I don’t know what your opinion is about the immigration debate going on in Arizona right now. However, regardless of your position, it does provide a great example for why you should deal with things the second they come up.  Okay, maybe not the second they come up, but as soon as possible.

The longer we wait to take care of something, the longer it usually takes to resolve.  This goes for something as simple as placing your keys on the hook when you arrive home, to more complex issues like enforcing immigration laws.  If you take the few seconds to hang up your keys when you arrive home (or put them in your purse… wherever your “place” is), you will spend no time looking for them the next morning when you are ready to leave.  On the flip side, if you toss them anywhere, you could waste precious time, and energy trying to find them. 

Now, the immigration law is a much more complicated issue than losing your keys.  However, I can’t help to wonder how different things would be had someone thought to take care of the issue years ago instead of leaving it for someone else. 

This same principal goes for many things in our lives.  I’m certain you can think of at least one task requiring your attention that you keep putting off because it has become such a large task.  And, the longer you wait, the larger the task gets. However, had taken care of it immediately, it may have only taken minutes of your time. 

What is your nemesis?  Digital pictures, unstored and unsorted.  A stack of unfiled papers sitting on your desk (or scattered throughout your house). 

Whatever the task…
-Vow to take care of it now.  It will take time and be more difficult than before, but far easier than if you wait even longer.
-Make a plan.  If you set goals, you are more likely to get the task completed. 
-Be realistic.  Depending on how long you have waited, your task could take months to complete.
-After you’ve dealt with the issue, keep up with it.  Whether it’s downloading pictures as you take them, or filing bills as they arrive, don’t let the situation compound again.

So, I recently found this website, and after trying it out for a few weeks, I think you should take a look at it too.  It’s an electronic “Teux Deux” list.  It keeps things simple but effectively manages the revolving list of tasks you need to keep track of each day!

Now, it does have it quirks.  But, all in all, it is a great tool to have at my fingertips (on my phone that is!).

Try it out.  Tell me what you think!

We have talked about prioritizing many times on this blog.   At times it may seem to many of us that making priorities is a great theory but an almost unattainable reality.  Even for those who seem to be pros at accomplishing things in a timely and efficient manor, it really can be difficult to get all that we want to do completed.  It is important for all of us to learn that what we want, and need, to get done is sometimes drastically different from what we are able to do at any given time. 
It is necessary for us to be realistic with what we can actually accomplish for several reasons.  First, it will eliminate the guilt you feel if you plan to do something and are unable to follow though.  Second, completing the things you set out to do, in the time frame you expected, boosts your confidence and keeps you energized. 
So, how can we create realistic priorities?  The first step is to determine how much you are capable of each day.  Your level of productivity changes daily and depends on many factors.  You will be more productive some days than you are others. A sick child, a friend in need, or a death in the family are some of many issues that can cause stress in our lives.  It is important to remember that these things need “space” in our days, but do not need to take them over. 
Second, to create priorities, we must first know what needs to get done.  This can work on a broad list of tasks or a to-do list for the week.  To establish priorities, start with a blank sheet of notebook paper.  Draw a line down the middle then label one column as “Need” and the other column as “Want.”  Take your To-Do list and separate it into these columns.  You may be surprised to see what actually goes into the “needs to get done” column.
One client was recently surprised that “Work” went into her “want” column.  Most people need to work because they have bills to pay.  However, while this woman is fantastic at what she does and loves to work, she does not need to because her husband makes enough to support them comfortably.  In her “Need” column “care for mom” and “prepare for move” were at the top of her list.  After taking a realistic look at what she needed to do, taking a short break from work was not a difficult decision.  And, it opened up time for her to accomplish the things she needed to do without feeling guilty about letting someone down. 
If you are feeling stressed about all the things on your to-do list, try separating it into a Need/Want list.  While something as big as work probably won’t make it onto most of our lists, you may find that the dry cleaning can really wait to be dropped off until next week when you have more time. 
Let me know how making your list goes on Facebook.  Did it change the way you are doing things? 

I have a love/hate relationship with email.  While I believe it allows us to be more efficient in many ways, I truly believe it creates more work.  Let me elaborate.

