Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Five-Part Organizing 1-2-3 Mini-eCourse
“Overcoming being Dis-organized: Practical advice for De-cluttered spaces and Organized daily living”
Part One "Organizing 1-2-3 Mini-eCourse"
To be able to ORGANIZE is a skill that can be LEARNED. It is not inherited! There are ways out of the struggles! Get successful in life again! GET IN CONTROL AGAIN!
The Organizing 1-2-3 eBook has strategies and solutions that work! Learn to use those Strategies and solutions to work FOR YOU!!! YOU ARE ABLE TO CHOOSE FOR THE BETTER AND ARE CAPABLE TO DEAL WITH YOUR DE-CLUTTERING AND ORGANIZING OPTIONS DECISIVELY.
IF YOU STRUGGLE AND SUFFER PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF BEING DISORGANIZED, THEN THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU! YOU CAN NOW DO SOMETHING MEANINGFUL TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE! There is some real truth and wisdom in the following:
“Organization is not an option, it is a fundamental survival skill and distinct competitive advantage” ~ Pam N. Woods
“It takes but one positive thought when given a chance to survive and thrive to overpower an entire army of negative thoughts.” - Robert H. Schuller.
Whatever your personal strategy for dealing effectively with DE-CLUTTERING DESPAIR, be sure to take into account the following:
You’re always behind, always late, always apologizing to people! It’s distracting, demoralizing, embarrassing! You are terrified of someone calling you up on very short notice to say they are dropping in unexpectedly. You feel that you can do so much more if only you were organized!
It is now within your reach! Go for it! Wouldn’t it be nice to feel in control, feel ready for life, and enjoying life? That is what organizing can do for you! One secret to success in organizing is the ability to prioritize your various commitments, enlist the help of others, and not sweat the small stuff.
First, you can enjoy "Part One" of the FREE, five-part mini-e-course, which is taken straight from this newly released Organizing 1-2-3 eBook.
Organizing can be immensely gratifying in this changing world with its increasing demands. It is not for the faint hearted though, since it sometimes will require courage, lots of persistence, self discipline and self control. It will invariably result in a character building exercise in most areas of your life.
Organizing is not a talent…..it is a skill, a remarkably simple skill that anyone can learn! All that you need is the willingness and the desire to learn a whole new approach to the organizing process, a change of heart, a change in the way you think about it.
Developing an understanding of what’s been holding you back in all your past efforts, possibly causing you untold emotional suffering. There are very specific skills, techniques and tools that you need to learn that will make organizing manageable, tolerable, attainable and……even fun, especially in hindsight when you will be reaping all the benefits!
Just think of the sense of achievement you will enjoy when you have acquired these new and sustainable skills that will put YOU in control of the clutter, instead of feeling frustrated, overwhelmed and depressed!
If you find yourself in real need for some deeper insights into what it actually takes to successfully and effectively GET TO DEAL WITH THESE ISSUES TODAY, HERE AND NOW, ONCE AND FOR ALL, then this is the e-course for you!
Part One in our five-day series of the FREE, five-part mini-e-course, which is taken straight from this newly released Organizing 1-2-3 eBook.
“Overcoming being Dis-organized: Practical advice for De-cluttered spaces and Organized daily living”
This practical course will help you make the most of PERSONAL AND NATURAL INTERVENTION STRATEGIES FOR DEALING WITH BEING DIS-ORGANIZED and ANXIOUS.
Maybe you started to believe that organizing must be a mysterious talent that only a few privileged people are born with, and the unlucky rest of us will inevitably keep suffering for our lack of knowledge in that area.
But there is hope to get out of your maze … even for the most notoriously disorganized person! You can turn yourself around! We can learn to be smart and outsmart our messy problem! You can tackle this and achieve success!
Organizing is much more than just throwing the clutter out. It is about establishing new and invigorating environments that will inspire you to unleash your creative thinking. It will give you a sense of your own personal power and develop the sweetest sense of achievement that will motivate you to no end in reaching far more than you ever thought you were capable of.
Best of all, it will free you to pursue the higher goals, dreams and ideals you have in life. You will have so much more time than you ever thought possible by living the life you thought could only be a dream….. your spirit will soar free in stead of being chained to the grinding despair of constantly drowning in oceans of clutter!
The constant stress from living with a chronic clutter problem can possibly affect your health. It makes a person feel overwhelmed and powerless to change things around them.
With so much disorder and unnecessary items about, you will find it is difficult to be focused and life will feel more and more like a meaningless struggle. Along with your energy, your spirit seems to sag and you may lose interest in life and feel depressed. Don’t allow things to slip out of control so far! It is time to dig in. Get your space organized, get back in control!
Thank you for reading Part One of this mini-ecourse and I hope it has been informative for you! Remember that you can learn organizational skills to live the life of your dreams!
You will be moving on to read Part Two of this mini-ecourse below. However, if you know that you are already interested in the Organizing 1-2-3 eBook, I have a special introductory offer that might not last long. Receive your ebook for just $9.97 by using a special discount code Spring10! ACT NOW, BEFORE THEY ARE GONE! So grab this special price while you can!
Part Two "Organizing 1-2-3 FREE Mini-eCourse"
“Overcoming being Dis-organized: Practical advice for De-cluttered spaces and Organized daily living”
TODAY, we are continuing our discussion on OVERCOMING BEING DIS-ORGANIZED, and more strategies you may want to implement to cope better, while working on getting rid of the CLUTTER once and for all. You need your family’s support to maintain your new organizing systems once you have conquered the clutter.
Learning and practicing better communication skills is a wonderful way to reconnect to your family and heal relationships that may have been damaged. Three basic skills are invaluable and critical to enabling families to function properly on all levels:
Suffering as result of being disorganized is a most personal, intimate and emotionally painful matter that affects one’s self-image, so one tends to focus on one’s imperfections and shortcomings and starts to question one’s self-worth. If you are discouraged and feel as if your whole life is disintegrating under the weight of this problem, then the Organizing 1-2-3 eBook is for you!
Anxiousness and irritability often results, as well as secrecy, shame and withdrawal, as the individual realizes that his or her behavior is not desirable or understandable to others, so social events are avoided. People that continue to live in cluttered, messy conditions may even experience depression.
We have to learn how the inner drive mechanisms work and, more importantly, how to change things - only then will we have the knowledge and power to overcome the natural setbacks that may occur and gradually start to control the compulsion to procrastinate and aggravate the situation further.
Disorganized people deal with their embarrassment and emotional pain in different ways, like avoidance of other people, hiding, denying, over compensation or costly interventions just to get rid of the nightmare.
Are you there too?
Again, thank you for reading Part Two in our five-day series of the FREE, five-part mini-e-course, which is taken straight from this newly released Organizing 1-2-3 eBook. We will now continue on to Part Three of this mini-ecourse below.
Part Three "Organizing 1-2-3 FREE Mini-eCourse"
“Overcoming being Dis-organized: Practical advice for De-cluttered spaces and Organized daily living”
In order to create a lasting solution, ask probing questions first, plan well and then attempt to organize the disarray afterwards in a rational, unemotional and well planned way. First, think everything through and design a system based on your unique personality and adjusted accordingly.
You need to design an environment that is a reflection of who you are and the way you operate. Your aim is to create an environment that you find easy to maintain because it comes natural to you and is tweaked to your needs. Most people think that when they get organized they have to change who they are. That is why their systems don’t last or work for long before they fall back into bad patterns and ways.
You keep trying to retrain and force yourself to be more disciplined and do things differently to what comes natural to you and what you like and feel most at ease and comfortable with. Come up with alternatives that allow you to work where you are most comfortable, like doing your bills on the kitchen table instead of the back office. Adjust things according to your natural inclinations and habits. Make it work for you and not against you to avoid frustration and the sense of failure. Set yourself up for success and not for failing in your own eyes.
