What do you wear when you’re at home?

Whether you’re working, doing chores, or chilling out, the clothes you wear can affect your mood, motivation and even feelings of self-respect.

If you find yourself struggling with procrastination, low productivity or lack of motivation, your at-home wardrobe could be to blame.

• Do you pull on any old thing because you’re ‘just at home’?
• Do you say to yourself, ‘No one can see me, so why bother?’
• If someone knocks at the door, do you stay very quiet and hope they’ll leave, because you’re too embarrassed to answer the door in what you have on?
• Do you keep clothes that look bad, are stained, tatty or ill-fitting, or just don’t suit you – because they’re ‘still good’?

If you answered Yes to any of these questions, then it’s time for a closet intervention.

You don’t have to wear your best clothes at home. If I’ve been out I usually get changed when I get home – that way my special clothes stay looking great for longer.

But your at-home clothes shouldn’t be barrel-scraping either. That will only make you feel less than your best. And huge, baggy outfits invite overeating, in my experience. (Do you find this too?)

Instead, have a few outfits that are comfortable and attractive for wearing at home.

I work from home and spend long periods of time at my computer, but I also go to the gym four to six times a week. I want to be comfortable, but I also want to feel productive and motivated, and I also want to be able to head to the gym without the added resistance and potential excuse of having to change. So for working at home I wear dance or active wear – it’s very comfortable for sitting cross-legged and typing and it also works well at the gym.

And for chilling out at home when I’m not working, I have jeans, tanks and hoodies that are perfect for embarrassment-free door answering.

Good outfits for you will depend on what you do at home and what types of clothes make you feel happy and motivated. You can safely rule out anything ancient, tatty, ill-fitting, not-you, or uncomfortable. In fact, go pull these offenders out of your closet now.

Actors often say they inhabit a character when they get into costume. What ‘character’ are you playing when you’re at home?

BTW…

While we’re talking outfits, I recently wrote the post: Have A Go-To Outfit For Business Meetings for Women’s Network Australia. You might like that too.

Image by totally pixelated

Related posts:

1. Get Organized Mission #11: Create Your Wardrobe Wishlist
2. Personal Style Clinic: 7 Dos & Don’ts For Upgrading Your Look
3. 30-Day Organize-athon | Day 11: Organize Your Shoes

Here are some strategies to start the year off well.

3 Powerful Strategies For A Fabulous New Year

Although the start of a new year is a fairly arbitrary thing, it offers a priceless psychological gift – motivation!

Don’t waste this gift! Take advantage of the January 1 effect to get started the way you want the year to continue.

If you’re like most people, you’re hoping this is the year you get rid of clutter, lose weight, get organized, get healthier, achieve your goals…

To increase the chances that the new year is a fabulous year for you, apply the following strategies. Each one is surprisingly powerful, and can make a huge difference to the way you feel and function throughout the New Year. Read more…

Successful New Year’s Resolutions: 3 Things You Must Know To Achieve Goals and Change Habits

A study of people attempting to change diet and exercise habits, it took between 18 and 245 days for the new behavior to feel automatic.

The duration varied by person and habit, but the average was 66 days.

So 66 days is a good indicator when planning your own goal, habit change or new year’s resolution.

That means you need to allow at least a couple of months to get used to exercising… Read more…

New Year’s Resolutions: 3 Ways to Get Organized

Have you set new year’s resolutions to get better organized?

Here are three strategies for starting off the year on the right track – and boosting your chances of keeping those resolutions beyond January.

1. Scrap the storage

If you’ve got stuff squirreled away in storage, the attic or the garage, then this is the time to get rid if it. You probably don’t even know what’s there, do you?

Schedule a day to clear out your storage unit, attic or garage and take everything to the charity store or tip… Read more…

5 Steps To Making This Your Most Productive & Organized Year Ever

The way you use your diary makes all the difference to the way the year unfolds for you. Many things will be beyond your control, but how you spend your time, to a large extent, will be your choice.

Start thinking of time as your life resource. Learn to use your diary to manage time in ways that bring meaning, fulfilment and happiness to you, and to the people in your life.

Here are 5 steps for using a diary to make this your most productive and organized year ever. Read more…

Goals Goals Goals!

And here’s even more on achieving your goals and keeping your resolutions.

I hope the new year brings you meaning, happiness, love, and success in the things you hold dear.

See you in 2012 my friends!

Related posts:

1. New Year’s Resolutions: Posts & Resources
2. How To Change Habits: My 3-Cubed Formula
3. Successful New Year’s Resolutions: 3 Things You Must Know To Achieve Goals and Change Habits

Procrastination is one of those perennial problems. It seems everyone suffers from it at least some of the time, and there’s no one solution that always works.

But there are a few solutions that are pretty reliable at breaking you out of the procrastination rut. In fact, I think these are about the best procrastination busters there are.

Procrastination Buster #1: Do Anything

Often we procrastinate because we want to avoid something difficult or overwhelming. A challenging phone call, a nerve-wracking presentation, a project that’s huge and confusing. If it’s a choice between facing the too-hard thing and checking Facebook, then it’s no surprise the blue F wins every time.

Instead, a good way to step way from the browser and get back to work is to do something other than the hard thing. Work on a simpler project, make an easier call, choose something from your to-do list that doesn’t make you want to run screaming from your desk.

‘But wait!’, you exclaim, ‘If I’m going to do anything, I really should do [insert hard thing]’.

Well, that’s precisely the kind of thinking that activates your procrastination response. It’s like saying, ‘Here, eat this entire cabbage or some chocolate’. I mean, seriously.

By making it easier to stay at your desk – by offering yourself something a bit healthy and a bit yummy – you put yourself in a much stronger position to work up to the hard thing.

