Tag: Time Management

Productivity Series: Use Accountability to Get Things Done

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(Originally published in 2013)

I work with an accountability partner and want to share how awesome the process has been.  But what is accountability?  An accountability partner?  And how can you benefit from the process?

Accountability means a “responsibility to someone or for some activity” (google).

We’re all interconnected, responsible TO many people.  I’m responsible to my kids and husband, my family, friends and community, and my clients and professional partners.  I am also responsible FOR lots of people and activities for this cast of characters.  They’re important and I take good care of these responsibilities.

I am the person to whom others are accountable.  Personally, for example, my kids are accountable to me to do their chores and their homework, and I’ll certainly tell them if something is left undone.  Professionally, my clients agree to work between appointments towards their organizing goals, and they report to me about how things are going, to ask questions and determine next steps.

As accountable as I am to others, I often ignore my own personal or business deadlines.  I’m the boss, so no one checks on my productivity.  The business is well run, the BIG stuff gets done, my clients are well served and my presentations are completed.  But long-range strategic tasks, important but not urgent, get pushed aside by immediate and urgent issues that come up.  I have lots of ideas, but lack the time or focus to make the ideas a reality.  Those strategic tasks get pushed further down the to-do list.  I needed to create accountability to get these things done.

Think about it – if you know a friend is waiting for you at the gym, you are more likely to exercise.  Or making an appointment for the plumber to fix your sink motivates you to clean the cabinet underneath before he arrives, right?

Enter…. Jan, my accountability partner.  She has experience with accountability partnerships and graciously offered to work with me.  Here is how we work:

  1. Once a week, Jan and I email, skype or meet in person.
  2. We talk for an hour or so, and we each determine 3 goals to work on for the next few weeks.  The goals are complete-able in the 2-week time frame.
  3. During the weekly conversations, we report how we are progressing towards our goals, brainstorm ways to get past blocks that occur, and determine goals for the next two weeks.

The very first step for me was to clean up my very long Business master to-do list.  I deleted duplicate and completed ideas.  Then I sorted the list into short-term ideas, mid-term ideas (1-3 months out), and long-term ideas (3 months – years).  Now I can choose 2 or 3 ideas to complete every two weeks.  This first step was awesome in itself, to help me clear mental clutter and focus on my short- and long-term business goals.

The weekly conversations have been great for keeping me on task and working towards my goals.  I like and respect Jan, and since I have to admit to her my movement or procrastination towards a goal, I make sure to have good things to report!  I keep my weekly goals at the bottom of every day’s to-do list, as a reminder.  We may not make progress daily, but we both admit to looking at and acting on our accountability list the day before our weekly call, to ensure we have progress to report!

An unanticipated benefit of the process is my very clear list of accomplishments from the last 6 weeks.  Just looking at that list motivates me.  In summary, so far I have: tweaked my technology set-up, coordinating my IPad, laptop and IPhone with Evernote and Skype; cleared my DVR cache and created more time to read professional work; cleaned up my banking by updating my checking account and on-line banking for my LLC, and installing a credit card reader on my IPhone.

Don’t let me add to your to-do list!  But, if you find there are important but neglected goals in your life that you REALLY want and need to get to, think about accountability and finding a partner to make things happen!

Productivity Where Ever You Work

Over the weekend, I found myself out of the house and half an hour early for an event.  Luckily, there was a nearby coffee house with wi-fi, nice music and a quiet place for writing, so I got some work done.  Which proves:

a. you should always check the time on your invitations; but more importantly for today,

b. we can work from anywhere these days.  Let’s call any hours worked outside of a traditional office setting “working virtually”.

Having the capacity to work from anywhere presents challenges.  How to focus on work amid the distractions of home, family, the people at Starbuck’s or in someone else’s home?   What should the workday look like in an un-traditional setting?  Working from everywhere, all the time?  Productivity is the same, no matter where we work.  We want to be able to get down to business, accomplish today’s necessary tasks, do them well and confidently, then move on to something else.

