Welcome to Week Two of my Top 20 Organizing Tips. I hope that you have implemented some of last week’s tips, and that you are on the road to getting your home, office and life organized.
These next five tips will help you continue your steps toward getting organized because, “until something happens, nothing happens.” Talk is cheap and usually doesn’t accomplish a whole lot of anything.
Reaching your goal of getting organized requires that you maintain self-management about what you do and when you do it! Take control of your day and identify priorities that will help you toward your ultimate goal.
So, let’s get started!
Tip #6 – Be smart about how you schedule your appointments.
Scheduling them too close together will only set you up for failure. When scheduling appointments, remember to allow travel time to and from appointments, including potential traffic and weather delays. It is easier and much more professional to arrive to an appointment early rather than dashing in late and frazzled.
Tip #7 – Work from a calendar.
Use one calendar for all of your appointments, including business and family. The one thing that doesn’t matter is whether you use a paper or electronic calendar. If you use an electronic calendar — like on your cell phone — remember to ensure that your phone is always charged. This is why I still choose to use a paper calendar.
By the way, I write my appointments in pencil! That way I can make lots of notes and change appointments, if necessary, without making a mess of the calendar.
Tip #8 – Schedule time to organize.
Making sure you actually work on getting yourself organized is important. Don’ put it off until later. Schedule a specific amount of time each week to work on a designated area in your home or office. It doesn’t have to be a lot of time, just an hour or two every week. It’s more than you are doing now, right?
Tip #9 – Hold a family meeting each week.
This is a key tip for self-management. Sitting down with your spouse and/or family members and discussing upcoming weekly activities can prevent stress. Clearly identify who is responsible for drop-off, pick-ups, running errands, etc. Work smarter, not harder. Share the workload and work together!
Tip #10 – Combine trips, errands and activities, whenever possible.
It’s a 20-minute drive (minimum) from where we live to get anywhere. So, when I go into town, I make sure that I arrange my schedule to do as much as possible while I there. Not only does this save time, it also saves gas (and money).
When I am scheduling appointments, I’m not too shy to say, “I can make that, however, do you have another appointment available on Tuesday afternoons? That will work better for my schedule.” You never know unless you ask!
I hope these tips help you get organized. Check in next week for tips 11 – 15!
Read Linda’s previous columns on Fredericksburg.Today.
Columns on Fredericksburg.Today are recurrent features on specific topics or by regular contributors. Guest writers present their own point-of-view and may not necessarily represent the viewpoint of Fredericksburg.Today.
Stay connected. Follow Fredericksburg.Today on Facebook and Twitter, too.
