Write it down

September 29, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Planning impacts on your health, Productivity tips for work, Staying focused Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, forming a new habit, getting things done, Getting work done, How to stay focused, organizational tips, tips to be more productive

What do you do when you have a great idea – but it’s the middle of the night. Or you’re in the shower. Or you’re driving your car. And you try to remember that idea by reminding yourself. And reminding yourself. But before you can take action, the idea fades away.

If you want to capture more ideas and get them closer to action, write your ideas down whenever and wherever they come to you. Put a pad of paper, a pen, and a flashlight next to the bed. Keep a pad of paper in the bathroom so as soon as you exit the shower you have a place to record your thoughts. If you’re driving, pull over. It’s better to do that and get the thought out of your head than it is to drive distracted. Continue reading →

Get some sleep!

September 24, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Planning impacts on your health, Productivity tips for work, Staying focused Changing habits, Defining who you are, forming a new habit, getting things done, Getting work done, how to get more sleep, how to get organized, How to stay focused, organizational tips, tips to be more productive, tips to stay healthy, ways to get more sleep

Our society seems to value getting by on very little sleep. How many times have you heard someone say, “Yep, I get by on five hours a night,” and you think, “I should be able to do that.”

But the thing is your body needs deep, uninterrupted sleep every night. Sleep is when your brain reorganizes and recharges. When you cut that short, you wake up groggy. You can’t answer a question until you’ve had at least two cups of coffee. You fantasize about taking a nap as you head into a late afternoon meeting. You have a heck of a time staying focused. And good luck getting to the things you want to get done.

You may feel like you’re getting by just fine, but new medical studies show that a lack of regular sleep can have significant health implications – with brain diseases like Alzheimer’s, and on your over-all good health.

I loved a recent write-up in the Smithsonian about how even jellyfish have to sleep. This means that this sea creature becomes completely vulnerable for certain periods of the day or night – and yet has survived for millennia. Continue reading →

“Could” versus “Should” when it comes to clutter

September 17, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Decision making, Organizational Exercises, Staying focused Changing habits, Decision making, decluttering your life, getting organized, getting things done, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Tips on decluttering, tips to be more productive

Author Karen Kingston offers interesting advice in her book Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui around “should” versus “could.” If you’ve got clutter at your house that you’ve put off clearing, your procrastination may be because you don’t care! If you feel like this is something you should do but you don’t really have the heart for, then you’ll find a million things to do before you tackle that hot spot.

“Should” is someone else’s rules, someone else’s opinion.

“Could” means you have a choice.

When you choose to do something, your focus and energy change. Figuring out your priorities is a trick to getting anything done, whether it’s decluttering the basement, or solving the problems of the world! If you choose to solve something for a reason that resonates with you, you’ll get it done. Continue reading →

Taking on too much

September 9, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Planning impacts on your health, Productivity tips for work, Setting organizational priorities, Staying focused Changing habits, Decision making, getting organized, getting things done, Getting work done, How to stay focused, organizational tips, Prioritizing tasks, tips to be more productive, tips to stay healthy

I started working at a “regular” job about 3 weeks ago after doing freelance work for 17 years. I have freelance work I’m still wrapping up. And I continue to run two web businesses. And I’ve given 3 talks on Organizational Zen in as many weeks. AND we held auditions this week for a musical I’m directing that includes a cast of 16 kids and 14 adults.

I’m not eating much or sleeping enough because I don’t have time. I’m in new environments with new routines. I’m meeting dozens of new people. And I’m learning new skills and testing old ones at work and at the theater.

I feel swamped and somewhat out of control like I can’t catch my breath. I missed a call last week – which I HATE. And I feel like I really, really just want to take a nap but I can’t because there’s too much to be done! Continue reading →

Keep things moving

August 22, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Organizational Exercises, Productivity tips for work, Staying focused, Tips for organizing your house, Tips on decluttering, Tips on using a planner Changing habits, Decision making, decluttering your life, getting organized, getting things done, Getting work done, how to get organized, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, tips to be more productive

My favorite advice from the list of 100 declutter ideas in the book One Thing at a Time by Cindy Glovinsky was to keep things moving. This can be applied to your house, to your work space, and to how you live your life. Continue reading →

Giving in to organization

August 17, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Organizational Exercises, Setting organizational priorities, Staying focused Changing habits, Decision making, Defining who you are, getting organized, getting things done, Getting work done, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Prioritizing tasks, tips to be more productive

If you resist getting organized, feeling like organization might box you in or make you less creative, consider this: Continue reading →

Decluttering with a mission

August 14, 2017 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Decision making, Helping kids get organized, Organizational Exercises, Tips for organizing your house, Tips on decluttering Changing habits, Decision making, decluttering your life, getting organized, getting things done, how to get organized, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, organizational tips for kids, Tips on decluttering, tips to be more productive, tips to organize a closet

I get more questions about decluttering than any other organizational issue. What to me is great fun is, apparently, quite a chore to most people. If you’ve got a drawer, closet, room, or HOUSE to declutter, it helps to have motivation and a deadline.

I had two brilliant motivators descend on me this week: a theater where I work is holding a garage sale and is looking for items to sell, including clothing items. And our library asked for art supply donations for an upcoming project.

My house is mostly decluttered but two areas where things seem to stick are my potential-costume rack, and my art closet. The potential-costume rack includes things I’ve worn in past shows, dress-ups for the kiddos, and clothes I “demote” until I’m ready to part with them. The art closet includes bits and pieces of recent and past craft and sewing projects. Continue reading →

Tiny bites

August 3, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Business tips, Changing habits, Decision making, Organizational Exercises, Productivity tips for work, Staying focused Big project ideas, Changing habits, Decision making, decluttering your life, forming a new habit, getting things done, Getting work done, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Tips on decluttering, tips to be more productive, working on big projects

If you get overwhelmed thinking, “I’ve got to declutter this house.” Or “I need to get my life organized.” Or “I need to change a life-long habit.” It’s not a surprise. Taking giant leaps forward is daring and ambitious, but it can also make a project or change seem daunting. And it makes it hard to get started.

Here are two suggestions to help make change happen at a slower pace.

#1 – Break big projects into smaller parts – even tiny parts
One of my nieces has a son who is a really picky eater. Her son decided last week that he was finally going to try rice for dinner. “Yay!” my niece thought, then agonized as her son ate his rice one piece at a time. But there’s a beauty there that maybe kids know better than adults do. He wanted to try rice but he didn’t attempt to eat a whole bowl. He tried one piece. And then another. And then another. Continue reading →

Taming the Clothing Monster

August 1, 2017December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Changing habits, Decision making, Organizational Exercises, Staying focused, Tips on decluttering Changing habits, Decision making, decluttering your life, Defining who you are, forming a new habit, how to get organized, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, organizing big projects, Tips on decluttering, tips to organize a closet

If your closet or drawers are so packed with clothes it’s hard to get anything in or out, the underlying problem could be you don’t want to get rid of anything. Or you love to buy new things. Or both. And it’s possible you don’t have enough space – but you’ll only know that after you pare down some of what you have.

Here’s a cool exercise to help you purge, inspired by the book One Thing at a Time by Cindy Glovinsky.

Set your phone or a timer for 10 minutes and do a deep contemplation about the image you’d like to put forward with how you dress. When the timer goes off, jot down ideas about your ideal: