Often we think that once we make up our minds to change it just magically happens. I know I’ve tried it myself plenty of times. Then I get bored or it’s too hard or I get in my own way and I stop and go back to what’s easy. Even if what I’m doing that needs changing is actually harder for me, I feel it’s easier because that’s what I know.
Change happens gradually and with practice. A habit takes 30 days to form. Sometimes it can take even longer when someone is resisting the process. Those of you who would love to be more organized but are finding it difficult or challenging to start or how to start, may be relieved to discover this process doesn’t happen overnight.
I used to go into a new client’s home or office and take a look around. I’d listen to what he or she would tell me about their organizational process and the difficulties they were having. I’d make suggestions and we’d get to work. For the most part this was a good process. Things looked really great after we were finished.
What went wrong was I wasn’t teaching them the skills they needed to continue on their own. They quickly went back to their old methods of organizing and felt defeated. It’s purging when there’s a problem or about buying a new filing system from the Container Store. It’s about designing a system that works for you. Actually changing your habits from piling paper upon paper until you spend 15 minutes looking for an important item you just had “right in front of you a minute ago” to consistently filing those papers in a way that when you need to find a piece of paper it can take you less than 30 seconds to find it. That’s a system that works and keeps you motivated to continue.
A good system should allow you to know where your keys always are. A good system should get you to take responsibility for everything you own so you can actually find it.
I now simply consult clients on how to change their habits. I teach them how to figure out for themselves what they do to prevent themselves from living a fuller, easier and more stress free life. I teach them to manage their time, create with them systems for making decisions easier, systems to increase productivity and as a result, I have allowed those I work with actually make life lasting positive changes in their lives. It’s amazing.
If you are looking to make positive changes in your life, contact me at: info@gothamconcierge.com or 646-831-9625 to schedule a free 30 minute consulting session or sign up for biweekly sessions with me and see how working together and truly making a difference in organizing your time, space and life!
Showing posts with label office time management. Show all posts
Showing posts with label office time management. Show all posts
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Monday, November 16, 2009
5 Ways to Survive Thanksgiving
Holidays are stressful. Mostly because we make them out to be stressful, so here are 5 ways you can survive Thanksgiving this year.
Be Thankful. It IS Thanksgiving after all. Sure, the holiday started out with the Native Americans kindly sharing their bounty with us and then we killed most of them and took their land but we can still be thankful that we’re with our families, we have our health, we have a day off from work or something. Just find something you’re grateful for and enjoy the day.
Plan ahead. Sure, some of you may get a rush by waiting until the last minute, but then you risk the good stuff being gone from the stores, or worse- the wrong sized turkey, the stress of not having anything done and the panic that comes when you can’t find one small, but key ingredient and have to travel to 6 busy grocery stores fighting with everyone else who waited until the last minute. At least plan out your list ahead of time, know what you need and how long everything will take. Add in an hour or two for those unexpected, “oh no!” moments and if you don’t need them, then sit back and relax. If you can pre-order your groceries or get them delivered, do so.
Ask for help! I’ve spent too many Thanksgivings doing all the shopping, the cooking and the cleaning. I then spent every Friday in an exhausted turkey induced stupor. Why? I have no idea. I could have asked everyone to help, but I didn’t. Do not make my mistake. If you have people over the age of 5 who are able bodied, give them a job to do and let them help out. Even if it’s taking out the trash with the turkey carcass in it, who cares, just know it’s not your sole responsibility to do absolutely everything. Unless you’re the maid and you’re being paid for it, then it is your responsibility.
Don’t overdo it. There’s no such thing as perfection and if you’re anything like me, the more you try to be perfect, the worse the situation becomes. The mistakes are kind of comical after the fact, but during that time you’re just needlessly stressing yourself out. Good enough is good enough. I once mistakenly spilled too much rosemary into my stuffing and couldn’t pick it out. The stuffing was painful to eat because the rosemary was poking our gums. It was a bit embarrassing, but I dealt with it, no one died and from then on I remembered that the cap to the rosemary should be opened carefully. See, good lessons can come from not-so-great events. You can probably do anything, but you certainly can’t do it all at once. Let little things go.
You can’t change anyone else but yourself. If you’re spending the holiday with your not-so-favorite relatives or friends, choose how you’re going to react to the day. Sure, Aunt Erma will probably drink too much…again, but that’s her issue, not yours. Choose to make sure that you have fun, you are relaxed and those little bumps that come with holidays are just little bumps instead of major tragedies. A major tragedy is when you put the deep fryer too close to the house and it burns down. Try making wine spritzers and hopefully that will help keep Aunt Erma slightly more sober, but if you walk into the holiday acting like you’re walking on to a battlefield, you probably won’t have much fun. Again, choose to let the little things go, if even for one day and be grateful everyone at the table is there again, at least for this year.
