Category: Productivity

Powerful Questions to Build Decision Making Muscles

Recently, a coaching client asked for Powerful Questions to ask herself, to increase her motivation to get rid of paper clutter.  Below are questions I ask my clients (and myself!) as we work, to clarify the paper decision-making process.  In my experience, we all keep too much paper – I am rarely called to help someone because they got rid of too much!  Therefore, these questions will nudge you to purge your papers.

In addition, we often tackle our paper management in little pieces of time, and not big blocks. So we need to get in the organizing and purging zone regularly, and that takes practice!  These questions help you build your decision-making muscles, so you can hit that organizing / purging zone more quickly.  Here’s another tip – the questions can be tweaked and used to review every type of clutter!!

  • Now is not the time to ask Why?  As in “Why on earth did I keep this?”  Not why, then, but “What am I going to do right now?”
  • What can I do today to help future Me out? (Purge, unsubscribe, etc.)  What can I digitize, or subscribe to online?
  • If you keep paper for “Just In Case”, ask these:
    • Will anyone ever ask me for this piece of paper / information?  (If no, toss it.)
    • Does this information exist elsewhere?  (If yes, likely can toss it.)
    • Do I need to be the keeper of this information?  (No.  It’s called the internet.)
    • Is this information still correct, or pertinent?
    • If I purge this paper, what’s the worst that can happen?  Can I accept that “worst”?
    • Are all these papers worth the mess?
  • If you feel that “I can’t purge my papers because they will somehow change my life”, ask these:
    • Does this paper represent a reasonable expectation of myself or someone else?
    • Does my happiness really hinge on me having this piece of paper?  (No.)
    • Does this paper hold the secret to life? How likely is it that I hold the secrets of the universe in a dusty box of papers from 10 years ago?
    • Wouldn’t a better change come from clearing the clutter?
  • If you know you “Don’t want it, but don’t know what to do with it”, ask these:
    • Do I need to recycle it or shred it?
    • Does someone else need it more?  (Pass it on!)
  • If you keep paper for Nostalgia / Sentimentality / Guilt, ask these:
    • Who am I keeping this for?  (I ask this question of parents who keep every school paper their child ever brought home.  Because they are keeping those papers for themselves.  In 20 years, the kids will NOT want old boxes of school papers.)
    • Charitable donations / solicitations:
      • Do I make decisions regarding charitable giving based on mail or phone calls I receive?  (Personally?  No. So I can let those go.)
      • Did I ask for this information, or did someone else decide I need it?  Do I agree?  (Use this to review the unsolicited greeting cards / address labels / stickers that non-profit organizations send us so that we feel obliged to send them money.)
    • If I’m keeping these old papers in respect for a loved one who passed away, would they really want me struggling under all this clutter?
  • If these papers reminds me you that you need to do something, ask these:
    • What action does this paper represent?  (Go ahead and act, or at least add the task to your to-do list, then let the paper go.)
    • What nugget of information on this paper do I really need to keep?  (For example, a business card represents contact info for a person.  Log the info into your address book, either paper or digital, and then toss the card.)

So, next time you are struggling with piles of paper, keep some of these in mind. Make little index cards or post-its of the questions that resonate with you most, and stick them up where you can see them!  Let them be your mantra as you review your papers and let some go!

4 Things I Love and Despise About Working From Home

According to a productivity blog I follow, this week is the UK’s National Work From Home Week (ours is in October, I’ll have more to say then!)

The very things I love about working from home are also my biggest challenges.  If you work from home, like me, or are considering a change this year, understand there good and bad in the following points:

Flexibility in my schedule.

Working from home allows me to attend school events, day-time doctor appointments, re-arrange my schedule when my kids get sick, and other freedoms if needed.  Professionally, I can take clients or speaking engagements almost any day or evening.  I love doing 10 different things in a day.

But that means a choppy schedule, and perhaps completing work late at night or early in the morning in exchange for those day-time hours.  And, as flexible as I may be, my schedule is dictated by client and family needs, so there is a lot of juggling most days!  I secretly envy those who go to work at the same place for 9 hours, and can focus on just work there.

Don’t make excuses, as you make appointments.  Try this: “Thursday morning, no, I can’t do Thursday (or whatever).  Do you have another suggestion?” Period.  People don’t need to know why you are busy Thursday afternoon, whether with a client, appointment or pre-school program.

