Tag: professional organizer

What To Do this Monday for “Clean Off Your Computer Day”

The Second Monday in February is “Clean Off Your Computer Day”, designated by savvy IT people to clean old files off your computer – Embrace it!

If you’re thinking – “but Coll, I have unlimited storage capacity in the cloud, etc.” – I know.  And you’re right.  But unlimited capacity doesn’t mean you have to keep EVERYTHING,  and you should still organize what you have so you can find things again!

Here are my suggestions:

  1. Grab a note book, or open a new document in Evernote or Google docs.  These types of projects generate a lot of To-Do items!
  2. Clean up your actual computer:
    1. Turn off and unplug (if possible) everything.
    2. Locate and wipe off your computer’s fan(s).  My IT guy says this very important step is often neglected, and skipping it can hamper computer performance.  Keep your computer area de-cluttered to maintain good airflow.
    3. Grab your can of compressed air, and blow out your keyboard.  It’s amazing (and disgusting) what lands in there.
    4. Since everything is turned OFF, with an ALMOST DRY antibacterial wipe, wipe down your keyboard and mouse. I said ALMOST DRY, so if you do this wrong and screw up your electronics, I have 100’s of witnesses who read “ALMOST DRY” and who know I am not responsible.  Let everything dry completely.
    5. With a DRY and clean microfiber cloth, wipe off your screen.
    6. Since the compressed air is going to blow stuff around, use a slightly wetter wipe and wipe
      down your work area.  It’s typically a very germy place.
  3. I often get asked:  HOW DO I WIPE AN OLD COMPUTER SO I CAN RECYCLE IT?
    1. Every computer is different, so run a google search on “How do I remove the hard drive from xxxxxxxxxxx (brand and type of computer)”.  You will receive an instant answer involving a screwdriver and about 20 minutes of your time, and perhaps even links to you-tube videos to walk you through the process.
    2. Once the hard drive is removed, google E-Waste recycling in your area and get rid of the old computers, monitors and printers.
  4. Storage:  Back up, back up, back up.  External hard drive, cloud or both, take your pick. JUST BACK UP!
  5. Manage Your Memory Better:
    1. Operating systems are clever with their search capabilities, but you can still save time by setting up your system better now to find things later.
    2. When you search for something, sort documents in your hard drive in reverse chronological order, all the time.  Click on the “Date modified” column on your Documents Library page until your most recently used documents are listed at the top.
    3. DO NOT just have one large folder with everything in it.  Just thinking about that idea makes me cringe.  A single cluttered directory makes finding anything very frustrating.
    4. Use Naming Conventions and sub-directories when you save your folders and documents.  For example, my business sub-directory contains a folder called “Presentations”.  Within that folder, I have sub-folders for each type of presentation I give (so, Time Management, Kitchen and Menu Planning, Paper Management, etc.).  Within those folders, I have the actual presentation notes, but also the Handouts associated with the presentation, all starting with HO plus the presentation name, so I know which is which.  I use similar rules for naming other things, too, to quickly find files when I need them.
    5. My IT guy saves his documents first to large folders per Application.  For example, he has both a C:Excel and C:Word folder.  He suggests this strategy helps him find things faster.  Within those very broad “type” names, he then breaks down his files into categories.

Clearing computer clutter will help you save time and focus more clearly.  What will your clean-out your-computer day activity look like?

Originally published, February, 2014
Updated, February, 2019

Managing Transitions: Your Daily Commute

Where do you go every day?  And how do you get there?

Do you drive for your commute?  Maybe it’s 3 minutes, maybe an hour.   Perhaps you take the train, or perhaps you work from home.   No matter what your situation, you probably spend at least some time every day or week in transit.  So, let’s spend some time this week managing the transitions of your travels!

First, some environmental organizing.  Meaning – Clean out your car,  for goodness sake!  You wouldn’t sit on the couch or sleep next to a pile of garbage, why drive around with it?  And if you carry a bag (or many) with you, take a few minutes and clean that out this week, too.  Don’t carry around with you what you don’t need!

Create routines and hacks that make your commute flow more smoothly.  If you drive,

  • Take guess work out of your gas tank.  Some people aren’t bothered by the low fuel light, but I am!  I’ve found that filling up once a week, typically on Friday morning (my errand morning), means I don’t have to think about it any other time of the week.
  • Invest in an IPass if you haven’t gotten one already.
  • If you drive more than 15 minutes, check your route before you go, or use Google or Apple Maps or the Waze App every time you drive.  I have a client 40 minutes away, and Google Maps has routed me 5 different ways (that I never would have known) to her home based on traffic and construction congestion.

