Organize Archives

Planner Roundup and Review

September 20, 2017 by Heather Filed Under: Paper management, Productivity, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources, Uncategorized 1 Comment

I have used so many types of planners that I thought it might be helpful for me to share my planner roundup and review of what I’ve learned over the years. This is only a review of planners I have personally used or used with clients. Each of us needs to use a system that supports productivity and keeping track of scheduled appointments and sometimes tasks. If you have tried and failed or are not sure what to try, this will give you some ideas of where to start. And remember, if you’re not using a planner of some sort you’re using your brain as a storage device.

Your Brain is Not a Storage Device!I use my planner for appointments, tasks and goals. Some of you may only use a planner for appointments or may use a combination of two systems. Using more than one planner system can work for some people, just like using a paper planner may be best for some and digital works better for others. There are a lot of options to choose from so hang in there as I run through some of my favorite Planners in review here.

Paper vs Digital, I’ve used both and still do to some degree. I am finding a return to paper planners all over these days. There are a lot of tech savvy people who love paper planners and there are others who don’t want to carry anything additional around with them. Making a decision about paper or digital is personal and should be based on several factors including:

How tech savvy are you?
What’s your lifestyle and schedule…do you forget things easily?
Do you love the feel of a paper book and love writing by hand?
Who do you need to share events with (family members, work team etc)?
Did you learn any planner techniques that have stuck with you? If so can you build on those systems?

My Planner Use Timeline…A Planner Roundup and Review of 6 Systems

I started using the Franklin Covey system when I was in High School and learned some pretty awesome skills for productivity, setting goals and planning my time. The Franklin system was developed by Stephen Covey author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I primarily used this system in my later years of High School and college in an effort to become a better student and develop leadership skills and many of these skills and techniques have stuck with me! There are several sizes and styles of Franklin planners and they are beautifully made and can be specifically tailored to your needs. Take the quiz to learn your Franklin planner style here. I honestly think all planners in a way were born from the Franklin system…but that’s not based on scientific study:)

I eventually downsized from the Franklin system (I found it a bit too bulky) and incorporated a more simplified and some may say Sexy version of goal setting and time management with my Filofax. I confess that a good part of my choice to switch had to do with the aesthetics of the simple and sophisticated looking Filofax. I used this system from college into early professional years and this system, like the Franklin predated digital calendars and planners. I incorporated some of the goal setting skills and time management skills I learned from Franklin Covey into my Filofax use…I had a good foundation in place and felt I could easily create my own goals without as many specific prompts.

Along comes the digital world…I flirted with, tried and used Outlook, Google Calendars and other calendars for awhile (probably a good 10 year period) but found that with digital calendar systems I was not capturing my goals as well as I did when I used a paper planner. What I love about digital systems is that they can be entered and shared via multiple devices or people and are available anywhere via access to that digital account. I still use Google calendars for certain things…I’ll explain in more detail below.

I finally returned to a paper planner in the past 7 or so years because I felt the need to see my goals broken down into specific measurable tasks that I could assign daily, weekly, monthly alongside my appointments…on paper. I tried to use the Filofax system but didn’t like how bulky it felt, it was more than I needed. I downsized to a small Moleskine and started learning about Bullet Journaling since there is little structure to the Moleskine system. I don’t feel the need for as much guided structure now since I have years of experience using more other systems.

A few years ago I decided to try Danielle LaPorte’s Desire Map Planner which at that time was similar in size and structure to a medium size Moleskine but with some of her wisdom about Core Desired Feelings and Truth Bombs sprinkled through to keep my goals focused on the bigger picture of how I want to live my life with intention. I eventually went back to the Moleskine system two years ago and will probably stick with that again next year BUT I will be giving away two Desire Map Planners between October and December! Her new planners are beautiful, spiral bound, full of inspiring and motivating prompts and a wonderful tool for anyone who doesn’t need to take their planner everywhere or doesn’t mind something a bit more bulky (the primary reasons I won’t be using them but wish I could!). Follow me over on my Facebook Page and Instagram to learn more about the planner giveaway and share with your friends!