Working from Home is a misnomer.

I may not work in a traditional downtown office anymore, but I also don’t always work from home.  This week, I may work in other peoples’ homes and offices more than my own.  And many other “Work from Home” professionals do the same, completing their work in other people’s homes, offices, in the car, at Starbucks. The rough draft of this was written in my car, sitting in the garage, because that is where inspiration struck.

Working from Home needs a new name, one that reflects the myriad of professions and awesome work that we do in new and independent ways and places.  Since I use tech in my work, I often say I work Virtually, but I often have to explain that. Any suggestions? 

Some people will just never understand.

For 12 years, I’ve Worked From Home, and in that time, my choice of workplace has become commonplace.  But some people will just never understand what it means to work from home.  I’m not in my jammies, watching TV – like ever!, and I can’t chat for hours. I may be at home, but I am still accountable to my business.

Just as we practice our 30 second elevator speech, practice the explanation of how you spend your day. Don’t fumble.  Assert.  And then get over it and move on, because they may never understand.  And that’s ok. 

Quiet and Alone.  Noisy and Lively.  You Choose.

I love my quiet empty home.  I am easily distracted by other peoples’ noise and conversations, so working from home is ideal for me.  And yet, too much quiet can also kill my focus.  Pandora and my local library are lifesavers some days.

I love when my family comes home, but then I miss my focus.  I wake up early.  I’ve made phone calls from my closet, and may write blogs in my car.

Working From Home gets lonely. I miss co-workers, birthday lunches and water-cooler chats. If you work from home, make sure to keep regular routines and get out in the world at least a couple times a day.  Keep in contact with your co-workers, or join networking or professional groups. I guess that’s where that flexibility comes in, to make it work.  Know yourself, determine if Quiet and Alone work today, or Noisy and Lively.

We who work from Home are productive, flexible, awesome, and still figuring it out some days, just like everyone else. Celebrate the benefits of Working from Home the next time you face the challenges of the same!

National Clean Off Your Desk Day and The 80/20 Rule

Now The Real Work Begins!  Now it’s time to get down to business, and what better way than with National Clean off Your pile of mailDesk Day, the second Monday of January!  Think about it – Cleaning Off Your Desk makes room for motivation, clarity and focus.  What are your Goals for this year:  Clear the clutter; get a handle on your money and finances; read more; stress less; do / get a better job?  It all starts with cleaning your desk!

Let me (re)-introduce you to the Pareto Principle, a.k.a. the 80/20 Rule.  The Pareto Principle says 80% of what you need is in 20% of what you have. Say it a couple times out loud until it sinks in.  The 80/20 rule applied to Paper management says we need about 20% of our papers, and we can probably get rid of the rest.  As an example, a client returning from a trip mentioned collecting 2 inches of mail from her mail box, and keeping… 4 items.  That’s it.

Let’s clear that cluttered 80%, so we can work on the 20% we need to act on and keep.

Here’s What To Do:

Grab a recycling bin and shredder, a letter opener, and pen and paper.

Grab the first pile of papers on your desk, and get started. With the most recent pile of mail, open it all.  Yes, really, Standing at your work space (standing is better), open it all.

  • Recycle immediately the ads.
  • Start piles for Common Categories, like these:
    • Bills to pay
    • Action Items (notes to send, reminders of phone calls to make, forms to complete and submit, etc)
    • Items to Read Later: magazines, articles
    • Errands to Run (coupons, receipts for returns, etc)
    • Papers To File
    • Tax Related Papers 2 years ago
    • Receipts
  • Recycle all the catalogs, but first tear off the back page off and set them aside.
  • Open every envelope, and toss / recycle / shred anything you don’t need for action or filing.  Recycle outside envelopes and inside inserts for your bills, etc.,
  • Set the bills-to-pay in their own pile, and the action items (same pile for me)
  • Grab a magazine holder and start a reading pile for your magazines and articles you plan to read later

Make some magic, and STOP MORE MAIL FROM COMING!