To learn more about Alison Kero and her company, Gotham Concierge or to schedule a time management seminar, webinar or one-on-one session with her, contact Alison at: info@gothamconcierge.com or 646-831-9625.
Be Thankful. It IS Thanksgiving after all. Sure, the holiday started out with the Native Americans kindly sharing their bounty with us and then we killed most of them and took their land but we can still be thankful that we’re with our families, we have our health, we have a day off from work or something. Just find something you’re grateful for and enjoy the day.
Plan ahead. Sure, some of you may get a rush by waiting until the last minute, but then you risk the good stuff being gone from the stores, or worse- the wrong sized turkey, the stress of not having anything done and the panic that comes when you can’t find one small, but key ingredient and have to travel to 6 busy grocery stores fighting with everyone else who waited until the last minute. At least plan out your list ahead of time, know what you need and how long everything will take. Add in an hour or two for those unexpected, “oh no!” moments and if you don’t need them, then sit back and relax. If you can pre-order your groceries or get them delivered, do so.
Ask for help! I’ve spent too many Thanksgivings doing all the shopping, the cooking and the cleaning. I then spent every Friday in an exhausted turkey induced stupor. Why? I have no idea. I could have asked everyone to help, but I didn’t. Do not make my mistake. If you have people over the age of 5 who are able bodied, give them a job to do and let them help out. Even if it’s taking out the trash with the turkey carcass in it, who cares, just know it’s not your sole responsibility to do absolutely everything. Unless you’re the maid and you’re being paid for it, then it is your responsibility.
Don’t overdo it. There’s no such thing as perfection and if you’re anything like me, the more you try to be perfect, the worse the situation becomes. The mistakes are kind of comical after the fact, but during that time you’re just needlessly stressing yourself out. Good enough is good enough. I once mistakenly spilled too much rosemary into my stuffing and couldn’t pick it out. The stuffing was painful to eat because the rosemary was poking our gums. It was a bit embarrassing, but I dealt with it, no one died and from then on I remembered that the cap to the rosemary should be opened carefully. See, good lessons can come from not-so-great events. You can probably do anything, but you certainly can’t do it all at once. Let little things go.
You can’t change anyone else but yourself. If you’re spending the holiday with your not-so-favorite relatives or friends, choose how you’re going to react to the day. Sure, Aunt Erma will probably drink too much…again, but that’s her issue, not yours. Choose to make sure that you have fun, you are relaxed and those little bumps that come with holidays are just little bumps instead of major tragedies. A major tragedy is when you put the deep fryer too close to the house and it burns down. Try making wine spritzers and hopefully that will help keep Aunt Erma slightly more sober, but if you walk into the holiday acting like you’re walking on to a battlefield, you probably won’t have much fun. Again, choose to let the little things go, if even for one day and be grateful everyone at the table is there again, at least for this year.
To learn more about Alison Kero and her company, Gotham Concierge or to schedule a time management seminar, webinar or one-on-one session with her, contact Alison at: info@gothamconcierge.com or 646-831-9625.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
How I Use Time Management to Keep My Sanity
I can’t tell you how happy I am to have become an expert in time management and productivity. Yes, I do enjoy helping people make their lives easier but more importantly it’s made MY life easier and less stressful.
As my business continues to grow and things become busier and busier, it becomes difficult to navigate everything that comes at me. Every week I have 20-40 offers of various networking opportunities I can go to. Which ones do I choose? I have personal responsibilities as well as professional responsibilities and which ones come first? How do I make time for myself, get enough rest, exercise, get all my work done and not collapse at the end of the day or week?
It’s not easy finding your own path when there are so many options that were never available before. It’s confusing and overwhelming and how do you make everyone else happy while remembering you need to be happy as well?
For myself, I had to not just learn time management and productivity skills I had to learn how to stand my ground and remember to think about myself. It is true you have to take care of yourself in order to do any good for others. Yet sometimes that feels like the most difficult task I’ve ever faced. It’s so easy to put off taking care of yourself when you have so many other responsibilities. However, it’s vital to continue to place yourself as a priority.
So, how do you get those productivity and time management skills to work for you? Well, when faced with so many opportunities, the best way to figure out which ones to go for and which ones to avoid is to break them down. I always think to myself, based on my past experiences, which types of networking meetings worked for me? Who is my target audience? Which businesses can help me gain more customers? Who do I need to meet? What times of day are easiest for me to meet others? Then I let the other opportunities go, as they are someone else’s opportunities, not mine.
This lesson I had to learn the hard way. I stayed in networking groups for too long because I ignored my gut instinct that told me I was on the wrong path. I instead chose to allow others to tell me that it was my fault if I got no business from the group. I wasn’t trying hard enough, I wasn’t a good business person, I wasn’t this, that, and the other thing. Once I stopped listening to the negativity and started focusing on what was fact, it became easier to see the direction I should have been in all along.
