Peace of Mind Organizing

How's 2010 looking for you?

27 January 2010

January is almost over (already). As I’ve blogged about before, for the last couple of years I’ve been trying to add one big habit per year that will help me be happier and more productive. In 2008, it was clearing my desk at the end of the workday. In 2009 it was whittling my email inbox down to 15 or fewer messages every day. I’m going gangbusters on both of those.

For 2010, the new habit is going to be working on Quickbooks every day that there’s a transaction. I want to stay on top of my finances so I know exactly where I stand, so I don’t have to rely on my memory when I’m entering transactions and so I don’t have a mad rush to enter months’ (or even a whole year’s) worth of data at once so I can do my taxes.

So, as I mentioned, January is almost over. And I’m nowhere near creating the habit I’ve set out to create. In fact, I think I’ve only entered one transaction into Quickbooks so far this year.

But I’m not kicking myself about it. And I’m not really worried. That’s because I know about a really great teleclass that’s going to inspire me — and give me the tools — to get on track with this resolution.

It’s the Why Resolutions Don’t Work [and how to get what you want anyway] teleclass and I’m one of the teachers of it, along with life coach (and my Declutter Happy Hour co-creator) Shannon Wilkinson.

I think of Shannon as my secret weapon. The hypnosis and neuro-linguistic programming techniques she uses are amazingly powerful and effective. She’s also kind, generous, and filled with great advice.

She can be your secret weapon too. You can benefit from her amazing skills (and from the practical advice I bring to the table) by signing up for this teleclass, which will be held this Friday (January 29) at 1:00 p.m. central. The call will be recorded, so if you can’t make it Friday you can still benefit from it (and listen to it over and over).

It’s only $10. And if you sign up, you get a $20 coupon for any products or services offered by Shannon or me.

I’ll summarize: You’ll learn some practical ways to set and achieve resolutions and goals. You’ll be taken through some really powerful (and relaxing) exercises. You can listen to it over and over. It only costs ten bucks. And you can get that ten bucks right back (plus ten more) when you buy coaching or organizing services from us.

Please join me in making 2010 the year you get what you want.

Salvaging the day

25 January 2010

My standard poodle, Pip, is out of sorts today. She keeps coming up to me to ask for something. I feed her and she doesn’t eat. I let her out and she doesn’t want to come in (which is unusual, since it’s a very blustery day). It appears she wants something, but doesn’t know what. And she’s having a little trouble getting comfortable.

I’m the same way today. I have a lovely, clear calendar all the way to a phone meeting at 5 p.m. I have a long to-do list. But I have not checked a whole lot of things off on it. Like Pip, I find myself a bit out of sorts and uncomfortable.

It’s 3 p.m. and I have some options here to salvage the day. I can:

• Buckle down and try to get as much done as possible before my 5 p.m. meeting and 7 p.m. NSGCD teleclass. That way maybe I’ll feel better about myself and the day’s productivity.
• Cut myself some slack and just pick one or two really important things from my list and then do them.
• Concentrate on what I have managed to accomplish, since the day hasn’t been a total wash. (Hey, once I post this, I can cross “write blog post” off my list!)
• Do something that will make my mind feel more clear, like cleaning out my (physical) in basket which is starting to get full or clearing off my desktop completely, dusting it thoroughly and putting back just the few things that need to be there. That kind of activity might set me back on the course to being productive for the last hour before my meeting.
• Set my timer for 15 minutes and do something (anything) from my list for that period of time. Then I could take a break and do it again.
• Throw in the towel (so to speak) and soak in a hot tub or take a nap.

Any of those options are good. All of them are better than surfing the web for the fashions worn at this weekend’s SAG Awards (which I admit I did today). I think I’m going to go with the option of clearing off my desk. I might combine it with the use of the timer. Once it’s clear, I’ll prepare for my meeting and if there’s time continue reading the book I’m planning to review here this week. That should make me feel better.

Now if I can only figure out how to get Pip feeling more comfortable!

An interesting take on email

21 January 2010

Staying on top of email is a perpetual challenge for most people. There’s a midground between letting it be a distraction and letting it pile up. I’ve worked out a system that works for me, actually allowing me to get to the elusive inbox zero at the end of the year (though I was up to 15 when I closed up shop last night).

Virtual Assistant Extraordinaire and Can-do-ologist Marissa Bracke wrote an interesting blog post this week called Two reasons email has become ineffective. Her new policy, to officially check email just once a day, is an intriguing approach.

A satisfying apology

18 January 2010

Several years ago, a book called A Perfect Mess was published. I mentioned it on my blog right before it was published. In a nutshell, the book’s premise is that mess is good and that an obsession for order can be detrimental.

I did buy the book and skim it. I was immediately turned off by the fact that the authors mock professional organizers.

