Peace of Mind Organizing

Building ease into a trip

1 August 2012

I’m writing this from the Denver airport, on my way from St. Louis to Portland. When I booked this trip, I had a choice of a Denver-to-Portland flight that would mean a 2.75-hour layover or one with a one-hour layover. I purposely chose the longer layover so I wouldn’t stress about missing my flight if my outbound flight were delayed.

Sure enough, my outbound flight was delayed for a half hour. The couple who happened to be sitting next to me on the flight to Denver were booked on the earlier flight to Portland and were worried about missing their flight. They were also incredulous that I’d booked the later flight.

Wine, rather than stress

Sitting on that flight, I thought about how glad I was that I didn’t have to worry about missing my flight or making a mad run for my plane. Instead, I enjoyed a fairly decent pizza and a fairly nice glass of wine in an airport restaurant. And now I’m sitting at the gate blogging.

The couple next to me rushed off the plane. (The flight attendant asked people to let those trying to make connecting flights get off first, though not everyone seemed to cooperate.) When I got off the plane, I noticed that the gate for the earlier Portland flight was just across the concourse from the gate we landed in. So I was glad to see that my row partners made their flight.

But you know what? I was also glad I’d booked the later flight. I’d rather have less stress and more waiting than stress and a big rush. Maybe that’s just me. I also like to get to the airport early.

How about you? Would you have gone for the shorter or longer layover?

Staying calm before a trip

31 July 2012

I’m leaving town tomorrow for more than a week and I’m trying not to let myself get caught up in pre-trip hysteria. Today was back-to-back appointments and I still have a number of things I have to do, like pack (and, before that, figure out what I’m going to pack).

But I’m trying really hard to let it be easy. I’ll be visiting family and friends, so I don’t need to get too worried about clothes. My travel arrangements are all made and the details safely stored in my Smead Travel Organizer. I’m taking my computer, and my cell phone acts as a wifi hot spot, so anything I don’t manage to do before I leave town can still get done.

So why do I typically work myself up into a bit of a frenzy, trying to get everything done, fretting over packing? This trip, I’m going to take my Let It Be Easy motto to heart. You know, just writing this has made me feel more calm.

Incidentally, I’m going to try to continue my five-day-a-week blogging streak while I travel, but I don’t know if I’ll be successful. So keep your eye on this space to find out!

Come learn how to Get Rid of Clutter

30 July 2012

I’ll be giving a low-cost talk called Get Rid of Clutter on October 19 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the Thomas Dunn Memorials Adult Education Program in south St. Louis city.

The talk will cover the decluttering process, organizing principles, creating new habits and routines, and the top mistakes people make when they try to get organized. There will be lots of time for questions and answers.

The class is only $10, and registration via mail is required. To register, go to Thomas Dunn’s website to download a registration form. Fill it out and mail it in with a check. If you have questions about the registration procedure call Thomas Dunn Memorials at 314-353-3050.

Check out their website for lots of other free and low-cost classes! Thomas Dunn’s tagline is helping people improve themselves since 1962. They’re a wonderful community resource.

Bingo anniversary!

27 July 2012

Here's how my bingo board looks today.

A year ago today, I first blogged about To-Do List Bingo. I created a bingo board after reading a blog post about social media bingo from my friend, Jacquelyn Kittredge of e-bakery.

I use my bingo board to help motivate me to do important, but not urgent, tasks on a daily basis. For me, that’s social media stuff, contacting past, prospective and current clients, pursuing guest post or speaking opportunities, doing family history research, and working on my new blog, Organize Your Family History.

Every time I do one of those things, I cover the space on the board. (I reshuffle the cards on the board every day.) At the end of the day, I take a look at the board and see what I need to do to get a bingo. And that’s usually motivation enough for me to do those tasks.

I love my bingo board for a bunch of reasons:

• It’s pretty
• It’s fun
• It’s flexible
• It gives me a sense of accomplishment for doing a bunch of small tasks
• It helps me get stuff done!

When I first started, I used Post-It® notes to cover up the spaces. That was visually unappealing and sort of fiddly (because sometimes they’d fall off), not to mention wasteful. A couple of months ago, I created decorative magnets by cutting out drawings of buttons from a calendar. Yesterday, I made a second set because I’ve been covering so many squares.

With the new magnets, the board has become even more satisfying for me. I just love it.

I’ve actually become sort of a proselytizer for To-Do List Bingo. I’ve blogged about it several times and I wrote an Organizing Guide about it, called TO-DO LIST BINGO! A game of completion + glee, for the whole family. In August of last year (after I’d been using it only a month!), I took my board on the road and did a segment on Great Day St. Louis, a local morning talk show.

These days, I’ve been getting triple and quadruple bingos on a regular basis and it makes me so happy. Sometimes people ask me what reward I get for getting a bingo and they seem surprised that the thrill of the bingo is reward enough for me. I guess I’m weird that way. (Certainly rewards could be attached to it, though.)

Just let it be easy

26 July 2012

I have a little mantra I’ve mentioned here before.

I think it speaks for itself.

Next time you get twisted in knots over the details of a project or you’re grappling with some sort of conundrum, maybe you can keep it in mind.

I find it helps!

Two apps to help you get things done

25 July 2012

I was perusing one of my favorite blogs, Unclutterer and saw my colleague Deb Lee’s recent post about two new-to-me productivity apps, Wonderful Day and iDone This.

Wonderful Day is a Don’t Break the Chain -style app that allows you to track your effort on daily goals and get the motivation that comes along with not breaking the chain.

iDone This is a twist to-do list apps. It’s actually a “done” list. You write down what you’ve accomplished each day, which I’m thinking will make you feel awesome and accomplished (and motivated to do more).

Deb’s write up of the two apps was enough to get me to download them and I’ll let you know what I think after I’ve tried them out. I’m particularly excited by the prospect of Wonderful Day.

Until then, I wanted to give you a heads up in case you want to give them a try!

Get a free sample of Simplify Your Life with Habits + Routines!

24 July 2012

As I’ve discussed here before, I’m teaching an online workshop on the fabulous website, Simplify 101, called Simplify Your Life with Habits + Routines. In this three-lesson, four-week workshop, students will learn how to decide on what beneficial habits they’d like to develop, get support and accountability to develop them, and also how to link habits to routines. They’ll also learn how to kick habits that are less beneficial.

This is the third time I’ve offered the workshop and this time, there’s a special twist. Until Wednesday, July 25, you can sample the workshop free of charge. Just sign up here for the free sample (no credit card required) and you’ll receive the first lesson and have access to the wonderful online forum for the class (though you won’t be able to post). It’s a great way to get to know what the workshop is all about. Of course, I hope that once you’ve sampled it, you’ll want to sign up.

We have a great group of people already signed up for the class, but there’s room for more. So come check it out and take advantage of this wonderful opportunity!