How to take a Real Vacation

/0 Comments/in , /by

 

How to take a real vacation

Remember when summer vacation meant long breaks with little to do. It was a simpler time with no email and less paperwork.  At work and at home, we feel overwhelmed by all there is to do. It’s hard to prioritize a real vacation and even harder to make that happen. More than just getting organized to take your trip, here’s now to take a real vacation.

 

Why make sure you take your vacation

Knowing why to take your vacation is the push to do so because it has the most compelling reasons. There’s the benefit of creativity.  (Did you know Hamilton was written during a vacation?) Daily stress can take a physical toll and vacations give us the time to relax our body and our brains.  Taking a vacation is a complete reset.

 

How to time off from digital distractions

We all fear that avalanche of email when we return to work.  It’s what stalls our best attempts at relaxing.   However, you can set boundaries with this.  Checking email once a day, using your out of office response and coming back a day early to work on email are all ways to combat the need to check in.

  • Check email each evening to prevent hourly email check ins. You can add a line to your signature line or your out of office response to alert who to contact and response times.
  • To get the full benefit of time away, think about returning earlier. This can be earlier in the day or a day early.  Knowing you are setting aside time to get back into the groove can make a big difference during your vacation.
  • Take your time on social media seriously.  If you are checking in mindlessly, it’s time to put down your device and get back to enjoying your vacation and the people you are with.   We tend to gravitate to social media when there is a lull in action.  Spring back into vacation instead.

Add in your tech tools for fun

There’s a few tools to use that make vacationing more fun! There’s online tools you will love.

  • Device chargers to keep you up and running.
  • Great headphones to listen to your music or a movie.
  • Portable speaker to play your music
  • Apps for meditation, relaxation or promote sleeping
  • Apps for sightseeing

Be sure you don’t stray into dangerous email territory while having fun.

Get your planner out today to set a date for your vacation and take a real vacation this year.

How to Set Up a Successful Summer Routine

/2 Comments/in /by

summer routine

 

Summer’s here and we are ready to let go of all our routines and structure. It’s tempting to throw caution to the wind and let go of all routines. There’s a lot of distractions, including weeks that alternate between vacation and work.  But wait just one minute! Maybe our routines help us live a life that includes all we value.  Here’s how to set up a successful Summer routine.

 

Keep just enough structure

Not enough sleep and eating junk food is not good for anyone. Keep the basic structure in place this summer. Sleep on your regular (yes, regular or improved!) schedule. It’s best for your body and brain to have a regular bedtime and wake time for you to do your best.  Eat all the amazing veggies that summer offers. A healthy meal, three times a day, keeps you energized. These are foundations for feeling good and working at high energy.

 

Keep just enough organization

Your desk and work don’t need to be completely unhinged during the summer.  Keep your desk and papers orderly throughout the summer to be productive.  Keep your calendar up to date throughout the year in order to be where you need to be and get stuff done.  Basic organization applies no matter the season.

 

Keep off your devices

You head off for vacation and head off of your email and devices. It’s good to have a catch up time before you return to work, however it’s time to really disconnect to maximize your time away.  Return home a day in advance to prep for the jolt back to reality.  That’s the time to reconnect, not during your time away.

 

Keep your kiddos busy enough

Your kiddos benefit from alternating busy and slow weeks. As you set up your summer kiddo schedule, give them time to be at home and be at camp. By alternating, your kiddos will appreciate the time to sleep in and time to stay busy.  A little boredom can be good for your kids.

More and more research is showing the negative effects of too much screen time. Set structure to your kids time on all devices to be sure their summer sets them up for success.

 

Keep trying something new

Summer’s a grea time to try new stuff! While it’s easy to slow down during the summer, new sports, new reading, new activities are ready to try. Keep trying someting new this summer. Swim team, reading, and other small ways kids start something new add to their confidence and knowledge.

 

Ready to try a new summer routine?  Start now with a family meeting and you are ready to get started this summer.

Taking Care of Business

/2 Comments/in /by

Taking care of business

 

When it gets down to it, we all want to take care of business. That means getting stuff done!  Whether it’s at home or at work, the day ends and we wonder what we did accomplish.  Here’s a few essential elements to taking care of business.

 

Taking care of paperwork

Paperwork comes in at a pace that overwhelms us. It’s essential to have a specific spot annd a specific time to work on because it’s just going to build up.  Take care of business by creating an unprocessed paper spot, where paper is placed each day.  Create a command center to triage your paper and spend 5 minutes a day doing your triage.  Set aside adminstrative time to work on those paper work details that need attention.

