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2 Minute Tip #8 ~ Getting Sh*t Done

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Alrighty, You have great ideas, you even followed my advice and got everything out of your head and on to paper, you set your  priority tasks….and you still aren’t getting shit done.

Welcome to Mindfully Organized 2 Minute tips I am Rose Hawley-Perry, The Declutter Your Mind So Your Soul Can Shine and in today’s episode we are going to talk about focus time.

We have so, so many things to detract us in today’s world. Do you get fb notification on your phone, your computer, your tablet? Does your email ping you? Do you have Skype, Google chat and Facebook chat all up all day long?

It has been proven that none of us multitask; some of us are better at switching between tasks, but for all of us it does take time and brain power to switch.

I have two suggestions for getting the important items off your to-do list.

  • The first involves making an appointment with yourself. As an entrepreneur my schedule is very flexible, sometimes too flexible. At times I find myself putting off what I really need to do for appointments with other people. So now I make “appointments” with myself for work time. IF I have to move them I do, but I know about how much focus time I want to have in the week and I make sure I have that much time.
  • Second, during focus time shut the notifications off. Turn your phone on silent, Shut down email, Facebook and Google chat, and Skype. Now, you can write something, or plan something, or learn something. Make sure you set a goal for this focus time. Write one blog post. Go through one module. Research X. At first the silence is going to feel weird. You might want to turn on music, but make sure  it is your music from your ipod or cd so you aren’t hearing news and commercials and such. And then sit with the time. You are going to want to distract yourself but keep bringing yourself back to the task at hand. These 2 minute tips are all written in focus time.

Let me know what you think, leave a comment below!  How do you get shit done?  Have you tried focus time?

2 Minute Tips #4 – Packing

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Have a trip coming up?  Don’t know when you are going to find the time to pack?  Tired of forgetting something important?

Welcome to the next video in the Mindfully Organized 2 Minute tip series. In today’s episode I am going to give you some tips on packing effectively with less stress.

First thing first is to get it all out of your head.  Hmm does that sound like last week?  Your brain can only think of so many things at one time.  So pull out your journal, a pretty piece of paper, Evernote, whatever works for you right now.  Start making a list of everything you want to take with you.

Ask yourself a couple of key questions?

  • What is the weather going to be like?
  • Are there any events where I need something I don’t normally wear?
  • Will I need exercise gear or a swim suit?
  • Will I have access to laundry?
  • What have I forgotten before?

Now when you think of something else you can just pull out your list and add it on.

A few days or week before you go pull out your suitcase.  As you see items you may want, as you fold laundry, as you think of things take those items and drop them into your bag.  You will probably end up with too much stuff but you will be creating a starting point for your packing.  and Your favorite leggings will be in your suitcase not in the laundry.

When the time comes to pack lay out all the items on the bed check your list and decide what to take.

I made a generic packing list document that you  can use as a starting point.

PDF Version of Packing List for Printing
Excel Version of Packing List for Customizing

What do you think?  What tricks do you have for destressing and simplifying packing?  Leave a comment below and share will all of us!

2 Minute Tips ~ #3 Letting Go of Sentimental Items

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Trying to declutter but having a hard time getting rid of anything because everything brings back a flood of memories?

Welcome to the next video in the Mindfully Organized 2 Minute tip series. In today’s episode I am going to give you some tips on letting go of items that are weighing you down but are hard to let go of  because they have sentimental value.

An important idea to hold in your mind as you make decisions is that the item is not the person you love, it is not the memory, or the love.  It is just an object that brings those thoughts to the front of your mind.

So as you start to go through sentimental clutter ask yourself the questions from last week remembering the anything you don’t have a use for or room to display is probably clutter.

So here are some ideas to help you decide what to keep.

1. Take photos of the items that bring up good memories.  When you are done decluttering create a photo album online and print it out as a coffee table book.

