Don't Fall Into the Non-Stop Trap

With everything you have to do in a given day, it's easy to fall into the non-stop trap. This is when you're doing nothing more than chores, working, errands, cooking--after a while, you're exhausted from this never ending hamster wheel you're on.

No matter how busy you are, you should always make time for yourself. After all, life isn't about living to work. Rather, it's about working to live.

Schedule a minimum of an hour per day to do something for yourself--something you really enjoy.

Enjoy a hobby. Take a walk. Read a book. Listen to some uninterrupted music. Whatever it is, this hour per day will help you to unwind, decrease stress and more fully enjoy life. You deserve it.

Define the Problem

A big part of being organized is being able to define the problem at hand. Just jumping right into a solution rarely works. There may be a dozen different solutions, but only one of those solutions will be the very best one for you.

To find the very best solution, the problem you have must first be clear in your mind, and in the mind of anyone trying to help you.

A problem that is clearly defined is 50% solved.

Ask yourself questions. For example, let's say your home office is cluttered. You might ask yourself...

a) How did my office get so cluttered?

b) Is anyone else, besides me, contributing to the clutter?

c) What are my systems for completing projects or going through the mail?

d) How much time do I currently invest in keeping the clutter out of my office?

Once you come up with some answers to your questions, the solution should begin appearing. Keep this in mind when it comes to any other projects that you may have. If you do, you're well on your way to being more organized.

Tricks for Treats

For school today, my daughter, Amanda, needed cookies for her all-school bake sale to benefit a local charity AND a treat for her Kindergarten Halloween Party. I decided to buy the cookies for the bake sale and make homemade pumpkin muffins for the class party. Just making one treat, instead of two, cost me a few extra bucks but saved me an hour last night--an hour that I used enjoying family time and watching old episodes of Flipper with my husband and Amanda.

Instead of bringing in these treats with serving platters or Tupperware containers from home--which 1) tend to get lost in the shuffle or 2) have to be picked up and cleaned-- I instead found some old cardboard. I cut the cardboard down to size, covered it with aluminum foil and then bent the sides up. I now had a nice looking 'tray' that didn't need to be returned home or cleaned afterwards. After the bake sale, the school can just remove the foil and recycle the cardboard.

These are just two little tricks to make life a bit easier when it comes to treats.

Give Yourself a Daily Pep Talk

Need a little encouragement to get and stay organized? Giving yourself a daily pep talk is an excellent way to self-energize.

Find some joy in the things you do each day. Listen to your favorite music while cleaning, say a little prayer or think a happy thought for each cleaning task you do, play 'beat the clock' while you're working on your projects--keeping yourself happy and motivated will help you do the job better, with less stress. Keep telling yourself that it's up to you whether today is going to be a bad day or a great day.

Be confident and positive. Rather than getting overwhelmed at the things that need to be done, work in small chunks and keep saying, 'I can do it!' Jot down your successes at the end of the day, and celebrate.

Get a book of motivational quotes, or sign up for a motivational newsletter. Every morning when you wake up, read one of these quotes out loud, and reflect on it. You'll feel refreshed and ready to go each day!

Tackling Your To Do's

Trying to get things done, but feel overwhelmed by your never-ending list of things-to-do?

Make a Master List of everything you have, or want, to do. It doesn't have to be in any particular order. This is basically just a laundry list of tasks.

Beside each, assign a priority letter:

A=Important and Urgent

B=Important, but Not Urgent

C=Would be nice to do

Each day, transfer no more than 4 of those items to your To Do List (two A Priorities, one B Priority, and one A,B or C Priority), and work on those items only. If you don't finish the items on your To Do list on any particular day, complete them on the next day.

When everything is done, feel free to transfer 4 more items from your Master List to your To Do List. By using this system every day, you'll be amazed at all you can accomplish, including high priority tasks, without stress.

So and So is Dropping By...

The phone rings. Someone plans to stop by in the next few minutes. Before freaking out that everything is a mess, here are a few things you can do...

1. Absolute Basics - You have 5 minutes to straighten up!

A. Keep a large, empty Rubbermaid box on hand for moments like these. You can quickly toss all toys and stuffed animals into it, and then put the lid on--instantly clutter free, and all together when you need to put everything back in its proper place later.

B. Get some glass cleaner and wipe down the faucets in the kitchen and guest bathroom, to give them the illusion of clean. Your guests will wonder how you ever have the time to keep these two rooms this sparkly!

C. Close bedroom doors, bathroom doors, etc., blocking off the view of these rooms. Your guests won't have a chance to see you haven't even had time to make the bed today!

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2. Slightly More Ambitious - Your guest will arrive in an hour!

A. Give your kitchen a quick once over. Wipe down the table and counter, removing all food stains--so your guest can actually sit down and have a cup of coffee.

B. Focus only on those areas your guest will be in-- likely the living room, kitchen and guest bathroom. Wipe down the counters, run a Swiffer mop across the floors to pick up stray hair and dirt and clean the mirrors.

C. Do a quick dusting. Then, using Murphy's Oil Soap, clean the woodwork. Everything will smell fresh.

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3. Catalog Worthy (These tasks don't take much time, but will impress the heck out of your guest.)

A. Dim the lights. The dimmer it is, the less the dust will be seen. Light a scented candle for ambiance.

B. Roll the baby swing, snack table and anything else on wheels to another room where your guest won't be, and close the door. The emptier space will help your guest feel more at ease.

C. Tidy open bookcases and CD/DVD/VHS cabinets. Align the books in a straight line towards the front of each of the shelves.

15 Minute Increments Until Completion

Have you been meaning to accomplish something, but you've just been putting it off?

One of the main keys to completing tasks and projects is to break them down into manageable parts and work on those parts, one by one, for a minimum of 15 minutes per day.

Fifteen minutes per day is not overwhelming AND it helps ensure you end each segment with a sense of accomplishment. Keep up the 15 minutes per day goal, and you'll be done before you know it.

Your energy levels affect your organizing efforts

Your energy levels affect your organizing efforts All of us have varying levels of physical and mental energy at different times during the day. Some projects require great concentration. Others can be done with our eyes closed.

Those important projects--the ones that require lots of energy, are best performed at your peak energy time of the day. Less important projects, can be done when you're on the telephone, or when you're not feeling all that energetic.

Some people are early birds, and some are night owls. If you're a morning person, taking care of something important, such as doing your taxes or paying bills at night when you're tired is probably not the best idea.

On the other hand, you wouldn't want to spend your high energy time mending a button, when you can easily do this while watching TV.

Be aware of your natural energy peaks and lows. Set your schedule around these whenever possible. You'll feel better, and you'll get a lot more accomplished!

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The subject of organizing is in nearly every book

The subject of organizing is in nearly every book It just cracks up. It never fails. No matter what I'm reading, the subject of organizing is always popping up.

I'm in the middle of reading 'The Year of Living Biblically' by A.J. Jacobs--one man's quest to live, literally, as the Bible instructs for one full year.

Here's the organizing reference...

'My grandmother was a remarkable woman--smart, funny, elegant, organized beyond belief (each of her six children was assigned a different color, and got towels only in that color, left notes in that color, and so on.'

Not a bad idea. Obviously, Jacobs's grandmother was a woman after my own heart. Her system, by the way, is a good one that would work well for large families,

As for the book, I'm about 50% in and I'm finding it completely hilarious so far. Will I find another organizing reference? I'm guessing, yes.