organization

Summer Solutions to Organization

by

summer-beach-graphicTwo questions for you. First, what does organization mean to you? Second, what does summer mean to you? To me, those two questions go together because if you’re organized there is a better chance that you can take advantage of all the things that summer has to offer. It takes planning and keeping up with the things that we usually do on the weekend and handling them during the week in order to have your weekends free to do what makes you happy.

Do you have systems for:

  • meal planning and grocery shopping?
  • bills, paperwork and email?
  • laundry?
  • projects?
  • planning your week?

Can you find what you need when you need it or do you need to….

  • de-clutter?
  • organize?
  • simplify?

If time just seems to slip away and you feel like it is a struggle to make it through the week, then it is time to get organized!

June will be here in two days and that means that the warm weather is on its way. Although yesterday it was 47° here in the Boston area, today we are a bit more hopeful as the sun is out and the thermometer is crawling its way to 60. Will this be the summer you get organized and have more fun?

If you answered “yes” then let’s talk or send me an email and see how our Summer Solutions Program can help you make the most of this summer. laine@laineslogic.com or (781)659-0513. Hurry- time flies!

 

Three Tips to Tame Time

by

It is back to school and back to juggling multiple activities and schedules. How is your stress level?  Since we can’t stretch time, and we really can’t “manage” it either, we have to learn to “manage” our choices and ourselves. Here are three tips to help you take back control.

How is your relationship with time?  Do you manage it or does it manage you?  We all know what it is like to be running non stop throughout the day only to discover that we have accomplished little by days end.  Often it is one little unplanned “glitch” that sends us spinning out of control.  To manage ourselves is to make choices and influence the course of our day to include what matters most so that each day is satisfying and rewarding.  Here are some things to consider:

1. Are you realistic about the amount of time a task takes? Estimate how much time you think a task (not a project which is more than one step) will take and then use a timer to check your guess.  This is a great strategy for kids to use with their homework too.  Simplify household tasks and/or get the family involved to reduce the amount of time needed.  Get creative to trim time.

2. Do you schedule more tasks than can be accomplished in the allotted time? After you have a realistic idea of how long each task takes, simple math will tell you whether or not you can fit those three tasks into the hour you have allotted.  The idea is not to fill up each available minute but to focus on the things that are meaningful to you – make sure you add those in before the less important tasks.

3. Do you plan for the entire task, including preparation, completion and clean up, as well as, allowing for travel time or interruptions? Whether you use a “to do” list or a planner your list of tasks often runs together without separation.  Instead of listing the big task, try listing the next action step and include a space for preparation time and clean up.  For example, if you have a report to complete, gathering the information might be the next action step rather than “write report,” which involves multiple steps and makes estimating an accurate amount of time to allow, nearly impossible. For students, they often see “science project” as a single step activity. Help them break it down and plan out when to work on the pieces of the project and you’ll have fewer last minute dashes to the office supply store for poster board.  Also, don’t forget to add in travel time and leave several blocks of 15 minutes free throughout the day to handle the unexpected or to give you time to catch your breath when tasks take longer than expected.

With practice you will develop a more realistic idea of the time needed to accomplish the things you need to do. To truly feel in control of time you need to start with what’s most important to you and be sure to put that in first.

Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you. Carl Sandburg US biographer & poet (1878 – 1967)

Organization and blogging – how you can help

by

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.