The beginning of a new decade brings big goals! Just thinking about one goal is a big step, but 10 goals are …. ?  What 10 areas are you focusing on to organize this year? Take one step at a time, organizing one room or thing at a time, and make a BIG difference in your life!

1.  Organizing your closet.   We put ourselves LAST in making a difference! Take time to organize your closet to feel ready to go in the morning and  confident.  Keep only the clothes that make you feel FABULOUS, no matter what the size tag is.  Once this is eliminated, order your clothes in a way that makes sense to you, by outfit or by pants, tops, etc. 

2.  Organize your bedroom.  Our space is intended to be serene and restful. Is it? This year make your bedroom your serenity zone with no paper, no clutter, and just items that are peaceful and promote great sleep.

3.  Organize your laundry room.   It make a big difference to get this chore done.  Having the right laundry sorter makes the difference.  Use a 3 compartment sorter for white, color and towels. Do one load a day, ask for help from your family, and keep it simple.

4. Organize your pantry.  Getting dinner done is about having the right ingredients.  Toss what is outdated (nothing is worse than food poisoning.)   Arrange like the grocery store.  Add a magnetic list to the frig so you can add what you need when you need it. Keep staples on hand to make dinner in 30 minutes. 

5. Organize your car.  Our cars are our offices!  Do the pump and dump (thanks Geralin www.metropolitanorganizing.com) and toss trash as you get gas.  Ask your kids to help you distribute what comes out of the car right away.  Create a landing strip for returns.

6. Organize your purse.  You can tell how organized a person is by their purse!  Have a command center for papers so you can empty these right away each day.  Keep items grouped together, use a wallet you can move to alternative purses, and place your cell phone and purse at an easy access spot in your home.

7. Organize your papers.  Create a command center to make your papers easy to access for action, easy to file for retrieval and easy to archive. Need help? See the tips of the season section!

8. Organize your kitchen.  We all want time together as a family. The magic of meal time is to gather to communicate and have fun. Organizing your kitchen makes this happen.

9. Organize your calendar.  Choose a calendar you love, either paper or technology.  Use it daily – refer to it, enter items right away, carry it all the time.  Once a week have your weekly planning time to get proactive!

10. Organize your time.  Life is about our priorities.   Think through what you are committed to and be sure you are able to fully commit.  There are zillions of options so live a meaningful and purposeful life by making decisions.

Take one idea and carry it through for one month! You will be amazed at the difference for yourself and your family.

Let me know your first step on organizing!

My clients with ADD are a blessing to me! They are the brightest, most creative and most fun people on the planet!  The gift of ADD is the natural flow of ideas, thoughts and scenarios generated by prolific thinking.  ADD people continually come up with new ideas that lead to solving problems, engaging people with new concepts, and starting new projects.   Working from these strengths is important for people with ADD.  However, when tasks are tedious, mundane and repetitive, it becomes a challenge.  People with ADD become disengaged and bored, unable to complete these tasks.  When the possibilities are endless and exuberant, people with ADD are at their best.

To catch and prioritize information is important for productivity for people with ADD.  In tackling this first step of containing information, there are an array of options such as low tech post it notes, spiral notebooks, the planner pad (www.plannerpad.com), Levenger CIRCA notebooks (www.levenger.com), and technology such as www.evernote.com.  Establishing your personal system and working it are important.   Keep practicing with your system for a minimum of 21 days for your system to become a habit. 

Once captured, prioritizing what is critical to success is important.  Making decisions can be one of the biggest challenges facing a person with ADD. First the decision is what is important and what is not.  Keeping everything on the list is a way of not deciding.  Decisions can be formulated by simple and consistent rules that synchronize with personal goals and mission.  With prioritizing as the key, it is important to go beyond making lists.  A list can start out as a “brain dump” and then it can be refined. After making the list, create a short, 3 task Most Important Things list.  This leads to accomplishment, working toward a goal and feel productive for the day.  If it is exceedingly difficult to define tasks, enlist the help of an accountability partner or coach to keep on track and be authentic in aligning your goals and tasks. 