When balancing your schedule paying attention to what your body is telling you can help as well. Are you feeling overwhelmed? Perhaps walking away from an activity and taking a break is the best way to deal with it. Last week my computer crashed for no reason. I started to panic, thinking of all the material I had lost, the cost of finding someone to fix it, the possibility of spending more money on a new computer and getting it done immediately, which meant I was on the brink of freaking out. So I walked into my kitchen and washed my dishes. I did not allow myself to think of the “what-ifs” as there was no purpose in doing that. I did not know what the real outcome of my computer crashing was and therefore any thoughts toward my next steps was a waste of time. When I had calmed down enough to think rationally, I turned back on my computer (after taking a very large breath) and took a look at what had really happened. As it turns out, my computer had a minor bug in it that I could fix myself and everything was okay. Had I panicked and reacted, I would have wasted time and money getting someone in to fix a problem I could do myself. I also would have stressed myself out needlessly. Instead I forced myself to calm down and walk away until I was thinking clearly– a tool which is a huge time saver.
A few weeks ago I went to get my watch repaired. I’ve had it for well over 10 years and the battery was dying and I needed the clasp fixed. I took it to the company headquarters where they have a department which repairs the watches and expected to walk out 15 minutes later with a fixed watch and $30 less in my wallet. Instead I found out the whole watch needed internal repairs which would cost $350. I again began to panic and then utilized the 10-10-10 rule I learned from an article in Glamour magazine. I thought to myself, okay, I know the original price of the watch and what a watch from them costs now ($1,300). I know this is a very good watch maker. If I choose to walk away and not repair my watch, how would I feel 10 days from now knowing I’d have to spend more money on a new watch and spend time finding a watch I liked when I already had one I loved? How would I feel 10 months from now? How about in 10 years? I decided that I loved my watch and it was worth spending the money to be repaired. The good news was that I had a client who happened to work there. I asked her some questions about general upkeep so I wouldn’t be surprised by such a large price tag in the future and she was kind enough to give me a discount. In the end, I saved time by keeping myself calm and being honest to myself about how I would feel not just now, but in the future about my decision to keep my watch. I’m now back wearing my watch and loving it!
With everything that comes flying at us these days, there are so many decisions to make. The best way to keep yourself on task, stop everything from becoming too overwhelming and keep your stress levels at bay is to be true to yourself. Know what you really want from life, cheerfully say no to things that aren’t of interest to you and continue to move forward. Don’t be afraid of someone reacting badly to you saying no, of unexpected things that pop up and always make sure you take care of yourself. When you are well rested, eating well and exercising regularly your ability to make decisions and ward off stress are at their highest peak.
Everything that comes flying at you becomes your decision. Your decision on how to react to it, your decision to choose whether or not to dwell on a bad situation, your decision to turn a negative into a positive, and your decision to choose to make the world a little better, a little less stressful and a little more fun. Life isn’t easy but if you have the proper skills and tools and the ability to keep a positive attitude, it sure is a lot easier.
If you are looking to learn time management and productivity skills, contact Alison Kero at: 646-831-9625 or info@gothamconcierge.com. To learn more about Alison and her company, Gotham Concierge visit http://www.gothamconcierge.com.
As my business continues to grow and things become busier and busier, it becomes difficult to navigate everything that comes at me. Every week I have 20-40 offers of various networking opportunities I can go to. Which ones do I choose? I have personal responsibilities as well as professional responsibilities and which ones come first? How do I make time for myself, get enough rest, exercise, get all my work done and not collapse at the end of the day or week?
It’s not easy finding your own path when there are so many options that were never available before. It’s confusing and overwhelming and how do you make everyone else happy while remembering you need to be happy as well?
For myself, I had to not just learn time management and productivity skills I had to learn how to stand my ground and remember to think about myself. It is true you have to take care of yourself in order to do any good for others. Yet sometimes that feels like the most difficult task I’ve ever faced. It’s so easy to put off taking care of yourself when you have so many other responsibilities. However, it’s vital to continue to place yourself as a priority.
So, how do you get those productivity and time management skills to work for you? Well, when faced with so many opportunities, the best way to figure out which ones to go for and which ones to avoid is to break them down. I always think to myself, based on my past experiences, which types of networking meetings worked for me? Who is my target audience? Which businesses can help me gain more customers? Who do I need to meet? What times of day are easiest for me to meet others? Then I let the other opportunities go, as they are someone else’s opportunities, not mine.
This lesson I had to learn the hard way. I stayed in networking groups for too long because I ignored my gut instinct that told me I was on the wrong path. I instead chose to allow others to tell me that it was my fault if I got no business from the group. I wasn’t trying hard enough, I wasn’t a good business person, I wasn’t this, that, and the other thing. Once I stopped listening to the negativity and started focusing on what was fact, it became easier to see the direction I should have been in all along.
