Archive for the ‘Time to Organize’ Category

Can we manage time?

Monday, February 4th, 2019

Time

Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, states that “Time management is a misnomer, the challenge is manage ourselves.” Yet, we have this obsession to learn “time management?”  Time is a commodity.  How do you spend time?  Can you make time? When the day is done, what have you accomplished?  We can’t get it back.  That ship has sailed.  Did you feel good about what you do did today?

We often hear ourselves, or others, say, “I don’t have time.” What then, do we have?

We have too many commitments, too many choices, too much food, substances and distractions.  We can’t decide.  We can’t say no.  We can’t diet.  We can’t quit habits that aren’t good for us.  And, we don’t accomplish the tasks and goals that we hoped.

Maybe we can’t manage time, but we can work at managing all the components of our lives and manage ourselves.  We can plan ahead, budget our time, set a target and commit to a schedule  like you would a vacation.  We can select a task, set a timer and accomplish a small assignment.  We can break down a large project into small pieces, and little by little, whittle away at it.

We can manage our expectations, set boundaries, and learn about planning and estimating.  We can examine our schedules, write down our priorities and schedule them.

How do you handle interruptions?  Do you get caught up in major distractions?  Do you try to start too many things at once, and end up finishing nothing?  Do others’ priorities absorb your day?  Have you examined ways to make your life easier? Can you delegate a task to someone able, willing and mutually accountable?

Learn about how you approach new things.  Do you instinctively jump in like a bull in a china closet, or procrastinate until you find the perfect way to do it?  Linda Sapadin’s book, It’s About Time: The 6 Styles of Procrastination and How to Overcome Them is eye opening and life changing.

Stuff happens….emergencies, illness, demands of others.  But, we can’t abandon our dreams.  We must get back on track, and schedule our priorities.

Let’s recap how we can manage ourselves by learning about:

  • How we spend time and handle interruptions
  • Setting boundaries: physical, mental and emotional
  • Focusing
  • Budgeting
  • Planning
  • Estimating
  • Scheduling
  • Setting goals and priorities
  • Delegating
  • Avoiding multitasking
  • Managing distractions
  • Managing expectations
  • Managing lists

Plato said “the beginning is the most important part of the work.”  Let’s begin.

Do you want to learn more about time and managing yourself, contact me.

The Right Strategy for Paring Down

Monday, October 9th, 2017


“Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.”
– – A. A. Milne, author of Winnie the Pooh

Before you tackle your next organizing project, will you plan and strategize?  What motivates and inspires you?

I have helped 600+ individuals to successfully accomplish their organizing goals with solid plans and strategies.  I believe that there is no “right” strategy.  As your personality is unique from your friends and relatives, so are your styles to succeed.  We cannot compare our stuff with others’, nor can we compare our ways and lives with that of others’.  Each project and each individual is unique, and there are so many different strategies to pare down and/or organize your “stuff”. 

Recently, a new client asked for my help.   Sheila (fictitious name, real person) had experience paring down possessions, but this time it was too emotional for her to do alone.  Her mom had passed away, and the home needed to be cleared out.  Sheila was afraid that she would procrastinate and it would not get accomplished.  Her budget was limited, too.

Sheila accepted my first recommendation which was to complete a specific task on her own within one week.  Sheila completed her assignment successfully. She trusted the idea to work with me virtually to achieve ultimate success, and keep her expenses low. Her next assignment was also completed on time. I estimated the project to complete in six months, this was agreeable to Sheila.

With my feedback, advice and encouragement, Sheila was motivated and held accountable for her success.  Her organizing/paring down project was completed in 3 months….way ahead of schedule. The strategy, that I recommended to Sheila, worked! 

Part of our strategy was to start with easy decisions.  The easier the decision, then the organizing process flowed.  If you start with the hard decisions, one could get stuck.  I vote for easy, and small changes over time.  Leo Tolstoy, the great author of War and Peace, knew that great success was achieved by taking baby steps. He said, “True life is lived when tiny changes occur.”   Taking baby steps give us a chance to experience the changes in our lives.  When we give ourselves time to make decisions, (to keep or eliminate our things, relationships and/or relationship(s) with things or people), we have great opportunities for success.

The industry of Professional Organizing officially began in 1985 by a handful of bold women.  Today, there are thousands of professional organizers in the world, each having a specialty, unique personality, style and philosophy. Marie Kondo, a new popular author of simplifying, emphasizes that if “the thing” does not resonate with you, “it” no longer belongs in your life.  That makes for an easier decision to keep or eliminate. 

Be successful at organizing your space and your life.  Make thoughtful decisions to keep or eliminate, and organize the “best way” for you.

Winnie the Pooh and his friends gave everyone, at every age, a sense of joy, adventure, loyalty and accomplishment.  Allow them to be inspiration for your next organizing project.

Organizing, Gratitude and Asking for Help

Monday, December 5th, 2016

Marcia Sloman, Under Control Organizing

The grocery-cart-return area was about 20 feet away, but the able-bodied, middle aged man rolled his emptied grocery cart to an level surface next to his car instead.  I just couldn’t walk away.
“The return area is right over there”, I stopped, pointed, and said with a smile.
He froze, unexpectedly confronted.  “Yes, it is”, was his retort.
“I’ll be happy to help, and take it for you, if you like”, I offered.
“That’s kind of you”, was the man’s reply.
“You’re welcome. All you had to do was ask.  Have a nice day.”

