While there are many ways to organize, I have found that my clients who feel disorganized handle their “stuff” in one of three ways.  These are names for the kinds of disorganization that I often encounter.

The Pilot

This person loves to “pile it” (that’s why I call them a pilot). In their home or office you will find things stacked vertically. It may be papers, books, or clothes; they may be stacked neatly or haphazardly but they are piles nonetheless. These pilots will often say that they know exactly where everything is and they’re right… it’s in a pile!  How are they comfortable organizing this way? Are they really comfortable organizing this way? The answer is yes.  In Lanna Nakone’ s book, Organizing for your Brain Type, she states that this type of person should embrace their stacking preference but limit the number of piles, save less stuff to begin with, and use clear containers.

The Flight Attendant

Visualize the flight attendant on a plane – you walk onto a plane, they have everything neat as a pin and are smiling brightly. But they have a secret place, a closet of sorts. There, all of the tools for their job are hidden away – the beverage cart, coffee carafes, garbage bins, magazines, coats, and who knows what else.  A person who organizes like a flight attendant has a neat and orderly appearance on the outside but don’t dare look in their closets, laundry room or desk drawers! In fact, many of us have been quasi flight attendants in our lives – company rings the doorbell and with one swoosh we clear the papers off the kitchen counter into a bag and throw it in the pantry. Many people become flight attendants in their attempts to organize because they never get around to actually organizing and use closets, boxes or any close-able area to stash things when they want a sense of [eace in their environment.

Crop Duster

This person has it all spread out.  Just like a little crop duster, making sure to cover every nook and cranny. Every horizontal surface is covered with dishes, papers, projects, etc.  When the crop duster person begins to think about getting organized, they are instantly overwhelmed because they do not know where to start. They are paralyzed and cannot take action. Barbara Hemphill, author of Taming the Paper Tiger at Home, says that clutter is postponed decisions.  This person just cannot make a decision about what to do with the “stuff”.

Let me give it to you straight-

If you haven’t read it by now, you are probably never going to read it. So let it go!

It’s time to start fresh and have a plan for all the reading you intend to do this year.

First, set some boundaries. How many articles, books, magazines will you let pile up to read before you actually get to reading them? Determine what is manageable. I have no more than 2 books in line to be read after I finish the book I’m currently reading. There are certainly lots more I want to read but I just keep a book list instead of buying more books and magazines to have stacked by my reading chair. (I am even moving to more ebooks now that I have my iPad.) Boundaries can also be set for the number of magazines you subscribe to. Take a look at the number of subscriptions you have now and if many of those have gone unread last year then cut back your subscriptions by 50% as a starting point.

Decide how you will contain your reading materials. Some ways to do this are with magazine holders, baskets, or dedicating a shelf on a bookcase or side table for things you plan to read next. Having a specific place that contains your reading materials is also another way to set a boundary. If the reading materials start to exceed the designated space, then some need to be purged. No guilt, just follow your own boundaries…

Avoid printing out articles or emails you find on the Internet; it’s a waste of our resources. Bookmark it and come back to it when you do have time to read it. For newsletters and random sheets of paper you have accumulated to read, create a portable ”To Read” folder.  Take it with you and sneak in some reading while waiting at the doctor’s office, while parked and waiting for kids to get out of school, while getting a pedicure or, my favorite, while sitting in the airport waiting for a flight.

If you really want to get some reading done, plan for it. Set aside time daily or weekly to read. If you are not doing this already, you may need to schedule actual time in your calendar until it becomes a habit. It’s perfectly fine to have an appointment with yourself, you know! Speaking of habits, it’s also a good idea to go through and purge your reading piles quarterly. Things that seemed like a “must read” look a whole lot different after 3 months has gone by! Re-evaluate and purge the reading materials regularly, you’ll feel so much better!

The benefits of Planner Pad:

• Monthly view
• 2 pages weekly view
• Different sizes calendars to choose from
• Space for roles, tasks, and appointments
• Room on the weekly pages to capture bits of information
• Designed to make all aspects of your life funnel into each week, in one place

Click here to See the Planner Pad video

“One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day. Don’t clean it up too quickly.”  ~Andy Rooney

Time Saving Tips for Christmas Day

Make a breakfast casserole the night before and just pop it in the oven on Christmas morning

Set the table the night before

Use disposable baking pans and trays for meal prep

Put out a veggie and/or fruit tray for snacking throughout the day

Charge the camera batteries and set up the tripod the night before

Have a large garbage bag staged beside the tree the night before to hold discarded wrappings

Use a gift bag to hold all the bows and ribbons you plan to recycle as things are unwrapped

Have an empty clothes basket for each child to put their gifts into after they get unwrapped

Andy Rooney will be missed this Christmas, but he is right – Don’t clean up too quickly, savor your holiday with your loved ones and soak up the memories.

Last year a business associate heard me speak. Afterwards, she came up and told me she had a poem for me. Not the usual reaction that I get when speaking…

But the next day, when I got her email I realized why she sent the poem.  I have always believed that anyone can do the physical act of organizing but in order to be successful, one has to master the habit of organizing. Read the poem below and see if you don’t agree….

