Tag: family

Prioritize your Big Rocks This Week

Pressure.  I’m feeling the pressure.  This week’s blog marks my 300th published blog.  That’s a big deal, right?  I mean, wow, a major milestone.  And my grand idea is… non-existent.  I have a vague idea to write a blog about the life on a solo entrepreneur some day, and I thought that would be today.  But I’m just not feeling it.  I want my blogs to be about You, MY Readers, not about me.

But…. still…. nothing.

After a client cancellation this morning, I found myself with a few free hours.  Presented with a few unscheduled hours  – what to do?  Being the responsible sort, I took care of A LOT of work, woo hoo!!  I followed up with clients, booked appointments, and scheduled a speaking gig for November 7th.  Of 2016!!!  Wow!  Cleared out 2 inboxes, yeah!  Plus mowed and raked, since it is a lovely day.

But mostly, today I wrestled with priorities and how to fit all the big rocks in my jar for the next 2 months ( click here if you don’t know the reference:  http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/motivation_articles.asp?id=264  ) .

I wonder if any of you wrestle with your priorities, too?

Take 30 minutes this week to map out the last two months of 2015, making space for your important priorities!    Here are mine, for the next two months:

Family:  We sent out emails to our fabulous families over the weekend and today about upcoming events, dinners and holidays, to carve out and protect important family time.  (and my brother recently shared this article with me, love it!  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/secrets-danish-happiness_5630f211e4b06317991050dc )

Faith:  My Catholic Faith is very important to me, and with Advent and Christmas coming, I added daily Mass back to my calendar when possible.  And Christmas and all its wonder, of course, but I’m not ready to jump into that pool yet!

Money:  This morning, for the business I paid my bills and balanced my check book.  Better decisions come from being fully informed, so I started there.

Home: We ordered new bedding yesterday, which will get the bedroom paint project moving. There will be more to say in this category, but it was good enough to just put it on my list today.

Business: As mentioned, I have been very productive these last few days, professionally speaking.  I want to end 2015, my highest producing year EVER, strong.  So I cleared away some nagging to-dos, and made positive steps serving a lot of clients in the next few months.

Health:  After a weekend of over-consumption, I recommitted to eating healthier and avoiding sugar and white flour, and making time to exercise.

Saying Yes while Saying No:  I said Yes to events in 2016, but  I’m cautious about saying yes to any more 2015 events.

Fun:  I want something fun every weekend for the rest of the year.  When our travel plans changed this past Sunday, I sat at my computer all day and plowed through a long list of tasks.  Productive and necessary, yes.  Gratifiying, indeed.  Fun or family oriented? Nope, not at all.  So I want movies, hiking, road trips, etc.  Something fun every weekend.

What are your Big Rocks?  This week, plan the rest of 2015 and make room for your important priorities.

Back To School: First Things First – Clothes!

These next few weeks are about action and Taking Care of Business for a lot of parents, myself included.  So I am keeping these next few posts simple.

Do-able.

Positive.

Pared down and drama-free.

Just like back-to-school time should be!

So let’s do this!

First things first, friends. Clothes.  Reviewing the current, and shopping for the new.

