Peace of Mind Organizing

Why resolutions don't work (now with a workbook!)

15 December 2010

Where are you on the New Year’s Resolution Continuum?

(statistics from 2008 survey by Opinion Corporation of Princeton, NJ)

If you fall in that big middle group (or have drifted into the no resolutions group due to disappointment) this could be the year for something different.

Last January, Shannon Wilkinson and I teamed up again (we co-created the Declutter Happy Hour course) to teach a teleclass on how to actually do the stuff you set out to do every year. We shared the reasons resolutions don’t work, and more importantly, we talked about how to change that. We gave tips and strategies and guided participants through helpful exercises so they experienced a new way of approaching their resolutions and goals.

Did you miss the class? Not to worry! It’s available as a downloadable audio—and Shannon and I just put the finishing touches on an accompanying workbook that will take you through the process outlined in the teleclass. There are even worksheets so you can keep track of your goals and resolutions and how you’ll go about achieving them.

Maybe your resolution (once again) is to declutter and get organized this year. Or maybe you want to make changes for your health, creativity or finances. Our approach is terrific for whatever set your sights on.

This year is going to be different.

Why Resolutions Don’t Work (and How to Get What You Want Anyway)

The recording is great to listen to any time you want to re-vamp a resolution that isn’t working, create a new habit or establish a goal that really works for you. The workbook can stand alone (if you’d rather read than listen) or can help you get more out of the audio.

Details:

• In the audio, we talk for about an hour and then open it up for questions.

• The course covers the common reasons that setting resolutions doesn’t work, and takes you through exercises that help you get what you want.

• The 24-page workbook is based on the content of the audio, but isn’t a mere transcript. (The Q&A is transcribed, however.) It includes worksheets to make the most of Shannon’s meditations.

• This is for anyone who has been frustrated by resolutions or goals, and wants to learn a new way to approach it.

• The cost? Just 19 bucks.

That’s right. Just $19. Are you in? Yes? Just click the “Add to Cart” button:

Here’s to getting what you really want!

Wisdom from "Modern Family"

9 December 2010

I love the ABC sitcom Modern Family. I think it’s smartly written, well-acted and laugh-out-loud funny.

On an episode last season (the one where the family vacationed in Hawaii), hapless dad Phil Dunphy said something to his family that resonated with me so much that I repeat it to myself probably once a day.

He had just set the house alarm and the family had only 15 seconds to exit the house with their luggage before the alarm would go off. As he was urging his family to quickly file out the door, he repeated,

“Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.”

Isn’t that so true? When I’m in a hurry I often make mistakes in my haste. When I’m rushing to do something, I now consciously try to slow down and repeat Phil’s mantra.

I knew that all those hours of TV watching would pay off one day!

Mark Forster helps me keep my sanity

7 December 2010

I’ve been a follower of time-management expert Mark Forster for years now. When he develops a new time-management system, I sit up and take notice.

And I usually try it out. And I usually tell you about it. Mark’s task-management innovation, Autofocus, has gone through a number of iterations. I’d tried out the various versions of it, but in recent months strayed from Autofocus in favor of personal kanban, which I also blogged about.

Personal kanban was working for me, until I got crazy busy. In the last 30 days or so, my task list has been very long, due to a busy client load plus my duties as marketing director of the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization, which is in the process of changing its name to the Institute for Challenging Disorganizaton. With my task list so long, I didn’t have room on my personal kanban whiteboard and it stopped being effective.

For a couple of weeks I floundered with regular old to-do lists. Then I tuned back into Mark Forster and discovered, via the Lifehacker blog, that Mark had tweaked Autofocus once again. And I really like this newest version.

It’s simple: Start with a ruled notebook. Mark three successive pages with the following headers: New, Recurring, Unfinished. Then do a brain dump onto the New page with 10 to 20 tasks that you need to do. Draw a line under them. These become your Old tasks. Any New tasks you think of after that go under the line.

Read through the Old tasks, and do any that appeal to you. If you finish the task, cross it off. If you don’t, add it to the Unfinished page. If it’s a Recurring task (like “scoop the litterbox”), add it to the Recurring page. Keep circulating through the Old tasks (ignoring the others) until no more stand out to you to be done. The move on to the New tasks. When you’ve done all those in the New list that appeal to you at the moment, move on to Recurring and Unfinished. Then go back to Old.

