Archive for Organization
24 Time Management Tips
Posted by: | Comments24 Time Management Tips
Where does your time go? We all know we are busy, yet we feel behind and don’t get to do the things we really want to do.
Planning is the best time saver there is. At the beginning of the week jot down your goals that you want to accomplish, fun things you want to do, work that needs to be done, and appointments to keep. Then write out a loose schedule for the week ahead, balancing it out between work, family, home, self and your other roles.
You can choose to put your action items on daily to do lists or schedule them on a calendar like appointments. How you keep track of your things to do for the week, depends on how much structure you personally like or need.
When you plan, it is helpful to schedule things for twice as long as you expect them to take. That gives you extra time for those traffic jams, interruptions, and fun, spontaneous moments. I try to plan on leaving 10 minutes earlier than I have to, for all my appointments, in case of unexpected delays.
My weekly planning session usually takes less than thirty minutes. My planning session includes gathering my papers and going through the in-box to find action items. I also plan goals, next action items for my projects, plan a two hour time alone, and plan a date with my husband. I schedule work, exercise, fun time, time with friends and family, volunteer work, and self-care time. Planning allows the important to take precedent over the urgent for once.
But, be flexible with your plan. Remember you are not a slave to your planner. It is there to serve you. If your time management system isn’t working, tweak it.
Here are some more time management tips:
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Know what’s important to you. Figure out your values and your vision.
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Start delegating to family members, co-workers, professionals, and teenagers needing extra money.
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Learn to say no to what is not in your mission or your values.
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Let go of perfectionism. Not everything has to be done perfectly and some things are out of your control.
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Listen to audio tapes during your commute or household tasks.
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Use a planner or phone that includes a daily to do list, a weekly calendar, a monthly calendar, a listing of projects, telephone numbers and important information.
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Empty out your planner of the clutter and junk. Put the little pieces of paper in an in-box to go through in your weekly planning session.
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Keep your planner with you at all times.
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Do not keep a bunch of calendars around. Use only one so everything is in one place.
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Keep a master list of all the things you need to do, call, see, write, etc. Don’t use post-it notes all over. They seem to get lost.
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Answer routine letters by answering them on the original. Photocopy your message for your own files then send off the original.
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Cut down on TV time. Plan your TV time so you only watch the shows you really wanted to see. If you are watching, clean during commercials or sew while viewing.
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Lay out all the things you need for the next day, the night before.
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Tidy your desk before you leave work so it will be clean for the next session.
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Try to spend time on planning and important things so you are not always "putting out fires."
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Use a timer to keep you from spending too much time on one thing or to challenge you when you are cleaning.
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Relax when you are relaxing and work when you are working.
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Make goals and rewrite goals every few months, so you have a focus.
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Clear the clutter from your desk.
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Go through your files once a year to get rid of paper you no longer need. Saves space and time. Or go through a file each time you put something in it, to keep your files current.
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Get rid of things that don’t work, especially pens. Save yourself some frustration.
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Start with the worst item on your to do list. Everything else will be a piece of cake. You also won’t be thinking and dreading it while doing other tasks. Procrastination sucks out your energy.
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Be sure to bring things to do like reading, writing a letter, paying bills etc., when you know you will have to wait someplace.
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A couple of times a year, keep a time log. Jot down everything you do for a day or two. Then examine where your time does not match what is important to you.
It’s your life. If you don’t manage your time, other people will manage it for you.
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If you want to go deeper than just tips, into changing your relationship with time, the class starts Monday:
Float and Flow in Time
Posted by: | CommentsEver notice that some people have super busy schedules but they seem to float and flow? And other people with the same schedules are tight, stressed and feeling overwhelmed?
That’s because schedules and not enough time are not the real reasons people are stressed. Much of the stress is because of their current relationship with time.
Where are you on the spectrum?
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If you are looking to change your relationship to time, check out the class that starts Monday:
Making Decisions on Paper
Posted by: | CommentsA client was having trouble making decisions on paper (actually most of my clients have trouble making decisions on paper – very common.) I said something and she asked me to email it to her.
This is what I wrote: It helps to remember that the really important papers always come around more than once – a friend will follow up, financial papers you need to action get sent again, articles and FYIs can be found on the internet. Even bank statements and check stubs are there more often. Many things you can make a phone call and get another one sent. It’s just stuff and it’s hard to make a permanently bad decision with paper.
