Laine

First step to organizing your kids for summer fun

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The school year is nearing its end and everyone is excited about the coming of summer. Want to make sure the summer goes smoothly? Here is the first of three tips that will help you and your children enjoy the summer.

The first step is to be prepared. What does that mean? For safety and for fun it is important that all the equipment (“fun” stuff) be in good working condition. The “fun” stuff consists of toys, games, beach and sports equipment that will be used this summer. Together with your child or children, take a look through all their “fun” stuff and determine if it is still wanted or needed, used and played with and determine if it is in good working condition. Repair anything that needs it and be sure to check brakes and tires for safety. Also check your supplies including chalk, bubble stuff and birdies for the badminton set.

Next, determine if the item is stored in the best possible spot. It should be easy enough for your child to get and to put away by themselves. You probably don’t want to be called to the garage every time they want to ride their bike and you don’t want to be tripping over toys that have been left out. Encourage children to put things back when they are done or at the end of the day. If you need to move some things around I would suggest grouping things that go together in the same area. In organizer speak that is group like with like (helmets near the bikes, all water and sand toys for the beach together, etc.) Don’t forget to check the outside play equipment as well. The play structures can have sharp edges, loose screws or fraying rope swings. Check the sand in the sandbox too. By being sure all play equipment is ready for action the kids will be safer but accidents can still happen so keep bandaids and ice packs ready as kids will be kids.

PS For adults, you can use this time to get all the yard and garden tools in top working condition. Think of how much you can get done if there is plenty of string in the weedwacker, or the clippers are sharpened. Ah, the joys of summer. Enjoy!

Organization and blogging – how you can help

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For those of you that are reading this from the link I provided in your email, I would like to explain the differences between the HOPE newsletter that you subscribed to and the new Laine’s Logic Blog. As you have noticed, you are not notified each time a new blog is posted so you either have to remember to check the site weekly or you can subscribe to an RSS feed which will let you know each time I post something new. Directions for that are at the bottom of this post.

 

So, let’s begin. What is a blog anyways? Well according to Wikipedia, the word blog is short for web log. It can be a journal, diary, or commentary that is created and put on the Internet. It may contain text, video and/or graphics related to any topic. This one is related to organizing your life and helping you work smarter and not harder.

 

The fun part of blogging is that the discussion can be ongoing. Writers of blogs (bloggers) can provide information, comments or simply their opinion. Readers can then comment and ask questions and have them answered directly in the comment section or addressed in the next “post” (blog entry). This is the social side of blogging and it assures that the blog continues in the direction of its readers due to the interaction between writer and reader.

 

That’s my vision for this blog. Helping you solve organizational and time management problems that matter to you so you can save time and put more fun in your life. If you have an idea, topic or concern you would like to see addressed in this blog please send it to me by using the comment link at the bottom of this article. (It is in blue and may say no comments or a number and the word comments.) When you click on it a response box will show up. Fill it in and hit submit and it will go directly to me. I will then post it or save it for a future blog. As always, thanks for reading and thanks for your input.

 

Directions for automatic notification:

The easiest way to check for new content is to go to http://www.laineslogic.com/blog each week or you can subscribe to an RSS feed by following the link at the bottom of the blog page. If you use igoogle for your homepage you can add a link that will notify you of new content by using google reader. It is listed on the Google tool bar under “more.” It is easy to “add subscription” and paste the URL( http://www.laineslogic.com/blog ) into the box and then add the Google reader link to your homepage. Then each time you open igoogle you will see the blog listed – just click and it is ready to read.

The two minute gnat attack

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Gnats, those tiny, black, pesky bugs that seem to have innate radar for flying into eyes and mouths are out in full force this week. They are annoying and persistent not unlike some of the tasks on my to do list. I know that if I run I’ll have a moment of peace or I can wave my arms wildly swinging and clapping at the air and maybe decrease the population by …two or three. The same technique doesn’t work with my to do list. Running doesn’t make it go away and smacking the page only wrinkles it. What’s a girl to do?