The one big rule that is if you read through the Old list (that is, those tasks above the line) and don’t do any of those tasks, you must dismiss them all. That’s right, highlight them and just accept that you’re not going to do them. Later you can add them to the new list if you want to. The effect of this dismissal rule is that you get your old stuff done, rather than letting them languish on a list. Or you don’t, but you stop nagging yourself about those tasks and just accept that you’re not going to do them.

Once all the Old tasks are crossed off or dismissed, draw a line underneath the last New task. The tasks between the lines now become the Old tasks. Simple. Elegant. Beautiful.

I’ve been using this system for just a few days now, but I’m loving it. Separating out the Recurring and Unfinished tasks really helps me make sure the older stuff doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. It keeps my list shorter, since I’m not constantly crossing out and re-adding recurring tasks. And, as in other Autofocus system, it gives my brain a break because I have an easy place to write everything down and I don’t have to worry about remembering tasks. I don’t have to categorize or prioritize. I just add new tasks to the end of the list.

This is a clean and simple version of the method that’s not only easy to try but very effective. I think this new Autofocus is going to allow me to get through December with my sanity intact!

Why I love Thanksgiving

28 November 2010

I love the food, of course, and the companionship and camaraderie of a wonderful dinner. And I love taking the day off (which I did, in spades).

But I what I really love about Thanksgiving is that it’s a national holiday dedicated to thinking about the things in our lives we feel grateful for.

It’s been a few years since I wrote a Thanksgiving post listing the things I’m grateful for, and I’m overdue. So here’s this year’s list. It’s by no means comprehensive.

• My health. I’ve been fortunate to have never had to contend with a major illness. With two close friends diagnosed with breast cancer very recently, that makes me very thankful.

• My wonderful husband, family, and friends. I just spent the weekend with friends I’ve known for 30 years. And I’ve had Thanksgiving dinner with the same friends for more than 20 years. How great is that?

• My freedom. I live in a country where I can start my own business and make a go of it. Where I can recognize my strengths and use them to help others (and make a living).

• My clients. They teach me so much and enrich my life nearly every day.

• My colleagues. My NSGCD, NAPO and NAPO St. Louis friends mean so much to me. They make our profession very special.

• Steve Jobs. Really, I just love my MacBook, iPod Touch and iPad. Thank you, Steve.

I hope it’s as easy for you as it was for me to come up with a half dozen reasons to be grateful!

Practicing what I preach

18 November 2010

I often tell my clients (and anyone else who will listen) how important it is to reward yourself. Most of us work so hard and we often don’t let ourselves take a break. Especially when it comes to big clutter projects, I think it’s really important to reward progress and not wait until everything’s finished before you let yourself have some fun.

This weekend, I’m practicing that principle. I’ve been working very hard for the last couple of months. Between work and volunteer commitments I haven’t had a lot of time to just kick back.

But tomorrow, I hop on a plane to Florida to spend the weekend with three of my dearest friends, my buddies from college. We’ve been friends since our freshman year at Mount Holyoke, 30 years ago. We try to see one another at least once a year, and we haven’t gotten together since our 25th reunion last May.

This weekend, we’ll talk, laugh, eat, lounge and get massages. Two of us (Dede and Ann) are running a half marathon. Two of us (Denise and me) are cheering them on. It’s going to be heaven. And the weather’s going to be good.

I’ve been trying to decide whether to take work with me and get some stuff done at the airport and on the airplane, but as I write this, I think I deserve a real break. I’ll take my iPad, but otherwise I think I’ll travel light.

I am eagerly anticipating this getaway. When’s the last time you did something for yourself? If it’s been awhile, I urge you to figure out something fun you’ve been wanting to do and put it on your calendar!

A little holiday shopping help

16 November 2010

My friend, the fabulous organizer Geralin Thomas, just shared on her Facebook fan page a link to a website that can save you some money on holiday shopping. It’s FreeShipping.org, where you can get coupon codes for free shipping from online vendors. Going there first might help you narrow down where you want to shop!

If you’re not already a fan of Geralin’s Facebook page, I encourage you to go over there and click Like so that her posts show up in your News Feed. She’s full of great tidbits, news and discussion about organizing and hoarding.

Twitter love

12 November 2010

Today’s the two-year anniversary of my joining Twitter. The novelty’s worn off and I still really like it as a source for information, camaraderie and amusement. It’s not a time suck for me, though I do seem to spend less time with it now than I did a year ago.

Last year, in honor of my one-year Twitter anniversary, I ran a long post about why I love Twitter. The reasons still ring true.

I’m wondering how Twitter will change in the next year (in the past year, they’ve enhanced ways for people to connect) and how my use of it might change. But for now, I’m still atwitter about Twitter.