Minimize, maximize and maintain

February 22, 2007 

I have found in my coaching practice that many people say they don’t have time for new goals because they are so busy coping with the day-to-day busy-ness of their lives.   

Much of this busy-ness occurs because there aren’t adequate systems set up to maximize efficiency at home or at work.   

For the next several weeks, I will be focusing on practical tips for organizing your space and your routines.  At this point I’m not asking you to do anything other than read through the posts and begin to think about the concepts I’m introducing here.  In a few weeks I will offer up a challenge for you to put these concepts to use (however, if the information presented over the next few posts does inspire you to organize something, please don’t let me stop you!!).    

Being organized isn’t about having a home that looks as if it could appear in the pages of House & Garden Magazine.  It’s about having a space that allows everyone to live, work, play, eat and sleep to maximum enjoyment – however that looks to you. 

There are three basic tenets to being organized – minimize, maximize and maintain. 

Minimize 

This is one of the most important concepts in organization and often one of the most difficult.  Many of our things could or should be recycled, donated or thrown away.  Really, who hasn’t received a gift that they really dislike but they hang on to it because it’s what they feel they “should” do.  My husband kept a shirt that was a gift from me hanging in his closet for four years.  When I finally told him it was okay to donate it because I knew he didn’t like it (he wore it only once out of a sense of duty), the look of relief on his face was priceless.  My husband, who has a hard time getting rid of anything, drove that shirt to Goodwill that very day! 

Maximize 

Maximizing is about using space and appliances to their best advantage.  Shelving, clear plastic containers, and multi-use products all maximize space and efficiency.  As an example of maximizing space, when looking at a room think in terms of “prime real estate.”  Items that are used most often or are most cherished should occupy prime real estate. 

Maintain 

Being organized is a process, not an end goal.  Maintaining systems takes a little bit of time each day.  The time spent maintaining, however, saves us time and money down the road.  We know where things are and don’t have to spend time looking for them.  We don’t go out and waste time and money purchasing duplicates when we can’t find an item.  When our bills get paid on time, we avoid finance charges.   

Saving even a mere 10 minutes a day adds up to 70 minutes in a week.  That’s more than a full hour a week to pursue an activity you enjoy.  

What will you do with your extra hour? 

Until the next chapter,Lisa

Celebrating Ourselves

February 12, 2007 Wow!  What a response I received to the last post on the topic of learning from mistakes.  It appears that a few of you out there reading this have made a mistake or two  J   

In the last entry, I wrote about some of the steps involved in learning from your mistakes.  Many of you followed those steps and e-mailed me about your experiences.  Some of you wrote about how you were able to forgive yourself for your mistakes (although this often wasn’t easy).  This got me thinking that I should have included a last step – celebration.  After all, shouldn’t we be celebrating a chance to learn something new?  And, since we’re all so skilled at beating ourselves up after a mistake, I got to thinking that it would be nice if we could become just as skilled at celebrating ourselves. This week, in honour of Valentine’s Day, I decided to put out a invitation and encourage everyone reading this post to take a bit of time to celebrate yourself.  You can celebrate an accomplishment, the opportunity to learn from a mistake, or simply do it just to acknowledge your wonderful, imperfect self. 

Because we don’t tend to be as skilled at celebrating ourselves, I’m including a list of suggestions to get you started.  Have fun! Until the next chapter,

Lisa 

Go to the library

Take yourself to lunch

Sleep in

Have a bath

Watch a silly movie

Colour a picture

Get a massage

Close your eyes and think of someplace warm for five minutes

Say yes to something new

Say no to something

Spend the day in your pyjamas

Make a snow angel

List 5 things you do well

Pet a dog or a cat

Bake a white cake and put food colouring in the batter

Let someone do you a favour

Listen to your favourite music

Rearrange a room

Try a new flavoured coffee or herbal tea

Turn up some music and sing along

Read a good book

Enjoy some alone time

Send a card to yourself

Call a good friend

 

When Mistakes Happen

February 2, 2007 

Last week I found myself in the rare situation of having some time to kill.  Having just received a gift certificate to a local bookstore that was calling my name and urging me to spend it, I decided to do a little shopping. 

I was browsing through the self-help section, marveling at the vast array of books promising to make my life, if not perfect, at the very least much better than what it already was.  The Only Self-Help Book You’ll Ever Need! The Power of Positive Thinking!  Live Your Best Life! they screamed.  And then, tucked in amongst all the other tomes, was a tiny little book, so tiny I almost missed it, entitled The Joy of Doing Things Badly.  Finally!!  An author who appreciates that I am not perfect. A book that does not proclaim to tell me what I am doing wrong.  Instead, this was a book that seemed to wait quietly on the shelf until I picked it up and only then proceeded to pat me on the shoulder saying “Sure, you’re going to mess things up occasionally.  That’s okay.  Take those mistakes and learn from them.” 

The reality is we do make mistakes.  Every single one of us.  The only way to learn from a mistake is to stand up and admit you made it (even if you’re admitting it only to yourself).  This is difficult to do in a society that does not look kindly upon that other “F” word – failure.   

Many people give up on their goals because they don’t anticipate mistakes or setbacks.  The fact is that the more challenging the goal, the more likely mistakes and setbacks will occur.  

How to learn from mistakes? 

• Accept responsibility for the mistake
• You have the power to choose how you respond to a mistake
• Making a mistake does not mean you are a failure
• What kind of changes can you make to avoid the same mistake again?

 

Often mistakes can lead to benefits.  After all, inventions from penicillin to Post-Its™ came about as the result of a mistake. 

Until the next chapter,Lisa