Regardless of where we work, we can reap benefits from structure and routines, just like a traditional work environment.  Keep these ideas in mind:

  • Regardless of where you work, clearly begin your day.  Shower and get dressed, check in with your co-workers or community, grab a cup a coffee, turn on the music that helps you work, check your email.  Set a timer for 15 minutes of transition time, then get to work.
  • Take a lunch and take breaks (but not too many!).  I read a suggestion recently of “Work For 50 minutes, break for 10”.  This works well for me, and helps me take advantage of working from home to take care of home tasks like laundry.
  • Give yourself many opportunities during the day for a Re-Set.  I read an article from the blog the Daily Om that suggested an “Inner Sunrise”.  The idea was that any time during your day is a good time to re-focus energy to what we are supposed to be doing.  This keeps us from working hard all day, but having nothing to show for it at the end!  I try to do this every few hours.
  • No one  needs to know that you are working virtually, or that your conference call requires a hard stop by 3 so you can pick up your kids.  In all likelihood, the others on the call are working virtually, too.

We are on the move, right?  So create a work environment that travels, too.

  • Bring along the laptop or IPad, and Communications and Information (IPhone, in      my case).
  • This could also be a phone and Your reliable planner with your schedule and      contacts, as a decision making tool
  • Also, use the same naming conventions for your paper management system and your computer hard drive.  For example, “Client – last name, first initial and date of appointment” is the same title I would use to name a file on my laptop, in my paper files and in Evernote.
  • Make your work, planner and information portable and consistent.  I do this by synchronizing all my devices all the time, at least a couple of times a day.

Increase focus by cutting mental clutter. This also heads off the tendency to procrastinate!

  • Choose your three top tasks for the day, and keep them in mind throughout your work sessions.
  • When  you start your work, you can either prime the motivation pump with a few easy and quick tasks, or tackle that big icky one first.
  • Know your self and your prime work hours.  I respond to email at 5:30 am, and get a lot of my writing done before 7 am.  I was a night owl until I had kids, now I love to work in the quiet early morning.
  • Avoid interruptions.  Turn off the phone, or be selective about what you answer. Not everyone understands the idea of “working from home”.  Set boundaries.  I don’t respond to work emails on weekends, unless pre-arranged.

Where do you do your work?  And how can we make it work better?  To quote a productivity article I recently read, “More than ever, work isn’t where you go, it’s what you do.” (Rob Keenan, head of UK portfolio management and deployment readiness management at Siemens Enterprise Communications)  So, Go Do It!

Productivity Series: “To-Do” List to Done!

I’ve worked with a number of clients this last month on productivity and to-do lists.  We all want to get tasks done, do them well and efficiently, and do them quickly and confidently so we can get on to something else.  Sound familiar?

I’ve gained a lot of insight into productivity lately, but let’s start with just 4 tips to increase your productivity by improving your to-do list:

Write down everything, but be specific.

If I don’t write something down, like an idea or appointment or task or phone number, I absolutely WILL NOT remember it later.  I have lots of thoughts in my head, and things get lost up there if I don’t write them down.

When I am working on a project I don’t like to break my focus to act on ideas or tasks that come to my mind, so I make sure to jot those down to be reviewed later.  This helps me stay focused while keeping those good ideas!

In addition, an article I’m reading suggests that if we get stuck on our To-Do list, we may need to break our tasks down even further and be very specific.  This works in project, production and operations management, so we can make it work for time management, too.  Here is the deal:

If there are items on your list that continue to not get done, it’s possible you have not broken it down into small enough pieces.  If you have

“1. buy paper towels,

2. call Mom,

3. get a job and

4. run a marathon”

on your list, and you wonder why #3 and 4 aren’t happening, it is because the task descriptions are too vague.  Try “update my resume and send it to my friend in HR for review”, or “buy new sneakers and sign up for weekend training club” as task items instead, and your tasks are more likely to get completed.

 A To-Do list requires us To Do Something.

A To-Do list is not called a “wouldn’t it be nice” list, or a “gee I hope someone does these things” list.  No, it’s a To-Do list.  The tasks on the To-Do list require action and effort.

Writing tasks down only helps IF you actually act on them, too.  Collect those random scraps of paper, notebooks and post-it notes from all over, and consolidate the ideas and tasks into one main to-do list, or perhaps one for each area of your life (like a Home Improvement list, a Professional Development list, a Some Day / Bucket list), etc.