It is possible to adjust your lifestyle to promote your general well being and state of mind. How I live and feel, what I eat, exercise, cope with stress and sleep may make a world of difference in how I cope with the challenge of becoming organized – or not! Are you eating right, drinking enough water each day, getting enough fresh air, sunshine and exercise? If not, you can certainly do something about it.
When deciding whether to save or toss something, use the “W_A_S_T_E” acronym to help you.
1. Is the item Worthwhile to keep?
2. Will you be using this item Again? If you haven’t used it in a year, you probably won’t need it again. If you don’t use it, lose it!
3. Can this item easily be found Somewhere else?
4. Will anything serious happen if you Toss it? Toss or donate old stuff when you buy new items, except when you attach huge sentimental value to the items.
5. Do you need the Entire thing? If not, keep what you need and toss or donate the rest.
My personal choices may make the difference between losing and winning the battle. Even if I don’t have a lot of options in life, there is still one thing I have a choice about - my attitude. I can achieve amazing things if I have the right attitude and put my resolve behind it – not allowing negative feelings to drag me down. “I can achieve anything that I really put my will and heart behind!” Don’t allow the enormity of your challenge to obscure all the avenues for growth and forward movement that may be available to you!
Even if you are at the point of discouragement, somewhere down there in your spirit you still find enough resolve to make that decision of your will to turn your life around. Developing good personal habits are crucial. Whether you love and accept yourself, know who you are, what you want in life and where you are going creates a sense of self-respect, self-esteem, and self-worth that others instinctively feel and will treat you accordingly.
Regardless of your particular case, requirements or obstacles, you will find some help, encouragement and motivation for a happy life here!
Again, thank you for reading this mini-ecourse and I hope Part Three has been informative for you!
Part Four of this mini-ecourse is listed below. However, if you know that you are already interested in the Organizing 1-2-3 eBook, I have a special discount offer that might not last long. Receive your ebook for just $9.97 when you use the Spring10 discount code during check out! ACT NOW, BEFORE THEY ARE GONE! So grab this special price while you can!
Part Four "Organizing 1-2-3 FREE Mini-eCourse"
“Overcoming being Dis-organized: Practical advice for De-cluttered spaces and Organized daily living”
Harmonize and Synergize your life, your space and … SIMPLIFY! If your primary goal is to live in a neat, clutter-free environment, think of creating a smart system in which to operate freely, saving you valuable time as result of not having to hunt for lost items. Having more time to spend doing what you enjoy most is everyone’s dream.
By designing your own system, you will find methods of doing things and tasks in easier ways that might otherwise have been a strain. Papers cluster everywhere in every area of the home and need to first be cleaned up in order to create order and clear surfaces. Items lying around without purpose should be put away in designated places.
Designate a place for every item of value in your entire home. Use baskets, bins or drawers to store away items. Use files or folders to organize and store papers. With designated places established, it is much easier to remain organized.
To become organized it is crucial to break out of the very negative, self-defeating and often destructive ways of thinking that often have become so automatic, ingrained – and chronic, that you are not even aware of the negativity of it anymore. This you can do with the strong desire from within yourself to change from this situation where you are just “existing” in and break free to a new life that’s enjoyable and worth living.
Stress makes most challenges worse. Some psychological effects that a very disorganized person may experience include fears, emotional turmoil, frustration, social isolation, hopelessness, despair and even depression and anxiety. Relationship problems and struggles to cope with career demands and just day-by-day functioning as a human being become huge challenges in themselves, because the person loses a balanced perspective on life and focuses only on the condition that has become the problem that their life revolves around.
To decrease stress you may consider exploring relaxation and breathing disciplines, visualization techniques, music, self-awareness, mindfulness and consciously choosing to approach life from a positive point of view.
Organizing is not a goal or an end in itself. It is not a destination, but a significant doorway to achieving your dreams and higher goals, a better life, more time and energy to enjoy the things you love and that are important to you. It is a powerful motivator, and it’s absence is as powerful a discouragement.
You are designing a system that achieves far more than clean counter tops. Learning the skills to be organized is the greatest gift that you can ever give yourself! Applying these skills that you can learn is a way of taking care of yourself and greatly improving your sense of well-being. Achieving success in learning organizing skills will enable you to have time to serve others much better as you will be in control of your own situation, no longer discouraged, anxious or depressed!
Learn more about BECOMING ORGANIZED in this newly released Organizing 1-2-3 eBook. Again, thank you for reading this mini-ecourse and I hope Part Four has been informative for you!
“Overcoming being Dis-organized: Practical advice for De-cluttered spaces and Organized daily living”
Your final Part Five of your five-day "Organizing 1-2-3 FREE Mini-eCourse" is here! We stress yet again at this point that no TWO individuals are the same, neither will face the same circumstances, challenges or have similar obstacles to overcome. If you want to have more time to do the things you enjoy, organizing yourself is KEY! That is why it is so utterly important that you take a hands-on and proactive approach for making a difference in your own life. IT IS UP TO YOU AND IN YOUR HANDS!
To succeed and push through your organizing project you need a strong motivation "beyond” the clutter, a compelling reason, a goal you seriously want to reach. Think about the space you want to organize and ask yourself why do you want to do it. What is your compelling reason? What big picture goal in your life are you going to accomplish because that space is organized? This goal will be your compelling reason and your beacon to work towards completing the whole process.
Why try to remember everything? Help your memory by writing things down immediately when you think of what needs to be done. Prioritize your lists. Plan ahead for the next day and assign priorities to the tasks you need to do according to their importance. Planning can save you enormous amounts of time. It is important to have a motivated and positive “I CAN remember” and “I CAN do it” attitude.
Simplify your space and life! Create a simple organizing system. Zones are key. Organize any space in different zones of activity and group similar or related items or required tools together close to where the activity happens. Create places for things and assign designated places for grouping related items together close to the relevant activity zones. Then your space will work for you and help you maintain order in a natural way. Develop an efficient and very simple model to use in every space you have to organize. Divide the space in activity zones, where everything needed is stored at it’s point of use in cute, functional and efficient containers. All you need is right there!
Very important is the healing of relationships, where everyone works together for the common good to create harmony. This is worth striving for and may need some personal sacrifice, unselfishness and a very mature approach. This will make for good character building for everyone involved.
Awareness of the chaos they create and the dire need to change towards becoming more organized, and lots of encouragement instead of rejection and resentment will go a long way to help a person to grow into an attitude of honestly wanting to better themselves through acquiring and developing those organizing skills, as well as the indispensable self-discipline that is vital for success. The decision to change must come from deep inside the core of the person involved. He or she needs to choose for him or herself and then act upon it. IT IS POSSIBLE!!!
If we want to change, develop and grow, we can't let fear hold us back.
Once we understand why we believe and behave as we do there are many things we can do that let go of the past and move forward, develop more accurate, positive feelings about ourselves and to develop feelings of being in control and confidence, seeing reality as it is without the negative self-talk! Understanding your own behavior and that of others, acceptance of our own 'faults' and those of others and appreciating the effect of disorganized behavior on others can go a long way to help YOU stand up and deal with the mess right NOW!!!!
NOW IT IS UP TO YOU to foster a strong mental attitude towards your challenge. LET THE ORGANIZING 1-2-3 eBOOK WORK FOR YOU TO RID YOU PERMANENTLY OF THE SHADOW OF BEING DISORGANIZED! Discover A ROOM BY ROOM PLAN AND ACTION STRATEGY TO TAKE CHARGE AND LIVE AN ORGANIZED LIFE!
GET YOUR (TIDY) LIFE BACK! IT’S POSSIBLE! YOU CAN BE ORGANIZED! PUT YOURSELF BACK IN CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE! TODAY! YOU CAN DO IT!!!
Again, thank you for reading Part Five of the "Organizing 1-2-3 FREE Mini-eCourse". We look forward to hearing how you made out and what you have learned in the process.
Here is just some of what you will be learning from this newly released Organizing 1-2-3 eBook:
De-clutter and Clean Up
Insider Tips on getting and keeping yourself, spaces and life organized
Pains and Challenges of DIS-ARRAY and DISORGANIZATION
Harmonize and Synergize your life, space and SIMPLIFY!