Procrastination affects even the most linear thinking right brain people (professional organizers!) and there are strategies to help you make simple shifts to change.  Sometimes procrastination can take on a life of its own. It brings on worry, depression, regret, and stress and has the power to reduce people’s ability to function normally.  The first step in moving forward it recognizing what is most difficult about productivity  or the task itself.  Is it the spot where you work? Is it the work itself? Is it working by yourself? Here are some ways to get started thinking about procrastinating.

Set up a distraction free, reminder rich environment.  Think through where you work best with an appropriate chair, desk and space.  Do you need soft music, good lighting, or any other options?  Is your space in your home or out? Reminders can take the form of post it notes, 3X5 cards, or a task list on  your PDA.    

Establish priorities.  You may be busy with low priority tasks, for example pruning the hedges instead of working on your presentation that is due the next day!  Prioritizing is the first step to being more effective day to day.  Part of prioritizing is making manageable, short lists with a “do-able number” to ensure success. 

Commit to what is important by slotting tasks on a calendar .This sounds simple but this exercise cements the task in your mind which is important when you struggle with focus and time.  Set “mini deadlines” and add rewards to keep you moving toward your goals by delaying gratification until completion.

Sometimes it takes more than the space or time to complete a task.  Find a partner to discuss the steps and be accountable to completing.  Accountability can be done with texting, telephone or a quick email.  Loving accountability makes you more successful.  

So what do professional organizes procrastinate about?  For me it was being the committee chair of a national committee. Once I had calendared the dates for significant events, committed to working on baby steps in the process, and finding partners that helped me in the process, it all proceeded well.  What do you procrastinate about? Have you uncovered the cause?

The Disorganized Mind by Nancy Ratey

It’s About Time! by Dr. Linda Sapadin with Jack Maguire

ADD Friendly Ways to Organize by Judith Kolberg

As an organizer, it is important to me to to prioritize. And nothing is more of a priority to me than my family and relationships. Last year, I started having Gigi Day with my grandkids.  Why Gigi Day? I am called Gigi by my grandkids and 2 of them live nearby.  Every Friday I spend the day having fun with them.  What do we do? It can be as simple as a trip to the park, the zoo or Children’s Museum. Some time it is playing hide and seek.  It is my way of spending time with them every week just to be a part of their everyday lives.  

Each summer my other grandchild comes to visit for several weeks and it is our time to spend with him.  As a far away grandparent, we are thrilled to have him play with his big wheel on the driveway, color or play with trucks.   This is time that is priceless, super valuable and incredibly important!   

These times are my small but important ways to do what is most valuable to me.   The greatest gift is time spent together, not the stuff you can buy. 

Think about what your family shares. How do you spend time together? Do you have family dinner and time to have fun? Listed here are some Houston links  for family fun. 

http://www.cmhouston.org/

http://www.discoverygreen.com/

http://www.chron.com/channel/momhouston/

http://www.houstononthecheap.com/

http://www.hmns.org/

http://www.houstonzoo.org/

http://www.grandparents.com/gp/home/index.html

 What family fun are you sharing this week?

When asked to give advice to newlyweds, I always answer to include a weekly Date Night in their activities. Daily life takes it toll on relationships, when conversations about finances, kids and work can take priority over relationships.  Date night is one evening (or day) once a week spent having fun with your spouse.  It is a time to connect on different levels, including communicating about what you are thinking about as well as making plans for the future.  It is also the time to renew the fun you had when you began your relationship.  Date night does not have to be expensive or elegant. It can be a dinner and movie in or out, ice cream at Sonic, a trip to a museum or zoo, or whatever simple activity you both enjoy.  Date night keeps communication and fun in your most important partnership. This is just another way your planner  help you prioritize and  empower our relationships. 

Others agree too! http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/main/6544045.html

JQ and my favorite date night is dinner and a movie.  What is your’s?