  1. Before tackling the clothes / closet review, do all the laundry and put it all away. Yes.  All of it.  Away.  And if you say – “All of it?  THERE’S TOO MUCH!”, then that’s an indicator that this project can reap big benefits for you!  And if you say “AWAY?  We don’t have an AWAY for all the clothes!” then that, too, indicates that this project is extremely overdue.
  2. Next, clear a couple hours on the schedule, for you and your children (each child individually).  Make sure you’re both rested and fed.  Don’t start this at 10 pm, or right before lunch.  Turn on some fun music, grab a pad of paper to write down items to purchase, and get at it.
  3. Make the bed, and then cover it with a clean white sheet – it can be great work space for sorting.
  4. Pick a starting spot, and begin.  DO NOT TAKE OUT EVERYTHING AT ONCE!  Tackle a dresser drawer or a single closet shelf at a time.   Better yet, address a single category of clothes at a time.  All the shorts or pants or skirts or shirts, etc.  Do not try to tackle everything at once!
  5. As you work through the clothes, purge items that are: too big, too small, old or beyond repair, off-season, etc.  Label and store the off-season and too-big items, and donate, sell or hand down the too-small or too-old items.
  6. Do an initial quick review, and purge everything that YOU KNOW fits into the above descriptions  (items that are too small, too stained, too icky, etc.).
  7. Now, have your kids try everything else on.  Yes, everything.  Use the criteria listed above when you review the clothes.
  8. I have teenagers, so I also need an “I’ll never actually wear this” pile.  I find this frustrating, but since my sons aren’t overly picky or materialistic, I respect their choices.  I have also declared that I will never buy clothes for my sons without them with me again.  I don’t want to waste the time or money of buying clothes they won’t wear.
  9. Make a list of items that your kids need for the school year and new season.  (If you need a suggested list, http://peaceofmindpo.com/2010/08/05/that-age-old-ritual-back-to-school-clothes-shopping/ ).  I went through my own closet, too, and got rid of an old and tattered pair of pants and dressy skirt, among other things.  I won’t wear them again, but I will need to replace them so I added those items to my personal shopping list.
  10. Put away the clothes you are keeping (for more ideas, check my past blog articles), and deliver the purged items to their destination.  And then go do something fun!

You CAN do this!  And enlisting your child in the process teaches them organizational skills they can use for life.

Building Productivity with Time Blocks

In the interest of time management, I’ll start this article with my conclusions:
  • Blocking out time to get important work done ensures intention and attention to that important work.
  • Transition times, like school days to summertime for me, provide an opportunity to reassess our time management practices.
  • Summertime can make us lax when it comes to productivity, but that doesn’t have to be the case!
  • We make appointments for other things, why not for specific tasks?
  • Strategies that work in one area of our life often can be used to improve other areas, too, if we just pay attention.
I complete important tasks daily, and you do, too.  I manage my business, family and home, and a number of volunteer roles in my Parish and Community.  I’m grateful every day for the gift of organization, both as a concept and as a skill I am blessed to possess.  And yet, I struggle with time, just like everyone else. We’re all trying to complete our important tasks, and also, occasionally, do things that we WANT to do, and not just NEED to do.
Last week, I was struggling with a particular volunteer commitment.  It seemed that, after spending client and business hours, and family and home hours (plus occasionally eating and sleeping), I couldn’t find time to work on this important category of tasks.  During a meeting, one friend suggested Time Blocking to another friend, as a way to move forward with productivity during the summer months (Thanks, Jill!).  I use time blocking all the time in other ways, so I grabbed onto the idea to help with my volunteer commitment.
Time Blocking is a simple and obvious concept:  We block out time on our calendar, 30 minutes or a whole day, to address specific tasks or types of tasks.   Time blocking means: 1. you know your high priority tasks and projects; 2. you set aside time each week to work on those specific tasks and projects; and 3. then you actually keep the commitment.
Consider this: I make appointments to work with my clients and we keep those appointments, because I am committed to my clients and my livelihood.  I find time for family and home because we have set hours for things, like school time and summer camp and meal times.  I’m invited to parties and events at specific times and for specific duration, and I make those parties and events happen, because I’m committed to the people involved and don’t want to let them down.   These are great examples of Time Blocking.
The real magic of time blocking comes from being specific about what will occur during the block of time.  Set blocks of time aside for a specific purpose.  I’ve blocked out an hour a day this week for business maintenance tasks, and each day has a specific category attached: bookkeeping and bill pay; client follow-up and emails; presentation preparation and booking, etc. Being specific, and working with intention for even a short period of time will move me towards my goals faster than unfocused wanderings. We don’t have to complete a project in our block of time, but we can at least make progress.
A client mentioned the bills didn’t always get paid on time because she hadn’t set aside time every week to pay the bills. I suggested Time Blocks, making an appointment with herself to pay the bills.
The plumber was coming to install a new laundry sink, so I blocked 20 minutes to de-clutter the laundry room before he arrived.
Applying Time Blocking to my challenge last week allowed me to just pay attention solely to one project, one category of tasks, for the allotted time.  It was quite a relief, actually, and I completed the tasks.
How can you use Time Blocking this week to be more productive?  Give it a try!

