Three (3) Time-Management / Self-Management Tips

  
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As I was looking around my office today, I was wondering how, as a certified professional organizer, my office could look like a bomb exploded. Shouldn’t everything be neat and orderly? How did my desk become a dumping ground for all my papers? How did my floor become my filing cabinet?

I started to laugh at myself and realized I 1) should get rid of the “shoulds” and 2) figure out why things look the way they do. The biggest reason is that I have been developing new things for my business, and when I am in a creative mode and working in my business as well as on my business, this is what happens.

If I lived in this constant state of clutter, I know I’d hit a brick wall and get very little done. I’ve put simple systems and processes in place for all my things and tweak them when necessary. My client files are all in one drawer, alphabetical by last name, in a filing cabinet. My office supplies, sorting like with like, are in a desk drawer and another cabinet to house these kinds of items. My training manuals have all been put together on a shelf. The biggest thing I did was discarding, recycling, and shredding items I no longer needed, making room for what is important to me now.

I’ve built time into my schedule to organize and then time to be disorganized. I truly believe that being organized is a way of life. I know that in order to be productive and effective, whether it is in my professional or personal life, I have to manage my time and myself efficiently.

This is not complicated, however, it is not always easy to implement. There are many things that are out-of-our control and stressful. Since we can control our clutter, doesn’t it make sense for us to do so? Here are 3 tips to help you manage your time when your clutter gets out of control:

1. Determine your goal and brainstorm all the ways in which you might be able to achieve it.
2. Prioritize what is most important.
3. Take a ½ hour of something out of your schedule if you want to add something to it. Remember, not everything is a priority.

It’s time now for me to clean-up. I want to be ready to make my next mess. 

Where are you in this cycle – at the clean-up stage or the “I am ready to make a mess” again stage?

Now is your time to Go from Bedlam to Brilliance!

Barbara Berman, Certified Professional Organizer ®
www.bb-clutter-solutions.com
info@bb-clutter-solutions.com
856-912-0077

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