 

As a David Allen (author of Getting Things Done) fan, I like to use the two minute rule. David says, “If the Next Action can be done in 2 minutes or less, do it when you first pick the item up.” Even if that item is not a “high priority”, because it takes longer to store and track any item than to deal with it the first time it’s in your head. (p. 131, “Getting Things Done”)

Every now and then I let those two minute tasks pile up usually because something else more important needs my attention. That’s when those little tasks begin to feel like a swarm of gnats. You can’t really see them, but you know they are there and they really “bug” me. So today, I set out to see how many two minute tasks I could complete in 30 minutes. I worked for two minutes on my email inbox, responding with a few quick replies, and then two minutes on deleting emails. Then it was on to sending a card, paying a bill and making a phone call. Two minutes of filing was followed by refilling the printer paper and clearing my desk. Then I had to fit in another two minutes deleting emails since it was so much fun. You get the idea, the more I did the more I wanted to do and having that timer go off every two minutes and switching to another activity made it much more like a game than work.  The result – I crossed off a number of tasks on the list, freed up some “psychic ram” (brain space) and probably lowered my blood pressure. Cost = 30 minutes, resulting feelings = priceless. Give it a try and let me know how you do by clicking on the comment link below. Ready, set ….go!

Plan for an organized life

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What does it mean to get organized? For many people it means de-cluttering or tossing things they love and “hiding” most of the other stuff. They think that when their house is in a perfect state (which only lasts for a short time) and they are “organized” then all will be right with the world. I think there is much more to getting organized and so I call it organizing life.

 

Organizing life goes beyond having a place for everything and everything in its place. It is also about being able to find what is needed when it’s needed, doing what needs to be done (before it is due) and still having time to do what you want to do. It’s about gaining control over all your responsibilities (big and small) and it is a major juggling act unless you have a plan.

 

Making a plan takes about thirty minutes. Sunday afternoon or evening works well for many. Taking the time to plan can make a big difference in the stress level of your week. Do you want to bring a sense of calm to your typically hectic week? Then I suggest you start with your calendar, planner or pda (dust it off if you must) and check the upcoming week for appointments or promises you have made. Now gather all the sticky notes, napkin doodles and little scraps of paper that you have written reminders on. Schedule anything you can. Is there a birthday, graduation or wedding coming up that you need to shop for? Schedule it in.

 

When is that report due and how much time will it take you to write it? Work backwards to schedule when you need to start work on it so it will be finished a day ahead. Then plan enough time (double your estimate) and schedule the days and times you will work on it. Now when are you going to do the weekly things like grocery shopping, laundry, etc?

 

Last but not least, what would you like to do this week? Find a place in the week for whatever it is that will make you happy and schedule it in. Then be sure to do it.

 

Review your plan of the week to make sure your time estimates are realistic and your plan doable. You will still need to be flexible as life is often unpredictable, but having a plan will help minimize the surprises and the stress.  

 

And the benefits of an organized life?  Monica Ricci (known for her role on HGTV’s Mission Organization)  says it best in her recent blog….” the most important benefit of living an organized life is this… it allows you the freedom, the mental and physical space, and the energy to live the life you were meant to live, and do the work you were put here to do. When you’re so bogged down in the minutiae and overwhelmed by the day to day chaos of your own life, how in the world can you tune into your purpose and put your life’s work into action?”

Here’s to an organized week and an organized life!

Organization ≠ Perfection

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I recently celebrated an anniversary of sorts. It quietly went by without balloons, gifts or fanfare. Yet it marked a memorable event – it is a day etched in my memory as the day I changed my life! I decided to get organized! A lot has happened since then, some good, some bad, some memorable and some forgettable (or at least I wish I could forget it) but all worthy of celebration because of where I am today.

It took time, it didn’t happen overnight and it never got to the “perfect” stage that I dreamed of. What I learned is “perfect” is a figment of the media’s imagination, it is not reality! At least if you are taking steps, even baby steps, in the right direction then you are on the right path. As Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.”

I hope you are moving towards making more time for yourself and living the life of your dreams. So pause today to celebrate how far you have come and join me on the path toward greater freedom and less stress….one blog at a time.