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Eyes Make A Lousy “To Do” List

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Do you leave paperwork & projects out in plain sight thinking this will remind you to tackle them? There is a better way!

Most of us have more to do than we can easily remember. Some of us have taken to leaving important items “out where we can see them” as a memory tool. In reality, this system frequently fails for a couple of reasons.

  • Items get concealed. Due to the limited amount of horizontal space in a home or office, items on surfaces frequently get layered over with clutter. Paperwork, business cards and scraps of paper quickly become obscured. Sometimes we try to combat this by putting items on the floor, but the same thing can happen here (not to mention other calamities which can befall items underfoot!) The natural consequence is that whatever we were hoping to remember via visual stimulation can no longer be seen, and thus is forgotten.
  • The sheer volume of visible reminders renders them ineffective. Most of us naturally accustom ourselves to our environment. If we work in a space which is characterized by piled papers, reminder notes, and clutter, we get used to looking at them. Their presence fails to catch our attention, and therefore doesn’t incite us to action.
  • Items get accidentally moved or pitched. Frequently, we find ourselves with a need to “tidy up”… maybe guests are coming over, a meeting needs to take place, or we need to eat at the table. Unfortunately, this action renders our staging system useless. We lose track of the locations to which items have been relocated, and once again forget to deal with them.

What’s a better system? To ensure that you don’t forget important tasks, the secret is to schedule them. Every task should be scheduled into your day. The Seana Method suggests you begin by selecting a planning system. This can be a paper system (e.g. a Filofax) or an electronic version (e.g. Google Calendar). What is most important is that you commit to recording everything in one place. Here are the steps:

  1. As a task come into your life open your planner. Look at today, tomorrow, and the next ten days.
  2. Take note of what parts of your time have already been committed to other tasks (e.g. meetings, appointments, projects, games, etc.)
  3. Estimate how long the task will take.
  4. Schedule when you will work on this task, either by physically writing it down or by entering it digitally. Remember to leave some “blank space” in each day to handle unexpected developments.
  5. At the end of the day, evaluate how you did in accomplishing your goals.
  6. Reschedule any items which you did not complete.

One of the great benefits of this approach is that it gives you the ability to schedule tasks far in advance. For example, if you need to remember to give the dog medicine at the beginning of next month, instead of leaving it out the counter for a month, you can simply “flip ahead” and schedule it in your system.

By looking at your available time, and thoughtfully planning when you will work on your various chores, you will increase the likelihood that the tasks will get done. Over time, you will also develop a better sense of how long your various responsibilities actually take, and thus become an increasingly efficient planner.

For more information on planning your time, contact The Seana Method on the form above.

 

 

 

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All About New Year’s Resolutions

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It’s that time of year again… are resolutions worth it?

Every year, at the end of December, many people go through the interesting ritual of making resolutions. “Lose weight” or “exercise more” are popular choices, as are resolutions to complete a specific task. But are resolutions really a good idea? The majority of our good intentions go by the wayside somewhere around January 15th, and most people can’t recall their resolutions from the previous year. So should we even bother? Or are they just a party game that shouldn’t be taken seriously?

The answer is “yes”… because a resolution is actually exactly what YOU make of it. Those who have a vague interest in pursuing a new path may toss out a promise with no real plan of ever following through. This, of course, is actually not a resolution at all. It is simply a comment – a way to be a part of a conversation. In this context, it is fairly harmless and fun.

However, for our desires to come to fruition, we need to actually RESOLVE to make the change. In this context, a true New Year’s resolution requires four characteristics:

  1. It must be clearly stated. Many resolutions lack the specificity required to measure whether or not they have been attained. Rather than say “I want to be more organized in 2013,” instead, resolve to take specific actions: “I will get more organized in 2013 by following The Seana Method on Facebook, reading 2 blogs about how to be organized, and committing to organize at least my bedroom and bathroom by June 1st”.
  2. It must be realistically attainable. As the old saying goes, often “our eyes are bigger than our stomachs.” We resolve to do something that we have only a slim chance of accomplishing. True change comes through mastering one small habit at a time, and then incorporating it consistently into our regular routine. Rather than saying “I want to clean out my whole house,” resolve to “maintain an orderly entry area” or to “restore order to the surface of my desk at the end of each day.” If you are able to master your resolution, you can always add a new goal to accomplish by a new deadline. (No need to wait around for next January 1st!)
  3. It must be public – to at least one other person. Often we resolve to do things which don’t come naturally to us. (After all, the habits which come naturally to us we are probably already doing!) As a result, we need someone holding us accountable in order to stay motivated. When you set a goal you truly want to attain, identify one person to keep asking you about your progress… give them permission, and be quite specific about what you want them to ask, and how often.  This should be someone who cares about you, and whom you can call if you are feeling discouraged.
  4. It must be something over which you have control. One of the most discouraging experiences is to fail to achieve a goal because it wasn’t our goal to reach. For example, perhaps you want to have a beautiful, clutter-free family room. This is a nice goal, but if you actually have a family who regularly uses this room, then you are not really in total control of how it looks. Rather, resolve to change things which are within your power to change, and to keep changed.

