Archive for Goals

plan time to get important things done

Minutes to Plan – Time Tamer Tuesday

Posted by Carolyn on
 March 1, 2016
plan time to get important things done

We can’t manage time, but we can plan to get important things done.

You are busy.  Learning how to better manage time is high on your To Do list.  You just never seem to get there.

Time Can’t be Managed

The reality is you can’t manage time.  It ticks away at the same pace whether you are prepared for that meeting, unprepared for that exam or running early or late to your client’s home.  Time moves at the same pace.

Plan Time

Being even just slightly more prepared for the day will help you achieve more focus and purpose.  And with that, you can accomplish much more.

15 Minutes to Plan

At the end of the day, spend 15 minutes writing down the top 3 things you want to accomplish tomorrow.  You’ll wake up with purpose and focus.

Organizing Time Time Tamer Tuesday
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Overwhelmed

Overwhelmed with Getting Organized?

Posted by Carolyn on
 January 6, 2016
Overwhelmed

Have attempts to get organized in the new year got you overwhelmed?

Welcome to 2016.  I’m overwhelmed.  How about you?

The way I feel right now, I could do without a new year ever again.  I’m bombarded with email, tweets, FB group posts, Instagram pictures and LinkedIn comments telling me how to plan, schedule, set goals, accomplish goals, managed resolutions and be successful in 2016.  Since most of us would like to be more successful at whatever we do, that seems like a good start to the year, right?

Wrong.

Too much.

I was feeling so optimistic as 2015 came to a close and now with the bombardment of direction and cheers from well meaning social media, I’m hiding here at my desk wondering how to manage the overwhelm in my head.  Ideas, thoughts, plans, goals, schedules, resolutions;  it’s all there in a big foggy, swirl.  Remember that picture of electrons swirling in circles from high school science?  Put that in a vat of swirling cotton candy and that’s how my brain feels. It hurts.

Anyone else on the same page or am I out here alone on planet Overwhelm?

As a professional organizer, I’m not immune to being overwhelmed.  And like everyone else, I have to get organizing whether I’m overwhelmed or not.  The only difference is I’ve coached and supported clients back from planet Overwhelm and I have strategies I know will help.  I’m going to use them.  A few simple steps to get rid of that overwhelmed feeling when trying to get organized.

Get Moving

Go for a walk.  Moving large muscle groups helps to dissipate stress.  If all else fails, just walk around your house, apartment, room or office.  Head to the water cooler.  Or better still…

Get Some Fresh Air

Walk outside.  The clear, cooler air will help blow away the cotton candy from your brain.  The smell of wood stoves always takes me back to my days working on a reserve on the Canadian pacific coast where life was relatively simple.  The fresh air is almost as good as a RESET button.

Write it Down

Just writing down the swirl of thoughts and confusion can sometimes provide clarity.  Even if the thoughts are randomly written, your brain will start to put them into order.  Grab a pen or pencil and just start writing.  Don’t worry about anything making sense.

Make a List – or Two

Take the random written thoughts and group the ideas together.   Try groups like stuff to do, calls to make, decisions to make, long term plans, next week’s party, business goals, vacation plans.  You have your own stuff going on that will provide natural groups.

Take a Break

Organizing and being overwhelmed will require more breaks than organizing at other times.  Decision fatigued sets in faster when an individual is overwhelmed – if they are able to make decisions at all.  Give yourself lots of breaks to refresh your grey matter.

Take a Social Media/Technology Break

Our cell phones, computers, tablets and television bombard us with direction and instructions.  Take a break and get away from everyone else telling you how to start your new year.  For some, even just a few hours without the device will make a difference to help get you back from planet Overwhelm.

Getting organized in new year is a great thing.  Being overwhelmed is not.  Using these few easy steps I got back from planet Overwhelm and was able to get this blog post written.  You’ll get your stuff done too.

Organizing Challenges
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We can organize using our eyes if we are competent in our visual processing modality.

Organizing with our Eyes – Visual Processing Modality

Posted by Carolyn on
 October 14, 2015
Organizing with our eyes allows us to use our visual strength to get and stay organized.