2. Keep the best of the best.  Keep one small box of baby things and donate the rest.  Keep 10 teacups that you have room to display and let the rest go

3. Share the wealth!  Are there others in your family that might enjoy some of the sentimental items?  Or good friends that would love to have something from you. Or people in need?

4. You can make something useful out of the items.  For example there are companies that will change your t-shirts into a quilt.

One last note. Just because an item was a gift do not mean that you have to keep it.  The giver did not give you the gift to weigh you down. they gave it to you because they care about you and that doesn’t change whether you have or don’t have their gift.

What do you think?  What ways have you used to let go of sentimental items?  Leave a comment below.

Mindfully Organized 2 Minute Tips – #2 Decluttering 101

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Have too much stuff?  Have a room or a whole house you are a little embarrassed to have people see?

Welcome to the next video in the Mindfully Organized 2 Minute tip series. In today’s episode I am going to give you some tips on starting to declutter without creating an even bigger mess.

First thing DO NOT TAKE EVERYTHING OUT!  There are only so many decisions that your brain can effectively make in one day.  If you have been building up the clutter for awhile you can NOT get rid of it in one sitting even if you want to.

First set yourself up 5 bins.

  1. Refuse ~ Trash
  2. Recycle
  3. Regift ~Donate
  4. Relocate ~  Has a set home already somewhere else in the house or someone else’s house
  5. Retain ~  Keep

Now pick a spot to start.  I like to start in a corner and work my way around the room but if the room is too full you might just need to start with whatever you can reach and then try to work your way around the room.  This will give you some clear space to put the keep boxes back as you go.

Ask yourself these questions, the same questions I would ask you if I were coaching you:

  • Have I used this item in the last year?
  • Does it make me smile?
  • Do I have a use for the item somewhere in my home or office?

Anything that you don’t answer yes to at least one of these questions you probably don’t need to keep.

Remember to stop sorting before you get too tired.  You want to leave enough time and energy to take care of the mess you made, and you will make a mess, it always looks worse before it gets better.  Leave enough time to take the trash and recycle out, to put the donations in the car  and to put away what is left.

I made a printable graphic of the three questions and the 5 bins that you can print out to remind you how to get started.

Don’t miss any 2 minute tips.  If you aren’t on the MO mailing list yet register today and get a free ebook on How to Tame Your Inbox at tameyourinbox.gr8.com

What do you think?  Leave me a comment below and let me know your thoughts on decluttering or suggest a topic for future 2 minute tips.

Mindfully Organized 2 Minute Tips #1 – Getting Projects Done

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Have you ever contemplated a project or multiple projects you wanted to compete and thought, how in the world am I ever going to get these done with everything I have going on right now?

Welcome to the first video in the Mindfully Organized 2 Minute tip series. In today’s episode I am going to give you some tips to getting those projects you have been hoping to do, finished and reduce your stress at the same time.  Sound too good to be true?  They actually go hand in hand.

First thing, first, is to GET IT ALL OUT OF YOUR HEAD.

Your brain can’t focus when it has to remember too many things all at once!  So pull out your computer, your journal, your favorite to-do-list program, mind-mapping software, poster board and pens whatever works for you and start downloading.

This is not the final list you will be working from it doesn’t have to be perfect this is just a brain dump. Get it out where you can see it.

You will find that for the next day or so you will need to add things to the list as your brain processes. Get your project chunked into small actionable tasks.

Not build website, but

~Chose tagline ~find headshot ~write homepage copy

Now the key to choosing what to do next is to ask yourself a couple of key questions. The same kind of questions I ask my coaching clients.

~What has an immediate deadline? ~What is most important to move the project along? ~Can I concentrate on just one project?

If you have a really old project hanging over your head ask yourself, do I really want to do this project?  What is getting in my way?

Now schedule for the coming week at least one task per day.  If you are working on your business, I actually suggest 3 tasks per day. Before you know it the project will be done.

What do you think?  What have you found to be the best way to get projects started and rolling along?  Leave me a comment below.

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