Write them all down, Yes, and then grab your calendar and make appointments to get things done.  Create a deadline around “update my resume and send it to my HR friend” by contacting the friend and promising to email it by Thursday.  Make an appointment on your calendar to buy your sneakers and sign up for the running club on the way home from work tomorrow.  You have to process your great ideas and tasks, add them to those lists and commit to getting them done.

Make your To-Do list mobile, and take it with you.

Keep your list mobile, either in a small notebook, on your phone or even In the Cloud with apps on your smart phone.  Make it mobile and take it with you so that

  1. You are always ready to act on your To-Do list tasks as planned or if your schedule changes;
  2. You can add to it as ideas and tasks occur to you; and
  3. You can use it is a decision making tool for how to manage your time and get things done.

 Know Your Three.

Every day, review your To-Do List and choose the three things that absolutely need to get done today.   There may be more, but choose your Three.  Choose what has to get done, or what is easy to do, or what is most likely to get done.  Just choose and commit to three.  And if they are quick and easy and done in 10 minutes, Yes – you have to pick three more.  Come on, Do those To-Dos!

Give one of these a try this week, and get some of your To-Dos Done!

How Would Ben Franklin Spend Today?

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Can I tell you a secret? Even as a professional organizer, I am conflicted, struggling with Time. Ironic, eh? I help others with time management while puzzling it over myself. Is time arbitrary or fixed? Is time finite or infinite? Is my time mine to spend, or not mine at all? In each case, it is both.

Time is both arbitrary and fixed.

I recently read an article that proposed the merits of waking with the sun instead of an alarm clock. The writer presented sound arguments, and it sounds like a lovely idea, but the concept is so ludicrous to me and my life that I laughed out loud. Before the time change, here in Chicago it was dark until 7:15 am. If we all waited to wake to natural light, my husband would be fired and 2 of my sons would be habitually late for school.

With the time change, it is light again at 7 am but will be dark at 4:30. If I wake with natural light, does that mean I get to go to bed with natural dark? 4:30, good night? Right. I think the idea of letting the moon and sun and stars dictate when I get up or not is what rankles me, truly. The inconsistent nature of getting up when there is light in my window or not offends my sense of purpose.

The other night at dinner, my 12-year-old announced that “time is an illusion, thought up by the minds of men”. Yes, son, it is, an illusion to describe and give structure to the immense scope of the infinite. It is an arbitrary, completely human construct. But your bedtime is still 9:30, and you’re not allowed to be late for school. Time is arbitrary, but the passage of it is fixed, and can still be measured and managed. So go do your homework.

Time is both infinite and finite.

On any given day, I can admire the concept of infinity and still struggle to find time to get things done. Go figure. If I run late, driving fast is really not going to help me. Short of breaking the sound barrier in my minivan, there is no way to recapture the 5 or 10 minutes past. In the vast backdrop of the infinite, it seems ridiculous to worry about a minute or two, anyway. And, realistically, getting stopped for speeding to make up a moment wastes more time. On the other hand, as a musician, I respect the importance of even a moment’s hesitation.

I am working towards appreciating the gift of infinite time, instead of focusing on the finite restrictions of seconds and minutes.

 Our time is both ours alone to spend, and not ours at all.

In my holiday planning class, I mention that our time is the only gift that is truly ours to give. Everything else is just stuff. And yet, I also feel my time is on loan from everyone else, that I can’t really claim any of it for my own. Did I mention that I was conflicted? Yeah, I know. So what is my point to all this?

Our perception of time is determined by our choices of how we spend our time. What is the best way to spend the next hour? Exercise? Read to improve my mind, or relax? Help my son with his homework? Prepare for ministry, or a Cub Scouts meeting? Veg out in front of the TV? All are worthy and wonderful and necessary. But because our to-do list is so long, most days we still have to choose between one worthy way of spending an hour and another.

Over the weekend, we participated in a discussion of The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Mr. Franklin listed 13 virtues he was perpetually working on, in addition to all the other amazing things he created and accomplished in his life.

Benjamin Franklin’s Thirteen Virtues.

