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Tag >> time management
Just about everyone "makes" at least one New Year's Resolution. One of the  most popular Resolutions is to Get Organized. Every year we have the best of intentions that This Year will be The year that it Really happens! Really...cross your fingers, hope to die! You Will make the necessary changes and do whatever it takes, Right? And you are willing and ready to jump in with both feet! You'll even write it all down, put it on our calendar and make promises to yourself that this IS the year. The truth is that keeping a New Year Resolution takes more than all of this. You must realize not just what you want to change, but Why you want to change. When you look at your space, office, paperwork or life, does it just drive you nuts? What are you willing to do - besides throwing in the towel and saying, I just can't do it? You may consciously be self-sabotaging yourself , which is the reason that it hasn't changed....Yet! Ask yourself this question - If my space was organized what would it look like? Close your eyes and visualize your space neat, tidy, organized and filed. Picture yourself sitting at your desk writing contracts, filling orders, talking with clients, paying your bills and smiling at the increase in your bank account. What I know is that nothing will change until something changes. In other words, until you take specific and methodical action to Keep Your Resolutions, they won't happen and you will stay in the same rut in 2012. And, no matter what plans your plans include and how detailed they are, it takes dedication and a change in your attitude to make it happen. The words and thoughts that we tell ourselves every day will dictate what we accomplish, how we manage our time and whether or not we reach our goals. So here are some steps to hold yourself accountable to reaching your New Year Resolutions!
There is a lot of interest in couponing lately, and if you watch TLC's Extreme Couponing you know that people take it very seriously. Extreme savings as shown on the show is not the norm, but with a few key organizational tools you can be on your way to slashing your grocery budget too. Where to find coupons Coupons are everywhere. You find them stuck on products (called "peelies"), on tear pads in many stores, in the Sunday newspaper, on Facebook, in your email, and online. To find deals, be sure to "like" the product or company on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, and sign up for their emails. Many products, like Seventh Generation and Kellogg's, send out coupons via email regularly. Here is a list of great websites to find coupons: Redplum.com
If this is you...Stop it Now! It's almost here - another new year looming just weeks away. Will this be the year that you fulfill your goals? Or will you fall short, yet again? I have found that most businesses have one area within their business that causes more stress and anxiety than any other... paperwork - it causes businesses to fall short in reaching their real goals and dreams. Business keeps moving forward. Payments come in and bills are getting paid, somehow. Yet all the paperwork seems too overwhelming to be able to keep up with it all. The mail goes unopened (because in the back of your mind, you really know when the payment is due). You are missing out on opportunities to save money because the mail is not being opened. The receipts are piled deep and wide or stacked high on a desk just waiting for something to be done with them But by the time you get around to dealing with the receipts the thought of sorting them all, categorizing them, scanning, documenting them all just seems like it will take forever. So what can you do to keep yourself on track? Here are some tips: 1. Have a system to store all of your receipts right from the beginning. Those tiny lunch receipts from your business meetings get lost in a purse or wallet on a weekly basis. Use a basic coupon holder that you can keep in your purse, car, glove compartment or briefcase. It should be small and compact. Instead of having categories for your coupons, use each slot for a month of the year. File your receipts, deposits and any other paperwork that you need to track into the coupon holder. Once a week, pull the receipts and document or scan them into your system. It's that easy. 2. Develop consistency when it comes to opening your mail and make smart decisions, immediately. All incoming mail goes into one of these categories: file, pay, shred or trash. Don't keep what you "think" you will use. Either you will, or you will not...there are no maybe's! If it is a coupon - you can find it online...keeping it will only allow paperwork to pile up and by the time you find it, the coupon will be expired anyway!
