Music to declutter by
In my newsletter, which goes out today, I mention the power of focus and how by setting a timer for a short period of time, I can get a lot done. (This is a refrain here on the blog too). I also mentioned that sometimes instead of (or in addition to) a timer, I’ll play a playlist of songs that ends after a set period of time.
Filed under: Organizing Sharing || Tagged with: 15 minutes, declutter happy hour, decluttering, motivation, music
It's amazing what you can do in a half hour (or less)
As part of the preparations for Declutter Happy Hour, the four-week teleclass I started offering with Shannon Wilkinson last month, I’ve been doing a lot of small decluttering projects around the house.
Filed under: Organizing Sharing || Tagged with: 15 minutes, clutter, declutter happy hour, decluttering, shannon wilkinson
The power of 15 minutes
A decade ago, Flylady told me to set my timer for 15 minutes and declutter. She told all of her followers, “You can do anything for 15 minutes.” I’ve put that into use over and over again through the years. And I blog about it a lot because it’s so true.
Filed under: Organizing Ranting-and-Raving || Tagged with: 15 minutes, clutter, declutter happy hour, decluttering, flylady, shannon wilkinson, time timer
Flylady: Blog of the Week
This week’s Blog of the Week is an oldie but goodie. I first became aware of Flylady back in the late nineties, before I ever dreamt of becoming a professional organizer. Technically, it’s not a blog. (It predates blogs.) But it’s frequently updated and full of treasures.
Filed under: Organizing Ranting-and-Raving || Tagged with: 15 minutes, blog of the week, decluttering, flylady, routines
Just a few minutes
Some days I look around my home or office and say to myself, “I really need to xxxxx” and it’s a general task like, “get organized” or “reorganize my closet.” Sometimes it’s just “create some order around here” when things have gotten out of hand.
Filed under: Organizing Living || Tagged with: 15 minutes, order, procrastination, productivity, time management, unclutterer
Self-care
I’m always struck how clutter gets in the way of life. I have many clients who constantly feel an obligation to deal with their clutter. They plan to devote a weekend to decluttering, then they start to feel overwhelmed, so they don’t actually deal with it. (Until they call me.)
Filed under: Organizing Living || Tagged with: 15 minutes, decluttering, empowerment, self-care, shannon wilkinson
Keeping going
Yesterday I blogged about overcoming the reluctance to get started on a task, citing Mark Forster’s tip on fooling your reactive mind. Today, I’d like to share some of Forster’s advice about keeping going on tasks once you’ve started.
Filed under: Organizing Living || Tagged with: 15 minutes, mark forster, productivity, time management
Getting started
Do you ever have items on your to-do list that just loom there? You know you need to do them, you think about doing them, but you just can’t get going on it?
Sometimes, you just need to get started and once you overcome the resistance and do the task, it turns out that it’s not so bad. This happens to me all the time. I build up tasks in my mind, thinking they’re going to take forever, then they take no time at all.
Filed under: Living Ranting-and-Raving || Tagged with: 15 minutes, mark forster, procrastination, productivity, time management
Just fifteen minutes
I’m constantly amazed at what can be accomplished in just 15 minutes. I often advise my clients (and I do this myself) to set a timer for 15 minutes and focus on one task: decluttering, filing, sorting, etc. As long as they keep going until that timer dings, they’ll get a good amount done. It’s astounding what can get done in such a small amount of time. (As an aside, that’s one of the ways I use my beloved Time Timer.)
Filed under: Organizing Ranting-and-Raving || Tagged with: 15 minutes, big picture, focus, mark forster, productivity, time management, time timer
How do you eat an elephant?
I’m going through one of those periods again where I completely empathize with my clients. I had a very busy March and April (I was out of town half the month of April) and now that I have a little time to breathe, I look around my house and think, “I need a professional organizer!” There are no shortage of wonderful organizers here in St. Louis I could hire for help, but I’m going to try to economize and do the work myself.
Filed under: Organizing Living || Tagged with: 15 minutes, accountability, backsliding, decluttering, productivity, time management
Things Flylady has taught me
Chances are you’re familiar with Flylady. Flylady, who’s real name is Marla Cilley, has a wildly popular website which helps readers dig out from clutter, establish routines, and stay organized.
Filed under: Organizing Ranting-and-Raving || Tagged with: 15 minutes, decluttering, flylady, habits, routines
