Choices

Choices… we all make countless choices everyday. Some choices we make without even realizing that we are, in fact, doing so. Are you scratching your head trying to figure out what I might be referring to? I am talking about the unconscious choice a person makes when she walks past something that really should be either thrown out (recycled), put away, or dealt with in some fashion. When this happens it’s as if she has blinders on and really does not see these things that are out of place. Since this is the eighth year that NAPO (the National Association of Professional Organizers) has promoted January as the month to ‘Get Organized’ some people have made the choice to take a more active role in making that happen in their offices and homes. One choice you can make is to open your eyes and take a good look at what you have around you. Let’s say there are a few things in the kitchen that don’t belong. Maybe there are some papers to be filed, a book that should be returned to the library, and a pair of shoes. As you go on your way through the kitchen move the papers near the filing cabinet, put the book in a tote bag and leave it near the door so that you take it with you when you next leave the house (don’t forget to schedule a stop at the library), and deposit the shoes in the bedroom closet. You don’t have to do it all at once! In fact, you could have a basket in which you collect things that don’t belong. Then, when you have a few free minutes each day, make a choice to deal with the things in the basket. Decide to add organizing to your daily routine! Every little bit helps. Part of my routine is to take a few minutes at the end of everyday to organize my desk. I file loose papers, put away information I have pulled during my day and leave my desk tidy – ready for the next day. This really helps me stay on top of all the things I  have to do.Think about the choices you make each day, will you make some different choices in an effort to be more organized this year?

Thank You Notes?

I finished writing my Thank You notes for gifts I received for Christmas over the weekend. I enjoy the process and take my time writing these notes because I want to recipient of the note to know that I appreciate the time, effort and thought they put into my gift. I also write notes to thank people for having me over for dinner or for helping me with a volunteer project. I think that this (the art of writing a thank you note) is something that should happen more regularly. Too often, we send notes via e-mail or text. I know it’s fast and easy. There is certainly something to be said for checking that item off your ‘to-do’ list. However; when someone takes time to find a perfect gift, or they take time out of their busy schedule to volunteer for a project, or they take the time to host a lovely meal I believe they deserve a small hanwritten note in return.

So, my question to you is: do you write thank you notes?

Here are my guidelines for writing a great note.

1. Thank the person for the gift (include a detailed description), the time they volunteered, or (fill in the balnk)

2. Say something about how you will use (fill in the blank) or about the event

3. Include a sentence or two about something you are doing – a new endeavor, perhaps

4. Close with something like ‘Thank you so much for your genorosity’

Keep in mind that this is a note, not a letter, so it should be brief. Also, this is a wonderful way to really show appreciation to someone who cares for you!

Happy New Year

On this first Monday of the New Year I am hard at work keeping my resolution for 2012. I am so happy that I decided to make this change in my routine! I have been in busness as a professional organizer for 7 years now. It came to my attention last year that I really HAD to change the way I was attending to the details of running my business. Everything that needed to happen did happen but I was taking time from other things (hobbies) that I enjoy in order to take care of the business details. Are you wondering what changed? My colleague, Julie Bestry, has often posted on facebook about taking care of her business ’to-do’ list during her administrative Monday. During this past year I thought to myself could I take a day to attend to my business ‘to-do’ list? In December, I decided that I would make Monday my administrative day. I have promised myself that I will not run errands (that includes grocery shopping) or take clients on this administrative day. I will work on adding content to my blog and my website, take care of business details,make follow-up phone calls, and work on other business related projects like marketing my book! It’s tempting to schedule errands etc. when there is a wide open day in the planner. To combat this temptation I have scheduled every Monday as an administrative day. It’s there, in my calendar, and the entire day is labeled as busy.  I am positive that this change in my routine will have a big impact on me! I think that by setting aside the time to really focus on the administrative tasks which (I admit) are not as much fun for me as working with my clients I will feel more on top of my game.

If you have made a resolution what are you changing in your routine to facilitate keeping your promise to yourself?

Do not procrastinate!