 

Taking care of multiple projects

There’s always many different hats we wear and many simultaneous projects occuring.  It’s keeping all the plates spinning that keep our lives and businesses thriving.  There’s several steps to be sure everything moves forward.  Start by alloting time on your calendar, whether it’s a day of the week or a time each day.   Theme days, as MIke Vardy talks about, gives you the opporunity to work solely on a certain project or part.  Giving yourself a specific time to work on a project gives you freedom to focus on it creatively and as a whole without distractions.

 

Taking automation and delegation to the next level

We can’t do it all and neither should we. You may have already automated your bill pay.  Can you automate purchasing with a click or add a new member of your team?  When we add automation and delegation, we add hours to our day, add new ideas and also spend time on what is most important.

 

Take time for the future

Whether you call it foresight or planning ahead, taking time to see where your business and industry are headed creates longevity for your work and at home.  There are many transitions  for businesses.  Change is every present.  Taking time for strategic planning keeps your business and your life moving forward.

 

Taking care of business also means taking care of you.  Self care is an essential for you and your business.  With exercise, vacation, sleep and nutrition, your taking care of your bigggest asset for your business, yourself!

 

Be more organized and productive! Join my monthly newsletter!

Why I never miss a NAPO Conference

/2 Comments/in , /by

NAPO conference

 

Social media has made it a little too easy to think we are connected. We connect on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram daily.  However, there’s nothing like meeting in real life. Online, there are so many options and places to learn.  In an virtual world, it’s less expensive to learn too.  There’s two big reasons to attend our national association NAPO conference.

 

Return on Investment with Networking

If you are cautious about money, it’s always a wise investment to network in person. Face to face, we are our most genuine and authentic. There’s no hiding our connection to other with in person networking.  When you attend a conference, you are expanding your connections to potential clients. Networking is when you share your authentic self by sharing what you do, who you are and your brand.  Each time I attend a NAPO conference, I have made more connections than I as an introvert could imagine. There’s connections in sessions, at meals, in the hallway, in the elevator and on the dance floor.  You are immersed in networking.

  • Imagine meeting a colleague who gives you a five digit client later that year
  • Imagine mentoring a new colleague who just started her business
  • Imagine dancing with 400 of your colleagues.
  • Imagine leading a session of your peers to focus on their goals and create a plan to make their goals happen
  • Imagine attending a leadership session where you collaborate on the future of your industry

In each of these ways, I made a lasting connection that I can share or recieve business.

 

Learning from the best

Attending an in-person conference gives you opportunities that are not available online.  Presentations specifically developed by my peers gives me an edge. They are the experts in our field and they craft their presentations to our specific industry.  As a visual learner, being in a classroom setting offers me the opportunity to immerse myself in the topic.  I see the presentation and process it by sharing ideas with my colleagues also attending. When I attend an in person conference, I love that I have no other distractions in my space and I can fully immerse myself in learning.  It’s a gift to have no distractions and to give full attention to learning.

As an 18 year veteran, I have much to learn! I love new perspectives, new technology, new concepts and new skills.  Classes include working on my business and working with clients. I also confirm and consolidate existing skills in these sessions.

  • How to set goals for business and self
  • How to help my clients set goals and achieve goals
  • New skills, tips and tech for clients
  • How to be proactive for my business and my clients’ businesses
  • How to be a leader

I am proud to be a prolific learner and share all that I learn with my clients.

 

Yes, attending an in person conference takes time away from your family and business. It’s an investment in yourself, your work and your learning to take the leap to attend an annual conference. Take the leap each year and attend our NAPO National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals Conference.

What Mom REALLY wants for Mother’s Day

/0 Comments/in /by

Mother's Day

 

Mother’s Day is the second Sunday in May. Families celebrate this special day in all different ways.  Before you purchase an extravagant and expensive gift, think about your Mom and what she loves!

 

According to the 5 Love Languages, your mom could be one who loves the sort of gifts related to acts of service, quality time, words of affirmation, recieving gifts or physical touch, or a combination of these.

  • Acts of service is doing something for mom, such as vacuuming the living room.
  • Mom may love quality time together such as taking a walk or spending time together. Many Moms want all their chicks together on this day.
  • Words of affirmation are telling mom how amazing she is at a specific task or project.  Moms love to hear that you appreciate a special or every day talent.
  • Mom may like a small gift from you.  It can be homemade with love.
  • A hug may be just what mom wants if she loves physical touch.
  • Any one of these can be shared in a way that keeps clutter minimized.  Which is why a gift may not be what Mom wants.

