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Why Am I Still In My Robe? The Ugly Side of Time-management

04/21/2011 By Nancy Borg With no comments yet

For some of us that have the luxury of running our businesses from home, sticking to a set schedule can be challenging.  I’m not proud, but sometimes while working at home (on an open- scheduled day) with a sincere effort to catch-up with my inbox, and face glued to my computer screen, I look up (or really down) and realize that I’m still in my robe!  I haven’t showered, dressed or left the house, and it’s 2:00 in the afternoon! (sometimes it’s even later, but please don’t judge) I’m guessing that some of you out there, whether stay-at-home Moms, unemployed, or just regular people often have these same quandaries.  OK, so it’s a little embarrassing as a Professional Organizer, but it’s not every day .  So it begs the question, “how well are you managing your time”?  If you are in your robe or pj’s til after noon every day, I don’t care what your role is in life, NEWS FLASH……not OK.

Time for that Time-management chat.  If you are the person that gets so immersed in an activity that you lose all track of  time, then invest in an actual timer.  Hey, it works. Set parameters for the day’s activities and limit the time that you participate in them. Without a start and stop time in your day, there will be no end to the work you can potentially do.   Most of all, consider stop doing things that no longer give you returns. Time is incalculably valuable so evaluate how you use it, and manage it conscientiously.  Prioritize.  Attend to the most important tasks that cannot be postponed and then…hop in the shower, get dressed, and get the heck out of the house and get your day going!  At least promise yourself to lose the robe by dinner.  Goal- setting at its finest.

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Why Unfinished Projects Never Get Completed

04/13/2011 By Nancy Borg With 6 comments

As the year draws to a close, it’s a natural time to reflect on the past year.  There are probably a litany of projects that you had hoped to accomplish this year, but they just didn’t happen.  What went wrong? Why didn’t you pursue them?

Starting projects are easy but completing them can be more challenging.  Tackling personal projects do not have to loom as large as climbing Mt. Everest.  Typically, they get put on the back-burner for when you have the time.  That’s the biggie, but it’s only just one of the reasons.  Unfortunately, projects become easily forgotten and neglected because they aren’t managed well, nor planned.  Here’s some helpful hints;

    • Space:  Many times we simply don’t have the ample space to accommodate the ongoing project to work on it.
    • Tools:  Having the appropriate materials and tools on hand to complete the project is essential.
    • Goals/timeline:  Establishing a time-line will help you achieve your goal in manageable time frames.  It is so much more difficult to target ambiguous goals like “soon”, “summer”, or “whenever”.  Hold yourself accountable to a more specific time, date.  Create a strategic plan.  
    • Be realistic:  This is a key factor for the success of the project.  If you take on too much and didn’t allow enough time to complete it, you are guaranteed to set yourself up for failure.
    • Organize:  Don’t be haphazard with your efforts.  Be your own Project Manager and manage it.  Break down the actions into small manageable bite-size tasks that you can routinely do.
    • Commit:  Staying committed to a project is probably the most difficult step of all.  Focus on the goal and what it will feel like when the job is done, and create a plan how to get there.  Whether it is a daily or weekend plan, carve out a sufficient amount of time to work on it.

     

Let’s say for example your project is photo organizing.  For months or even years, you’ve been shoving and cramming all your photos in shoe-boxes, drawers, or envelopes, and never made the time to organize them. This sorting process is a huge undertaking so you need to organize the process.   If every time you immerse yourself  into this project and it requires you to schlep the boxes up and down, to and fro, the project is doomed. Resist the temptation to spread out every photo you own and clutter every horizontal surface in your home.  Organize one box at a time, so at the end of the day, you will have made some productive headway and pushed out the overwhelm.

All projects (and hobbies, for that matter) need their own home.  If you love knitting, corral all the yarns and needles in an organized space so that you can enjoy your hobby and not impede on the other living spaces in your home.  Ditto to arts and any craft.

The bottom line is this;  If you DO NOT have the space, right tools, realistic time-line, organization, or commitment, you will lose interest in the project.  As a result, and in the worst case scenario…you might be inclined to start a brand NEW project!

Uh-oh, T-R-O-U-B-L-E.  Tame your projects with time-management. Sounds like a plan to me, how ’bout you?

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Let’s Forget About Domani

04/04/2011 By Nancy Borg With no comments yet

We all know the song and some of you may even recall Frank Sinatra singing it,  “Let’s forget about Domani  ’cause Domani never comes.”  It implies of course that we should live for today, enjoy the moment because tomorrow may never come.   I don’t mean to rain on the parade of those hopeless romantics but I suggest that these sentiments may have a negative message.  Of course it’s just a harmless love song, but let’s spin it in a more literal way. While frolicking in today is great, we must make a hopeful plan for tomorrow.  Tomorrow is most likely going to show up and so making some sort of commitment to do anything at all and sticking to it should be part of your plan.  Most of  us make at least one excuse a day to avoid doing something we don’t want to do.  It’s easy.  We procrastinate and justify.  We give ourselves a free pass, maybe a little too often.  We don’t organize and manage our time as best we could.

Be careful.  This Domani tendency can lead to dangerously overwhelming waters.  Heed the lesson of this old Spanish proverb, “tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week.” So live in today, be present and let’s forget about Domani.  Instead, be ready for Domani.

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