Get Organized Now! Weblog

Don't Put Off Until Tomorrow

One important concept, when it comes to organizing, is not putting off until tomorrow, what can be done today.

For instance, leave dirty dishes in the sink for a day or two, and not only will they pile up, but they'll be more difficult to clean. As soon as Joe and I are done eating, the dishes go directly into the dishwasher--and the dishwasher cycle is run every single night. Don't have a dishwasher? It will only take a few minutes to wash those dishes immediately.

If you allow paper to begin piling, it may grow to the ceiling and it will take forever to file it all away if you wait a week or more. I always file as needed, or at the latest, at the end of each day.

Wait a week to clean the bathroom, and it will require deep cleaning each week. Tidy up the bathroom each day for just a few minutes, and you'll never have to deep clean again.

This concept applies to so many different areas of life. Whenever possible (and most times it IS possible), don't delay on the basic, everyday things that tend to pile up. Handle them now and you won't have to even think about them later.

Scheduling in Time for the Unexpected

Yesterday, I had lots of tasks and projects on my To Do list that I was working on diligently, until 11:30 a.m. or so. That's when I got a call from my daughter's school telling me Amanda had a bad tummy ache. So, of course I dropped everything, drove to her school and ended up bringing her home with me, where I comforted her with a heating pad, a little club soda, and some plain crackers until she felt better. It turned out to be nothing serious, thankfully, and she's back in school today.

So today's list is basically double in size--all of today's work, plus yesterday's work that never was completed. But that's just how it goes sometimes, and flexibility is critical. For this very reason, I always keep my schedule on Fridays very light, with plenty of room for catch-up work.

When adding tasks and events to your schedule for the week, always pad with plenty of time for unexpected things that may come up. This way, you won't feel like you're drowning in work if you or another family member is feeling under the weather, or a situation arises, or if your computer decides to act up without warning.

A big part of being organized is preparing for times like these. If nothing occurs and you have lots of extra time, great! You can use that time to get a head start on next week's work, or to do something fun and relaxing. If something does come up, you'll be able to still get those things done without the pain.

Time Is Your Most Precious Commodity

According to a Lou Harris survey, the amount of leisure time enjoyed by the average American has shrunk 37 percent since 1973, while the the average workweek (including commuting) has increased from fewer than 41 hours to nearly 47 hours. In many professions, an 80-hour work week is not uncommon!

Harris concludes that "time may have become the most precious commodity in the land."

Look at your typical week. Is it balanced between work and leisure time, or is the scale weighing heavily on the work end?

Don't ignore leisure time. You work hard, and you deserve to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Take Time

Take Time Take time to work.
I It is the price of success.

Take time to think.
It is the source of power.

Take time to play.
It is the secret of perpetual youth.

Take time to read.
It is the foundation of wisdom.

Take time to worship.
It is the highway to reverence.

Take time to be friendly.
It is the road to happiness.

Take time to dream.
It is hitching your wagon to a star.

Take time to love and be loved.
It is the privilege of life.

Take time to look around.
It is too short a day to be selfish.

Take time to laugh.
It is the music of the soul.

--Old English Prayer

Sometimes it's OK to take a Shortcut

The other night, Joe and I got together with three other couples to celebrate the holidays. We stopped at each of our homes to enjoy appetizers, holiday decorations and the company of good friends.

Normally, I use my best dishes and glassware, pretty linen napkins, along with all my festive serving dishes and so on.

But this year, things have been especially hectic with work projects, school programs and the holidays.

So in the name of sanity, for this celebration, we ended up using disposable dishes, cups and napkins. Clean up was a breeze and it was a sigh of relief not to have to end our evening with cleaning tasks.

This serves as a reminder that while it's lovely to go all out (which we do tend to do most of the time), once in awhile we all need a shortcut.

Besides, the evening was about being with our friends, which we thoroughly enjoyed!

Give yourself some breaks this holiday season and take some shortcuts when the opportunity arises.