Wait – What? I’m Supposed to Have Summer Organizing Projects?

It’s feeling like summer.  My older sons are out until August, and the youngest is counting the hours until Friday noon.

I don’t know if this happens in every house (probably not), but when the kids get out of school and the weather turns warm, my thoughts turn to…. Projects!  (I know, I may be crazy).  Of course, my thoughts also turn to summer travels and relaxing with friends and family, but summer is a great time to make progress on projects.

Wait – What? I’m Supposed to Have Summer Organizing Projects?

Yes, you are.  Why?

The days are longer.  It’s warmer in the garage / attic / basement, if that’s where the projects are.  Our energy is higher. There may be extra people (read kids) around to help. So here is how:

  • Grab a clipboard.  Yes, a clipboard.  Seriously – don’t you feel more confident and in charge when you carry a clipboard? Julie McCoy, Cruise Director always knew what was going on, right?  (I just totally dated myself, but so be it).  Grab the clipboard with some paper and pen.
  • Walk around every room of your house with your clipboard, and then outside, too.
  • Look at every room as though it’s the first time.  Walk with someone, and explain the space to them. Saying things out loud can help us process our ideas.  Jot down thoughts.
    • First, appreciate the positive aspects.  (“I really love that couch.  I love the way the light fills this space. I still love this paint color, etc.”)
    • Now consider what you might like to change about the space.  Be realistic, but dream big.  Making changes can breathe new life into our spaces.  I love my great room, but rearranging the furniture the other day made me love it even more.
    • Now consider what organizing projects could help your spaces:
      • De-clutter?  Always a good step.
      • De-furnish?  I walk into so many rooms that have way too much furniture.
      • A good cleaning?  A very simple solution.
      • Invest in an organizing solution?  Perhaps your space could use new book shelves, a better closet system, or under-bed storage for off season clothes or bedding?
      • Be specific.  Don’t just write “organize bedroom” on your list.  Try – “clean out dresser drawers”, “purge old shoes”, “clean out under bed”, “hang new art work”, etc.
  • When you’re done, you may have a lengthy list.  Don’t get overwhelmed, you only need to tackle a few!
  • Looking at your list, determine what projects your family can complete over the next few months. Why?
    • Decision makers.  I live with 4 other people.  If I want to make an organizational change, I ask opinions from the other people who live here, out of respect.  This is easier in the summer, when my family is home more.  Kids may be home from college, and spouses may have a free day here and there.
    • Extra hands.  For example, we have A LOT of books in our house – the bookshelves have gotten full. This past weekend, each son went through his bookshelves.  Three bags of books are ready to donate to our local library, plus three bags of garbage left, too!
  • Pick just one room to start, and just one project. For example, “Family Room: Organize DVD collection”.
  • Now list the steps, and who can help.  The steps may include
    • “collect  cases and loose DVDs, put them together” (20 minutes, son #3),
    • “alphabetize the DVDs” (5 minutes, son #3), and
    • “review and purge unneeded DVDs for sale or donation” (20 minutes, everyone).
  • I find projects are more manageable, for me and my sons, when broken into smaller pieces.

So, what’s it going to be this summer?  Getting that garage ready for next winter?  Finally clearing out the attic, to get ready for selling the house next year?  Maybe just tidying up all the closets?  Tackle those projects!  Walk around, write them down, break them up, and share the load!  Then hit the beach or the trail! Enjoy!

