Taking Care of Mrs. Claus

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Taking care of yourself during the holidays is important!   How can we care for others if our self care is neglected? 

  • Get the rest you need each night.  So often I hear my clients say that they have gone to bed at 1 or 2 am to finish a project. Make it a priority to be in bed and get 8 hours of rest each night.
  • Eat and drink nutritiously. Our bodies need good fuel!  Be sure to drink 8 glasses of water and each your daily 5 fruits and veggies.   We think better, work better and are more productive with outstanding food.
  • Commit to daily exercise. Working our bodies provides clarity and more.  My weekly exercise includes working out with Jill Gilbert Lucas at pilates.  www.gulfcoastpilates.com.  It is a priority because I am better able to handle the stresses of the season with this!
  • Write daily in your gratitude journal.  Spend a few minutes at the end of each day being grateful and writing about it.  It is as simple as appreciating a hug, seeing a leaf on a tree turn color or even tasting a yummy piece of pie. Appreciating what is a gift to you makes a difference.
  • Spend 5 minutes in serenity time each day. This is a time to get your stress level as low as possible.  Breathe deeply, sit in a chair, think of your special thoughts, and get a few minutes of base line. 

Taking care of yourself goes beyond the holiday season.  Not sure how to find the time? Remember, as they say on the airlines, put your own oxygen mask on first!

Empowering women

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Empowering moms to be their best is what I am passionate about!  I love to learn and share the best of what I learn with others.  Here are 2 recent conference experiences and what I gleaned.

I recently attended the Women Business Owners conference (www.womenbizowners.org) and learned so much from my peers! As I listened to speakers like Linda Stiles  (www.lindastiles.com) and Michele DeKinder-Smith (www.janeoutofthebox.com) many important ideas emerged. Here is a little of what I found most valuable in sharing the day with remarkable women entrepreneurs.

Find partners in  and out of your industry.  As an entrepreneur it can be lonely! Find people who are courageous to take the leap, mindful of the different responsibities of their jobs, and empowering of others.  Linda shared with us the 4 types of leaders, the take charge, the fun loving, the detail person, and the .  Have  one of each of these in your mastermind group to add balance for everyone.  Michele has a survey on her website to learn the kind of entrepreneur you are.  Again, it is about finding your strenghths and partnering with those who can empower you.  

Women are motivated by many different things including helping others, financial gain, and passion.  Most motivating can be stepping up to those things that are hard work for us and make us stronger!   Finding a strategy to help us with tough aspects of our business, including cold calls and asking others for help, can make those things happen.

Ask for help when you need it.  Taking your business to the next level happens when you ask a mentor or coach to be a part of your team.   No need to reinvent the wheel! Find someone who can help you that is ahead of you in or out of your industry to help you strategize and be accountable.  Have them be on your team too to take you beyond your comfort zone and be the best you can be.

I also had the privilege of attending the Texas  Conference for Women (www.txconferenceforwomen.org).  In a convention hall with 5000 other intelligent, creative, and stunning women, I experienced learning on a big level!  Tory Johnson (http://www.womenforhire.com/about_us/tory_johnson_founder_ceo) shared with us to put yourself out there and be on top of your game.    Marcus Buckingham (www.marcusbuckingham.com)  helped us recognize it is most valuable to build on our strengths and manage our weaknesses.  His concept is that we should catch and cradle the best of our days to create our best experiences.  Suze Orman told us to take care of ourselves first.  Sharing the day learning on so many levels as a woman made we realize just how blessed I am to have the opportunities to continue to learn and love each day of it. 

Marcus Buckingham summed up his thoughts with this.

Be deliberate.

Be creative.

Celebrate!

Is that what we all want as women? Share with me how you are all of these!

 

 

ADD and Getting Things Done

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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. 

Get out the door in the morning with a smile

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family organizing

 

Getting you and your family out the door in the morning can be the most chaotic part of your day.  It comes down to some simple organizing strategies and routines. 

Do as much as you can the night before.  Yes, really!  Set the table or set out super simple take aways for breakfast, pack the lunches (except cold stuff), have back packs loaded and by the back door, get you and their clothes ready and set your alarm.    The less you must do, especially for the non-morning people, the better.  

Set up work zones: Landing strip and command center.  The landing strip is a spot where you are going to see all the stuff and take it with you.   It can be a place with hooks for backpacks and cubbies for shoes, or just an assigned location. (At our home it is the angled section of the back steps!)  When you see it, you can easily grab and go!  The Command Center is the paper station for the important action papers. Having one spot where the kids papers can be retrieved, your information easily accessed, and a drop slot for bills makes the difference as you head out the door in the morning. No more looking for last minute papers!