New Year’s resolutions can be everything from a fun group activity to a life changing game plan. So this year, decide which it will be for you, and then take the right steps to ensure success.

Happy New Year!

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How To “Banish the Blob”

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Do you ever look around your home or office and see “the blob”: stuff everywhere? Possessions strewn about can be unsettling and counterproductive; needed items get lost, belongings get accidentally damaged/thrown away, and you just feel like you don’t have your act together.

With a little planning, you can easily begin to keep “the blob” at bay. The key is establishing 3 zones:

First, designate a “work zone” where you will do your day-to-day business.  This is often a desk, a home office or perhaps the dining room table. Now you need to do two things: ORGANIZE and MAINTAIN. Take the time to find a place for all of the regularly used items in this zone (“a place for everything”), and then commit to putting things away at least once a day (“everything in its place”). For example, if you pay bills from this location, you need a place for unpaid bills, filing space for receipts/statements, a drawer to hold stamps & pens, and a trash can for empty envelopes. Think through every function you want to perform at this location, and designate storage locations for all of the supplies you need. If you can’t organize it in your mind, you certainly can’t organize it in real time!

Second, set aside an area to be your “temporary hold” for random belongings. A mudroom is ideal, but even a bench or closet can do the trick. The key is that this is the one place where you put stuff that you don’t know what to do with immediately. Make sure you have a space that is big enough and has boundaries… I like a big bin or basket. A once a week cleaning out of this location is critical to keeping the clutter under control. This isn’t a permanent home, just a temporary place to put things down until you can get to them later. This is NOT a space for paperwork (for tips on paperwork, see previous article).

Lastly, define a “sanctuary” for yourself. This should be a place in the house where you can have a reliably ordered space. This space is “off limits” to messy family members, as it should be a place where you can sit and relax, leave a project or favorite reading material, and just “get away from it all”. This could be a chair in the living room, a corner of a bedroom, or even a niche in the attic/basement. Hold yourself accountable to keep this space beautiful, and consider adding a visual touch that you love (a piece of artwork, a soft throw, a favorite photo, a TV turned to ESPN). Remind yourself how much you enjoy walking into this calming atmosphere, and give yourself the gift of keeping it just as you like it.

Now you should have places in your home to work, “catch”, and relax. The next step is to provide similar spaces for those with whom you share either work or living space.

For work… help kids get an area for homework with a designated storage location for calculators, rulers, notebook paper and pencils. Older children need a space for a computer, charging locations for electronics, and storage space for textbooks. In the bathroom, make sure everyone has a place to keep toiletries, hang towels, hang the hair dryer, etc. Same goes for clothing – every article of clothing has a place to live. In playrooms, designate spaces for each kind of toy. For a work environment, make a list of all of the tools needed in any given week and then find a spot to keep all of them. Remember to designate a staging area (see previous article), and a place for calendars. If you can’t find a “home” for your belongings, you probably have too much stuff for your space, and you should consider getting rid of some things.

For temporary storage… give each family member a “hold” basket or bin (labeled with a name) into which anything found strewn about gets put. This helps avert the familiar question “Have you seen my….?” If you have seen it, it is in the bin.  Periodically (e.g. once a week, or whenever the bin is full) require that the baskets be sorted and object put away or disposed of.

For relaxing… see if you can find a way for each person to have a “sanctuary” of his/her own. We all have different definitions of “tidy”, so let each person have some control here. Small children may want to be able to leave certain toys out. Teenagers may want to leave their clothes on the floor. Adults often have different styles (some like everything “in”, some like everything “out”). In the common spaces, we show respect by keeping things picked up, in private spaces we can keep things as we want, within reason. Of course, younger children will need guidelines (e.g. every two weeks you pick up your room), but these things can be negotiated in a way that is age appropriate.

Always remember that we live and work in spaces that are organic and ever-changing, so at any given moment, things may get a little out of control, and this is ok. We don’t live in showrooms! However, by focusing on establishing and maintaining these three zones, you will find that any space can be both functional and inspiring.

 

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