Getting Organized: How To Tackle The Big Tasks

How many times have we put off doing those large tasks because we know how much effort and energy they will require? Just thinking about doing them wears you down. Soon you might find that this large job that you once had weeks to accomplish must be done in days. In this article we will look at ways to take on big tasks so they are more manageable. We will look at the best times of the day to tackle certain things to get them finished and checked off of your to-do list.

Most big tasks can be broken up into smaller manageable tasks. To get then done with as little stress as possible, this is what could be done. If you’re looking to spring clean your home, for example, divide the house up room by room. Then list everything that needs to be done in each room. Once you have your lists you need to prioritize what needs to be done first, second and so on. 

Once this is complete you can get going. Making lists of smaller tasks and checking them off as you get them done gives you a feeling of accomplishment. Instead of one huge task you can reward yourself for doing the series of smaller tasks. You’ll see things start to take shape and feel better as the task suddenly becomes smaller.

Big tasks in some ways are a mixed blessing. There are things that you like to do and things that you may dread. When you have your list of what you want to get done for that day, if at all possible do the least desired task first. You energy levels are usually highest in the early part of the day so giving it to those tasks you really don’t want to do will get them checked off of your list much faster. Waiting until later, when you are tired and slow, will virtually increase the risk that the task will get put off. 

Big tasks seem quite daunting, however; nearly all of them can be broken down into small tasks. By doing this you’re making the large task much more manageable and even enjoyable at times. The next large task you know you have coming, plan in advance and break it up. You’ll find it isn’t so bad.

Organize Your Household Mail

Most people need to deal with paper on a daily basis. Some common examples are the following: bank statements, bills, pay stubs, newspapers, magazines, calendars, take-out menus, shopping receipts, and school permission slips. With an organized plan of action and some discipline, the paperwork can be conquered. 

Begin by taking a look at the type of paperwork that’s overwhelming you the most. Are you the most stressed by those bills that go unpaid when you can’t locate them? Or is it the amount of artwork your 

children have created and decorated your refrigerator with? Perhaps it’s the constantly changing after school schedules or meetings. 

Once you determine the most invasive paper culprits, next it’s time to line them up and sort them out. A successful filling system has three main components. A file for those things that need to be acted on immediately, one for those that are part of a household’s ongoing management, and one for those that are more infrequent but nevertheless crucial, such as tax records, insurance policies, and home maintenance documents. 

It is important to remember that when conquering the paperwork, make a good routine of dealing with each item the first time you handle it. Get out of the habit of looking through your mail and tossing it aside. Set aside time each day to open mail, go through paperwork in your inbox and sort and file appropriately. 

Decide if each item is something to be paid, something to be done, or something to be filed. At the end of each week, take out each file and respond appropriately by paying the bill, responding to the request, or moving items that need to be filed into their permanent locations. 

Of course, if you know something is urgent and can’t wait until week’s end, clip it to the front of your file box or place it in front in a folder labeled Urgent and act accordingly. 

Save telephone time by keeping calendars, schedules, take-out menus and phone lists into clear page protectors in a 3-ring binder. Flip through the household notebook to quickly check meeting dates or find phone numbers. 

Organize magazines and newspapers into baskets kept near couches and living room chairs for people to look at during their free time. Be sure to keep in the habit of sorting through this on a regular basis and filing those magazines you decide to keep and tossing old newspapers and magazines you wish you toss. 

Time Management Tips For Success

Are you a person who finds it difficult to stay focused and to stay on task?  Are you regularly late for important events or do you turn in projects or homework after the deadline?  If you do, you may need to improve your time management.  The good news is that there are a number of tips that can help you do so.  A few of these tips are outlined below for your convenience.

One of the first things that you will want to do is create time management goals for yourself.  These goals can be for different things.  For example, you can set a main goal of improving your time management in a specific period of time, like two weeks or a month.  You can also set individual goals for yourself, like arriving to parties, social events, work, or important business meetings on time.  No matter what goals you choose to set for yourself, they are important, as goals work to provide motivation.

Another way to improve your time management is to determine where you have the most problems.  What exactly is it that causes you to waste time?  Chances are you already know.  If not, do a little test.  Walk though a normal day and record what times you get distracted the most and what you are doing at those times.  Do you find yourself wasting time when socializing with friends, using the internet, or watching television?  If so, reduce or completely eliminate those distractions.

