A Few End of the Year Organizing Tips

Can you believe it? Just a few more weeks and we will be entering into a New Year. Now that the end of the year is upon us, it may be a great time to spend the last few weeks of this year getting some areas of your life in order for the next year.

Here are a few easy suggestions that you can work on little by little, day by day, so that you’ll be able to start the year fresh in 2009.

1. Pick One A Day – Make a game out of it. From the day you read this message, count how many days are left in the year. Then, simply make a list of the things that you’ve been meaning to do but haven’t done. Simply list one task for each day remaining in the year 2008 and do a task each day until they are all completed.

2. Start a new calendar – If the calendar you used in 2008 didn’t work for you be sure to research and find a new calendar for 2009. Purchase a new calendar and get a jump start on filling in special dates or events you already know about.

3. Make a donation box – One way to organize your home is to take inventory of the items that you are no longer using and donate them. Grab a large plastic bag, a box or a bin and place the items that you no longer use but are in good condition into them for the purpose of donation. Donate the items to your favorite charitable organization. This is a great way to help organize your home and help those in need.

4. Organize your goals – If you haven’t already done it, now is the perfect time to create a list of what you would like to accomplish in 2009. Write down your goals in any order and be sure to keep them in a place that is secure. Once January 1st rolls around, begin working on your goals, one by one and keep track of how you are doing with them.

Following any of these steps can help you enter into the new year with a more fresh start. The important thing to remember is that you should never give up. If you slip up in your organizing quest, don’t quit. Just get back to it and/or enlist help.

Beware of Multi-Tasking

Many times we get caught up in the notion that the more things we are doing at once — the more things we will get done. In actuality, the opposite is true.

Many people have fallen victim to the multi-tasking monster. We put too many things on our plate then try to multi-task our way though it all, kidding ourselves that we are getting a lot done. When tasks don’t get your full attention, errors creep in which leads to frustration and then ultimately leads to you spending time undoing and correcting mistakes.

Multi-tasking is not the answer to getting more things in a certain time period. Take a moment and concentrate on not trying to do everything at once. When you set aside time to pay undivided attention to one thing, you’ll be much more productive.

Multi-Tasking has become second nature for many of us and for those of you that are ready to put the Multi-Tasking monster to rest, I have some tips for you.

It is very important that you become more efficient at estimating the time it will take you to finish a task. Its best to always allow for 15 – 30 minutes longer than you think it will take you.

Keep a notebook handy so that you can jot down idea’s as they come to you. This will stop the urge to drop what you are doing and run onto a “new” task before the current one has been completed.

When you are working on a task — stay focused. Turn off the email, ignore the phone and concentrate on the task at hand.

Don’t forget to delegate some tasks if you can. You can take things off of your plate and pass them to others.Take a look at your normal day and see how many times you split your brain-power across multiple tasks. Try to make a mental not about it and then work on some of the suggestions above to become more focused on one task at a time. Your productivity will rise and your stress will become lower.

3 Tips to help you commit to your goal

Many of us will sit down and write our goals but commitment plays a large part in getting goals achieved.  If you do not commit to achieving your goals, then your goals will seem unimportant and since it is not important, you will just be tempted to quit before you even get started.

However, show some commitment to your goals and set daily reminders to yourself about these goals and you will be encouraged to achieve them.

It is not that hard to commit to your goals as long as you set your mind to it. Here are some doable steps:

1) Make sure the goals you set are important to you. Take your time in figuring out what it is that your heart wants to achieve. Know your reason behind a specific goal. How will achieving the goal benefit you? How will you feel after accomplishing your goal?

It is best to write it down in a journal and keep it close by so that you can easily go back and read it as often as you need to. Writing it and reading your goals and reasons behind them over and over again will help you commit to the goal.

2) Make sure to consider the “what if’s”. Think about the consequences if you do not continue on with achieving your goal. If the consequences are not all that grave, then perhaps you need to reconsider your goals. Make your goals top priority wherein if you don’t work on achieving them, you’ll be faced with an unfavorable consequence. Be creative. You can promise to give something up if you do not achieve your goal. This way, you will try your best to ensure that your goal gets accomplished.

3) Renew your commitment each day. When your goal is new and your motivation is high, it is so easy to be committed. However, you need to stay committed until your goal is achieved. Make a conscious effort to remember your goal and its importance to you each day when you wake up. That is why it helps to write your goals down in a journal so you can read it over and over and remember its importance. Make a vow to work on your goal each day until it is achieved.