Get priorities right and categorize
Sort, Donate, Toss, Sell
Art and Science of ORGANIZED living
Enable your Lifestyle and customize your living space
Creative Genius can change your life FOREVER
Time, Priorities and Lists
Mothers, Homes and Rewards of NOT BEING DISORGANIZED!
Ideas how to organize your children
… and much, much MORE!
At this point, I know you must be interested in the Organizing 1-2-3 eBook. This "how to" eBook will help you get to the bottom of the matter in one cover-to-cover, easy-to-use reference guide. Get all the facts and information you need to make the most of dealing effectively with BEING DIS-ORGANIZED! Make things simple today! YOU can learn the skills to become highly ORGANIZED!!! What are you waiting for? Order your Organizing 1-2-3 eBook today and take advantage of this limited time, special introductory offer. That is right, REMEMBER, you will pay just $9.97 when you take advantage of using the Spring Special discount code Spring10 during check out! BUT YOU MUST ORDER NOW - THIS WILL NOT LAST!
Learn Strategies and solutions that work!
On Sale Now with a Spring Special Discount Code: Spring10
Act Now ~ Order Your Organizing 1-2-3 e-book NOW by clicking on the button below that says "Add To Cart" and don't forget to include your special discount code Spring10 for $10.00 off the original price.
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Part One "Organizing 1-2-3 Mini-eCourse"
To be able to ORGANIZE is a skill that can be LEARNED. It is not inherited! There are ways out of the struggles! Get successful in life again! GET IN CONTROL AGAIN!
The Organizing 1-2-3 eBook has strategies and solutions that work! Learn to use those Strategies and solutions to work FOR YOU!!! YOU ARE ABLE TO CHOOSE FOR THE BETTER AND ARE CAPABLE TO DEAL WITH YOUR DE-CLUTTERING AND ORGANIZING OPTIONS DECISIVELY.
IF YOU STRUGGLE AND SUFFER PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF BEING DISORGANIZED, THEN THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU! YOU CAN NOW DO SOMETHING MEANINGFUL TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE! There is some real truth and wisdom in the following:
“Organization is not an option, it is a fundamental survival skill and distinct competitive advantage” ~ Pam N. Woods
“It takes but one positive thought when given a chance to survive and thrive to overpower an entire army of negative thoughts.” - Robert H. Schuller.
Whatever your personal strategy for dealing effectively with DE-CLUTTERING DESPAIR, be sure to take into account the following:
- Negative thought patterns to be avoided
- All or nothing – if it’s not perfect, it’s not worth it
- Negative self-talk – I can’t, I’m a failure…
- Overgeneralization – seeing a single event as making all of life a disaster
- Catastrophization – each little problem is the end of the world
- Mind reading –assuming people to think the worst of you
- Fortune telling – “knowing” things will turn out badly and acting as if they are
- Accentuating the negative – ignoring positive things and exaggerating negative ones
- Self-blame – using guilt to motivate yourself, or unfair self-blame
You’re always behind, always late, always apologizing to people! It’s distracting, demoralizing, embarrassing! You are terrified of someone calling you up on very short notice to say they are dropping in unexpectedly. You feel that you can do so much more if only you were organized!
It is now within your reach! Go for it! Wouldn’t it be nice to feel in control, feel ready for life, and enjoying life? That is what organizing can do for you! One secret to success in organizing is the ability to prioritize your various commitments, enlist the help of others, and not sweat the small stuff.
First, you can enjoy "Part One" of the FREE, five-part mini-e-course, which is taken straight from this newly released Organizing 1-2-3 eBook.
Organizing can be immensely gratifying in this changing world with its increasing demands. It is not for the faint hearted though, since it sometimes will require courage, lots of persistence, self discipline and self control. It will invariably result in a character building exercise in most areas of your life.
Organizing is not a talent…..it is a skill, a remarkably simple skill that anyone can learn! All that you need is the willingness and the desire to learn a whole new approach to the organizing process, a change of heart, a change in the way you think about it.
Developing an understanding of what’s been holding you back in all your past efforts, possibly causing you untold emotional suffering. There are very specific skills, techniques and tools that you need to learn that will make organizing manageable, tolerable, attainable and……even fun, especially in hindsight when you will be reaping all the benefits!
Just think of the sense of achievement you will enjoy when you have acquired these new and sustainable skills that will put YOU in control of the clutter, instead of feeling frustrated, overwhelmed and depressed!
If you find yourself in real need for some deeper insights into what it actually takes to successfully and effectively GET TO DEAL WITH THESE ISSUES TODAY, HERE AND NOW, ONCE AND FOR ALL, then this is the e-course for you!
Part One in our five-day series of the FREE, five-part mini-e-course, which is taken straight from this newly released Organizing 1-2-3 eBook.
“Overcoming being Dis-organized: Practical advice for De-cluttered spaces and Organized daily living”
This practical course will help you make the most of PERSONAL AND NATURAL INTERVENTION STRATEGIES FOR DEALING WITH BEING DIS-ORGANIZED and ANXIOUS.
Maybe you started to believe that organizing must be a mysterious talent that only a few privileged people are born with, and the unlucky rest of us will inevitably keep suffering for our lack of knowledge in that area.
But there is hope to get out of your maze … even for the most notoriously disorganized person! You can turn yourself around! We can learn to be smart and outsmart our messy problem! You can tackle this and achieve success!
Organizing is much more than just throwing the clutter out. It is about establishing new and invigorating environments that will inspire you to unleash your creative thinking. It will give you a sense of your own personal power and develop the sweetest sense of achievement that will motivate you to no end in reaching far more than you ever thought you were capable of.
Best of all, it will free you to pursue the higher goals, dreams and ideals you have in life. You will have so much more time than you ever thought possible by living the life you thought could only be a dream….. your spirit will soar free in stead of being chained to the grinding despair of constantly drowning in oceans of clutter!
The constant stress from living with a chronic clutter problem can possibly affect your health. It makes a person feel overwhelmed and powerless to change things around them.
With so much disorder and unnecessary items about, you will find it is difficult to be focused and life will feel more and more like a meaningless struggle. Along with your energy, your spirit seems to sag and you may lose interest in life and feel depressed. Don’t allow things to slip out of control so far! It is time to dig in. Get your space organized, get back in control!
Thank you for reading Part One of this mini-ecourse and I hope it has been informative for you! Remember that you can learn organizational skills to live the life of your dreams!
You will be moving on to read Part Two of this mini-ecourse below. However, if you know that you are already interested in the Organizing 1-2-3 eBook, I have a special introductory offer that might not last long. Receive your ebook for just $9.97 by using a special discount code Spring10! ACT NOW, BEFORE THEY ARE GONE! So grab this special price while you can!
Part Two "Organizing 1-2-3 FREE Mini-eCourse"
“Overcoming being Dis-organized: Practical advice for De-cluttered spaces and Organized daily living”
TODAY, we are continuing our discussion on OVERCOMING BEING DIS-ORGANIZED, and more strategies you may want to implement to cope better, while working on getting rid of the CLUTTER once and for all. You need your family’s support to maintain your new organizing systems once you have conquered the clutter.
Learning and practicing better communication skills is a wonderful way to reconnect to your family and heal relationships that may have been damaged. Three basic skills are invaluable and critical to enabling families to function properly on all levels:
- The ability to listen to and hear each other respectfully without interruptions
- Respecting each other’s individuality and right to own opinions
- The ability to distinguish behaviors from persons so that undesired behavior may be rejected but never the person (Asking the person to change behavior rather than judging or blaming him or her personally)
Suffering as result of being disorganized is a most personal, intimate and emotionally painful matter that affects one’s self-image, so one tends to focus on one’s imperfections and shortcomings and starts to question one’s self-worth. If you are discouraged and feel as if your whole life is disintegrating under the weight of this problem, then the Organizing 1-2-3 eBook is for you!