1.TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.
2.SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.
3.ORDER. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.
4.RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.
5.FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.
6.INDUSTRY. Lose no time; be always employ’d in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.
7.SINCERITY. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.
8.JUSTICE. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.
9.MODERATION. – Avoid extreams; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve. 10.CLEANLINESS. – Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation.
11.TRANQUILLITY – Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.
12.CHASTITY. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dulness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.
13.HUMILITY. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

An impressive list, though I might swap out a few, adding my own, but I like the idea of Mr. Franklin choosing to continually improve himself in addition to getting married, having kids, running a business and oh, right, building our country.

So, how will you choose to spend the next few minutes, hours, days or weeks? It’s your choice, make it a good one!

BOO! Starting Your Projects Doesn’t Have To Be Scary!

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Does this sound familiar? “I am so disorganized, I don’t even know where to begin” Or “I walk into my [office, closet, kitchen, basement], and it is so overwhelming, I turn around and leave.” Or even “I am sure my house is the most disorganized house ever.”

Starting your organizing projects doesn’t have to be scary. Even if you don’t know where to begin, I do. Or we can figure it out together. Here are 3 ways to make getting started less scary!

Before you begin your project, take a few moments to envision the end product.

If you want to organize your child’s room (something we have to tackle soon, to make room for new toys!), envision what “clean” and “organized” look like. Clothes away, books on shelves, toys in storage containers, right? If you consider that end picture, you realize you require clothes storage, a book shelf and some storage containers, and the habits to make it all happen. Like magic, there is your plan!

Is your end product an efficient home office environment? Perhaps the vision for your office is more about process instead of actual space. Perhaps you envision yourself working at your desk, managing multiple projects, being creative, competently taking care of business. That Vision helps you decide what you want to do with your office space, too. Dream big! Then sketch it or write it down, to help you stay motivated.

With the vision of your End Product in mind, you are better equipped to tackle the project.

Choose a Donation Destination for your extra items.

Purging clutter is much easier when we know that someone else can need or use the items. Is your clutter paper? Imagine bags or boxes set up with these labels: “Recycle, trash, “shred event” or shredder, magazines for the dentist office or nursing home.”

Closet project? Perhaps your destinations are “Cleaners / Repair, off-season storage, donate, give to friend/sister/neighbor”. Choose a destination for your items; resale shop, charitable donation, garage sale, etc. Once we know where things are going, it is easier to let them go!

For charitable giving, it helps to put a personal face on our items. Knowing a homeless man will be warmer this winter helps us let go of those old overcoats in the closet. Old glasses gathering dust in our homes can go to the Lion’s Club for redistribution. My clients often have drawers of old cell phones, ink cartridges and broken cameras that they gladly send with me to be recycled at our local elementary.

We had just received a huge influx of hand-me-downs from very generous friends when Hurricane Katrina hit. Friends in Gulfport, MS told us of a family, with two boys about my sons’ age, who lost absolutely everything. My then 7-year old ask me why I was packing things up to send away, and when I explained, he thought for a moment and then pulled out toys to send to those boys who had nothing. Extra soccer balls, games, books, etc. How easy it is, even for a child, to let go of extra things to others in need.

Pick a Starting Spot and Stick With it.                                                                         

Have you ever spent an hour or two working on an organizing project, but when you step back and look around, you don’t see any visible improvements? Or you cast about a room, here and there, crossing and re-crossing your own path, spending lots of energy for little gain.

Often, my clients start our session with “I’m so overwhelmed, I don’t know where to start.” So, typically, I will walk in the door of the space we are working on, turn to the immediate left of the door, and declare that very spot as our starting point. We progress steadily around the room from there. Left to right, right to left, top to bottom – this is not the secret, though I prefer Left to Right around the room. Just sticking with the starting point and working around the space makes your next starting point obvious, too, so you can continue next time.

So, don’t be scared, starting an organizing project can be easy if you just keep these tips in mind!

Look Inside and Out, and Find Your Motivators!

I dream of discovering One Simple Elegant Equation that every person can use to flip the switch inside, to motivate them to get up and ACT!  That one equation that would energize us to organize and actualize, to make a better life.

There are two problems with this dream.  First, there is no one simple answer because each of us is different.  Second, it is not up to Me to motivate You.  I cannot make you do anything, aside from physically moving you from point A to point B.  Your motivation comes from you, not me.