What You Can Do On Your Commute:

  • Get informed. Listen to your news of choice IF and ONLY IF it enhances your day.  If your chosen news source is negative or creates more stress in your life, consider other options.  I like NPR.  If you take the train, load your news sources, podcasts or newspaper subscriptions onto your kindle, IPad or smart phone and read or listen on your way to work.
  • Read up.  Check out Play-Away books at your local library, or purchase audio books on ITunes or Amazon.
  • Pray.  I carry a rosary with me.
  • Practice your deep breathing.  Get energized and arrive at your destination relaxed, for a change!
  • Dictate emails or articles.  I start a new voice memo on my smart phone while I’m still parked and talk through article ideas as I drive.  When I’m back at my laptop, I can transcribe the ideas and content.
  • Eat breakfast.  I make my smoothie (yogurt and fruit) before I leave and drink it on my way.
  • Listen to music.  I sing professionally, so I’ve been learning new wedding music as I drive.
  • Charge your devices.  I have charging cords in my bag for my devices and accessories (my fitbit, blue tooth earpiece, etc.).
  • Think deep thoughts.  If I have a problem I’m trying to work through, some days I will dedicate my commute to considering different solutions.
  • I have to insist on hands free, people.  If your phone and car can pair up, take the time and set it up.  Holding a phone 6 inches in front of your mouth instead of up to your ear is NOT hands free and IS ILLEGAL in Illinois (and elsewhere).  And getting stopped and a ticket, or worse, getting in an accident with distracted driving, can be the WORST way to spend your time!

So, this week, think about how to make your travel times more organized and maybe even enjoyable!

Procrastination: Why? and How to Stop?

This is the first in a series I am writing for the Lenten Season, exploring the Spiritual Side of Getting Organized.  If you don’t observe Lent, consider it a 6 week Spring Training challenge!

Procrastination: “To indefinitely postpone or avoid performing a task out of anxiety, rather than time constraints or logic.  Unfocused wandering, killing time.”(Julie Morgenstern, Never Check Your Email in the Morning).  You know procrastinators, maybe you are one, I know I am sometimes.

Procrastination is widespread and can really complicate your life.  Here are reasons why we procrastinate, and how to stop!

Perfectionism:

  1. Perfectionism and Procrastination often go together.  Perfectionism is “Refusal to accept any standard short of perfection.”  Just seeing it stated makes me realize how ludicrous it is.
  2. Many of my clients are organized but also challenged with perfectionism. They resist starting organizing projects until the situation is perfect.  Since the perfect situation never occurs, neither does organizing.
  3. “I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God’s business.” (Michael J. Fox)
  4. Abandon perfectionism.  I challenge you to live better, and try harder.
  5. Ignorance isn’t really bliss.  Perhaps we believe that if we don’t try, we won’t fail, so we can go on believing in perfect.  “To prolong doubt is to prolong hope.”  (Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte)  Reality, though, friends, is always better than guessing.
  6. We are often afraid of doing the wrong thing, so we do nothing.  My dad often said “Do something, even if it is wrong.”  Any action at all is better than complete in-action.  To progress, we have to move, but we also we need to do the right things. Or else we’re guilty of  ….

Confusing busy work for real work:

  1. Recently read “Don’t confuse busy work with real work”  By Harold Taylor.  Here is an excerpt: “Mark Forster, in his book Do it tomorrow, points out that real work advances your business or job while busywork it is what you do to avoid real work.” Taylor suggests we look at results, not just movement.  “Real work includes things such as planning, goal setting, creative thinking, problem solving and decision-making. There is little visible activity with this type of work – consequently busywork looks more like real work that real work does. … We should judge others by their actual results, not by their physical activity.”

Un-Realistic Time Estimates:

  1. It’s surprising how we distort the actual time tasks take to accomplish.  We over-inflate the time for undesirable tasks, and under-inflate the estimates for things we like to do.  I don’t like balancing my checkbook, so it always feels like a big deal, though it takes 10 minutes once I sit down and do it.  I like to rehearse choir music, so I can spend an hour or 2 singing and playing, if I don’t watch the clock.
  2. Open-ended tasks make me nervous.  Something like “Re-do my website and blog” intimidates me because it could take weeks.  And because I can’t see the end, I don’t begin.
  3. How to beat the habit:
  • Keep a log of your time for two weeks to determine true time estimates.
  • Set a timer or your alarm clock and do all you can within your time boundaries.
  • Recognize that all projects are made up of a series of steps, and do as many as you can in a certain amount of time.  Using the blog / website idea, I will 1.  start with finding complimentary themes, 2. edit my current content, 3.  decide what is outdated and what I need to add, change one page at a time until it’s done.  Whew!  I feel better with a plan!

Seeing only the Little Picture.

  1. I am typically very sympathetic, but not when a person’s choice of procrastination over action causes drama.
  2. Procrastinators get mired in, or are oblivious to all but their own Little Picture instead of seeing the Big Picture.  They forget we all co-exist.  A college friend waited until the last minute to complete projects, to create a challenge and some excitement.  He did not see how his drama affected the others in his life.
  3. Procrastinators forget that emergencies happen, and that sometimes the answer is “No”.
  4. What to do about it?
  • Tough love here, but Grow up and see the big picture.  Learn to be more considerate of other people’s time as well as your own.
  • Find some other healthy outlet for your adrenaline rush, and ditch the drama.
  • Recognize that procrastination is a form of narcissism, and rise above.
  • Let experience win out over optimism.  If you often leave things undone until the last minute and occasionally get burned, start sooner next time!

Perhaps you just don’t know where to begin.  I understand.  Here are a couple of suggestions:

  1. Pick a spot and begin.  Move left-to-right, or right-to-left around your project area, just choose a path.
  2. Also, spend your time in one area today.   Whether you have 20 minutes or 4 hours, focusing on just one project area will bring you better results.
  3. If you have more than one project to tackle, and need to choose which one comes first, begin with the one that will bring you the most relief or with the one that is causing the most pain right now.

Start living better today.  If any of these reasons for procrastination feels really familiar, making positive choices this week to work better is a great place to start!