Today’s guest blogger and freelance writer, Jared Heath, shares his personal journey to getting more organized.
I’d like to share some of my experiences and feelings with you about staying organized. I’m a freelance writer, but you can substitute “writing” with carpentry, sewing, sales, or whatever it is you do to keep food on the table.
We always hear about how work can be tough, and it’s true. It’s tough to get business. It’s tough to keep business coming. Any of you who have done writing know that it’s not always that glamorous. Sure, we all like to dream that our blog is suddenly going to explode with followers and comments next month, but by and large, the writing we do is not exactly the same caliber as Leaves of Grass. You put in your time and make it work, writing on whatever subject happens to drift your way and come with a paycheck.
But that’s not really the point, is it? We pour ourselves into our work. Each day we muster our greatest amount of concentration. Anything can disrupt that concentration – interruptions, stress, clutter – you name it.
I’ve gotten excellent at shutting off interruptions. My phone goes off, email alerts get disabled, door gets locked, and I sign out of chat. But, when you make one improvement to your life, you soon realize weaknesses elsewhere. That “elsewhere” for me was the clutter on my desk. I was so disorganized, and papers were everywhere. Sure I had a system for them, but it didn’t change the fact that every time I looked away from my monitor, I felt the stress of realizing that my office was a mess.
How did I solve this? I took 1 hour and organized my office. There were so many things there that I didn’t need in the foreseeable future, and things that needed to be filed. This may not be the solution for everyone, but I went out and rented a unit from the Los Angeles storage units down the road. I got rid of the clutter, and my ability to write and concentrate. My investment of the few bucks per month has paid off many fold now, and I’m glad I did. Whenever a pile starts to grow, I either file it away, or take it down the street. No stress.
For you, the biggest strain on your work might be a relationship, laziness, or heck, an undying love for Cheetos for all I know. What I do know is you will make some sacrifice, and reap the benefits from it for years. Whether the solution costs money like mine did, or whether it’s free, you’re thinking of the problem right now – now find a solution.
About the Author
Jared Heath is a freelance writer who lives for his two passions: his writing and his family. It’s not always easy, but doing what you love for the ones you love is worth it. As a recent college graduate, he’s making his way and shooting for success. Email him for any inquiries—business or just a friendly chat.
Connect With Jared: E-Mail
Small business owners everywhere need a series of tools in their arsenal to stay on top of things. For me, TripCubby is one of those must-have tools. If you have to track miles (for taxes or to get reimbursed), you should take this app for a test drive. Btw, if you use a notebook to do this – and it works for you – no worries…keep using it.
The best feature is that this app is very intuitive. You don’t need to be a tech guru to use it…or have your nose buried in the manual to figure out what to do.
Entering a new trip is easy to do. Simply fill in the appropriate info in each field and you’re good to go. I really like that the your last entered OD reading is automatically recalled when it’s time for a new entry. Saves a couple of seconds. Btw, you can also track miles for multiple vehicles.
Another important feature is that you can sync your data…you know, just in case you drop your phone in the toilet. That way, you can recover your info while you run out to get a new phone. Need to share your report to get reimbursed? E-mail it via the Export button. You can choose to e-mail all records or a select few.
Want more? Here are all the features listed on the AppCubby (also the home of GasCubby and Mirror Free) website and check out the manual for more details.
• Designed with IRS compliance in mind
• Excel-compatible email reports (CSV attachment)
• Online sync/backup
• Easily sort, filter, and search trips
• Predictive text fields and data entry shortcuts
• Mass editing of records (Delete or Mark Paid)
• Frequent trips enable quick entry
• Data fields may be turned on/off in Settings
• Customizable tags make it easy to group trips
• Charts: Deductions Categories, Paid vs. Unpaid, and Mileage
• Supports both miles and kilometers
• Customizable reimbursement rates
• Supports multiple drivers and vehicles
• Icon badge for incomplete trips
• Number Pad or Odometer style entry
• Custom deduction categories
• Swipe navigation of detail views
• If data entry is interrupted by a phone call, the data will be stored and retrieved on next launch
Those of you that know me, know that I’m really tall. Yeah, right. Not so much. I can never find that are pants just the right length for me…they’re always too long. I KNOW that I’ll be getting them hemmed…or that I’ll have to find a work around until I do.
