Overcome PROCRASTINATION – Do you put off tasks that you do not want to do or like to do? Do you say, “I’ll just do it tomorrow.” Procrastination, for one reason or another, happens to the best of us.  Overcome procrastination by following these steps:

1. Break the project down into smaller steps until they are manageable.
2. Prevent distractions and interruptions from occurring.
3. Get organized – Being unorganized causes chaos and is very distracting
   When you are organized, you are better able to focus on a task instead of the clutter
4. Do NOT demand perfection from yourself. Perfectionism causes postponement.
5. Create a mental picture of the project you wish to complete.
6. Reward yourself. Give yourself points or prizes as you work through the task.
7. Avoid overextending yourself. Evaluate your obligations and then prioritize them.
   Is there anything you can omit, delegate or move to a different time frame? Set realistic goals. When possible, finish each task before starting the next.
8. Make the task at hand as pleasurable as possible. Ask yourself a question, “Can I make this more enjoyable in any way?”

Overcome procrastination by simply beginning. I wish you success as you begin once again! If you don’t know how or where to begin, I may be able to help.

Organized Clutter?

These two words have very opposite meanings. At dictionary.com we get the definition of both words:
n. clut·ter
1. A confused or disordered state or collection; a jumble.
v. or·gan·ized
2. To put together into an orderly, functional, structured whole.
a. To arrange in a coherent form; to systematize.

At the conclusion of a seminar I taught recently in Mapleton, Utah many people come forward to visit with me and some use this term, organized clutter, to describe their living conditions. I believe there is no such thing. Either there is Order OR there is Clutter.
_____________________________________
Tips to Prevent Clutter
Here are three simple questions to ask yourself before you bring
something new into your space:
1) Am I going to use it often?
2) Am I going to use it now, or in the very near future?
3) Where is it going to go?
REMEMBER THAT:
• everything must have a place and space is limited
• clutter can not be disinfected or sterilized…only reduced
• possessions are never as important as people

—————————————-

Problems can not be solved at the same level of consciousness that created them. — Albert Einstein   THINK ABOUT IT!
One of the best ways to prevent clutter, is to stop it before it starts.
The best way to stop it before it starts is to set up systems that meet your needs.  Remember that there is no such thing as organized clutter. Happy Organizing!

For organizing help

The idea of writing biography pages and keeping a family history was not appealing to me for most of my life. I knew in my heart that I should be doing it, but it was just too hard for me. Then eight years ago, my oldest daughter, Nikki, taught me through example the simple steps to writing biography pages as I live my life, day by day. Her tips removed the overwhelmed feeling I had felt. I’ll share them with you so you won’t feel overwhelmed about writing your own written living biography:

1. Begin with your PAST life history to date. Make it easy! Maybe a 2 pager on your computer.
2. Begin your paragraphs with the word “I”.
3. If you want to make it a more detailed writing, biography questions to get your mind thinking could include:

• What was your favorite place when you were a child?
• What is the most interesting characteristic you posses?
• What about my employment do you like or hate?
• What did you feel like your first day of school?

Two pages is all you need to catch up. If you would like more questions to get your mind working, click here to access my Personal History Questions. Once that is done, then you can move on to your CURRENT writing. Journal it! Here are my tips for journaling:

• Write one day a week for up to 1/2 hour
• Pick 3-5 of the most interesting weeks happenings
• Confine it to a certain space  (I use a 9” X 5”  notebook and put 1 week on one side of each page)

Once you have become comfortable with writing biography pages weekly , it is time to consider keeping a family history. I learned this formula for family history keeping  at a BYU education week class four years ago and have done it every year since. It takes me 2 hours a year to update from beginning to end. It really has been SO EASY for me. A down-loadable sample of the one pager follows, but these are the main parts of the page:

1. At the top include your name and the year
2. One photo from a very memorable event that year
3. A few sentences for each of the categories listed below:

• Family
• Health
• Home
• Church
• Employment
• Education
• Friends
• Holidays
• Vacations

Click here to download a sample of  My Yearly One Page Family History. For many years I thought I was just too busy to take on writing biography pages weekly or to keep a yearly family history. Then I learned the easy way to begin and maintain. Planning and upkeep make it sustainable. If you would like to begin your personal written biography or family history, these ideas may be just what you were waiting for!

