Is getting organized your top new year resolution? Here is the easiest way ever to get started!

Offered under the leadership of my colleague Allison Carter, there is a wide array of classes offered by the top professionals in our field.
Join us for this amazing event!

Leslie McKee and Ellen Delap are both Certified Professional Organizers® and Family Manager Coaches. Together they will address the challenges and causes of procrastination and how to overcome it. Remember, procrastination is a habit not a flaw and Leslie and Ellen will teach you will address the challenges and causes of procrastination and how to overcome it. So if you are putting something off that is getting in your way join their call and be on your way to a more productive 2010!

http://theprofessionalorganizer.com/organizingclasses/wednesday/

Link to all the classes:

http://organizingclasses.com

Jan 25-29, 2010

It’s an organizing fiesta!

Learn from the comfort of your own couch.

Strategies for getting organized and for professional organizers

PS
Don’t procrastinate on this offer! Use the code word clutter for 10% off!

What is going to make 2010 different?  We are always striving to be faster, stronger and bigger, but what does that really look like.  One of the most popular resolutions is to get organized and that doesn’t always translate into MORE. Efficiency is a great goal but prioritizing might be a better one.  Knowing what is important in your time and stuff will make every day seem easier. That is a gift that only you can give yourself. So, how do you get there? What do you let go of?  Here are three strategies that may help you.
Top 10 List
What are the all the things you are involved in?  What are your roles?  List them all; pick the Top Ten and let go of the rest, even temporarily so you get caught up on the issues that are bothering you.  You may be surprised when you miss an activity that had been routine and not important, then find yourself secretly celebrating.  This is a great strategy for getting on track when you are going through a major life transition.  Step back and minimize while you get through it!
What is it that only I can do?
Another great tip that really works for entrupenuers is to really write down all the “jobs” you do and then highlight the jobs that only YOU can do.  Go one step further and mark those that you actually like to do.  For me this has really illuminated all kinds of little things that have kept me from the bigger things.  It was easy to let go by finding people to do those very specific jobs that I no longer need to attend to.  It is fun to think of the year ahead with out those items on my To Do List.
Know you  3 MIT’s Daily
MIT’s are your Most Important Things.  If you could write just 3 MIT’s down for the next day when you are leaving your desk or at the end of each day, and were able to start each day ready to accomplish just those 3 things, I suspect it would be life changing.  I know we all have HUGE To Do lists, and making a master list does help get it all down, but I am talking about having a top 3 every day that are non-negotiable!  This will take away the feeling of overwhelm and will help you know what enough looks like. Knowing this can help you stop just working and working and working until you just “hit the wall”

So- see your New Year through the lens of doing what is important and knowing what “enough” is. This will bring simplicity and order to your 2010!

Getting stuck is all about perspective.  Often by the time clients call for our help they really have had several failures and their veiw of their problem is blown out of proportion.  They are seeing everything from an extreme point of view.  They are CATASROPHIZING!

• They have decided that I am PERFECT and will think they are terrible.
• They have decided that their space is the worst space I have ever seen.
• Sometimes they see it as impossible or hopeless
• They think that they or the people in their lives will be traumatized by letting go of certain items.

But often what is trally happening is that i have seen spaces that are in worse shape and all I am really looking at is the person, not the stuff.  I am trying to understand how they want to live in the space and what might be getting in their way.  Often letting go brings energy and a sense of empowerment and control to everyone involved.

Be careful if you tend to think in worse case scenarios.  This highly emotive thinking can get in the way of clear decision making and making decisions is the key to processing the things that are in your life.  Building your decision making muscles and confidence will help you keep a healthy perspective as you face challenges.

If you are trying to change any habit-set your self up for success by taking less on during that time.  We have been focusing on lateness and procrastination lately but this can help with any behavior change from smoking to getting exercise!  Reducing stress at that time increases your will power to succeed.  Stress often makes you resort to those old ways of dealing with things instead of trying new ways. 

So clear the decks and plan successful change by giving yourself a little break to do so.

Free Tele Class to Teach You How to Be on Time

Do you feel the need to squeeze as much activity as you can into each day?
Do you view “unproductive time” as time wasted?
Are you pleased when the day goes by quickly?
Do you regularly under estimate everyday tasks like getting ready for in the morning or driving to work?

If you answered “yes” to 2-3 of these questions, you would be labeled a “producer” in Diane DeLonzer’s book, Never Be Late Again. I must admit that I clearly fit this label! A producer’s battle cry is ” If I hurry, I can…”. Producers are optimists/gamblers. Their thinking is, checking these last two things off me list is more important that being a 100% certain that they will be on time. The rationalization is that they can cross those items off and if EVERYTHING else goes perfectly…they could still be on time. Well, we all know what happens. Producers schedule things tightly to avoid the dreaded down time. We grumble about how BUSY we are and forget that WE are the ones who over-committed! We live daily with this driving desire to GET IT ALL DONE! Here is a little secret…you are NEVER going to get it ALL DONE! So take a deep breath and try some of DeLonzor’s techniques to make a change:

When you feel your self saying, “If I hurry….” replace that with “I am being realistic or optimistic….”
Practice saying “NO” so that you are comfortable doing only things that are important.
Prepare to wait. If you don’t like waiting have something to do!
Practice transitions. Use alarms that make you stop what your doing to turn them off–and you have just started a timely transition!

One of the most important ways acheive your goals is to really CONNECT to them. One simple trick is to ask WHY repeatedly. As you ask “WHY” you will drill into the reason behind the goal. Usually you will identify your CORE BELIEF which will help you stick to it!