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This is Your Life: Organized

Friday, April 16th, 2010

Do you embrace the words “priorities” and “goals”, or do they fill you with fear?

Are you afraid that if you took a long look at where your time is spent, you would be disheartened and disillusioned? You can’t see the merry-go-round of life slowing down, so you keep on running as fast as you can?

Credit: David Salafia/Flickr (CC-ND)

We Americans tend to fill our lives with so much clutter that we cannot see what is truly important. Even our children have sports and music lessons and are going in so many different directions that the parents have to go separate ways on the weekends to make it all happen.

The same principles that professional organizers use to help people dig out from under all the extra “stuff” can be applied to life choices as well. Rather than use the terms “priorities” and “goals”, think about going on a treasure hunt.

Priorities and goals: a treasure hunt

What are the top three “treasures” in your life; what do you value most? Some answers that come to mind are: family, spiritual life, making a difference, financial security, health. Write down your top three.

Now honestly evaluate your attitudes (the way you think) and your activities (the things you do) based on what you have just said are the most important things – the “treasures” – in your life. How do your attitudes and activities line up?

Treasure your priorities

This is the sorting stage of organizing. Putting the like things together and seeing “What you really have!” Sometimes just looking at your life clutter in the light of day is enough to toss some things.

Next is the painful part – purging. There may even be some good things in your life that must go to make room for the best. We all have the same 24 hours per day. After sleeping that amounts to 960 minutes. If you have a full-time job, only half of that is discretionary – 480 minutes per day.

Where do you want to invest your time and energy so that you are true to your values?

Get off the merry-go-round

There are more steps to the organizing process, but we will stop at this third one: assigning a home. Where in your life schedule will you make a place for the people, attitudes and activities you have identified as your treasures? Make appointments with yourself and others that honor your decisions.

One of my favorite childhood songs is titled “Horace the Horse”. Horace is a horse on the merry-go-round, always going up and down, round and round. He is sad because he is the very last horse, always following others. Then one day he looks around and says, “Gosh! Oh gee! I’m the very first horse on the merry-go-round, ’cause the others are a’followin’ me!”

Home is where your heart is

Your attitude, your decisions can influence the lives of others in profound ways when you take the initiative to identify what is truly of value and determine to follow your own path.

Posted in Personal Development, Tips and Tricks | No Responses »
Tags: clutter, howto, principles, priorities

Free From Life Clutter! Throw Out 50 Things – Book Review

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

Available at Amazon, $20

Do you wonder if you can ever streamline, but are afraid to throw out something that is important? Life coach Gail Blanke’s book Throw Out FIFTY Things might be just the thing you need for that extra push!

This book is not only about clearing out physical clutter, as freeing as that is. Once you take the first steps of tackling drawers and shelves that are holding debris from actions and attitudes long past, you are pumped up to do the real work of pitching the emotional baggage that is weighing you down. Gail’s vision is “to empower men and women to live truly exceptional lives.”

What is your “life plaque”? What is holding you back from, as the Army puts it, being all that you can be? This book is a great motivator to just get started!

Posted in Commentary / Other Authors, Featured, Product Review | No Responses »
Tags: clutter, encourage, get started, L.I.F.E., motivation, priorities, procrastinate, simplify

Mapping Out Your Perfect Holiday Activity

Friday, December 4th, 2009

A popular saying is, “You have to make time for the important things in life.” The truth is, each day we have all the time we are going to get – 24 hours – then that day is done, gone, kaput! We can’t really make time, we can only manage wisely what we have.

Just as with a dollar in a candy store, you can only spend the time you are given… once. What is one important thing you definitely want to accomplish this holiday season? Is it to…

Give of yourself to someone in need
Reconnect with a distant loved one
Connect in a real way with someone close to you
Celebrate spirit-filled traditions with your children
Express gratitude to those responsible for the good things in your life
Create a meaningful memory for your family

Choose one activity that is of utmost priority to you. Commit yourself to making that happen. Then take these steps to insure that you make it to your destination on time.
road map
1. Write down your goal. Commit yourself on paper to accomplish this one thing if nothing else. Set a deadline for yourself: when will you be done and what is the result you want (how will you know when you have reached your goal?) Remember that you can only control your actions, so set a goal about what you do, not how someone else will respond.

2. Plan the steps to take. On that same sheet of paper, write down what it will take to get the job done. Will you call someone, contact a volunteer effort? Will you plan a special trip or activity?

3. Recognize supporting actions. For each step you have written, answer this question – What must happen before you are able to take that step? Do you need to hunt information? Will you have to go to the store to purchase supplies? Write these supporting actions down next to that step.

4. Make your time map. Now you are ready to plug these action steps into your daily calendar, thinking “When do I have to have this done so I can…?” take the next step to meet your deadline and ultimate goal.

