View Comments What do you do when the spring rain puts a damper on your motivation?
Staying focused can sometimes be challenging when you are a solopreneur. Working alone in a home office can be lonely at the best of times however when you add some gloomy weather it can be paralyzing.
Time to pull out your TOP 5 and you tackle one thing at a time.
Check out my VLOG today for some great motivational TIPS!
March break is less than a week away and as I sit here making my huge, really big, gynormous…OMG will I ever get it all finished in 4 days list, I wonder how people who are not organizationally gifted get it all done!
The tasks of this week in front of me are not even on the Top 5 …these tasks require a whole different strategy…
Batching these tasks will work to a certain point but it requires so much more…
Because I love all of you and know that this is a big struggle point with many people here are my techniques that you can use for getting things done.
I am sure that you have heard this saying before….I have, and I use it regularly in presentations and with clients.
Meaning…you have a huge list, you have a certain time frame to complete all the things on the list and you are now paralyzed by the whole big thing….Did I hit that nail on the head?
This is how I am going to tackle the week so I can go away and have a great family vacation, confident that I have handled all that I CAN handle, delegated where I could and took control of the week.
***warning***
When you have a week like this lighten the load where you can and DO NOT….I repeat DO NOT take on anything else…not even if a cute little old lady needs help this week, stranded puppy dogs or even a good friend…you have enough on your plate…just say NO.
That being said here we go.
Get your highlighter out and as you finish each thing on the list scratch it off…that one technique always keeps me going as I get er done!
Attempt to accomplish as much as you can at the beginning of the week…leaving time for unexpected things as the deadline approaches.
I must go now and get at that list…may the force be with me!
No elephants were injured during this post…they were only used for illustrative purposes 
I love it when multiple organizing tips come together.
Here is an enhancement to the 5 Minute File that I mentioned last month…I hope you are all using this one and a recent post on Batching Tasks.
This video gives you a visual on both concepts…..Enjoy!
As we near the end of January it is time to dust off those Resolutions…now don’t tell me they aren’t dusty…resolutions typically lose their steam long before now…yes I am a realist…that is why I don’t make them…well not in January but that is for another post.
If so hold on to your hat because you are going to be blown away by ” The Great Organizing Giveaway” , yes I am talking free organizing resources. This is such an exciting opportunity for me and you. This year, organizing professionals from the USA and Canada, 127 to be exact, are working together to deliver the GREAT ORGANIZING GIVEAWAY. I’m honored that Organizing Connection was asked to be a part of this first ever event.
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Here is a small sample of the 127 FREE Organizing Giveaways…
Provided by Paul Burton of Quiet Spacing or on Twitter @quietspacing — Power Processing Your E-mail is one of the five one-hour programs in the QuietSpacing(tm) Seminar Series created by Paul Burton. Thousands have benefitted from this program by learning how to better manage the dozens of e-mails we receive every day….Get it Now it is FREE
Provided by Susan Lannis of ORGANIZATION Plus! Inc.( Same Company name as my home organizing company…how cool!) or on Twitter @timeliberator — Though we use the words, time cannot be saved or made because we don’t control it – like a river, it just keeps moving along – but it can be liberated. In this report, learn 10 easy ways to rethink time that will help you liberate it to use in a new way – whether that is kicking back or tackling something you’ve always wanted to try…get it now its free
Provided by Julie Seibert of Healing through Organization, LLC – Would you like to know where to start organizing and still stay “green”? This audio program offers eco organizing tips for the home and office…download it now
Provided by Janet Barclay(Good Friend and Fellow Canuck) of Organized Assistant or on Twitter @janetbarclay — The Personal Medical Organizer comes with printable forms for you to fill out and place in your own binder. Taking the binder with you to medical appointments can help you make the most of your time with the doctor, since all the information and any paperwork you may need is right at your finger tips…Get your Organizer now
Provided by Elaine Shannon of Organizing Connection or on Twitter @orgconnection – The Clutter Code 6 Step Organizing System takes all the mystery out of getting organized. This set of easy to follow worksheets and the detailed e-book will help you to demystify your next organizing project… get yours now!
Organizing Philosophy…
“Organizing is not about how it looks but about how it functions and feels”
Yesterday I had the pleasure of presenting my “Clutter to Clarity” workshop at a Lunch & Learn to 7 amazing women. They love what they do, they love the company they work for and they admire their leader….to be honest so do I , she is quite amazing. That being said we got on the topic of look vs feel in regards to organizing.
As someone who is always talking, thinking, researching organizing I sometimes forget that there are 2 sides to this argument.
As the gals pointed out yesterday there are days that the “Boss” goes through the place like a tornado(not reallya tornado, but this is a great visual) because it looks awful and there are other days when it really doesn’t matter. Someone else also said that it feels so good when they can find what they need when they need it…..hmmmmm.
So it is looks or function and feel…or is it both?
I know that at certain times of the month(if you get my drift) I am crazy when I have clutter on my kitchen countertops and other times I could not care less. 
What are your thoughts…looks or feel…or both? Please share…what do you think?
I challenge you right now to take 15 minutes to gather up all the bits of paper currently cluttering your desk, floor, chair…etc, and put it aside…together…in a folder…to work on at a time that is more convenient. By convenient I mean when you can take some uninterrupted time to Git-R-Done!
This gathering of the papers does not include client files or projects…they are THE most important things that you are working on right now…the things that you determined in your annual planning add to the bottom line.
I mean the notes, bills, receipts, invoices, and non-urgent mail…now, are you getting my drift! Take it all right now and stuff it in a folder. Go do it…what are you waiting for.