So many times do we feel as if we just can't take on one more thing! There just isn't any more time in the day to do anything. Our plate is completely and utterly full to the brim and we will never find the necessary time to build your business or organize your home. It seems hopeless. Building a solid foundation can change everything. It is necessary that your foundation for your home and office be sturdy, strong and confident. Knowing what and how you manage your day to day business will allow more time to creep into your day. How can you free up some time or streamline your processes to get more done (and still be able to take time for family, friends and outside activities). Here are some tips to build your foundation strong and get more done: 1. Build Habits - We have all heard that it takes 21 days to build a habit or make a change. The problem with this philosophy is that typically we give up long before the 21 days are up. The good news is that you can always start over again...you won't be breaking any rules - but will you start again or just give up? Use a Daily To Do List, Weekly Plan Sheet and Monthly Calendar to make sure that you hit your target every day. 2. Planning out your day will allow you the opportunity to get more work done. Just going from one activity to another may "seem" productive but at the end of the day I promise that you will get more done if you plan out your day. Anything that lasts more than 15 minutes should be scheduled. 3. Keep your foundation strong by allowing others to be your mortar. You don't have to do it all yourself. In order to get more done, you must be willing to allow others to be a part of your process. When you concentrate on controlling every aspect of every event of every day, you won't be able to find more time in each day to get more done. In order to move forward and get more done, it is necessary to allow someone else step in and be your assistant. It doesn't even matter if it is just a few hours a week! Those few hours will allow you enough time to concentrate on what is important in order for you to grow as a person and a business. Remember, it doesn't have to be done perfect! Being excellent will suffice. It's just like we learned in Sunday School as a little child. The foolish man built his house upon the sand, the rain came tumbling down and the house went flat...because there wasn't a stable foundation for the home. But the wise man built his house upon the rocks and that house stood firm!
Trying to find the time to de-clutter, organize, down-size, and el iminate can seem impossible. There are only 24 hours in a day so how can we find the time to get organized? And, reality is that you will have to organize again, it won't last forever. Ever feel like this? Because our time is precious ,it's important to make sure that we keep the following in mind when it comes to getting organized: 1. Take Action - Stop dropping everything that comes into your home or office or wherever it is the most convenient. Hang it up, put it in the trash, take it to the bedroom, put it away, file it. Whatever it is....if you don't have to touch it again, you'll save time. 2. Schedule Breaks - So many times we don't start a project because we have the perception of how much time it will take to complete the task. We play silly mind games with ourselves that because it is going to take 45 minutes, we don't have the time. Split up your time. Work for 20 minutes and then take a 5 minute break! When you get back up you'll be able to see the end in sight and actually finish the job. 3. Throw a Party - You are probably saying...WHAT? Do you realize what you are saying? I can't have a party because I can't have anyone see this unorganized mess! That's exactly right...what better reason to begin the organizing process than to celebrate your time and organized space with your friends and family! The party doesn't have to be tomorrow...I'm not talking about maxing out your stress level in order to have a party but schedule it soon and get busy.
Eliminating Overwhelm I have found my new favorite television show. The Anderson Cooper Show - which replaced Oprah here on the East Coast. He discusses topics that are slightly controversial but mostly real life stories that we may not hear about and that touch your heart. On the October 25th show he discussed society's need to be "connected" electronically. With the use of blackberry's, smart phones, ipads, xbox's, mp3's (which may be outdated now), and multiple laptops in every family, we are becoming disconnected from each other and the need to be connected is causing an increase in stress and anxiety. A family of 4 sent over 7,300 text messages a month, had 5 cell phones, 3 laptops, an ipad and 3 televisions in the home. When they took a look at the amount of time that each family member spent checking electronic devices, etc. it was estimated that this family of 4 actually spent 30 minutes together every day. The day was even checking his email while he was shaving and brushing his teeth in the morning! The challenge was to spend 24 hours totally disconnected from all electronic devices. Anderson Cooper even admitted that when he monitored himself, he checked his blackberry every 3-4 minutes - just in case someone sent him a message. What does this have to do with being organized? I think it is totally related to our daily increase in stress and anxiety. Feeling the need to be connected "all the time" has become our lifestyle. I don't remember the exact percentage, but most people even sleep with the cell phone right next to them and get up in the middle of the night to check emails. WHAT? I'll admit that I use my cell phone as my alarm clock because I am an early riser, but to sleep with it in bed?
