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Blog
Topic:
Work-Life
Balance —Creating Boundaries
For You To Follow
Blog
Topic:
Work-Life
Balance —Creating Boundaries For Others
To Follow
Blog
Topic:
How
To Get A Handle On Time —Don’t Let
Time Ruin Your Work-Life Balance
Like
most New Year’s resolutions, the vow to “get organized”
probably falls by the wayside and ends up at the bottom of one of those
piles you’ve been staring at for months. Good intentions
do not actions make. “Where do I start?” you ask. Well,
let’s start at the beginning.
There
are three basic principles of organizing. If
you understand them and if
you follow them, they can unclutter your life — not just
physically, but emotionally and mentally as well. The
actions that underlie these principals can make you more
efficient and dependable, and can free you to do whatever
you wish — read a good book, enjoy your family, exercise,
play.
Principle
#1: Set Goals
Most
people plan their vacations more carefully then they do
their lives. Start the organizing process by taking time
to think about what is important to you, i.e., what you want to achieve and experience. Goals give purpose
and direction to life.
There
are two types of goals, short term and long term. To be
most effective, both types should include a statement
of quantity (how much) and a completion date or deadline.
Saying “someday” doesn’t cut it. A goal has a beginning
and an end.
Don’t
just think about your goals. Write them down and include
a plan of action for achieving them.
Examples
of short-term goals:
-
Call
my mother-in-law by the end of next week. (Now that
could be a long-term goal as well, depending on your
relationship with your mother-in-law!)
-
Clean
out my desk, one drawer at a time, and have it done
by the end of the month. One drawer per week.
-
Stop
using the snooze alarm tomorrow!
Examples
of long-term goals:
-
Start
an exercise program three days per week before the
end of the year.
-
Start
a savings plan for my child’s education before the
beginning of the school year. First, find an advisor.
-
It’s
time to socialize again at home. Have an open house
to repay friends for their hospitality. Do it by (month).
Make
sure that you keep all of your goals in one place. That
could be a spiral pad, a notebook or a planner. Just know
where to go to write them down when they come to you.
Don’t rely on memory. Seeing them in writing is believing.
Principle
#2: Prioritize
Effective
management is putting first things first, day by day,
moment by moment. So start with a plan. Not surprisingly,
this can be done most effectively using some type of commercial
planner. Find a size that suits your lifestyle. Many people
hurry out to buy the biggest (not necessarily the best)
planner they can find. It doesn’t have to accommodate
the universe! It has to fit your style and your needs.
Even a pocket size notepad will do. And if you don’t
make lists, a monthly visual calendar might be perfect.
From
your master list of goals and “to-do” items, decide at
the end of each day which items are priorities for the
next day. A priority is a must
do rather than a want
to do. (By the way, make sure that you don’t let other
people’s priorities fill up your planner.)
Do
not transfer more than six priority actions from your
master list to your daily list. You will never get through
more than that and your day will end in frustration. What
you want at the end of the day is to celebrate success.
Scheduling
is an important part of setting your priorities. If you
are trying to complete a big project, create a timeline.
Be relentless in following it.
Once
you’ve made a decision to go forward, do
not procrastinate. This requires self-discipline.
If your are a morning person, schedule demanding or unpleasant
priorities first on your calendar, and then enjoy the
rest of the day. Do
not seek perfection. Do each task promptly even if
it only hits 50 percent of your target.
Principle
#3: Form Good Habits
The
American Heritage dictionary defines habit
as “a recurrent, often unconscious pattern of behavior
that is acquired through frequent repetition.” Somewhere
I heard that a new behavior must be repeated for 21 consecutive
days before it becomes a habit. That sounds about right
to me. Give yourself time to make it happen. It takes
self-discipline (there’s that word again) and willpower
to break deeply imbedded habitual tendencies that are
not productive, but in the long run good habits will position
you for a higher percentage of wins and successes.
Examples
of good habits:
-
Plan
to do recurring tasks at the same time each day or
week. (Return phone calls at 11:00 a.m. - before
lunch. Wash and change sheets and towels every Thursday.)
-
Break
up projects into small parts and approach one at a
time.
-
Keep
focused with a journal and/or day planner.
-
Deposit
car keys/purse in the same place whenever putting
them down at home or office.
Examples
of bad habits:
-
Procrastination.
-
Opening
your mail and leaving it in piles. (Paper should flow
to its final destination.)
-
Not
protecting your scheduled time. (No one else will.)
-
Ignoring
new projects or opportunities because you are bogged
down in low-priority activities or busywork.
Dorothy
Lehmkuhl, author of Organizing
for the Creative Person, says that if you want
to succeed, three “powers” must come from within you:
-
Desire
to change.
-
Believe
that the rewards will be worth the efforts.
-
Decide
to persevere until you succeed.
When
I hear people complain about the negative things happening
in their lives,
I’m reminded that almost everything we have, almost everything
that
we do, is a byproduct of the choices that we make. Want
to make a better
life? Make better choices. Get organized.
Sally
Allen, Professional Organizer
A Place for Everything, LLC www.aplaceforeverythingllc.com
"Organizing for Stress Free Living" at 303-526-5357
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