  • Low Tech: Call the 800 #s on the back page of the catalogs, and request to be removed from their mailing list.
  • Go To http://www.catalogchoice.org/, create an account and “Unsubscribe” from catalogs
  • Using your catalogchoice.org account, Get the Mail Stop app for your smart phone and get rid of unwanted mail in your mail box, too
  • Contact and create an account with the Direct Marketing Association,  http://www.dmachoice.org/, to get off of mailing lists and stop unsolicited mail
  • Another option is the Paper Karma app for your smart phone, to unsubscribe from mailing lists.
  • Unsubscribe from Magazines you no longer need or want, and digitize your subscriptions, so they come via email or on your IPad or Tablet.
  • Make a regular appointment to get to your reading pile (mine is early on Saturday morning for an hour or 2)

I’ve blogged extensively on setting up the actual Paper Management structure, the files and things, so please check out those, too, as you proceed to the next step:  http://colleencpo.wordpress.com/?s=paper+management

Here are related blogs, too, from past National Clean Off Your Desk Days:

You Can DO This!  Now get to work!

Back to Normal, Only Better. Because I am Grateful.

For me, this week has been about getting Back to Normal.  Normal, only better.

Because I am grateful, and gratitude makes everything better.

Gratitude is central to getting organized.

Gratitude elevates even the everyday stuff to Better.

Gratitude helps us prioritize our time and efforts around the people and things that we value most.

Gratitude for what we have makes us want … less.  Less clutter, less drama, less stuff.   Gratitude helps us get organized when we can appreciate the stuff we have and purge the stuff we don’t need.

You see, while I love Advent, Christmas and New Years, I am also relieved as they draw to a close. We will keep our Nativity up until the Christmas Season’s official end on Sunday, January 11th with the Baptism of Our Lord, but we are getting back to Normal in most other areas.

And I am grateful. This Season was wonderful, and then I had the flu for a week.  I am just so thankful for our wonderful Christmas, and now to feel better, to have my family healthy and happy, to be able to do normal things again.

Expected house guests motivated me to thoroughly clean my house and get to the grocery, then the guests cancelled their plans.  So my house is clean and fully stocked, and I am grateful for our home and health, and ready for our guests when they reschedule!

I worked over the weekend, first with a wonderful coaching client and then with a new client as we reclaimed her second bedroom.  I am so grateful for what I do professionally!

As I put away our Christmas decorations, I spent a few extra minutes purging the old and broken ones, and fitting everything back in fewer storage bins.  I’ll be grateful next December that I cleaned up the decorations.

The boys went back to school, so we all returned to better routines.

I backed up, cleaned off and updated my IPhone and IPad.  And I am so grateful for technology, for keeping in touch and running a business from home.  And for making the flu a little more bearable, with downloadable books on my Kindle App, and movies via Amazon Prime.

So life is getting back to normal, only better.  Because I am grateful for normal.  We always should be grateful for all that we have, but sometimes we forget.

Today and this week and this month and this year, it’s your opportunity be grateful and to get back to normal-only-better. Be grateful for you what you have.  Let Gratitude help you focus on the important parts of your life.  Wrap around all the good things, and make room for more by letting go of clutter and want.

Bonus Cherry-On-Top Strategic Planning Wear-your-PJs Week

I love this week between Christmas and New Years.  The Bonus Week, Cherry-On-Top Week, Strategic Planning Week, Stay-in-your-PJs-all-week Week.  A lot of offices are closed this week, but whether you are off or not, I hope you still spend some concentrated focus time, looking back and around and ahead at the days to come.  Spend a little time planning this week, and reap the benefits all year long.

(Click here for Dave Crenshaw’s ideas on what he calls HeadStart Week).

Look back.  If you don’t already have a Done List for this current year,  make one now.  Skim your calendar, maybe review your email subject lines.  If you are a social media person, look through your own posts.  My family had a really good year.  Major life events, like Sacraments and Graduations and Awards.  Between the 5 of us, we traveled to over 20 states this year.  We’re healthy and happy and stronger than we were 12 months ago.  My business had a great year, the biggest one so far.  We appreciated our friends and family, made a few new ones and sadly lost a few this year, too.   I have touted my professional Done List in a blog last February, but it’s nice to have a personal Done List, too.

Look Around.  Appreciate what you have and where you are right now.