 

One day is not enough to celebrate Mom!  Once you know her love language, use and apply this throughout the year.  Moms work hard all year long and being appreciated is what is a great gift too!

 

 

 

 

My Organizing Obsession: Totes

/2 Comments/in /by

organizing obsession totes

 

I think we all have a bit of an organizing obsession with totes. I see many of them, perhaps a bit too many, in my clients homes. When used well, totes are an amazing organizing tool.

 

Tote requirements

All totes must have multiple pockets.  The pockets are slots for the different items I carry in each.  There is a zipper pocket for items too just so nothing falls out! I categorize items, group them together and assign a pocket for that category.  Like I say about purses, I can tell how organized you are by your tote.

 

Travel tote

A travel tote is a necessity! Mine is black, with gray interior pockets for technology and my planner.  I keep basics, such as gum, travel mouse and an extra set of cords to charge all my devices.  It fits under my airplane seat so I can reach it during travel to work.  (I have found that working on an airplane is highly productive!) Travel and Leisure has many attractive, functional totes.

 

Work tote

Traveling between home and office often requires a tote. Keep it simple and travel with as little as you can.  If you are bringing paper back and forth, and never working on it, eliminate that paper.  Remember the essentials like your work badge, keys, and makeup basics.  In Style has polished work horses!

 

Off work totes

It might be your bible study, CEU class, or other materials.  You need a tote for the different activities and classes to carry your materials.  With a single tote devoted to an assignment, you never lose track of materials. Rather than a shopping bag, a tote is a fun way to keep items together.

 

Kiddo totes

Your kids need totes too!  During school it’s a back pack. This should have 3 pockets as well, one for each of notebooks, books and school supplies. For each of their activities, there should be one tote per activity.

 

What, when and where of tote management

Totes are stored in the landing strip, by your home entry.  The same space is used for your kiddo totes too.  Your travel tote is stored with your luggage.

 

Keep your totes up to snuff with weekly maintenance.  Store receipts, dump trash and replenish items at the end of each week. Do the same with your kiddos and their totes too.

 

Be sure you are keeping just enough of the totes you love.  If you find you are overloaded, this is a great area to eliminate what you are not using.

 

More of my organizing obsessions here!

NAPO by the Numbers NAPO2018

/2 Comments/in /by

napo by the numbers

 

As the NAPO President, I have the honor of sharing the “State of NAPO” address during our Member Meeting.  This year #TeamNAPO has reached and exceeded many milestones. Together we have accomplished so much!

 

 

Media coverage by eight (8) of the most respected National media leaders

There is especially powerful media interest in NAPO this year.  Requests have flooded the HQ office from CBS Sunday Morning, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and other highly respected media leaders.  CBS Sunday morning will feature NAPO and NAPO members in the near future (exact air date to be announced).

Here’s just a sample of where NAPO is mentioned this year:

  • Wall Street Journal
  • CBS Sunday Morning (with support from our Member Survey and Stats Database)
  • Huffington Post
  • New York Times
  • Prevention Magazine
  • House Beautiful
  • Boston Globe
  • NBC News

 

5 Golden Circle Masterminds and 30 monthly Toot Your Horn posts

In the Golden Circle POINT community, we’ve learned so much from each other and celebrated each success!

 

 

30 Acceleration Learning Series Classes with more than 400 members taking these classes.

Our free classes by members for members starts this year as a download and podcast.  Thank you to our NAPO Membership Committee for keeping our classes engaging and informative!

 

 

24 Stand Out Podcasts with 5251 downloads so far for our 6 current podcasts

By the end of this year, our amazing Stand Out podcast will have 24 podcasts available to help you build and grow your business. Thank you to Sarah Karakaian and our NAPO Marketing Committee for getting our podcast  up and running.

 

 

6 membership categories in our streamlined Bylaws

This year we streamlined our NAPO Bylaws to reflect the dynamic changes going on in our industry.  Our membership includes these statistics.

  • 646 New members in past 12 months
  • 54% of membership belongs to Chapters
  • 47% of membership are Golden Circle
  • 68% of our membership are Professional Members
  • 11% of our membership are CPOs

 

 

 

1 fabulous new NAPO logo

Thank you to our Logo Task Force in creating a dynamic new image that represents NAPO.