It is also important to note that there a number of time management tools available for your use as well.  These tools should not be relied on daily, but they can be used to help you establish a routine.  As for what time management tools you can use, you may be surprised with all of your options.  To do lists, daily planners, and alarm clocks are all great ideas.  Many modern computers and cell phones also come with time management tools, including alarm clocks, calendars, calendar alerts, and so forth.

As previously stated, a to do list is a time management tool that you can benefit from using.  As helpful as a to do list can be, it is important to also prioritize.  You will want to list your items in order of importance.  For example, if your list focuses on tasks to do at home is it more important for you to do laundry, vacuum the house, or wash dishes?  The order of your lists should all depend on importance and urgency.

One of the best ways to properly manage your time is to stay organized.  In fact, poor organization is the leading cause of wasted time.  If you are employed, be sure to keep your office desk clean and clutter free.  When doing so, you are able to stay focused and on task better.  You should be able to get more work done, as you should spend less time searching for misplaced or lost documents.  Organization is not only important in the workplace, but other areas that you frequent, such as your home or your car.

The above mentioned time management tips should be able to help you better manage your time on your own.  With that said, it is important to remember that sometimes help is needed.  The last thing that you want to do is be overloaded, whether it be at work or at home.  If you need to outsource some of your work to a coworker or if you need to hire the services of a professional housecleaner, go ahead and do so.  Once you are caught back up, you can begin to properly manage your time.  As much as we all want to complete our responsibilities on our own, it is important to remember that sometimes help is needed.

By taking the above mentioned points into consideration, you may be able to better improve the use of your time.  There are a number of benefits to having effective time management both at home and at the workplace.

Reduce the Stress

Every one of us can use a little less stress in our lives.  So often we try to follow the super-human scenario of trying to be all things to all people, all of the time.  What may happen is that we can become burned out both emotionally and physically. This doesn't have to be the case. Grab a lot of index cards and write a specific goal on each--anything you think of that you want to do. Arrange the cards so that the goals you MOST want to attain are on top, and the less essential goals go behind. Then, write deadlines on each of your top three cards, break each goal down into mini-goals, and schedule time to achieve each of them.

Clean a bit each day. Obtain some index cards and write a cleaning task down on each. Place all of your cards in a box, and draw one each day--that's your cleaning task. Be sure to include some FREE DAY cards in your box. If you draw one of them, you don't have to do any cleaning for the day. 

There are very few things you can do that will only take 5 minutes or less to complete. For example, you may think it takes 5 minutes to check your e-mail, but very often, it takes 15 minutes or more. 

Individual Tasks To Complete If You Have Ten Minutes:

Set a timer for ten minutes, open the junk drawer, sort through anything no longer needed and organize the rest.

Go through your clothes closet and check for any articles of clothing you never wear. Put them in a donation bag to be given to your favorite charity, or sell them.

Walk around your home for ten minutes with a basket or have your kids do this) and put any stray toys into the basket. Tomorrow, make your 10-minute organizing project to put all the toys back in their proper place.

Write out some of your birthday, anniversary and other greeting cards for one month in advance.

Whether you've been meaning to make an appointment with a doctor, your accountant, a repairman or a friend, take 10 minutes at this moment to do so.

Whether the surface is a table, a dresser, a desk or an ottoman, remove any clutter so you can actually see the surface again. File any papers needing filing, return any stray items to their rightful homes and toss any junk.

Time Management Tips

Are you an individual who can’t seem to properly manage your time?  If you are having problems at home or at work, there is a good chance that your problems may be caused by your inability to properly manage your time.  The good news, however, is that there are a number of steps that you can take to improve your time management.  In fact, 8 simple steps that you can take are highlighted below.

1 – Know That You Have a Problem

Knowing that you have a time management problem is the first step in changing your behavior.  Although it is typical to be late for work or a social event on occasion, it is something that should not be happening on a daily or a weekly basis.  If it is, it is time for you to realize that you may have a problem.

2 – Decide To Change

Knowing that you have a time management problem is important, but wanting to change is even more important.  You need to set goals for yourself, as these goals can help to provide you with a source of motivation.  Sample goals include showing up to work on time for a whole month, being on time for all dinner dates, and so forth.

3 – Stick To Your Goals

Creating a number of time management goals for you to meet is advised, but it is important that you don’t give up right away or when you are faced with complications.  Setting goals simply just isn’t enough, you need to stick with them.

4 – Create Daily Task Lists

Creating a to do list for yourself is an easy way to properly manage your time.  In fact, it is one of the easiest approaches that you can take.  Outline what you need to do throughout the day.  Be sure to list your tasks in order of importance.