When balancing your schedule paying attention to what your body is telling you can help as well. Are you feeling overwhelmed? Perhaps walking away from an activity and taking a break is the best way to deal with it. Last week my computer crashed for no reason. I started to panic, thinking of all the material I had lost, the cost of finding someone to fix it, the possibility of spending more money on a new computer and getting it done immediately, which meant I was on the brink of freaking out. So I walked into my kitchen and washed my dishes. I did not allow myself to think of the “what-ifs” as there was no purpose in doing that. I did not know what the real outcome of my computer crashing was and therefore any thoughts toward my next steps was a waste of time. When I had calmed down enough to think rationally, I turned back on my computer (after taking a very large breath) and took a look at what had really happened. As it turns out, my computer had a minor bug in it that I could fix myself and everything was okay. Had I panicked and reacted, I would have wasted time and money getting someone in to fix a problem I could do myself. I also would have stressed myself out needlessly. Instead I forced myself to calm down and walk away until I was thinking clearly– a tool which is a huge time saver.
A few weeks ago I went to get my watch repaired. I’ve had it for well over 10 years and the battery was dying and I needed the clasp fixed. I took it to the company headquarters where they have a department which repairs the watches and expected to walk out 15 minutes later with a fixed watch and $30 less in my wallet. Instead I found out the whole watch needed internal repairs which would cost $350. I again began to panic and then utilized the 10-10-10 rule I learned from an article in Glamour magazine. I thought to myself, okay, I know the original price of the watch and what a watch from them costs now ($1,300). I know this is a very good watch maker. If I choose to walk away and not repair my watch, how would I feel 10 days from now knowing I’d have to spend more money on a new watch and spend time finding a watch I liked when I already had one I loved? How would I feel 10 months from now? How about in 10 years? I decided that I loved my watch and it was worth spending the money to be repaired. The good news was that I had a client who happened to work there. I asked her some questions about general upkeep so I wouldn’t be surprised by such a large price tag in the future and she was kind enough to give me a discount. In the end, I saved time by keeping myself calm and being honest to myself about how I would feel not just now, but in the future about my decision to keep my watch. I’m now back wearing my watch and loving it!
With everything that comes flying at us these days, there are so many decisions to make. The best way to keep yourself on task, stop everything from becoming too overwhelming and keep your stress levels at bay is to be true to yourself. Know what you really want from life, cheerfully say no to things that aren’t of interest to you and continue to move forward. Don’t be afraid of someone reacting badly to you saying no, of unexpected things that pop up and always make sure you take care of yourself. When you are well rested, eating well and exercising regularly your ability to make decisions and ward off stress are at their highest peak.
Everything that comes flying at you becomes your decision. Your decision on how to react to it, your decision to choose whether or not to dwell on a bad situation, your decision to turn a negative into a positive, and your decision to choose to make the world a little better, a little less stressful and a little more fun. Life isn’t easy but if you have the proper skills and tools and the ability to keep a positive attitude, it sure is a lot easier.
If you are looking to learn time management and productivity skills, contact Alison Kero at: 646-831-9625 or info@gothamconcierge.com. To learn more about Alison and her company, Gotham Concierge visit http://www.gothamconcierge.com.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Learning to Respect Your Own Time
Learning to respect your own time. Sounds like a really basic concept and not hard to do at all, and for some this is true. I, however, struggle on a daily basis to respect my own time and I am a professional organizer who specializes in time management. I am also a people pleaser. For years I gave up my free time to help others. Whether it was running into the city to meet friends who were always at least unapologetically 20 minutes late despite the fact that they lived 10 minutes down the block and I had just spent 45 minutes racing in to get there on time, or spending more time working as secretary on a board of directors than I was on my own business. What was I doing, and why?
I ended up getting angry at my friends for not respecting my time and I would complain bitterly each month as I prepared the agenda for the next board meeting because no one ever bothered to send in their materials in a timely manner. I finally quit the board when my mother pointed out that I wasn’t enjoying myself, so what was the point?
What took me years to learn was this: it wasn’t my friends or colleagues disrespecting my time, it was me. I never said or did anything to change what kept occurring over and over and over again and how can things change when YOU don’t change? I had to be the one to let others know my time was valuable and then act accordingly.
I finally had a break through recently. I had plans with a friend to see a movie and early on in the day I sent her an e-mail with the times and places around the city of the movie we wanted to see. I heard nothing until 4 pm when she sent an e-mail asking if we were still going. Apparently my e-mail had gotten stuck in spam. I then resent her the information and she took 2 ½ hours to send back a reply. I live in a different borough than her so I need time to travel and I also own my own business so I need to plan my work schedule more carefully than others. By the time she replied about the movie, it was too late for me to get there.
It wouldn’t have mattered. By that point, I was so irritated by her lack of respect for my time that I was too angry to have sat through a movie. Instead I left my cell phone at home and took a nice long walk. On this walk I realized that I was right in not rushing out of my home at the last minute to see a movie with someone who wasn’t being respectful towards me and had I gone, I would have been telling her that my time wasn’t valuable to me, so why should it be to her?