Anxiousness and irritability often results, as well as secrecy, shame and withdrawal, as the individual realizes that his or her behavior is not desirable or understandable to others, so social events are avoided. People that continue to live in cluttered, messy conditions may even experience depression.
We have to learn how the inner drive mechanisms work and, more importantly, how to change things - only then will we have the knowledge and power to overcome the natural setbacks that may occur and gradually start to control the compulsion to procrastinate and aggravate the situation further.
Disorganized people deal with their embarrassment and emotional pain in different ways, like avoidance of other people, hiding, denying, over compensation or costly interventions just to get rid of the nightmare.
Are you there too?
Again, thank you for reading Part Two in our five-day series of the FREE, five-part mini-e-course, which is taken straight from this newly released Organizing 1-2-3 eBook. We will now continue on to Part Three of this mini-ecourse below.
Part Three "Organizing 1-2-3 FREE Mini-eCourse"
“Overcoming being Dis-organized: Practical advice for De-cluttered spaces and Organized daily living”
In order to create a lasting solution, ask probing questions first, plan well and then attempt to organize the disarray afterwards in a rational, unemotional and well planned way. First, think everything through and design a system based on your unique personality and adjusted accordingly.
You need to design an environment that is a reflection of who you are and the way you operate. Your aim is to create an environment that you find easy to maintain because it comes natural to you and is tweaked to your needs. Most people think that when they get organized they have to change who they are. That is why their systems don’t last or work for long before they fall back into bad patterns and ways.
You keep trying to retrain and force yourself to be more disciplined and do things differently to what comes natural to you and what you like and feel most at ease and comfortable with. Come up with alternatives that allow you to work where you are most comfortable, like doing your bills on the kitchen table instead of the back office. Adjust things according to your natural inclinations and habits. Make it work for you and not against you to avoid frustration and the sense of failure. Set yourself up for success and not for failing in your own eyes.
It is possible to adjust your lifestyle to promote your general well being and state of mind. How I live and feel, what I eat, exercise, cope with stress and sleep may make a world of difference in how I cope with the challenge of becoming organized – or not! Are you eating right, drinking enough water each day, getting enough fresh air, sunshine and exercise? If not, you can certainly do something about it.
When deciding whether to save or toss something, use the “W_A_S_T_E” acronym to help you.
1. Is the item Worthwhile to keep?
2. Will you be using this item Again? If you haven’t used it in a year, you probably won’t need it again. If you don’t use it, lose it!
3. Can this item easily be found Somewhere else?
4. Will anything serious happen if you Toss it? Toss or donate old stuff when you buy new items, except when you attach huge sentimental value to the items.
5. Do you need the Entire thing? If not, keep what you need and toss or donate the rest.
My personal choices may make the difference between losing and winning the battle. Even if I don’t have a lot of options in life, there is still one thing I have a choice about - my attitude. I can achieve amazing things if I have the right attitude and put my resolve behind it – not allowing negative feelings to drag me down. “I can achieve anything that I really put my will and heart behind!” Don’t allow the enormity of your challenge to obscure all the avenues for growth and forward movement that may be available to you!
Even if you are at the point of discouragement, somewhere down there in your spirit you still find enough resolve to make that decision of your will to turn your life around. Developing good personal habits are crucial. Whether you love and accept yourself, know who you are, what you want in life and where you are going creates a sense of self-respect, self-esteem, and self-worth that others instinctively feel and will treat you accordingly.
Regardless of your particular case, requirements or obstacles, you will find some help, encouragement and motivation for a happy life here!
Again, thank you for reading this mini-ecourse and I hope Part Three has been informative for you!
Part Four of this mini-ecourse is listed below. However, if you know that you are already interested in the Organizing 1-2-3 eBook, I have a special discount offer that might not last long. Receive your ebook for just $9.97 when you use the Spring10 discount code during check out! ACT NOW, BEFORE THEY ARE GONE! So grab this special price while you can!
Part Four "Organizing 1-2-3 FREE Mini-eCourse"
“Overcoming being Dis-organized: Practical advice for De-cluttered spaces and Organized daily living”
Harmonize and Synergize your life, your space and … SIMPLIFY! If your primary goal is to live in a neat, clutter-free environment, think of creating a smart system in which to operate freely, saving you valuable time as result of not having to hunt for lost items. Having more time to spend doing what you enjoy most is everyone’s dream.
By designing your own system, you will find methods of doing things and tasks in easier ways that might otherwise have been a strain. Papers cluster everywhere in every area of the home and need to first be cleaned up in order to create order and clear surfaces. Items lying around without purpose should be put away in designated places.
Designate a place for every item of value in your entire home. Use baskets, bins or drawers to store away items. Use files or folders to organize and store papers. With designated places established, it is much easier to remain organized.
To become organized it is crucial to break out of the very negative, self-defeating and often destructive ways of thinking that often have become so automatic, ingrained – and chronic, that you are not even aware of the negativity of it anymore. This you can do with the strong desire from within yourself to change from this situation where you are just “existing” in and break free to a new life that’s enjoyable and worth living.
Stress makes most challenges worse. Some psychological effects that a very disorganized person may experience include fears, emotional turmoil, frustration, social isolation, hopelessness, despair and even depression and anxiety. Relationship problems and struggles to cope with career demands and just day-by-day functioning as a human being become huge challenges in themselves, because the person loses a balanced perspective on life and focuses only on the condition that has become the problem that their life revolves around.
To decrease stress you may consider exploring relaxation and breathing disciplines, visualization techniques, music, self-awareness, mindfulness and consciously choosing to approach life from a positive point of view.
Organizing is not a goal or an end in itself. It is not a destination, but a significant doorway to achieving your dreams and higher goals, a better life, more time and energy to enjoy the things you love and that are important to you. It is a powerful motivator, and it’s absence is as powerful a discouragement.
You are designing a system that achieves far more than clean counter tops. Learning the skills to be organized is the greatest gift that you can ever give yourself! Applying these skills that you can learn is a way of taking care of yourself and greatly improving your sense of well-being. Achieving success in learning organizing skills will enable you to have time to serve others much better as you will be in control of your own situation, no longer discouraged, anxious or depressed!
Learn more about BECOMING ORGANIZED in this newly released Organizing 1-2-3 eBook. Again, thank you for reading this mini-ecourse and I hope Part Four has been informative for you!
Part Five "Organizing 1-2-3 FREE Mini-eCourse"
“Overcoming being Dis-organized: Practical advice for De-cluttered spaces and Organized daily living”
Your final Part Five of your five-day "Organizing 1-2-3 FREE Mini-eCourse" is here! We stress yet again at this point that no TWO individuals are the same, neither will face the same circumstances, challenges or have similar obstacles to overcome. If you want to have more time to do the things you enjoy, organizing yourself is KEY! That is why it is so utterly important that you take a hands-on and proactive approach for making a difference in your own life. IT IS UP TO YOU AND IN YOUR HANDS!
To succeed and push through your organizing project you need a strong motivation "beyond” the clutter, a compelling reason, a goal you seriously want to reach. Think about the space you want to organize and ask yourself why do you want to do it. What is your compelling reason? What big picture goal in your life are you going to accomplish because that space is organized? This goal will be your compelling reason and your beacon to work towards completing the whole process.
Why try to remember everything? Help your memory by writing things down immediately when you think of what needs to be done. Prioritize your lists. Plan ahead for the next day and assign priorities to the tasks you need to do according to their importance. Planning can save you enormous amounts of time. It is important to have a motivated and positive “I CAN remember” and “I CAN do it” attitude.
Simplify your space and life! Create a simple organizing system. Zones are key. Organize any space in different zones of activity and group similar or related items or required tools together close to where the activity happens. Create places for things and assign designated places for grouping related items together close to the relevant activity zones. Then your space will work for you and help you maintain order in a natural way. Develop an efficient and very simple model to use in every space you have to organize. Divide the space in activity zones, where everything needed is stored at it’s point of use in cute, functional and efficient containers. All you need is right there!
