Tag: holidays

Slow Down. Smile. Breathe. Merry Christmas!

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I spend a lot of time organizing others and myself, but I remind myself often “Why?”.  My personal “Why to be organized” reasons include running our home efficiently, using our resources responsibly, setting an example for my kids, and taking care of tasks so we have time for other things.  Above all, to me, being organized means I take good care of my family.

I attended a scripture reflection gathering last weekend.  60 minutes with 4 wonderful women, and my mindset for the holidays was blessedly changed.  I was reminded that everything we do for others this time of year is a blessing. Our labors and service are all a gift, to us and to others and to God.  Hope and Faith and Glory.  Ahhhh….  (that was me sighing a contented sigh).

We discussed how the ornaments on our tree reflect all the different places our lives have been.  For example, the ornaments my husband and I brought from our childhoods when we got married, and the ones we have received over the years since.  The “baby’s first Christmas” ornaments from each son, the cactus ornament from our anniversary in Arizona, the Irish ones we received at a family ornament exchange, the Mickey-shaped one we carefully brought home from Disney.  The hand-made ornaments from many school parties: angels with little hand-shaped wings; the same photo ornament of each boy holding the Velveteen rabbit in the same preschool classroom; banners and bells and beads and glitter.

A friend stopped by the other day and exclaimed over my handmade ornaments on my tree.  Since I consider myself totally not-crafty, I hadn’t really realized that we had more or less handmade ornaments than anyone else.  I did look at my tree anew though, admiring my sons’ crafty work: the ornaments they have made, and the fact that we all decorated the tree together and they chose which ornaments to put out.  My heart warmed when I realized how they have come to value the history and present life that the ornaments represent.

Our lives have gotten busier and busier as the boys have gotten older.  And I have been cranky at several points this holiday season about the apparent lack of time for our family traditions.  But I guess they still understand and appreciate and love our traditions, even if they haven’t figured out how to help, or haven’t made them their own.  And that’s ok.

So my organizing idea for you this week is to slow down and appreciate the Holidays for what they are.  An opportunity to get closer to God, to your community, your friends, your family and to your own self.   Admire and embrace anew your own traditions.  Appreciate the time and focus that being organized has afforded you, and reap the benefits now.   Slow down and smile and breathe.  I know I will.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

Stay Productive When All The World Is a Distraction!

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This time of year, do you struggle to maintain focus in the midst of all the holiday hustle, bustle and hype?  I know I do.  After a busy family weekend of volunteering, parties and activities, I sat down Monday morning at my desk already tired, and opened my in-boxes to hundreds of email.  Gah!  I fought the temptation to run and hide, but it got me thinking about how to Stay Productive and On Task When all the World Seems Like a Distraction!

So here are some tips to help us all out:

1.  Clear the clutter in your work space.  Spend 10 minutes and file your filing, tidy your resources, clear the trash, wash your coffee mug (and swap it out for a holiday themed one).  Take a few deep breaths and enjoy your cleared space. Then get back to work.

2.  Clear the clutter in your in-box.  Ruthlessly delete emails. A tip from my paper management classes that applies to email, too:  Catalogs and email advertisements are sent with the specific intention of making you buy stuff.  If you don’t want to shop right now, delete the emails.  Or put them in a folder to open later, and put “Review sale emails” on your to-do list with a date and time and time allotment attached (give it 10 or 15 minutes, then move on).

3.  Decorate your work space, but just a little. For safety sake, no candles.  And for health sake, no candy jar or food-scented anything (it will just make you hungry)!  I have a single lovely large decoration hanging in my window.  I bought it from a crafty friend, and it is the extent of my decorations around my desk.  Remember, any decorations you put out now will be clutter in 4 weeks.

Saying this again, for the people in the back:
Remember, any decorations you put out now will be clutter in 3 weeks!

4.  Clear the clutter in your calendar and on your to-do list.  I started the day with a dozen quick and easy tasks on my work to-do list – send invoices, follow-up with emails / schedule a client for Wednesday, etc. (and I deleted over 200 emails accumulated over the weekend in my personal and business email accounts).  Whew!

5.  Employ hard stops.  We all know when an event will start, but we don’t always know when it will / should end.  A friend opened her home to a group of us over the weekend, and served us a lovely meal.  It was wonderful.  And then we all packed up and left 2 hours after we started, so she could get to her next event.  She gave us a hard stop, a specific end time, before we began and we tried to stick to it.  We should employ hard stops all year ‘round, but especially when time and productivity are at a premium.

6.  Don’t get distracted.  Check in many, many times a day / hour / minute to make sure you are on-task and doing what you actually intended to do today, and not mindlessly browsing the internet, watching tear-jerking videos on Facebook, or chatting too long with a friend at the grocery store (a little while was awesome, though, catching up with a friend in the produce section).  Compartmentalize, and set timers if you must.