7 Solutions to Get My (and Your?) Morning Back on Track

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This is not the blog I planned to publish this week.
But as I drove home from a very early morning client, I considered what I need to focus on today to make tomorrow morning run more smoothly.  We have simple and wonderful systems in place.  Our mornings typically work really well, and all 5 of us know our parts and make the essential stuff happen.
However….. This week…  we could improve.  Let’s just leave it at that.
So here is part of my plan for today.  Maybe one of these solutions will resonate with you, too?  If your morning is a scramble, give them try!
Solution #1: Put ALL the laundry away.
There was a scramble for pants this morning.  Sounds funny when I spell it out. Other days, we scramble for clean socks or a favorite hoodie, but today it was pants.  I occasionally entertain the idea of buying more of certain items to lessen the chance of running out, but we really don’t need more of anything, we just need to maintain the established system, and put ALL the laundry away.  It’s clean, its just not where its supposed to be.

Solution #2: Another set of keys.
A family member has misplaced his keys.  This one little foible has complicated things, by necessitating other family members having to come home to let the lost-key family member in the house, plan around them, etc. We used to have a back-up key, but a winter garage break-in caused us to change our ways.  And Yes, I know, the real answer is for lost-key son to find his keys.  But today’s solution is to suck it up and get another set of keys made.

Solution #3. Stock the Mom-Envelope.
The Mom-Envelope, with $40-ish dollars in small bills, is sadly empty.  A trip to the bank will solve the emptiness, and the Mom-envelope will be able to again solve morning scrambles for a few $$ here and there.

Solution #4: A Full Tank of Gas.
Luckily, I gassed up the other day.  But as I did, I recognized how having a full tank of gas eliminates a lot of worry (or conversely, worrying about running out causes a lot of stress.)

Solution #5: Fully charged technology.
The strategies are having multiple chargers and just one place to charge stuff (the kitchen counter).  Mysteriously, last night we discovered some of the chargers have wandered off, so a goal for today is to round them all up and keep them where they belong.  I have also started carrying an extra charger in my car.  A recent quote from the Minimalists reads “If your phone is constantly ‘about to die,’ then maybe it’s not the phone that has a problem.” (click here for the full article)

Solution #6: Communications.
My youngest is a rock star when it comes to reviewing the plan for his day.  Before going to sleep, and again in the morning, he reviews out loud what’s in store for his next 24 hours or so.  “Ok, Before-Care, then Band and Boy Scouts, right?  And I already packed my lunch.”  This helps us both to plan ahead and remember the details.

Solution #7: A Clean kitchen counter.
A quick way to de-rail movement in my morning is a messy kitchen.  Can’t make my coffee, eat breakfast, make smoothie, work on breakfast for the little guy, etc.  We left early and in a hurry, but that is the first thing on my list after I publish this!

So look around, and see where you can get your morning back on track!  Whether with these solutions or some of your own!

7 Motivation Boosters That Worked This Week

What is Motivation? Energy? Drive? Google defines it “the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way, or the general desire or willingness of someone to do something”.  Finding and keeping “Motivation” is a recurring theme with my clients and the rest of the world, too!

Below are 7 ways to increase our “desire or willingness to do something”, that worked for others this week.  Give one a try!