I can certainly help you find it and use it, though!  So let’s find some MOTIVATION!

External Motivation:

I have a client who relies solely on External Motivation.  She waits until the last minute to take care of business, or to clean the house for major events.  ‘Someone is coming over, I’ll clean up.’  ‘I’ll pay my bills because they came due, but they will be late and I’ll pay fees.’  She is waiting to be “in the mood to organize.”,  She states that if no one ever came by the house again, she would never clean it again.   She gets tasks done, but in a hurried and incomplete fashion.

The “mood” to organize may never come.  If that urge to organize hasn’t happened recently, why should we expect it?  Most days we can’t wait, we just need to move, to act, to organize even if we don’t feel like it.  That is when we need to find Internal Motivation.

Internal Motivation:

The next day I walked with a friend.  She and I had both been cleaning bathrooms before our walk because Friday is her cleaning day, too.  Motivation that comes from inside, from established routines and habits and the desire to do the right thing, that is internal motivation.

Motivation in general:

Both types of motivation are good.  People can find motivation in their own heads or in the world around them, or both.  I take out the trash on our weekly trash day (external) but also when it gets full and I am cleaning my house (internal).

Motivation can come from many sources.  At basic levels, motivation comes from fear.  Ever heard of the fight or flight response?   We are motivated to act to avoid pain, punishment, embarrassment or negative reactions.  But we humans can attain loftier goals than just survival.  We can find positive ways to motivate ourselves to act.   I often get asked “How do I get co-workers / my family / myself to organize?”  The answer is “find motivators”.

Professionally, motivators are easy to spot.  They include paychecks, promotions, perks and professional esteem.  Personal motivators for yourself and others may be tougher to find, but they do exist!!  Here’s where to find yours:

  • Goals and dreams motivate us.  Rome was not built in a day, and neither is anything else worth having.  Keep your goals in mind and when you need motivation to act, ask yourself what one thing you could do right now to move closer to your goal.  Then get up and do it.
  • Sometimes it’s OK to be selfish and ask “What’s in it for me?”.  If we’re talking about organizing, you will gain money from a a business venture, better planning, or a garage sale.  You gain an empty cabinet or drawer for supplies for a new hobby, a cleaner house that you can invite guests to, etc.
  • Look for something concrete.  Use “I want” statements, and be specific.  Like….
  1. I want to be less stressed in the morning, so I am motivated to create and stick to a better routine.
  2. I want more money to go on vacation or make a major purchase, so I am going to get organized in my shopping and bill paying and spend less.
  • Recognize cause and effect.  If your kids want a new game system, show them that selling extra toys clears clutter and earns money.  For you or your spouse, a clean garage means no scraping snow come winter.
  • Use growth and life transitions as opportunities to make positive change.  Transitions give us      opportunities to re-invent ourselves. New jobs, new communities, new seasons, maybe just a new day – it is always a good time to make positive change.  Personal growth encourages us to look      outside ourselves at the world around us and inside ourselves to know ourselves better.  Both kinds of motivators!
  • Peer pressure is not all bad.  So long as you like and respect your peers, wanting to be more like them can be a great motivator.  Hanging out with well-informed, well-educated, generous, physically fit people?  Sure, I want to be like them!  What can I do to be more like these  great people I admire?

So, where in your life are you looking for motivation?  Let me know, and try one of the suggestions listed above.  You can change your life, you have that power.  Look inside or out and use your motivators!

6 Lessons I Re-Learned This Week.

Over the weekend, I spent some quiet travel time on a time management consultation on …..me!

You see, I went back to high school last week.  I’m not wearing the uniform or walking the halls, which is good since it’s an all-boy’s school, but let me tell you, I am still getting an education!  My son started high school, and I am learning to navigate it as a parent.  I re-learned some life lessons this week.  We don’t always have to learn new lessons, often we need to be reminded of what we already know.  To help you conquer time management challenges at work or at home, let me share what I re-learned this week:

Ask “What are we trying to achieve with improved Time Management?”

     In our case, encouraging independence and responsibility, but also balance and stress reduction for my awesome over-achieving son (though I think I was more stressed than he was).  Let the answer to that question guide the rest of your actions.