The Habit

I am your constant companion,
I am your greatest helper or heaviest burden.
I will push you onward or drag you down to failure.
I am completely at your command.
Half the things you do might just as well turn over to me
and I will be able to do them quickly and correctly.

I am easily managed -
you must merely be firm with me.
Show me exactly how you want something done
and after a few lessons, I will do it automatically.
I am the servant of all great people;
and alas, of all failures as well.
Those who are great,
I have made great.
Those who are failures,
I have made failures.

I am not a machine,
though I work with all the precision of a machine
plus the intelligence of a human.
You may run me for a profit or run me for ruin -
it makes no difference to me.

Take me,
train me,
be firm with me,
And I will place the world at your feet.
Be easy with me,
and I will destroy you.

WHO AM I?

I AM HABIT.

(Author Unknown)

Do you need some help with creating the habit of organization?  Drop me an email if you want some help!

Did I just say that?!! I love to shop and so do most of my friends.

But clutter is caused by uncontrolled shopping or, stated another way, by a person who shops without restraint- a shopaholic. According to some studies 1 in 20 people is a shopaholic and 9 out of 10 shopaholics are women. (Of course most shopaholics are women – don’t they also say that women make the majority of buying decisions in America?!)

There are many reasons why people say they over-shop. Great sales, late night TV and shopping channels, quantity discounts, having grown up in the depression or having been deprived. Whatever the reason, the underlying cause is emotional. Those who are compulsive shoppers use shopping as an escape from their emotions – whether caused by depression, anxiety, anger or just plain boredom. I write about this today not to point a finger but to say that READ MORE

I’m tired of hearing that old cliche “There’s not enough hours in a day!”

News Flash:  There ARE enough hours in the day if you focus! I will be posting 5 tips, distinct actions, that you can implement to improve your focus. And just to be crafty, I am making “FOCUS” an acronym to help you remember.

The “F” in focus stands for

Forget multitasking

Multitasking is not an effective way to focus your energies.  It actually will slow you down.  Many people brag about multitasking (namely moms who have a million things to do).  But multitasking just gives you a false sense of productivity.  ” Those who multitask are actually less efficient than those who focus on one project at a time”, according to a study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology.

Here’s my analogy of multitasking.  Stand at a light switch on your wall.  Now turn it on….

Turn it off

Turn it on

Turn it off

Turn it on…

Not only is that annoying but it will eventually make your finger tired too.  In this analogy, your brain is the light switch and your tasks (or areas of focus) are the light and the darkness. Your brain does not really do to things at the same time, it is literally switching back and forth between the tasks. You are losing precious time in the switching back and forth.

Many of my friends dread their children’s homework more than the child does! I often hear things like “I practically have to stand over him”, “She does the work but doesn’t turn it in”, “He just can’t stay still and do the homework”. Granted, some of these issues may be due to things like ADD or ADHD but setting up a proper homework environment certainly can’t help but get the homework off to a good start. Here are three things I recommend:

Location:
The location is not always the same for each child and may not even be the one that you would choose. Talk with your child, ask him if he likes to read in a quiet place or with music in the background? Also consider the personality of the child; extroverts like to be where the action is while introverts treasure their personal space and desire to be alone. Do they need a quiet corner in which to do their work? Can they go about most of the work unsupervised? Do they want you nearby to help or like to be where you are? Or is the household hub, usually the kitchen, where they want to be? If your student is a teenager, they want to be more independent and value their privacy. Many teenagers make their bedroom the first choice for homework. Regardless of the location, what is important is that you and your child make the decision together where the homework should be done.

Timing:
Again this depends on your child. Some children want to come right home and get the work done while others want to release some energy first and settle down to homework later. Neither choice is bad so long as the homework gets done. What is most important is that the homework time stays consistent every day.

The Homework Tools:
I recommend a homework box. This is a lidded box that contains pens, pencils, erasers, a hand held pencil sharpener, a ruler, extra binder paper, report covers, staples, and paper clips. For pre-teens and teenagers, a pocket thesaurus, highlighters, compass, graph paper, and calculator will be needed. Having this homework box not only keeps your child’s school supplies organized, but provides a central location for all tools that may be needed to complete the homework assignments.
Another important tool is the student planner. Many schools now require the students to use a school planner. This is an important step in teaching them to be organized and responsible. If your child’s school does not issue a planner then buy them one. Choose a planner that shows the week on two pages; this will allow your student enough space in which to record their homework. Having them record their homework daily helps with forgetfulness and will enhance their homework time because it eliminates the time wasted trying to remember and find the homework assignments. It also helps teach prioritization. Often, essays and projects are assigned well in advance of the due date and using the planner to break the work down into smaller pieces can help to avoid the last minute rush. The skill of learning how to juggle the homework load will carry over into adulthood – don’t we have to prioritize and juggle our workloads?
I also recommend a homework folder. Purchase a report folder in a bright, neon color. Label it “Homework Folder” and ask that the child place the completed homework in there and put into the backpack every night. Then when the child opens the backpack at school seeing the bright folder may help them to remember to turn in the work. You should also check this folder to be sure it is empty when your child returns from school each day. Another alternative is to have a divider pocket in the front of the school binder in which to put work that should be turned in.

Remember with homework, consistency and organization are a big help!