Very important is the healing of relationships, where everyone works together for the common good to create harmony. This is worth striving for and may need some personal sacrifice, unselfishness and a very mature approach. This will make for good character building for everyone involved.
Awareness of the chaos they create and the dire need to change towards becoming more organized, and lots of encouragement instead of rejection and resentment will go a long way to help a person to grow into an attitude of honestly wanting to better themselves through acquiring and developing those organizing skills, as well as the indispensable self-discipline that is vital for success. The decision to change must come from deep inside the core of the person involved. He or she needs to choose for him or herself and then act upon it. IT IS POSSIBLE!!!
If we want to change, develop and grow, we can't let fear hold us back.
Once we understand why we believe and behave as we do there are many things we can do that let go of the past and move forward, develop more accurate, positive feelings about ourselves and to develop feelings of being in control and confidence, seeing reality as it is without the negative self-talk! Understanding your own behavior and that of others, acceptance of our own 'faults' and those of others and appreciating the effect of disorganized behavior on others can go a long way to help YOU stand up and deal with the mess right NOW!!!!
NOW IT IS UP TO YOU to foster a strong mental attitude towards your challenge. LET THE ORGANIZING 1-2-3 eBOOK WORK FOR YOU TO RID YOU PERMANENTLY OF THE SHADOW OF BEING DISORGANIZED! Discover A ROOM BY ROOM PLAN AND ACTION STRATEGY TO TAKE CHARGE AND LIVE AN ORGANIZED LIFE!
GET YOUR (TIDY) LIFE BACK! IT’S POSSIBLE! YOU CAN BE ORGANIZED! PUT YOURSELF BACK IN CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE! TODAY! YOU CAN DO IT!!!
Again, thank you for reading Part Five of the "Organizing 1-2-3 FREE Mini-eCourse". We look forward to hearing how you made out and what you have learned in the process.
Here is just some of what you will be learning from this newly released Organizing 1-2-3 eBook:
De-clutter and Clean Up
Insider Tips on getting and keeping yourself, spaces and life organized
Pains and Challenges of DIS-ARRAY and DISORGANIZATION
Harmonize and Synergize your life, space and SIMPLIFY!
Get priorities right and categorize
Sort, Donate, Toss, Sell
Art and Science of ORGANIZED living
Enable your Lifestyle and customize your living space
Creative Genius can change your life FOREVER
Time, Priorities and Lists
Mothers, Homes and Rewards of NOT BEING DISORGANIZED!
Ideas how to organize your children
… and much, much MORE!
At this point, I know you must be interested in the Organizing 1-2-3 eBook. This "how to" eBook will help you get to the bottom of the matter in one cover-to-cover, easy-to-use reference guide. Get all the facts and information you need to make the most of dealing effectively with BEING DIS-ORGANIZED! Make things simple today! YOU can learn the skills to become highly ORGANIZED!!! What are you waiting for? Order your Organizing 1-2-3 eBook today and take advantage of this limited time, special introductory offer. That is right, REMEMBER, you will pay just $9.97 when you take advantage of using the Spring Special discount code Spring10 during check out! BUT YOU MUST ORDER NOW - THIS WILL NOT LAST!
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What is an Organizing Coach?
By Ariane Benefit
When I tell people that I'm an organizing coach, I often get a puzzled look. Then I get the questions. What is that? How can you possibly help someone get organized if you aren't in their home? Well, the truth is that coaching can be an extremely effective. And it's less expensive than getting organized with a hands-on organizer.
You can learn a lot from reading organizing books, but it's still not easy to figure out how what you learn actually applies to your life and situation. It's not easy to see yourself, your stuff and your life objectively. Coaching helps you see your life - and your stuff - in a whole new way. With a caring coach to guide you and ask the questions that help you make decisions, you can get the results you seek much faster than when left to chance. Working with an organizing coach helps you understand and prioritize your organizing needs, stay focused, learn new skills, and change the habits that caused disorganization.
What an Organizing Coach Does
An effective organizing coach is someone who helps you:
- Understand what is causing your situation
- Develop a compelling vision of how organizing will change your life
- Create a master plan, chunk out your organizing projects, and decide where to start
- Identify create solutions to your needs, and determine how to get the job done so it doesn't overwhelm you
- Get over procrastination and stay focused on your vision of a better life
- Release the negative self-talk that is holding you back
- Overcome obstacles one by one so you can simplify, organize and energize your life.
Your coach should be someone who is entirely on your side, won't judge you, and provides a fresh perspective to help you let go of mental, emotional and physical clutter. Using a process that is a combination of deep listening, questioning, guiding, sharing, teaching, problem-solving, celebrating & cheerleading, a good coach will help you stay focused on your vision, build confidence in your yourself, develop skills, and stay motivated to take action so you can achieve your vision.
A Good Coach:
- Listens - Deep listening allows you to get to the heart of the matter quickly
- Questions - Asking the right questions helps you honor your inner wisdom
- Shares - Sharing information and skills helps you feel empowered and confident
- Celebrates - Celebrating accomplishments energizes and propels you to move forward!
Why do People Seek Out an Organizing Coach? People seek coaching for a variety of reasons. You may have:
- Changed your life in a big way such as going back to school, changing careers, getting married, having a child, or moving
- An ongoing problem that has escalated to a level of pain you can no longer tolerate
- Experienced an unplanned life transition or event that has shaken up your life and caused chaos
Or you may just want to make your life easier, simpler, and better! Some of my coaching clients include people who have:
- Recently moved and are having difficulty getting unpacked and settled in. The chaos is draining them so badly that they just can't seem to make progress.
- Gotten married and need to merge their stuff but their spouse has a different style.
- Had a child or a second or third that has left them feeling overwhelmed.
- Kids with special needs they want to help organize.
- Paper clutter that was bad has gotten worse. They've different approaches but they just aren't working. They need a SIMPLE solution to conquering paper for once and for all!
- A job they hate or recently lost a job and want to discover their true passion and decide on a meaningful direction for their life.
- Trouble being on time. Their boss has told them that lateness and disorganization is affecting their performance and they won't get a raise or be considered for a promotion.
- A hard time letting go of things and now that they are getting older, the stuff is starting to suffocate them. Their habits of keeping things are so ingrained they get overwhelmed when they try to let go alone.
If your quality of life is going downhill because you have clutter that is distracting you, wasting your time and keeping you from doing the things you love, you need to make room for new and better opportunities. When you are ready to get it together and get organized so you can get what you want out of life, a coach can help you make your goals a reality. Whatever your situation, if you are ready for a change, and willing to take time out to take focused action to make your dreams a reality, coaching may be just what you need.
© 2006 Ariane Benefit
Get fresh ideas for simplifying life at http://www.arianebenefit.com. Ariane Benefit, M.S.Ed. is a Life Design Coach, speaker and author with over 25 years experience working with Fortune 500 businesses, non-profits, purpose-driven self-employed professionals and passionate individuals to uplevel their performance, heal chronic disorganization, clutter and overwhelm, and to design more function, flow and fulfillment into life and work. She has appeared on NPR and been quoted in Psychology Today, the Wall Street Journal, New York Newsday, and more.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ariane_Benefit
The Truth About Organizing
By Ariane Benefit
"A clean desk is a sign of a sick mind." Really?
Many people think that organizing is about spend all your time keeping your home perfectly neat and tidy. Or about buying lots of expensive containers. Perhaps when you think of an organized Mom you think of someone like Bree on Desperate Housewives who lives to be organized instead of organizing to live.
Some people figure that if they aren't obsessed with organizing, they won't really become organized so why bother organizing at all? The truth is that just being reasonably organized enhances your whole life. It improves your self-confidence, self-respect, and overall well being. It lowers stress and helps you find more time and energy to do the things in life that matter most to you, like spending time with family, pursuing creative hobbies, eating healthy, and exercising.
Organizing is NOT about being tidy all the time.
