Your time is valuable; set your intent!

September 19, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Changing habits, Getting started, Organizational Exercises, Productivity tips for work, Setting organizational priorities Changing habits, forming a new habit, getting organized, getting things done, Getting work done, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Prioritizing tasks

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 →

Ask your guides for help – and listen for the answers

September 14, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Getting started, Organizational Exercises, Working with your guides getting things done, Getting work done, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Working with your guides

Organizational Zen comes from spending time on your best work. It’s that “ah” feeling of knowing you’re using your time wisely, of being in the zone, of being on top of your game.

If you’re not feeling the Zen, ask your guides for help. We have all sorts of guides who help us through life. We have the ones you expect – teachers, parents, bosses. And we have surprise guides – authors, song lyrics, a perfect stranger who sits next to on a plane, even the voices in your head.

The trick to working with guides is to recognize that they are everywhere – both visible and invisible. My most reliable guides include my husband, my mom – and writers like Seth Godin, Leo Baubata, David Allen, Pema Chodron, and Elizabeth Gilbert. I also think there are mystical guides who help us through the day. Elizabeth Gilbert calls this magic and I think she is right. You would not believe how much my travel guides help me – especially when I am looking for a parking space downtown! If that isn’t magic, I don’t know what is. Continue reading →

Decluttering your life

September 7, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Changing habits, Organizational Exercises, Tips on decluttering Changing habits, decluttering your life, figuring out my life work, forming a new habit, getting organized, how to get organized, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Tips on decluttering

If you get your house in order, and use a planner, and write everything down, and you STILL feel scattered and drained, it may be time to declutter the bigger commitments in your life.

It’s one thing to declutter your house. I’m not saying it’s easy, but you can do it – it’s within your control. Throw stuff out, buy less, put the stuff you have away. You can do that.

It’s quite another thing to declutter your life – to stop doing things that drain your energy, to move to a place that feels right to you, to change jobs, to walk away from friends and relationships that no longer work. This is difficult work. And it all starts with having the courage to look at what you do with your time. Continue reading →

25 tips to help improve your productivity at work

September 5, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Business tips, Changing habits, Organizational Exercises, Productivity tips for work, Setting organizational priorities, Setting up a planner Changing habits, getting organized, getting things done, Getting work done, how to get organized, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Using a planner

Being organized at work isn’t all that different from being organized at home. You just have more people to deal with. The number one productivity tip I can offer for each is the same: Write it down. Writing things down saves your brain from trying to remember everything you have going on. And seeing things on paper helps you sort out and prioritize.

Use one calendar to write down meetings, appointments, and important deadlines. And use a planner to write down your daily tasks and things you’re keeping track of.

“Do I have to write everything down?”
“No, just the things you want to get done.”

Here are 25 additional tips to boost your productivity at work Continue reading →

What’s your personal brand?

September 3, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Building your personal brand, Business tips, Changing habits, Organizational Exercises, Setting organizational priorities Changing habits, forming a new habit, getting organized, getting things done, Getting work done, how to get organized, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips

Businesses build or chip away at their brand with every customer interaction. Brands like Nike, L.L.Bean, and Coca-Cola are known for specific and calculated brand elements – like style, functionality, innovation, customer service, reputation, price, or comfort.

Brands are designed to make customers feel good about them and companies spend millions making sure they do! The payback is that best customers stay with them – sometimes for a lifetime – because they feel they know and trust them.

You are also a brand that you build or chip away at every day. The goal of creating Organizational Zen in your life is to help you make time to do your best work – to help you focus on the big stuff by getting the small stuff taken care of. And that’s a huge part of what your personal brand is.

Think about your personal brand
If you asked three members of your family, three friends, and three co-workers to describe you, what would they say? Be honest. No one is reading this but you. And remember this isn’t what you’d like to be – it’s how people see you in your everyday interactions. Make three columns and write down as many adjectives as you can that describe your personal brand for each group. Continue reading →

How “creative avoidance” messes with your obit

August 31, 2016September 5, 2016 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Big project ideas, Changing habits, Getting started, Organizational Exercises, Planning impacts on your health, Setting organizational priorities, Tips on using a planner Changing habits, figuring out my life work, getting organized, getting things done, How do I use a planner?, how to get organized, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Prioritizing tasks, Using a planner, working on big projects

Creative avoidance is the fun stuff you do to skirt getting to the big stuff. When you’re pondering a big, juicy project, it’s hard to get started for many reasons… And if you don’t have time, you have the perfect excuse!

“I’d love to get this done but I don’t have time.” Continue reading →

How heavy is this rock?

August 29, 2016October 11, 2016 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Business tips, Changing habits, Getting started, Organizational Exercises, Setting up a planner, Tips on using a planner Changing habits, forming a new habit, getting organized, getting things done, Getting work done, How do I use a planner?, how to get organized, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Prioritizing tasks, Using a planner

This rock fits in the palm of your hand. Could you stretch out your arm and hold it for five minutes? Sure, no problem. Could you hold it for an hour? Now how heavy is it? It’s heavy. How about if you had to hold it for a day? For a week? For a month?

Oh, and I should have mentioned – there isn’t just one rock I need you to hold. Here are the rest of them. Continue reading →

How to change a habit

August 24, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Changing habits, Organizational Exercises, Planning impacts on your health, Tips on using a planner, Tips on using a planning calendar Changing habits, forming a new habit, getting organized, getting things done, Getting work done, how do I exercise more?, How do I use a planner?, how to get more sleep, how to get organized, how to lose and sustain weight loss, How to stay focused, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Using a planner

Want to change a habit?

A couple of months ago, FastCompany published a great article on ways to change the habit of exercise.

A control group was asked to exercise once in the next week. 29% of them exercised.
Experiment group 1 was given the same task along with detailed information about why exercise is important to your health (i.e., “You’ll die if you don’t”.) 39% of them exercised.
Experiment group 2 was asked to commit to exercising at a specific place, on a specific day at a specific time of their choosing. 91% of them exercised.

Continue reading →

Declutter before you organize

August 20, 2016December 9, 2019 organizationalhabits Baby steps to start getting organized, Changing habits, Getting started, Organizational Exercises, Tips for organizing your house, Tips on decluttering Changing habits, forming a new habit, getting organized, getting things done, how to get organized, how to save time, Organizational Exercises, organizational tips, Tips on decluttering

You’re tired of searching for a pen every time you make a grocery list and decide to organize “that” kitchen drawer. You go out and buy nifty dividers. But when you refill the drawer, you still can’t find a pen!

What might have gone wrong?

You have too much stuff in the drawer.
It isn’t grouped into “like” categories.
No one stuck to the organized drawer plan.

The toughest part about organizing a loaded drawer, stuffed closet, or overflowing garage shelves is that before you organize you have to declutter. And decluttering takes time, focus, and a willingness to get messy before you see results which is why decluttering often gets skipped. Continue reading →