Peace of Mind Organizing

Nine things I love about the iPad

21 September 2010

My three-year-old cell phone came to the end of its life recently, so I bought an iPad. I realize that doesn’t make a lot of sense on the surface, since the iPad isn’t a phone. But when it came time to contemplate a new phone, I realized I wanted the productivity of the iPhone (that is, I wanted to be able to access the internet when I’m out and about without relying on a wireless connection), but I didn’t want to sign a contract with AT&T and I also craved a larger screen for my middle-aged eyes.

So I bought a less-than-smart replacement phone similar to the one I’d had and ended up with a 3G iPad and wireless keyboard. It’s just been a couple of weeks, but I am loving it.

In the spirit of why I love my iPod Touch, a post I wrote in 2008 when I bought my iPod Touch (which I still love and use), here are nine things I love about my new iPad.

1. I can access the internet anywhere. With my iPod Touch, I have to have a wireless connection to use the Internet. With the iPad, I pay a monthly fee for a cellular data connection. So as long as there’s cell service, I can log on.

2. The screen is quite large. And really crisp. Reading a website on a smartphone can be difficult. But the iPad’s display, at 9.7 inches, isn’t that much smaller than my MacBook’s.

3. The larger screen allows for touch typing. It’s not perfect, but it’s so much easier to type on the touch screen of the iPad (particularly in landscape mode) than it is on the iPod Touch. That said, typing longer emails or other written documents can be painstakingly slow, which is why I spent an extra $70 on…

4. The wireless keyboard. Small and light, it connects automatically via bluetooth with the iPad, making it almost as functional as my MacBook and so, so much more portable. I also love that the iPad is fully functional without the keyboard, so I don’t have to carry it if I don’t want to.

5. The apps. I love the apps. Since iPhone/iPod Touch apps work on the iPad, I was able to transfer the apps I’d already downloaded. And there are a growing number of apps written specifically for the iPad. I’m using more work-oriented apps like Dropbox and Evernote, but I also enjoy the games. (My current favorite is Word Scramble, a Boggle-like word game.)

6. The photo display. I’ve already loaded some before and after photos on my iPad, which I think will be inspirational to clients. They show up so large and clear on the screen that they have a real impact (as opposed to, say, squinting at the display on my digital camera).

7. The portability. This thing is so light (1.6 pounds) that if I don’t have the keyboard with me, I barely notice that I’m carrying it. And the keyboard adds just 14 ounces.

8. Synchronicity. I already use MobileMe to synch my computer with my iPod Touch. After just a couple of minutes of set up, I was synching my iPad as well. So no matter which device I’m using (MacBook, iPad, or iPod Touch), I have the most current info for my calendar and contacts, as well as my latest emails, right in front of me. And the synching is automatic and wireless. That’s a great thing.

9. The plethora of accessories available for the iPad. Even though it’s only been around for five months, the iPad is so insanely popular that accessories have sprouted up like mushrooms. I can find anything I might desire for it (cases, bags, stands, you name it) — and chances are really good that the accessories are stylish.

My only challenge at the moment is finding just the right bag to replace my purse, which isn’t large enough for the iPad. I want to find a bag that will hold the iPad and the wireless keyboard when necessary. But that’s a fun challenge.

Setting the bar low

17 September 2010

I’m all for doing things well and keeping commitments. But sometimes, just a little bit of effort is better than no effort. And sometimes if you make a little effort, it can turn into more effort.

Case in point: I’m working with a friend and accountability partner to try to get back into the routine of doing Wii Fit Plus on a regular a basis. I’d lost that routine during a particularly busy time. And I’m hanging onto a couple of pounds as a result. So I committed to 20 minutes of Wii Fit a day, five days a week. I know, it’s not much. But it’s something and that’s better than nothing.

Well last night I just didn’t feel like doing it. I had time, I wasn’t exhausted, I just didn’t want to. But I knew I was going to have to tell that to my accountability partner. And I knew how important it was to just do a little in order to create that habit again.

So I told myself that I would do five minutes on the Wii Fit. That’s all. Just five minutes That didn’t seem too bad. So my interior whiner was placated. Once I got started, I had no problem doing the full 20 minutes.

This reminds me of Mark Forster’s trick of fooling your reactive mind by telling it you’re just going to do one little step. (“I’m not going to vacuum, I’m just getting out the vacuum cleaner.”) Once you do that first step, the resistance is gone and you do the task. I blogged about this in a June 2008 post called Getting Started.

