Find Your Natural Productivity Rhythm

There’s a myth out there that morning people are the most productive and that if you want to be efficient and effective, you must get up early and hit the day running. It’s not true! It is better to figure out when YOU work the best, and using the process of elimination could help you determine your best work time.

Tips for an Easier Move

​​Moving from one house or apartment to another is one of the most stressful things people do. There are three areas that can generally improve during a move: decluttering before the move, packing in a structured way, and organizing in the new space.

Confessions of a Post-It User

I admit it. Almost every time I have a thought that I need to remember I write it on a post-it or a scrap of paper. I have post-its and scratch pads everywhere - in the car, on my desk, next to my living room chair, in the dining room.

Document Your Progress

Documenting your progress in any endeavor of importance is vital if you want to know exactly where you came from to compare with where you end up. This can help prevent feeling like you’ve not made any progress (like when you are decluttering a room) or give you evidence that you are making progress that might not otherwise be visible (like practicing a daily shutdown ritual).

You Might Need A Commute

Home workers are continually surprised that they can’t simply ease into a work or school routine while working from home. For productivity specialists, this isn’t all that surprising. Our minds don’t make transitions as quickly and as easily as we’d like to believe. It’s because they’re missing one critical piece of the puzzle: The commute.

Landing Zones Aren’t Just For Airplanes

Unlike other belongings such as clothes or dishes that have permanent homes in a closet or cupboard, transition items are usually stored right by the entrance where they can easily clutter up a tight space.

What’s the solution? A landing zone for personal items. It’s a place where items in transit ‘land’ on their way elsewhere.

Gifts

I’ll give you a few suggestions of strategies you can implement around the holidays to make it less likely that you and your loved ones will end up with more than comfortably fits in your homes.

Setting Up A Digital File System

When it comes to digital clutter, it’s easy to fall into the trap of ‘out-of-sight, out-of-mind.’ Make sure that you can find digital files when you need to reference them. That is the first rule of filing: Organize your files in a way that makes retrieval possible.

An Easier Way to Journal

You’ve probably heard that keeping a journal will improve your life in some way. Dust off one of those journals you’ve been collecting (I know I’m not the only one who has dozens of unused or partially-used journals). It might be time to revisit closing out your day by doing some focused reflection.