I also realized I needed to let her know that it wasn’t acceptable and how I expected to be treated in the future. So I wrote her back telling her that I had gone for a walk and missed her e-mail. I also told her that I needed more planning time because of my work and because I needed to allow for traveling time. I asked that in the future plans be made much further in advance.
The good news was my friend apologized and moving forward it will be easier to make plans with her. The great news was I owned my own power and my own time and it’ll be easier in the future to continue down this path of positive change.
I also will recognize that in the future, if I let someone know that I expect to be respected and they continue to be disrespectful of my time, I will know that it is time to walk away from that relationship because any relationship that doesn’t have both parties providing equal parts give and take isn’t healthy.
This story may seem like a baby step to some, but for me, who has spent a lifetime more concerned with everyone else’s needs than my own, who has been taken advantage of and used continuously, it was a groundbreaking huge step in the right direction toward taking care of myself first in order to give more to those around me.
You can’t give if you have nothing to offer. I hope this article helps someone understand that the first step in time management is respecting your own time and yourself. It’s not just a concept but a way of being. I teach in my seminars and webinars that the oxygen theory is a vital theory to have in your life. Take care of yourself first and then you are fit to take care of others. It’s a simple theory but the practice of doing so can be really challenging for those of us trained to give first and take care of ourselves later.
If you’d like to learn more about how time management can lead to achieving your goals more quickly, having more time to achieve what you want in life, reducing your stress levels and much more, contact me, Alison Kero at: info@gothamconcierge.com or by phone at: 646-831-9625. I do at home or in office consultations in the NYC area, offer seminars nationwide and do private phone consultations. I wish you the best of luck in improving your time management skills!
I ended up getting angry at my friends for not respecting my time and I would complain bitterly each month as I prepared the agenda for the next board meeting because no one ever bothered to send in their materials in a timely manner. I finally quit the board when my mother pointed out that I wasn’t enjoying myself, so what was the point?
What took me years to learn was this: it wasn’t my friends or colleagues disrespecting my time, it was me. I never said or did anything to change what kept occurring over and over and over again and how can things change when YOU don’t change? I had to be the one to let others know my time was valuable and then act accordingly.
I finally had a break through recently. I had plans with a friend to see a movie and early on in the day I sent her an e-mail with the times and places around the city of the movie we wanted to see. I heard nothing until 4 pm when she sent an e-mail asking if we were still going. Apparently my e-mail had gotten stuck in spam. I then resent her the information and she took 2 ½ hours to send back a reply. I live in a different borough than her so I need time to travel and I also own my own business so I need to plan my work schedule more carefully than others. By the time she replied about the movie, it was too late for me to get there.
It wouldn’t have mattered. By that point, I was so irritated by her lack of respect for my time that I was too angry to have sat through a movie. Instead I left my cell phone at home and took a nice long walk. On this walk I realized that I was right in not rushing out of my home at the last minute to see a movie with someone who wasn’t being respectful towards me and had I gone, I would have been telling her that my time wasn’t valuable to me, so why should it be to her?
I also realized I needed to let her know that it wasn’t acceptable and how I expected to be treated in the future. So I wrote her back telling her that I had gone for a walk and missed her e-mail. I also told her that I needed more planning time because of my work and because I needed to allow for traveling time. I asked that in the future plans be made much further in advance.
The good news was my friend apologized and moving forward it will be easier to make plans with her. The great news was I owned my own power and my own time and it’ll be easier in the future to continue down this path of positive change.
I also will recognize that in the future, if I let someone know that I expect to be respected and they continue to be disrespectful of my time, I will know that it is time to walk away from that relationship because any relationship that doesn’t have both parties providing equal parts give and take isn’t healthy.
This story may seem like a baby step to some, but for me, who has spent a lifetime more concerned with everyone else’s needs than my own, who has been taken advantage of and used continuously, it was a groundbreaking huge step in the right direction toward taking care of myself first in order to give more to those around me.
You can’t give if you have nothing to offer. I hope this article helps someone understand that the first step in time management is respecting your own time and yourself. It’s not just a concept but a way of being. I teach in my seminars and webinars that the oxygen theory is a vital theory to have in your life. Take care of yourself first and then you are fit to take care of others. It’s a simple theory but the practice of doing so can be really challenging for those of us trained to give first and take care of ourselves later.
If you’d like to learn more about how time management can lead to achieving your goals more quickly, having more time to achieve what you want in life, reducing your stress levels and much more, contact me, Alison Kero at: info@gothamconcierge.com or by phone at: 646-831-9625. I do at home or in office consultations in the NYC area, offer seminars nationwide and do private phone consultations. I wish you the best of luck in improving your time management skills!
Monday, August 24, 2009
Sometimes You Just Have to Throw Stuff Out
Stuff. Everyone has plenty of it. The late comedian George Carlin had a hysterically funny bit he performed based on stuff and how we have to buy bigger homes and rent storage space just to keep up with our stuff.