Now Look Ahead.  It is easier to see where you are going once you know where you have been.  Consider all the different facets of you – personally, professionally, spiritually, physically, emotionally.  I am on the fence about New Years Resolutions, per se, but I do know that now that the holiday rush has slowed, there are some areas of my life I would like to work on – like health and nutrition, and professional development – two areas that get neglected in December!

So what will you do with your extra special extra week?  What will you do this week, that you can look back at 12 months from now?  Get to it!

The Gift Of “Completion”

The Gift Of “Completion”.  Done.  Good enough.  Followed-through. Tied up the loose ends.

christmas-present-lg

Give yourself and others the gift of “Completion” this week.  The gift of “Done”.

We all know what we are supposed to do, but we don’t always do it.  Go ahead and do it this week.

A client and her spouse challenged each other to complete the homework I assigned a month ago, before taking on more projects.  Completion.  Done.

“Completed” is powerful.  “Done” feels great.

I worked in a client’s home recently, and we discussed “Done” in terms of the items in her dining room awaiting delivery to other destinations (like donated books and a table destined for a co-worker’s art room).  She planned to have her teenagers drop off the items that day, to complete those final steps to clearing out their home space.

I ordered and picked up 20 more photo Christmas cards yesterday, went home, assembled them and sent them out.  Done. I balanced my business check book, updated my bookkeeping and paid my bills today instead of next week, to financially finish (almost) 2014.  I encouraged (nagged) my sons to finish wrapping their gifts so we could be done with the gift wrap.  I dropped off bags of donations, just to get them out of my house.  I went to my annual physical today. Done, done, done.   Whew.

Some days it seems that the last few steps of a project are the hardest to get motivated to complete (and therefore never seem to get done).  But please, push through those last steps, and then revel in Completion and Done.

“Completion” helps us breathe deeply, un-clutter our brain, feel lighter, look up and around, and think about something new for a change.

2014 is quickly wrapping up, and 2015 is almost here!  In what areas can you tie up the loose ends this week and next? Work? Personal?  Correspondence?  Small home projects?  What requires Follow-through?   Take time to wrap up those last steps and complete your projects!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Refresh and Restart For September

Recently, a friend – a fellow mom and business owner – wished me a Happy New Year, and that is really how I feel about September.  The schedule change, the life transitions, the brisk weather – I always feel renewed!  Use this time of renewal to clear mental and real clutter, and get a better handle on your time management, just like our students do!  Here’s how:


Re-Commit to Good Routines.

I love summer, but all facets of my life, personal and professional, benefit from Back-To-School consistency with waking and bed-times, meal times and nutrition, and more structured workdays.  Use this new season as an opportunity to return to routines that work, or tweak your routines and make them work even better!


Go to bed.  No, seriously.  Go to bed.

This is an uphill battle for me most days.  As a parent, I daily try to convince my teenagers to listen to their tired bodies and go to bed, instead of staying up late just because they can.  And personally, I wish I could say I get enough sleep, but sometimes I don’t. Most nights, I’m in bed at a reasonable hour, but some really great books have kept me up lately!  This week, now a little colder and darker outside, I will listen to my own tired body, close the book or IPad, and hit the pillow earlier.

We think better, work better, feel better and act nicer when we are well rested. Go to bed.

Remember the care and consideration you spent on that First Day outfit? 

September is a great time to take a look at your wardrobe, and make a few changes!  Cooler temperatures and Autumn colors have us shuffling through our closets in search of something to wear.  Take time to clean summer clothes, review and purge accordingly, and put them away into seasonal storage on a high shelf or in underbed storage. Shop in your closet for surprises (those great scarves I bought last Spring), and favorites. Refresh your wardrobe without leaving the house or spending a cent.

Re-new friendships and strengthen relationships!

I always loved going back to school because it meant I got to see my school friends more regularly.  We can learn from this as adults, too!  It is always a good time to reach out to a friend.  Whenever you find yourself wondering about someone and how they are, reach out!  And I mean via facebook, email, texting or a greeting card, in addition to the obvious “call them”!  Wouldn’t it be nice to know someone is thinking of you?  Your loved ones feel the same way.  Connect!

Out with the old, in with the new.

Out with the old:  It’s also always a good time to clear clutter!  This week I dropped off a couple of bags of donations, arranged donation of some old cell phones and cords, and sold used items on-line.  I cleaned out, cleaned up and made some space.