Pare down your schedule to just essentials.  

Let me ask you:  If your schedule is insane, what habits are you willing to leave behind, to make room for the important essentials?  Less TV, shopping, Angry Birds or Where’s My Water, Facebook and surfing the web, etc?
For the teenager, TV, hanging out and reading for pleasure late into the night may just have to wait.

Get sleep and good nutrition.

This is critical to all of us, not just teenagers.  Going to bed at a regular time, and making sure your body is fueled with good food empowers us to do more with better focus.

Have the Right Stuff, and Only the right stuff.

My question to you – what do you need to get out of the way, out of your office or home to simplify your life?
Organize your stuff to streamline your time management.  My guy still stumbles over getting dressed and out the door in proper uniform.  This evening, we (he doesn’t know this yet!) are going to clean off his dresser top except for the stuff he is currently and actively using.  We all need to get back in the habit of packing sports and band bags the night before, too, to decrease the last minute scramble.

Ask for help. 

Regardless of what challenge you have, remember you are not alone, and you don’t always have to be the expert.  I need to re-learn this lesson every week because I am terrible at asking for help, and therefore get overwhelmed when faced with a task I don’t know how to complete.  I know I am capable and smart enough to learn, but it feels like it may take FOREVER to get it done.
High school introduced many new, unfamiliar high-tech tools like on-line homework, text books, bulletin boards, etc., and they all required some set up.  My good and tech-savvy husband, the expert in this case, and the teenager spent most of an afternoon getting everything set up all at once, so now we’re good to go.  We just needed to ask the expert.
What is your challenge, and who can be your expert?

Communicate, communicate, communicate.

For the sake of time management, if you need to get something done and someone else is involved in the process, you have to communicate well to get things done.  We’ve had a couple of communication snafus over the last 10 days.  I had a piece of paper he needed, he forgot to tell us about a team event parents were expected to attend, etc.
I was reminded in an article this morning that good leaders use multiple means of communication, all the tools available, really, to get their message across.  So, if you want to increase communications with an individual or group to get things done effectively, find methods they already like and use.
In my son’s case, those methods are texting and using his student planner.  I suggested that my son text me as he remembers something I need to know, or jot it down in his planner if it’s during school hours.  And I admitted to him that I have to write stuff down all the time because I just don’t remember stuff unless I write it down.

  Learn from my experience!  And tell me, what lessons do you find yourself re-learning?  Please share, I would like to know!  You could be in my next blog?

Step Outside Your Head: Stop Wondering, Wallowing and Worrying!

Have you ever noticed?  Some days, we can be energized and powerful in the face of daunting circumstances, and other times be overwhelmed by the tiniest set-back.  Our state of mind rules our reactions.

I am not a mental-health professional!  I am writing this from a time management perspective – negative ways of thinking are terrible time wasters.   Wallowing, Wondering and Worry waste time and energy with little gain.  I’ll let you do a little bit of each, then it’s time to move on.

I spend a lot of time inside my own head.  I laughingly tell people I have a rich inner life, to match my rich outer life!  What I am really saying is that I’m always thinking, and usually over-thinking.  Luckily, I am also always acting, and moving forward, and I ask you to find ways to do the same, regardless of your state of mind!  Here’s how:

Wondering:

I like to know how things work, where roads go, what makes people tick.  Some folks wonder about things, though, and never take that wondering any further than their own mind.  No resolution, wasting vital time and energy in wondering instead of discovering.  I wonder… what happened to that old high school friend; if I should set up an LLC or a corporation; if I’m just tired or if there is something bigger wrong… I wonder….

So, I wonder… what to do about wondering.  Some wondering is great, that’s where great ideas come from.  But we can wonder for ages without ever trying to solve the puzzle.  GO!  and look for the answers.  Be adventurous, ask the experts, search the internet, phone a friend.  You know smart people, ask them!  My boys and I are self guided learners, we look up topics on the internet all the time.  There’s also a dictionary, pocket thesaurus and small encyclopedia in the kitchen desk, to look up the big words I like to toss around.  It’s a great practice.