  1. Recognize the BIG DEAL OF MOTIVATION isn’t so big after all. It’s one simple decision. Yes or No. Left or Right. Up or Down.  From moment to moment, choose to do the productive thing over the unproductive thing, organized over disorganized, the healthy choice or the unhealthy choice.  Motivation shows up in little tiny steps in the right direction, as opposed to large sweeping gestures or drastic life changes.
  2. Change your Perspective.  Be someone else.  A friend hates filing his papers, and wants an assistant who would file for him. So, as silly as it sounds, once a week, he plays a little mind game, pretends to be his own assistant, and takes care of those mundane tasks that he dreads.  Knowing him, he may even send himself out for a cup of coffee as a reward.  If I lack motivation to take care of tasks, I might pretend to be my favorite concierge ever, Angelo, who helped me plan a girls’ weekend.  Step outside of yourself, be that helper for 30 minutes and take care of all those things you want to hand off to someone else.
  3. Accountability.  Here’s how: Agree with a friend to accomplish a list of tasks, and report to each other via texting or email when you accomplish each task (phone calls take too long).  The act of reporting our successes can be so motivational!  On the other hand, wanting to avoid the embarrassment of having to admit we didn’t accomplish something may be motivating enough to get us to accomplish the tasks!
  4. Tackle big projects in small pieces.  Perfectionist thinking says “I only want to start the task when I have time to complete it”, even when the task takes 10 hours.  And we rarely will get 10 hours in a row to dedicate to a task.  Try little pieces to move your projects along.
  5. Employ Hard Stops.  Hard stops go together with “little pieces”.  We hesitate to start projects because we have no idea how long they’ll take to complete. Try scheduling time to just work on the task, not necessarily complete it.  Set a timer, commit to stopping at a certain time, then STOP! And go do something else!  You’ll make progress in a couple of areas, and feel more motivated to get back to your tasks next time.
  6. Pay attention to people sapping your motivation.  Perhaps your boss, a needy friend, a cranky family member?  Even after you finish speaking with them, your brain mulls over the conversation, and your focus and energy are gone.  You can’t avoid them altogether, but you can take back your energy and focus.  Consciously decide to return to Yourself, Your Plan, Your Day.  I know, it is easier said than done, but it can be a powerful feeling, to take back your motivation.
  7. Pay attention to other drains on your motivation.  I worked with a client recently who mentioned she felt terrible every Sunday evening.  So the question is not “How do we take off every Monday from work”, but instead, “What do we do differently over the weekend that makes us feel poorly by Sunday?”  Poor food choices, staying up late, sleeping in?  What if our headache or upset stomach are from anxiety about the coming week?  Be aware, and take action.

So, the next time your get-up-and-go gets up and goes, try one of these ideas to give your motivation a boost!

Organize Your Home’s Smallest And Hardest Working Space!

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Let’s face it – we spend a lot of time in the bathroom.  So it makes sense to spend time this week improving that very hard working space!  A client recently asked for suggestions to improve her bathroom.  Her questions focused on towel storage / drying, clothes and general space allocation.  Here are my answers to her, and to you:

Towels:

Any place you can add more towel rods / racks would be a bonus.  And consider how to stack the rods on the wall:  for example, hanging them 3 and 5 feet from the floor – the bottom one for long towels and the top one for hand towels or wash clothes.  You can use one wall for more than one rod.

I have also seen over-the-shower-rod / shower-door racks for towels, if your tub / shower have either of those.  Also, if space permits, you could use a free-standing coat rack outside the bathroom door for your towels, too.  The air flow outside the bathroom may be better for drying anyway.

In addition, I did some research last summer when the towels in my hubby’s bathroom were getting decidedly musty.  The experts say we can re-use towels for a few days, instead of using them only once, but we should wash them every 3 or 4 uses, so twice a week, typically.

Clean-ish Clothes (worn, but can be worn again):

I would suggest an Ish-hook, maybe two.  An “ish”-hook, you ask?  An “ish” hook is for clean-“ish” clothes that can be worn again.  We all have those items (for me, jeans and yoga pants), often tossed on a chair, bedpost or in a heap.

Consider a hook or two, again at varying heights if that would help, for pants and tops.  You can also designate a small amount of rod space and / or shelf space for your clean-ish clothes, and both would work.  I prefer the over-the-door hooks, but if that won’t work in your space, the rod and shelf should help.

Command Products make great hooks that are reasonably priced and require no tools for installation, so you can add a few here and there to see what will work for you.  You could even mount them directly on a door, if the over-the-door items don’t work.

Personal Hygiene Supplies:

Pare down your bathroom contents to your essentials.  The bathroom is typically the smallest room, after all.  Keep only current personal hygiene items in the bathroom.  More importantly, use up items completely and keep less in inventory!

Check expiration dates and purge old stuff.  Consider the seasons:  Winter time?  Store sunscreen and bug spray somewhere else.  Also, review items and determine if they’re expired to your current life.  For example – we had a bin of bath-toys under the sink, but as soon as my youngest started taking showers, the toys went away.  Another example is the drastic hair change I made last year: almost all my styling supplies left the bathroom- either into the trashcan, or into a bin on the top shelf of our linen closet.