Here are a couple of tricks I’ve found that stop me from sweeping the floor with my pants.
1. Safety Pins.
This is easy to do. Turn the hem under and pin them at each seam. The drawback is that you’ll have to pin all the way around the hem to really keep them up. Not my first choice but this can work well…depending on the weight of the fabric, you might only need two pins.
2. Hemming Tape.
Here’s another easy way to keep those hems up, but this requires the heat of an iron to keep it in place. I’m not friends with any type of iron, so this would definitely be a last resort. If you don’t mind ironing, go for it.
3. Double-Sided Tape.
I discovered this lifehack one day when I was rushing out the house and one of the hems I pinned before (option #1) wasn’t working out so well. Yes, even organizers rush on occasion. ;)
I used double-sided tape I found in my junk drawer. Worked like a charm. It could be that both the tape and pins worked well together, so I’ll have to test it out on by itself.
So, the next time your hem gives you the finger, stick it, heat it, or tape it. =)
Isn’t frustrating when the thing you’re looking for is blocked by some other thing so you can’t get to it? This just adds more time to your search and your frustration will grow when the thing that is blocking the thing you really want is also blocked by other things. Fun, yes?
And, then you just walk away and go buy another one of the things that you were looking for originally. So, now you have two (or three or four) of the same thing.
How do we get ourselves in this kind of sour pickle? It’s simple really. Nothing has a permanent home and, if they do, they’re not put back where they belong. See, simple. And hard.
Because you’re busy. And working on a really important project. TWO really important projects. On the weekends when you would normally clean up and organize. And, because you don’t wanna. Because you really want to hang with your friends. Or, sleep. Because your 2-year old kept you up all night.
But, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. And, this is broken record time. I know you’ve heard me say this a million gazillion trillion times (or is that million trillion gazillion?): Just do a little bit every day. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Good enough is good enough. Besides, who can keep up with perfect?
Oh, and get help. Any breathing body will do…though it would be nice if that body was friendly. And took you to lunch afterwards.
So, what does this have to do with a screwdriver, butter knife, and Craig’s List? Have a look…
Many thanks to my client who let me take a picture of this funny comic on her bulletin board. J
“It turns out multitaskers are terrible at every aspect of multitasking. They’re terrible at ignoring irrelevant information; they’re terrible at keeping information in their head nicely and neatly organized; and they’re terrible at switching from one task to another.”
Read More:
It’s Not Just Rude, It’s Ruining Your Brain | MotherJones.com | 4.19.11
Have a small bedroom? Check out these tips from Sarah Beckman on how to make your small space work for you.
Your bedroom should be a peaceful place where your mind and body can relax and rejuvenate. Unfortunately, for many, the bedroom area becomes a cluttered storage space for clothes, accessories, knick knacks — and the rest of the family’s stuff. If you have a small bedroom and closet, clutter becomes 10 times worse. For the sake of cleanliness, aesthetics, and your health, you should declutter, clean, and organize your bedroom. Here’s how in 5 easy steps.
1. Overhaul – The first step to organizing your bedroom is throwing away excess stuff. Get a garbage bag and begin by throwing away anything that is trash. You’ll be surprised how much garbage accumulates in a place where it doesn’t belong. Throw away anything that is of no use to you — and is of no use to anyone else. Create a “donate” pile for items you can’t use, but someone else might need.
2. Reassign – Grab some plastic tubs and label them with different areas of the house: kitchen, bathroom, garage, laundry, kids’ bedrooms, etc. Anything that you want to keep, but does not belong in the bedroom, add to its respective tub. You will make the most of your possessions if they are located in the correct room.
3. Sort through your clothes – People (especially the ladies!) have trouble parting with clothes. Use these tips to declutter and take advantage of your closet space:
• Get rid of any items of clothing you haven’t worn in the past year — no exceptions. Donate wearable clothes to charity, and throw away the rest.
• Get rid of any clothes with holes, tears, rips, missing buttons, stains, etc. You’re better than wearing damaged clothes.
• Get rid of clothes that don’t fit. Too small or big, there’s no use holding onto ill-fitting clothes. Also, don’t keep small clothes as a motivator to lose weight — it’s added clutter and a negative reminder.
