If you’re working to achieve organizational Zen and not waste time, corporate meetings are a huge challenge! According to a survey of U.S. professionals by Salary.com, meetings ranked as the number one office productivity killer.
Here are 15 ideas to help you run more effective meetings. Continue reading
Do you ever have these types of thoughts run through your head?
If you find yourself saying, “I wish I could get more done,” stop for a minute and think about exactly what it is you want to get done.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by stuff at home or at work, it’s time to declutter. Decluttering is not neatening up, sorting, or organizing, it’s actually getting rid of stuff and that’s tough for many. The cool thing about decluttering is that if you do it right, you have a very clear idea of what you own. And when you put things again in their own place, you also know where to find them.
And remember: The goal is Organizational Zen which is the peace of knowing you’ve got a handle on your life. You don’t have to organize the entire world – just your world 🙂 Continue reading
If feels like we make dozens of decisions every day, but much of what we do is based more on habit than choice. What time we get up. What we have for breakfast. Where we go for a run. What work we do. What we do for fun. Even what we say and how we react to what life offers us is more habit than decision. Continue reading
If you find yourself complaining a lot, it’s time to stop. Complaining is a waste of your time and other people’s time. If you don’t like something, try to fix it.
If you don’t know how to fix it, that’s awesome. That’s your challenge! Study the stuff that bugs you to see if you’re complaining about things that really matter to you. Or is complaining just a bad habit?
A few things of note: If you’re complaining about a person and you’re doing it behind their back you’re not going to change anything. Continue reading
When I am giving a talk, or I’m working with a group on organizational skills, the first question I ask is about intent. The question of the moment is:
“What do you want to get out of this class?”
Thinking about why you are doing something helps you focus on the task at hand. And when I’m giving a talk, I want people to focus, to listen with an end-goal in mind. It’s not that I think the content is so important; it’s that I think each person’s time is so important.
Which gets to the bigger question, and the one I hope you ask yourself before committing your time to any work, project, or person:
“Is spending time on this something that’s important to me?” Continue reading
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been organizing people – neighborhood kids, playground antics, school functions, friends, and businesses. I like getting things going. I like getting everyone involved. I like big conversations. I like to make things happen.
So it’s no surprise that I ended up working as an account executive for an advertising agency. I thrive on being the organized one amidst chaos. And ad agencies are the epitome of business chaos. Get a room full of Art Directors and Copywriters. Add in Presidents and CFOs who are former Art Directors and Copywriters. And try being the only one who has a deadline to meet. Yeah. I can do that. I can make that happen.
Then how about a bigger challenge? How about keeping an entire direct marketing company organized? Boston. Appleseed’s. I thrived.
Last week, someone asked me why I started Organizational Habits. I was pondering this while out walking along the rocky Maine shore and thought the landscape perfectly illustrated my “why”.
Whether you are trying to get organized, are forming a new habit, or are seeking a new path, here are 12 steps you don’t want to miss. Continue reading
Organizational Habits 