One of the great myths about being organized is that you have to be perfectly tidy all the time. Many "tidy" people are actually quite disorganized. They may focus on making things look good, yet their closets and drawers may be stuffed to the brim with stuff they can't find when they need it!
Organizing is NOT about buying lots of fancy containers.
Yet another myth about organizing. Containers are great and are needed for some things, but if you don't buy them with a purpose in mind, they just become more clutter. You rarely have to buy a lot more storage containers to get organized, you just have to use what you have efficiently!
Being organized is about:
- Being in control of your space, your possessions and your time.
- Being proactive and not just reactive to all the stuff and noise out there competing for your attention and your money. For example, shopping for what you need, rather than reacting to advertising and gimmicks that tempt you to shop impulsively.
- Being able to find what you need, when you need it.
- Being able to get where you want to be on time.
- Being able to pay your bills on time.
- Having a home for everything so that putting things away - and finding them again - is just as easy as dropping them on a table.
- Being able to clean up for company in less than 20 minutes!
Being organized is not about making you perfect, it's about having a place for everything, and embracing imperfection. That way even if you do let it go for a while, instead of beating yourself up, you'll get back on track and keep looking forward.
© 2006 Ariane Benefit
Get fresh ideas for simplifying life at http://www.arianebenefit.com. Ariane Benefit, M.S.Ed. is a Life Design Coach, speaker and author with over 25 years experience working with Fortune 500 businesses, non-profits, purpose-driven self-employed professionals and passionate individuals to uplevel their performance, heal chronic disorganization, clutter and overwhelm, and to design more function, flow and fulfillment into life and work. She has appeared on NPR and been quoted in Psychology Today, the Wall Street Journal, New York Newsday, and more.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ariane_Benefit
10 Secrets to Organizing Kids For School Success - From Locker to Backpack to Home Study Area
By Ariane Benefit
Some kids seem to instinctively know how to organize themselves to succeed in school. They are never late, always get their homework done on time, and can find anything they need in their backpack. But in today's world of constant distractions, and an overwhelming number of organizing tools, it's no wonder many kids are struggling to find what works for them. Below are 10 secrets to ensure your child's success at school.
Secret 1 Let your child make the decisions. To ensure success, it is critical that your child be involved and make his or her own decisions about the details. You can guide them, but you must release control. The goal is to empower and enable them to maintain their new system, so they must be involved in the design and feel ownership. Being involved also helps them develop skills they can later apply to all areas of their lives.
Secret 2 Make an inventory of the activities and items that need to be organized. Here is an example inventory you can use as a starting point.
- Books
- Paper
- Writing Supplies
- Tools such as calculators, etc.
- Personal Supplies such as money, lunch, makeup etc.
- Class Schedule
- Class notes & handouts (current & past)
- Homework (to be done & completed)
- School Announcements/Flyers/Permission Slips, etc.
- Research Projects
- Extra Curricular Activities supplies
- Electronics (MP3 players, Laptop, Computer, PDA Etc.)
Secret 4 Give everything a home in the locker, the backpack and the home study area. For example, books should always be in the same place in the locker and kids should only carry what they need between trips to the locker.
Secret 5 Make things easy to access and use. A locker shelf may be needed to separate items so they are easy to access. Use a basket for the top shelf that may be hard to reach, and put less frequently used items there. Use magnetic hooks to hold a clear bag with personal items, or perhaps after school activity supplies. Add a magnetic board, or use magnets to post a copy of frequently referenced items like the class schedule. You may even want to post a map with a diagram of the locker showing where items should go in each area of the locker to remind her to put things where they belong. This works for the backpack too!
Secret 6 Keep it SIMPLE. Don't get too complicated. Coach your child to choose organizing strategies and tools as simple to use and follow as possible. For example, keep a file box at home where your child can keep older graded papers and class notes, but don't create too many folders. One or two folders per class should be plenty. You don't need a separate folders for tests, homework, projects, notes, handouts etc for every class. She won't file papers if the system is too cumbersome. Don't let the file box get overstuffed! That is also a sure way to make your child give up on filing.
Secret 7 Light it up. Consider a battery operated light that you press to turn on if the locker is dark. Often areas that dark become disorganized because people naturally don't like being in dark places! And if you can't see well, it's hard to find what you need.
Secret 8 Edit regularly. Once a month, review the contents of the locker and edit. Are there any homeless items that need to be given a home? Does anything need to be added due to changing needs? Does anything need to be removed because it's no longer used?
Secret 9 Give a permanent home to "Homework to be Done" and "Homework to be Handed in." You can combine homework assignments for all classes in one place to keep it simple. You can use a sturdy pocket portfolio, an accordion file, a sturdy file folder, or whatever appeals to your child - just make sure they like it! :) Graded homework should be brought home and filed daily, not stored in the backpack. The key to choosing tools are to make sure:
- Tools are something he or she is attracted to.
- Everything is really easy to find in the backpack and to take in and out.
- Super easy to use - as few steps as possible.
- Plan ahead for each day and evening.
- Unload the backpack every day.
- File older school papers at least once a week.
- Re-organize as needs change - few systems last forever!
Would you like to simplify your life and get more organized? Ariane Benefit is a Life Coach, ADD Coach, organizing expert, author and coach who has been quoted in Psychology Today, the Wall Street Journal, and more. Visit her popular Neat & Simple Living Blog at http://blog.neatandsimple.com Ariane has over 25 years experience helping businesses and individuals get the results they want. Take a peek inside her book, Neat & Simple Guide to Organizing Your Office at http://www.lotusbridge.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ariane_Benefit
What to Expect When Working With a Professional Organizer to Help You Get Organized
By Ariane Benefit
Have you ever thought about working with professional organizer to get your home and life together, but hesitated because you are nervous about what it will be like? Here are 10 tips on what you should be able to expect. Use these tips to help you interview and choose the right professional organizer for you!
Each professional organizer has their own style, so use this only as a guide to help you interview potential professional organizers.
PARTNERING - Working with a professional organizer should be a partnership. A professional organizer doesn't just provide a set of hands to assist you in rearranging stuff. We provide expertise, recommendations, and ideas on new ways of doing things. In the end, it is your decision on which new systems and tools to put in place, but your commitment to listen to new ideas and try out new ways of doing things is what will allow you to achieve your goals and experience the rewards!
CHANGE SUPPORT - Getting organized is not just about putting new supplies and systems in place - it means changing from the inside out as well as from the outside in. As you go through your things, your professional organizer should be able to uncover beliefs and habits that are contributing to your current state of disorganization and help you replace them with more effective habits
COMMUNICATION IS CRITICAL - If at any time you feel that you are changing too much, too fast, or you are feeling extremely stressed, you should feel comfortable to stop and share your feelings with your professional organizer in order to make the process as painless as possible for you!
ITS AN ONGOING PROCESS - Like losing weight, getting organized doesn't happen overnight. Some of the changes will happen on the outside, other changes have to happen within you over time. Getting and staying organized is an ongoing process that comes about by makes lots of little changes in the way you do things, in your habits, and most of all, in the way you think and feel about things. Your organizer should start with easier, smaller successes and work up to your more difficult challenges.
BE PATIENT & TOLERANT WITH YOURSELF - No matter how well organized you become, there will be times when you may slip back into old habits. This is natural. The trick is to catch it, learn from it, and get back on track! That is all part of the process of becoming organized. Don't get caught up in the downward spiral of striving for perfection. Pick yourself up, remember your successes, and start again. The most important thing is to not give up and take it one day and one goal at a time.
MEMORIES, STORIES & GRIEVING - While going through your things, you may experience a wide range of triggered emotions. Often deep, sometimes painful, emotional memories are stirred up and need to be released as part of making the decision to let a thing go. Some people absolutely need to tell their stories as part of working through their feelings so they can let things go. Most professional organizers are willing to listen and help you get through your grieving process. Just be aware that this does add to the time it takes to complete a project, and thus will add to your costs. On the other hand, some people just like to talk and get distracted! If you want to save time and money so you can see results quickly, ask your professional organizer to help you stay focused and do your best to not talk too much!