Cleaning:

Pare down your cleaning supplies, keep only one or two multi-purpose items at hand and store the rest elsewhere.  If your linen closet is in your bathroom, remember the universal tips of storing large single items on high shelves and using clear over-the-door shoe racks for small items.

Spend a little time this week organizing your bathroom, and reap big rewards!

Reclaim the Top of Your Refrigerator

I was having a writer’s block last week and asked my Facebook Fans and Friends to suggest blog topics.  They really came through for me, so thanks to all for the inspiration!

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One of the first to responses was “What to do with all that [stuff] that has accumulated on the top of my refrigerator” (see above, front and side views).  I love this question because we have all probably been there, wondering the same question.  And I also love it because spending half an hour on this one little project is going to make you feel great about your kitchen.

So, here’s what you do, if your fridge looks like this one….  Tackle the project using Julie Morgenstern’s SPACE.  Sort, Purge, Assign a Home, Containerize and Equalize.

  1. Grab a step-stool, a clean counter, and perhaps a young helper and Clear It All Off and wash it down
  2. SORT Your stuff.  In these photos, I would say Cook books, Lunch boxes, Mail and Papers, playing cards, school supplies, vitamins?  Group your items into different categories that make sense to you.
  3. PURGE your stuff.
    • You choose what stays and goes.  Some things DO belong up there, and some things DO NOT.
    • Trash old, outdated or mysterious food products, broken items (like the green bowl), and old mail.
    • What goes somewhere else in the kitchen or home?  What’s in that Target bag?
    • What can stay? Things that only the parents / tall people use; seldom used items; big single items that don’t look too cluttered.
  4. Steps 3 and 4 ASSIGN A HOME AND CONTAINERIZE are the really important steps in this project.
  5. ASSIGN A HOME  There are challenges with tall spaces like the Fridge top.  Small things get lost. It is great storage space, but lacks structure and physical boundaries.  One rough open or close of the door can send stuff flying.  I look at that bundle of mail, and imagine the whole thing hitting the floor and flying everywhere.  Gravity.  Ever have a box of cereal dump on your head?  If we store big clunky items up there, we risk pulling things down on our heads.
  6. Containerize:
  • We need to get creative when it comes to containerizing on the Fridge top.
  • Use the space well but strive for a streamlined visual presentation.
  • Our fridge is tucked under our cabinets.  I need easily moved storage solutions if I want to access those hard to reach cabinets.
  • I suggest Book Ends, Baskets and Boxes, well labeled, for fridge-top storage.
  • Use bookends for cookbooks, or for boxes of cereal or crackers.
  • Baskets offer a nice visual while covering up their contents.  These two baskets are on top of my fridge.  The left one holds our lunch bags, and the right one holds recycling items like batteries, medications, etc., until drop-off day.
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  • Boxes, like lidded photo boxes, can corral small or seldom used items like recipes, holiday cookie cutters, etc.  They can be purchased inexpensively at a craft store and can match your kitchen colors, or just choose white to make them blend in to the landscape.
  • The Fridge top is great for items that are not too big and bulky like large serving dishes or serving baskets.  I have large serving trays at the back of my fridge-top, covered with a cloth.

7.  The last step of the organizing process is to Equalize, or maintain.  Tidy up the top of your fridge when clean your kitchen, or make a date to do it once or twice a year.

So, the next time you have 30 or 60 minutes, you can complete a project just like this and improve a room and your life.  Who knew?  Friend-who-sent-me-the-pictures, I would love to see an after-picture!

P.S. A few words about:  Cookbooks.  Do you need and use the cookbooks you have?  I have some cookbooks in a cabinet, but my go-to resource that I use multiple times a week is a large white 3 inch binder.  I’ve assembled the binder over time, adding favorite recipes to different categories like “baking” or “meal ideas”, etc. I still have a few cookbooks for inspiration, but the binder is the best. I have pockets for recipes I collect that I want to try, and plastic page inserts to slide the magazine pages or papers into (plastics means I can wipe them off if I spill). When I need to read the recipe, I stand the binder up in a large plate holder.