Tag Archives: prioritize

Balance: Self Value vs Stuff Value

Balance is a tricky thing.  Too much of one thing tips the scales in the other direction and we get totally out of balance.

But balance is not just about stuff vs space (although stuff vs space is a huge issue for a lot of people).  For some interesting information on how much stuff Americans have, here are some statistics from a recent CBS Morning show.

There are 50,000 self-storage facilities in the U.S., more than Dunkin’ Donuts (8,500), Subways (28,000) or McDonald’s (14,027) combined.*

And that’s just for the stuff we CAN’T fit inside our homes, where there’s more “stuff” piled in closets, bedrooms, garages and basements.

The CBS segment speaks to the stuff vs space conundrum with an interesting question: why do we park $10,000 cars outside when we fill our garages with stuff of largely no value?

Nearly all my clients struggle with the self value vs stuff value balancing act.

A client spoke to a situation at their home.  His comment to me: “my wife asked me a while ago to clear out the garage so she could park in it.”  When I inquired what “a while ago” meant he admitted it had been 18 months.  It was clear he was prioritizing the stuff value in his garage above the his wife’s self value (her request to be able to park in the garage). The prioritization realization created a perspective shift.

Another client comments regularly about how her closet (stuff) drives her crazy (self).  It is packed.  She could easily get by with half of the items in her closet and still be considered one of the best-dressed women I know.  If she eliminated half the stuff she would feel the benefit of open space, organization and clarity (self value).  For years she’s been prioritizing her stuff over herself.

And then there is the client who tries to cram too many commitments (stuff value) into his schedule resulting in limiting his time with family and friends (self value).

What’s your balance of self value vs stuff value?

* Note:  This is a direct lift from the CBS segment.  No, the math doesn’t work, but it’s close.  🙂

Cindy Jobs, COC, ACC

Looking for more information?

Click here for 15-minute organizing tips.

 

 

 

www.organizetosimplify.com

 

 

 

National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals, Seattle Chapter Vice-President

 

 

 

International Coach Federation

 

 

 

 

Professional Resource Member

 

 

 

Coach Approach for Organizers

 

 

 

 

Institute for Challenging Disorganization

Level I Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization; ADD; Client Administration; Time Management; Mental Health; and Hoarding.

Level II Specialist Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization and ADHD

Step five. Step three. Step one. Nope.

I watched a sitcom the other day where one of the characters introduced the family to her new dog.  The look of confusion on their faces indicated having a dog made absolutely no sense.  But then she explained:

Step 5: She had a dog because .  . . .

Step 4: . . .  she was going to have a fenced yard.

Step 3: . . .  in the house that she was going to buy with her $50K paycheck.

Step 2: . . .  for being a surrogate.

Step 1: . . .  after passing her medical exam.

Some of you may have also watched this show and know exactly where this is headed.  This particular character had lept all the way to step five without ever passing through steps one through four.  Unfortunately, her plans fell apart at step one because she didn’t pass the medical exam.

How many times have we jumped all the way to the end of the process without working through the important steps along the way?  I know I have.  As a matter of fact,  I almost did it again just last week.

I heard that Google My Business is a great marketing venue.  I got very excited and started the process to create my Google My Business page.  But wait, I’m in the process of rebranding my business (new direction, new name, new client base, etc.).  How could I create Google My Business exposure without my new business name defined, my new website up and running, my rebranded logo, etc.   See what I almost did there?  I was too many steps down the path without having completed step number one . . . creating my new business identity.

Leaping over process happens with both my organizing and coaching clients on a regular basis.

My organizing clients rush out and purchase pretty bins and boxes before they know what they are keeping (purging is step one, containerizing is way down the line).

One of my coaching clients came to me with a big goal: quit my job and move to a foreign country.  Great, let’s move in that direction but don’t purchase an airline ticket before all the other pieces are in place.

What big goal are you working on that require multiple, necessary steps along the way?  How do you keep yourself from stepping over the important parts of the process?  Leaping to step five before completing steps one through four can be counter-productive, frustrating and a challenging use of resources.

If you need some help breaking those big projects down into manageable pieces, ask a respected colleague, friend, family member or any other support structure for some assistance.

Cindy Jobs, COC, ACC

Looking for more information?

Click here for 15-minute organizing tips.

 

 

 

www.organizetosimplify.com

 

 

 

National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals, Seattle Chapter Vice-President

 

 

 

International Coach Federation

 

 

 

 

Professional Resource Member

 

 

 

Coach Approach for Organizers

 

 

 

 

Institute for Challenging Disorganization

Level I Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization; ADD; Client Administration; Time Management; Mental Health; and Hoarding.

Level II Specialist Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization and ADHD

 

Important vs Urgent

I feel fortunate and blessed to have created a work-style and life-style that supports a flexible schedule, but the past couple of months have been a whirlwind of guests and travel that has my head spinning . . . and my “to do” list expanding by the day.

