12 Easy Ways to Organize your Work or Home Life (or both!)

DDesignnYou have permission to publish this article electronically or innprint, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. Ancourtesy copy of your publication would be appreciatednnI admit it! Sometimes I'm overwhelmed by the seemingly endlessnstreams of paperwork. Emails I want to keep, Ezines or sectionsnof them, ideas I found on the Internet, school papers, notes ofnideas that popped into my head as I was waiting to have a toothnfilled, newspaper clippings ... EEEK! I would file and file andnfile and then forgot where that article was that I needed toncomplete the project that was due last Thursday!nnI have been an avid list-maker all my life out of necessity,njuggling a 9 to 5 work life, family time, a home business andntaking care of two houses; as well as having a number of hobbiesnsuch as cartooning and fine art, clothing design and creation,ncrafts and ballroom dancing (at one point in my life even being ancompetitive ballroom dancer for 5 years as well as an assistantndisk jockey for parties). (no stress!)nnFor all of you super-busy people I have put together some handynhints on getting your life in order and keeping your sanity.nn1) Notables: Keep a small notebook and pen handy, wherever younare, to jot down ideas or appointments or things to do instead ofntrying to remember them later on.nn2) Telephonery: Set a time limit to each phone call and makensure you tell your caller. That way you save yourself the stressnof trying to end the phone call and it also helps the caller toncondense the information they want you to hear.nn3) In Waiting Use waiting time at the dentist, meeting withnyour boss or while waiting on your roast to cook to catch up onnreading or planning, or use the time to tidy up, filing or otherntasks.nn4) Help Wanted: Be sure to offer praise to a subordinate, co-nworker or to a member of the family for any effort you've noticedn- they'll be happy to help you when you're bogged down.nn5) Don't Put It Off! If you procrastinate you'll only getnstressed out when you think about that hateful "to do" item onnyour list. You'll blow it out of proportion in your mind andnit'll become almost impossible to accomplish. Make sure yountackle the largest or most disliked job first, dividing it upninto manageable tasks, then the other jobs will be a breeze!nn6) Control Bug Delegate the tasks you have no time for or teamnup with someone who can help you. (see tip #4!)nn7) Group Effort Save time and footwork by collecting everythingnto bring with you to complete errands or to distribute in eachnroom of the house instead of making too many trips. Make a fastnlist while planning out your route and be sure to plan each stopnalong the way so you don't have to backtrack and lose time.nn8) Schedule Fun Time! Make sure you include some personal timenfor YOU. Allot some time in your agenda - make an appointmentnfor yourself and keep it, even if it's only a leisurly 20 minutenbubble bath or a 15 minute walk in the fresh spring air!nn9) Space Freebies Go through any old unneeded files to free upnspace in your filing system.nn10) Once and Only Once Each piece of paper should be handlednonly once. Read it and either file it, redirect it to someonenelse, schedule it or toss it. Don't add it to an ever-endingnpile on your desk in hopes that you'll get to it eventually.nn11) Post-Master Use sticky notes to write errands needed to bendone. Stick them to your front door to remind you as you'renheaded out.nn12) Systems Engineer Too much time is wasted everyday onnsearching for things. Find a system that works for you and yournlifestyle and apply it. Use it religiously and you'll find newntime slots you thought you never had!nnGet the new Memory Jogger System and forms for free! Subscribento our new free Ezine and we'll email you our new Memory JoggernSystem complete with a kit of printable forms for you to use -nall for free! Time to organize your life! Please sign up fornyour free newsletter and the Memory Jogger kit on our site:nhttp://www.whimsies-online.comnn~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~nn© 2003 DDesignnReprints of this article are free of charge as long as youninclude the author portion of the text.nn