Unplug this Summer

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Summer is our time to kick back, enjoy some time for family and vacations, and relax.  In our 24/7 world, this is hard.  We are tethered to our work with our technology. There are good reasons to take a break.  NASA researchers recently found that vacationers experienced an 82% increase in job performance post-trip.  Performance expert Tony Schwartz says, in addition to being rejuvenating, relaxing helps your brain take in new information more easily and enhances your creativity.  Summer gives us the opportunity to deeply connect to our family in a less structured environment.  With more time to talk and be together, relationships take on new meaning.  We all do our best when we have the opportunity to rejuvenate and reconnect. 

Setting boundaries for your technology
It’s a choice to answer the phone, check your email, and step away from the computer.  Head out with your head in the holiday game!  Look forward to the time you are resting, relaxing, being adventurous and being away from every day.   Set yourself up for success by leaving processes in place for those around you in the office with procedures to follow. 

If you are the type that can’t leave home without it being spotless, give yourself time to get your home ready. Get the laundry done, your mail sorted and your home in tip top shape the week before.  Clear your plate as much as you can at home and work. 

 Unplug for a day: For You

  • Take a day during the middle of the week to take off.  Plan a “field trip” for yourself to a local museum, Farmer’s Market, or destination you have wanted to visit, but never have the time.
  •  Plan a day camp for your kids at a local community college or YMCA, then head home and sit in the quiet.  Read a book or magazines you have been waiting to read for a while.  
  •  Set a boundary to check your email only in the morning on Saturday.  Spend the day doing and connecting with your family or on your own. 

Unplug for a day: Your Kids

  •  Set aside a day to play cards, board games or family charades.
  •  Go fishing with your kids for a day at a lake or in Galveston.
  •  Establish screen time boundaries for daily living in your home, such as technology at dinner. 

Unplug for a week: a big leap!

  • Take your cell phone for just emergency, but take off from your email, leaving behind an auto-responder directing people to connect with those at work who can assist them.
  •  Take a stay-cation at home for a week, just to enjoy area destinations you and your family have not visited. No packing required, but staying on the vacation mindset is.  Connect with your family and establish tech-free times.  Play games, go to the pool, and ride bikes as ways to connect without your technology. 
  •  Take a vacation and plan your day’s activities.  Use the internet for coupons and sightseeing, but not for email.  Leave all the technology at the hotel, safely stored. 
  • Give yourself an extra day to get back into the groove at home and work. Return home early or take Monday off to get this extra time.  No meetings or appointments on this day! If your laundry is overwhelming, take it to the Laundromat for the “fluff and fold” treatment.  Be brutal about paper and mail and cull only what must be kept and acted on. 
  • Break away from being overwhelmed by making a list and prioritizing what needs to be done. 

 In the end, it is all about taking the opportunity for intentional and mindful technology use.  Truly we feel our best and do our best work because of relationships and renewal! You will be very glad you did!

Got Summer? Get Going!

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Summer is that lazy, hazy time, when we really like to kick back! But this is a great time to get going with your family fun, something that may have been sidetracked during the school year.  Family fun can be simple, 50s style, easy activities. However, it takes making a plan to have this happen!

Gather your family together to brain storm what is most important to each person.  Family members need to each have one special activity for the summer.  Get out your calendar and write these in. Otherwise, summer will be over before you know it.  Not only are  you modeling great time management skills, you are making great summer family memories too!

Stumped on ideas for fun?  Here we go!

  • Homemade ice cream
  • Ice cream sundae party
  • Board games
  • Sprinklers galore
  • Bike rides
  • Popcorn and movie night
  • Sleep under the stars
  • Bake cookies
  • Walk a nature trail
  • Pick berries
  • Grow a garden
  • Volunteer at a thrift shop
  • Bubbles
  • Side walk chalk art

 All of these affordable ways to have fun take just a few minutes of preparation, but you will be thrilled you did!

Great websites for summer fun!

http://www.squidoo.com/kidssummeractivities

http://www.familiesonlinemagazine.com/teens/

Is it valuable? Personal Notes on Organizing Your Memorabilia

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organizing keepsakes

 

Our biggest question when it comes to memorabilia is whether it is valuable.  I have faced this question myself and have found that there are a few extra steps that may make you feel more comfortable in finding the value of your keepsakes.  It will definitely take extra time and extra steps, however here are some ideas to help you process this decision.

  • Look online to find the item.  My husband had a vase that he inherited from his mom that he knew was “valuable.”   We found a duplicate for sale on ebay for $70.  Once we knew a true value, then we made an educated decision on the next step.
  • Check online for associations related to your memorabilia.   When I sold my mom’s paperweight collection, I was able to connect with local paperweight associations. I made a list of the items and I listed it there.  It took a while (two months) and found a buyer who appreciated this collection and would sell these to others who appreciate paperweights.
  • Donate your items to a charity silent auction.  If you are passionate about a cause, you will find the value of your items priceless in helping your cause reach a financial goal.  After trying numerous ways to sell a silver plated tea set including Craigs List, Replacements and Ebay, I donated the set to Mothers Against Cancer (www.mothersagainstcancer.org.)
  • Check online at ItsDeductibleOnline.com.  This values items and is an easy way to track your charitable donations.
  • Find experts who can help you make a good decision on value and find a purchaser.  There are independent appraisers in many different fields, including art, to assist you.  One connection for us led to the sale of a family painting.

