is it music? Then put on some tunes to get yourself energized. Is it competition? Then challenge yourself and see how many of the tasks you can accomplish in an hour. Is it being accountable? Then post a comment telling me what you're going to do and come back to tell me when it's done! Is it social interaction? Then make a coffee date with a friend, but ONLY once you've done an hour's organizing. Is it reaching a goal? Then reward yourself once you've done all the tasks.
Right! Now that we know what motivates you, let's get to it!
IN THE HOME
·De-clutter and sort through all the old magazines. Tear out the articles and toss the rest.
·Organize your launch pad - that place where you DUMP things when you walk in the door.
·Collect all the clothes you need to dry-clean or mend.
·Clear off the front of your fridge. Toss the magnets and recipes you're never going to use.
·Throw away any old food in your fridge and freezer, and give the surfaces a good wipe down.
and now...
IN THE OFFICE
·Do your filing.
·Collect all the bills and invoices from around the home and schedule the payment dates in your planner.
·Shred any junk mail with your name on it.
·Organize your desk.
·Delete 100 emails from your Inbox and Sent Items.
Whatever you do manage to do, give yourself a pat on the back!