About the time the book came out, a columnist with the Boston Herald, Darren Garnick, who writes “The Working Stiff” column, passionately endorsed the book and went on to (as he describes it) “ruthlessly mock” Barry Izsak, who at the time was president of the National Association of Professional Organizers.

Fast forward three years. Last week, Garnick wrote a highly satisfying retraction and apology in which he acknowledges the “sinking, drowning feeling” of clutter, which was brought on when his employer relocated his office. He faced down his mess and realized all the less-than-useful items he’d been letting pile up.

“After more than a week of intense clutter therapy, I profusely apologize for my past insensitivity to the National Association of Professional Organizers. There is no such thing as a ‘Perfect Mess’,” he writes.

My only quibble with this column is that he says he would not consider hiring a professional organizer because he doesn’t want anyone touching or evaluating his stuff. I think if he chose to work with an organizer trained in working with chronically disorganized people, he’d find that all the decisions would be his own and that with the proper support, encouragement and advice, the whole process would be easier.

Bravo to Garnick for his revelation and for publicly admitting it!

Take some time out for a retreat

16 January 2010

Last year around this time, I blogged about Jen Louden’s Virtual Retreat. It was a weekend event where participants got to hear interviews with a variety of self-help folks to help them nurture themselves.

I signed up and it was great — and it was also a big hit. So Jen’s back with the 2010 Virtual Retreat and a whole new line-up of folks. This year’s theme is “Refresh, Reawaken, & Rediscover Who You are in Ways that Truly Work.” The virtual retreat takes place February 12 to 14.

Here’s what I love about this retreat, or really any retreat. I like the idea that you’re taking time away from real life, from daily pressure, from ordinary responsibilities to focus on something important. And what’s more important than focusing on your well being?

The fee for the two and a half days of the retreat is just $108. Since it’s Valentine’s Day weekend, Jen is offering a couple’s special. You and your special someone can enroll together for $162. (You don’t have to be related to the other person to take advantage of the sweetheart deal.) That covers 12 different speakers, including recordings and transcripts.

Topics (and session hosts) include:

• Step into Magic: Reclaiming the extraordinary in each gracefully simple, amazingly mundane, and fantastically ordinary day (hosted by Patti Digh)

• Opening To The Sacred (hosted by Hiro Boga and Fabeku Fatunmise)

• Embracing Crazy (hosted by Gail Goodwin)

• Tenderly and Fiercely Claim your Inner Authority (hosted by Camille Maurine)

• How to Achieve Time Mastery for Maximum Productivity and Fulfillment (hosted by Bill Baren)

• Trusting Your Loving Self (hosted by Tama J. Kieves)

• Making a Story of Your Essential Goodness (hosted by Christina Baldwin)

• Change your Chi — Change your Life! (hosted by Stephanie McWilliams)

• Em“BODY” The Life of Your Dreams (hosted by Jennifer Jimenez)

• Trust your Inner Genius: Using the Tools of Improv Comedy in Every Day Life (hosted by Katie Goodman)

• Summon Your Singular Genius: Discover the Unmatched Greatness that Sets YOUR Purpose Apart & Your Profits Soaring (hosted by Julie Ann Turner)

If these topics and speakers interest you, this might be the perfect way to take care of yourself over Valentine’s weekend. You can get complete deals the 2010 Virtual Retreat webpage. The $108 price is the early-bird price. It goes up on February 5.

Why resolutions don't work (and how to get what you want anyway)

13 January 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.

Shannon Wilkinson and I teamed up again (we co-created the Declutter Happy Hour course) to teach this teleclass. We share with you the reasons resolutions don’t work, and more importantly what to do instead. We give you tips and strategies and guide you through helpful exercises so you can experience a new way of approaching your resolutions and goals.

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 teleclass is over, but you can still get the immensely helpful recording. It’s 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.

Details:

• We talk for about an hour and then open it up for questions.

• During the call we talk about the common reasons that setting resolutions doesn’t work, and we explain and guide you through exercises that help you get what you want.

• 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.

Are you in? Yes? Just click the “Add to Cart” button:

Here’s to getting what you really want!

Fun with headshots

12 January 2010

You may have noticed that there’s a new photograph of me on my blog and website. (Look at the bottom of the right-hand column here on the blog.)

The photo I’d been using was fine, but it was taken in 2005 and I was getting really sick of looking at it. I liked it so much — and liked the experience of getting it taken — that I called the same photographer, Jess Krienert of Magpie Photo Works to take the new one.

The session was loads of fun and there were so many great shots to choose from that selecting one was a real challenge.

Jess has a fabulous blog (and a fabulous sense of humor) and she recently wrote a great post about executive headshots that features our shoots. I love it because there are out takes there, including pictures of my standard poodle, Kirby.

If you’re in St. Louis and need a headshot, I heartily recommend giving Jess a call. She not only made me look great in my photos, we had a really good time together.