GETTING ORGANIZED CAN BE MESSY AT TIMES! - Some larger organizing projects can't be completed in a day. Sometimes it may get worse before it gets better - you may have boxes and bins of your stuff in your home for a while, but it WILL be worth it! Remember, sticking with it till the project is complete will ensure you get the maximum value for your investment!
LETTING GO OF YOUR STUFF - Your professional organizer should never dispose of an item without your permission. They should encourage you to part with items you no longer need or use, but not pressure you unduly to dispose of something you wish to keep. The final decision is yours.
HOMEWORK - Most professional organizers will give you the option to reduce costs by giving you a list of assignments to complete between sessions.
FOLLOW UP BETWEEN SESSIONS - On large projects, most professional organizers will provide some complimentary support via email or phone. Be sure to ask your organizer about this.
Would you like to simplify your life and get more organized? Ariane Benefit is a Life Coach, ADD Coach, organizing expert, author and coach who has been quoted in Psychology Today, the Wall Street Journal, and more. Visit her popular Neat & Simple Living Blog at http://blog.neatandsimple.com Ariane has over 25 years experience helping businesses and individuals get the results they want. Take a peek inside her book, Neat & Simple Guide to Organizing Your Office at http://www.lotusbridge.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ariane_Benefit
The 5 Most Common Filing Mistakes & How to Fix Them
By Ariane Benefit
Let's face it. No one actually loves filing. But most people who really hate filing are actually doing things that make filing much more painful than it needs to be. Here are 5 of the most common filing mistakes along with ways to make filing much easier!
- Overstuffing your file folders and file drawers. If your file drawers are overstuffed, of course you hate to file! You should always have at least 6-10 inches of space available. That way you can easily spread open a file with one hand and drop your paper in with the other hand. If your drawers are overstuffed, I guarantee you are keeping too much paper! Start cleaning out 3 files a day and before you know it, you will have an easy-to-use file drawer again.
- Using hanging folders and then putting a regular folder inside the hanging folder. There really is no need for folders inside hanging folders for the average filing system. Some professional organizer will disagree, but I stopped doing this many years ago and am so glad I did. It's so much simpler and easier! I spend a lot less time filing and it takes less than 20 seconds to add a new file. Plus I save money on folders!
- Keeping mail in envelopes. This makes your files extremely bulky, and makes it very difficult to find what you need. It also creates extra steps when paying bills. When you open your mail, toss everything but the bill itself and the envelope you need to mail the bill. Lay it out flat, note the date you paid the bill on the bill itself and then immediately file it.
- Putting company names on labels instead of generic names like "Mortgage". If you use the company name, you have to create a new folder every time the company changes name or you refinance, etc.
- Hand writing labels using a regular pen instead of a marker or labeler. This makes it nearly impossible for anyone to help you file. If you don't want to use your computer to print out filing labels, invest in a label maker such as a P-touch system. If you prefer to hand write your labels, write neatly, and use a thick black marker. I recommend getting 3.5 inch plastic tabs so you can write long titles easily. You can also use your P-touch Labeler and 1/2" labels. Just insert them in the tabs. They fit perfectly. You can also use plain white self-stick filing labels, and stick them to the file insert before sliding them into the tab.
Would you like to simplify your life and get more organized? Ariane Benefit is a Life Coach, ADD Coach, organizing expert, author and coach who has been quoted in Psychology Today, the Wall Street Journal, and more. Visit her popular Neat & Simple Living Blog at http://blog.neatandsimple.com Ariane has over 25 years experience helping businesses and individuals get the results they want. Take a peek inside her book, Neat & Simple Guide to Organizing Your Office at http://www.lotusbridge.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ariane_Benefit
Too Many to Do's? 8 Neat Ideas to Help You Get Organized, Stay Focused and Get Things Done
By Ariane Benefit
Are you one of the many people who have massive TO DO lists but really never get them all done? Solution? Create a realistic Master Plan and get organized! Whether it's buying a house, having a baby, deciding on a new car, planning a vacation, writing a book, moving, or even starting a new business or job, if you organize to get it done, you can make your dreams come true! One day at a time.
Here are 8 neat ideas to get you started on your way to getting things done.
- Create a Master Plan. Review your To Dos and identify the projects or goals they enable you to achieve. Now make a Master Plan by listing the 3-10 major projects / things you'd like to accomplish in the next year. For example, you would include big picture goals like "buy a house," "read 10 books on a given subject," or "establish a vegetable garden." Do not includes tasks, decisions, or steps like "find a Real Estate agent" or "choose a neighborhood."
- Prioritize Your Master Plan Goals and Set Timelines. For example, you many want to buy your new home in the fall when prices tend to be a little lower. Or buy in the Spring, so you can move while the kids are out of school. With a timeline in mind you can then set mini-goals and deadlines along the way to make sure your project gets done when you want it done.
- Keep Your Master Plan Where You'll See it Often. On a wall or white board, in your calender or a computer file or make it a screensaver on your computer!
- Make a Separate File Folder or Binder for Each Project. Your file folders can be paper or on your computer, or both! Keep your special project folders or binders together in a handy drawer, shelf, step file or portable file box. Make sure the files or binders are well labeled and near where you will do most of the work so you can easily access the information you collect and put related documents in them. If you have a file folder on your computer, keep it handy by creating a shortcut to the folder and put it on your Desktop or Quick Launch Bar (if you use Microsoft Windows.)
- Break Down Each Project into Tasks. Use natural milestone decisions to be made, like finding the right agent, as your guide. Create a document listing all the steps you can think of to make each part of the project a reality. Put this list in your file folder or binder and update the list as you work each project. For example, here is where you would put the task of "find a Real Estate agent" or "choose a neighborhood." To accomplish each of those tasks you will then have To Do's. To Do's should be only those things that can get done in a single day during the week like: - Call Nancy, Scott and Jen to get referrals of agents. - Set up interviews with 3 agents. - Research 3 neighborhoods on the net.
- Record Your Progress. As you make progress and do research, put your notes, brochures, web page printouts, drafts, ideas, etc. into the project folder. TIP: Record any particularly helpful related websites and phone numbers on the front of your folder for easy access!
- Schedule Time. Mark time out on your calendar each week to make progress on your projects. You can just put a block of 1-2 hours that says SPECIAL PROJECTS or schedule time for each project every week. Then you only need to refer to your Special Projects Folders to pick up where you left off on whichever one needs attention.
- Park New Big Ideas in a Parking Lot. Along the way you will get new ideas that could distract you from achieving your Master Plan. If you don't want to change your Master Plan, create a parking space for them! This could be a folder, a computer file, a section in your calendar, a special little notebook or any single place to write down all your ideas so you can get them off your mind. When one of your projects is done, you can always go to your idea file for inspiration for the next project. I call mine - IDEA FILE (Original huh? : )
Would you like to simplify your life and get more organized? Ariane Benefit is a Life Coach, ADD Coach, organizing expert, author and coach who has been quoted in Psychology Today, the Wall Street Journal, and more. Visit her popular Neat & Simple Living Blog at http://blog.neatandsimple.com Ariane has over 25 years experience helping businesses and individuals get the results they want. Take a peek inside her book, Neat & Simple Guide to Organizing Your Office at http://www.lotusbridge.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ariane_Benefit
Simple Home Organizing Tips
By Bailey R Gaddis
Organize one small area at a time. Don't overwhelm yourself by trying to do everything at once. Progress comes with small steps.
Take some time every day to organize and put items back where they belong. Even if you just spend 10 minutes doing this you will start to see progress.
Purge your unnecessary belongings. The less stuff you have to deal with the easier it will be to organize.
Throw out a few unneeded items every day or have a donation box in an out of the way area that you can throw donation items in. When the box is full have your organizer set up a donation pick up for you or drop it at your local donation center.
Resist the temptation to buy new unnecessary items.
Keep your organizing system simple.
Try to limit distractions when you're organizing. Turn off the T.V., set your phone on silent if possible, and organize when no one else is home.
