“Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.” 

— Alexander Graham Bell

I work a lot in home offices and clients often ask me what it would take to make their space more efficient and functional.  It all boils down to  setting yourself up, physically and psychologically, for success.  Here are a few tips:

1.  Whenever possible, select a space that fits your working style.  Do you need quiet and solitude?  Then find an out-of-the way spot or, ideally, an office with a door.  Do you need to have the hustle-and-bustle of other people?  Then find an office near high-traffic areas.  If you have a home-office, but also need hustle-and-bustle, plan part of your working day at the library or your favorite wi-fi enabled coffee shop.
2. Define what you will be doing in the space (reading, typing, printing, filing, phone calls, etc.) and ensure that all the equipment you need to perform each task is in the same space.  It’s a big time-waster to have to leave your office to retrieve files or pick up your printing from another room.
3. Furniture and Equipment:  Make sure your desk is at the right height, helping to ensure better posture.  Your office chair should have good support, be on wheels and swivel.  This will afford you better access to other equipment and tools you may need (printer, phone, supplies, file cabinet, etc.).  Be careful to not over-crowd the space, however.  Just because you can fit a recliner in your office for reading tasks, doesn’t mean you should.  Keep the space as open an inviting as possible.
4. Ensure you have great lighting.  Task lighting is especially important in home offices where overhead lighting may not be placed directly above the work area.  I like OttLite products as they are both fun and functional, but choose whatever light works in your space.
5. Invest in the right supplies in the right quantities.  Especially when we are working from home, we sometimes don’t keep the appropriate supplies on hand.  Invest in the best quality you can afford and have a back-up of critical supplies available.  There’s nothing worse than being in the middle of printing the proposal for tomorrow’s meeting and running out of ink or high-quality paper!
6. When you walk into your office, be in the mindset that you are there to work.  Especially when we work from home, there is a tendency to co-mingle work and play time in our offices.  Although there’s nothing wrong with taking a quick break to check on your Facebook friends, give yourself a limit.  Remember, this time and space is set aside so you can be productive and achieve your goals.

When you prepare yourself and your office with efficiency and functionality in mind, success will follow!

Let’s get this straight . . . I am not a quitter!  When I start something, I almost always finish it.  Recently, however, I’ve been stressing about some unfinished items on my “to do” list and it’s been weighing heavily on me.  So rather than stress about it any more, I decided to just confront each of those items and determine:  Worth Doing! or Just Give up!

Although my “to do” list is long and varied, I’ve listed three that might resonate with most of you:

The “must read” book:  Several clients suggested I would love a particular self-help book.  I appreciated their suggestion and eagerly started reading the book.  Then stopped reading it.  Then started again.  Then stopped again.  I’m on page 29 and it’s been nagging at me for over two months.  Clearly the message isn’t resonating with me.  Decision:  Just Give Up!

Ramping up business marketing:  On this one I’m a bit of a procrastinator.  I know I need to do it, but there just hasn’t been an immediate need.  I put this on my “to do” list in May.  Clearly it’s not urgent, but it’s important:  Decision:   Worth Doing!

New Year’s Goals:   It’s October.  If my New Year’s goals (not resolutions) haven’t been important up to this point, they probably are not worth stressing over:  Decision:  Just Give Up!

I’m certain everyone has a “to do” list of things they must do, want to do, or are expected to do. When we put items on our lists, they were important at the time, but that doesn’t mean they are still important. Every “to do” list ebbs and flows:  time and necessity are the drivers.

My suggestion is to take some time to determine if those “to do” items are guiding you to success or causing you too much stress.  Whatever the outcome, it’s worth the exercise.

I’ve been seeing the commercials for quite some time, but it’s still hard to believe the kids will be heading back to school in just a few short weeks.  Although I don’t have school-age children of my own any more, many of my clients do and they struggle with resetting from free-and-easy summer schedules to hectic back-to-school schedules.  In no time at all, kids will be running here and there between school, sports, band practice, etc.  “How do we manage it all?” is a frequent question I get from my clients.

Getting ready for the first day of school takes a ton of planning.

• Did classes get registered for properly and does each child know where they are supposed to be for each period of the day?
• Did appropriate clothes and supplies get purchased?  (Most schools have a list of required supplies that I would suggest you use.  Be sure to “shop at home” first, chances are you probably already own most of the supplies your kids will need.)
• Have all necessary health requirements (physicals, vaccinations, etc.) been completed?
• Has daily transportation been figured out?
• What about after-school activities? Have sign-ups been completed and has the appropriate equipment been arranged for?

Once school starts, the logistics become really important.  What child is going where when?  Are there overlapping activities that require special transportation needs (carpool anyone?)?  What nights will the family  be together for dinner?  What nights will eating on-the-run be necessary?  Are there days when you will need to pack extra snacks for the time between school and evening activities?

It’s very important that our kids have the opportunity to engage in experience-expanding activities, but managing multiple kids and activities can be overwhelming!  For that reason, time management frequently comes up as an issue for my clients and their children.

1.  Sleep:  How much sleep a child (or adult) needs is certainly personal, however there are some great guidelines by age.  Lack of sleep significantly affects our cognitive processes and and cause many other health issues.

2.  Breakfast/Getting Ready for School:  When I’m working time management tasks with my clients, I always ask how long they think it takes them to get from out-of-bed to out-the-door.  Most say “a half hour or so,” but when I ask them to track it on a daily basis for week or two, they find it’s more like 45 minutes to an hour.  Starting the day 15 – 30 minutes behind schedule is incredibly stressful, so be sure you and your children plan enough time to get the day started off right.  And be sure to build in time for a healthy breakfast.  According to Healthy Eating “Students who eat breakfast have higher test scores than students who skip the morning meal.”

3.  Non-negotiable family activities:  Even during the busy school year, most of my clients require a family meal at least one mid-week and one weekend evening.  This is a great time to reconnect and review schedules for the upcoming week.

4.  Study time:  Although it varies by child, there always seems to be a big chunk of study time that has to be figured into schedules.  As assignments come up, the appropriate time needs to be allocated into a calendar (yes, I suggest that children who are old enough for after-school activities are old enough to utilize a calendar).  Sometimes a great deal of the homework can be done over the weekends, but in my experience, some time every day needs to be dedicated to school tasks.

5.  Free time:  Yes, it may sound funny, but “schedule” free time.  It’s critical to relax the brain and just have fun!  Make sure there is time every week for doing nothing.

There are so many things to think about when we are launching our kids into the next school year.  A few minutes of careful planning can save a lot of stress and headaches for a busy, on-the-go family!