Get started this week. Begin by investing 30 minutes this week in writing biography pages and presto/chango…no more guilt!

Vicki's 2009 Family Reunion Fun

Organizing family reunion  fun is not an easy task, but a systematic approach is helpful. In a previous article, I shared some tips for putting together a general master plan for family reunion fun.

In that article I promised theme ideas, favorite activity ideas and photos suggestions. I am a woman of her word. Here you go:

Family reunion themes for family reunion fun! – Your theme is what makes your family reunion fun and most memorable. Here are a few favorites my extended family have chosen the past few years:

• A Blast from the Past for family reunion fun: Meals = favorite meals from preparers childhood. Activity = ‘hide & seek’ or ‘no bears are out tonight’. (Be sure to assign a young child with an adult supervisor.)
• Where in the World for family reunion fun: Meals = country of preparers choice. Activity = go hiking and call it climb the Swiss Alps or do a swimming activity and call it Hawaiian fun.
• Western Roundup for family reunion fun: Meal = hot dogs and hamburgers, or chicken tenders named prairie dog nuggets. Activity = while roasting marshmallows tell ghost stories around candlelight. (Books of ghost stories can be found at your local library or local bookstore.)
• Summer Olympic Games for family reunion fun: The lodging was called Olympic Village. Activity = Synchronized swimming with judges and audience participation. The reunion finale was titled the Olympic Ribbon Ceremony.

Family reunion awards ceremonies for family reunion fun! – Some of my favorite reunion awards are these:  Best Gymnast award for the most wounded attendee. Best Balancing Act for the attendee who balanced well reunion events and family care. The Get Up & Go award for the attendee who typically rolled out of bed at noon. The Miss Universe award for the attendee who needed lots of spotlight attention.

Memory photos for family reunion fun! – Think ahead and schedule family reunion scrapbook time as you near the end of your reunion OR provide family reunion photo CD’s as a reunion parting gift.

To listen to my 16 minute audio show on this topic, visit The Organized Woman Show and look for show number 038 titled Organizing Family Reunions.

To learn my tips for designing a family reunion fun master plan, click here.

Two of my favorite ‘family reunion websites’ are these:

www.familyreunion.com AND www.familydetails.com

Began to plan with a master plan that includes family reunion fun. Include themes, activities and memorable photos in your plan. Bring your family together and feel the love surrounding you!

Vicki's 2009 SIBLINGS & families REUNION

The reason to plan family reunion fun is to reunite your immediate or extended family. Few of us live next door to our siblings or cousins like was done in the “old days”. Geography divides us. The main reason to plan family reunion (s) annually is that it brings your family back to once again grow together.

BEGIN TO PLAN FAMILY REUNION FUN WITH A MASTER PLAN –  The whole  reunion should be planned beginning to end by one family member. In my family, I and each of my siblings take a year to plan family reunion events on a rotating basis.  THEN we divide up the reunion responsibilities for the year. We typically assign out one meal and one group activity per sibling.  This plan, family reunion master plan I should say, is not overwhelming for the master planner OR anyone helping. Let’s imagine that YOU are the master planner for THIS YEARS family reunion. Before you begin to delegate, you should decide these things:

FIRST, decide on the type of reunion you will hold from these options:

• siblings only (your brothers and sisters)
• adults only, (your siblings and their spouses/life partners)
• everyone’s invited

THEN

1. Choose a date for the family reunion (You should email all attendees three possible dates and see which are workable for the majority of those attending.)
2. Plan family reunion budget expectations
3. Plan family reunion destination specifics including a map for arrival.
4. Invite the guests.
5. Plan family reunion activity assignments based on the number of siblings you have and the length of your family reunion.

NEXT

• Plan Family Reunion  General Costs based on a per person cost.
• Plan Family Reunion Location Destination(s) according to your preference.
• Plan Family Reunion Activities by holding 1-2 per day and assigning one activity per your siblings attending.
• Plan Family Reunion Meals by assigning one meal per sibling attending. (IF you are a small family, assign a dinner meal and lunch meal . Cold cereal for breakfast is fine.)

