Plentiful Powerful Productivity= Success

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productivity

 

Powerful productivity come when we create an environment that works with our strengths.  Improve your effectiveness and efficiency with these tips.

  • Your planner is the visual guide to your productivity.  Use it like a map, writing in what your destination is for your day, your week and longer.  When you write tasks and projects into your planner, you are making yourself accountable and breaking the job into smaller, manageable pieces.
  • Use paper management skills to go from overwhelmed to in control.  Break down the flood of paper by eliminating first what is junk and recycle this.  Create a command center where you drop recycling in and separate the paper into actions. Your command center should be at the spot where paper comes to you and you drop it in a pile. Create a fun and inviting command center using color!  Not sure what decisions to make about paper?  Be brutal and just keep what you absolutely need to work on, not maybe, someday projects.
  • Turn overwhelming email into 10 in your inbox by taking time three times a day to sort and clear email. Color code  your email and important email stands out.  Designate a power period to work on email that needs lengthy responses and relates to projects.  Your paper and email folders should be named the same to keep consistent and find what you need.
  • Add routines to your week to consolidate activities. Even grocery shopping is less stressful if you tack it on to an existing weekly activity.
  • Too much to do and too much on the brain? Use a notebook to capture your lists, dating the top of the list.  Then choose 3 – 7 tasks to do that day.
  • Use technology to help you increase your productivity.  Turn off alarms, email, texting and more when you really want to focus on a project.

What success tips do you have for plentiful productivity?

 

More ideas on powerful productivity here!

Organizing Tools: Your Calendar/Planner

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There is nothing more important for organizing our time than a great calendar/planner.   You can use this tool to incorporate planning as well.  The strategy of not only recording dates can be the key to making your life more organized and less stressful. 

  • Choose a calendar/planner that works for you.  It’s a calendar/planner that makes it easy to record dates at any time.  It also helps you view time the way you think about time, at a month at a time, throughout  a week, or just in a long string.   Your calendar can be as simple as a yellow pad, very exact like Franklin Covey planners, or with technology on your smart phone.
  • Create a habit of recording dates as soon as possible.  There are always lots of dates swirling n your head for you and your family. By entering these on your calendar/planner  asap, you won’t have to remember them, there will be fewer conflicts of dates and activities, and you will start to grasp a greater sense of due dates and upcoming events. 
  • Refer to your calendar/planner diligently. How often? At least in the morning and evening, but also throughout the day to keep you on track with appointments and projects.
  • Use your calendar as planner for big and little tasks. Breaking down big projects with your own time line, creating accountability dates to complete a project, and adding in baby steps makes your planner a strategy to get things done.
  • Post a family calendar for your kids and partner to add dates.  Keeping everyone in the loop and keeping everyone communicating keeps your family organized. 
  • Have a weekly review to get ahead of the game. Once a week, make a date with your calendar to look ahead, see what is coming, prioritize and get in gear.

 Using a calendar/planner eliminates the mental clutter of remembering dates and times and helps you focus on completion of a project.  The more you use your calendar/planner, the more indispensible it will be!

Image courtesy of The Container Store www.containerstore.com

Setting Your Goals One Step at a Time

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Is making changes in your home or office are at the top of your list for the new year you are on target.  Getting organized is one of the top three new year’s resolutions every year.  Like any change, taking small steps get you to where you want to go. 

Be sure to set positive, specific, measurable, date driven steps to accomplish your goals.  Write it down, exactly how you will go about the change and the deadline you have.  A measureable goal helps you see what you have accomplished and making yourself accountable to a date makes your success assured. 

Here are some ideas to help your organizing and productivity this year.

If your goal is to declutter your home and get organized

  • I will declutter one junk drawer in the kitchen or other small space in my home in 2 weeks.
  • I will keep 10 pairs of pants and eliminate the rest by next Sunday.
  • I will spend 10 minutes every day going through my mail and eliminating paper.
  • My family will have a nightly 10 minute pick up time to get toys and clothes back to their homes.

If your goal is to work smarter and be more productive

  • I will add one hour first thing in the morning to work toward a project that is of primary importance.
  • I will add 10 contacts to my data base this week to grow my business.
  • I will have a 5 minute meeting daily with my assistant to set my plan in motion for the day.
  • I will spend 15 minutes at the end of the day writing my list for tomorrow, putting paper back into folders, and filing emails to get ready for the next day. 

If your goal is to be more organized about money, save money and improve finances

  • I will save $10 a week by automatically withdrawing to a savings account.
  • I will write down every expense for one month by category to determine where I can spend less. 
  • I schedule one hour every week for administrative time to pay bills and work with paper.

 If your goal is to improve your health

  • I will walk 30 minutes a day, five days a week.
  • I will drink 2 glasses of water each morning before I leave the house and 1 glass with each meal during the day.
  • I will be in bed by 10:30 every other evening.

Whatever your goal, whatever your steps, remember to establish these firmly in a spot during the day.  I like to do my baby steps first thing, early in the day, or otherwise the day gets away from me. If you miss a day, just get right back to it the next day.  We can’t do every goal and be successful.  Aim for one big area this year and see what you accomplish.  Tackle your goals in small bites and see the difference for yourself!