A hybrid system that works for me…I am currently and plan to continue to use a bit of a hybrid system with both my Moleskine (week at a glance medium size) and Google Calendars. I use digital calendars for shared and recurring events and I use my paper planner, with PENCIL-always pencil, for appointments and personal/business goals. I incorporate some Bullet Journal techniques (some of the symbols and color coding) because I like the creative aspect of the system. Some people create works of art with their Bullet Journals! I don’t quite go that far:)

A last note about using digital calendars. I love the color coding and sharing features of Google Calendars and have pretty much used this digital system exclusively. I use the digital format whenever I purchase event tickets and want the info to be available on my device. I also jot a note of the time in my paper calendar-some people might not want to do this duplication! I use color coding to keep track of larger goals for my business like blog themes, newsletter publication and recurring volunteer/meetings. The format is pretty intuitive to use, there are lots of tutorials available and it’s an app that can be downloaded to almost any device. It’s also compatible with iCal (which has some similar features). I’ve worked with clients to use iCal but in my opinion it’s not the best tool for goal setting or tasks, only for setting appointments and events.

So, currently a hybrid system (mostly paper with recurring events digtal) is what works for me! I have shared this technique with others and they have adopted their own variation of a hybrid system. I’ve long wished that someone would come out with a paper calendar that captures everything digitally and it seems that Moleskin will be doing this in 2018, I’ll be giving that a try!

What planner systems have you used, what’s worked and what has not? Please tell me your favorites and don’t forget to follow me on Facebook and Instagram to learn more about the Desire Map Planner Giveaway’s!

Taking Time Out for Productivity

September 7, 2017 by Heather Filed Under: Inspiration & Education, Productivity, Systems & Techniques, Wellness & Mindset Leave a Comment

I’m returning today for a quick check in because Taking Time Out for Productivity-for the SAKE of Productivity-has been on my mind lately. I’m working on incorporating small breaks into my daily practice and scheduling these into my days. This is one small way we can give ourselves a little self-love and take care of ourselves in a more nurturing and intentional way.

Time Out for Productivity can be an effective strategy in our daily lives to combat boredom, distraction, stress and a lack of inspiration!

Many experts agree on different methods of time out or scheduled boredom as some call it. The idea is to give yourself the space and time to breath, think or allow your mind to wander, to dream so that when you are deeply entrenched in a project you don’t get so easily distracted by all those “shiny objects”, whether they be emails, social media, politics/news, the kids, co-workers chatting in the next cubbie etc…

Time out can become a daily practice, stop once an hour if you work at your computer and get a drink, go to the bathroom, step outside or whatever. Come back refreshed and ready to focus again.

Once a day schedule a 10-15 min break to DO NOTHING! It’s a practice of mindfulness, daydreaming or even meditation.

Taking Time Out for Productivity and allow your mind to wander freely so that when you need it to stay focused it’s a little more cooperative.

This scheduled boredom can be sitting in a chair, lying down or however you are comfortable but you should be in a place where others will not disturb you (including phone’s, kids, pets or co-workers).

I’ve been working on incorporating both of these practices into my daily habits. Working from home required a great deal of discipline but I’m finding that these scheduled breaks really help me stay on task and focused when I really need to crank something out.

Do you schedule breaks or time out for yourself in your daily practices?

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Photo Organizing Old-School Style

August 7, 2017 by Heather Filed Under: Kids & Family Organizing, Organize, Organizing Projects, Paper management, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources, Uncategorized 2 Comments

I had someone ask me to cover the topic of Photo Organizing this month so here we go! I have never gone too far into this subject here on my blog because it’s quite a HEFTY topic to cover in one post. Here are the basic’s for paper photo organizing systems, I’ll return to cover digital photo organizing another time. It’s helpful to know before you begin if you will be doing this yourself or hiring help. There is an entire trade organization, APPO, dedicated to Photo Organizing!Most of us want to keep at least some photo’s to look at in frames, albums or loosely. But we don’t get to enjoy the photo’s we love because they are in a big jumble with the one’s we don’t care about, the duplicates, damaged photo’s and photos of people you have no clue about!

Chances are that at some point you will be inheriting old photo’s if you haven’t already.

To Digitize or Not? Since many of us don’t print photo’s anymore, at least we know the quantity of printed photo’s isn’t growing exponentially! If you’re someone who still prints photo’s, stop doing that until you have a great system in place. You may also want to digitize your photo’s but it’s best to sort and purge what you don’t want first, deciding what you want digitized as you go. If you’re beginning this process with the thought of digitizing, you may want to buy a package for this service. Companies like Legacy Box send you a box that you can fill, return and have scanned. The box is returned within 1-3weeks with original photo’s as well as your digital photo’s (on a CD).