Memorabilia can be overwhelming and emotional.  All of these items we were ready to part with, especially knowing that these are not items our children would treasure.  Decide if YOU love the keepsakes, and are not only keeping them for other reasons.  If you are truly organizing your memorabilia, be sure to choose a way to honor and display your items. Needless to say, that is not in a smushed box in the garage or attic!  Today I have 5 paperweights from Mom’s collection in a hutch in my dining room.  I treasure them!

ADD and Productivity

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ADD and Productivity

 

Slow to start, hard to complete, lose interest, can’t get it perfect? These are some of the stresses of productivity and ADD.  Having some tools to work through these challenges can help.

  • Know your strengths and work from your strengths.  Have the best possible match for your work.  Creativity, being in the moment, and being a people person are often strengths for people with ADD.  Also an intense curiosity and love of information are common. Tedious, every day tasks are usually not.  Whatever your strengths, capitalize on them in your work.
  • Create partnerships that work for you.  It can include an administrative assistant, a colleague, or technology.   The interaction with your partner will help you get started and the accountability will help you finish.  Be sure to ask for help in addition if you need this from a professional organizer, an ADD coach or a productivity consultant.
  • Set a timeline that is compelling. Your brain clicks, clicks, clicks with a deadline.  Set a series of baby steps with faux deadlines to get projects completed on time.
  • Use a planner that works for you.  For technology your smart phone is always with you and can remind you.  For paper think about the planner pad with its lists, week at a glance and month at a glance features.  Focus on using the week at a glance features to help you “see” what you are doing each day.
  • Capture tasks on paper or with technology.  Always have a way to have a brain dump, then prioritize your 3 Most Important Tasks (MITs) for the day.   You can’t get it all done, but you can get the most important done!
  • Establish routines in your day and your week.  Have a power period each morning and afternoon, with interruption and distraction free times.  Assign certain tasks to certain days, such a Money Monday or Financial Friday.  Routines ensure that you are on top of the most important tasks.
  • Delegate what you don’t do well.  Continuing to struggle can be demoralizing and distracting.
  • Know what good enough is.  Perfectionism can strangle your work.  Reflect on what a minimum standard and a good enough standard are and come to a compromise.

What is your best go to idea for struggling with productivity?

Cell Phones for Soldiers Drive during June and July 2011

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Cell Phones for Soldiers Drive Hosted by PostNet Kingwood and Professional-Organizer.com

Your old cell phone can help a soldier stay in touch with family. Cell Phones for Soldiers wants to turn your old cell phones into more than 12 million minutes of prepaid calling cards for U.S. troops stationed overseas. To do so, Cell Phones for Soldiers wants to collect 50,000 cell phones each month through a network of more than 3,000 collection sites across the country.  PostNet Kingwood and Professional-Organizer.com are partnering to host a drop off site in Kingwood from June 1 – July 31.  PostNet Kingwood is located at 4321 Kingwood Drive in the HEB Shopping Center in Kingwood.  Drop off your used cell phones and make a difference!

 To learn more about Cell Phones for Soldiers visit

www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com

To learn more about PostNet Kingwood, including store hours, visit

http://www.postnet.com/kingwood-tx194/  or call (713) 589-2151

Blended Family: Blending Together

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blended family blending together

 

 

A mom and dad remarry, and it is not quite like the Brady Bunch!  The new American family comes together with kids, pets and way too much stuff!  There are a lot of emotions involved as well as a lot of personalities.  The job of creating a new space for the new family, as well as family cohesiveness, can be helped with the assistance of a Family Manager.  A blended familyblending together is much easier with an organized approach to life.

From the start, there is a lot of territory to cover.  The logistics of family stuff, such as laundry, dinner, kids coming and going, all add up to the same responsibilities as running a small company.  Having a new persective brings order to the home.  Mom and Dad can redefine the responsibilities with a clearer vision of how the family comes together.   A great family calendar and family meeting are a must! A command center for paper keeps control of mail, bills and other papers that come from school.  Setting up systems and routines bring order to the chaos.

Blended families come with a lot of stuff.  There are two homes worth of goodies.  How will this new home bring together the best of each?  Every home is different in this respect and it is in respecting each other, the kids’ wishes, and good cooperation, that the new home evolves, especially in community spaces.  In addition, kids need their own space with their personal belongings to create buy in for the new family.    Kids’ personal spaces reflect who they are and invite them to be a part of the new family too.

It can be a struggle to get all these aspects into motion. Start with your family meeting and be consistent about hosting this weekly.  And add a communication time daily.  Keeping open to new ideas, from kids and adults, keeps the energy of your home positive.