 Until a few weeks ago, I had promoted my Personalized Filing System and recommended using a portable file box that could be purchased at Staples, Office Depot or even Wal-Mart, Target or Ross. Staples and Office Depot had more generic type of Portable File Boxes while the Department Stores seemed to have file boxes that are cute and colorful. This seemed to be the best recommendation when it came to finding something affordable and functional that both offices and homeowners could use on a daily basis to handle every piece of paper that they receive.
Then I received my Stadium File Folder from Smead. What a perfect portable system to manage my File It, Find It...FAST Filing system. While it's pretty plain and ordinary; Its portable, lightweight, stadium design makes it even easier for me to find whatever I need, when I need it....(as I preach - within 2 minutes or less)! The benefit of a stadium stand-up file is that it makes filing and finding paperwork even easier because you can see everything that you need immediately, No more fingering through the files to get to what I need! I really think that Smead Office Products designed this just for me and my clients. Although it comes with pre-printed labels that you can easily use to file your paperwork (such as Alphabetical, monthly, numerical and a variety of preprinted tabs such as auto, dental, receipts, etc.), I'm going to choose to use the blank labels and implement my proprietary system so that I can continue to find every piece of paper that I need, when I need it. When a system works, stick with it! This is just a quick and simple switch from what I am currently using and with 11 pockets available, this is more than enough to meet my needs for my: To Do, To Read, To File, Waiting for Response, Tax Receipts, Coupons, Envelopes/Stamps and Kids paperwork. The best part is that it will expand to hold 900 sheets of paper, however, it won't allow things to get too out of control. I even use the front of the folder to store my plastic paper clips (check out the picture) so that they are available whenever I need a paperclip for anything - and it still looks really cute. The Stadium File Folder System has allowed me to be even more productive every day and I'm saving even more time than before because of the design. If you are really creative, you can even decorate the front of the folder and maybe change it out for the holidays or seasons. You can definitely make your Stadium File Folder System something that you will look forward to using every day of the week. If you'd like more information about my Filing System - FFF (File It, Find It...FAST!) I'll be happy to send you an MP3 recording that will cover the process of organizing your paperwork and using the system every day to save time and money.
Posted by: Linda Clevenger in time management on
Oct 24, 2011
Are you one of those people who Have to See it To Believe it? I know...this picture was so cool, and scary at the same time. I can't image how this person must have felt. But it did make me think about something. Has your business or household ever felt like it is being swallowed with clutter and disorganization? Are you forced into making quick decisions in order to stay afloat? Getting yourself organized will give you the freedom to enjoy each day. There is nothing worse than the gut-wrenching feeling of missing a deadline, rushing to an appointment or misplacing something that takes time away from your day. So how do you get yourself organized? Let's concentrate on your weekly calendar. Know your weekly schedule. At a local area MOPS meeting this week we talked about coordinating schedules between the family, particularly spouses. This same theory should be used when thinking about how your office staff coordinates it's calendar. I learned this lesson back in 1997 while working in the financial planning field. There were 3 on our team. We had a weekly meeting on Monday morning to discuss the following: what was on the calendar already, who needed to be scheduled this week and how much income would be potentially generated from those appointments. Using these techniques helped us realize where the agent was spending his time, how we would be spending our time and who we needed to put on our call list for the week. Your home schedule can operate in the same way. Take a good look at what is scheduled for this week and who is responsible for that appointment, i.e. transportation; what extra-curricular activities are scheduled this week; what other outside activities or obligations have you made for yourself or the family, etc. The secret to mapping out your calendar is that when everything is written down in a convenient place and schedules are coordinated, everyone can be held responsible and accountable. The key is to find out how you can coordinate this effort. There are several ways to accomplish this goal. Here is what I recommend:
Taking Action to Get Organized What is it going to take to organized your home or office? The more that you think about it, the more it makes you feel yucky. You just don't feel like doing it and yet, you are too embarrassed to have someone come in to help. It is going to require your time, energy, motivation, encouragement, desire and taking action. It isn't going to get done by itself. You have made the decision, and not it's time to take action. Where to begin? The logistics of getting a space organized can be mind boggling. Do you start with the paperwork and filing or maybe the elimination of items that you just can't seem to get rid of. Do you possibly need help getting rid of things? And when will it fit into your schedule because, there are three ways that it will get done. 1. Rearrange your schedule so that you can still keep your family and business up and running. If you are a morning person, get up and spend an extra 30-60 minutes each morning on organizing. I recommend that you take the time, the evening before, to write down what it is that you are going to do, since you'll be starting it first thing! 2. Find your time-suckers. I guarantee that you will be able to find wasted time during your day. What is it that drains your time? The most common time-sucker is email. Putting a time limit on checking your emails will give you "found time" that you can use to get yourself organized.
