Harmony At Last, LLC

Bank statements, credit card statements, receipts, investment info, utility bills, medical insurance… so much paper… what does one do with all of it? Some people save almost no paperwork while others save everything that comes into their home. Which approach is correct? And how do you know if you’ll need a document someday?

I get this question all of the time and wanted to share some organizing tips related to financial paperwork.

First, if you need an item for legal, tax, or reference reasons, you must save it. While the legal or tax criteria can be a bit more simple to determine, the area of what one needs for reference is a bit more confusing.

To assess reference reasons, you can ask yourself… when might you refer back to particular data? How far might you look back? And what would be the worst case scenario if you needed the information and had thrown it out? Your answers to these questions will help you determine your own criteria for keeping or shredding.

There is a great article which provides a lot of detail on the different types of items and how long they should be saved. As always, check with your accountant and lawyer to help you with your particular situation.

Ahhh… the holidays are upon us once again…

And you probably have noticed that I haven’t blogged in awhile.

I’ve had every intention of doing so and it seems that there are many other things vying for my attention as well. I’m sure that you’re probably in a similar situation- lots of activities, parties, shopping, cards, decorations, crowds, traffic, cookies, … and only just so much time in a day.

I have several different thoughts about holiday preparation this year and wanted to reflect on them with you.

Are you ready for Christmas? How organized and prepared are you for the holidays? Responses range from “ugh” to “I’m never ready” to “Of course- I finished my shopping before Thanksgiving”.

The good and bad news about the calendar is that Christmas comes whether we’re ready or not. And what does it mean to really be ready? Usually so much is built up into the preparation for Christmas that by the time it gets here, we all need a break. We can hear the loud, collective sigh as we finally take a breath and hopefully reflect on what is important to each of us individually.

Due to my profession as an organizer and coach, I am also asked very specifically on if I’m personally ready for Christmas and if so, what is my secret? The short answer is “Yes, I’m ready.” The secret is equally simple… I only do that which I am able and nothing more. I still leave time for myself to breathe prior to the holidays and maintain the calm around me.

Here are some of the ways that I’ve simplified.. dare I admit this in the internet forum …

* I send holiday cards with a picture of my children and the message being the same for all recipients. Definitely takes less time although I admit it’s not as personal.

* I didn’t put all of my decorations up. I did the basics and I omitted the extras. I was honest with myself that I just didn’t have energy to put it all up and take it all down this year.

* I sent shortbread for some gifts. Vermont Shortbread Company is fabulous and they take care of the shipping for me!

* I turned down some party invitations even though I’m sure I missed a great time.

I share these with you so that you know I, like you, have to make choices. I prefer to choose calm and so my choices reflect that personal balance for me. I wish for you much peace and happiness throughout the holiday season, regardless of which holiday(s) you celebrate . May you find harmony in the season and enjoy the time with your family and friends.

With the holidays upon us, and things get busier at work, I found myself in a situation where my wife had to remind me multiple times to get something done. In the haste of a moment I would rely on my memory to remind to get a task done, but invariably I would forget. It was getting to the point where both my wife and were getting sick of it. Her having to remind me, and for me, having to hear her frustration when reminding me. I realized the error of my ways. I know, that for me, relying solely on my memory as a reminder to do something is a bad idea. With things swimming in my head about work and home I’m lucky if I can hold onto a to-do in my mind for than five minutes (sometimes less).

I’ve had to get back into the habit of simply writing things down.  Ah, the wonder of pen and paper to make up for the short comings of the human brain. That wasn’t quite enough though because I also found that I had little paper reminders all over the house and at the office. The scattering of the reminders was almost as bad as forgetting them.

I had to get back to basics. One System and One Place.  I’m now keeping a few 3×5 note cards in my pocket to take quick notes down throughout the day. If it’s something I need to take care of quickly I have the reminder right there with me. When I’m preparing to leave to office I transfer the undone tasks into my To-Do system. As I empty my pockets at the end of the day I place the cards along side my To-Do system. In the morning I make sure I can make the time to get specific or pending tasks done. It’s been working quite well and the occurrences  of forgotten tasks has gone down (which both my wife and I are happy about).

Are you using One System and One Place? If not challenge yourself as to why not and what benefit you might gain from it.