5 – Rely On Time Management Tools

Properly managing your time is important, but it can be hard for many individuals to get use to, especially right away.  If you are one of those individuals, you will want to consider using time management tools to your advantage.  In fact, did you know that many cell phones and computers come with alarm clocks, alerts, and so much more?

6 – Learn How To Say No

In all honesty, there are times where you may not be able to refuse a project at work or a task at home, but try to not take on more than you can accomplish.  If you must, look into using outside help.  In the home, this outside help can come from a housecleaner.  At the workplace, this outside help can come from a coworker.

7 – Get Organized

Organization is key to being able to properly manage your time.  If you are unorganized, you are likely to waste a large amount of time.  For example, in the workplace you can waste time by searching for lost or misplaced documents.  The same can be said for the home; if you are unorganized, you can spend hours searching for your glasses or car keys.

8 – Consider Hiring Professional Help

As previously stated, if you are overwhelmed at home, you may want to call on a professional housecleaner.  In addition to taking this approach, there are other professionals that you can target.  There are individuals and companies who specialize in teaching others how to effectively manage their time and stay organized. 

How to Keep Your Home Free of Clutter in the Future

Decluttering is a little like losing weight. No matter how well you deal with your problem in the beginning, it will keep coming back unless you understand the concept of maintenance. If you have gone to the bother of decluttering your home and making it more minimalist and free of mess, here are some tips on how to keep it that way. 

Regular Maintenance

This step refers to simply keeping things the way they are by possibly selling or donating certain items when you realize you don’t need them, instead of stashing them in a pile that needs to be sorted over and over. You can read your mail and make a habit of appropriately dealing with it. There is no excuse for papers to be lying all over the floor or dining room table.

When you buy something from the store, put it where it is going to be kept immediately instead of setting bags on the floor and table. After the laundry comes out of the dryer, fold it and put it away immediately in the proper rooms and drawers. When you have five spare minutes, use it to tidy and clean up anything lying around. This is how you can keep huge messes from forming again.

Declutter Regularly

In addition to your regular maintenance, it is important to declutter on a regular basis. You can decide to have a serious decluttering day every three months, every six months, or just whenever your home starts looking cluttered. Make it a serious appointment and tidy your home from top to bottom, giving yourself another clean slate to work with.

Stop Buying Unnecessary Things

One of the biggest ways you can stop clutter in its tracks is to stop buying unnecessary things. By only allowing what you need to enter your home, you will cut down on the number of items you need to clear out later. Before you buy an item, think about whether you really need it, or if it is something you will regret at a later point in time.

Get Everyone on Board

You can’t conquer clutter alone, unless you live alone. If you are part of a family who lives together, or have roommates of any kind, you will need to make everyone a part of the decluttering team. Talk to everyone about your wishes to maintain a clutter-free haven, and talk about the many benefits of living in a more minimalist way than you have been. Let the other household members know that everyone’s efforts will benefit everyone else, and that you expect cooperation and teamwork.

Decluttering is only half of the solution. In order to maintain a beautiful home, you will need to take steps to keep it that way after the original clean sweep. Use these tips to keep your home free of clutter for years to come.

Ways To Get More Done

 1. Avoid interruption: If you have a private office, you may want to close your door. You might even place a sign saying something like "Hard at Work: Please Come Back Later." If you are interrupted, help keep the interruption short by remaining task-oriented.

2. Schedule time to make phone calls and return e-mail. When you leave a phone message, list times that you will be available by phone. Ask the other party to do the same - it will save you both a lot of time that would otherwise be spent on everyone's favorite game, phone tag. Also, avoid checking your voice mail and e-mail too frequently. Instead, review them at scheduled intervals during the day.

3. Plan stress breaks throughout the day. Make sure you give yourself a break! Working to the point of total brain fatigue and muscle tension will never do you any good. Stretch, take some deep breaths, and go out to get your lunch, call your kids - do something to give yourself a little break. If you'd like, you can schedule these breaks as a reward for when you've finished a particular chore.

4. Appreciate your own approach. Just as we are all different in other ways, we all have diverse organizational styles. Keep in mind that you have gotten where you are today because of whom you are and what you have accomplished. Employ improved organizational skills to enhance your personal style, not change it. Getting organized should make you feel good, not burdened.

5. Stick to your plan. The best-laid plans often fall victim to their makers. While spontaneity is important, there is a fine line between it and plain procrastination. Once you've come up with a good plan for tackling a task, stay with it. Only you can prevent yourself from wavering.