• All clothes that remain need to be folded in a drawer, hanging in the closet, or in the laundry basket.
• Out-of-season clothes should be properly stored in under-the-bed tubs or sealed bags. Only store them once they’re clean.
4. Sort through your knick knacks – A bedroom often becomes cluttered with decorations, candles, photos, etc. — items that have no obvious place in the house. Keep bedroom decorations minimal. Put photos in an album, and start a memory box for all those treasures that you want to keep, but don’t want displayed. Throw away or donate anything with no sentimental value to you — or that you forget you own.
5. Tame those handbags and shoes – Use the same clothes standards with your handbags and shoes. Keep quality purses in dust bags in an under-the-bed tub, or display them on a hall tree. Get an over-the-door shoe organizer to take advantage of vertical space. You will enjoy your bedroom so much more once you tackle the clutter. It will become a place where you can truly relax.
About the Author
Sarah Beckman is a writer and editor at Affordable Scarves where she develops content on celebrity style. As a lover of fashion, she must keep her closet organized at all times!
Connect with Sarah: Web | Twitter | Tumblr
There are a few ways to get the upper hand on your to do’s. You can go traditional and use paper and pen or try out an app, like Toodledo or Google Tasks. You might power up and use a combination of Gmail and Remember the Milk (RTM), or use it with Chrome or Firefox.
It is packed with lots of features, so I’ll just focus on a couple here.
Just like Google Tasks, you’ll see a “task” menu on the right side of your Gmail inbox. You can easily add stuff you need to do and include important details, like when a task is due.
…and connect them to your contacts.
What if you have more than one Gmail account? RTM will show up in any of your accounts that are open and tasks from your current RTM session will be seen. You can hide or save preferences for each Gmail account you have as well.
So, what do you think about the Gmail RTM add-on? How do you think it will help you stand up to your to do’s?
It’s time for a new 5 Minute Organizing Challenge! What can you do in 5 minutes to gain a little order in your life? You can put a few things back in place or gather your important items. Here’s a new set of five things for you to consider adding to your routine this month. Try try them on for size and feel free to suggest a few of your own.
1. Make sure your most used items are on your desk (e.g., stapler, paper clips, pens, desk top file holder, etc.).
2. Put away any tools that haven’t made it back to the toolbox.
3. Put away this week’s receipts – not all receipts, just the ones that you must keep.
4. Gather all your most use electronics (e.g., Flip video camera, Digital SLR camera, Voice recorder, Thumb drives, etc.) and put them in the same place.
5. Check the expiration dates on 5 canned goods in your kitchen cabinet, and chuck anything that has expired. If you have extra time, start a list of things you need to replace.
Check out the March 2011 Organizing Challenge
What do Hoarders and Dirty Money have in common? Well, it’s not what, but who, and the who is Matt Paxton. If you watch Hoarders, you’ll remember seeing Matt and his clutter cleaning crew.
It turns out that he’s been working on a new show called, if you haven’t guessed by now, Dirty Money. In the program, Matt and his team do free clean ups and look for things to sell. It premiered on June 18th on A&E and yours truly forgot to DVR it! If you saw it, please tell me what you thought of it.
Did you also know that Hoarders returns tonight at 9 pm EST? OTR friend, Geralin Thomas, will be working with a woman who has so many dolls that her son has threatened to call Adult Protective Services. The other person profiled is Janet. She has to climb from garbage bag to garbage bag to get to the chair that she eats/sleeps in.
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“Phyllis’ obsession has manifested itself into a floor to ceiling collection of bags stuffed with dolls, and a doll hospital in a spare bedroom where she “amputates” the limbs of one doll to make another complete.”
Sometimes watching Hoarders can be difficult for me, but this one sounds pretty interesting so I think I’ll check it out. Will you be tuning in tonight? Please come back with your critique.
“Those who are easily distracted from the task in hand may have ‘too much brain’. So says Ryota Kanai and his colleagues at University College London, who found larger than average volumes of grey matter in certain brain regions in those whose attention is readily diverted.”
Read More:
Easily distracted people may have too much brain | NewScientist.com | 5.6.11
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