Who needs more time?


Ambrose Bierce defined a day as “a period of 24 hours, mostly misspent.” Who among us doesn’t hope we could spend our time better, accomplish more and with less stress? Do you find yourself always running out of time and never able to get everything done? Wondering WHEN are you going to be able to get THAT done? We all have such busy schedules, we often think that if we could just find a few more minutes each day, imagine how much more we could achieve without being so frazzled at the end.

Here are seven ways to help you save several minutes per day, minutes which can total hours in a week. Try these for just two weeks, and you will be amazed how much time you have saved and how much better you feel about taking control of your life.

1. Make a to-do list. Keep the list handy so you can quickly jot on the list everything that needs to be done as it comes to mind. This will keep you from forgetting tasks and deadlines, and it’s the first step in creating a game plan to accomplish all items that need to be done.

2. Create standard lists. Create lists for all the things you find yourself rewriting regularly, such as weekly and monthly business tasks, grocery lists, instructions for the babysitter or pet sitter and travel lists for quick trips or longer vacations. You don't need to completely recreate them each time, and you won’t forget needed items.

3. Plan your meals. Planning meals is essential for wise budgeting and shopping. You won’t be as tempted to buy items not on your list or forget ingredients required in a recipe. It’s reassuring to know what you are having for your next meal, rather than frantically surveying what you can throw together that you can call “dinner.”

4. Group like tasks. Schedule a time to make or return phone calls, arrange appointments, etc. Plan to run all errands while you are out. Map your trips and appointments strategically so you are not running back and forth across town. This will not only save you time, but also money spent on gas.

5. Delegate jobs. Give your children chores at home. Even very young children need to know they have an appropriate role in home responsibilities. This can help teach the importance of taking care of and putting away belongings such as toys, books and clothing. You can make it fun while teaching them to help you sort laundry, load the dryer and stow Legos, books and magazines.

6. Watch recorded TV. If you are not one who can pass up TV, you should DVR or TiVo your favorite shows and watch them after they've aired. The average hour of network television bears only contains 44 minutes of programming, allowing you to save more than 25 percent of your normal viewing time by fast-forwarding through commercials. You'll be able to catch all of your favorite shows faster – and with less guilt!

7. Pack a project. Do you find yourself with frequent down time, such as sitting in the doctor's office or salon, waiting for a friend or client to meet you or sitting in the car to pick up a child or spouse? Always keep projects in your bag so that when you find yourself with precious minutes, you can work on one of your projects. Update your to-do list or planner, write letters and cards or catch up on articles that you’ve clipped for just such occasions. You’ll no longer feel that wait time is wasted time: it’s productive time!

I hope this helps you reserve a few extra minutes for YOU. Relax, read a book, take a bath, meditate or do whatever helps you unwind and recharge your batteries. Don't feel guilty about taking care of yourself: we all need ME time!

So many great items are available today to help create the organized office that even the most untamed of spaces can be brought under control! Take a few minutes to walk through an office supply store and peruse all of the fun items that you can use to spruce up your office. I always recommend the basics and then show my clients how to build on them to create their perfectly organized and personalized office space at home.

Basics include:
• Filing space (minimum two drawers)
• Hanging filing folders with tabs
• Colored file folders
• Drawer organizers with several small slots for pencils, pens and other supplies
• Tape dispenser
• Stapler
• Bookcase
• Magazine holder
• File trays or file rack
• Overhead lighting, along with a desk lamp
• Paper shredder
• Pictures and awards

You should start with your filing drawers. I always recommend color-coding the files to hang within the hanging file folders. Pick one color per purpose – for instance, green for personal and yellow for business.

I also recommend if space allows (minimally, two drawers) to designate one for personal and the other for business. It is so much easier to instantly know whether the file on the desk is business or personal, and then where it needs to be re-filed. Colored folders also make filing more fun and less overwhelming as you know instantly where the folder belongs.

Next, you will need a small drawer organizer which has several slots for organizing paperclips, binder clips, rubber bands, sticky notes, stapler remover, extra pencil/pens, etc. This will help tidy your drawers and permits easy access to frequently used items.

People can feel very close to their books. Ask someone to give up one of their beloved books and you would think you were asking for them to give up a child. Most people have many books on an array of subjects. Displaying books can give you a sense of pleasure and confidence, as you can name all that you have read and which ones you highly recommend to your friends. It is nice to have books at your fingertips when needed for business reference or simply to unwind for a few minutes.

Leave a few areas where you can buy small decorative baskets to put on the shelf. These types of baskets can hold a multitude of miscellaneous items, such as cameras, cords, extra offices supplies, printer ink, etc., as you may not have room for these items in your drawers. You also will need at least one or more magazine holder to put on the shelf. This will house all of your catalogs and magazines.