Posted by: Linda Clevenger in time management on
Sep 6, 2011
What do you do when you: Feel Overwhelmed, stressed-out and just plain 'ole tired? And, you just don't feel like dealing with life anymore. Don't give up! Take action. Life isn't going to stop because we don't feel like taking care of our business or home. It will continue without us and put us even farther behind the curve. Make the decision to do something that will make a difference today. Keep your priorities in check because you never know when life will take a turn and you will wish that you had not procrastinated. Time won't stand still while you wait for someone else to do what needs to be done. Here is what I do: First, I have to consider am I just being lazy and don't "feel" like doing anything. Am I just making excuses. Or is there a reason that I physically don't or can't do anything today. If my reason is that I just "don't wanna", that is just an excuse and not acceptable. There is Always something that needs to get done. Life requires you to be organized - to a certain degree. If you don't file paperwork, you won't be able to find anything. Things that don't have a home and just get stacked higher and higher can quickly become a hoarder-type situation with piles and piles. Once I have determined that it is simply that I would rather NOT do something, I just decide to do it...whether I'd like to or not!
As an Entrepreneur, we are responsible to know what and how to track our business information for tax purposes. And there is just a ton of things that need to be tracked throughout the year. One of them that has always been a little bit of a struggle for me is mileage. Sometimes I drive over 100 miles a day to work with clients and mileage is a tax write-off that I want to track accurately. So, I decided to take action this weekend. There are a lot of reasons that we need to track our daily mileage. Whether you are a business owner, work for a company that requires you to travel or track mileage for medical reasons; having an accurate way to track mileage is necessary. Keeping a log in the car - a great idea ( if you remember to enter in the information); pulling addresses works from mapquest works well - but requires a ton of time to maintain (printing out all that information just doesn't seem like a good use of my time and money in ink and paper). I felt as if there had to be another answer. I'm just a little behind the times, my Android phone is just a few months old. But this weekend, I set aside some time from laying out this week's projects abd I decided to find out how I could track my mileage via my cell phone. The habit of tracking my mileage needed to change. I needed to use a system that was quick, easy and friendly - I didn't have a ton of time to sit and learn a new program, not right now. So, I began my search and within a short period of time - about an hour - I found my answer.
Change Your Mindset About Organizing This is a busy time of year for organizing. Vacations are wrapping up, school is right around the corner, the big holiday seasons are coming up on us quickly and you still haven't gotten around to doing that long list of "organizing". In your business and home, there are so many opportunities for you to increase productivity, reduce stress and work less. The problem is that it all takes time and energy, something that we all seem to struggle with. If you are looking for the real way to get your business or home organized, consider changing your mindset. There is a saying - Nothing happens until something happens - and this should be the basis of your mindset when it comes to getting organized. Continuing old habits will only allow your current situation to stay in control. Changing your mindset about getting organized will allow you to reach your goals. Getting organized requires the willingness to develop a plan and then stick to it. I have already started teaching my 3 year old to be organized. Even at 3 she has responsibilities. The habits that she is developing will be extremely helpful to all of us when she gets older. However, the only way that she will develop these habits - at this young of an age - is if we remind her. So far, her responsibilities are: put her clothes into the hamper; put her shoes in a certain place, by the kitchen door - so we don't have to look for them; pick up her toys after her bath; and say her prayers at each meal. Does all of this take time and energy on my part...you bet 'ya. But, it is going to pay off in the long run and I'll be happy that she has learned these habits, and many more, by the time she starts school. So how can you change your mindset about becoming organized? Here are some tips:
The Cost of Being Disorganized|What can Your Business Afford? So many businesses are losing money every day due to their lack of being organized. It may not be immediately evident just by looking at the books, it may mean taking a look at the way that employees manage their time. It is not enough for the business owner be organized. Teaching your employees the value of being organized at the office will directly impact your success in business. Throughout my time in Corporate America, I've experienced extreme differences in the manner that employees are "allowed" to handle their time in the office. I've had every experience from being micro-managed to the point that I had to log in and out to go to the bathroom - to working with employees the continually showed up late, took long lunch hours, left early most days and yet, for some reason, kept their jobs. I believe that there has to be a happy medium. Both scenario's affect employees moral, organizing and ultimately, your business as a whole. The cost of unorganized employees will affect your business' overall function, financial status, ability to expand your business and cause an enormous amount of stress and anxiety. Setting expectations leaves nothing to chance. This, along with effective communication, can help build your business, even in a down economy.