To listen to my 16 minute audio show on this topic, visit The Organized Woman Show and look for show number 038 titled Organizing Family Reunions.

To see some of my favorite reunion themes, award ceremony ideas, & reunion photo suggestions; scroll up or click here.

Two of my favorite ‘plan family reunion websites’ are these:

• www.familyreunion.com
• www.familydetails.com

If you use a systematic approach when you design a general plan, family reunion meals and events will be successful in the end. By breaking down and delegating responsibilities into smaller components, success becomes more attainable. Began to plan family reunion fun now. Bring your family together this year and enjoy the support you feel from surrounding yourself with those you love!

For garden enthusiasts, garden tool storage is very exciting. Whether an enthusiast or not, keeping your garden tool storage neat and organized allows you to more easily get the curb appeal you want.  Your yard and garden areas are a great asset to the overall look of your home. Even apartment dwellers can grow a flower garden or vegetable garden by planting a window box or patio box.

As an organizing expert, I was recently invited back by KSL TV to help their viewers understand how to organize their garden tools by introducing my garden tool storage formula and favorite garden tool storage containers. I used my 4M organizing formula to move viewers through the process of organizing their garden tool storage spaces and products. A brief synopsis of that formula is listed here:

Minimize by deleting your broken tools and those you no longer need or use.

Measure (take stock of) what tools you have & decide on an area to store your gardening tools.

Maximize the storage space by defining tool categories, then contain tools in garden tool storage products.

Maintain your garden tool storage space by labeling and retaining.

I promised the KSL TV viewers a few lists and links.  Click on the green links below to find the garden tool storage information you want:

Vicki’s Garden Tool Storage Categories List

Vicki’s Garden Tool Storage Check-out List

Vicki’s Favorite Garden Tool Storage Products and Buying Links

Once you have organized your tools and garden tool storage spaces you are ready for this years planting season. Organizing your garden tool storage so your tools are ready when you need them is worth your while. Prepare your tools and garden tool storage areas now and enjoy the “fruits” of your labors for seasons to come. Organizing your home spaces saves you time and money. Now that’s something to plant, cultivate and nurture!

To view our family’s favorite garden tools, click here.

To listen to my online talk show Organize your Spring Yard Care (show #34) click here.

Because I have years of experience organizing home spaces of all varieties I know that organizing your garden tool storage and other home spaces saves you valuable time and money.  I offer you a FREE 20 minute phone analysis for you to decide if I might help you. Contact me by clicking here.

Thanks to a donation by LOWES (a $50 gift card) AND Tools Away (a $30 wall organizing system), a random drawing took place on Saturday, April 24, 2010 at 3:45 p.m. and the following names were drawn out of a hat…so to speak: Nikki & Sheila who both left comments here on this blog. Congratulations you two! Check back often for more great give aways.

To view my 7 minute video on Studio 5 click here.

Home based business ideas and marketing strategies are something I have focused on for over 25 years. I am an entrepreneur at heart and have formed three very successful home based businesses over the past 23 years. I was invited recently to teach a class at the Orem Utah, Small Business Development Center and promised to share here some home based business ideas and marketing links.  I have found these helpful in the early stages of getting a home based business up and running:

• Concept Design Studios – A logo and branding design option that comes highly recommended.
• A list of THE best blog directories to which you should join: Technorati, Blog Catalog, and Google Blogs
• A book on writing your own press release by a woman I am a great fan of, Janet  Meiners Thalaer. Click here to find it on Amazon
• Submit your own press release announcing your website, blog, business, new products/services or important business happenings.
• MailChimp A simple way to email newsletters, manage your subscriber lists, and track marketing campaign performance. FREE if you have less than 500 email subscribers.
• Affiliate Marketing Partnership options found at: Commission Junction or Linkshare

As a side note, as a business strategist and a home based business ideas specialist, there are a few things you should avoid:

• Using your tight marketing budget on PR firms or major advertising campaigns
• Spending too much money  in the beginning
• Investing in expensive marketing materials that soon become outdated and/or obsolete due to business changes

If you have not yet designed your own business plan you should realize it is one of the first home based business ideas you should take on. I suggest you begin with my 1 pg business plan summary or click here for a very detailed business plan template.