There’s an amazing amount of stuff that people accumulate. Whether it’s things you buy, things you receive from attending an event, gifts people buy for you or however you got it, you’ve now got a household full of stuff.
Stuff can become overwhelming and take over your home. Last week I worked with a client to purge some of the stuff that was now threatening to take over too much space in the apartment she shares with her husband. I realized that the reasons she had kept most of the stuff were the same reasons most of us hold on to stuff. First, she didn’t know what to do with the stuff she didn’t really want or didn’t really need. Secondly, people sometimes feel that if there’s free space, it should be filled up with stuff and lastly, she kept the stuff because of environmental guilt.
So let’s tackle these problems one at a time. You don’t know what to do with your stuff. So here’s how to figure out what to do with it. Ask yourself these questions: have you used the item in the past year? No? Get rid of it. Has the stuff expired as medicines, make up, lotions, perfumes, etc? Yes? Get rid of it. Many of these items only last for a year or so and could be harmful to you. And finally, the questions you should always ask yourself when looking at what you currently own or wish to buy: do I like it and do I need it?
If you don’t like something such as jewelry given to you 20 years ago and no longer wear it, get rid of it. If you don’t need 30 pairs of shoes or 20 t-shirts, get rid of the one’s you no longer wear, look like they’re falling apart or don’t fit properly anymore.
Second problem: Filling up free space because it’s there. Free space is nice. Free space allows you to have free flowing thoughts, reduces clutter, saves time and helps you find everything quickly. Filled up space means clutter, things forgotten about, losing items, spending time finding those items, buying more items that you have because you can’t find them and on and on and on. Free space is good. Free space is what you want. Just because you have free space does not mean that you need it filled. If you allow yourself time to get used to the free space, you’ll find how beneficial it is. It’s like learning to enjoy silence, at first, it seems almost odd in a world where there seems to be noise everywhere, but once you get used to the silence, it becomes something to be cherished and held on to. Enjoy the free space.
Last problem: Environmental guilt. Okay, I made this term up myself, but I think it’s something many of my clients and me as well suffer from. Most of my clients care deeply about the environment. They recycle, they reuse and they reduce. So when they end up collecting tons of samples of items or are given gifts or start holding on to things they don’t really want, need or use, they end up feeling guilty. They could probably recycle the small sample jar of face cream, but there are several jars and there’s little time and it’s a lot of effort. Let the guilt go. Some times you just have to throw stuff out. Not everything can be recycled, reduced or reused.
If there are places to donate those items in your area, please, by all means do so. However, not everything can be donated. Sometimes there is no need for the items you don’t want or, due to laws (such as donating mattresses due to the bed bug problem) you can’t donate used items. Throw your stuff out in the garbage and while you’re at it, throw out the guilt as well.
Feeling badly because you’re tossing out items you think could be useful somewhere is waste of time. Just throw them out and think: I’m allowing myself the freedom to enjoy what I possessions I have chosen to keep. I’m allowing myself the freedom to throw things out that can’t be reused or recycled and the planet will not spiral into more peril because I did that. Guilt alone never saved anyone or anything so allowing it to control your life and your stuff is a waste of time and energy.
I hope this article has helped those of you who are beginning to feel overwhelmed by the amount of stuff accumulating in your life. Whether it’s physical stuff at your home or office or even emotional stuff, there’s no room in your life to keep it all. Choose what you want to surround yourself with, who you want to surround yourself with and what makes you happy and you’ll find purging unwanted items, emotions and unhealthy relationships quickly become a thing of the past.
If you need help or support purging these items, please contact Alison Kero at: 646-831-9625 or e-mail her at: info@gothamconcierge.com to schedule an appointment. I accept in person appointments in the New York City area and I welcome all phone consultations anywhere nation wide. Good luck on purging out the negative and getting rid of unwanted stuff!
There’s an amazing amount of stuff that people accumulate. Whether it’s things you buy, things you receive from attending an event, gifts people buy for you or however you got it, you’ve now got a household full of stuff.
Stuff can become overwhelming and take over your home. Last week I worked with a client to purge some of the stuff that was now threatening to take over too much space in the apartment she shares with her husband. I realized that the reasons she had kept most of the stuff were the same reasons most of us hold on to stuff. First, she didn’t know what to do with the stuff she didn’t really want or didn’t really need. Secondly, people sometimes feel that if there’s free space, it should be filled up with stuff and lastly, she kept the stuff because of environmental guilt.
So let’s tackle these problems one at a time. You don’t know what to do with your stuff. So here’s how to figure out what to do with it. Ask yourself these questions: have you used the item in the past year? No? Get rid of it. Has the stuff expired as medicines, make up, lotions, perfumes, etc? Yes? Get rid of it. Many of these items only last for a year or so and could be harmful to you. And finally, the questions you should always ask yourself when looking at what you currently own or wish to buy: do I like it and do I need it?