Morning and evening routines.  Establish and write a list of the routines that your kids and you need to do daily. You may not need a list, but they do! It can be written on the mirror in the bathroom with crayola bath markers or dry erase markers. 

Morning routines including dressing, brushing teeth, eating a small something, and then getting out the door.   If possible no chores at this time, except feeding the pets or bringing hamper to the laundry room.   

Evening routines include homework in backpack at landing strip, clothes out the night before, laundry put away, clothes in hamper, set alarm, read, early to bed.  Apply the same to yourself!

Getting up on time depends on going to bed on time.  It is harder to get up if you have gone to bed late.  Setting a good bedtime for everyone, including yourself, makes a big difference.  We all need 8 hours of sleep so set a bedtime that allows for that.   Many of my clients take advantage of those late hours for their “playtime.”  Resist the urge and get to bed on time for a happier tomorrow!

Build in a little extra time. If it truly takes 15 minutes to walk to school, allow 20 minutes of time. Drive times in Houston can take an extra 15 minutes on any day.  We are most stressed when we feel behind or out of control.  Allowing some “white space” for travel, getting in the car, and that little something that always goes wrong gives us a better mind set for starting the day.  This is the gift of time I have personally given myself.  I have a newspaper to read in the car and take a few extra minutes to regroup if I arrive early.   

 Get everyone on board with the plan and be consistent. A positive approach works best with rewards for catching family members “doing it right.”  Host a family meeting where the morning routine and expectations are discussed and finalized.  

Getting out of the house can be the hardest part of the day! What strategies are you using to smooth out the bumps?

 

Family Meeting

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Families are busier than ever.  To keep up with your events and to keep your family communicating hold a weekly “family meeting”. Families need time to prioritize, know what is coming up, talk through all the activities, and cultivate your relationships.  Choose a day and time each week to hold the family meeting to share important dates, upcoming activities and share family members’ accomplishments. At the meeting, fill in a calendar with each person’s upcoming events and deadlines and then hang the calendar kitchen where everyone can see and review it regularly. After this 30 – 45 minute family meeting, join in the fun with a special meal or dessert, game night or movie. This team building creates a special bond where everyone is heard and everyone shares what is important.  At our family meeting, each member shared one anecdote about what “one good thing” was about another family member.  Some times siblings needed to “stretch” to find the one good thing, but making each other feel a special part of your family creates affirmation for that person that builds self esteem. 

 

What day can you start your family meeting?  

 

 

 

 

 

Family Manager Lists

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In my life, making and having a great list can make things so much easier.  On the Family Manager website, www.familymanager.com, there are many lists for  productivity, family chores and peace of mind.  Creating a list gets it all off your mind and you can really live and do “in the moment”. But what if there were lists made for you so you don’t have to think about it all yourself or that go beyond your own ideas?

Weekly Hit List:  Save your sanity with an orderly list of task.  Family Manager divides your tasks in the the six major departments of life. Using this list, you can write down all the tasks and priorities for week.  Seeing it all written it is easy to review what is to be done, deleted or delegated. 

Who’s Responsible for What,  Age Appropriate Chores List and Kids Chores Chart:  Who said Mom is always responsible for all chores?  A full list of all the possible jobs for family members. Use this list for family members to choose what they prefer or do best.  Assign points for level of difficulty of the chores and then create your own chores chart  to post in the kitchen for all to see. 

House Rules Contract: Family communication begins with agreeing on family guidelines and expectations.  Use this contract as a guideline for your family’s discussion. 

Lists are an easy way to make anything more visual, from the files in your file cabinet to the gifts purchased for holidays.  What lists work for you and your family?

Procrastination

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procrastination

 

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?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Go Outside and Play

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Being active with my grandkids is a priority for me! Recently interviewed by Grandparents.com (July 1 edition), I was interviewed about my favorite outdoor activity with the 3 grands. http://www.grandparents.com/gp/content/activitiesandevents/everyday-activities/article/13-grandparents-1-mission.html?clktrk=home_feature_stories-1

Pool time is my favorite kid and grandkid activity! In the pool families interact on a totally fun, non judgemental, no standards arena.  It is all about safe, “clean” fun!  Everyone gets time to be together, share the space and get a healthy dose of vitamin D too.  Being active promotes a healthy lifestyle, encourages a life long love of activity, and bonds you as a family.   Outside time is an aspect that nurtures me, creates clarity in my life and is a priority for me.  I want to share this with my family. 

