Anne Taintor and all her wit

By now, you have to know of my love for sticky notes, notepads, notebooks and anything related to writing a note. I prefer handwritten notes in any capacity, than those written electronically. I have a moderate obsession with notes; however, after a recent discovery of a new notepad designer, that obsession has reached a new level.



After 3M, my favorite note designer is Anne Taintor. Her products are absolutely hysterical. My good friend turned me on to her when she sent me postcards that were designed by Anne Taintor, then she started sending me notepads and my life had taken a turn for the best.
This is the first notepad I received, so eloquently stating “Just file it under “who cares?””:



Some more of my favorites from my good friend, Anne Taintor and her collection titled “Modern Office Revisited”:



The simple pleasures, like witty notepads, that give me a smile on the toughest days are worth every penny.
Anne Taintor’s products can be found on her website: www.annetaintor.com and in specialty stores or boutiques across the country.




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Time Management

To be a whole-heartedly organized person, one must master the skill of time management. I come from a family where about half of us have that down, and the other half is "still working on it." I have learned that it doesn't make the situation any better when I get irritated when people are late or don't schedule their time adequately. It's up to the other person to change his (or her, of course!) behavior and correct the situation. I firmly believe that for those of you who struggle with managing your time, constant procrastination and tardiness that in order for you to effectively manage your time you need a complete mindset alteration.
A positive mindset is the first step towards becoming more organized with your time. If it's any consolation - think of how much time you'll save yourself by planning efficiently and effectively. This is something you'll have to figure out how to do on your own - all I know is that you need to become more aware of planning ahead and managing your time.
Once you've gotten a new mindset about time management the rest is downhill.

The important parts of managing your time are:
• Planning ahead and thinking ahead
• Scheduling your time - make an outline or a plan if really busy
• Being prepared and factoring in uncontrolled situations, like traffic, forgetting something or just running late one morning

I've written about scheduling your time and making an outline several times, so I'll just touch on that. Use a planner, a regular calendar, Outlook or other computer calendar/scheduler, an application on your PDA/iPhone or something else that you can think of that allows you to adequately plan your days. Use this scheduler to account for meetings, lunches, get-togethers, social activities, and other things you need to get done that don't necessarily have a timeframe - create monthly budget, send e-mail to your staff, sign the kids up for their summer sports, etc. In my Outlook I reserve a huge chunk of the day on Friday for my "catch up" or basic administrative work. I block off a set amount of time to accomplish specific tasks. It works really well - I don't schedule appointments then, it's my time to get things done. It works really well!

Being prepared is really important, not just for the sake of time management, but for the sole purpose of being fully and completely organized. With regards to time management, it's vital to factor in things like traffic, getting lost, an unexpected phone call as you run out the door, etc. - give yourself an extra 5 minutes or so to get somewhere as a buffer to make sure that you're on time. Set your watch 5 or 10 minutes fast and forget that you did. What's the worst that could happen? You arrive early! Your tardiness doesn't just affect you - it makes an impact on whomever you are meeting and their mood, as well as their tardiness later on in the day.

The whole planning ahead and thinking ahead aspect goes back to your mindset. If your mindset isn't there yet, this isn't going to work for you. Know what you need to get done in the future and plan for it, budget, allocate your time appropriately, plan a party or dinner with enough time to get everything ready, don't allow yourself to run out of something at home (toilet paper, dishwasher detergent, tissue, coffee...), be efficient when running errands, print out directions and confirm them the night before... The list goes on - but again, this is all on you. You've either got it or you don't. And if you don't, I think you've at least got it in there somewhere!

This is all about changing your mindset. I wish you well -- be on time today! :) **If you aren't going to be on time, have the decency to call - that's all I ask.

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Busybodies

There was a time in my college life where I barely had a minute to stop and smell the spring lilacs as I ran from class to work, but these days I have time to breathe and enjoy life. I have a feeling, though, that will soon change. For those of you supermoms/superdads and overachievers in the workplace who are struggling to balance your time and your life and still get the most out of it, hopefully this can help calm your busybody life and greatly reduce your stress.

Of course there are different techniques that work well for some and don't work well for others. I think it is important, as a busybody, to quickly figure out what will work well to keep you grounded and organized. You for sure are going to need some type of planner or agenda to keep your day straight. Unless you have a photogenic memory there is no way you can keep it all straight if you are a busybody. I think that it's important to have one planner for work and home, not two separate planners or calendars. If you're at work and need to leave early for Susie's soccer game, how are you going to know that unless it's on your work calendar? Some ideas are: using a computer calendar (Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes, Google calendar, etc.), purchasing a nicely bound agenda that is easy to carry with you wherever you go, use the calendar function on your smart phone (synch it with your Outlook or whatever you use), or use a notebook where you can keep track somehow of all of your tasks and appointments.

After you arrange your appointments and obligations is time to figure out how to accomplish what you need to get done in the allotted time. I love, love, love the idea of creating a calendar or a planner for when you need to do something specific in a certain amount of time. For this, I work backwards if I am just making a list or using a calendar and make a note when I have a deadline or need to start or do a particular task. You can even just write down the different tasks onto a piece of paper and use that as your reference, though I do recommend using something where you can denote dates and deadlines. It's all about creating and sticking to your timeline.