I have been wondering about how to re-word my professional bio for a new website.  I wonder how other people perceive me and my business… then I realized a number of you have sent me testimonials about my business (asked experts and phoned a friend), so I am going to read those to form my new bio.  Thanks for being my experts!

Wallowing:

We humans feel things strongly and can feel very sad and upset about things.  What you feel is real, and I respect you and your feelings.  But as in all things, there must be limits.

Son #2 feels things very strongly and was recently wallowing after some long-distance friends left.  But as his mom, I let him wallow for a while (we all need to), and then I helped him cope by turning the sadness to something good, thinking about positive ways to keep in touch with the long-distance friends (email, videos on his new camera, texting when he gets his cell phone next month, etc.).  We moved past wallowing by creating hope.

Set a timer, go ahead and wallow, then write down your sadness.  Read it out loud, then turn the page, and write down 3 actions you can take to make it better.  Then go do one.  Make a conscious decision to make the sad things better.  And yes, you can make things better.

Worrying:

How does the saying go?  “95% of what we worry about never comes to pass” or something like that?  We spend so much time and energy needlessly worrying, time and energy we could use to actually work on the problems instead.  I am a pro at worrying, but I also know when to act.  The answers for how to not get stuck Worrying are the same as for wallowing and wondering.

Ask for help.  Ask the experts.  Pray (God is the ultimate expert!!).  And put limits on your Worrying.  One suggestion is to sit down, set a timer and actually worry for a set amount of time, like 20 or 30 minutes about whatever is bothering you.  If that works for you, great.  I prefer less time sitting and more time planning and acting.  So, again, set a timer, write it down, write down three actions to take to make it better and do one right now.  My dad used to say “Do something, even if it’s wrong”, and I now recognize the wisdom in the statement.  These negative mind sets lock us in our own heads, and we require a change, a movement, an action of some type to break free.

So, if you are stuck in your head this week wondering, wallowing or worrying, take a break, step outside your head, talk to people and take action.  Do SOMETHING!

Never Be Late Again!

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Every organizing challenge we face requires time management to conquer it.  Improving time management skills creates good habits for using your time, either to add to current skills or replace old bad habits.   These four ideas will help create good time management habits and make life run more smoothly.


1. Did you know?  Americans waste 9 million hours total per day searching for misplaced items, according to the American Demographics Society.  That breaks down to each of us wasting an average of 55 minutes a day, roughly 12 weeks a year, looking for things we know we own but can’t find, according to a Boston Marketing firm (statistics from the NAPO.net website).


To Never Be Late Again, stop wasting time searching for stuff!  Establish a home for the important items that you CAN NOT leave home without, like cell phone or car keys, and commit to keeping them there while at home and at work. Invest in a bowl, make it pretty if you’d like, make it the same at home and on your desk, if  that helps you, and make it a habit to put your important items there every time you arrive home or to the office.  This will speed the leaving process and eliminate hours of searching.


2. Prepare to leave again as soon as you arrive home.  I re-load my briefcase with supplies at the end of every day when I am more likely to remember what I need, instead of waiting until tomorrow.  This idea works for personal lives, too – for example, we used to re-pack the diaper bag for the sitter as soon as we got home from work.   Create a check list, like “6 clean diapers, lots of wipes, 2 or 3 clean outfits, etc.”


Consider ambulance drivers and fire fighters.  They clean up and reload their rig after every call. Life is not an emergency, but it’s easier to be flexible when we know we’re prepared.


3. My next suggestion is what I call “next step-ping”.  I work through this process with clients –  today, look at tomorrow’s schedule and plan ahead now instead of reacting tomorrow.   Perhaps on tomorrow’s schedule I see a PTA meeting, a tennis lesson, then 2 clients back to back.  So tonight I leave my PTA notebook, my tennis bag and clean clothes and my briefcase by the back door to make tomorrow morning better.


I do this with my kids, too.  We look at today, starting with Now! and move forward: Eat breakfast, get bags to back door, review assignments, make sure lunch is in backpack, consider after-school extracurriculars, take something out of the freezer for dinner, etc.  We might even think about tomorrow, to avoid last-minute emergencies.