Gather all your photo’s into one area to work on. This can be a fun project to work on when your Binge watching a favorite series:) Before you begin, have a method to sort photos into such as file folders, shoe boxes, large envelopes, plastic bags etc.Label with temporary labels to keep track of what you have sorted, eventually permanent labels will be attached to bins or albums.

Handling…if you have very old, fragile or valuable photo’s you may want to wear lint free cotton gloves while working on photo’s to keep oils and moisture from damaging them. You can also wipe the photo’s gently as you go. If you find photo’s stuck in albums, don’t force them. Try prying up a corner with something like a flat spatula and dental floss! The floss can be used to “saw” the under side of the photo from the adhesive backing. If you still can’t get it, set it aside and get professional help. Don’t write directly on the backs of photo’s with anything other than an archival pen, I like these.Sort photo’s chronologically and/or by event or person. Your system may be some combination of these. As you start the process of sorting and purging, think about other family members or friends who you might want to send photo’s to and set them aside (labeled) to give them when you’re done. If you’re not sure who someone is, snap photo’s of the photo’s as you go and text or email someone who might be able to help you ID them. It can be fun to share “vintage” photo’s with family and friends as you go! Keep track of what size the majority of your photo’s are and if you plan to organize into albums or boxes, this will be important to know.

Storage can be decided on once you have finished sorting and you know what size collection you have. If you plan to digitize, send the photo’s off at this point. Do your research before you buy storage containers. Look for Archival quality boxes and albums. If your photo’s are standard 4×6 or 5×7 you will have a lot of options to choose from. Remember that larger boxes will get very heavy. Use archival paper dividers to further separate photo’s by category or date and label the cards with detailed information about events, family members etc. Don’t use sticky notes or clips that can damage the surface of original photo’s. If you have negatives that correspond to the photo’s you are keeping, label the plastic sleeves they come in to correspond to the storage system you are creating and store negatives separately. Keep your photo’s in climate controlled, low humidity and light conditions to best preserve them.Cross reference storage-Note in your photo box what negatives and digital photo’s you have copies of and where they are stored (on CD’s, cloud, external hard drive, separate bins etc).

Maintain your system on a regular basis if you are adding to your paper photo collection or if you inherit photo’s. I’ll share tips for organizing your digital photo’s in a later post. This is a great time of year to work on photo organizing and perhaps create some beautiful books with some of the old and new photo’s you come across. Have fun traveling down memory lane!

3 steps to stop clutter before it starts!

July 25, 2017 by Heather Filed Under: Organize, Organizing Projects, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources Leave a Comment

If you can recognize personal patterns in these 3 key areas of your life, you will be on your way to stop clutter before it starts! These are ongoing aspects of life that require practice to create lasting change. With a level of self awareness and a plan, we can stop clutter before it starts and begin to live a more simple life.

Stop Clutter before it starts by sharing experiences not things.

We want people to know how much we care about them, often this is expressed via the exchange of gifts. Some people love to buy gifts, some people love to wrap and give gifts, some people cringe when they see a gift because they feel they already have too much stuff. Whether you are the person giving or receiving, it can be challenging to know what “Stuff” is worth to someone else. We need to have more open and candid conversations about the consumption of stuff and let people know when we prefer to receive less. When it comes to the art of gift giving, we can eliminate unneeded clutter and hurt feelings and give more thoughtful gifts by sharing our feelings openly and honestly. One way to give meaningful gifts that don’t create clutter is to share experiences and events, meals, concerts, vacations etc rather than buying actual things. This is my personal favorite way to stop clutter when it comes to the art of gift giving.

Another clutter trap that can stop us in it’s tracks is memorabilia. This might include kids artwork, handmade gifts (from family or friends) or things you associate with an event or occasion. This can be tricky, especially when you know someone spent minutes, hours, days or longer creating something for you. Maybe you can use it, maybe you know someone else who would love it more. You do not have to announce to the gift giver that you have sold or donated their masterpiece, you can discretely let it go when the time is appropriate.

Greeting cards and correspondence…Keeping every card you were ever given, just because you love someone doesn’t really help you remember the special moments! Keep a few special letters, cards and photo’s, take digital photo’s of a few you might be on the fence about and recycle the rest.