A desktop filing trays and/or filing rack is a must. You always will have items on which you are working that need to be readily available until you have completed the task. A filing tray or rack allows you to keep them organized on your desk so the file remains accessible and serves as a reminder of what you must do. Use one filing tray for all the incoming items.

I recommend a few different colored file folders for the important tasks in your life. Examples: red for “Bills to pay,” blue - “Reference/Reading materials,” orange - “Banking,” purple - “To do,” etc. Using colored file folders for these types of items is helpful so that when sorting mail or handling emails or banking, you will have a file folder for such items until you have completed the task and can file it in your drawers. You may want to keep several of these colored file folders on your desk to remind you of what you need to do.

Lighting is a critical element to which you should give some consideration. I recommend overhead lighting and desk lights. Overhead lightning is important to allow seeing into filing cabinets, bookcases, etc., and the desk light is necessary for working on your computer or paperwork. If you have windows, you will not need the lighting all times, but when it is dark outside, adequate lighting is a necessity.

One cannot be too careful when disposing of paperwork with personal information. I recommend shredding all paper with any types of account numbers, Social Security numbers, mail-in offers or banking items. When you have a shredder in your office, it is easy to properly dispose of items instead of just throwing them away.

Decorate your office with a few bright uplifting pictures that you love. They will help you to be more creative. Hang awards or certificates that you have received on your walls to remind you of your accomplishments. Keep your personal photographs to a minimum; those should be displayed throughout your house.

Extra paper can be stored in a drawer if you have room, and if not, on the shelf of the bookcase.

Setting up your office to be creative and productive can be fun. Don’t think of it as a daunting task, think of it as putting your signature on your productive space, and make it reflect your personality.

HAVE FUN WITH IT!

It is that time of year again, when it is necessary to gather all of your financial information and get it off to your Accountant for filing Taxes. Many of my clients are unclear on what to Keep and for how long. I have given you some guidelines to follow to help you.

Tax Returns & Receipts: Keep for 7 years from filing date
The IRS has 3 years from filing date to audit your return and 6 years if they suspect significant under reporting of income.

Pay Stubs: Keep for 1 year
Once you receive your annual W-2 form from your employer, check that the W-2 matches your check stubs, then you can shred or toss your check stubs.

Home and Auto titles, home repair receipts: Keep as long as you own the items
You must have the Title of an vehicle, boat, etc. when you sell it for transferring title to new owner. Receipts for Major repairs are necessary when you sell your house to calculate capital gains.

Bank Statements and cancelled checks: Keep 6 years
Keep bank statements and cancelled checks in case of an audit, you will have all the information at your finger tips, you don't have to contact the bank and pay for copies.

Sales Receipts and warranties: Keep warranties until they expire. Receipts - varies depending on what it is for. Save receipts for expensive items for insurance purposes, for small items you can toss.

If paperwork is not your forte and you need assistance organizing and deciding what to keep and what to toss, CHAOS is here to help you. I organize a lot of offices, personal and business helping get control of the clutter and finding a home for every piece of paper. Once I am done, your office will run smoother, you will find peace and be thrilled you made a decision to Get Organized!

As with my clients, I too must sorting through and purging my files. It was cold and snowy yesterday and a perfect day to do just that.

I came across this article written by Terri Trespicio and I thought she had some very profound statements that will make you stop and think for just a second. You may have heard some of these before, and only a few may resonate with you, but I think you will agree these are worth reading again.


10 THOUGHTS ON WHOLE LIVING


1. Don't mistake predictability for peace: Some of Life's most important moments are born of chaos.

2. Strength is defined not by what you can resist, but by how much you can expand.

3. While prayer may not change a situation, it may change the way you experience it

4. Eating a warm meal nourishes the body; PREPARING IT NOURISHES THE SOUL.

5. Try to see your family for who they are, not who they were (or weren't).

6. FIND REASONS AND WAYS TO GIVE. IT'LL MAKE YOU HAPPIER THAN YOU EXPECT.

7. The best escape is to let yourself become absorbed from time to time.

8. IF YOU FEEL HUNGRY, ask yourself what you're really craving.

9. YOU'LL GAIN MORE BY FACING UP TO FEAR THAN YOU EVER WILL BY RUNNING AWAY.

10. Creativity isn't just making something from scratch, but seeing potential in what already exists.

Make sure you schedule time for yourself to clean, sort and purge areas of your life that have too much clutter. Remember clutter in your house or business can be road blocks which prevent you from achieving your goals both personally and financially.

Have a great day!

I know many of my clients would find this very useful in helping them get organized as it is one more tool to empower them to stay organized.

I was reading the current Real Simple Magazine and came across a great suggestion for those of you who travel quite a bit and are racking up reward points. I haven't used this myself, but I felt it worth sharing.

Sign up with ..... Awardwallet.com, this website aggregrates and securely monitors all your traveling accounts for free, such as frequent-flier miles, car-rental rewards and credit-card points. You can also opt to receive e-mail notifications when any of your balances change or points are about to expire.