 

 

 

26 Business Partners, including our visionary business partner members Smead and Brother

Thank you to our business partners Smead and Brother for your attendance and sponsorship at NAPO2018.  

 

 

3 specialist certificates available for our members now

Our members are prolific learners!  Here’s how many certificates we have! There are 240 members with the Residential Organizing certificate, 159 members with Workplace Productivity certificate, 12 members in just one month with the Life Transitions certificate.  And 129 members have 2 certificates and 7 have 3 certificates.

 

 

38 on demand classes and 98 Conference Recordings available on  NAPO U with 11,420 classes taken and 354 bundles sold to members

Our educational offerings are growing and growing each year, meeting the needs of our every expanding specialties and expanding our business growth.

 

 

11 Chapter Visits

Last year NAPO Board initiated a 3 year rotation for board visits. Each year board members visit 1/3 of our chapters sharing our presentation, Leveraging Your NAPO Membership. Sharing all the updates from NAPO, meeting our chapter leaders and getting to know our members is a joy for each of us.

 

 

8 Scholarship Recipients

Thank you to our scholarship committee for supporting the Barry Iszak/Glorya Schklair Scholarship.

 

 

5 Independent Research Projects

Advancing industry research is one of the four pillars of NAPO.  This year one of the five projects is the Dark Horse Project, a Harvard Graduate School of Education study, chronicling the journey people take to gain expertise in emerging professions.

 

 

 

365 days of  NAPOCares

NAPOCares is now an on-going, year-long initiative with no end in sight! The goal is to let the world know that NAPO Cares and to show how NAPO members give back to communities each and every day by sharing time, talents or treasures.

 

 

Over 41,000 POINT posts and 14000 new discussion threads with 1000 member to member referrals

If your not on POINT, it’s the place to be!  There have been over 1000 member to member referrals on POINT in Member Connect and Chapter Member Connect.

 

 

15 Monthly POINT posts for Product Push and Service Splash

We’re started a new way for our members and business partners to share their products and services. Check out these posts on the first Wednesday of the month.

 

 

2  consecutive years of balanced budgets

One of our most important values is to be fiscally responsible and sound.  In FY2015-2016 and FY2016-2017, we ended our fiscal year in the black. This year FY2017-2018 is looking good!

 

 

 

Let’s get social

NAPO uses 3 primary social media connections. There’s powerin connecting all year long! Please share, tweet, and like each and every day. Check out NAPO’s Get Organized and Be Productive Blog.  NAPO is providing content that engage everyone for public awareness and what professional organizer and productivity consultants do. This benefits you and your clients, who also get this quality content to share.  Remember to follow and share from your business accounts. For me its a way to be connected all year long and carries forward the contacts I make at our NAPO retreat and conference.

 

 

350 + Volunteers Collaborating

This is the most significant number to me! Volunteer leaders are a driving force in our industry. Our passion, commitment and expertise drive our association and fuel our leadership.  Thank you to all our member who are a part of TeamNAPO.

 

Learn more at www.napo.net

Empowering Creative Solutions for ADHD Challenges

/4 Comments/in /by

empowering creative solutions for ADHD

 

My clients with ADHD are brilliant and creative.  They have often found innovative solutions to some of their ADHD challenges such as being on time, managing paperwork, or eliminating tedious, boring tasks.

 

Getting to work on time

Instead of leaving late each day and driving herself, my client wanted to be eco-friendly and get to work on time.  Since she lives close to a Metro stop, she decided to ride the bus to work daily to get to work. Not only is she always on time, she has contributed to the greater good.

 

Getting dinner done

According to my client, variety is overrated for dinner! She choose to have a 2 week set of dinners that she could prepare from pantry staples each evening.  A simple meal plan made for happy family dinners.

 

Getting homework done

After school homework time can be a challenge for families.  My creative client partners with 2 other families where they rotate homework time for their daughters.  The girls rotate between homes to complete homework each afternoon. The parent in that home is available to answer questions, check online for assignments and check the girls’ planners.

 

Getting ready each morning

Make your morning easy by creating a “uniform” dress for work.  The uniform for my client is a dress.  Rather than matching tops and pants, she wears a dress every day to make it easy to get ready for work.  Peter Shankman, podcaster of Faster than Normal, wears black shirts and jeans each day. Simplify your dress to make it easy to get ready each day.

 

Keeping one simple task list

Evernote or a simple notebook are  your solution to having your list in one place.  Decide if you are going digital or paper, then keep all your tasks on one list. Having one list for my clients means that you can find all your information easily.