Still can't fit everything in? Now is the time to prioritize. Make a list of what you have on your plate and determine what issues are the most pressing or carry the heaviest weight. What is the most important thing you have going on right now? Do that first. For everything else, you really need to work time into your schedule to be able to get it done. Block off time in your daily scheduler to accomplish the remaining tasks, allot a specific amount of time for each task, and get it done. If you are such a busybody that you literally do not have time to get everything done on time I must admit that I have a hard time believing that you are as organized as you could be. I think there are probably ways you could become more organized and manage your time better. I heard an appalling study about the amount of time the average person wastes checking their e-mail. Consider shutting your e-mail off if you have urgent matters to attend to.

I firmly believe that if you create an efficient timeline that lets you know at what time/day a particular task needs to be accomplished by that you will finish this project in ample time. Don't forget to plan for emergencies, urgent matters, sick days or just plain wasted time.

I also firmly believe in to-do lists or project lists. Have you ever had a project assigned to you that you completely forgot to do? Get a white board, a pack of post-its or a piece of paper and write out your to-do list or your project list and keep it in a spot where you can regularly refer to it and accomplish your tasks.
Take some time at work each Friday (or any day!) to organize yourself. Look over your meetings, deadlines, answer those pesky e-mails you keep putting off, clean your desk and get rid of papers that are creating clutter. I like to mark on my calendar "me time" which I use to reorganize myself.

If you're a stay at home parent or retired or unemployed you should still have things that need to get done. Take a few minutes or an hour or however long it takes to make your to-do list, follow up with anything you have been putting off, plan your weekend errands or whatever it is that you need to do to organize your schedule. Create a daily routine or a schedule that is flexible and works for you that you can follow. If you don't want a fixed schedule at least outline what you need to get done each day or week and stick to your list! Don't forget to plan ahead.

Planning out your schedule is sure to be a huge stress reliever. This will enable you to see in plain sight that you do have time to get everything done. This is all about time management, prioritizing and becoming more organized. It's an important mindset especially for busybodies.

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Organizing Through Your Cell Phone

Though I have a PDA, I'm apparently old fashioned because I just use my cell phone primarily for phone conversations and text messaging. I am amazed at the capacity and capability of some of these ultra high-tech cell phones. My newest organizational revelation is to get organized by using your cell, mostly because you carry it with you wherever you go.


I was watching Late Night with Jimmy Fallon the other day and he had a guest who was showing off the Palm Pre, which had this neat looking application that was like a Post-it on the screen of the phone. To me, that's pretty amazing. Not only does it save paper but it can help keep you organized. I have to believe that most cell phones have some type of to-do list function, but the iPhone, BlackBerry and the Pre (which hasn't been released yet) have really cool applications that allow you to make a to-do list on the main screen of your phone. I don't have an iPhone, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was an application for a grocery list right there, too. How handy! If you've got that ability literally at your fingertips at any given moment that's sure to keep your brain fresh on what you need to accomplish.

I've heard of some people recording messages to themselves on their cell phone with a reminder that they can play back at a later time. This can be handy for a short grocery list, a reminder of what errands you need to run on the way home, a list of movie times or anything that you could write down on a little note but maybe don't have one.

Many, if not all, cell phones have a calendar function that helps keep track of your appointments, birthdays and things you need to get done on a certain day. It's especially handy if you can synch your cell phone to the calendar on your computer because sometimes it's easier to use the computer to make appointments than the small cell phone. Take advantage of this to help keep your days organized. Since most of us bring our cell with us everywhere and anywhere this will help remind you where you need to be and when.

Cell phones are great assets to someone who is trying to be more organized. Take a few minutes to understand the organizational capabilities of your phone and figure out a way that will work for you to get more organized by using your cell phone. Let me know what applications you can find that help you!

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Don't Forget...

Especially as we get older, it seems that we become more forgetful. Forgetful of where we put the keys, forgetting to grab the outgoing mail, and, perhaps most frustratingly, forgetting to get the tartar sauce at the market. I'm no doctor, but hopefully I can help you with some tips on how to remember where you stored the remote last night and not to forget the tartar sauce. Remember, it's all about changing your mindset to be on "organized."

As someone who suffers horribly from ADD, I understand perfectly how invigorating it can be to be doing one thing and then space off into another world. Some things I do to cope with that are to write things down - like to-do lists. If I have a thought of needing to do something I immediately write it down, otherwise chances are high that I will forget. This goes along with a grocery list, a list of the errands I need to run, what I need to do to get out the door in the morning and what to pack for a day of skiing. In this category is also a simple to do list for my daily tasks that need to get done. To do lists are ADD people's saviors, if you ask me!

When I need to do something before I run out the door, or if I need to remember to take something with me when I leave I always set it directly in front of the door or leave a note on the door or in front of it. That way, I have to go out of my way to avoid it. This helps tremendously, but I have noticed that unless I place it in the way of opening the door it doesn't always work. Yesterday I set a sweater on the table next to the door to take with me to a hockey game and completely forgot it. I should have hung it from the door knob.

It definitely helps to be consistent with where you keep things, like keys, the remote control and your shoes. If you constantly move things around I can imagine it would be tough to remember where you left your glasses. In my house, there is only one spot where keys go, one spot where the mail goes - then one spot where it ends up if it remains unopened for more than two days, one spot where the bills go, and one spot where the coupons are stored. This helps me dramatically to remember where I put things - otherwise I'd be useless when it comes to that. But, if you ever wind up on my doorstep, I can tell you where everything in my home is because each item has its own "home."

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