Memorabilia is more meaningful when you can easily access it rather than have to sort through a lot of clutter to find it.

Is your kids artwork clutter? It might be! Is this their first handprint or their fiftieth? Are they better at playing music than painting and putting together crafty creations? Create an artwork gallery wall, display things on rotation, snap photo’s of their art and as with above, only keep what is really unique, lets their personal creativity shine or helps you hold onto a very special memory. You are still an awesome parent even if you don’t keep every drawing, painting or artwork they ever made.

Before you buy, get to know your shopping triggers. This is not the post to cover addressing deeper issues with shopping addiction, yet I’m not making light of a situation that can be a big problem. Shopping for things we don’t need and spending more than we want can be a not so healthy pattern for the average person. Bring awareness to what you tend to shop for and when you find yourself wanting to spend. What are your patterns and traps? Do you love an estate sale, shoes, online shopping at 2am when you can’t sleep? Look for your traps and stop clutter before you buy. Find ways to distract yourself from shopping when you know you could easily fall into that trap. Delete the sale emails, don’t keep your tablet or phone by the bed, reward yourself for not shopping and use the one in, one (or more) out rule if you must shop. Buy things that you need, buy good quality but don’t buy for the sake of buying.

Want to learn more about what you really need and what you really use? Read this great article about the Pareto Principle.

The muddy river metaphor

July 9, 2017 by Heather Filed Under: Organize, Productivity, Tips & Resources, Wellness & Mindset Leave a Comment

I was recently reading one of my favorite authors, Mark Nepo, as he described lack of clarity as a muddy river. The muddy river is a helpful metaphor to illustrate how clutter can run through our minds, our homes and our business. Standing in a muddy river, everything seem so unclear, which can cloud our actions and decisions.

When you’re stuck in a muddy river and unclear how to move forward, find stillness.

Our vision, inspiration and flow of life become clouded when we are unclear about the stuff that surrounds us in our homes and lives. Like a fast running current, we can’t see the bottom. The silt and rushing waters make it virtually impossible to find our ground. When we are uncertain we can become stuck!

I might risk dipping my toe into the running waters, right on the edge, while feeling safe from the vantage of the shore. Stop and take it in. Inch by inch trust your feelings, and sensations. Act based feelings rather than making decisions based on external forces.

[bctt tweet=”Our feelings are our most trustworthy guide as we move through the process of letting go” username=”hkpowerstudio”] (of clutter, of grief, of old patterns).

How do we get unstuck? By learning to trust our feelings. It doesn’t always come naturally. Our culture teaches us to lead with thought, not feeling! This is when it’s most important to stop, cut through the thoughts. Pay attention to what is underlying and recognize how we feel.

When we pick up a sentimental item, can we identify the feeling that object evokes? Is it joy, bitterness, saddness, or nostalgia? Does it evoke memories; good-bad or mixed? It’s important to invite and honor how we feel about our stuff. By doing so, we can take honest action in the decisions we make about keeping or getting rid of stuff.

The muddy river metaphor as tool…

Setting our intention is a helpful tool when we begin to make decisions about releasing clutter. Once we are more in tune with our feelings we can decide how we want space to feel. We create that space and those feelings by making decisions and only allowing what evokes those feeling into our space.

Setting an intention is as simple as deciding and acting from a place of alignment!

The process of getting clear about your clutter might proceed something like this:

Go into a clutter filled space with a journal or piece of paper to take notes.
Sit in the space for about 5-10 minutes and notes how the space feels. What emotions come up?
Pick up objects and invite a response based on how you feel. This is like testing the waters. Some people are physically impacted by touching items, others are more visual. It’s good to try both and take notes on how yoyu respond.
Decide how you WANT to feel in the space. Write down these feelings and set an intention to create that feeling!
Begin the process of clearing objects and clutter that are not in alignment with your intentions and how you want to feel.

Use the muddy river metaphor to help you gain clarity in your decision making process. When we understand how clutter makes us feel, we can act on decision making from a place of intention. We then create a space that reflects the feelings we want rather than being stuck with what we have unintentionally created by indecision.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed or not sure where to begin and need some guidance with this process, please email me to schedule a call so we can talk more about how I can help.

In the meantime you might want to check out my Clutter Action Plan!