To stay organized requires good time management. But sometimes it seems like an impossible task to accomplish. I had a client project that exploded! In order for us to reach our ultimate goal (to have his merchandise put into three local Wal-Mart stores) included a major, major inspection that was going to cost quite a bit of money - with the hopes that he would pass. The project needed to be totally organized in order to meet some quick deadlines. We had 60 days to pull together what should have taken at least 6 months. But, I accepted the challenge and here are some tips from what I learned in the process. The guideline that I was given to follow was very vague. (7 pages of vagueness). Nothing was specific...some definite thinking "outside the box" was going to be required. My guidelines were not specific and I was not fully aware of the language that was used. It was generic to me but yet specific to what the inspector would be looking for. So, how was I going to manage my time to make this happen? I laid out my thought process on a roadmap. 1. Think logically - do research. Make a working log.
Get Organized Today As a society we are connected to each other in so many ways. We have our iphones, ipads, macs, laptops, blackberrys, etc. that keep us connected to our families, work, children and everyone else that is important to us. But how are all of these gadgets helping us stay organized? Are they Really and truly helping us develop daily habits that will not only get us organized but keep us organized? I'm not sure exactly how I feel about this subject. On one hand, it seems essential that we be "connected" 24/7 because this is the way that we communicate. What would we do without email, text messages, our cell phones and GPS? On the other hand, we can become so engaged in all of the gadgets while trying to get organized that it seems that it makes us more unorganized. Are you ready to Get Organized Today? Here are some tips that I believe will help you along the way:
Organize Your Life So, half of the year is now gone. The official countdown until Christmas is 149 days as of the writing of this article. That's just crazy! How many things are still on your "To Do" list from last year that you still haven't gotten around to this year? I thought that I was going crazy when I saw an Back to School sale on the 4th of July! But, it's true. Life can get out of control and it's time to get organized so that we can enjoy life. You've heard over and over again: Chunk Things Down, Tackle one Space at a Time, Set a Kitchen Timer, Donate, Trash, Sell, Keep, etc. Well, these are your normal, everyday tips to organize. But I want to share with you my personal tips to Organize Your Life. They are definitely outside the box thinking and are generic in nature, but the sooner you implement them, the more organized you will be. Top 5 Tips to Organize Your Life and Keep Your Sanity
Posted by: Gail Gray in time management, organizing tips, organizing life, organizing homes, managing time, life priorities, life organization, how to organize, home organizing, home organization, disorganized, disorganization, de-clutter, Clutter Control, clearing the clutter on
Jul 24, 2009
How would you like to clear your mind from all the little distractions that get in your way? These everyday distractions can wreak havoc on your productivity. Wouldn't you love to have a machine that automatically made your life easier? Well, I have a little secret for you. You already own it! It is that thing in your head that weighs about 3 pounds. Your brain!
Wikipedia defines automatic as "Capable of operating without external control or intervention. Done out of habit or without conscious thought." There are certain things we can't avoid in life. We must wake, sleep, eat, bathe and dress everyday (now don't try and tell me you don't do at least three of these every day). There are also things that must take place on a weekly or monthly basis, like laundry, cleaning your home, personal grooming,
Creating a routine for your regular to do's will not only make your life easier, but will free space in that crazy brain of yours to actually think of more important things. I have so many clients feel they are ADD, regardless of whether they were every diagnosed or not. It is the crazy way we run through the day, feeling like we are spinning our wheels and not getting anything done. We are so distracted by what we have to do that we simply don't focus easily.