• You start to break the procrastination habit. You’re at your desk working, instead of Facebooking or texting a friend. This affects your self-concept, even in the short term. You see yourself as productive.
• You gain confidence. As you tackle tasks, you feel surer of yourself. Those big challenges start to feel less onerous. You did this, you can do that.
• You gain momentum. It becomes easier to do the next thing, and the next. After a little while, continuing becomes easier than stopping.

So, next time you find yourself fighting your procrastination demons, try picking something less torturous from your task list. Don’t over-think it. Just pick something and start. Do anything.

It’s a super-effective way to build procrastination immunity.

Next time: Procrastination Buster#2.

[Image by Viktor Hertz.]

Related posts:

1. How to Use Procrastination to Get More Done
2. From Procrastination To Action
3. Bust Your Procrastination Demons [Mission #25]

Our grand business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand. 

~ Thomas Carlyle

Have you been putting something off? Maybe you’ve been meaning to:

• Begin working toward a goal?
• Get organized at work?
• Declutter your home?
• Start a project?

It might be tempting to wait until some mythical perfect time. Perhaps when:

• You have more time (yeah, that’ll happen)
• You feel more motivated (um, ditto).

Let’s put aside for the moment the fact that a perfect time will never come. And that your life marches on, regardless of whether you do the things you plan to.

Instead, consider the three benefits that come with starting right now.

1. You Avoid Perfectionism

If you start today, this minute, your expectations will be low. You’ve had no time to build up an intimidating idea of what you should achieve.

By taking prompt action, you focus on doing and you stop over-thinking.

2. You Break The Procrastination Habit

In many ways, perfectionism and procrastination are two sides of the same coin. The harder you make something, the less you want to do it. If it has to be perfect, of course you’re going to avoid doing it!

But once you let go of unnecessarily high standards, procrastination loses much of its power.

Starting now is the solution to both perfectionism and procrastination.

Dubious? Start something, and see for yourself.

3. You Get Closer To The Result You Want

Even if all you do is 10 minutes of decluttering, exercising, outlining your novel, sketching a portrait – you’ll still move closer to the outcome you want.

And here’s the thing. Those first 10 minutes move you further forward than any other 10 minutes you’ll spend. Because next time, it will be so much easier to get back into it. Starting really is the hardest part.

So, with these three benefits associated with starting now, it’s worth taking that first step, don’t you think?

What Will You Start Today?

[Image by jakeandlindsay]

Related posts:

1. 11 Great Reasons To Be Happy
2. Do You Use Information as Procrastination?
3. Getting Organized Quick Tip: How To Short-Circuit Perfectionism and Procrastination

People in my Facebook Community will know I’m a big fan of Brian Tracy’s Eat That Frog.

How To ‘Eat That Frog’ For Greater Productivity

Eat That Frog is a time-management idea that encourages you to:

1. Identify the most important task you could be doing each day (your frog)
2. Do this task first, before you do anything else
3. Continue doing this task until it’s complete (eat your frog).

I love this idea and re-listen to the audiobook as a refresher pretty much every year.

How To ‘Do The Worst First’ For Greater Productivity

I also like a related idea, Do The Worst First, and find it a neat little productivity booster.

It applies when you have several to-do items to get done in a set amount of time – say before you go to lunch.

The idea is that instead of doing tasks in the order they appear on your list, or picking the easiest to do first, you choose the one you most want to put off and you do that first.

It boosts your productivity because:

• You feel relieved and have more energy for your tasks once the the worst is behind you.
• It prevents you from dragging out the easier tasks as a way to procrastinate and avoid the less-pleasant task.

You get things done faster and with more energy.

Do The Worst First At Work

Let’s say you have these tasks to handle before heading off for the day:

• Send out invoices
• Open and process the mail
• Call a customer back.

Whichever of these you feel most inclined to put off is the one you should do first.

I would call the customer first because I’m not a phone person (I’m lucky I write for a living!), then send out invoices, then process mail. What about you?

Do The Worst First At Home

Let’s say you have a bunch of things to do before going to the store:

• Clear the breakfast things and load the dishwasher
• Fold the laundry
• Make the bed.

The one that screams, ‘Do me later’ is the one you should do right now.

I would clear the breakfast stuff because it’s icky, then make the bed, then fold the laundry. You?

Do You Do The Worst First?

Do you Eat That Frog or Do The Worst First – at home or at work?

Do you have another strategy that works for you?

I’d love to know!

PS: Remember that you can also Use Procrastination to Get More Done.

[Image by Andrew Mason]

Related posts:

1. Get Organized for Better Productivity: Design a Productivity Ritual
2. [Productivity Strategy] Improve Your Focus By Going Offline
3. Home Office Productivity: Let Your Goodbye Be Goodbye

Are you always looking for time-management tricks as a way to get more done each day?

You can also increase your productivity by improving your focus, so that you get more done and more effectively, with whatever time you have available.

One way to become more focused as you work is to pull up the drawbridge – my metaphor for cutting off distractions, online and offline. And an important part of cutting off distractions for most people is stopping the endless inundation of email.

Improve Your Focus By Going Offline

If you want to stop receiving emails so you can focus better on your work, then try going offline during key work periods.

Users of Outlook 2010 can choose the [Send/Receive] tab and click [Work Offline], as shown in the image above.

Alternatively, you could:

• Close down your email program completely – but this could be a hassle if you need to refer to an email for the project you’re working on.
• Turn off auto-receive and stop ‘checking’ email altogether.

When you’re ready to release the drawbridge, click [Work Offline] again.

Other Email Programs

If you use a another email program, please let me know if there’s a similar option to the Work Offline button, and I’ll update this post for readers.

Related posts:

1. Improve Email Productivity With Bullet Points
2. Get Organized for Better Productivity: Design a Productivity Ritual
3. 7 Productivity Tips For Your Home-Based Business

If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed and stressed as you go about your work each day, there’s a good chance you’re aiming for a perfect state, a goal of ‘having everything done’.

This is a mythical state that can never exist in real life.