What are you doing to go outside and play?

15 minutes of Home Organizing

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home organizing

 

For most of us, we seldom have hours and hours to get organized. Here are some baby step 15 minute organizing ideas for our homes.  Just 15 minutes of home organizing makes for easy home maintenance.  See what 15 minute project  you want to start with and comment on how much you accomplished! Ready, set, go!

 

15 Minutes Under the Sink

Check out those toiletries, body lotions and cosmetics! Toss what is empty, consolidate what is half empty and categorize the items by their use. Keep extra bottles of each item to the back of the area. Place in the front, in a portable container, what you will use each day.

 

 

15 Minutes in the Medicine Cabinet

Toss expired medications and over the counter remedies. Do you have allergy medicine, cough drops or other over the counter items for use in the middle of the night just in case? Make a list of what you will need for your next trip to the store! Group together the medicines for each type of illness, from stomach to sinus.

 

 

15 Minutes in the Pantry


Can’t find what you need to make dinner each evening? Group together the veggies, then the fruits, and finally pasta. Line up your can goods together just like the grocery store. Keep what you use most frequently on the middle shelf in easy reach. On the bottom shelf, group drinks and snacks for your children to serve themselves.

 

 

15 Minutes at Your Desk


Overwhelmed by paper? Use 15 minute segments to make decisions about your piles. Your options are “toss”, “to do”, or “keep/file”. Make quick decisions about toss by referring to these options – anything out of date, any duplicates, or anything you can find on the Internet. With your “to do” pile, generate a list to be incorporated in your calendar. For your “keep/file” papers, jot the category on a post it note and stick this to the paper. It will be ready to create files at a later time.

 

 

15 Minutes in the Closet


Here is a challenge! Spend 15 minutes every day for a week in your closet! Starting on the left side of your closet, go piece by piece and decide what to keep! Keep only what you love and what will fit you currently. Donate clothes that are still in good condition, toss what is stained, missing a button or torn. Make a list of your donation items and calculate your tax deduction using “Its Deductible”. Once you have reviewed all your clothes, re-arrange them by categories of slacks, shorts, blouses, skirts and dresses. Within these categories, arrange the items by the length of the items and then color. An extra special visual touch is to use one type of hanger for your clothes! Hangers with a swivel metal head and clear plastic body with clips or without make your closet look like a fashionable shop!

 

 

Daily 15 minute reset

 

Every day have 15 minutes of organizing to maintain the systems you have set up. After our busy days, we come home tired from our work, but we still need to get a little organizing completed. What can you do in 15 minutes? Get things back to where they belong, get ready for the next day, get lunches made, get your list together, get paper sorted into your command center and get your sanity back! We all can do anything for 15 minutes, especially, if it adds peace of mind and quality to our lives.

 

Have your family team participate with you in organizing for that 15 minutes! It is more fun, gets more done, and adds to family cohesion. You can play beat the clock by setting the kitchen timer for 15 minutes. You can assign tasks to 2 family members so you work in pairs to get trash out, laundry put away, or dinner dishes done.   See who can put away the most items in 15 minutes. Don’t we all want to have fun and get the job done?

 

 

Let me know what works for your 15 minutes of organizing!

 

 

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Paper partner or clutter buddy

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Organizing can be a lonely, isolated job. Working by yourself, you may not be motivated, make decisions or even get started. Many times my clients voice that they just don’t work well alone.  I love the idea of a clutter buddy or paper partner because organizing happens this way! A clutter buddy is a trusted, non – judgmental buddy who is there while you are organizing your stuff. A paper partner does this job while sifting through the paper piles.    These are people who offer no opinion but may offer options, who do not cloud your decision but help you reflect, and who are there to help you focus on the task at hand.  

Finding a partner is the antidote to procrastination.   First identify what is getting you stuck. Is it being overwhelmed and need someone to externally process with? Is it a skill set and you need someone who thoroughly knows this skill? Is it an enthusiastic affirmer who keeps you on task?  It is powerful to know what you need and find the partner that helps you power through the rough spots!

Partnering can take many different forms.   One way is to use your cell phone to chat with a friend while doing a task.  Whether it is sorting paper or emptying the dishwasher, this can get the task accomplished.  Another way is being together in a new space.  Coming together for coffee, both partners might bring their paperwork to simultaneously write bills.  Organizing can get done and then it is sharing what organizing jobs you accomplished each day or week.  

What are your creative ways to partner?  Who is your clutter buddy?