For years I considered myself a slow reader. But it wasn’t until I began to use an electronic reader that I understood just how slow. Routinely I would dawdle over a page of newspaper text for so long, that my iPad would time out and close up the document, thinking I wasn’t there anymore. I…
Category Archives: Benefits of Organizing
What’s In It For You? How to Reward Yourself For Meeting Your Goals
How can I motivate and reward myself when I am both the boss and the employee? So, one of the skills I teach in my Plan to Thrive productivity program is how to use a four-month rolling plan to keep up your momentum. And one essential part of the rolling plan is a way to…
Clutter Can Be Funny? Just Ask Lois
Lois Morton is the Gilbert and Sullivan of professional organizing. Watch her music video, here: Lois Morton’s “Confessions of a Clutterholic” And she’ll make you laugh, make you wince, and give you courage. Can you ask for more?
Worth Repeating – May posts from New Leaf News
Looking ahead to summer. Remembering the past on Memorial Day. Listening as commencement speakers recall prior achievements and give advice for a lifetime. May is filled with beginnings and endings. What would you like to begin? What would you like to end? Here are a few posts from past Mays to help make today more…
White Space
When you look at your office or your calendar, consider the use of white space. What do I mean by white space? In graphic or visual arts, white space is the portion of a page left unmarked. In radio, white space is the space between channels that is left unused to avoid interference. Why do…
How Much Time Should Planning Take?
If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable. – Seneca Once in a while a client avoids planning on the ground that it takes too much time. They’d much rather dive right in and spend that time getting some of their work done, instead of reviewing goals, choosing…
Why Tasks Hang On – Three Productivity Traps to Avoid
Take a look at your to-do list. Are there things that have been lurking there for weeks, maybe months? How do you feel when you think of those tenacious tasks? Tired? Discouraged? You can get rid of those “Velcro jobs” faster if you know how they got to be clinging to your days in the…
Update: In-box zero
Back in June I pledged to achieve in-box zero by the first day of autumn, so I owe you, dear readers, an update. How did I do? In a word: busted. I managed to keep up with most everything that came in during the past three months, but the backlog is a mere 10 percent…
In-Box Zero
Remember merit badges, those embroidered circles used to mark achievement for Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts? Now there is a company that makes merits badges for grown-ups, and there’s one I desperately want to earn: In-Box Zero. My goal of an empty email in-box is more elusive than live tech support. I crossed into the…
Want to get organized for business? This class can help.
Tired of an overflowing in-box? Would you like to be better organized? Want to manage your time, paper, and energy, and have a lot more fun doing it? There’s a class that focuses on the skills and tools you need to banish disorganization in your office. I’ll be teaching “Organize Your Business Life” at College…