Make a To-Do list every evening for the next day. Only write down tasks that absolutely need to get done the next day. Don't forget to add your 10 minutes of organizing a certain space!
Store items where they are usually used.
Set up daily routines and make placing items back in their home after use part of the routine.
Create a family calendar. Have a large calendar in the kitchen, or wherever your family usually congregates, and put everyone's appointments on the calendar. Assign a different color to every family member and write their events in their color.
Have a family meeting every Sunday where you fill out the calendar and discuss what everyone has going on the next week to make sure you're all on the same page and no over booking occurs.
Be kind to yourself! No one is ever perfectly organized. Take organizing one day at a time and enjoy life!
Organizing Mail
Take yourself off of mailing lists to lessen the amount of unnecessary mail you receive. When dealing with emails, immediately unsubscribe from newsletters etc. that you don't need and don't read.
Have bins right next to your mail collection area to immediately sort your mail. Have a Throw Away, Do/ Pay, File, and Delegate.
Set aside 10 to 15 minutes every day to handle your mail.
Organizing for Children
Declutter your child's room. Remove everything from their room that they don't use anymore; old books, toys, etc. that just sit there. You can donate items, throw them away, or store items that are treasured keepsakes.
Remove all the clothes your children don't wear or need. Donate them if they're in good condition. The fewer clothes they have to deal with the quicker they can get ready and the neater their room will be.
Put objects into clear labeled bins. This will give every object a logical home that is easy to locate. Keep the lids removed from the bins so it's easier to retrieve and return items to their designated bin.
Give children a planner so they can write down their school work, chores, and other tasks and events they need to keep track of. This planner can come to the family meetings to help plan the upcoming week.
Store items near the area where they are usually used.
Have a bin near the door that your child uses every day to leave for school with their needed items for the next day. Backpack, water bottle, lunch money, sports equipment, etc.
Organize with your child. This will teach them valuable organizational skills and will allow them to have input on what items they want to keep and where they would logically store those items. If the system makes sense to them it's more likely they will use it and maintain the organization.
Bailey Gaddis owns the home and office organizing business Serene Living Spaces. For more information visit http://www.serenelivingspaces.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bailey_R_Gaddis
My Favorite Organizing Tips
By Bailey R Gaddis
Mail: Have a basket, bin, or other decorative object to catch mail as it comes into the house. Locate this by the door where the mail comes in. If there's room, have a separate mail bin or baskets for each member of your household. It makes distributing information easier. Plan to review mail at a predetermined time in your weekly schedule.
Closets: Whenever you remove an item from a hanger, put the hanger in a basket. When you get ready to do laundry, bring the basket for easy "out-of-dryer-onto-hanger" action!
Time: Learn how long it really takes you to do your routine tasks and chores, like getting ready in the morning, driving to work, emptying the dishwasher, getting the kids up and dressed for school, laundry, grocery shopping, and so on. This will help in organizing your daily and weekly schedule. If you assume it takes you ten minutes to get ready and leave the house, but in reality it takes thirty, you'll be twenty minutes late for whatever is next on your schedule, and so on for the remainder of the day.
Photos: One way to sort backlogs of photos is to collect shoe boxes or plastic containers and write a year on each one, if the photos are on the computer sort the photos into digital folders labeled by year. This can be done in brief sessions- even fifteen minutes a night will make a difference by the end of the week. Along the way you can eliminate any duplicates, ugly photos, blurry images, and so forth. Once the pictures are sorted by year, decide how you want to sort them further. Chronologically? By event? Then you choose how you want to store and/or display them. You will have a better idea of what size album, box, or frames you'll need.
Family Meetings: Designate an hour a week to synchronize your family. Everyone brings their calendars, to-do lists, and schedules to the table. Spend the time reviewing the events for the upcoming week, expectations for dinners, chores, et cetera. The week will move much smoother!
Store it where you use it: The closer you store items to where you use them, the quicker and easier it is to clean up. For instance, if you knit at night while watching TV, create storage right near where you sit. It can be a decorative basket that slides under a coffee or end table. Whenever you put away your knitting, it goes into its basket and is stored immediately-instead of sitting on the coffee table waiting to be returned to its home.
"Lid-off" policy: When and wherever possible, remove lids and doors. It means one less step to putting things back where they belong.
Bailey is a Professional Organizer in Ojai, and Ventura and Los Angeles counties. She owns Serene Living Spaces http://www.serenelivingspaces.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bailey_R_Gaddis
Time and Your Priorities
By Karin E. Fried
Time is something that we can't control. I know. I've tried. I keep saying "if only I had a few more hours in the day... ".
But, then what? You could cram more things into your life? Step back and take a look at what's important. Do you really have to do all of the things that you try to do? Really? Are you being honest with yourself? Or are you just trying to impress all of the people around you with how much you can cram into your day and your life?
I remember when the kids were little and one of my neighbors had her kids in gymnastics, ballet, basketball, piano lessons... and on and on. I was exhausted just listening to her. I know that they didn't really have the money for all of the activities but it seemed like it was "expected" of the parents. Give the kids everything. But at what price?
Doing too much costs you time, money and your sanity. Let's be honest!
Kids get tired just like adults. They need "down time". They should be allowed to run outside and play, without being dragged from one "activity" to the next.
And adults... same thing goes for you. Are you involved in too many activities that you don't have enough time for yourself? Or your family?
Are you on too many committees and trying to impress too many people with how busy and exhausted you are? Why? Will being on all of these committees and going to all of the "after hours events" really do anything for your career or job? For most people the answer is "no". Unless your job requires you to "sell" anything and you are on commission or your "business socializing" actually brings in money for your company, you are really taking away time from your family.
Step back and re-think your priorities. Family should come first. That doesn't mean that you drag them to every possible event. It means that you give them your time. Your undivided attention. That is more precious than everything else in their life.
Time... It goes by too quickly!
Re-examine your priorities. Yes, you can have activities... but don't go overboard. Do what feels right for you... not everyone else. You don't need to impress your neighbors with how busy you are.
Have a great week and remember... Less Clutter in your Life makes for a happier you!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Karin_E._Fried
Does Your Clutter Define You?
By Julie Riber
What a question! As I enter neighborhoods and people have their garage doors open I see all sorts of different garages. In some I see building materials and tools leading me to believe the owner might be a builder. I see garages jammed with all sorts of items like bikes, garbage cans, and gardening tools telling me that they have a large family and not enough room. And then I see garages with very little in them telling me that maybe they just bought the house or are minimalists. I will never know the truth about their garage unless they are a client or I ask them. I am probably not going to go around asking anyone about their garage, but I have formed a guess.
The inside of houses I visit yields the same result with every house being different. I have clients with paper in piles all over their homes and they struggle to get through it all. I have clients with so many clothes they cannot get it in their closets and drawers. I have clients with toys everywhere and no room for furniture. I have clients with crafts in 2 or 3 rooms and they cannot find anything and usually have multiples of many items and there are the clients with just one room they have difficulty finding a place for everything. Many have multiple unfinished projects in all areas of their home.
So, does the clutter define them? The common denominator in all these is that clutter is a delayed decision. They cannot decide where to put it, what to do next, or what to purge, so the clutter evolves. I believe their clutter defines them as someone who is having difficulty making some decisions. As a member of the Institute of Chronic Disorganization, I have learned that some struggle more than others and the some individuals have been chronically disorganized their entire lives.
The answer to the question is sometimes your clutter does define you. It might be situational and your clutter goes away when your life returns to normal and in some cases your clutter and lack of making decisions does define your work and home environment.
Julie Riber is Certified Professional Organizer and has been organizing in the central Ohio area since 2004. She helps organize individuals spaces, time, and lives and she helps businesses streamline processes, increase productivity, and organize their spaces. She is a Golden Circle member of the National Association of Professional Organizers and a board member of the Ohio Chapter of NAPO since 2005. Sign up for her free monthly newsletter with organizing tips. http://www.transformare.net
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Julie_Riber
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