Organize Blog » A Tweak Here, A Tweak There…

A Tweak Here, A Tweak There…

Thanks to all the helpful tips and pointers from the ladies at Buttoned Up, Gloveables, The Laundress and Truly Mom, we are now ready to at least attempt to find that happy medium between personal time and professional time. But…the fun isn’t over just yet. I have one more trick up my sleeve that will help you all become a little better at making your day more productive. A new friend has joined the Mrs. Organized circle of organizing experts and is here to share her tips and pointers. Maria Gracia, founder of Get Organized Now! is dedicated to helping organize your home, office and life. Maria is the author of Finally Organized, Finally Free for the Home and Finally Organized, Finally Free for the Office. Both have been read by thousands of people all over the world. In addition, she has created a variety of other helpful organizing products, sold worldwide, which can be found in her Get Organized Now!™ Store. Get Organized Now! also offers tons of free tips, ideas, checklists, articles, e-courses and slideshows through her newsletter. As the newest addition to “Our Favorite Organizers,” Maria shares 10 Easy Things You Can Do To Make Your Day More Productive:

1) Wake up early. Set your alarm clock for 15 minutes
earlier than you normally do to get an early start on
your day. Get up when the alarm sounds.

2) Time your showers. Most people take way more time in
the shower than is needed. Set your timer for 7 minutes.
When the timer sounds, your shower is done.

3) Plan your outfits the night before. Put whatever
you’re going to wear to one side of your closet, or
folded neatly on a chair. When you are done with your
shower each day, your outfit will be waiting for you.

4) Never run just one errand. Try to always combine at
least two to three errands in one trip. Start with the
errand furthest away, and then work your way back.

5) Make and use written lists. Don’t try to remember
everything you have to do. Always jot down tasks, errands
and things to pick up.

6) Cook enough for two meals. No matter what you’re
cooking–breakfast, lunch or dinner–always cook enough
for two meals. When everything is prepared and done,
divide it in half. Immediately refrigerate or freeze the
one half, and enjoy the other half now.

7) Clean and organize as you go. Rather than giving
yourself huge cleaning jobs each day, as you make a mess
quickly clean it up. Dirty dishes can be rinsed
immediately and placed in the dishwasher. Wipe off the
bathroom countertop and spray the shower with shower
spray as soon as you’re done. Make your bed as soon as
you get up. Vacuum any crumbs under the dining table the
second everyone is done eating. File papers away as
needed, rather than allowing them to pile up in a To Be
Filed tray.

Enlist help. Whoever is living in your house, whether
that person be a spouse, a child, a friend or a
relative–that person should be able to help you get
things done in one way or another. A spouse can help out
with the kids bath times every other night. A child can
help fold clothes, help dust or help put toys away.
Someone who is not able to help physically, may still be
able to sit at a desk and help you sort the mail or shred
some documents. It should definitely be a team effort and
not a one-man or one-woman show.

9) Consolidate your phone calls. Rather than making and
taking calls throughout the day, allow your answering
machine to field your calls. Then, make or return calls
during one consistently scheduled phone hour each day,
such as between 1:00P and 2:00P. Before your phone hour,
toss in a load of laundry. After your phone hour, toss
those clothes in the dryer. Multi-tasking is one of the
keys to being super-productive.

10) Reward yourself. There is nothing more draining than
going through an entire day without doing anything fun.
Sandwich small rewards between each task. For instance,
when you’re done with the ironing, read your favorite
novel for 15 minutes. When you’re done cleaning the
bathroom, sit in front of the fireplace while you relax
and sip a cup of tea.

Maria’s broad range of skills covers clutter control, planning, scheduling, peak productivity, records management, space planning, time and paper management, filing systems and computer oriented organizational systems and more. We are excited to have her as a contributor and friend on Mrs. Organized.

NEAT Things I Love Today:

The Do & Delegate Work Notebook by Buttoned Up! Work is hectic, but this helps me to manage the who, what, where and when of the daily grind. And the best part, it’s all in one place.