How to form a new habit

August 4, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Organizational Exercises, Planning impacts on your health, Setting organizational priorities, Tips on using a planner forming a new habit, getting organized, getting things done, how do I exercise more?, How do I use a planner?, how to get organized, how to save time, organizational tips, Prioritizing tasks, Using a planner

The cool part about habits is that they’re your brain’s way of saving on thinking. When you try something new, your brain records what you’re doing and after you do the same thing multiple times, your brain says, “I’ve got it! You can run on auto-pilot now.”

That’s why you don’t have to think about how to drive every time you get behind the wheel of a car. And how when you take a shower or brush your teeth your mind can wander. How many of us come up with brilliant ideas in the shower? You can thank your shower habit for taking over giving you time to think.

A great way to form a new habit is to tie it into an existing habit. Then your brain can use some of the same cues you had for an old habit and re-purpose them into a launch pad for a new habit.

Let’s say you want to start exercising. What habit can you tie into to make this a successful launch? You have thousands of habits strung together that make up each day. What are you going to bump out or add to? Continue reading →

Taking care of TMIs – The Most Important Stuff

July 27, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Business tips, Organizational Exercises, Setting organizational priorities, Tips on using a planner figuring out my life work, getting organized, getting things done, Getting work done, How do I use a planner?, how to get organized, organizational tips, Prioritizing tasks, Using a planner

One of my favorite bloggers, Leo Babauta at ZenHabits, often writes about TMIs: The Most Important Stuff. This is the stuff that you know you need to do and whether you write it down or not, you are probably going to get it done.

So why write TMIs in your planner?

Because you want to stop thinking about them. Once you are organized, you learn to trust that if you write something in your planner, it will either get done today or you’ll move it to another day. But it will get done. Trust that. Because you are organized 🙂

Continue reading →

Tips on using a calendar and planner

July 9, 2016January 1, 2020 organizationalhabits Business tips, Getting started, Organizational Exercises, Setting organizational priorities, Setting up a planner, Tips on using a planning calendar getting organized, Getting work done, How do I use a planner?, how to get organized, organizational tips, Prioritizing tasks, Using a planner, Which planner should I use?

I know. It’s a calendar and planner – how hard can that be? There’s nothing tricky but I’ve seen calendars with so many notes and cross-offs you can’t read them. And I’ve seen planners with nothing in them – so here’s my advice for working with both tools in an efficient manner.

And let me say again that the best part of being organized, besides getting a lot done, is having peace of mind knowing that the most important work will be done. Keeping a calendar, planner pages, and Continue reading →