Breaking Large Projects Down

I recently received this question from a reader and I decided to respond in a blog post so others would also benefit from it. Her question...

'I don't know HOW to break a large project down into tasks. When I read your comment about quilting and one of the first things you could learn to do was to thread your sewing machine, I was amazed! My idea of learning to quilt would be to go to the fabric store and get tons of books and the best fabric and all the tools any quilter could ever want. Then I would find a beautiful (but very difficult) pattern and start cutting. When things didn't fit I would just get fed up and quit--saying I couldn't quilt. Is there a formula to figure out what goes first and so on? My husband is a logical thinker and it's so easy for him to know where to begin. I usually just jump in with tons of enthusiasm that is quickly quenched. I usually end up crashing and burning. I don't want to live like this, but seem to be stuck. Can you help?'

Great question, because in my mind this is a huge part of the reason so many projects get started, but never completed. Looking at an entire project, as a whole, is very overwhelming. Breaking it up into smaller steps, mini-goals, is less stressful and each step is more likely to get accomplished.

First off, when a huge project comes your way, give yourself time to think about it BEFORE running out to the store and buying anything.

Perhaps a thought crosses your mind that you want to learn how to play guitar. Ok, ask yourself why. Do you want to entertain friends and family? Do you want to do a solo guitar performance somewhere? Do you want to simply learn a few songs to dazzle your spouse? Once you know what your purpose is, it's easier to break the project down, or even re-assess how badly you want to accomplish that particular project with the amount of extra time you have.

Once you know your purpose and decide this is something you truly want to do, write what you want to do and the purpose of the project on an index card.

Then, grab a bunch of index cards and on each write a task related to that purpose.

Let's say your project is to learn to bake bread and the purpose would be for you to give a loaf as a gift to your sister who loves home baked bread. One index card may say, 'Research bread making on the Internet.' Another may say, 'Determine type of bread my sister likes.' Yet another may say, 'Find a very basic bread recipe and try that first to see if I like baking bread' and so on.

Once you have a bunch of index cards made, shuffle them until they're in a somewhat logical order. Get someone to help if necessary.

Then, tackle each card one by one, and consider accomplishing that task a success and reward yourself for your effort.

Before you know it, you'll be handing your sister a fresh baked loaf of bread, or accomplishing any other project to which you apply this system.

15 Minutes Earlier Per Night

My 6-year old daughter, Amanda, has been having the time of her life this summer--going to bed around 10 at night, and sleeping in until around 9 in the morning. But, as they say, all good things must end. School is starting on September 1st, and her bed times and wake times need to be adjusted.

Now that we're one week prior to the first day of school, we'll be getting her to bed 15 minutes earlier, each night, until bedtime is back at 8:00.

That means...

tonight, bedtime is 9:45P

Wednesday, bedtime is at 9:30P

Thursday, bedtime is at 9:15P

Friday, bedtime is at 9:00P

Saturday, bedtime is at 8:45P

Sunday, bedtime is at 8:30P

Monday, bedtime is at 8:15P

Tuesday, bedtime is at 8:00P

Of course, I'll help her get adjusted to her wake times as well in the same manner, each day getting up 15 minutes earlier.

Even if you don't have school-age children, this system works beautifully for any time adjustment you need, whether it's getting up earlier to get to work earlier, or going to bed at the time that will allow you to get enough restful sleep for a productive day tomorrow.

These incremental adjustments, rather than one that's more severe, help ease the body and the mind. It's a lot less stressful to adjust in baby steps.

Busy, busy, busy!

We just returned from an amazing 10-day trip to Cleveland. As the song goes, 'Cleveland Rocks!' There was so much to do, and every moment of our time was super fun. I'll post a blog soon detailing what we did while we were there. Special thanks to all my readers who gave me such fantastic tips on events, attractions, hot spots and restaurants.

Of course, no matter how organized you are, getting back from vacation involves some extra work. But being organized gets you caught up a whole lot quicker!