Now you have the full picture of the actions you must take, the time you must spend to accomplish your mission. At this point, I am always shocked by the actual time and effort that my chosen activity will take.

That is why choosing to do what is important and non-urgent (rather than to obey the tyranny of the urgent) is both extremely hard to do and vital to your character and success.

My request to you: Don’t let today end before you identify your #1 priority action. Write down your exact goal and deadline. Then complete steps 1-4. You now have the map to get to your desired destination on time! You can do it, just follow your map!

Posted in Featured, Holidays, Home Life, Time Management, Tips and Tricks | No Responses »
Tags: get organized, goals, Holidays, howto, priorities, strategy, time

Banish Holiday Stress

Friday, November 6th, 2009

The holidays are a great time to connect with family and friends, relaxing and strengthening ties. There are also extra pressures that can cause stress and frustration.

The trigger could be money, “How can I afford this gift?”; family relationships, “Not another family meal hearing Uncle Ned’s medical history!”; or still painful grieving, “We always held the holiday get togethers at Grandma’s; it just won’t be the same without her!”

Click to continue »

Posted in Featured, Home Life, Time Management, Tips and Tricks | No Responses »
Tags: get organized, get started, giving, holiday, organizing, planning, priorities, stress

Saving Time a la Ray Kroc

Sunday, September 13th, 2009

What was it about the McDonald brother’s operation that sparked Ray Kroc’s imagination? Was it the simplicity of the menu or their production line system of preparing food? Both! Combined in standard operating sequences, McDonald’s became a place where we could count on consistent food taste and quality.

The principles that we see at work in Ray Kroc’s successful enterprise are:

1. Keep it simple. Choose what is essential to your home life, your job, your family. Let go of the extraneous stuff, activities – anything that will dilute your focus on the important things.

2. Find a system that works and stick with it. A system is uses the right tools in an efficient way to produce the desired result. Think of what you wash first in the shower. Why? You have developed a system that you consider efficient and that results in a clean body. There are many filing systems, closet systems, and storage systems designed to save time and make tasks easier. Find one that works for you.

3. List the sequence of actions that you use to accomplish a given task. That way you don’t have to reinvent that operating sequence again. For example, the next time you pack for a trip, make a list of what you put in your suitcase and toiletries bag. Refine the list again when you return. Then the next time you pack, you already have a list to work from.

You may not become a multimillionaire by following these guidelines, but will realize savings in time, money, and brainpower that you can use doing something that brings you joy.

Posted in Downsize / Move, Time Management | 2 Responses »
Tags: priorities, productivity, simplify, systems, time

Simple Summer Joys

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

“Slow down, you move too fast!” One of the best things about summer is we are reminded to slow down and enjoy the good weather with longer spans of sunlight. Here are ten things that are on my list of best ways to enjoy a summer’s day:

Find a child to share a Popsicle with.
Go to the park and wander until you find at least one butterfly.
Sit in the sunshine reading a book as you eat your lunch.
Walk a dog. Borrow one if you have to. A dog’s enthusiasm for life and little things is contagious!
Invite your friends for an” ice-cream-sundae-with-all-the-trimmings” night. Give a prize for the “most innovative” sundae.
Go to the nearest body of water and watch the ripples as you think of how special you are… an important piece of God’s creation.
Take a bike ride with a friend.
Find an outdoor movie theater, pop a grocery bag full of popcorn, take lawn chairs and enjoy watching a movie under the stars.
Gather 2-3 friends for a game of miniature golf. No betting, or big competition, just enjoy the fun of the game.
Sit on a porch and watch the sun go down as you talk to someone you care about (on the phone is OK, too!)

If you were singing the Simon and Garfunkel song with me as you read the title of the post, did you get to the line, “Life, I love you! All is groovy…”? Yeah, it is.

Posted in Home Life, Just for Fun | No Responses »
Tags: priorities, simplify. life

Colorful Appointments in Outlook

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

Living with and learning from my CIO husband, Jeff, I am well aware that I will never use all the power that is available in my computer programs. When I discover fun things that I can actually use, I want to tell someone. If I tell Jeff, he will say, “Didn’t you know that?” So, this is for you, fellow blogger. If you already knew that, just don’t tell me, OK?

This week I started color coding my appointments in Outlook. I type the event name in my calendar and hit enter. The little four-colored button on the toolbar is then available for me to choose a color for that event. The first time I choose that color, I am prompted to title that category. So far, I have colors for: family and friends, Martha’s time, speaking engagement, organizing appt, network/assessment appt, CEU class, and writing. I love it! I can see my day at a glance.

Now that I wrote that list of events, I realize that I have not scheduled two activities that I say are priorities – time with the Lord and exercising. Another benefit of color coding… you can see where you are over-committed and under-committed.

Posted in Home Life, Product Review, SOHO Small Office/Home Office, Time Management | No Responses »
Tags: appointments, focus, get organized, priorities, time