Technology and Organizing Archives - Page 4 of 6 - Ellen's Blog, Professional Organizing for Kingwood & Houston

Organize Your Life Webinar Series

November 25, 2012/0 Comments/in ADD and ADHD, Family Organizing, Office Organizing, Organizing Skills, Paper management, Productivity, Student Organizing, Technology and Organizing, Time management/by Ellen

Save your sanity and get organized in 2013!

Is getting organized one of your New Year’s resolutions? Then Join me this January for 10 amazing webinars from a dream team of presenters for Get Organized month. These classes will help you focus, plan, and organize your time, space, and information.

http://theprofessionalorganizer.com/events/organize-your-life-webinar-series/ …. get a special facebook discount with code “fbdeal” for 10% off all classes.

Webinar classes include how to organize your time, your paper, your kids, your students, your technology, hoarding and more!

Classes offered share specific tools and techniques to impact your daily life.
Nationally known professional organizers and productivity coaches available to you in your home by webinar.
Affordable solutions to learn about organizing and take that next step in your home or office.

Classes begin January 3 and run all through Get Organized Month 2013. Take a step to make 2013 your most organized year yet!

10 Tips for Time Management at Work

October 25, 2012/0 Comments/in ADD and ADHD, Organizing Skills, Paper management, Productivity, Technology and Organizing, Time management/by Ellen

So much to do and so little time to do it all! It is no wonder we feel drained, unproductive and overwhelmed at work. Follow these 10 tips to make a difference in your efficiency and effectiveness at work.

Choose a planner that works for you. It can be as simple as a spiral notebook or a Google calendar. Having one place to consolidate dates makes it easy to keep up with activities, projects and tasks.
Use lists. Consolidate your list in one spot. Making the list is the first step, prioritizing your activities is the next step.
Set your day’s priorities the night before. When you come in to work and you know your focus, you get started right away.
Choose 3 Most Important Tasks and get these done early in the day. Every day is filled with distractions and interruptions. Getting the most important tasks done early helps you feel productive!
Establish times to work hard. Have a power period in the morning and the afternoon. These are times where you just work on one project. Turn off all distractions, including your cell phone, email, and post a note on the door for your colleagues, to keep this time sacred.
Keep your action items in a desktop sorter in files. Finding papers you need to work on saves time and energy.
Delegate lower level tasks to an assistant. Know what is worth your time and what is less important. Set up a process for your assistant to check back in with a time line and specific deliverables.
Take a break during the day to eat, walk a little and get refreshed. You will work better with brain food. You may think you have too much to do, but a break will help you be more efficient.
Set specific times for email. Do an email triage, with a quick scan and filing, and then consolidate projects and tasks on your list to work on during your power period.
Set a time to end your day. It’s important to get out of your office and connect with others too.

What are your tips for time management at work?

10 Tips for Student Time Management

October 13, 2012/1 Comment/in ADD and ADHD, Classroom organizing, Family Organizing, Organizing Skills, Productivity, Student Organizing, Technology and Organizing, Time management/by Ellen

Our students have a lot on their plates! There is homework, sports, homecoming, church and more! Time management is an important skill for them to develop early on to be sure they feel successful academically and personally. Follow these tips to help you do your best!

Write in your assignments in your planner in each class. Check your teachers’ websites to be sure you have all your assignments too.
Check your planner each afternoon, write in what you missed.
Review your out of school activities and write these in your planner.
Keep your papers in your homework folder that need action, keep your papers in your binder that are reference
Prioritize and plan the week out. What is most important to do on what day? Anticipate the next test.
Plan your week by working around existing activities. Wednesdays are especially busy!
Break big projects into baby steps. For example, flashcards written, study for short periods, review with someone.
Get started and work hard during homework time, from 6 – 9 pm. Take breaks when your concentration stops, but get back to work in 5 minutes.
Pack your backpack and your homework before bed.
Wind down and get in bed by 10 pm. A good night’s rest makes all the difference.