Create regular routines for your Home
- Laundry
- Changing sheets
- Dust
- Vacuum
- Bathrooms (yes the dreaded bathrooms)
- Empty Trash Cans
For your Errands
- Grocery Shopping
- Dry cleaning
- Bank
- Gas
- Library
- Discount Stores
For your Personal Grooming (whether you are a do it your selfer or you visit a spa/salon)
Do you seem busier than ever, but feel like you can't get anything accomplished?This problem seems exaggerated by all of these high tech communication tools we use every day. Personally, I struggle with getting my "real work" accomplished while I respond to emails, phone calls, Internet research, and now social media. Even though I know how to manage it, I find it hard to have the discipline needed to spend time working on the "real work" instead of spending time on the "fun stuff". Getting real about the time you spend on all of your daily activities helps you understand how to better manage your time. How to "Get Real" * Track the time time you spend each day on ALL of your activities. I recommend an online stopwatch tool (www.online-stopwatch.com). Start and stop the clock when you switch activities. Since it runs in your web browser, keep it open throughout the day.
* Write each activity down in your calendar or on a sheet of paper. At this point, do not change your normal behavior. You need to have a realistic picture of actual time spent, not what you think you should be spending.
* Track how many times you go in and out of email.
 There is no doubt I am a Country Music Fanatic. I love the concept of a country life, plain and simple. Now, in saying My Life is Like a Country Song (to give credit where credit is due, this is a play on Chris Cagel's My Life's Been a Country Song), I don't mean the country song about how the wife has left him, the dog dies, and he has been drinking to no end. I mean the concept of family, good values and simplicity! The front porch swinging, slow paced living kind of song.
When you live in a busy area (like Orange County, CA) you somewhat feel the need to stay busy like all the others. There is a feeling you are missing something if you don't do it all. Whether you are a stay at home mom, with a crowded activity/volunteer schedule, or the high powered executive who needs to close just one more deal, it seems as if we are wearing ourselves out. Personally, the fast paced life can beat me up. Some days I dream of sitting on a wrap around porch, sipping tea, rocking in a swing and staring out at a field of grass. (Of course I would be listening to some old Kenny Rogers and the sound track to Urban Cowboy). I guess I just wish the world would slow down, at least for a day or two.
For most, to slow down we dream of relaxing vacations. We go on vacations with the idea we are going to relax, but come home more exhausted then we left because we crammed in so much on vacation we never had the opportunity to relax. Not to mention the amount of money we spend on vacations that make us feel we need to work more to pay off what we spent! It is like a vicious cycle that never ends.
I keep myself, home, and family organized so I feel a little less crazed in my daily life. There is rarely a time where we are stressing out looking for something. We are efficient as we can be in a busy life. This allows us to have time to hang out and just be. But for some reason, I still feel the need to do more. My brain can be on overdrive, while my surroundings are not. On my lists: write a book, update my website, send out a mailer, work on my presentations, PDF downloads on my website...the list goes on and on. I want to try and squeeze in so much I don't allow myself to have the down time I need. I am always thinking of the next project.
This summer, I am making a vow to allow myself at least one day to just do nothing. Well, not really, I am a mom and that requires full time work, but to really not work on the house or my business. Just to be with my family and just BE! We have Adirondack chairs on our front porch and this summer I will be planting my bum on those while I watch my kids play. I will read, I will relax, and I will know that my work will still be there when I get back to reality. With my organizational skills, having a systems and procedures in place, I know I can allow myself to have the quite happiness I am looking for! Now if only the asphalt street I look out to on my front porch could turn into a field of wild flowers...
What image comes to mind when you think of spending time with family? Is it interaction and conversation? Is it fun activities or relaxing vacations? What we think of and what actually takes place can be so very different. We are so busy with technology, work, school and activities that we actually could be in the same house, yet we don't spend any time together. No wonder families feel so disconnected!
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