Welcome back…feels good to have that control! 
By doing this one simple task you will save yourself some VALUABLE TIME in the long run, you would be less DISTRACTED by all the unimportant things that are messing up your workspace…the crappy stuff that you really don’t like to do, that really doesn’t get done often enough.
If you did it today it would make you more effective and productive in your Home Office. You would feel in control of all that paper that is laying around. Gosh darn it you would be using basic Time Management and Productivity principles.
I always like to try these new ideas out first before sharing, so at the start of the month I created my own “5 Minute File”. A very plain white folder with a label that reads “5 Minute File”. I gathered all the loose papers that did not relate to important client stuff and filed it away….and totally forget about it…that is not the intention of this file. My first mistake was to file it away in my side desk drawer.
So the tweaking began…I am an out of sight out of mind kinda gal….Yes I am “Visual” I need to see what I have on the go. So the file has now moved from the desk drawer to the table behind my desk with all my current files.
Gathering and creating the folder was just the first part. Getting to the task at hand is another issue. I have scheduled a time slot in my week to tackle the “5 Minute File”, it will be on a day that I am focusing on non client related stuff and I am giving myself a reward for completing this CRAPPY task…because to be honest I would rather do anything else than do this paperwork stuff…so believe me you are not alone. What I do know is that not doing it is not an option. So by batching all these quick 5 Minute Tasks into one session I am using my VALUABLE time more effectively and I am Gittin-R- Done.
I hope this “5 Minute File” works for you as well as it has been working for me.
For 30 seconds today I missed “The Office” I once knew. Not the TV sitcom , but the place I used to hang my hat 11 years ago before I chose the WAHM lifestyle and traded in my office with the big window for an office in my home.
I had the pleasure of taxiing one of the kids to a 9:00 am Doctor appointment at the local hospital. On the way there he asked me ” What were you thinking Mom when you made this stupid early morning appointment”. ….I could go into more about the conversation but that is for another post. …. While he was in with the Dr and I was enjoying the stillness of the waiting room I could hear the place awaken to a new fresh Monday morning. My Spidey senses were on overload.
* The first thing I noticed were the two gals having a Monday morning catch-up chat. I love people watching, it is somewhat of a sport for me. They were rehashing the details of their weekends and then with such ease they moved into a conversation about work, and what was happening in “The Office” that day. Office relationships can be tricky( just watch any episode of “The Office” if you don’t know what I am referring to), however the body language I was watching was warm and comfortable.
* Next it was the smell…..the smell of coffee brewing and clean floors. Yes, obviously the cleaners had been busy on the weekend. You would think that the coffee would have got to me but no…it was the smell of clean. As odd as this is to admit I find the smell of clean to be an aphrodisiac and I know for a fact that I am not the only woman who feels this way. Especially when I did not have to do the cleaning. My hubby also knows this fact and uses it to his advantage.
* The sounds intrigued me like the various parts of an orchestra. First it was the conversation, then the musical clanging of the keys as someone was opening their office after a weekend, the screech of the hinge on the heavy door opening onto another week of work. What brought me back to the present was the familiar sound of the computer logging on to a day at “The Office”.
This is when I was jolted back to reality, remembering the Sunday night anxiety and the Monday morning dread that I left behind so many years ago. Now I am not saying that everyone experiences this but I did many years ago and that precipitated my decision to change the way “The Office” looks for me. All of this happened in a flash…probably only 30 seconds of time.
This is what my Office looks like today. It is a place that incorporates my skills, knowledge and talents…and my sense of humor. A place that brings out the best is me most days and allows me the freedom to live a lifestyle of my choosing. My Office has a computer (my lifeline to the work) that on any given day could be in the Dining Room, the Kitchen, on the back deck or on a good day it could be in the dedicated office. I exchanged a 9 to 5 work day for the flexibility to wake up and start as early as 6:00 am so I am finished before the kids are up. My office relationships include the company of my 3 children, all their friends, and my husband on his week off. It also involves friends that span the globe and with amazing technology like Skype at my disposal I can connect with them any time. The regular pay I used to get has been replaced with an interesting pay schedule that can be compared to a Feast or sometimes a Famine.
In the evolution of work we have more flexibility than ever before. People work full time, flex time and part time. Companies are hiring people to work from their home so they have 24/7 support in countries spanning the globe. More people than ever are leaving regular jobs for the freedom of entrepreneurship. The workplace has certainly changed dramatically in the past decade.
What does your office look and feel like? Why not spend some time making your office an extension of who you really are, enjoying the benefits of working the way that works best for you.
Since 2004 I have been involved in the Organizing industry in a volunteer capacity at our local chapter and as a previous Board member of Professional Organizers In Canada as a Past Director of Development. 
As a member since 2004 I have proudly earned the status of Silver leaf Member for my five plus years of membership in this association.
In 2007 I was one of the first Professional Organizers in my industry to be awarded the Trained Professional Organizer Certificate at our National Conference in Vancouver BC Canada. Ongoing learning is what I think positions a leader in any industry. Attending and speaking at the National and International level in my industry has opened many doors for me. Through the amazing people I have met and the connections that were created at association conferences I have been able to realize a dream of being a producer and columnist.
I have been organizing clients on several continents…in person and virtually. Location is not an issue in the new virtual age and Professional Organizer Help is now a 24/7 business. From a home office in Ontario Canada to a Security Company in South Africa, I can connect easily with my unique approach to helping people Get Organized.
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