In with the new:  I love back-to-school for new gear and gadgets, but I don’t really need anything right now.  I did spend my morning clearing memory, installing updates and cleaning up my tech.  That’s all new!  And it feels great!

Learn something new.

Keeping up with your kids on a new technological gadget?  A language? A musical instrument? A cool new app, or a new way of doing something?   You-tube, google or your local library are all great places to imagine and explore new skills!  In addition, I already have a lot of new information right in front of me – I am working through my professional reading pile:  here’s irony, I have two time management books next on my pile, guess I need to find some time to read those!

With the new season comes meetings and events and an influx of new ideas to process and act upon.  It’s energizing!  Learn something new all the time.

How will you choose to embrace the new season this week?  Let’s Go!

Maintenance: Easy, Essential & Perpetual

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Last week, I was asked “What are Your organizing projects?”.  We’re already organized, so I don’t have huge projects on my list.  My answer is “I am forever engaged in maintenance”.

I use the analogy of laundry. Laundry is never completely done, we’re always making dirty laundry.  In life, there are some tasks that we do and they stay done, and there are some tasks that we do and re-do forever, like dishes, laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning, etc.; or in an office, client care, filing, billing, etc.

My clients and I talk a lot about the value of “Done”.  Sticking with a task until it is finished so we can move on the next project.  The feeling of accomplishment, the chance to take a breath and pat yourself on the back – I love “Done”.  However, most things don’t stay “Done”.

Remember the line from The Incredibles?  Mr. Incredible: “No matter how many times you save the world, it always manages to get back in jeopardy again. Sometimes I just want it to stay saved! You know, for a little bit?  I feel like the  maid; I just cleaned up this mess! Can we keep it clean for… for ten minutes!”

We all, including Mr. Incredible, need to recognize and embrace a vital component of the Organizing Process – Maintenance.   Maintenance is many things, but I will focus on three.  Maintenance is Easy, Essential and Perpetual.


Maintenance is Easy.  Maintenance is the easiest  part of organizing, certainly easier than getting organized.

Getting Organized takes lots of time, energy, money, motivation, decision-making and all sorts of other things we may or may not be willing to spend.  But Maintenance is what makes Getting Organized stick and stay, and takes much less time, money, energy, decision-making, etc.

Imagine your organized life.  Your clutter is gone.  Your stuff has a home, a place to be “put away”, and you have adequate storage for your items.  If this was your house, maintenance would be easy.  New stuff comes in, old stuff leaves, you put stuff away regularly and you make sure your stuff and systems are still working.  You do this a little bit daily and a lot once in a while, like at change of seasons.  This all becomes easy and routine, and you revel in having less clutter and less stress in your life.  Welcome to Maintenance.

And yet, Life Happens.  Good things, bad things, stuff happens.  Big emergencies and little upsets.  And that is why Maintenance is Essential.  I was discussing motivation with one of my tennis friends, and she said she would rather take care of things right away instead of waiting to do them “because more will always come”.  Maintenance is an investment in your future.

Being organized makes life run more smoothly, and occasionally saves us from those big and little emergencies altogether.  Maintaining our health keeps us healthy.  Maintaining our finances keeps our bills paid.  Maintaining our home keeps most major house emergencies at bay. In negative terms, there are many costs of Delayed Maintenance: Preventable but neglected health issues; late bills, collection agencies and poor credit scores; leaky roofs or plumbing problems.  Maintenance is essential, and a lot cheaper than emergencies. 

Maintenance is Perpetual.  I hear from friends and clients that it feels like organizing is never done.  We think we’re close, and then something happens and we have to adjust.

We are all perpetually in transition.  New day, new season, new challenges, new situations, new jobs, new babies, you name it.  So we have to realize that Yes, we have to maintain our systems and adjust to new things.  And that’s Ok.  And inevitable.

Sometimes I want to fight the perpetuity of maintenance.  Going back to Mr. incredible, can’t the world just stay saved for a while?   Any of these sound familiar (and not just in my house?!)?

“Come on!  I just went to the grocery!   Where did all the food go?  That was a week ago?  And we ate it?  Oh. ”

“We have to go pants shopping again because the teenager is suddenly 5 inches taller?  Really?”