So next time you find yourself resisting something that you feel you really ought to do (decluttering, for example), try lowering the bar. Tell yourself you’ll do it for an incredibly short period of time. Even if you stop after that short interval, you’ll have made some progress. And chances are good that you’ll actually keep going.

The cost of keeping stuff

10 September 2010

I gave a talk this week called Letting Go of the Tough Stuff. One of the points I made in that talk is something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. Many clients don’t like to part with items they don’t use or love because those items cost a lot to buy. Or they feel the item is worth something and they can’t just give it away, but selling it feels too complicated or labor-intenstive, so it gets put off.

When I’m working with a client with a big clutter problem they’re trying to resolve, I like to point out that there’s a cost associated with keeping those items. When you’re dealing with a lot of clutter, keeping stuff you don’t use or love can have the following costs:

• A physical cost. If you can’t dust because of the clutter, it can affect your health. If you can’t let in a repair person or get to the furnace to service it, your house might be paying a physical cost as well.

• A monetary cost. If you’re paying your bills late because you can’t find them amidst the paper, you’re probably paying higher interest rates on top of late fees. If you’re buying duplicates of things because you can’t find the ones you have, that’s costing you money. And if you’re paying for storage? That’s a quite literal example of how keeping your stuff can have a monetary cost.

• An emotional cost. For many people, major clutter leads to guilt, shame and self-recrimination. Every time you look around you feel bad. If you’re hanging on to items that remind you of a bad time in your life (relics of a divorce for example), there’s an emotional cost as well.

Next time you’re tempted to keep something because it cost a lot, think about the costs of keeping it. Letting go of items you don’t use or love can be very freeing!

You can get more advice on letting go by purchasing my Organizing Guide, A GENTLE GOODBYE: how to let go of the stuff that’s holding you back. (Scroll down through the list of Guides to see it.)

I love my timer

3 September 2010

I’ve been keeping sort of a crazy schedule for the last week. Lots of work outside the home, lots of phone time at home, quite a bit of fatigue. The result is that my email inbox, which I usually try very hard to keep under control, has grown and grown.

As I’ve mentioned before, my friend Aby Garvey and I provide accountability to one another to keep our inboxes down to 15 or fewer messages at the end of the day. This week, I just emailed her and told her that I wouldn’t be able to do anything about my inbox until Friday.

Here it is Friday morning. I’d been glancing at email throughout the week, but not taking a whole lot of action with it. So I had a couple of hundred messages in there, most of them needing reply. I felt overwhelmed. But I knew I had to tame it.

So I set a timer. My timer of choice is the Time Timer, which gives a visual representation of the passage of time. I use the plastic one at clients’ homes sometimes. And when I’m at my desk, I use the electronic version. Here’s a photo:

I set my timer for 13 minutes, because at the end of 13 minutes I’d be at the top of an hour. Knowing that I was putting my nose to the grindstone and focusing on email for that period of time helped me push on without thinking about taking a break and without getting distracted by other concerns.

I had to do two of these timed bursts as time-management guru Mark Forster calls them in order to get my email inbox trimmed to about 20 emails that I’ll get to throughout the day.

Breaking big projects down into small tasks, or working on projects for small bits of time is a great way to fight feelings of overwhelm. And a timer can be your best friend when you’re going for those timed bursts.

Next time you’re feeling overwhelmed, grab a kitchen timer and get to work on part of the thing that’s overwhelming you, even if it’s only for ten minutes. The timer helps you focus. And it’s amazing what you can do when you focus.

Hoarders is back this weekend!

1 September 2010

I have to admit that I’m kind of excited that A&E TV’s Hoarders program is having its third-season debut on Monday. They’ll be airing back-to-back new episodes starting at 9 pm/8 pm central.

Part of the reason I’m excited for it to start again is that my pal, Geralin Thomas, CPO-CD® is a regular on the show. And another friend, Standolyn Robertson, CPO® is on frequently.

As I’ve mentioned before, I find it riveting television. It helps me in my work to see the therapists and the organizers working with these clients. I wish the show would focus less on the misery of the people who hoard and the conflict the hoarding causes with their family members. I’d prefer it if they’d move faster to the help, because that’s the part that I really enjoy. And I think it’s the part the viewing public can benefit from.

That complaint aside, I’ll be sitting in front of the TV Monday night ready for back-to-back episodes!