7.  Multitask.  Put the cookies in the oven, then write your blog (oh, maybe that’s just me – molasses cookies with white chocolate kisses right now).  I don’t often recommend multitasking, but sometimes we must.   Run errands on your commute, use your time well.  I have taken to checking my email remotely on my phone so I know how to order my tasks when I get home.

8.  Set professional goals, even though you’re busy with other things.  Keep your professional focus, and make one or two more goals for this month, to give you some accountability and keep you on track.

9.  Start the January list.  What are important work tasks that need to be completed, but can wait until January?  OR personal tasks, as well? Expectations are high enough this time of year without adding unnecessary stress.  Look at that to-do list and ask yourself if anything can wait for a few weeks, or months! , and then schedule those tasks for January.   And, I know I always say this, but leave notes for future you when you think of something!  For example, we loaded up the car to drive home from MI on Thanksgiving night, and my son opened up an app on his phone and said – Notes?!  (He gets me.) Notes for next year like less mashed potatoes, less dressing, more games, more beverages, etc.

I hope this helps you clear some brain and life clutter and maintain focus on your professional goals this time of year.  Merry Christmas!  Now get back to business!

What will you do with the next 8 weeks, the final months of 2013 (no pressure!)?

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hourglass-hiThis article is not about the holidays.  Nope.  Not shopping, turkey or decorations.  Clear those from your minds

This is all about you.  You.  What will You do with the rest of Your year?

I attended a workshop this past weekend, where I met wonderful women doing great things,  explored creative writing and encountered inspiration!  One article our speaker mentioned was “The Final Stretch of 2013: Three Questions to Ask Yourself” (www.eatyourcareer.com) .

The three questions are:

  1. What have I accomplished so far?
  2. If I had to choose just two priorities for the rest of the year (one personal and one professional), what would they be?
  3. What intention do I want to set for the next two months?

So……

Accomplishments so far?  (This is often really tough for people.)

Recall your new year’s resolutions, if you can.  I won’t share my whole January self’s list, but I am proud of what I have accomplished this year:

      I raised over $1,000 for children’s cancer research by shaving my head for St. Baldrick’s, and registered to be a bone marrow donor through Be the Match (www.BeTheMatch.org).  I went “back to school”, taking coaching classes to expand my mind, business and skill set.  I met with and shopped with a wardrobe consultant.  I said yes to people and invitations. I’ve worked regularly with my accountability partner to move my business forward in great ways.

Next – Priorities and intentions.  These are very important, but you have to determine these for yourself.  Let me share a few suggestions, to help You determine Your priorities and intentions:

  1. Turn your thinking around.  My client today admitted to fearing the unknown. Just last week, a client, making a huge life transition, was fearful of ‘what could happen’.  She stated “This could be the worst situation ever.”  But it’s the ‘unknown’, right?  Which means it could also be the best, most amazing situation ever.  We just don’t know.  So let’s assume the best for a change.
  2. Find self-care that works for you.  I’ll never tell you to take a bubble bath, drink more wine or carve out “me” time.  Look instead for small and regular moments to nurture your spirit.  A friend mentioned getting together with friends to put together a self-care calendar for the next few months.  Just meeting with friends would count, right?!  Personally, I head to a local coffee shop and spend an hour with pen and paper, letting creative ideas flow.  And in this moment, I promise myself that I will blow off an afternoon and see a movie in the next 8 weeks, something that no one else in my house would ever see.   And I’ll eat all the popcorn myself.
  3. Who do you want to spend time with?  Spend the time.  Honey, can we watch more movies together?  Watching the scary one last night, and having you laugh when I hid my face behind a blanket made me laugh, too.  We need to do that more often.
  4. Get connected.  The word “connected” keeps coming up.  Listen to it.  Reach out to a friend you’ve lost contact with.  And I mean actually reach out, and not just on Facebook.  Hand-write some thank-you notes this month, to people you are thankful for.
  5. Forgive yourself.  I’m forgiving myself in advance for not getting through my reading pile by 2014. I am confident that it will not happen.  But I will read more of what I really want to read, and less extraneous stuff that just appears in front of me.  To that end, this moment I just purchased a kindle book for my IPad from one of my favorite authors.  Can’t wait to start it!
  6. Here’s a thought – take on less!  Perhaps you don’t take on more for the next 8 weeks – how about you take on less?  Get more sleep, take more breaks.
  7. Get just a little uncomfortable.  Stretch, try something new, feel just a little nervous.  Nothing new will happen unless something new happens. Get it?

So, what’s it going to be?  How will you choose to make the most of the end of the year?  Share!  And talk to you next week.