Unless you’re a hermit who has eschewed modern life, the reality is that you will never have everything done. There’ll always be more things to do, emails to answer, articles to read, software to upgrade, clutter to clear, etc.

It’s part of the entropy of life that we have to keep working in order to maintain order. You’ll probably lower your stress level immediately just by accepting this reality and not expecting life to be different.

But the fact that you’ll never have everything crossed off your task list doesn’t mean you have to feel overwhelmed.

The answer to overcoming overwhelm is not to rush madly through each day, trying to check as many items off your to-do list as you can.

The answer is to re-think what goes on your to-do list in the first place.

Now this is pretty radical. What I’m going to suggest you do to your to-do list can so increase your productivity and so reduce your overwhelm, as to feel almost magical.

The Magical To-Do List That Overcomes Overwhelm

Here’s how you create your daily to-do list.

1. Each day, choose your 3 most important tasks.

That’s right – only 3.

They could be anything – spending time with your kids, drafting the newsletter, making a call you’ve been putting off, outlining a proposal, asking your boss for a promotion, leaving work on time and going to the gym, getting your hair cut so you feel confident, etc.

But they must be the 3 tasks that contribute most to your top priorities.

For instance, my list for today is:

1. Write a blog post – this one! (contributes to my goal of providing good, regular content)
2. Finish making notes on two of the research books I’m using for a new product I’m working on (contributes to my goal of creating new products)
3. Do an exercise class (contributes to my goal of working out 5 or 6 times each week).

Doesn’t matter how long a task has been on your list – if it’s not in the top 3 things you can do today to move forward on your goals, it doesn’t get on today’s list.

2. Do these tasks first.

You might have meetings, kiddie drop-offs, or other non-discretionary ways you have to spend your time each day, but when you get to choose what to do, choose one of the 3 items on your list. Then choose the next one, and the next.

Only do additional tasks if you complete your top 3.

Increase Productivity, Boost Confidence, Reduce Overwhelm

This approach will transform your work day and your life.

• By letting your top goals and priorities direct the way you spend your time, you’ll make the best use of your motivation, energy and passion, and this will increase your productivity.
• By getting the most important things done each and every day, you’ll also build a sense of self-mastery and achievement, and you’ll feel more confident.
• And by keeping your focus on those top 3 tasks, you’ll feel more in control and avoid overwhelm, burnout and stress.

Over time, you’ll get more done this way, and enjoy yourself more.

Try it – and let me know how it works for you!

Plan Your Top 3 Tasks Each Day With
The Goals & Priorities Diary

The Goals & Priorities Diary contains:

- Daily Priorities Planners that focus on your top 3 daily priorities
- Monthly Goals Planners for setting and planning goals for the month
- Goals Lists for the current and next year
- Goals Achieved And Rewards record.

It’s fully interactive – you can type, save, search and edit.
You can also view your Goals & Priorities Diary from your iPhone
and use it on your iPad. Or print it out and write in it.

SPECIAL OFFER: Get the Goals & Priorities Diary free in any pack! Available for a limited time only. Learn more about the Goals & Priorities Diary.

[Image by Tambako the Jaguar]

Related posts:

1. How To Declutter Your To-Do List [Organizing Mission #43]
2. Goals & Priorities Diary 2011: Get Your Free Copy!
3. A Place For Every Regular Task [Time Management]

Do you feel you spend a lot of time being busy, doing stuff, working on things – but at the end of the day you haven’t achieved very much?

Would you like to get more things checked off every day?

Here’s a little mind trick that can help you shift your focus and get more done.

How To Get More Stuff Done

The trick to getting more done is to shift your thinking from doing stuff to getting stuff done.

From working on the task to checking off the task.

From a present-tense ‘ing’ word to a past-tense ‘ed’ word.

The change of mindset can help you increase output and move faster in a number of ways:

• Because you’re focused on a specific outcome, you’re better able to avoid trivial distractions
• Because you’re visualizing an endpoint rather than an in-progress task, you move more quickly
• Because it’s an outcome you want – a completed task – rather than something you don’t want – a task you have to do – you feel more  motivated.

Here are some examples of mindset shifts you can make on your to-do list:

Of course, there are many things you’ll want to tackle in a more relaxed way. But for the tasks you simply want to get finished, this mindset shift can add a lot of checks to your day.

Try it – and let me know how it works for you.

[Image by cameraworx]

Related posts:

1. 30-Day Organize-athon | Day 30: Get Organized Mindset Shift #2: Make It A Habit To Avoid Clutter
2. 30-Day Organize-athon | Day 29: Get Organized Mindset Shift #1: Adopt OCI-OGO
3. Time Management: How To Boost Productivity at Work [Mission #27]

Having a place for everything and every thing in its place is a wonderful way to keep your space organized.

But you can also apply this same principle to regular tasks, as a way to keep your time well organized, too.

This has several benefits:

• You save time by not having to schedule regular tasks each time
• You avoid stress by not having to remember regular tasks
• You create good habits for yourself
• You find optimal times for regular activities.

Here are some examples.

Daily Tasks

• Check process email every day around 8am and 3pm
• Refill coffee machine every night before bed – even if it’s not quite empty
• Clear sent mail folder before closing Outlook at the end of each work day.

Weekly Tasks

• File nails every Saturday before showering
• Follow up email Pending folder every Friday after lunch
• Do grocery shopping every Tuesday evening when the store is well stocked and quiet.

Monthly Tasks

• Clean fridge last Saturday of every month
• Declutter inbox and delete unneeded emails first Monday of each month
• Do birthday gift/card shopping first Saturday of every month for the month ahead.

You don’t have to be cheerlessly anal about this. Use the idea only to the extent that it helps your productivity and time management – not as a rigid noose around your diary.

Do you think this can work for you? Do you have daily, weekly or monthly tasks that be given a set place? Please share in the comments!