Today, work-wise, I wrote my newsletter (to be published on Saturday), updated my site and responded to all the email messages in my inbox.

Home-wise, I unpacked our clothing and souvenirs and put them all away, completed the remainder of the laundry I didn't get to from the last 2 days of our trip, plowed through all our mail for the past 10 days, paid some bills and now am on my way to the supermarket to get some groceries for dinner.

My daughter has been on a play date today, so I had ample uninterrupted time to get a bunch of things done.

This upcoming weekend is the Relay for Life--an event I'm involved in with proceeds all going to the American Cancer Society. I'll be heavily focusing on this event starting tomorrow morning, through the evening and into Saturday. Again, very special thanks to all my readers who contributed to this cause.

What's up for Sunday? Church, and rest--before the new week begins. More later....

Are You 'Waiting' Productively?

In each day, there are always stretches of waiting time, whether you're waiting in a doctor's office, waiting for a pot of water to boil, or waiting for your child's ballet classes to end.

As I'm writing this blog post today, I'm waiting for my daughter's 2-hour dance camp to end.

Sometimes when I'm waiting, I enjoy just sitting back and enjoying a few moments of quiet, rest and relaxation. Other times, like now, I'm using that 'free' time to get things accomplished.

No matter where I am, I always have tasks and projects on hand that I can work on whenever the opportunity arises.

Today, I'm updating my web site, newsletter and blog from Stone Creek Coffee, where they offer free Wi-Fi access. Using the Go To My PC service, I can work just as I would if I were sitting in front of my work computer.

I managed to find this Wi-Fi 'Hotspot' by searching for Wi-Fi Hotspots on Google. There were approximately 6 choices within 5 miles of my daughter's dance studio that were no charge.

In addition to my laptop, I also have my new Martha Stewart Food Magazine. If I finish my work tasks and still have time, I'll be able to browse that magazine for a recipe or two that I can make for dinner this week.

Another possibility is using my laptop, along with the Wi-Fi connection, to check posts on Facebook or Twitter. I can even access my email and respond accordingly.

In some instances, Wi-Fi access is not available. Sometimes, for example, when sitting in a doctor's office, I may use my laptop in offline mode to simply write a letter or draft a report.

If I'm not in the mood for computer work, I may write a thank you note (I keep several blanks in my waiting bag), or run some errands, catch up on some reading, or perhaps even call a friend or business associate if I'm in an area that won't be disturbing to others--like a public park.

Again, sometimes it's nice to just relax and do nothing. You certainly have that option if you wish. However, if you're the type of person that likes to be fairly productive, planning ahead for moments of waiting time will gain you hidden time throughout the day to get things done.

Walking Back and Forth

It was such a beautiful day outside yesterday. While I was waiting for my daughter to complete her piano lesson at a local school campus, I sat outside and read a book.

There were two workers who were carrying some heavy items in their arms (rolled up rugs, large frames, etc.) back and forth from one campus house into the main school building. During the time I sat reading, each of these men carried heavy loads back and forth at least 15 times, and they weren't done at the end of my daughter's lessons. It was quite a distance from one building into the other.

A lot of this time and energy could have been eliminated with wheeled carts. A tool like this would have given these men the opportunity to carry lots of items at once, in less time, without the possibility of someone getting hurt from this very strenuous activity.

Think of what you do on a daily basis. Are you dragging toys from one room into another or from your front lawn into the house--in your arms, and making 10 or more trips back and forth to do so?

What about when you need to take dishes, utensils, etc. out to your outside deck for dinner? Do you use a rolling cart or tray, or do you find yourself constantly walking back and forth?

Part of being organized, is finding ways to do things efficiently and accurately, with less effort and less time. Next time you find yourself retracing your steps over and over, carrying items in your arms and leaving a trail behind you, or transporting something heavy without a proper tool, think twice about what you're doing.

Being organized, starts with an organized mind. An organized mind is always trying to find a better way--one that saves time, effort and stress, but still gets the job done.