“Didn’t I spend yesterday doing laundry?  What do you mean your uniform is dirty?”

“Didn’t I just pay the bills?  Or clean the gutters?  Or mow the grass?  Or get my flu shot?  DO I really have to do it all again now?  Grrrrr…..

So, I get it.  I do.  But then I remind myself that it is silly to fight Maintenance.  Maintenance will still need done even if I don’t feel like doing it.  And I know things will get really ugly if I don’t do it.  We need to eat, we need to wear clothes, I need to clean my house because it will not clean itself.  I don’t always love to clean, but I do love the end product of a clean home.

We can realize the perpetuity of Maintenance, but still cut ourselves some slack, and accept “Done Enough” or “Done For Now”.  There comes a time each night when my people are safely in bed, and I turn off my brain and the light and declare myself done for the day.  “Done Enough”. For now.  Tomorrow is another day.

So embrace Maintenance, in all its forms, and keep up with your Organizing efforts.  Remind yourself of the Easy and Essential parts to help you embrace the perpetual part!  And give yourself a break and allow for “Done Enough” or “Done For Now” sometimes.

Let Your Brain Do Its Job! 5 Ways to Tame the Monkey Mind

(Original post 2011, edited in 2022!)

The tagline for my company is Organizing for Your Peace of Mind.  Early on, I realized that I am not just selling my time and expertise to my clients, I am providing Peace of Mind.  And I know this because I am constantly learning how to find it for myself, too. 

    I learned the term “Monkey Mind” years ago.  The term monkey mind comes from Buddhist monks to describe our racing thoughts, and it aptly describes my thought process some mornings!  (I like this mental image, too with the monkeys swinging from tree to tree.)   

    But our brain helps us survive and solve problems.  So, if given information, time and opportunity, our monkey mind / brain will come up with solutions for us.  Here are 5 Ways to Tame Your Monkey Mind, and Let Your Brain Do Its Job!

1.  Dump the Monkeys.  David Allen in Getting Things Done suggests writing down every idea running around your head on a piece of paper, a new piece for each idea. Then sort the papers (ideas) into categories –Kids, Work, Specific Work Projects, Personal achievements, Tasks, etc.  I like technology and achieve the same results with the Evernote where I keep my Daily Task List and also the specific ones, like Client Care, Classes or Tiger Scouts.  When the monkey mind overwhelms me, I dump all my ideas on one long un-edited list, then cut and paste the items into their various topic areas.  Next time I sit down to work, I open the Note topic I am looking for, and all those ideas are ready and waiting for me to take action.

2.  Take a Break:  If I lack focus and a clear next step to take, it is often because I need to take a break.  If I am with a client, we take a moment to talk and re-establish our goals for our appointment.  If I am at home, my favorite breaks are short and to the point, so I can get back to work in a timely manner.  I may water my plants, grab a cup of tea, eat an apple, get the mail, file or take out the trash.  I DO NOT check my email or Facebook in the middle of a work session, for if I do, I may never make it back to work!  But  5 minutes to walk around, take a breath, and re-direct are what I need to help me leave the frazzled behind and find new insights.

3.   Take A Nap:  My college roomies will attest, I made it through senior year with power naps.  Most of my upper level Management courses were evening classes, and I had a daytime job and responsibilities that kept me from sleeping in.  So 30 minutes at 4 pm helped me to stay alert and focused for those 3 hour classes!  A few weeks ago, I sent myself to my room for a 20 minute time-out, when my kids and my thoughts were all running around too fast to figure out what to do next.  I came back a calm, pleasant and focused person!

4.  Throw the monkeys off track, and do something completely unrelated.  My most relaxed times are while I am hiking, taking a shower, practicing my flute, or reading books with my youngest son.  During these activities the monkey mind moves to the back of my consciousness, and has a chance to solve pressing problems without my direct involvement.  Luckily, I keep a dry erase marker in the bathroom to jot notes on the mirror, or keep my smart phone with me to jot down task items or ideas as they come to me (except during reading time, that’s just for me and my little guy).  

5.  Do One Thing.  One thing, even if it is not the right or perfect thing, is still progress.  “We can’t do everything at once, but we can do something at once.”  – Calvin Coolidge

Please share any other suggestions for Calming the Monkey Mind, I would love to know what works for you!