Visual task management

18 August 2010

As I blogged last month, I’ve been experimenting with personal kanban for task management. It’s based on a Japanese model of project management, adapted to personal tasks.

I’ve found it to be simple and effective (though I haven’t dug into all the theory behind it) and thought I’d share my thoughts on it. It seems to me that the system is particularly good for visual people, who like to keep things in their face.

Here’s how it’s worked for me:

I took a 30” x 24” white board and divided it (using dry-erase markers) into three columns:

• Backlog (which takes up half the space)
• Doing (which takes up 1/6 of the space)
• Done (1/3 of the space)

I did a brain dump of my tasks, one per Post-it note (I use 3” x 3” Post-its) and put them in the Backlog section. I add tasks as they come to me.

When it’s time to plan my day, I peruse the backlog, selecting up to five tasks to put in my Doing column. I never allow more than five tasks in my Doing column.

When I finish those tasks, the Post-it moves to the Done column. At the end of the day, I remove the Done tasks, placing some back in Backlog if the task wasn’t completely finished.

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? It seems very simple to me, though when you start digging around on the Internet, there’s lots of theory and jargon behind it.

Here’s today’s board, at the beginning of the day, after I took off my Dones and figured out the day’s Doing:

Daily tasks are stashed in the lower right area.

I’ve found some great benefits to this system:

• It keeps me focused on the few tasks I’m supposed to be doing at any given time, rather than flitting from one to another or feeling overwhelmed by my backlog.

• I use my intuition to pick the tasks that move from Backlog to Doing. I don’t do any fancy prioritizing. (I hate prioritizing tasks.)

• I get to see my progress as the Done section fills up over the course of the day.

• I don’t have to keep track of tasks—I just put them in the Backlog section.

• It’s easy to color code, which gives me a sense of the time I’m spending in various arenas of my life. I use different colored Post-its to represent general business/client work, work on e-commerce, work on business-related volunteer projects and personal items.

• The physical limitation of the Backlog section forces me to get stuff done (or throw tasks out).

Every now and then the Backlog section gets really crowded. When that happens, I follow the suggestion of Jim Benson, the personal kanban guru, and do a Time Capsule in which I pluck off a bunch of small tasks, put those notes on my desk, and power through them. That’s very effective. If I spend an hour or so a week doing that, lots of little things get done (and off my board).

The biggest drawback, so far, to this system (for me) has been the lack of portability. I’m accustomed to keeping a to-do list with me (like my Autofocus list, one of the systems that preceded this effort). When I’m out and about, I have to jot down the task and remember to put it on my board.

I just today downloaded a personal kanban iPhone app called iKan, which may solve the problem. I don’t like the the idea of having both electronic and physical boards, so I envision the iKan for me to capture tasks. But I haven’t even played with it yet. I’ll report back.

If I were into electronic task management, I could use an electronic personal kanban system, like LeanKit Kanban. But the physical one is working nicely for me.

How's your relationship with the mail?

17 August 2010

I’m usually excited when the mail comes. Don’t ask me why; gone are the days of surprise letters or cards from people. And that’s okay, I love email. But I always scurry to the door when the mail arrives.

So I love the prospect of great mail, but I don’t always like the reality of the actual mail. Bills. The occasional notice from the IRS. Insurance claim denial letters. There was a time in my life, before I became an organizer, where I would let that scary mail fester in a pile. Sometimes I didn’t even open it. I don’t have to tell you that not opening bills does not lead to good.

But in the course of my training and work as a professional organizer, I developed a system that I recommend to clients for handling their mail so it doesn’t pile up. It’s worked really well for a lot of my clients.

So I set to work making it available to people who don’t hire me for one-on-one help. And the result is Make Peace with Your Mail, my spanking new four-lesson e-course.

I’m really excited about its launch, particularly since it represents a lot of learning and effort on my part. I learned to shoot and edit video. I learned about autoresponders and about making shopping carts talk to autoresponders. I love it when I master new stuff.

And here’s a chance for you to master your mail. A chance for you to greet the mail with joy and keep the piles away. A chance for you to mend your relationship with your mail. All for only $59. And for an extra $10 you can join the monthly “Let’s Do Thing Thing Together” teleparties and personalized answers to your questions about your mail. (I’m no longer offering the teleparties.)

Please go and check out Make Peace with Your Mail. Let me know what you think.