4. Finally, to Never Be Late Again, we need to understand and embrace the difference between Load Time and Leave Time (Confessions of a Tardy Mom, Parenting 2009).  Sometimes our time management issues are our own, and sometimes they are created by others, but most often they are both.  Over the weekend, I was talking to a professor friend.  I was pondering this presentation, and we chatted about time management.  She admitted she’s late to her own classes because she can’t make it down the hallway without being stopped.  So, other people interrupt her, which is their issue, but she allows the interruption to make her late, which is her issue.

     Let’s say a meeting is set for 10 am and is 5 minutes away.  In a perfect world, we could leave at 9:55 and arrive on time, but – alas – we do not live in a perfect world.  Load Time is rarely Leave Time.

     To Never Be Late Again, we have to start factoring in that extra 5 minute cushion to respect our time and the time of everyone else around us.  Personally, I need to realize one child will always have to run back in the house for something before we head to school.  Professionally, we have to realize that if the meeting starts at 10, we really need to arrive by 9:50 to network and prepare, instead of arriving at 10 and interrupting everyone else.

     Using my friend’s story as an example, if you, too, have a difficult time getting to a meeting on time, set the alarm clock on your cell phone to chime warnings at 10 minutes, 5 minutes and 2 minutes to class time, providing a way to break out of unsolicited conversations in the hallway.

             I can’t guarantee that you will Never Be Late Again, but trying one or more of these ideas will certainly help!  Give them a try, and let me know what you tried and what worked for you!

What Would Make This A Great Week?

Last Monday, my friend Karl posted on Facebook:  “I am going to do everything possible to make this a great week.”  He doesn’t know how much his statement resonated with me.  Reading the post as a week began really got me thinking.  Hmmmm…., what would a great week look like?  I will:

1.  Give the “best of me” to my family.

  • There is a line from a favorite song:  “Those closest to your heart / so rarely get the best of you.”  We put on our public face for work and friends, and then give our crabbiest selves to our loved ones, because we feel comfortable with them, and secure in the fact that they will love us anyway. But don’t they deserve better? Of course. This week:
  • There is more tickling, hugging, music and gratitude.
  • I have been editing myself a lot, taking a breath before acting.  I composed a note to my older (12 and 14) sons the other day, outlining house tasks to complete.  Because I was very frustrated with the recent lack of cooperation, the dictation in my head was littered with cranky language.  Luckily, I edit.  A lot.  I switched to writing the note on the computer to save my hand, and left them a polite and concise list of expectations for their day (and I even told them why things needed done, so they could see how “putting away laundry” should come before “pack for the weekend” because then they can find their favorites easier).  It took longer, but it was better.
  • I am communicating more with the teenager, as to why we make the decisions we make.

2.  Take good care of me.

  • I take care of others, but I don’t always take care of Me.  This week, I made a greater effort to take my vitamins and get enough sleep.
  • I made appointments with the allergist, the acupuncturist, and for a massage.
  • I’m still working on the daily exercise, but managed at least basic push-ups and sit-ups most mornings.

3.  Take Care of Business, personal and professional.

  • I completed some unfinished business, and permanently eliminated some items on the to-do list, either by completing them or eliminating the expectation.
  • I practiced some tough love in my business, and had a couple of difficult client conversations.  I’ve been dreading these conversations, and the worry was really draining on my mental energy.  The conversations went fine, of course, I should have acted weeks ago.

4.  and Be On Time.

  • As summer began, it felt like we were late to everything.  Just a few minutes, and no one noticed       (much), but it made me cranky.  Transitions are always tough and we had our new summer       schedule.  And I am balancing my sons’ desire to stay up later and sleep in (a joy of summer for my boys) with my need to get things done and get to work.  So we got back on track:
  • I synchronized all the clocks (and shhh….. set them 2 minutes ahead, just 2 minutes), then asked the boys to set their watches.
  • I enlisted and embraced aid – Sports Camp Car Pool, you say?  I’m in!  Thanks, ladies!
  • The older boys are using more pedal power.  We tuned up the bikes, discussed the best and safest way to their various destinations, and they like the feeling of independence so they have been leaving earlier to get to their activities.  Win-win!!

So my challenge to you this week is to determine for you and your family what would make this a “great week”, and make a couple of small changes to make life better.  And please, share with me what would make a “Great Week” for you!