In March, I introduced a new blog feature, “What’s Interesting?to share my latest discoveries that inform, educate, and relate to organizing and life balance. Round two of this feature includes fun, inspiring, and interesting time-related finds, which reflect this month’s blog theme. You're such an engaged group. I look forward to your feedback, participation, and additions to the collection I've sourced for you. What do you find interesting?

What’s Interesting? . . .

1. Interesting Read - Focus

The One Thing by Gary Keller

On route to Phoenix last month for the NAPO conference, I discovered The One Thing – The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller. He begins the book with a Russian proverb that highlights his message, “If you chase two rabbits you will not catch either one.” Keller shares strategies for focusing your time and energy around doing the onething that’s most important. He says, “...extraordinary results are directly determined by how narrow you can make your focus.”

2. Interesting Resource – Time Saver

This online resource, CashInMyBag.com, saves you time and pays you money upfront for your used designer clothing and accessories that you want to sell. After providing you with a quote, they’ll send you a box with pre-paid shipping label, making the process quick and easy.

3. Interesting Conference – Disorganization

The Institute for Challenging Disorganization’s (ICD) annual conference is September 18-20, 2014 in Nashville TN. Organizing and related professionals from all over the world will gather to learn from each other and industry leaders including ADHD expert Russell A. Barkley, Ph.D. and organizing pioneer, Judith Kolberg. Sessions include topics such as hoarding, ADHD, coaching, decision-making, and the latest research on chronic disorganization.

4. Interesting Product – Timer

I am a long-standing fan of Time Timer products. The timers, which have a visual time-elapsing display are available in electronic and physical versions. My favorite product is the 3” square timer, which I use for speaking, coaching, and teaching. At the NAPO conference, Time Timer introduced new options...colored cases instead of just black. I bought the turquoise timer and used it just this week for a coaching session with one of my clients.

5. Interesting Thought - Start

We only have so much time in a day, week, year or lifetime to accomplish our dreams. Why procrastinate or stress any longer? Start today. Now is all we have.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. What are your interesting finds? Do any of these resonate with you?  Come join the conversation!

“I am definitely going to take a course in time management . . . just as soon as I can work it into my schedule.”

— Louis E. Boone

We receive a gift each day with 1,440 minutes (aka 24 hours).

• What do you do with your time?

• Do you have enough time to work, play, and relax?

• Do you desire more time with friends, family, or self?

• Do you wish your time were more focused?

• Do you feel like your time is being wasted?

• Do you find it challenging to manage your time?

There are many ways to manage our time. One possibility is to organize using time blocks or containers. Time has a daily repeating pattern. Within that pattern, we need time to work, play, and restore. We each desire a different combination of the time needed and how we define our priorities.

Set aside time to define your priorities. Think about:

• What’s most important to you?

• What are the different areas of life or “containers” that your time will get organized into?

• Which containers will be larger?

• Which will be smaller?

• What combination of containers is right for you?

Once your priorities are clear: 

• Choose your container sizes.

• Choose how to fill them.

• Arrange them in ways that best align with your priorities.

What if you introduced color-coding for your containers or time blocks to enhance visual understanding of where your time is going?

Color isn’t useful for everyone, but if you’re a visual processor like I am, it can work well. For my time blocks, I use purple for business, turquoise for personal, green for professional associations, and pink for kids. At a glance, in a given week, I can see how my time looks, with the big color blocks or containers, and whether I’m aligned with my priorities.

What do you do with your time? How do you organize it? I’d love to learn what works and doesn’t work for you. Come join the conversation.

As we welcome the new month, we also begin a new time of the year. New evokes opportunity, change, and growth. Time can feel expansive or limiting. What will time be like for you? Do you ever feel like you're not ready? Do you feel like it's not yet your time to do, to try, or to get out there?

“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.”

 - Albert Einstein

Is fear or lack of confidence holding you back?

• Maybe you don’t feel ready for organizing your paper piles.
• Maybe you don’t feel ready to say “yes” to a job with more responsibility.
• Maybe you don’t feel ready to volunteer.
• Maybe you don’t feel ready to try something outside your comfort zone.
• Maybe you don’t feel ready to . . . (fill in the blank).

Here’s the good news. Time helps us get ready, though we might not realize it at first. The “ready” can involve acquiring new skills or making a gentle perspective shift. We’re never 100% ready for venturing towards uncertainty. However, there’s a good chance that we’re ready enough. Know the power of taking small steps. Acknowledge your previous challenges and successes. These prepare you, so when the time comes, you’ll be ready enough.

This past week, I attended the NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers) conference in Phoenix where professional organizers from around the globe gathered to learn and exchange ideas about our industry. While there, I was invited to speak in Japan at the JALO (Japanese Association of Life Organizers) conference. I’ve never traveled to or presented in that part of the world. While I don’t have all the details worked out, time prepared me to be ready enough to say, “Yes” to this wonderful, exciting opportunity.How does time prepare you? What does ready enough look like? What becomes possible with a perspective shift?