Finally, working a home based business has some nice rewards. It also has some real obstacles. One of the very best home based business ideas I can offer is to make more money and find more time by learning to set boundaries with yourself and with those who share your life. You can learn to easily prioritize your day so you can make more money; then schedule your work priorities so you find more time for your business building projects. If you struggle with this and need some personalized help, I can help you simplify your life and better organize your home office systems including:  papers, computer data, time  and space. Contact me at ORGANIZING Mind over Matter by clicking here.

As a Utah based productivity coach and practicing professional organizer, Orem and all cities within the greater Wasatch front area serviced, I was invited to speak at the local business think tank, Orem’s SBDC, on the topic ‘Marketing Strategies for a Home Based Business’. I shared with the workshop attendees some important tips for marketing their business.

As a Utah orgainzer, Orem / Provo based, I feel honored to have been given the opportunity to address this group. I believe I was chosen to address this issue because my business has performed so well. Even in this tough economy, I tripled my client base and doubled my income in 2009. I am an experienced business strategist and my marketing campaigns have something to do with this, but the main reason my business has done so well is because I am very good at servicing a growing need. I replace disorder and stress with order and peace in my workplace based clients offices AND my home based business clients lives.

As a productivity coach and professional organizer, Orem / Provo based, I set up customized office systems for managing time, papers, data and office spaces that work immediately AND continue working as time goes on…plain and simple!

Below is the link for my promised business builders. Before you go any further, leave a tip for future blog visitors near the title of this post by clicking on comments and sharing a business building question OR a marketing tip that has worked well for you. If you just happened upon this post titled ‘Organizer Orem’ and did not attend my class, please share a tip with us before you read on. I am a firm believer in questions and answers. That is what a good business strategist does. Now that you have completed that request, click here to access the business building information I promised.

If you are interested in hiring Utah’s productivity coach/professional organizer, Orem / Provo based to help you simplify your life and better organize your office spaces, papers, computer data or time, OR if you would like to know more about marketing strategies for YOUR home based business, please contact me at ORGANIZING Mind over Matter.

The key to spring cleaning is to declutter first, organize what you decide to keep, and only then begin your spring cleaning projects. Here are my four steps to success as you start the spring cleaning process:

1. Divide the Clearing Out and the Cleaning Up into two entirely different projects as you begin.

To begin the spring cleaning process round up a pen and notebook. Walk through your home and make a list of 3 spaces that need your attention as you begin the spring cleaning. Of those 3, begin in the room where you spend the most time. That room will give you the greatest satisfaction. Decluttering is ALWAYS the first step. Why deep clean things you will not end up keeping? Round up 3 large labeled boxes or bags, Label them 1) Give away, 2) Put away, 3) Throw away. When you run across things you are not sure about, ask yourself these two questions: “Do I truly love this?” and “Is this item useful to me in my current life?”

2. Organize What’s Left before you begin your spring cleaning. Purging is the 1st part of my formula. Organizing what’s left is the other half. There are 3 key elements in maintaining your newly organized spaces:

■ Store your kept items where they will be used.

■ Label the container and/or the space so others know where to return the used items.

■ Adopt the something in/something out philosophy.

3. Now you can begin spring cleaning once the purging and organizing are completed. Professional organizers are not professional housecleaners; none-the-less I have learned some cleaning tricks in my years of working side by side with my clients. Here are a few spring cleaning suggestions:

■ Use the North to South approach or you will sabotage your efforts. Start at the top and work down to the floor.

■ Schedule blocks of time to clean and then be sure you honor those appointments with yourself.

■ Get others involved in the project. At my home we understand the “If you live here, you work here” philosophy. Those large projects become very doable when others join in and help.

4. I have made a list of some of my favorite spring cleaning products. Click here to view my spring cleaning recommended products.

Decluttering, organizing AND spring cleaning,  are about being aware of your surroundings. Because you lead a complicated and pressure filled life, clutter and grime build up. Grab a notebook today and begin your week of decluttering. It will make your spring cleaning a breeze. When our surroundings are organized and newly cleaned, your life feels at peace. Now isn’t that’s refreshing?

To listen to my online podcast dealing with this topic, click here and look for show number 035 titled Organize your Spring Cleaning.

To view my 6 minute Spring Cleaning Video, click here.