Breaking Through Email Overload

October 8, 2012/7 Comments/in Organizing Skills, Productivity, Technology and Organizing/by Ellen

Email overload is taking over paper overload! The email tsunami and electronic technology can overwhelm and paralyze you. Use one of these tips to help you make a difference during your computer time.

Synchronize all your technology using IMAP. With this system, you can add and delete information on one machine and all machines will be updated. Not sure what to do, get a great technology person to assist.
Be sure all your spam filters are up to date. Nothing is worse than having to delete, delete, delete.
Be sure you are backing up with Carbonite. It is not if but when your computer will crash.
Be deliberate about your email, reading and list servs. Process your email 3 times a day. Have your reading come to a separate area with an RSS feed. Stay on only the list servs that make a difference in your work.
Have a file folder for processed email. It can be just one folder, just so you can slide completed email in there and out of your inbox.
Color code your really important email. Email from a boss, your most important client, or your family should stand out so that you can find it easily.
Remember, the more email you send the more you receive. Pick up the phone when you are ready to finalize a date, a contract, or a meeting. It will save you time and energy.

What are your email and technology organizing tips?

ABC13 Back to School

August 22, 2012/0 Comments/in Classroom organizing, Family Organizing, Financial organizing, Green Organizing, Organizing Skills, Paper management, Student Organizing, Technology and Organizing, Time management/by Ellen

Thanks to ABC13 for the opportunity to make a difference this fall for Back To School.

Healthy Breakfasts on a Budget

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/video?id=8783092

Best Lunch Boxes for your Money

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/education&id=8775038

Back to School Family Organizing

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/video?id=8762205&pid=null

Woodlands Home and Garden Show Fall 2012: Simple Solutions for an Efficient Home Office

August 10, 2012/0 Comments/in ADD and ADHD, Family Organizing, Financial organizing, Office Organizing, Organizing Skills, Paper management, Productivity, Technology and Organizing/by Ellen

Simple Solutions for an Efficient Home Office

Are you avoiding your home office because it is cluttered with paper, extra junk, set up poorly or overwhelming? Busy lives demand efficient ways to work productively in your home office. Join Certified Professional Organizer and Family Manager Coach Ellen Delap to learn tools and techniques for organizing your files, establishing productive processes and arranging your space for maximum effectively. Ellen will also share products that will make a difference. Leave with a plan for your home!

Saturday August 25 at 1:15 pm

Woodlands Marriott Conference and Resort

www.woodlandsshows.com

Back to School: Tips for Morning Routines

July 29, 2012/5 Comments/in ADD and ADHD, Family Organizing, Financial organizing, Organizing Skills, Paper management, Productivity, Technology and Organizing, Time management/by Ellen

Back to school! Its that time of year that makes moms happy and sad; happy to start new routines and sad about the energy and organization it can take to get your family going. Throughout the month of August we are featuring organized moms who will help get you started back to school with the toughest tasks.

Moms are challenged to get everyone out the door on time with a smile. These ideas can get everyone’s day started off right.

Morning school routine

The most important thing I do to make school mornings run smoothly is to do ALMOST everything the night before. My goal is for everything to be done except for obviously breakfast, getting dressed, and brushing teeth. Here are some of the things I do the night before that make our mornings more manageable:

* Unload the dishwasher – I loathe spending extra time in the kitchen late at night when it feels like I’ve been in there ALL DAY, but it’s so worth it to start the morning with a clean kitchen. The breakfast dishes are a quick rinse and load and then I’ve got a clean kitchen again.

* Pack lunches, fruit break, water bottles – another kitchen chore that I despise doing at night, BUT it’s even worse to deal with the next morning, so I make myself get it done!

* Set out backpacks, shoes, and any other items that are going to school that day

* Lay school clothes out as I’m tucking kids in at night

When I slack off and don’t do one or more of these chores the night before, the result is a scattered, hectic morning – not a good start to the day!

Another trick that works for me is to require that the kids eat, dress, put on shoes, and brush teeth and hair before they watch any cartoons. They are motivated to get these small chores done and they enjoy having 10 minutes or so of TV time before we head to school.