9 Time Management Dos & Don'tsWhat are your favorite dos and don’ts for successful time management? I asked this question to a wonderful group of productivity, organizing, and coaching colleagues (Jill Farmer, Laurene Livesey Park, Stacey Vulakh, Janet Barclay, Ellen Delap, Juliet Landau-Pope, Sheila Delson, Yota Schneider, Jane Perdue). Their responses are insightful practical, and doable. My gratitude goes to each of them for making time to reflect and share. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your lack of time or ability to manage it, I encourage you to keep reading and try some of these terrific time management strategies.

What are your favorite dos and don’ts for successful time management? . . .

1. Do Mindset Shift. Don’t ...

“Take a deep breath and recognize there IS enough time. Telling yourself there's not enough time throws you into ‘flight or flight’ mode, where it's really hard to focus and prioritize. Launching your action from that frenzied not enough space costs you LOTS of time. Instead, tap into the 3 C's—being calm, clear and connected. That's where you're going to be most efficient and productive, getting more done in less time while avoiding depletion and burnout. This mindset shift from lack based thinking to harvesting abundance will help you recapture enormous chunks of time.”

Jill Farmer – Author, Master Certified Coach & Speaker

2. Do Switch Gears. Don’t ...

“Do allow yourself time to ‘switch gears’ between activities.  Take a short walk if you’ve been sitting at your desk for a couple of hours, and you’ll find you come back to the next task refreshed and more productive.

Don’t forget to include travel time to and from activities, and don’t assume that you’ll hit all green lights and no traffic jams!  In my experience, many chronically late people employ some kind of magical thinking that includes teleporting from one location to another in the blink of an eye.  This is obviously not realistic!”

Laurene Livesey Park, CPO-CD^® – Professional Organizer, Speaker & Author

3. Do Prepare Next. Don’t ...

“Do schedule regular strategic planning sessions with yourself. Schedule time (ideally at the end of each day and week) to plan and prepare for what's coming up next. It takes less than 10 minutes to scan your calendar and devise a strategy.

For example, is your off-site meeting near the dry cleaner? Bring your dirty laundry. Heading to the doctor? Meet a colleague for coffee 30 minutes beforehand and then write thank you notes (or simply relax with a magazine) while in the waiting room.

Don’t say 'yes'. Time is finite and the quickest (and simplest) way to have more time is to say, 'Let me get back to you' when asked to do something. Then, take a moment to think about the request and assess whether it’s in line with your priorities.”

Stacey Vulakh  – Time & Productivity Expert

4. Do Schedule Tasks. Don’t...

“My favorite ‘do’ is to move each actionable email I receive out of my inbox and into my task management system with a due date.

My favorite ‘don’t’ is downloading new messages throughout the day. I’m still working on this one!” 

Janet Barclay – Virtual Assistant

5. Do Assess Priorities. Don’t...

“We are all busy and have so many opportunities each day.  First assess priorities. Does a commitment truly give you a personal or professional return on investment? It sounds so simple but this is so hard to carry out. Once committed, stay committed and use your planner to keep up to date on tasks and deadlines. Plan a weekly time to review what’s coming up and write this planning time in as well.  The best time management requires a once a week review to stay on top of everything.”

Ellen Delap, CPO®  – Certified Professional Organizer & Certified Family Manager

6. Do Make Decisions. Don’t...

“Do learn to make decisions, especially when you’re feeling overwhelmed or ‘stuck’ because there’s so much to do. What are your primary goals? What do you want to prioritise? What could you drop from your schedule? What resources or support do you need?

Don’t aspire to perfection when excellent will do. There’s nothing wrong with high standards but perfectionism and procrastination are closely related… and both will get drain your time and energy.”

Juliet Landau-Pope, CPCC – Procrastination Coach & Professional Declutterer

7. Do Capture Goals. Don’t...

“Do make planning an established weekly routine. Good planning captures important goals and ensures that they are achieved by identifying what activities (action steps) are required to achieve the goal or desired outcome. 

Don't confuse good planning practices with calendar scheduling; they simply are not the same.  For example, one can fill up a calendar with busy-work activities, say between 9AM and 5PM five days a week, but if the action steps that support the goal (as mentioned above) are not included in your scheduled activities, it’s not likely the goal will be realized. Good planning minimizes time-wasting.”

Sheila Delson, CPO-CD® – Professional Organizer & Author

8. Do Schedule Wants. Don’t...

“Some of my favorite strategies are ‘downloading’ often and writing things down, scheduling time to do what I want to do, and sending email reminders to myself. Yet, what really makes a difference for me is my mental attitude. Time management doesn’t work when I feel overwhelmed. I remind myself that I have all the time I need to do the things I really need to do.

When I get stuck in the doing instead of the looking at the big picture and making adjustments, is when I get in trouble. Sometimes, there is a reason that an action items keeps getting pushed back."

Yota Schneider – Life Transitions Coach 

9. Do Play. Don’t...

“Do give yourself permission to take time to play and reflect. While our crazy go-go world may encourage us otherwise, not every moment has to produce a tangible output. Downtime renews the spirit and fosters creativity.

Don't confuse the urgent with the important. While both give us the satisfaction of crossing things off the 'to-do' list, one keeps us mired in today, and the other moves our agenda forward.”

Jane Perdue – Principal

Did you discover some nuggets of wisdom in this rich variety of responses from shifting mindsets, preparing next, making decisions to having playtime? Which ones resonated with you? Do you have a favorite time management do or don’t? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation and share your best time tips, successes, or challenges.