Organize Your Life Webinar Series

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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!

Organizing Your ‘Frig (refrigerator)

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Its one place in your home every person uses! Its one place that has very limited space with no option for expansion.  Doesn’t your refrigerator need to be organized? Yes it does! Use these 4 tips to get your ‘frig organized.

  • Think about where food keeps best in what temperature and what you need access to most frequently.  Milk keeps best on the top shelf in the back. Condiments can have a space in the door.  Make it easy to reach items you use every day. 
  • Think about categories to keep together.  Categories make not be all the same size and shape containers but consolidating in groups makes it easy to find items.  Categories can include condiments, dairy, vegetables, fruit, and leftovers.  Map out a plan for where categories fit best in the space.
  • Think about uniform leftover containers.  Having 3 sizes of the same shape of containers makes it easy to store leftovers.
  • Think about aligning your refrigerator clean out with trash day.  It is important to have a routine that allows for discarding leftovers after a certain amount of time. Having a dry erase board on the ‘frig helps with using leftovers too!

An organized frig saves you time, saves you money and helps you know what you have to get dinner on the table.  What does your ‘frig look like?

Items pictured can be found at The Container Store www.containerstore.com

10 Tips for an Organized Home

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10 tips for an organize home

 

Home should be where we feel the most nurtured and in control. However that is not always the case with too many papers coming in, too many toys and too little time.  Follow these 10 tips to make a difference and create an organized home.

  • Start with a place for everything and everything in its place. Every item in your home should have a home.
  • When shopping, know where the new stuff is going in your home when it arrives
  • Set a timer to declutter.  Just 15 minutes makes a difference!
  • Set a time each evening for the 7 minute sprint.  During this time, your family gets everything back to where it goes and everyone works together.
  • Establish a paper command center with your calendar, slots for paper (action, pay, file) and a bulletin board for invitations and reminders.  Set a time weekly for your admin time to go through and work through your papers.
  • Lists make a difference in keeping clutter out of your head.  Keep your list in a notebook in categories. Go back and prioritize what’s on the list before starting to tackle it.   Decide on 3 Most Important Tasks to get knocked out early in the day.
  • Create routines for each day to conquer the regular stuff like laundry and dinner.  Decide if you are doing one load daily of laundry or assigning days to colors of laundry.  Make dinner early in the day with a crockpot or do a series of dinners on Sunday. Routines should fit your personal style.
  • Host a family meeting weekly to communication and collaborate.  At the meeting write in activities on the family calendar, talk about upcoming events and have some family fun!
  • Ask for help! Whether it is clearing the table or cleaning the toilets, ask your family to be a part of the organizing and cleaning.  Post a chart with everyone’s responsibilities, including deadlines.
  • Once a season, set a Saturday to do a little catch up.  Busy families need a day to restore order in their homes, in their closet, and in their pantries.

Share your tip for home organizing too!

10 Tips for Time Management at Work

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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

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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.

Take Back Your Life Now…by the Sea! “Nourish to Flourish”

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Take Back Your Life Now! … by the Sea!
Nourish to Flourish
Presented by:
Deborah Olson, M.A., LPC, Kingwood Counseling
and Ellen Delap, CPO, Professional-Organizer.com

  • Uncover your core values, needs and personal priorities
  • Learn tools to create an environment to flourish in
  • Discover ways to nurture and nourish your soul
  • Enjoy sessions on interior design, photography, and fashion
  • Relax and rejuvenate at the spa, walking the beach and reflecting
  • Share and bond with engaging and energized women

Register Now:
Event: Take Back Your Life … By the Sea
Date: January 25-27, 2013
Location: San Luis Resort, 5222 Seawall Blvd, Galveston TX » SanLuis Resort, 5222 Seawall Blvd, Galveston TX.
Seminar Cost: $295.00
Includes: all workshop materials as well as breakfast and lunch Saturday, afternoon snacks and breakfast Sunday. Register with Ellen or Debbie.
$275 Early Bird Registration by
November 1, 2012.

Hotel Fees: $139 per night,
single or double occupancy.
Register at www.sanluisresort.com
Register for your room by January 2, 2013

Less Stress Holiday Decor and Prep at Kingwood Library October 11

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Decorating and Organizing Seminar- New Holiday Themes with Less Stress
Speakers: Leslie Sarmiento, Decorating Den Interiors and Ellen Delap, Professional-Organizer.com
Date: Thursday, October 11, 2012
Time: 10 a.m. to 12 noon
Location: Kingwood Library, 4400 Bens View Lane, Kingwood, Texas 77339
Cost: Free
RSVP to  and bring a friend!

Decorating a room or party around a theme has been popular for ages. So, it’s only natural that you’d think of choosing a theme to decorate your home during the holidays.  Leslie Sarmiento will be sharing lots of exciting new ideas for making your décor the most talked about on the block. Certified Professional Organizer and Family Manager Coach, Ellen Delap will share how to prepare and plan for the holidays. If you’re easily overwhelmed by the busy holiday season, come join us to learn ways to create stress free family memories and traditions. Would love to see you there!