[Image by ohdarling]

Related posts:

1. How To Simplify Email Management [Mission #33]
2. Time Management: How To Boost Productivity at Work [Mission #27]
3. Get Organized in 5 Minutes: Create an x-Delete Email Folder

Here’s a little trick to keep your brain working on your most pressing projects - even when you’re not.

All you have to do is expose yourself to your current challenge just before you head off to lunch, the gym, a meeting, an errand, the shower, whatever.

For example,

• Writing a blog post for your business? 
  –> Sketch a draft, or even just a title, before you go.
• Want a great theme for your product launch? 
  –> Brainstorm 5 ideas before you leave.
• Need ideas for a big client proposal? 
  –> Scribble a general outline first.

The End Of Writer’s Block

I use this technique every single day, and it has improved my productivity immensely.

I think of it as putting an egg of an idea under my warm subconscious, and letting it incubate there. By the time I get back from whatever diversion has occupied me, more ideas have hatched!

I can get down to my project with a clearer sense of direction and more motivation. And I never, ever have writer’s block.

To boost your own productivity, simply remember to focus your subconscious on your current challenge or project before you head off to a break or another task. You can even do it at the end of the work day. You’ll find it much easier to make progress when you return.

Over To You

• Do you already do this?
• If not, will you try it?

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

[Image by Tom@HK]

Related posts:

1. Get Organized for Better Productivity: Design a Productivity Ritual
2. 7 Productivity Tips For Your Home-Based Business
3. Organize Your Office [Mission #19]

Here are some interesting and useful articles I’ve discovered recently.

Overcome Procrastination

Ideas to help you stop procrastinating, from organizing queen Julie Morgenstern:

• How do I stop procrastinating

Get Organized To Move

If you have a move planned, get yourself organized with this handy Start-to-Finish Moving Guide from Lifehacker:

• The Start-to-Finish Guide for Moving to a New Place

Plus, a cool round-up of tips for an organized move from Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie:

• Take Note ~ The Ultimate Moving Tips Edition!

Organize Music

Here’s how to open radio streams in iTunes, rather than your browser – from Lifehacker:

• Add Radio Streams from Web Sites to iTunes

Overcome Mindless Eating

Want to stop mindless eating? Here are 6 tips from expert nutritionist Catherine Saxelby:

• 6 Steps to eating mindfully

Boost Productivity

Ways to use social media as a tool – not just a distraction, from Mashable – Social Media:

• How Social Media Can Make Us More Productive

Start Something New

Some excellent and thoughtful advice on facing the terror of the new from Pamela Slim:

• Find joy in the terror of starting something new

Improve Your Relationships

Thought-provoking tips for surviving surly sweethearts from the Happiness Project:

• 7 Tips for Dealing with a Sweetheart Who Is Crabby All the Time.

Money & Happiness

Interesting article from The New York Times: Live more simply, give stuff away, be happier. Sounds like great advice to me!

• Consumers Find Ways to Spend Less and Find Happiness

Save your splurges for genuine pleasures to save money and boost happiness, via Lifehacker:

• Redefine the Latte Factor for More Successful Money Saving

Home Organizing Inspiration

Apartment Therapy showcases a lovely, organized space – great for a for a little organizing inspiration:

• Andrew & Eric Find a Place for Everything House Tour

Organize Your Reading

Lifehacker reports on relative reading speeds:

• Reading on Paper Faster than Reading on iPads, Kindles, and Other Digital Devices

The Cost of Rudeness

There’s more to politeness than simply good manners:

• Rudeness at work causes mistakes

More Like This…

I post interesting and useful links on my Facebook Page as I come across them.
Please come and join me there!

[Image by alt1040]

Related posts:

1. Getting Organized: Some Links & Resources
2. Organizing Q & A | Get Organized For Moving House: My Top 3 Tips
3. Personal Organization Web Watch | Technology & Social Media Resources | September 09

Even though this site is all about helping you move from procrastination to action, there are times when procrastination can be a smart move.

We all have a drive to procrastinate – a resistance to getting down to the important things, a pressure toward more trivial tasks. The strength of that compulsion is an asset we can use to boost productivity, improve time management and simply get more done.

Here’s how.

1. Identify Your Procrastinating Behaviors

How do you like to procrastinate? Typically, procrastinating behaviors are things you feel naturally inclined to do, things you gravitate toward, almost on autopilot.

For instance, common procrastinating behaviors include:

• Checking/updating Facebook
• Checking/updating Twitter
• Checking emails
• Making a cup of coffee/tea
• Going for a wander around the office
• Calling a friend
• Surfing the net
• Having a snack
• Doing a housework chore (if you work from home)
• Tidying your desk
• Searching online for tips to help you avoid procrastination
• Daydreaming.

Make a list of things you like to do, especially those that help you avoid your high-priority tasks.

Now here’s the good news: You no longer have to feel bad about these procrastination behaviors. We’re going to harness their power to radically improve your productivity.

2. Identify Your Top Priority Tasks

Next, list tasks you need to complete to move forward on your key goals and objectives. These are often things you feel an aversion to – because they seem overwhelming, or difficult, or you simply don’t want to start.

The tasks you put on your list should be achievable in about 30-45 minutes. Not whole projects, but steps in projects.

For instance, your top-priority to-do items might include:

• Create a rough outline for an upcoming presentation
• List main thoughts for a proposal
• Send thank-you emails to this week’s prospects
• Write 2 pages of your novel
• Brainstorm the table of contents for your non-fiction book
• Call 3-7 prospects to request meetings
• Draft a press release.

Notice they’re all important tasks, but not time-consuming tasks. This is the secret to making procrastination work for you.

3. Earn Your Procrastination

We naturally want to do, and feel driven to perform, procrastinating behaviors – so we can use this motivation juice to power our more challenging tasks.

Before you let yourself engage in any procrastinating behavior, make yourself earn it with one of your top-priority tasks.

• Desperate to log on to Facebook? Create that presentation outline first. Then take 5 or 10 minutes to ‘procrastinate’ on Facebook.
• Want to call a friend and chat? You can do that for 5 or 10 minutes as soon as you’ve drafted your press release.