I get over 30 emails a day.  Of those, there are always ones that are immediately deleted (offers I am uninterested in, newsletters that don’t have catchy enough titles to captivate my attention, the Pottery Barn “flyer” so I don’t have the desire to buy something).  After weeding thru my email, I am usually left with 10-20 that actually need to be read and responded to; this takes up a lot of time! 

With the invention of email we spend less time on the phone and out tracking people down to get things done which is great.  What isn’t great is the immediacy that email creates (especially with Blackberry’s and iPhones). Most people check their email several times a day.  With this knowledge is almost seems expected that a “timely response” means within the day.  This is how I believe email creates more work. 

My new solution…. I designate time each day as email response time.  By allotting a specified time for responding to all of the day’s emails I find myself less interested in checking my email throughout the day. It’s amazing how less distracted my day is now.  And, I do believe 24 hours is well within the appropriate amount of time to make someone wait for a response. 

How about you?  Do you spend too much time checking and responding to email? Let us know on Facebook how you control the amount of time you spend managing it!

With Thanksgiving almost here and Christmas looming, I find myself thinking; “I thought I was busy in October!”  With this on my mind, I would like to share an excerpt from Robert Fulghum’s book “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.”  I hope it will serve to remind us that no one person is perfect!

“The man next door cleaned his gutters yesterday.  Downspouts too.  He’s done it before.  I saw him last year.  Amazing.  I was forty years old before I even knew that people cleaned gutters and downspouts.  And I haven’t been able to get around to doing it once yet. 
“I live in awe of people who get those jobs done.  The people who live orderly lives.  The ones who always do what needs to be done and do it right.  I know of people who actually balance their checkbooks each month.  I know that’s hardly credible, but I swear it’s so.
“These people also have filing cabinets (not shoe boxes) with neat, up-to-date, relevant files.  They can find things around the house when they need them.  There is order under their sinks, in their closets, and in the trunks of their cars.  They actually change the filter on their furnace once a year.  They put oil and grease on mechanical things.  Their warranties runneth not out.  Not only do their flashlights work, they actually know where the flashlights are!
“When their car was last serviced-they know that too.  The tools in their garage are on the pegboard-right where they are supposed to be.  Their taxes are based on facts, not hunches and prayer.  When they go to sleep at night, their list of Things to Do has a line through every item.  And when they arise in the morning, their bathrobe is right there beside the bed and it is clean and new.  Socks-right there in the drawer, folded into matching pairs.  Yes!  And as they prepare to walk out the door into a new day, they know exactly where their car keys are and are not worried about the state of the car battery or if there is enough gas to get to work.
“There are such people.  Ones who have it all together.  Exmpt from the reign of Chaos and the laws of entropy.  I see them every day all around me.  Calm and easy pillars of society.  They are the people in your high school yearbook you wanted to be.  The ones who made it.
“Well.  I am not one of them.  Out of the frying pan, into the spilt milk is more me.  Most of the time daily life is a lot like an endless chore of chasing chickens in a large pen.  Life is an air-raid drill.  Never mind the details.” -Robert Fulghum

I, for one, would like to meet a person who’s list of Things to Do has a line through every item when they go to bed!  Are you more like Mr. Fulghum, or the fictional super hero he describes? My guess is most of us fall somewhere in between the two. Instead of “never mind the details;” remind yourself during this busy time to “never mind the unimportant details.”  Prioritizing is always the key!

A friend’s husband just took 3 weeks off work.  She works from home so this quite dramatically upset her daily routine.  She felt like she was missing out or guilty if she wasn’t taking advantage of the opportunity to spend as much time as possible with him, but she desperately needed her alone time to get things done.  Not just work things, but grocery shopping, cleaning, and her “me time” are things she is used to doing throughout the week when he is at work. 

At the end of week one she was feeling frustrated.  By the end of week two she was happy to let him go golfing or fishing alone.  She realized that needing her alone time to get things done was OK because he needed his alone time also.  Surprisingly enough, he appreciated that she wanted to go with him fishing and golfing but looked at it as his time to relax. By the end of week three she had learned how to manage getting things done while he was out enjoying his time off and they spent a considerable amount of time doing things together.  Now, she’s not sure she wants him to go back to work. 