The past couple of weeks I’ve been feeling pretty darn guilty about all the stuff I’m not getting done.  Some of it is personal, but much of it involves things I really, really want to accomplish to support my business and clients.  After beating myself up a bit, I revisited the Urgent vs Important grid (thank you Stephen Covey!) to help me through the “what to do now” decision process.

Important & Urgent: Things that really, really need to be dealt with right now (house on fire, etc.).

Important & Not Urgent: Things that need to be done, but don’t need to be done right now (long-term planning, etc.).

Urgent & Not Important:  Things that probably never need to be dealt with, but take up our precious time (telemarketer calls, etc.)

Not Urgent & Not Important:  Not only do these things not have to be done right now, chances are they don’t need to be done at all (watching videos of dancing cats on Youtube, etc.)

With the limited amount of time I’ve had in my home and office the past couple of weeks, here’s how I broke down a few of the outstanding items on my “to do” list:

  1. Pay bills:  Important & Urgent
  2. Complete coaching homework required for certification: Important & Urgent
  3. Listen to teleclass before it expires: Important & Urgent
  4. Ironing:  Important & Not Urgent
  5. Office Filing: Important & Not Urgent
  6. Unsubscribe from unwanted e-mails: Important & Not Urgent

I generally don’t put Not Important stuff on my “to do” list, so two of the categories were easy to eliminate.

Granted, there were a lot of other things on my list, but these represented hours worth of things I wanted (not needed) to do.  The result:  #1-#3 got done; #4-#6 will be saved for another day.

Suffice to say, with my list prioritized, I’m feeling much better about getting the important stuff done, leaving the other “not urgent” things to be tackled at another time and focusing on being thankful that I have the ability to spend time and energy traveling and enjoying our guests.

How do you prioritize your “to do” list?

 

Cindy Jobs, COC, ACC

Looking for more information?

Click here for 15-minute organizing tips.

 

 

 

www.organizetosimplify.com

 

 

 

National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals, Seattle Chapter Vice-President

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Professional Resource Member

 

 

 

Coach Approach for Organizers

 

 

 

 

Institute for Challenging Disorganization

Level I Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization; ADD; Client Administration; Time Management; Mental Health; and Hoarding.

Level II Specialist Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization and ADHD.

Think. Plan. Act.

(What’s wrong with this puzzle picture?)

I frequently work with clients on their time management challenges.  I remind them that “time management” is really just a balance between what we need to get done and the time in which we have to do it.

Efficient time management really boils down to a few simple processes:

Think:  Devote time to thinking about what really needs to get done and by when.  To do this, I suggest implementing the following processes:

  1. Create a list.  Take a few (or a lot) of minutes to do a brain dump of everything that needs to be done.  It doesn’t matter if the repository is paper or electronic, just make sure it’s out of your head and recorded somewhere.  I also ask my clients to estimate how long each item will take them to complete.
  2. Determine what needs to be done and group those things together: phone calls, items requiring a computer, errands that require transportation, things that can be delegated, etc.  Just like organizing physical items “like with like,” grouping action items is equally as efficient.
  3. Prioritize items within categories.  Doing this will help you determine when they need to be fit into your schedule (high, medium, low or by due date).

Plan: Now that you have a list of things that needs to get done, where they need to get done, and when they need to get done by, the next step is to put a plan together to get them done.

It’s critical to set aside time to work through your list.  Even  five-minute tasks need to have dedicated time for them to get accomplished.  Make and keep an appointment with yourself to work through your list.  I suggest setting a Time Timer and eliminate distractions just as if you were having a meeting with a client.

Different actions require differently planning processes.  For example:

  • “Create mission statement” may be something that can be done at any time and almost any where, but time to complete the process still needs to be slotted into your schedule.
  • “Complete taxes” is something that really needs to be done by April 15.  This type of item, and the specific tasks that need to be done to accomplish “complete taxes,” need to be scheduled with more critical thinking.
  • “Grocery shopping” may be a recurring weekly task, but still needs to be slotted into your schedule before you run out of milk.

Also think about items that you can do outside your office or home and take supplies with you.  For example, you can make dentist appointments while you are waiting to pick up your children from school or you can text the babysitter while you are waiting in line at the post office.

Act:  Now that you are done thinking through your plan, your next step is to act.

According to Elbert Hubbard “Self-discipline is the ability to make yourself do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not.”  Self-discipline is sometimes hard, but focusing on the right thing, at the right time, in the right place, will make you incredibly more productive and efficient.

 Cindy Jobs

www.organizetosimplify.com

Member Color - WebNational Association of Professional Organizers, Seattle Chapter President
ICD_LogoTag_Horz_72 websiteLevels I and II Certified (8 certificates) Member, Institute for Challenging Disorganization
Coach Approach for Organizers

Urgent vs Important

UrgentImportantMatrixThis morning as I was getting ready to head out on vacation I  realized, yet again, that my “to do” list was longer than the hours I had left to do get everything done.  What’s a girl to do?

Many times in both my career and personal life I’ve fallen back on the Urgent vs Important grid (thank you Stephen Covey!) to help me through the “what to do now” decision process.