If you don’t like something such as jewelry given to you 20 years ago and no longer wear it, get rid of it. If you don’t need 30 pairs of shoes or 20 t-shirts, get rid of the one’s you no longer wear, look like they’re falling apart or don’t fit properly anymore.
Second problem: Filling up free space because it’s there. Free space is nice. Free space allows you to have free flowing thoughts, reduces clutter, saves time and helps you find everything quickly. Filled up space means clutter, things forgotten about, losing items, spending time finding those items, buying more items that you have because you can’t find them and on and on and on. Free space is good. Free space is what you want. Just because you have free space does not mean that you need it filled. If you allow yourself time to get used to the free space, you’ll find how beneficial it is. It’s like learning to enjoy silence, at first, it seems almost odd in a world where there seems to be noise everywhere, but once you get used to the silence, it becomes something to be cherished and held on to. Enjoy the free space.
Last problem: Environmental guilt. Okay, I made this term up myself, but I think it’s something many of my clients and me as well suffer from. Most of my clients care deeply about the environment. They recycle, they reuse and they reduce. So when they end up collecting tons of samples of items or are given gifts or start holding on to things they don’t really want, need or use, they end up feeling guilty. They could probably recycle the small sample jar of face cream, but there are several jars and there’s little time and it’s a lot of effort. Let the guilt go. Some times you just have to throw stuff out. Not everything can be recycled, reduced or reused.
If there are places to donate those items in your area, please, by all means do so. However, not everything can be donated. Sometimes there is no need for the items you don’t want or, due to laws (such as donating mattresses due to the bed bug problem) you can’t donate used items. Throw your stuff out in the garbage and while you’re at it, throw out the guilt as well.
Feeling badly because you’re tossing out items you think could be useful somewhere is waste of time. Just throw them out and think: I’m allowing myself the freedom to enjoy what I possessions I have chosen to keep. I’m allowing myself the freedom to throw things out that can’t be reused or recycled and the planet will not spiral into more peril because I did that. Guilt alone never saved anyone or anything so allowing it to control your life and your stuff is a waste of time and energy.
I hope this article has helped those of you who are beginning to feel overwhelmed by the amount of stuff accumulating in your life. Whether it’s physical stuff at your home or office or even emotional stuff, there’s no room in your life to keep it all. Choose what you want to surround yourself with, who you want to surround yourself with and what makes you happy and you’ll find purging unwanted items, emotions and unhealthy relationships quickly become a thing of the past.
If you need help or support purging these items, please contact Alison Kero at: 646-831-9625 or e-mail her at: info@gothamconcierge.com to schedule an appointment. I accept in person appointments in the New York City area and I welcome all phone consultations anywhere nation wide. Good luck on purging out the negative and getting rid of unwanted stuff!
Monday, August 17, 2009
Organizing your Inbox for Time Management
Let me guess, your e-mails have gotten out of control. You get distracted quickly because an e-mail comes in and as a result, your work is taking longer than you had originally thought. You have begun to have a love/hate relationship with e-mail.
It’s completely understandable these days we get so many e-mail messages during the day that it becomes overwhelming. More e-mails pour in every day and you never want to miss an important e-mail, but are starting to feel overwhelmed by the amount and want to make sure you’re also staying on task while devoting enough time to responding to important e-mails.
First, unless you have or work in a business where your only part in being there is to respond to e-mails, most e-mails do not need to be read as soon as they come in. In fact, studies show that every time you get distracted, whether from a phone call, someone stopping by your desk or an e-mail comes in, the average person gets off task for anywhere from 10-20 minutes. How often are your e-mails so important that stopping your work for that long is actually beneficial to your time? It’s probably not as often as you think. To help prevent such losses in time, schedule specific periods during your day to look at and respond to your e-mails. How often you do this depends upon how much e-mail you get and how much you need to respond to them.
If you fear that not responding immediately will cause problems, start to let people you work with know that you will be looking at your e-mails during specific points of the day. Let your clients know as well. Then invite them to call you if there is an emergency, but otherwise, you’ll get back to them at the allotted time in the day. Always train people to know what to expect from you and it prevents unnecessary problems and/or breakdowns in communications. Most people can wait a few hours for a response.
When you do reach those points of the day where you are responding to e-mail, first go through the e-mails quickly one by one. Do not respond immediately to any of them. Create file folders for your incoming e-mails such as: research, respond to within 1 week, respond to within 1 day, keep, etc. These different file folders can be set out to work for the types of typical e-mails you receive daily. Once you have put your e-mails into their respective folders, go through those e-mails you perceived to need an immediate response and get them out of the way. Also, set up and utilize your junk folder to filter out unwanted e-mails.