Make responsibilities visual.  Keep a family calendar posted in the kitchen with all different activities, from sports to church.  Keep posted the chores list, nightly dinner and the laundry schedule.  It helps everyone know what is the plan.

Be consistent about your rules in your home. Even if your kids are in other homes during the week, what works for your family should be consistent for each kid and adult.  Everyone respects consistently enforced, simple boundaries.

Get help when you need it.  Whether a family counselor or Family Manager Coach, be ready to include someone on the outside to help create order on the inside.  Helping everyone share their emotions and come together makes all the difference.

Best Mother’s Day Gifts Ever

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mother's day gifts

 

 

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.  ~Tenneva Jordan

Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs in my field, since the payment is pure love.  ~Mildred B. Vermont

 Any mother could perform the jobs of several air traffic controllers with ease.  ~Lisa Alther

Now, as always, the most automated appliance in a household is the mother.  ~Beverly Jones
 
 
Some people think its candy.  Some think it is jewels.   Some think it is new technology, an iPad or smartphone.  So what are the best gifts for any mom? Here’s a list of the best Mother’s Day gifts ever!
  • Time together to chat over coffee or an adult beverage.
  • Make dinner once a week for 4 weeks, and clean up after.
  • Unload the dishwasher without being asked.
  • Go room by room and pick up the trash, and place it out at the street on trash night.
  • Five minute toy pick up each night.
  • Watch a movie or go to a movie with Mom, a movie of her choice.
  • Create a family chores chart for the dishes and laundry and hang it on the refrigerator.
  • Plan a picnic with Mom and you make the PBJ.
  • An afternoon of riding bikes and stopping for ice cream.
  • Have Mom teach you how to cook a family recipe.
  • Let Mom sleep in while you take the kids to the park.
  • Vacuum and wash Mom’s car. 
  • Attend church or temple with Mom.  
  • Hire a housekeeper for big cleaning of your home.
  • Send Mom on a Date Night with Dad.
  • Write Mom a note and tuck it in her purse to take to work with her.
  • Make Mom’s lunch for her all week. 
  • Hire a professional organizer to organize with Mom.

Notice that none of these gifts is something that clutters up your home?  Take time this Mother’s Day to spent time with Mom, creating a lasting memory!

Sync or Swim: 201 Organizing Tips You Need to Survive the Currents of Change

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Sync or Swim: 201 Organizing Tips You Need to Survive the Currents of Change are the next-generation organizing tips for getting things done and controlling clutter without falling into a sea of complexity. Seventy organizing and productivity specialists share 201 of their best tips and 100 most valuable resources in home management, information organization, and organizing every basic area of life. It is a 93-page ebook written by award-winning professional organizer, Judith Kolberg, and certified professional organizer, Allison Carter.  I am one of the contributors!

Featuring:

“New Organizing Tasks”: 20 years ago we didn’t have to deal with syncing calendars, avoiding spam, scanning, defragging, or managing the overload of information that comes our way every day. Our tips help you to survive the day to day chores of this generation.

“Tech Lite” Resources: This ebook contains 140 unique resources for syncing, reminding, tracking, reducing, organizing, scheduling, balancing, and so much more! But it’s not scary high tech. It’s easy to access organizingtools you can use today.

“New School” Tips: New ways to do old tasks: Filing, cleaning up, setting reminders, viewing photos, even changing the oil.

Purchase your copy at

http://www.squallpress.net/index.php?target=banners&bid=70&sl=EN&aff_id=78

Reminders: Task Management, Technology and More

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reminders and organizing

Sometimes we need reminders to help us get our tasks done, be on time, and honor our priorities.  Here are some systems to use!

 

 

Technology reminders

www.dailynudge.com

Daily Nudge helps you remember the important things in life. Setup regular, free electronic reminders, or “nudges”, to arrive in your inbox or cell-phone.

 

www.hassleme.com

Forgot to feed the fish again? Need a little help keeping your New Year’s resolutions?
Tell us what to hassle you about, and we’ll nag you via email at semi-unpredictable intervals.
HassleMe is unique because you never quite know when your reminder will come along.

 

Remember The Milk (or RTM for short)

Managing tasks is generally not a fun way to spend your time. We created Remember The Milk so that you no longer have to write your to-do lists on sticky notes, whiteboards, random scraps of paper, or the back of your hand. Remember The Milk makes managing tasks an enjoyable experience.

 

www.cozi.com

Cozi is a free online organizer that helps families manage crazy schedules, track shopping lists and to do lists, organize household chores, stay in communication and share memories—all in one place.

 

 

Other reminders

 

 

  • Large, colored post it notes.  Using the 5 by 7 size post it notes, keep your 3 Most Important Tasks in front of you at home, work or in the car.  This is the one that works for me!

 

  • Getting Things Done (GTD) list with quadrants for each category, such as @computer, @home, @anywhere/errands, or @meetings/agendas.

 

  • Small, very adorable, spiral notebook with sections for mind sweep and categories such as kids, home, work, other. Date the top of your page each time you start a new day with new tasks to do.

 

 

 

 

Great Wall Street Journal article on making lists!

 

 

 

What other systems do you use for your reminders?