When you get into perfectionistic mode with paper, it’s easy to think that you might make a terrible mistake with the paper. The reality is that is highly unlikely.
If you know the basics, like how long to keep financial papers and have an action file set up and a working file system you can go from paper piles everywhere to papers controlled. My only unsorted papers are in my inbox, everything else has its place. And that feels great.
It took awhile to find something that worked for me and to create habits like sorting at least once a week. It helps that this is a self-purging system. I also have containers so I know when my in box is full, I need to sort. When my to file folder can’t hold more, it’s time to file. When my action file is too stuffed, I need to work through those items. Instead of letting them become pile after pile after pile.
How is your file system working? Do you have any paper piles to tackle?
Setting Yourself Up to Win
Posted by: | CommentsA new client of mine is beginning a big project. So the first thing we did was set her up to make the project easier.
Do you have a project or goal you are doing or about to do? What would it mean to set yourself up to win?
Some ideas:
- Get enough sleep
- Get a relative or babysitter to watch the kids
- Visualize the outcome before starting to go from, "this is too hard" to "this is what I want to see."
- Clear off your desk
- Create a project file
- Clean up a location
- Get a coach, buddy or support person for accountability
- Get any materials
- Block out time in your schedule
- Plan reviewing progress time
- Set up your environment to make your project easier
- Decide which of your strengths can help this project
- Be clear on what outcome you want
- Anticipate obstacles and come up with solutions to overcome
The easier you make a project on yourself, the more likely it will get to completion. Preparing helps you finish.
Photo by JayneandD
Self-Directed
Posted by: | CommentsMany times when I talk to people they tell me they are busy and they don’t know how to stop. They have to take the kids here and here and here. Or work is keeping them overtime. Or they have to attend so many meetings.
The biggest difference I’ve noticed between the "too busy" and the "not too busy" is that for the too busy it’s always someone or something else causing the problem.
"Too busy" is the kind of people that makes you exhausted, irritable and like you are missing meaning. Some people can be rushing around like whirlwinds, but they are feeling fulfilled in their lives and energetic. Too busy will seem much different from one person to the next.
In order to become less busy, you need to be self-directed. You can decide how many activities the kids can be in if you are the one driving. You can decide whether you want to join the PTA or not. You get to decide to be more productive during work time so you don’t have to stay late.
You can make your priorities, true priorities. You can make sure you exercise, connect with someone and have quiet time before you watch TV, go to a game or surf the internet.
Trust me, I realize sometimes things happen. People get sick, your daughter gets married, there is a big project at work. Sometimes you may be busy no matter what. But, if you are always too busy, it’s probably not circumstances. It may be you.
Lots of people use busy as a badge of worthiness. I am busy, so I must matter. When they aren’t moving, they get antsy. Some create crises just so they can save the day or complain to others about the drama. Or they stay busy because they are scared other people will get ahead of them. Or look down on them. Staying too busy can be a way of masking feelings they don’t want to deal with.
Where can you take responsibility for the busyness of your life? What are you willing to do about it?
Photo by Eierschneider
Seasonal Prep
Posted by: | CommentsI’m not one that loves to tidy and clean. But, when the change of seasons is in the air all of the sudden I have this nesting urge.
So this week I:
- Washed all the bedding and put on the flannel sheets
- Got out some cooler clothes and put away the bright summer clothes
- Made yogurt
- Threw out the expired sunscreen and bug spray
- Washed and put out the blankets
- Bought some hot cocoa and apples
- Opened the windows to air out the house
- Put away the summer candles and got out the fall ones
- Put out the jackets
- Planned a month of menus with lots of tomatoes, corn and squash
- Figured out the Sept budget
What will you do for the change of season?
Seasonal Planning
Posted by: | Comments
As we go into the next season, what do you want from the next few months?
I love to plan seasonally instead of quarterly since it is more in tuned to nature. And I can remember to include seasonal things to do.
Some of the things I want to do this autumn:
- Make caramel apples
- Learn to make applesauce
- Go on at least 3 bike rides
- Take up Zumba
- Finish up the retreat kit and time course
- Celebrate my birthday
- Make pumpkin seeds
What are some of the things you want to do this upcoming season?
Have You Unplugged, Yet?