We all need alone time.  Whether it’s to sit and read a book or, like my friend, to get all your ”to-do’s” completed, alone time is important to keeping a balance in your life.  So, what about you… do you get enough alone time? 

Handmedowns.com is a great website where you can buy, sell, give away, or donate gently used baby and children’s items - everything from strollers to books and toys.  The service is free and the prices can be a great deal.  It’s also great if you have some items hanging around your house that others could use. Check it out.

Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify.- Henry David Thoreau
With Thoreau’s words in mind Julie Cubino and Kevin Grosselfinger, owners of Harmony At Last, set about designing an application for the iPhone and iPod touch. The goal was to help people free themselves from being overworked, overburdened, and overtired and find energy, enthusiasm, and ease instead. We are excited to announce that this application finally launched!

The application has two main features.The first is inspiration and motivation in the areas of: productivity, time management, work/life balance, space organizing, success principles, and simplifying life. The second is the ability to define your personal “Simplify” goals and track progress along the way.

Simplify can be found on the Apple iTunes Store now for only 99¢. It’s in the lifestyle section. You’ll need either an iPhone or iPod touch to make use of the program. (Please note that the link found in this announcement requires that you have the itunes software installed on your computer.)

We’d like to extend special thanks to fellow WBON member, Michelle Hobbs, owner of Blue Sky Creative for the design of the amazing graphics used in this application.

It seems like I have a continuously streaming “to do” list.  One thing gets crossed off; four more get added.  It can be frustrating and deflating when you feel like so much has been done but your “to do” list is still a page long.  So, instead, try making an Accomplished List today.  Keep your “to do” list (I know the cross off can be quite gratifying), but write down each thing you complete on your Accomplished list.  I’d be willing to guess there will be more on your Accomplished List at the end of the day then there are mark offs on your “to do” list. 

Well?  How did you do?  I hope I inspired you to take a look at your closet and create categories.  If so, at this very moment, you could go to your closet and tell me how many t-shirts you own.  That’s a great first step.  Now its time to purge.  Getting rid of clothes can be difficult for many people.  So create rules before you do so and stick to them.  If necessary, write them down and tape them to the mirror you are using… yes, you have to try them on! 

Rule #1
If it doesn’t fit, you don’t need it. 
Those are my skinny jeans, they will fit me again.” Maybe, but will you put your old jeans on or go buy new ones?  Hanging on to clothes that define who you were does not allow you to be comfortable with who you are.  This is where the trying on comes into play.  Try your clothes on to make the decision.  Do they make you feel good?  Are they comfortable?  If you answer “no” to these questions, don’t keep the clothes!

Rule #2
Haven’t worn it in X amount of months/years.  You will be the best judge for what a good amount of time is for this rule.  I like to go by seasons.  If I didn’t wear something at all the previous winter, I get rid of it. I probably have something I like a lot more if I went that long without wearing it. If you don’t wear it, it likely doesn’t fit, you don’t like the color, it’s out of style, or you forgot about it.  If you forgot about it, test it with rule one and three before keeping it.  If it is any other excuse, let it go. 

Rule #3
Just plain worn out.
I get it; it’s your favorite pair of slacks.  But, when the hem is fraying and there are snags throughout the fabric, it’s time to let them go.  Held together by staples, safety pins, glue… I’ve seen it all.  If your clothes are worn past fixing, and I mean by a seamstress, let them go!

Exception to the rule, your saving grace…
It’s true; some articles of clothing have sentimental value. Like your favorite pair of slacks.  Maybe they are your favorite because you were wearing them when you met your spouse.  If an article of clothing doesn’t pass the first three rules, it can be saved.  Use caution with your save though.  Make sure not to use the exception for everything.

Taking on your entire closet at one time can be daunting.  You can spread out the decision making by picking categories to go thru.  For instance, just go thru all your pants this week.  If that’s still too large a task, start with your jeans then do your slacks. 

Make sure you take your “give away pile” to a local shelter or charity once you have finished.  I find it is best to use boxes or black trash bags.  This lessens the urge to pull something out of the pile in a last minute change of heart.

Good luck!