Again, any time you are in the middle of a task and you take a moment to look at an e-mail, it will take you 10-20 minutes to get your brain back on task. If you receive many e-mails during the day, this habit will create problems with getting your work done on time, keeping you working later hours than are needed, leads to exhaustion, stress and less time to concentrate on other things. By setting specific points during the day, such as at 9:30 am, 12:30 pm and 4:30 pm to look over, sort and respond to e-mail then you have made a date with yourself to handle e-mail, but are not a slave to handling everything that comes in when it comes in.
Sorting quickly through your e-mails helps you to quickly assess what needs to be looked at immediately and what can wait. By assigning certain items to be worked on later when you have more time and those that aren’t pressing matters, it allows you to have the time to devote yourself to work that is imperative. Sorting your e-mails into categories allows you to prioritize your work and makes it simpler and less overwhelming to deal with. The file folders also make it much easier to find e-mails in the future.
Always make sure you delete items you no longer need on a daily basis. If you aren’t sure, create another file folder to hold on to items you may need to find later on. However, your inbox should only carry items that need to be addressed immediately or those items you have not yet sorted through.
I hope this helps to begin the process of learning how to live without instant e-mail gratification. If you have a ton of e-mails to sort through, do a little at a time or you’ll never get it done. Ask your assistant to help filter e-mails for you as well. Lastly, if you feel you need additional help of a professional organizer or time management coach, contact Alison Kero at: 646-831-9625 or on her e-mail at: info@gothamconcierge.com. Consultations can be done in person in the NYC metro area or phone consultations are available nationwide. Lastly, if you trust and know of another professional organizer, contact them and make an appointment to get your time, space and life organized today. You’ll see and live the difference every day! Good luck!
It’s completely understandable these days we get so many e-mail messages during the day that it becomes overwhelming. More e-mails pour in every day and you never want to miss an important e-mail, but are starting to feel overwhelmed by the amount and want to make sure you’re also staying on task while devoting enough time to responding to important e-mails.
First, unless you have or work in a business where your only part in being there is to respond to e-mails, most e-mails do not need to be read as soon as they come in. In fact, studies show that every time you get distracted, whether from a phone call, someone stopping by your desk or an e-mail comes in, the average person gets off task for anywhere from 10-20 minutes. How often are your e-mails so important that stopping your work for that long is actually beneficial to your time? It’s probably not as often as you think. To help prevent such losses in time, schedule specific periods during your day to look at and respond to your e-mails. How often you do this depends upon how much e-mail you get and how much you need to respond to them.
If you fear that not responding immediately will cause problems, start to let people you work with know that you will be looking at your e-mails during specific points of the day. Let your clients know as well. Then invite them to call you if there is an emergency, but otherwise, you’ll get back to them at the allotted time in the day. Always train people to know what to expect from you and it prevents unnecessary problems and/or breakdowns in communications. Most people can wait a few hours for a response.
When you do reach those points of the day where you are responding to e-mail, first go through the e-mails quickly one by one. Do not respond immediately to any of them. Create file folders for your incoming e-mails such as: research, respond to within 1 week, respond to within 1 day, keep, etc. These different file folders can be set out to work for the types of typical e-mails you receive daily. Once you have put your e-mails into their respective folders, go through those e-mails you perceived to need an immediate response and get them out of the way. Also, set up and utilize your junk folder to filter out unwanted e-mails.
Again, any time you are in the middle of a task and you take a moment to look at an e-mail, it will take you 10-20 minutes to get your brain back on task. If you receive many e-mails during the day, this habit will create problems with getting your work done on time, keeping you working later hours than are needed, leads to exhaustion, stress and less time to concentrate on other things. By setting specific points during the day, such as at 9:30 am, 12:30 pm and 4:30 pm to look over, sort and respond to e-mail then you have made a date with yourself to handle e-mail, but are not a slave to handling everything that comes in when it comes in.
Sorting quickly through your e-mails helps you to quickly assess what needs to be looked at immediately and what can wait. By assigning certain items to be worked on later when you have more time and those that aren’t pressing matters, it allows you to have the time to devote yourself to work that is imperative. Sorting your e-mails into categories allows you to prioritize your work and makes it simpler and less overwhelming to deal with. The file folders also make it much easier to find e-mails in the future.
Always make sure you delete items you no longer need on a daily basis. If you aren’t sure, create another file folder to hold on to items you may need to find later on. However, your inbox should only carry items that need to be addressed immediately or those items you have not yet sorted through.
I hope this helps to begin the process of learning how to live without instant e-mail gratification. If you have a ton of e-mails to sort through, do a little at a time or you’ll never get it done. Ask your assistant to help filter e-mails for you as well. Lastly, if you feel you need additional help of a professional organizer or time management coach, contact Alison Kero at: 646-831-9625 or on her e-mail at: info@gothamconcierge.com. Consultations can be done in person in the NYC metro area or phone consultations are available nationwide. Lastly, if you trust and know of another professional organizer, contact them and make an appointment to get your time, space and life organized today. You’ll see and live the difference every day! Good luck!
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