Posted by: | CommentsA lot has been written lately about unplugging. Taking a day a week or a month at unplug from technology so you can re-connect with yourself and with the ones you love.
But are you doing it?
Since we don’t see it as a necessity, we can find all sorts of excuses – my family will get mad at me if I turn of their technology, I just need to make one more phone call, but a show I like is coming on…
How can you make unplugging work for you?
- Plan for this time and anticipate it. Create an email autoresponder saying you are unplugging for the day. Pick up the house the night before. Run your errands during the week.
- Plan activities that you love to do that will keep you and your family away from technology. Stroll, go to the beach, play games, visit friends, watch the sunset, dance in your living room with your family, do something creative.
- Remember the importance. Do you remember free time when you were younger? I remember growing up Sundays we would go to church, have a big dinner, read the paper, go on nature walks or other family activity. In the evening we would do our own thing, relaxing. How would it feel for you to unplug?
- Turn off the cell phone. Unplug the TV. Hide the DVD player and video games. Keep the computer off.
- Create a ritual to remind you of your unplugging – lighting a candle, changing clothes, a few minutes of deep breathing.
What do you need to do today to be able to take a day off this weekend to unplug?
Looking Ahead
Posted by: | CommentsOne of the big reasons people lives don’t seem simple, is the lack of looking ahead.
Is it more relaxing to fill up the tank one evening or go to the gas station, wait in line, on the way to work in the morning?
Is it easier to plan a weekly menu and get your groceries at once or think about what you want for dinner every night at 5pm?
Is it more fun to plan for a day off on the weekend or let another Sunday be filled with work and chores?
One of my clients just got a calendar that he can see the week and month ahead with. It’s making a big difference already.
If you set aside time at the beginning of the week to look ahead, you can solve many problems with less effort.
- Look at your appointments for the next week. Anything you need to prep for?
- Look at the upcoming deadlines in the next month. Can you do anything for these projects now?
- Do you have to save money for an insurance payment, vacation or a fridge that is on the fritz?
- What days will you need extra quick meals?
- If you are going to be by the post office this week, can you take your library books if it’s nearby?
Don’t wait for your phone to beep at you to let you know what you need to do. Plan ahead and see how much more breathing space you get.
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Photo by: Joe Lanman
Tackling Books
Posted by: | CommentsSome people collect knick-knacks. Some people buy an abundance of clothes or shoes. My vice is books.
As a kid I would ride my bike for miles to get to the library. I always asked for books for holidays. When I finally made an income my first purchases were horse novels.
Being a coach and writer has made buying many books even more acceptable. After all I have to keep learning, right?
We tackled my son’s cramped bookshelf of sci-fi, spy novels and science non-fiction this past week. And it reminded me I needed to go through my books.
I rarely keep novels because there are too many new novels to read. The ones I keep are nostalgic books like Anne of Green Gables and Little Women. I actually do re-read these. So when I am done with a current novel I either pass it on to friends or family, or put it in a box to take to the used book store.
As I go through the non-fiction, I ask if this book is pertinent to my current life situation. I gave some of my how to parent little ones books to my sister, a new mother.
I let got of some craft books that I was no longer doing projects from. And that diet that I will never go on again. I found a style book that looked very unstylish now.
And we don’t need to keep the whole book sometimes.
I scanned a few recipes I used from cookbooks and narrowed down my cookbooks to three. (Love the Art of Simple Food by Alice Walker.) I scanned a food plan and was able to get rid of the book.
My rule is if the books can’t fit in the bookshelves, then I have too many.
How do I slow the flow of books into the house?
- I got a Kindle for Christmas and most new books are now on that device.
- I have a pile of 5 books I am reading, and have to either finish the book or give away the book before i get to read a new one.
- I ask if I already have a similar book and whether I have read it or not before I buy a book.
- I get as many books as possible from the library. Most libraries can get books from nearby libraries if they don’t have the book you want.
- I limit trips to Barnes and Noble. I can easily get at least one book each time I step into a bookstore.
- I take notes on books I read, so I don’t have to keep the books when I am done.
- I remind myself that for most books, I can pick the book up again at the library or bookstore if I really need it again. That helps with the letting go process.
And these tips work for other things like clothes and shoes as well.
What do you need to tackle?
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Photo by: Carbon NYC