Organizing with our Eyes – Visual Processing Modality

Organizing with our Eyes is the first in a series on organizing using one’s processing modalities.  In 2010, Denslow Brown of Coach Approach for Organizers and Organizer Coach published The Processing Modalities Guide.  This is the first of nine modalities that Denslow addresses in the guide.

Organizing with our Eyes – Strength & Sensitivity

We can have little or lots of strength in how we perceive the world with our eyes.   Lots of strength would make us gifted while little strength is referred to as weak.  If we are strong, organizing with our eyes would be natural, easy and help make staying organized easier.  We can also be hypo or hyper sensitive in using our eyes.  Sensitive means we are bothered by, perhaps agitated and likely exhausted by too much or the wrong visual stimulation.

Organizing with your Eyes – Organizing Strategies

Professional organizers and coaches with training in processing modalities understand that the degree of strength and the degree of sensitivity can be used to help a client get organized and stay organized.

If you are visually sensitive then lots of colour might be irritating while one or minimal colour might be soothing.  Try these strategies:

  • Use storage containers that are all one colour, size or shape if they will be used in one place.  Even just one colour will make a difference.
  • Use containers of similar, complementary or minimal colour to contain items that might otherwise look messy or haphazard.
  • Place things in an orderly fashion by size, shape or colour to minimize visual stimulation.

If you are visually strong you remember items by sight.  You can easily identify the visual difference in items.  Try these organizing techniques to take advantage of this strength:

  • use clear containers to help identify their contents
  • label storage containers to identify their contents
  • use colour on file labels or the files themselves to distinguish between different groups of subjects.  For example, client files might be green while marketing files might be red.
  • use visual cues such as symbols, single words or a sketch to remind yourself to do a particular task.

Use your natural and existing strengths to help you get organized.  Organizing with your eyes is just one way.  Organizing with our ears is next.

Organizing Challenges Organizing Strategies
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Keep Small Business Organized: 5 Strategies

Posted by Carolyn on
 September 23, 2015
5 Strategies to keep a small business organized

Stay clutter free to keep a small business organized

Is Your Small Business Organized?

We live in a changing world where small businesses must stay nimble of foot and focused on their goals.  Sometimes those imperatives seem to contradict each other.  How can we stay flexible, nimble and organized as a small business while staying focused on goals and strategies for business growth.

Its probably easier than you think.  There is, however, no room for clutter in a successful small business; no room for extra stuff, tasks or costs.  Here are 5 strategies to help keep that business clutter to a minimum and your small business organized for success.

  1. Make “clutter free” a priority for the business.  By letting employees know this is important, you set the performance expectations for your staff.
  2. Be clear how you define clutter.  Unnecessary paper is one thing but unnecessary emails is equally distracting clutter.  The same goes for unnecessary meetings.
  3. Be a role model and set the standard for your employees.  If your office is a pile of disorganized papers, your employees will believe that’s an ok standard for your business organization.
  4. Give staff the tools they need to be organized.  Include shelves for vertical storage and  immediate access to a blue box for recycling.  If you aren’t sure what is missing or why an employee is so disorganized, consider having a professional organizer conduct an assessment of the work environment. There may be more complex organizational issues that the employee is struggling with.
  5. Schedule a semi-annual clear out day. The rules for the time are simple. Everyone participates in a clear out of their work space on this day. Order lunch.
Office Organizing Organizing Challenges Uncategorized
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Office Annual Review

Posted by Carolyn on
 December 8, 2010

Before working as a professional organizer, I spent several decades in a corporate environment.  Those of us who have ever worked for someone are familiar with the annual review process.  But have you ever considered applying this concept to the organization of your office?  If you were giving your office an annual review, how would it fare?

  • Are the position description and expectations clear and understood?
  • Are there annual goals and objectives that are in line with the company’s (yours) strategic objectives for the year?
  • Do the annual goals and objectives meet the SMART criteria (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time limited)?
  • Did your office meet all its performance targets for the year?
  • Did you office meet all its goals and objectives for the year?
  • What recommendations do you have to offer?

Try this out on your office space whether your run a home office or a corporate environment.  And remember – there should be no surprises at performance review time.  Regular feedback on adjustment to performance of your office will ensure that those goals are met by the end of the year.