Earlier in 2011 I made myself a promise to make and keep appointments with the variety of doctors that I see.  I did just that and had seen everyone I was scheduled to see by the end of August. However, the doctor I saw in August strongly suggested that I make an appointment for a colonoscopy. I was reluctant but this was something I had been putting off – procrastinating about – for several years. I went ahead and scheduled first the visit to meet the doctor and then the colonoscopy. I thought  what’s to worry about? I exercise regularly, I am at a normal weight, I eat healthily – lots of fruits and vegetables. I’ll be fine, I told myself. I had the colonsocopy and the doctor found a polyp which he could remove then and there – good! – but he also found a very large growth, a tumor, which had to be surgically removed. This involved removing a section of my colon. Scary thoughts now entered my mind.

I am very lucky. I had the surgery 2 weeks ago. The fact that I exercise regularly and that I am in otherwise good health has helped speed my recovery along. The polyp that was removed and the tumor were benign. Hindsight, by its very nature, is perfect. In hindsight I wish I had listened to my doctor five years ago when he first started strongly recommending a colonoscopy. Maybe if I had not procrastinated I could have avoided this surgery. I will never know and wondering about it does not do any good.

If you are someone who has been putting off this test thinking to yourself I am healthy, have no problems and do not want to do this please think again. Listen to your doctor and have this test.

Do you really want to change?

Have you ever decided that you want to change something in your life? Maybe you have said to yourself that you want to exercise more or that you want to spend more time working on a hobby. Maybe you have told yourself that this year you only want to have clothes in your closet that you really wear or that this year you want to be more organized, have less clutter in your home, and be on time for all your appointments. You may have guessed that these are things I sometimes hear people say!   

The owner of the fitness studio I attend often posts thought provoking statements on the chalkboard outside the front door of the studio. This week the chalkboard reads “if nothing changes, nothing changes”. Dan frequently tells us if you don’t add more to your workout you won’t see the changes you are hoping for as a result working out.

If you really want to change then you have to make changes in your habits and routines. That is really hard to do and it takes time, perseverance, and patience. Small changes are the easiest to make. So, start with baby steps. Let’s say you have decided to only have clothes in your closet that you really wear. When you go to put an outfit together and you decide, after trying on a combination of clothes, that this particular combination doesn’t look right. Something just doesn’t make you feel like you want to walk out the door dressed this way. Don’t put those items back in your closet! Take a moment. Figure out which item (or items) is simply wrong. Put those things into a shopping bag. When the bag is full take it to a donation center, like Goodwill. Someone else will make great use of your clothes. If you follow this routine you will have only those clothes that you want to wear in your closet.

What is it in your life that you want to change? Are you just making noise or are you ready to do something differently in order to make that change you have been talking about happen?

Modifications are good!

This past Saturday I went to a yoga class. This was my first class in a few years. I had not taken in class since the surgery on my ankle and was a little fearful of some of the poses. As usually happens at the beginning of an exercise class, the instructor asked those participants she did not already know if they had any injuries. I told the instructor about my ankle and then the class started. It was a wonderful class and I was so happy to have set aside the time to attend. At one point during the class, the instructor helped me modify one of the poses so that I would not strain my ankle and so that I would have the full benefit of that pose. After she provided me with that modification she told the class that we were all there in the class to have the benefits of personal instruction and modifications and not to hesitate to ask for help. Further, she said that if we wanted to we could have rented a yoga DVD and practiced yoga on our own. Then she said sometimes students are afraid to come to class and try new poses because they think they will not be able to do it. As I thought about what the instructor was saying I thought it related directly to my professional organizing services. Sometimes people are reluctant to begin the organizing process because they don’t know where to start. It is easier when you have a professional organizer by your side to guide you through the process and to teach you strategies that are modified to suit your learning style and your lifestyle. Just as it was easier for me to complete the yoga class with the instructor helping me and teaching me how to modify certain poses. If you have an organizing project in mind and don’t know here to start or if you are feeling overwhelmed by the clutter in your life find a professional organizer to make it easier for you!