Because our top-priority tasks are now in achievable 30-45-minute chunks, the motivation juice will be enough to power us past inertia to the other side, where procrastination rewards await.

You might need to tweak the ratios of priority work to procrastination to suit yourself – but as long as you’re getting the important jobs done in good time, you may not want to be too hard on yourself.

How Will You Use This?

So that’s great news for those of us who struggle with procrastination – and who doesn’t? You needn’t see procrastination as your enemy any more. Use these steps to make it your friend -  and turbo-charge your time management.

Now over to you – what will you use as procrastination rewards to power your top-priority tasks?

[Image: by royblumenthal]

Related posts:

1. Power Procrastination Busters (Part 1)
2. Bust Your Procrastination Demons [Mission #25]
3. Procrastination, Productivity, Moving and More: Links & Resources

An unrealistic to-do list undermines your effectiveness in two ways:

1. Having too many tasks distracts, overwhelms and confuses you – taking focus away from items that matter
2. Inability to complete items de-motivates you and reduces your self confidence.

Give your productivity and motivation an instant boost in this mission – by decluttering your to-do list.

Remember: you only need 30 minutes for the basic mission. Extended Options are below.
If you’re new, you might like to start here -> 52 Organizing Missions.

Get Organized Mission #43:
Declutter Your To-Do List

Step 1: Take a To-Do List Reality Check (5 minutes)

Now I’m going to say something you might not wanna hear. Ready?

There’s never enough time to do everything on your to-do list.

Time and energy are limited – but the tasks, reading, errands, home improvements, shopping, family commitments, emails, and other demands are endless.

Now for the good news.

There is enough time to do the important things.

But – and this is the reality-check part – as long as you harbor the fantasy that everything is doable if only you locate the right diary system/assistant/task-management software, you won’t focus on the important things.

And important things – whether having milk for a harmonious breakfast or completing a client proposal – are the only ones we want on our to-do lists.

Step 2: Declutter Your To-Do List (20 minutes)

Now that we’ve made peace with reality, let’s find the to-do list miscreants that cause us to feel overwhelmed and under-motivated, and stop us focusing on the important stuff.

Keeping in mind the limits of time and infinity of tasks, scour your to-do list for items that aren’t an excellent use of your time. They might include the following.

Malingerers

Malingerers are tasks that have been transferred onto successive to-do lists since what seems like the dawn of time.

If you haven’t done them by now, simply let them go. One day you may suddenly get motivated to do them unbidden by your pesky task list – and you can feel great if and when that happens.

Meanwhile, save yourself the daily frustration of failing to complete them, and put a line through them.

Busywork

Busywork is anything that makes you feel virtuous without actually contributing to your priorities. For many people, this is where the bulk of to-do list clutter is found.

Examples of busywork include:

• Attending meetings where you gain/contribute little or nothing
• Reading and replying to emails where you gain/contribute little or nothing
• Preparing reports on information that could be accessed by the user on an as-needed basis
• Working on low-value projects
• Making something perfect that only needs to be good (believe me, I know how hard this one is!)
• Embellishing a task with extraneous formatting, information, research, etc
• Completing something purely out of habit – not worth
• Over-complication – long, detailed or intricate projects where simple, direct tasks would suffice.

None of these pieces of busywork are bad in themselves – they simply steal time and energy away from things that matter. So let’s put a line through them and make room for more important to-do items.

OPP (Other People’s Priorities)

It’s a rare person who doesn’t have a few OPPs on their to-do list.

OPPs can be so ingrained that you don’t see them unless you really look. Hiding places include:

• The way you should raise your children
• The kind of work you should do
• The way your home should look or function
• The kinds of meals you should cook
• The activities a man/woman should enjoy
• The sort of books you should read.

(Hmm, the word ‘should’ sure comes up a lot in OPPs – a good clue. )

Check your to-do list for items that don’t reflect your own priorities – and put a firm line through them.

Step 3: Review Your Decluttered To-Do List (5 minutes)

Now that you’ve removed your to-do list clutter, let’s review what remains.

Your to-do list should now be shorter, more focused on your priorities, and more motivating. (If it isn’t, you may need to repeat steps 1 and 2.)

Enjoy the greater clarity and confidence you’ll feel as you tackle your slimmed-down to-do list each day.

And don’t let malingerers, busywork or OPPs find their way back!

Dos & Don’ts

• Don’t get distracted by the apparent importance of tasks that don’t contribute to your priorities. Keep reminding yourself of the time you’ll gain for the important things in your life
• Do be ruthless! Every piece of to-do list clutter is costing you effectiveness, productivity and motivation. Get rid of it!

Extended Organizing Mission Options

Want to go beyond this 30-minute organizing mission?

• Complete this mission as a family. It’s an excellent way to understand what matters to each family member and delete to-dos that hold no meaning for anyone. You might be surprised to learn what these are!
• Complete this mission with your boss. Getting clear on exactly what your boss expects from you will make it much easier to identify and eliminate the to-do list clutter.
• Complete this mission with your business partner or team. Removing low-value items from each of your lists can give your business or department a fresh burst of energy.

Ready, Set, Go!

Remember – move quickly, act fast, don’t overthink.

Start The 30-Minute Timer

Before You Go: Check In!

Please add a comment below to say you’ve completed this week’s Get Organized Mission and you’re keeping your commitment.

And see you back here next week!

Create The Life You Want – With Design Your Life

Design Your Life is a comprehensive, step-by-step e-program for achieving your goals, organizing your life and being your best. It includes:

• Monthly workbooks covering 12 life areas
• Weekly e-classes with ‘bite-size’ projects and tasks
• Members-only forum
• E-booklets covering decluttering, happiness & email-management
• Bonus: Unlimited personal access to 550+ to-do lists, planners, schedules and organizers
• Now with even more benefits – yet still less than a coffee a day.