Office Organizing
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Getting the To Do’s to Done

Posted by Carolyn on
 September 16, 2009

Third quarter is over and your heading into the final stretch of your financial year. How are you doing on those business goals for your (your choice) a) portfolio b) directorate c) division d) company e) small business?

Getting things done, the old to do list, and making goals are all activities with which we are very familiar. Many of you have even been on courses to try and figure out how to get those goals accomplished so you can meet your targets.

One of the most powerful tools is merely the language that we use to tell ourselves what to do. Try rewriting that list of To Do’s using action verbs that clearly lead to a result rather than vague sentencing of outstanding items to be done. For example:

“Follow up with Jill regarding Great Project implementation” becomes
“Talk to Jill – Confirm implementation and target dates for Great Project have been met.”


Put some power into your To Do’s and watch the Got it Done’s add up.

Organizing Strategies
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First Quarter Review

Posted by Carolyn on
 April 1, 2009

How it happened I hardly know but here we are at the beginning of April. That means first quarter is over. How are those goals coming?

Have you checked your progress recently?
Do you know where you filed them?
Are they still valid?
Are they still realistic?
Did you implement the tools to measure them?
Were they measurable to begin with?
Are you happy with the progress?
Are you ready to celebrate your successes?

Where are your targets and goals for second quarter?
Are they specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time limited? (SMART)
Have you set up the tools to measure your progress?
Have you set up a review date?
Have you planned your celebration?
Have you shared the goals and your progress with your staff?
Is everyone focusing on the same organizational goals?

See you next quarter!

Office Organizing
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Organizing to Maintain your Sanity – 5 Ignore Criticism and Enjoy Bonus

Posted by Carolyn on
 March 23, 2009

You’ve heard it. I’ve heard it. We all know what it sounds like.

“Getting a little anal aren’t you? Turning into the next Martha S. here at the office?”

Here comes the criticism from those people, usually one person in particular, who can’t stand to let you reach a higher level of organization in your work. It might even be your boss. Who knows, maybe that person is jealous, envious or afraid that you might be more productive, more effective and receive the accompanying accolades that eludes them due to their disorganization.

They have every reason to be very, very afraid. Clutter gone, priorities shift and here you come with productivity in hand. Using the 15 to 45 minutes of routine, organizing maintenance that I have outlined in items 1 through 4 of this series, you will have freed up your mind away from the clutter and what you “should” be doing about it, to whatever your boss, organization or business really wants you to focus on.

If the naysayers want to focus on criticising you, let them do whatever. You’ve got product to sell, clients to support and staff to lead. You rock!

Home Organizing Office Organizing
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Quiet Hour for Executives

Posted by Carolyn on
 March 5, 2009

How often do you book a meeting with yourself in order to get time alone to work on a priority item? All too often, we feel guilty for booking time to ourselves rather than making ourselves available to the people in our business world. Consider, however, whether or not those priority items are in fact getting done on a timely basis with the number of distractions coming into your workspace during your regular work day.

Booking a quiet hour whether for a project, a task, or to think can be a very effective organizing tool for managers and executives. It is especially effective for planning time at the end of the day. The best time to plan for tomorrow’s agenda is at the end of today. Taking a quiet hour to review your priorities, plan out your day and block in your activities will increase your effectiveness as a leader and as an employee.

It may take a couple of times before the people around you realize that you really do mean to be left alone. Don’t answer the phone, email or door. Pretend that no one is in the office. Concentrate for that quiet hour on the task at hand. Pretty soon other people will learn to respect your time and need to work alone. Especially when they see the productivity that results!

Office Organizing
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Keeping New Year’s Resolutions

Posted by Carolyn on
 January 14, 2009

Many of you have made resolutions for the New Year – big juicy goals for your excellent life that you are creating.

How is that going for you? Here’s a site that might be helpful. Suite101.com offers a selection of articles on setting and keeping those resolutions. Here’s one that I found particularly helpful by Wie Yin Yong. New habits can be a challenge to establish – as frustrating as old one’s are to kick. This article on Making New Habits may be particularly helpful in anchoring the new bahiours in your life.

Organizing Strategies
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