I'm always curious to learn what people's greatest organizational dilemma is. Please comment here with the answer or send me an e-mail at: acomb@live.com with what your biggest organizational dilemma is.
1. Time Management
2. Home Organization
3. Office Organization
4. Planning Ahead/Being Prepared
5. Clutter Management
6. I'm a Hoarder
7. Need Motivation
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Showing posts with label procrastination. Show all posts
Showing posts with label procrastination. Show all posts
Monday, June 29, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
My Questions for YOU
I'm always curious where people stray from being organized. In what way of your own life are you the least organized?
1. Frequently running late (time management)
2. Frequently forgetting things (planning ahead)
3. Messy buildup/clutter in home/office/car (clutter)
4. Putting things off until the last minute (procrastination)
5. Disorganized storage
6. Lack of motivation or follow through
7. Other
What about the opposite - where do your strengths lie with regard to being organized?
Feel free to comment or send me an e-mail, acomb@live.com -- I'm always willing to answer any personal organizing questions or dilemmas you may have!
Read More!
1. Frequently running late (time management)
2. Frequently forgetting things (planning ahead)
3. Messy buildup/clutter in home/office/car (clutter)
4. Putting things off until the last minute (procrastination)
5. Disorganized storage
6. Lack of motivation or follow through
7. Other
What about the opposite - where do your strengths lie with regard to being organized?
Feel free to comment or send me an e-mail, acomb@live.com -- I'm always willing to answer any personal organizing questions or dilemmas you may have!
Read More!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
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.
Read More!
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.
Read More!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Procrastination
Ugh, the dreaded word. I don't like thinking about procrastination, much less writing about it. I am a firm believer in budgeting your time appropriately leaving out the need or desire to procrastinate. But, after getting through college I realized that I am probably the only one with that mentality. How many people can really say they don't procrastinate? Believe it or not, I don't procrastinate.
The reason why I don't procrastinate is because I realize that it is a mentality and my crazy organized brain doesn't allow me to not plan ahead and get things done within an allotted time period. If I know I need to do something I do it. I don't sit around and push it to the back burner until crunch time comes. I just do it. Think Nike.
If you're a procrastinator my best advice to you is to change your mind set. I don't know why procrastinators procrastinate, but I do know that it's up to you to get out of that awful habit. I've heard the common excuse from a lot of friends who say that waiting until the last minute makes them think better because they know they need to get it done and that they work better under pressure. I kinda sorta believe that - but not really. I think that if you give yourself ample time to accomplish a task or project and take the time you need that you will do your best work.
My logic tells me the opposite would be true if you're fighting the clock to meet a deadline. If you're up for the challenge I say go for it - drop the idea that you work better under pressure and get things done in a reasonable amount of time and finish them early.
Whenever I have a project or an assignment of any kind I like to plan out a schedule of when I am going to accomplish each part of the project, like creating a timeline. This works for home improvement projects, assignments at work or school, planning a wedding or a party, writing a book or anything else that requires planning at length. I work backwards and plan out the amount of time it will take me to do everything while leaving myself a little wiggle room just in case. The important part to following a timeline is to stick to it and follow your schedule. I have reason to believe that if you take the time to create a project timeline that the amount of procrastination on your part will decrease.
Now that you've had some time to think about procrastination I hope you'll consider changing your mind set and just do it.
Read More!
The reason why I don't procrastinate is because I realize that it is a mentality and my crazy organized brain doesn't allow me to not plan ahead and get things done within an allotted time period. If I know I need to do something I do it. I don't sit around and push it to the back burner until crunch time comes. I just do it. Think Nike.
If you're a procrastinator my best advice to you is to change your mind set. I don't know why procrastinators procrastinate, but I do know that it's up to you to get out of that awful habit. I've heard the common excuse from a lot of friends who say that waiting until the last minute makes them think better because they know they need to get it done and that they work better under pressure. I kinda sorta believe that - but not really. I think that if you give yourself ample time to accomplish a task or project and take the time you need that you will do your best work.
My logic tells me the opposite would be true if you're fighting the clock to meet a deadline. If you're up for the challenge I say go for it - drop the idea that you work better under pressure and get things done in a reasonable amount of time and finish them early.
Whenever I have a project or an assignment of any kind I like to plan out a schedule of when I am going to accomplish each part of the project, like creating a timeline. This works for home improvement projects, assignments at work or school, planning a wedding or a party, writing a book or anything else that requires planning at length. I work backwards and plan out the amount of time it will take me to do everything while leaving myself a little wiggle room just in case. The important part to following a timeline is to stick to it and follow your schedule. I have reason to believe that if you take the time to create a project timeline that the amount of procrastination on your part will decrease.
Now that you've had some time to think about procrastination I hope you'll consider changing your mind set and just do it.
Read More!
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