This sounds great like a great organizing tool, I will be checking it out.

Did you know Americans get 41 POUNDS of junk mail a year! Isn't that crazy? Listed below are are just 2 websites that you may sign up with and they will remove your name from the mailing lists you specify.

Dmachoice.org is a free website where you go and look up the companies by name and request to be removed from their mailing lists. Most are done via email, a few you must write a letter asking for your name to be removed.

41pounds.org is a website that for just $41 for 5 years, which is $8.20 a year or just $.02 a day - they will contact all the direct mail companies for you and request to have your name removed from their mailing lists. As an added bonus $15 out of the $41 you pay is donated to the non-profit of your choice.

This will save hundreds of trees and not to mention a ton of your time, as you will not have to open, shred and toss all those unwanted and unsolicited direct mail pieces.

Are you cleaning up and organizing your home, but wonder what to toss and what to keep? I bet you didn't know that many of the items in you home have expiration dates. Everything from the mustard in your refrigerator, to spices and other items in your pantry, even your sun tanning lotions and make up have expiration dates.

Real Simple Magazine has this great list of 77 Surprising Expiration dates on foods, beauty products and household items. Check out this article, you can even save it for future reference.

http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/surprising-expiration-dates-10000000676079/page2.html

What are your New Year's Resolutions? Are you tired of living in clutter? Are you putting away all your holiday decorations, looking around and want to clean out "excess stuff"? Well you are not alone. Millions of people want to start out the New Year with a clean slate. Give yourself permission to take control and purge items, move things around to give you a new look, clear out the clutter and become less stressed.

It only takes 21 days to form a habit. Make 2011 your year to become organized. January is National Get Organized Month. You need to clean out your files to prepare your taxes, why not clean out other areas of your house that need it.

Overwhelmed and not sure where OR how to get started. Get a piece of paper and write the numbers 1-5 on a separate line down the side of the paper. Now look at the rooms in your house, which room would you like to organize first, write it next to #1. Second room you want to organize write it next to #2., and so on. Many times we don't think we have 5 rooms to organize, but you will find when you get done organizing the first room you have moved items to the other areas of the house and now they too need a touch up.

Now get out your calendar and schedule a couple hours 2 days a week to organize and clean out room #1 on your list. Depending on how cluttered the room, you may need to schedule several hours for this room. Be committed to this appoinment with yourself, as it important to get organized for your mental health. Also make the list of items you need to purchase ahead of time so you are prepared to tackle that room on your scheduled day.

On your scheduled day, make a game plan of how you are going to get started, put on some of your favorite music and get into it. Remember only do room #1 you have on the list, otherwise you will get overwhelmed and will not complete your project.

Ok still not an easy task for you to do. Maybe you need motivated or assistance - I am here to help you. Contact me as I am running specials for the month of January - National Get Organized Month.

Have a Safe and Happy New Year!

It is the second week of January, what is on your "To Do" list for the new year? Are you doing it? Have you decided this is the your to get organized? According to Better Homes & Garden magazine, organizing is the number one priority of their readers.

In the January 2011 Good Housekeeping has lots of great tips on how to get organized. Check them out at www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/organizing

At this time of year most women magainzes have excellent articles on getting organized, after all January is GO Month - National Get Organized Month!

With the busy holidays here it is very important to take care of yourself. You can get so wrapped up in taking care of everything on that "To Do" list and everyone else that you forget about the most important person - You!

Here are a few reminders for this holiday season.

Take Control
You are in control of your life. You make the choices. What needs to be done, what you have time to do, which items can wait. Now is an extremely busy time of year - Take control before things and others control you.

Be Efficient
The holidays can be very stressful. Be sure to start the day by planning your day. Take 15 minutes to map out where you need to go and what must be accomplished. When shopping and running errands, plan your route so you are not driving in circles or back and forth across town, as this is a big waste of time and gas. Be effective and efficient by making the best use of your time.

Clean Up
When you live and/or work in a lot of clutter it can be emotionally draining and overwhelming. Take time to de-stress by reducing the clutter, you will be amazed at how much better you feel. Pick One room, block out 2 hours a minimum of 2 days a week to start cleaning, purging and organizing that One room. Give yourself permission to get rid of items by donating as much as possible to other in need, or tossing items wore out. Clearing clutter and will help you achieve balance in your life again.

Take Care of You
You work, shop, clean, bake, run errands, chauffeur the kids, plan events and the list goes on and on.... you are exhausted. It is time to stop and smell the roses and take time out for you. Plan an afternoon or evening to read a book, go shopping for yourself, go out with a girlfriend or go on a date with your significant other. It is important for you to stay on top of your game, as you are the glue that holds everything together. So to be your best, you must Take Time for You!

Merry Christmas