Archive for December 2008 – Page 3

25 Things to do Before Christmas – #16 Gift Cache, #15 Gather Friends

Posted by Carolyn on
 December 11, 2008
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The countdown continues. Hope you’re still with us! Only 2 more weeks ’til Christmas:

#16 Empty your Gift Cache – Many people purchase gifts year round and keep a cache of them in their home. This is an excellent idea if you have the money to tie up in a gift cache and the space to store it. If you have neither, this is not an idea for you. One of the challenges of such a cache is remembering what’s in it and remembering to shop at your own cache store before shopping retail again. If you store your cache in a box in a cupboard, this might be the time to lay it out and use up some of the contents. If you don’t need to worry about little eyes (or big ones) searching for Santa’s stash try laying out the gifts on a shelf or book case. Then reviewing and using up the items is litereally like going shopping in your own home.

#15 Gather up Friends who will be Alone this Holiday Season – Not all of us have a home full of family or friends and a calendar full of Christmas dinners to attend. The reality is that many people or new to their neighbourhood or city, can’t afford to go home, live alone and may be alone during the holidays. Whether or not you are one of this group, why not gather of a few friends who are and start your own tradition of a Christmas or holiday dinner with them.

Holiday Organizing
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The Disappearing Desk – Take 2

Posted by Carolyn on
 December 9, 2008
  ·  No Comments

Many people struggle with a desk covered in paper, files, reports and debris from the work day. There is now doubt, trying to get a grip back once this has got away from you can be an overwhelming task. Try this to get back control:

  • As usual, start small. Take 5 minutes first thing in the morning to sort just one corner of your desk. Sort the paper by date, project, time line or subject. There is no right or wrong way only a way that makes sense to you.
  • At the end of the day, take another 5 minutes to file the piles you sorted this morning. Sorting takes far more brain power, decision making and emotional/intellectual energy than filing. Do the filing at the end of the day.

Try this for 28 consecutive work days. I promise you that at the end of the 28 days your desk and your organization will be at a very different place – a very good place.

Office Organizing
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25 Things to do Before Christmas – #17 The Tree

Posted by Carolyn on
 December 9, 2008
  ·  No Comments

#17 Organizing the Christmas Tree – If you are planning to put up a tree this year you may already have made plans to do so. Or maybe not? Did I hear you say “OMGoodness, we still have to get a tree?”

Many people have moved away from the real deal in order to preserve the trees, their family rooms and their sanity. Whether you go artificial or a sap dripping, needle shedding original article that will fill your home with the smell of a midwinter’s forest, there are still some challenges common to both that can be mastered with a little organization.

  • You know it! Book the date in your calendar to buy the tree, bring it up from the basement/attic/garage and set it up. Remember when buying a real tree you will require 24 hours to allow it to settle before decorating it.
  • Book the date to decorate the tree. If your family is like mine, that requires everyone home and that requires checking in with 3 other calendars.
  • Get out your decorations. Check the lights (switch to high efficiency).
  • Throw out any decorations that are broken. Consider giving away any you no longer use.
  • Check out your storage for your decorations. Now is the time to consider upgrading to a sturdier box (than the wine bottle box you were using).
  • Book a date to take down your tree and pack it all away. Check to see when your municipal garbage collection, if you have one, will pick up the trees at the curb. Remember how you missed it last year and the forlorn tree stayed in the yard until the first yard waste pickup at Easter?
Holiday Organizing
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Menu Planning Monday

Posted by Carolyn on
 December 8, 2008
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Have to keep myself organized as well!

Monday – Tacos (that’s right, no fish this Monday)
Tuesday – Pasta (2 extra at the table), fresh baked bread, salad
Wednesday – Choir Party – Fish, rice, vegetables, salad
Thursday – BBQ Chicken, baked potatoes, grilled vegetables, salad
Friday – Make your own pizza
Saturday – Family Birthday celebration – lasagna, quiche, salad, birthday cake
Sunday – away skiing, note to self, arrange enough food for the day.

Organizing Resources
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25 Things to do Before Christmas – #20 Baking, #19 Babysitters, #18 Cards

Posted by Carolyn on
 December 8, 2008
  ·  No Comments

…and the list continues.


#20 – Organize your Baking. Are you doing any bakin this holiday season? Get your recipes out and pick the ones for this year. Now take out your calendar and book the day(s) that you will be baking. Check your pantry for ingredients and prepare your shopping list. Go back to the calendar and book in the time to shop.

#19 – Organize your Childcare. Do you have children home over the holiday season? Did you happen to notice that the kids are off school for a full two weeks (longer if you are in an independent school). Do you have activities prepared for the kids to do during the full two weeks or are they going to sit in front of the video games, computer or TV for two weeks straight. Are your working? Do you have adequate childcare or babysitting booked for the days that you are working or going out?