Design Your Life is a motivating way to design and create the life you want. Learn more.

[Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ikoka/ / CC BY 2.0]

Related posts:

1. Organizing Mission #39: Declutter Your Surfaces
2. Declutter Your Thinking Habits [Mission #47]
3. Get Organized Mission #8: Declutter 50 Items

3 Steps To Getting More Done
By Saying No More Often

Graciously decline requests that don’t fit your priorities.

How?

1. Instead of ‘No I can’t’, try

• No thank you
• Sorry, I’m already over-committed
• My strengths are in [insert area of priorities].

2. Role play your response to build confidence.

3. Remember – you can serve others best by focusing on areas where you have most to give.

This was a popular Today’s Tip on my Facebook Professional Page.
Please come and be a fan!

Related posts:

1. Detox Your Fridge Before The Holidays
2. Don’t Let Self-Help Turn Into Shelf-Help
3. Fresh Start: 12 Days of New Beginnings [Day 11: Time Management]

You may not be thrilled with the way you manage time in your business life. On the other hand, you may not want to invest precious money, energy, thought and – yep, even time – into finding a whole new time management system.

If you’d just like to get more done in your business day, follow the 5 easy steps in this mission.

PS Next week: Time Management: How To Declutter Your Home Organization Tasks.

Get Organized Mission # 27: Streamline Your Work Tasks And Be More Productive

Step 1: List Your Work Tasks

Jot down all the things you generally do in your work day. This list will of course vary depending on the work you do, but it may include items like:

Step 2: Simplify or eliminate

Go through your list for anything you can cut down, streamline or cross right off the list.

For example:

• Can you stop replying to emails that don’t really need a response?
• Instead of answering calls as they come in, could you return messages all at once?
• If you write a lot of proposals or presentations, could you create a template to save time on the repetitive work?
• If you answer emails with common questions, could you create an FAQ?
• If you manage staff, could you schedule weekly, bi-weekly or daily meetings with each person to address all their concerns at once?

Step 3: Delegate

Next, look for items you can delegate to someone else in the company.

For example:

• Could you train a junior staff member to draft reports, proposals, or presentations – which you could then edit and polish?
• Are you doing tasks that could be handled more effectively by another person or department?

Step 4: Outsource

Now check for tasks you can outsource or sub-contract to someone outside the company.

For example:

• Would specialist companies save time and money in areas like customer service or research?

Step 5: Batch

Finally, see which of the remaining tasks can be batched together for greater time efficiency and mental effectiveness.

For example:

• Can you schedule whole hours, afternoons or days for admin, financials, meetings or other work, to save mental ‘transition time’?
• Can you schedule all uptown meetings on Tuesdays and all downtown meetings on Thursdays, to save travel time?

These steps will leave you with a streamlined list of work tasks that focus on areas where you can be most productive. Well done – you deserve a nice long break.

Dos & Don’ts

• Don’t worry about capturing every little task that occasionally comes your way on your list.
• Do focus on the big, time-consuming challenges, the frequent, repetitive tasks and the annoying, de-motivating parts of your job. These are the places you’ll make the greatest productivity and time-management gains.

Extended Organizing Mission Options

Want to go beyond this 30-minute organizing mission?

• If you have a job, complete this mission with your team, department, boss or assistant. It could move your collective productivity and time management to a new level.
• If you have your own business, complete this mission with your staff. The 30 minutes you spend here could boost both business success and staff morale.

Ready, Set, Go!

Remember – move quickly, act fast, don’t overthink.

Start The 30-Minute Timer

Before You Go: Check In!

Please add a comment to say you’ve completed this week’s Get Organized Mission and you’re keeping your commitment.

And see you back here next week!

NOW AVAILABLE: 52 Missions Home Organizer

Same great missions, now in a lovely printable workbooks with fully interactive planning worksheets,  to-do lists and success journals for every mission. Get your downloadable 120-page workbooks –
only with 52 Missions Home Organizer.

[Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/left-hand/ / CC BY-ND 2.0

Related posts:

1. Time Management: How To Simplify Your Home Organization Tasks [Mission #28]
2. Time Management: How To Make the Most Of Your Personal Time [Mission #29]
3. Get Organized Mission #51: Weekly Schedule Template

Procrastination is a pain. Not only does it stop you from getting things done, it also drains your energy and leaves you feeling bad about yourself.

So this week we’re going to launch an attack on our procrastination demons – those things we keep procrastinating over. I guarantee this mission will leave you feeling rather pleased with yourself.

Remember: you only need 30 minutes for the basic mission. Extended Options are below.
If you’re new, you might like to start here: 52 Organizing Missions.

Get Organized Mission #25: Procrastination Demon Busting

Step 1: Make a list of your procrastinated tasks (10 mins)

You know all those things that constantly bug you, that you’ve been meaning to do, or that you keep telling everyone you must get around to?

Jot them down on a piece of paper. Take a walk around your home or rummage through your diary/to-do list to prompt you.

Your Procrastination Demons might include:

Calling (back) a friend Fixing something around the house Getting the car serviced Paying bills Apologizing to someone Repairing kids’ clothes Dropping things off at the charity store Getting an appliance fixed Writing a report Reading a book Completing a course application Tidying a messy drawer Starting a savings plan Returning a faulty purchase

Completing a project Disposing of broken stuff Replying to a difficult email Making a doctor/dentist appointment Starting an exercise program Asking someone on a date Replacing a broken item Organizing a photo album Deleting a sensitive computer file Applying for a job or promotion Initiating a difficult conversation Finishing a program Owning up to something Discarding clothes that no longer fit

To get the most out of this mission, add to the list anything that’s bothered you for a while. That’s what gives it demon status.

Step 2: Spend 5 MINUTES on the worst one (5 mins)

The bad news is we’re not gonna spend the whole 30 minutes list-making. We’ll actually make a start on the nastiest procrastinated tasks.