Be Sure To Ask For What You Want

Too many times, we moms/WAHM’s go at it alone. That means that we set out on a long hard road and never ask for help.

It is important to ask for assistance, help and guidance when needed. Many of us feel it is a sign of weakness when really it is a sign of strength! To many times we sit quietly and overwork ourselves and slowly burn out.

If you need help with a task, try making list of the people who come to mind when you think of what you will need to complete that task. For instance, if you want to start your own Virtual Assistance business, why not search online for forums or websites that specialize in that area. If you find such a forum, acquaint yourself with the members and simply introduce yourself and ask for advice, guidance and help. The only way people can help you is if you let them know that you need help.

For me, finding a mentor group was needed and I found that in the Internet Based Moms Community and in Mom Masterminds. I wanted to grow my Life Coaching business and branch out into creating products and my mentors shows me the way. Had I sat quietly and never asked for help, I wouldn’t be here typing to you today (smile).

This week I challenge you to Ask for Help. If there is a task, project or idea you have tucked away because you are afraid to approach another person with the idea, let it go. Make that list and simply ask for help.

You will be amazed at how many people truly enjoy lending a hand to others, and just think, the more you grow and learn, the better equipped you will be at offering a helping hand to others as well.

Who will accept that challenge?

Do You Know Who You Are?

 Sounds like a silly question but please take a moment to think about it.   Do you know who you are?

As women, we have so many “titles” WAHM, SAHM, WOHM, Mom, Wife, Sister, Aunt..etc.  All of those are titles that many of us share and freely blurt out when asked “who are you”.  

In my 4 years of coaching I’ve worked with many women who are on a quest to find out who they really are (outside of the above titles).  I find that there are many WAHM’s who struggle with  finding their identity while working a home business, raising their children and taking care of the household needs.  It is so easy to get caught up in titles and skip over our passions and our “inner self”.

Keeping in touch with who we are ‘outside’ of those titles are very important.  I challenge you to tell me who you are without using the following words “Mother, WAHM, WOHM, or wife.”

I will start:

1. I am a passionate women who loves to help others
2. I am very spriritual
3. I am a teenager at heart

Your turn….

How to Reduce Stress

There are many different ways to reduce stress. When you start to feel overwhelmed, take a moment to breathe and do one of the following activities:

• Write down what is bothering you. If someone has made you mad, let your feelings out on paper, then tear up the paper.

• Prioritize and delegate! If you feel like you have too much to do, write down the tasks that need to be completed. Once you have those written down, pick out the most important three and focus on finishing those tasks. The other ones can be delegated to someone else or they can wait until you have more time.

• Allow some alone time for yourself. Use this time to focus on you. Find a place in your home that you can go to and find privacy. You can ask your partner or a friend to take the family out for a few hours while you enjoy your alone time. Do nothing, sleep, read, watch a movie, and just enjoy your solitude.

• Listen to soothing music to help calm you down or your favorite upbeat music to get you pumped up and motivated.

• Stop procrastinating! Procrastination is a major cause of stress. This occurs when someone puts off doing what they need to do, and instead, they sit around and worry about it. Just get it done and over with, and you will feel much better.

I’d love to hear what you do to reduce your stress?

Put Yourself On Your *To Do* List

Hi there moms!

As you know, life can be hectic. Whether you work at home, work outside of the home or stay at home, life is filled with things to do, people to see and places to go.

We all know that life places many demands on us but it is very important to set aside some time each day where when you can just be alone for a little while, without any interruptions and just focus on you. Be sure that when you are creating your daily or weekly To Do lists that you are adding yourself onto the list.

Personally I use the evening times (right after I put my 8yo son to bed) as my quiet time with myself. I make sure that during my “me time” I am focusing on myself and giving me the time that I need to replenish my mind, body and spirit.

So, if you currently do set aside time for yourself – I’d love to hear what you do. If you dont currently add yourself to your To Do list – I would like to challenge you to do so and let us know how it feels.

Finding Balance As A WAHM

Work at home moms face challenges that are very unique. The decision to work outside the home or stay with your children is difficult, with each option having advantages and disadvantages. If you stay home you may lose income and you will lose interaction with fellow employees, and if you work outside the home you live with separation from your children and pay caregiver expenses. Many women are choosing to work at home and finding the right opportunity is the first step in finding success as a work at home mom.