Meredith Delap is a stay at home mom of three. She enjoys reading, the beach, and peace and quiet.

Organizing Tips for College Freshman

July 8, 2012/6 Comments/in College organization, Family Organizing, Organizing Skills, Paper management, Productivity, Student Organizing, Technology and Organizing, Time management/by Ellen

It’s almost that time to set your college freshman off! It is a bit scary, a bit exciting and a bit overwhelming for you and for them. It takes time to get ready for freshman year, so now is the time to get started. Here are a few tips for organizing your college freshman.

Your child will be sharing a space that is a little bigger than their bathroom at home with a new roommate. Remember to connect with your new roommate as soon as possible to determine who is bringing what for their room. Most kids want their own laptops and ipads, but refrigerators and microwaves are easily shared. College essentials also include a shower caddy and laundry basket. as well as sewing kit, some medicines and quarters. The Container Store check list can be a big help too! http://images.containerstore.com/medialibrary/pdf/tips/CollegeChecklist2012.pdf
Your time is your own in college and being productive throughout the week is important. Use a grid from a week at a glance calendar and fill in your classes, then your study time, then your other responsiblities like laundry, meals and activities. This way you can see what your week will look like and where you will have time to get everything complete. Choose a great planner to transfer this plan and to keep assignments and syllabus. For each assignment, be sure to write everything in the same calendar. You will see where assignments from different classes overlap. Being organized is more than organizing your stuff, it is also organizing your time. Need a time grid to practice on? Just email me and I will send you one!
Organizing your papers in college means stepping up your filing system. Purchase a small box file to keep important documents like college forms, rental agreements, and more. For your academic papers, you can continue with a binder or switch to colored folders, one for each class. Take a few minutes each week to review what is in each folder and being sure that papers are kept in the right spot.
Keep all your contacts in your phone. Contacts include email, phone numbers and even addresses. Having these all in one spot makes it each to stay connected. Add these right away when you get information so you don’t need slips of paper.
Give yourself the gift of order each week. Spend a few minutes looking ahead in your calendar, getting papers back together, and planning on the next steps. You will be so glad you did!

Do you have ideas to share with new college freshman?

Get Organized with Microsoft Outlook: More Instructions

May 19, 2012/2 Comments/in Organizing Skills, Technology and Organizing/by Ellen

Thanks to Microsoft for additional information on how to set up your Outlook!

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/basic-tasks-in-outlook-2010-HA101829999.aspx

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/create-tasks-and-to-do-items-HA010354415.aspx

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/view-your-tasks-HA001229377.aspx

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/onenote-help/basic-tasks-in-onenote-2010-HA101829998.aspx

http://www.microsoft.com/atwork/productivity/streamline.aspx

How has your new view of Outlook helped you with productivity?

Get Organized with Microsoft Outlook

May 11, 2012/0 Comments/in ADD and ADHD, Family Organizing, Green Organizing, Office Organizing, Organizing Skills, Productivity, Technology and Organizing, Time management/by Ellen

Join me at the Houston Galleria Microsoft Store for Get Organized with Microsoft Outlook!

Overwhelmed by email? Can’t find a contact when you need it? Not sure of meeting dates for work or family activities? We will be sharing tips and tricks to get all of this together in one place, easy to access and making communication easy!

Some tips, tricks and techniques we will be sharing:

Setting up your view in Outlook
Using Quicksteps to file easily
Using categorizing and color coding to prioritize
How to make the most of the Task Bar
Setting up your calendar to be your most productive
System integration with your slate, phone, and laptop

Microsoft Galleria Store

May 19 at 2pm

Bring your laptop, slate or windows phone and play along with us. Happy organizing!

Is getting organized one of your New Year’s resolutions? Then Join me this January for 10 amazing webinars from a dream team of presenters for Get Organized month. These classes will help you focus, plan, and organize your time, space, and information.

http://theprofessionalorganizer.com/events/organize-your-life-webinar-series/ …. get a special facebook discount with code “fbdeal” for 10% off all classes.

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