The good news is that we’ll only spend 5 teeny weeny minutes on it. That’s way less than Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven.

So pick the task that bugs, frustrates or pains you the most and get going!

Step 3: Spend 5 MINUTES on the next one (5 mins)

Good. Now stop that task and move on to the second-most frustrating or painful task. 5 minutes. Off you go.

Step 4: Tackle any items from the list (10 mins)

Excellent. Now you can ‘enjoy’ your remaining 10 minutes whittling away any of your remaining procrastination demons from your list.

Pick one that you can get finished in the 10 minutes, or choose several you can make a start on.

Time’s up?

Didn’t I tell you you’d feel pleased with yourself?

Dos & Don’ts

• Don’t feel you have to capture every single task you’ve ever procrastinated over. Just list the ones that come to you, and move ahead with those.
• Do be honest about the most painful ones. You’ll be glad you did.

Extended Organizing Mission Options

Want to go beyond this 30-minute organizing mission?

• Do the mission as a family. You can either tackle the demons that afflict the family as a whole, like household stuff, or make your individual lists and attack your respective procrastination demons – but do it together.
• If you feel motivated to continue beyond the 30 minutes, keep going. But spend only 5 minutes at a time on any one task. That way you’ll maintain momentum and energy.

Ready, Set, Go!

Remember – move quickly, act fast, don’t overthink.

Start The 30-Minute Timer

Before You Go: 1) Check In; 2) Send Photos!

Please add a comment to say you’ve completed this week’s Get Organized Mission and you’re keeping your commitment.

We’d love to add your before and after snaps for any mission to the 52 Organizing Missions Hall of Fame. Please send photos to: Photos@GetOrganizedWizard.com

And see you back here next week!

DID YOU KNOW:

You can get your weekly organizing mission delivered to your inbox.
Click here to sign up for 52 Organizing Missions.

[Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeanlouis_zimmermann/ / CC BY 2.0]

Related posts:

1. Organizing Mission #40: Conquer Your Storage Space Demons
2. Power Procrastination Busters (Part 1)
3. From Procrastination To Action

If you want to increase productivity, motivation and mental clarity, one of the best things you can do is to create an effective workspace.

So in this mission, we’ll follow 3 steps to transform your work zone into an organized office.

Remember: you only need 30 minutes for the basic mission. Extended Options are below.
If you’re new, you might like to start here: 52 Organizing Missions.

Get Organized Mission #19:
Organize Your Office

Step 1: Ditch the Dispensable (10 minutes)

With only 10 minutes to spend here, my advice is to be ruthless in what you discard – you’ll get more done. But get rid of as much as you feel comfortable with.

Grab our old friends the hu-u-uge trash bag and donation basket and get to work. Items to attack include:

• School or college notes and texts – unless you just graduated they’re probably out of date
• Old paperwork, bills, receipts, mail – keep if needed for taxes or reference; shred if confidential
• Equipment you don’t use – such as a 2-hole punch if you use 3-ring binders
• Equipment for tasks you now outsource – such as spiral binders or laminating machines
• Excess stationery you won’t use this decade
• Knickknacks that provide no meaning, beauty or inspiration
• Reading piles you know you’ll never get to – and this applies to pretty much every reading pile
• Books you’ll never read
• Old computer or software manuals
• Birthday, Christmas and greeting cards – unless they’re genuinely special to you
• Outdated printers, scanners, fax machines (check for disposal info with your local council)
• Defunct phones, computers, cells, PDAs etc (ditto)
• Abandoned projects and the various accompanying supplies, storage containers, etc
• Old notebooks not needed for reference
• Old lamps, chairs and other equipment in poor condition
• Doubles of staplers, hole punches, scissors, rulers, etc
• Any item you haven’t used in the past 12 months
• Anything broken, yucky, tatty, or inconsistent with your professionalism.

Step 2: Archive the Ancient (5 minutes)

If you need to keep client, tax or other files you don’t refer to, move them out of your office. Once you’ve completed this mission, move the files to offsite storage, a garage or an unused closet.

Step 3: Re-allocate the Real Estate (15 minutes)

Organize your remaining office materials according to frequency of use. Think of the area directly around you as prime real estate, and allocate your stuff accordingly.

For example:

• Computer and diary used daily should be close at hand.
  These deserve a CBD location - like the top of your desk.
• Current files and stationery used regularly should be conveniently accessible.
  These can live in the suburbs – like desk drawers and handy file cabinets.
• Archived files and spare toner used rarely can afford to be stored out of the way.
  They belong on the outskirts of your office – like high shelves.

Some people so detest the idea of organizing their offices that they’d rather spend their whole working lives in a chaotic workspace than attempt to create order. Don’t let this be you!

If you’re willing to move as fast as you can, and follow these steps, you’ll enjoy a tremendous boost to your confidence, productivity and even your mood. And so you should. Well done!

Now, sit back in your chair and survey your office. Can’t you just feel the motivation surge?

Dos & Don’ts

• Don’t make the mistake of having rarely-used items close to hand. Save the most valuable space for the items that contribute most to your work and productivity.
• Do be ruthless in eliminating anything that doesn’t support you in producing good work. Every item costs you in mental clutter and distraction, so if it’s not helping you, let it go.

Extended Organizing Mission Options

Want to go beyond this 30-minute organizing mission?

• If you want to make this into a major mission, take everything out of your file cabinets, drawers and shelves, complete steps 1 and 2, and then replace everything using the storage principles from step 3. Have some great music on your iPod to add a little fun to the exercise.

Ready, Set, Go!

Remember – move quickly, act fast, don’t overthink.

Before You Go – Please Check In

Once you’ve completed this week’s Get Organized Mission please add a comment to let us know you’ve done your assignment and you’re keeping your commitment. To leave a comment: Scroll to the bottom of this post, where you’ll find a comment box waiting for you.

And see you back here next week!