You could use the knowledge and skills you have and become a consultant, develop a career in design or writing, telecommute to a job, or start a home-based business. The opportunities are endless.

It can be difficult for a work at home mom to balance home, family, and career. Even if you are not a parent it is hard to find time for a personal life when you operate a home-based business. It is very easy to become consumed by your work when you work from home and it can be a challenge to find time for yourself and your family.

To successfully balance a home and career you must create a work schedule. Decide what hours will be set aside for work and try hard to stick to that time-frame. It very beneficial to create a boundary between work and home. Setting a work schedule will give you a routine to follow.

To give yourself the opportunity to socialize and meet new people, try geting involved with community or other volunteer activities. If you do not get out of the house regularly you may begin to resent your work and your family obligations.

During your workday, take short breaks to get up and move around. A simple stretching routine or a short walk will do wonders for your outlook. It will be necessary for you to deliberately schedule time for personal activities such as reading, picnics, or exercise.

By adding these activities and free time to your schedule you will ensure that you get some much needed “mommy” time and that your family spends quality time together. You will find that if your leisure and family time suffer too much, your relationships will suffer as well. Make time for the fun things and times shared with children and family.

If you implement these ideas into your life as a work at home mom, you will be better able to achieve balance between work and your home life.

WAHM’s Need Down Time Too

Let’s see. You did the laundry, checked your email, worked online, filed papers, made a few phone calls, dropped the boys off at Karate and the girls at dance class, stopped at the grocery store for a few last minute dinner items…What’s missing? As you were taking care of everyone else all day long, did you remember to take care of yourself? I know it can be hard to carve out space for you, since being a mom is a full time job, but taking care of yourself helps you have the strength and energy to keep taking care of everyone else, from your children to the snake your son left in the pocket of his dirty jeans.

If trying to squeeze out a few more hours a day just for you seems impossible, why not try one of these ideas:

1. Don’t be afraid to start small. It’s better for you to take five minutes to read the funny pages or your favorite inspirational poem than it is to not take any time at all for you.

2. Get up twenty or thirty minutes earlier than usual and spend some time doing something you enjoy, such as reading the paper while you sip your coffee or meditating. By the time the children wake up, you will be ready to start your busy day.

3. Talk to the other moms at your children’s classes and find out if any of them live nearby. See if several of them are interested in forming a carpool, so you don’t have to make every trip to drop off and pick up the kids.

4. Find another mom who has children that get along well with your kids. Alternate babysitting services with her, so that you each have a few hours of free time every week to go to the gym or get your hair done. Don’t be tempted to do chores instead. You need this time for you and you won’t feel very rested and refreshed if you pick up the dry cleaning, do the grocery shopping, and run the car through the car wash instead of relaxing.

5. Delegate evening chores like setting the table, washing the dishes, and packing the next day’s lunch. If everyone does ten or fifteen minutes of work, you will have enough free time to soak in the tub or read a chapter of the newest best seller.

Finally, make sure your family realizes the importance of letting you find some time for yourself. Speak with your children about respecting your quiet time, whenever and however you manage to fit it into your day.

So, do you get enough time for yourself? What would you like to see change?

Let’s See Those Drawers!

Hopefully you saw my post last week where I asked about your work space.  This week I wanted to just give you a few pointers to help you organize your desk and keep it organized.

Lets start with the drawers!  Yes those things that you probably have 4-6 of but only really use 2 (smile). Pull out each drawer and take inventory of what you have there.  Be sure to group like-items together, move things that don’t belong in the drawer to either a new home or the garbage.

Do you see the need for a pencil/utencil organizer in your drawers? If so, jot that down and keep that list handy for when you go shopping.

Be sure to go through each drawer and look at everything to see if it needs to do one of the follow things

• Stay where it is
• Get organized into the same or another drawer
• Move to another spot in your home
• Needs to be tossed

After you’ve done all of this be sure to see if there are things that you need. Do you have enough pens, paper, printer ink, paper clips…etc.  If not, be sure to write that down as well.

Let me know how you are doing :)

Don’t forget about the filing cabinets or filing drawers that you have.  Make sure that all of the papers are in the correct file, be sure the files are labeled correctly and while you are in there – if you see something in there that you no longer need – why not shread it or just toss it out.  If you have a particular file in a drawer that you need access to on a daily basis. You may want to pull it out now and perhaps set up a small filing system on your desk and place it there.  This way it will always be at your finger tips.

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