#18 – Organize you Christmas Cards. Many people have given up on holiday greeting cards. Other people have gone back to sending out this timely message of good cheer and greeting around the holiday season. By now you know the first step. That’s right, get out your calendar and book the time to write them. Follow up by finding the cards from last year (or five years ago) that never got sent i.e. don’t buy more until you have used up what you have! This is a great time to review your address book or contact file and update or clear it out.

Holiday Organizing
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Top 5 Series – Actions to Meet your Goals

Posted by Carolyn on
 December 8, 2008
  ·  1 Comment

Your picking up a theme here? That’s right; end of the year and its time to make sure this time next year you have completed your goals for 2009. Here are strategies to make your success more likely:

  1. Keep your eye on the end result. Whatever your goal is, make sure you can see it, taste it, feel it, hear it. Make sure you can articulate it, really, really well. The more real it becomes for you the more likely it is you will make it a reality.
  2. Break your goal into steps. Regardless of how long it will take to meet your goal, break it down into bite size steps along the way. This will give you more chances to recognize your success and celebrate.
  3. Write the goal(s) down. Write it or them as clearly and concisely as possible making sure they meet the SMART criteria of specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time limited.
  4. Get your intention to level 10 on a scale of 1 – 10 (with 1 the lowest level). If your intention is not up at the 10 level, you may be inclined to give up or back away from your goal everytime you meet with adversity. What does it take to get to level 10? You decide. Often it includes getting support and help to keep you accountable to yourself e.g. a coach. It might be sharing your goal with a boss or friend who will help to keep you accountable.
  5. Celebrate your successes! Everytime you meet a milestone, celebrate. You are on your path to success.
Organizing Strategies Top 5 Series
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Clearing out Files

Posted by Carolyn on
 December 5, 2008
  ·  No Comments

The end of the year is an excellent time to purge out your files and make room for the next year’s activities. Before starting, make sure you are familiar with your company’s Document Retention policies and procedures. If you head up a company, make sure that you have document retention policies and that your employees know what they are so that they can also clear out some files. If you run a small business or home based business you may want to check with your accountant for the retention requirements of business and tax documentation.

With all the rules taken care up, try starting small. Purging files is not the most exciting thing to do no matter which way you look at them. Try committing just 30 minutes a day for each of the next ten work days before the holidays. You’ll be surprised what you can accomplish in the total of 5 hours.

Office Organizing
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25 Things to Do Before Christmas – #22 Decorate & #21 Menus

Posted by Carolyn on
 December 5, 2008
  ·  No Comments

# 22 – Are you planning to decorate your house for the holidays? Book some time into your schedule. Maybe invite some friends or family? Check you decorations and make a list of any that need to be replaced or repaired. Have you switched to energy efficient bulbs yet? Why not switch this year.

# 21 – Review the meals that you will be cooking this holiday season. Prepare your menus and shopping list. Schedule time to actually do the shopping and any other preparation that is required ahead of the meal.

Holiday Organizing
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25 Things to Do Before Christmas: #23 – Goals

Posted by Carolyn on
 December 3, 2008
  ·  No Comments

Many of us look forward to the New Year as a time to refresh, start anew and accomplish goals and make resolutions to get some things accomplished. Problem is, we don’t make the resolutions until he spur of the moment on at New Year’s and don’t book in the time to make sure they happen.

Pull out your calendar and next year’s as well. Don’t have next year’s yet? (That was #24). Start by booking yourself some serious time to think about your vision for your life next year. An hour alone is a great time to start but a three hour stint or 3, one hour sessions is not too long. Get it booked before the holiday swirl robs you of your planning time.

Take a look at next year’s calendar and start to book in the things you want to accomplish. Loose weight? Book in your time in the gym, your session with your trainer, time to investigate a nutritionist. Whatever it will take, get it booked.

Putting things in black and white on paper has a way of increasing the intention and commitment from “would really like to” (i.e. not likely to happen) to “am really going to”. Clear your vision for your life, get those goals identified and book them into your life.

Enjoy looking forward to the New Year and all the great things you will accomplish. Aim high.

Holiday Organizing
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Countdown to January 1, 2009

Posted by Carolyn on
 December 3, 2008
  ·  No Comments

It’s coming – no matter how you try and stave it off, the new year will be here in 27 days.

That means a number of things to a number of people; budgets, performance appraisals, sales targets are just some of the items that are lurking just beyond that January 1 holiday. How to get on top of it?

Start by listing all the items you know are due in the first weeks of the new year. Now start to plan when you will get them accomplished. Take out the calendar, look at the weeks ahead. Wow, already pretty packed right? That’s the problem with trying to get much of anything done during the month of December.

Nevertheless push on. Book in 2 – 3 hour blocks to accomplish those tasks due in the first couple of weeks. On your list of things to do, make a note of all the bits that need to be accomplished in addition to just getting the work done. Is there information you need to gather? Book time with your staff for performance appraisals? Pull together the sales reports? Now get these items booked in the calendar.

Smile and look forward to the New Year knowing your new year tasks are booked and ready to be tackled.

Holiday Organizing Office Organizing
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