Whether it’s keeping the parking lot safe from rolling grocery carts, being able to find things quickly in my home and office, or listening carefully to you to determine the best “systems” in your space, it’s all Organizing.  I’m happy to do it.  All you have to do is ask.

It’s natural instinct for people to want to help.  We need help, and help may come from unexpected sources.  All you have to do is ask.

I’m happy, and grateful that I chose my second career in Organizing. I’m grateful to my mentors, supportive friends, family and acquaintances.  I’m grateful to the career counselor who evaluated my skills in 1992 as “having excellence in organizing”.  I am grateful every day for the challenging projects offered to me by my clients.  All you have to do is ask.

Giving thanks is not limited to the holiday time of Thanksgiving.  I think that if we make time to remember and acknowledge others throughout the year, our lives might be easier, less stressed, more organized and productive.  We would feel comforted by partnership.  We just have to ask, “Can you help me with ______?”  After receiving, please pay it forward.  I can only hope that the man in the parking lot “paid it forward” in gratitude later that day, even if no one asked.

It’s a challenge to stay organized.  Today’s hectic, harried life commands our attention in so many directions.  Tasks take longer to complete than expected.  Our high priority lists grow.  We’re stretched.  Distractions abound.  There are only 24 hours in the day, and we can’t be everywhere at once.

What does gratitude and helping others have to do with Organizing?  I named my Organizing business “Under Control” to represent a feeling one would have after they work with me.  I enjoy sharing that knowledge with you.  I want you to feel a sense of confidence and calm after our work together.  Being organized can provide that sense.  Organizing is a thoughtful process, whether it’s downsizing, transition-ing or building a new venture.

For me, “organized” is knowing how, when and from whom we need to ask for help, and being able to take our valuable time to express our appreciation for it.

Simple Ways to Streamline your Life, Be More Productive and Stay Organized

Monday, August 10th, 2015

Praying for Organization?

Start with a few simple ways to streamline your life, be more productive and stay organized:

Manage your schedule

  • Send yourself reminders via email, app or electronic calendar.
  • Set up a separate inbox for your reminders, and check it daily.
  • Use a family calendar to track family commitments.
  • Eliminate multiple calendars, or be sure to synchronize.
  • Set up a grab and go area near your exit to remember to bring items with you when you go out.

Pare down paper

  • Pay as many bills online as you can.
  • Remember to maintain receipts if they are tax-deductible expenses.
  • Find what you need, when you need it: set up a simple format and naming convention to scan and to file. Please remember to back up. If you don’t keep the paper as back up, save to a hard drive or cloud storage.

Eliminate electronic clutter

  • Reduce stress and anxiety resulting from the overwhelm of feeling buried.
  • Unsubscribe from e-offers and emails that are no longer relevant to you.
  • Clear out your Inbox by creating folders for important senders/categories.

Filing

  • No one LIKES to file (except for me). Make it easy on yourself, or set up a simple system, for paper and electronic matter, so that anyone can put your stuff away.

De-clutter your space(s)

  • Surround yourself in an environment that represents who you are.
  • Free up valuable space.
  • Start with the EASY decisions. Choose to keep or eliminate. Get to know what you have.
  • Set aside 10-15 minutes a day: with a notebook and pen, walk room to room, closet to closet, drawer to drawer, until your entire home/office is inventoried. Bookmark where you left off each day so that you can pick up where you left off. This may take a month or more overall to complete. The process will force you to eliminate items that you no longer want.

For more easy ways to streamline your life, be more productive and to stay organized, contact me. We can quickly brainstorm your unique life situations to transform your life to an organized life.

Why You Can’t Get Organized

Monday, July 14th, 2014

Do you find yourself struggling to organize your things? You’re not alone.

Read my article on Dr. Mark Banschick’s blog in Psychology Today. I know it’s overwhelming. But, you can do it.

Best Gadget for Self Management

Tuesday, May 6th, 2014

Sometimes the oldest technologies are the best technologies.  The old fashioned “timer” for instance can help you stay on track in your projects, and manage time throughout the day. Using a timer can empower you to feel more accomplished in your projects.

See my interview on News 12.

Time to De-Clutter

Thursday, October 27th, 2011

There’s never enough time! Our lives are so full as we attend to day-to-day chores and activities. There never seems to be enough time to decorate, renovate, start or complete special projects. Can you de-clutter or organize all the stuff around your house? In order to set aside some time to accomplish these important things, we need to become aware of how we spend our time. If we are able to eliminate the “time wasters”, we can set goals, prioritize, and begin those often put off projects. Become skilled at estimating how long it takes to accomplish a task. Set a stopwatch to learn how long a task takes. Eliminate distractions. Do you want to plan your next project to de-clutter the garage in order to fit the car inside before the winter comes? Examine your garage space and decide the purposes for which it should be used. Visualize the car inside the garage. Sort the contents into Trash, Recycle, Sell, Give Away and Donate. Follow through by distributing those items to appropriate places. Store the rest on shelves, hooks, bins, and use other easy-to-organize products.