Working with a partner

Organizing and productivity can be isolating.  My client knew that she worked better if someone is in the same space working on a project too.  She invited her assistant in to work alongside her each day for an hour at a time to get her project completed.  She was so surprised to learn this strategy, known as body doubling, could make her work more productively.  It works!

 

What are some of the creative ways you have made a difference and made it easy to get stuff done?

 

 

More on ADHD here! 

 

 

What to do with Meeting Agendas?

/2 Comments/in , , /by

 

What to do with meeting agendas?

 

If you are like most, meetings are an necessary evil of work life and volunteering.  Each meeting you are either given a paper agenda or a link online.  A well run meeting requires an agenda. It’s about preparation and communication.  But what to do with meeting agendas after the meeting has finished?

 

Meeting agenda general plan

If you meet routinely, a meeting agenda helps you keep a structure for the goals of the group.  Your agenda is the place keeper of your accomplishments, your tasks and next steps.  Having a specific file, file drawer or notebook to keep your meeting agenda, labelled with the meeting name, is generally a good idea for the duration of the project.  Be sure you create a spot to easily drop the agenda in when you return from the meeting.

 

Meeting agenda notes

If you are like most of us, your meeting agenda has next action steps noted on it.  You want to consolidate these action steps on a general capture tool, such as a notebook, task list or digital list to be sure to do the next steps before the next meeting.  Adding the actions to your actionable spot makes sense so that the meeting agenda can be stored away and you can accomplish your tasks.

 

Meeting agenda when you are the meeting leader

There’s a time line to preparing a meeting agenda before the next meeting. You will want to recap what has been accomplished, lead your meeting onto the next steps and be sure your attendees are prepared at your next meeting.  Having a digital template to save as a new meeting agenda keeps you moving forward.  You will want to share this agenda at least 24 hours in advance of the next meeting.

 

What’s best practices for your template?  Here’s what I include: name of committee meeting, date of meeting, call in or other contact information, and who is attending the meeting.  The agenda can be a simple, prioritized list of what you want to accomplish.  Be sure to begin your meeting on time and end within an hour.  Efficient meetings are where best work is accomplished.

 

What about when your comittee concludes?

There’s a definitely happiness to ending a well run, successful project!  At that time, sort through, declutter and eliminate the agendas. You might keep one of the last agendas to finalize the project and move the file to an archive location.

 

You might be wondering, does this apply to conference materials as well?  Conference materials are becoming more digital, rather than paper based.  Generally it’s a best practice to pull the materials you will use to save in either paper files or electronically by topic.  I suggest keeping these materials for 2 years to see if you use the materials.  After this, it’s time to delete or recyle.

 

More ideas on paper management here!

4 Strategies to Increase Productivity

/4 Comments/in /by

 

There are strategies that can help you increase productivity. These are handy acronyms and mantras that help you remember what to do to be more productive.  It’s remembering and applying these strategies that help you get more done.

 

WSD Write stuff down

The most productive person is the one who uses a calendar and a list.  It’s in capturing this information, writing stuff down, that we know what to do and what is the deadline. Capture tools can be analog or digital, in a notebook, in Evernote or on a dry erase board. Regardless of your tool, wrtie stuff down to be more productive.

Plan your work and work your plan

With your planner and list, set aside a weekly planning time to plan your work and work your plan.  When I say plan your work, that’s when you add times and actions to your calendar. It’s more than just meeting dates, it’s work periods.  Let’s say you have taxes to complete. You set up 9 – 10 am on Monday through Thursday to work on chunks of your taxes.  You work your plan by staying true to the plan you set up.   For every task or project you want to complete, you have set a time to do the work.  Even if you don’t know how long a task or project will take, you set an amount of time to work on it.

 

FOCUS Follow One Course Until Successful

There’s compelling research for single focus.  With focus, you work on only one task at a time. Your success depends on it.

 

MITs Most important tasks

There’s lots to do and never enough time to complete all your tasks. That’s why prioritizing is critical.  That’s where MITs come into play.  Set up your Most Important Tasks each day, week and month so that you prioritize deadlines and importance.  Working on an unimportant task can be productive procastination, however delays your success.

 

These four handy sayings will carry you forward with productivity. If you need a reset for productivity, start with a great night’s sleep, a 5 minute stretch and be ready to hydrate.  These essential basics will hold you in good stead!

 

More productivity tips here!