Important & Urgent: Things that really, really need to be dealt with right now (house on fire, etc.)

Important & Not Urgent: Things that need to be done, but don’t need to be done right now (long-term planning, etc.)

Urgent & Not Important:  Things that probably never need to be dealt with, but take up our precious time (telemarketers, etc.)

Not Urgent & Not Important:  Not only do these things not have to be done right now, chances are they don’t need to be done at all (watching videos of dancing cats on Youtube, etc.)

Here’s some of what was left on my “to do” list as of this morning and how they ended up getting categorized:

  1. Prepare house/pet information for sitter:  Important & Urgent
  2. Homework assignments for Coaching Class: Important & Urgent
  3. Listen to tele-class before it expires: Important & Urgent
  4. Ironing:  Important & Not Urgent
  5. Office Filing: Important & Not Urgent
  6. Yard work: Important & Not Urgent

I generally don’t put Not Important stuff on my “to do” list, so two of the categories were easy to eliminate.

Granted, there were a lot of other things on my list, but these represented hours worth of things I needed to do, in addition to my regular job.  The result:  #1-#3 got done; #4-#6 will be saved for another day.

Suffice to say, with my list prioritized, I’m feeling much better about my preparation for the trip and possibly may have just a couple minutes to watch dancing cat videos!

How do you prioritize your “to do” list?

 

The Power to “To Do” Lists

 Green Checklist I recently spent four days at the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) conference (yes, there really is such a thing!) in Los Angeles. It was an incredible time, filled with camaraderie and education, and I came back with a four-page “to do” list.  Most of the items on the list were reminders of things I wanted to do to advance my business (networking, refining e-mail lists, update website, etc.).  Some of the items on my list were more in support of personal growth (research meditation, try some white noise apps for better sleep, etc.).

When I made the list, I was motivated.  Now that I’ve had a couple of weeks to work the list, I’ve learned a lot about myself and the process of  working through “to do” lists.  What works; what doesn’t work.  How to measure success; how to not get frustrated. How to re-frame “to do” lists into “things I want to do” lists.

I hope some of what I learned will resonate with you also.

Re-frame how you think about the list.  The first thing I needed to do was to re-frame the way I thought about my “to do” list.  I needed to make my list more pleasant, less chore-like.  Yes, there were critical tasks on my list, but there were a lot of things on my lists that I just flat out wanted to do.  So, I’ve renamed my list “Things I Want To Do” (TIWTD) vs just “To Do.”  I also put a beautiful picture of crashing waves at the top of the list, changed to a softer font style,  and incorporated a beautiful light blue font and line color.  Now looking at my list makes me smile not cringe.

Do a brain dump. The first step to putting together a TIWTD list is to do a brain dump of anything and everything that comes to mind.  It may be as small as “call Mom” or as large as “plan a trip to the Grand Canyon.”  Whatever it is, the chance it will get done is much greater if you document it.

Is it a task or a project?
Sometimes frustration sets in when we can’t check items off our list fast enough because they are too big or too daunting.  Generally, those items are projects not tasks.  For example, to some people “Change car oil” is a task because they do it themselves and they have all the tools and supplies to get the job done.  For others, this same item may be a “project” as it entails the following tasks:

1.  Find a mechanic.

2.  Make an appointment.

3.  Find a friend to drive them to/from the mechanic.

Each of these items are a “task” that need to be completed as part of the larger “project.”  Breaking larger projects down into tasks will help motivate you through the process.

Assign an estimate of how long you think the task will take.  A lot of the items on my post-conference list were tasks that could be accomplished in less than five minutes (e-mail individual colleagues I met at conference, confirm client appointments, print handouts, etc.).  Other tasks would take more time (research 501(c)3 annual meeting requirements, create mailer for ADHD therapists, etc.).  Once I’ve assigned a timeline to each task, I can quickly assess which ones to tackle based on the amount of time I have available.

Prioritize the list.  It’s important to put those items that will move you forward personally or professional at the top of the list.  There are items on my post-conference list that don’t need to be a done for a couple months; others need to be done now in order to move my business forward.  Identify the priorities and start there.

Set aside task time.  It’s critical to set aside time to work through your TIWTD list.  Even those five-minute tasks need to have dedicated time for them to get accomplished.  Make and keep an appointment with yourself to work through your list.  I find it helpful to set a timer and eliminate distractions just as if I were having a meeting with a client.

Also think about items that you can do outside your office and take supplies with you.  For example, you can make dentist appointments while you are waiting to pick up your children from school or you can text the babysitter while you are waiting in line at the post office.

Let it go.  Sometimes we put things on our list that become unimportant and unnecessary with time.  When you identify those items, it’s okay to just scratch through them and move on.  Let them go!

I wish you luck in moving things from the “Things I Want To Do” list to a “look what I got done” list!

Organize to Simplify RGB   www.organizetosimplify.com

Member Color - Web  National Association of Professional Organizers, Seattle Chapter President

ICD_LogoTag_Horz_72 website  Certified Premium Subscriber, Institute for Challenging Disorganization