DID YOU KNOW:

You can get your weekly organizing mission delivered to your inbox.
Click here to sign up for 52 Organizing Missions.

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/joeyparsons/ / CC BY-ND 2.0

Related posts:

1. 30-Day Organize-athon | Day 15: Declutter Your Home Office
2. Organize Your Computer in 7 Simple Steps [Mission #18]
3. Organize Your Paperwork [Mission #36]

Just as My Very Best Life-Changing Tip For A Clutter-Free Home will put you on the path to neatness nirvana, this one idea will transform your approach to personal organization.

Seriously – if you apply this strategy, you’ll find it far easier to get organized and stay organized.

Getting Organized: One Thing You Must Do

You must make quick decisions 

Indecision is what causes the clutter to accumulate, the paperwork to pile up, the inbox to overflow. Instead of things, paper, clothes, emails and everything else flowing through your life, indecision keeps them stuck in limbo.

Now clearly I’m not talking about deciding who to marry or what job to take. I’m talking about where to put the remote, how to reply to the email, and when to pay the bill.

Every decision you put off – however tiny or unimportant it may seem – is a barrier to a more organized life.

How To Make Quick Decisions And Get Better Organized

Make a habit of deciding fast. The more you do it, the more of a habit it will become.

Don’t worry about making the ‘wrong decision’. Let me put your mind to rest right now by saying that you definitely will. Expect that sometimes you’ll later wish you had done something different.

But – and don’t undervalue this – your net gains from being decisive, taking action and cleaning up your life will far outweigh the minor losses.

Here Are Some Examples:

• Opening the mail?
  Decide now if it needs to be actioned, filed or discarded. Then do it. 
• Tidying up?
  Decide now where things will go and put them there. Or throw them out.
• Wondering whether to keep or toss?
  Decide now to toss it. There – now you can blame me.
• Got random papers on your desk?
  Decide now whether to keep and, if so, where to file.
• Reading email?
  Decide now what action if any is needed, and take it.
• Been reading the paper?
  Decide now if you’ll look at it again and if not, put it in the recycle bin.

You get the idea.

Personal Organization Made Easy

Start thinking of yourself as a decisive action taker. Practice with all kinds of things – which muffin to have, what outfit to put on, where to go for dinner. Learn to love the feeling of keeping your life flowing rather than letting stuff stagnate.

This mindset will make it much easier to be organized. Try it – and let me know how you go!
To leave a comment: A comment box is waiting for you at the bottom of this post.

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dominik99/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

Related posts:

1. Get Organized For 2011: 6 Dos And Don’ts For A Calm & Ordered Year
2. Get Organized Mission #9: Filing System Nirvana
3. Getting Organized Quick Tip #6: How To Never Forget a Birthday or Anniversary [Outlook Users]

The reader raised the issue of our tendency to backslide when we try to make a fresh start, and wondered what we could do about it.

Here are some brief thoughts.

Why Self-Improvement is Like Slaying Vampires

1. Whenever we try to change or improve, we come up against pressure to regress to old, comfortable ways.

This is to be expected. Entropy rules in human nature, just as it does in the rest of the universe. New habits take work, as new pathways need to be forged in the brain.

2. Because of this, we have to be kind to ourselves when we backslide – we’re only human after all.

Pretending the resistance isn’t there, or beating ourselves up for our lack of willpower is simply denying reality.

3. But – and this is important – we also have to recognize that to be happy, and to enjoy a sense of progress and achievement in life, we have to keep working to maintain our gains, and to fight off the urge to regress.

Change is not a set-and-forget switch, it’s an ongoing process. We’re never done!

If you’ve ever watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer, this analogy might help:
To fulfill your destiny, you have to keep killing the vampires. They never stop, so neither can you.

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fluffgar/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

Related posts:

1. Make a Fresh Start: 12 Days of New Beginnings
2. Fresh Start: 12 Days of New Beginnings [Day 8: Happiness]
3. 20 Things To Tick Off Before The End Of The Year

You may have noticed that the tag line of this site now reads ‘From Procrastination To Action’.
Here’s why…

From Procrastination To Action

Here at Get Organized Wizard we provide tools, inspiration and motivation to help you plan quickly – so you can spend most of your time taking action.

Many people fall into the trap of trying to increase their productivity, time management or personal organization by:

• Buying self-help books that become shelf help
• Attending seminars or watching self-improvement shows with time they could spend improving themselves
• Shopping for storage paraphernalia that quickly becomes part of the clutter.

It’s so easy to get distracted by these activities, and to never get around to actually taking action to create the home, career, business, relationships and life we want.

Of course we need some planning so we don’t use our time haphazardly; but this shouldn’t be at the expense of doing.

52 Organizing Missions

52 Organizing Missions is a great example of using little planning to achieve big action. Each mission is only 30 minutes, but a look at the comments on the 52 Organizing Missions posts shows how much people achieve when they (a) make a commitment and (b) put their energy into getting started.

A recent comment shows this beautifully. I’ve copied it pretty much verbatim, because I love the sense of momentum and the wonderful drive that gets this Mission-Mate ‘into the swing of things’:

Ok, so I started, I walked and filled.

Suddenly I noticed the bag was dragging and bursting at the seams. Huh, ok another bag.

Hey my 30 minutes is up, still I can’t stop now I’m just into the swing of things. So on and on and on.

4.5 hours later 6 bags….and I haven’t even been into my garage yet.

Hey this was a wonderful task, not only did I feel I uncluttered my home, I feel more room in my brain too.

What Do You Need to Take Action on?

Perhaps it’s time to make a start, and let the momentum carry you from procrastination to action.
What can I do to help you take action?

To leave a comment: Scroll to the bottom of this post – a comment box is waiting for you.

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/st_michael/ / CC BY 2.0

Related posts:

1. This Month’s Prize: From Procrastination To Action Workbook
2. NEW! From Procrastination to Action Workbook
3. Power Procrastination Busters (Part 1)