The Power of 3

Three is a wonderful number. Three is easy to count up to. Think about this; a race begins with ‘On your mark, get set, go!’ That’s three short phrases. I use the power of three as an organizing tool. It’s easy to remember three things at a time. Three is also not an overwhelmingly huge number. Let’s face it, when you get to the second item on your list (if you are remembering three things) you are more than half way finished! Take a look at your list of things you want to accomplish. See if there are any items that could be logically grouped together or perhaps things that would naturally fall in a sequence. Then try and group them in threes. Finally, think of some great short (quick) rewards for yourself. Things like having a quiet few minutes enjoying a cup of tea and a book or going for a walk or perhaps taking a few minutes to chat with a friend. I bet if you use this organizing strategy you’ll find that your lengthy list of things to do is quickly reduced. It is so easy to accomplish three quick tasks. What three things are you going to do today?

My Journey

The journey I am going to tell you about is my experience in the Level III program to earn the designation CPO-CD with the Institute for Challenging Disorganization. You see, for the past year and a half I have been reading books, writing papers and studying to enhance my understanding of chronic disorganization. This knowldege serves to improve my ability to provide great organizational assistance to my clients challenged by chronic disorganization. Today my journey ended with a final exam. It was an oral exam. The people administering the exam were wonderful – friendly and encouraging. However; I am not at my best in situations like this. I’ll find out later if I passed the exam.

As I left the conference room and had a chance to think about it I realized that, no matter what the result, the past 18 months have provided me with an invaluable experience. The homework combined with work, family, and my volunteer activities taught me even better time management and prioritizing skills. The vast amount of learning which took place during the sessions with my program coach is priceless.

Many people  have written that often it is not as much about the result as the journey and what you learn during the process. Whether or not I receive that passing grade this journey is one I am so thankful to have taken.

Do you talk to yourself? I do. I talk to myself – inside my head – as I walk my dog, Miles, in the morning. I review my schedule for the day. I also review what I am hoping to accomplish in addition to the schedule events. I hope that those of you reading this are nodding your heads in agreement. You might have a different conversation with yourself but I think we all have conversations inside our minds from time to time. When you talk to yourself do you ever bend the truth? Sometimes I think people don’t tell themselves the truth. When you look inside your closet have you ever said ‘I have NOTHING to wear’? I have definately done that! What I really mean is that there is nothing in my closet that I want to wear to …(you can fill in the blank) Maybe you rationalize keeping – let’s say 10 black skirts – because they are of different materials or different lengths or different sizes or maybe because you may need that particular style skirt ‘someday’? Tell me, does ‘someday’ ever come?

Maybe you tell yourself that you HAVE to keep that stack of papers because there might be an article somewhere in that stack that you haven’t read that might have useful information. You don’t have time to sort through the paper so you just keep adding to the stack telling yourself that you should do this ‘someday’. It will take time because there could be an address to enter in the address book. There could even be a refund check lurking somewhere in that pile. No joke! I have found checks sorting papers for some of my clients. While it’s true that money can sometimes be hding in a stack of paper very often the information in the pile of paper is not important. Sometimes, it is filing waiting to be done or it is a stack needing to be recycled. As for the ten black skirts – one in the correct size is generally sufficient.

Is there somthing you are telling yourself which is perhaps giving yourself permission to do something or keep something that you may want to rethink? I’d be interested to know!

Tomorrow is the first day of September and as such it begins National Preparedness Month. Looking back at the events of the past week and the havoc left behind by Irene I was thinking about my family. How prepared would we be if disaster struck? How prepared are you? I admit I do not have a package of information ready to grab with my vital documents. Do you have something portable with your important information inside? I’m referring to things like social security cards, banking and other financial account numbers, birth certificates, marriage license, will… The things that identify you and that will help you should you loose everything in a natural disaster. Then I was wondering where I would keep such a grab and go box or package of information. The best place for me to keep it will be in my file drawer. I have space to keep a package of information (probably I will put it together in a large manila envelope inside a heavy duty plastic bag). You see, that will fit in my large tote bag. It wouldn’t be too heavy or cumbersome. These are things for you to think about, too. Where would you keep this package of information?

I was also thinking about bringing in to my house a supply of drinking water and maybe some canned goods.  It’s good to be prepared – also good not to go overboard. Remember that canned goods have a shelf life, an expiration date. I will only bring in a few extra things, canned things that I will use and replace so that they don’t linger on my shelf long past they’ve expired! What will you do towards being more prepared this month?