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Get Sentimental this summertime

by Filed Under: Organize, Productivity, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources, Wellness & Mindset Leave a Comment

Get Sentimental this Summertime and use these tips for sorting school work and kids memorabilia.

Summer is perfect for getting a handle on all those sentimental school objects, papers and artwork you and your kids are keeping. Maybe you have a designated spot and you just dump things in one place throughout the year? Before you sit down to sort through the sentimental savings, it helps to understand how sentimental you are. Do you want to keep everything, are you totally detached or somewhere in between?

Having an awareness of what we learned from our upbringing will be a great guide to your decision making process moving forward! 

Think back to your childhood and how your parents treated your memorabilia. Sometimes how our family “taught” us is how we respond and other times we want to do the direct opposite. Did you parents keep everything and then dump it in your hands after college or when you moved out? Or did they dump it in the trash? What did you do with your sentimental treasures from childhood? Do you still have those things? When is the last time you looked through your memory albums, boxes etc. Beware that what you do today will impact your kids behavior tomorrow and they may already have a strong opinion about what they want to keep or toss (which might differ from your’s).

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Why do I need a Home Inventory?

by Filed Under: Kids & Family Organizing, Organize, Organizing Projects, Planning & Goals, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources, Uncategorized Leave a Comment

Do you have a plan for disasters and know you need a home inventory? Whether you have one started or have nothing at all read on to learn why you need a home inventory and how to protect your assets. If your looking at this and scratching your head wondering what I’m even talking about, just stick with it and see what you learn…

Almost all of us need a home inventory, whether we are renting or own our homes or businesses. If you have insurance, you need an inventory. Sadly, a lot of people have the attitude that they pay insurance so who cares and why would they need a home inventory!?! But there are so many irreplaceable things and all the little stuff really adds up. By having a home inventory your saving yourself a huge potential headache, hours of time or worse out of pocket expenses lost down the drain.

When I became a professional organizer, I began to learn all about the different home inventory systems and tools available. I also began to assist clients with creating inventory systems both before and after disasters (unfortunately, mostly flooding, some theft). Trust me when I say, you do not want to have to inventory your stuff after it’s been damaged or try to remember what’s missing! It’s not the insurance companies duty to take your word for all your expensive assets. If you can’t prove you owned it (meaning tracking down receipts or charges, photo’s or other documentation) you may loose it all together.

What do you need to inventory? The quick answer is everything! You are probably thinking this will take ages and depending on how much detail you want to include, it could be a significant undertaking but really not so bad if you take it step by step, room by room.

Without an inventory you could end up with a mess on your hands! Don’t get stuck sorting toilet plungers from kitchen utensils, holiday decor and more to figure out how much you’ve got and what needs to be replaced!

Since I’ve worked extensively on creating inventory for insurance claims here’s what you need to know. Photo’s are your friends! Spread sheets are super helpful and may prevent you from having to fill out additional information in the event of an insurance claim. But there are other systems out there that are super helpful and can do more for you than just a home inventory.

 

As the well known Sheryl Sandberg quote goes “Done is better than perfect.” So true in the case of an inventory! Just having photo’s is better than nothing!

Home Zada is one of the most comprehensive home management tools out there and does everything from home maintenance reminders to home inventory. If your on the serious side of protecting your valuable assets, I can’t recommend a better way to manage it all in one place! This is a cloud based option so you won’t loose it if you loose your computer!

Another great comprehensive but inexpensive system is Liberty Street Home Manage software (also cloud based). It’s under $50 and allows you to enter all the important documentation and photo’s for all your assets (at multiple locations).

Several insurance companies have their own systems, so ask your insurance agent what they offer! It will probably be free and give them everything needed if you ever had to make a claim.

If you like tech options, Encircle Inventory for Homeowners is a free app (for the 1st property) you can use on your phone or tablet, taking pictures and uploading info as you go. Home Contents is another (UK Based) app that makes home inventory a snap with your digital camera in phone. And finally in the app department, My Stuff has several free and paid options with great features for adding items to folders, tagging etc for easier sorting and organizing.

If you prefer to stick with a spreadsheet style inventory, just do a quick search for Home Inventory Checklist to find quite a few good options available for free. Most of these are templates that you can download and use on your computer/device.

Home inventory Checklists hekp you to understand what information will be most valuable in the case of an insurance claim. A good idea of the information insurance companies would like to have follows. The more info you can provide, the more accurate your claim and reimbursement will be. But it may not be necessary to have all the information below. Again, “Done is better than perfect!”

  • List items by room- This will help qualify content damage when structural damage has been done
  • Include a basic description
  • Make/model
  • Serial or ID number
  • Quantity
  • Assign value (replacement value will be paid-based on current market value-ex. electronics that may have cost you $500 might be replaceable for $200 today)
  • Date purchased
  • Receipt if available
  • Reference photo’s

Spreadsheet systems (I’ve used comprehensively with insurance agents to recover contents lost) can be clunky and its difficult to quickly see photo’s of items with their description. Another drawback is that unless you backup your computer or device, you run the risk of loosing your inventory (photo’s and checklist) along with your contents in case of a disaster!

If a home inventory is something you want help setting up, let me know and I’d be glad to assist!

No matter what system you choose, I hope you will make a plan, schedule it on your calendar and start your home inventory today!

Essential Documents for Everyone

by Filed Under: Organize, Paper management, Productivity, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources 2 Comments

Being prepared for the unexpected means having essential documents (and copies of them) in order and easy to find. Some people call these their Vital Documents. Whatever you call them they are really important! I recently learned that 98% of all South Carolina residents have no will! If that’s your situation and you don’t know where to start, let me know and I can guide you in the right direction!

Essential Documents

Absolutely Essential Documents-The Short List

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How Poor communication affects productivity

by Filed Under: Planning & Goals, Productivity 1 Comment

Can I start with a rant about how poor communication affects productivity?

The Organizing industry has embraced productivity (for organizers who choose this specialty) and more and more of us are working to help individuals and businesses be more productive. Productivity is a buzz word right now!

But as I work on organizing projects I’m always mindful to be as productive as possible. There’s no doubt that communication affects productivity. Here’s an example of a recent stumble. I was working with someone to sort and organize “stationary” and since the client was not with me I interpreted what I thought she meant as all cards/envelopes and letterhead. BUT when the client returned they told me they didn’t consider the cards to be stationary…they were upset that I had taken time to work on this and they thought they had given clear instructions! You just never know which is why you must ask!

communication affects productivity

Poor communication can be the biggest obstacle to productivity!

Our thoughts and ideas are buzzing around in our heads and we often don’t know quite how to communicate our vision or expectation to others. This can be a huge stumbling block or in some cases a total road block to accomplish goals and meet deadlines. I have worked on teams that required me to communicate across different language barriers, technology hurdles and time zones, none of that made things easier…but they taught me to simplify and clarify communication!

But it’s those times when someone else isn’t available to answer questions that mus-understandings or other communication can break down, like my stationary example. Sometimes our own interpretation of other people’s ideas can cause major challenges. Those challenges can cause general annoyance as well as morale to plummet, which has been proven to lower productivity. So what can we do to prevent this?

Strategies for better communication:

Ask a lot of questions! When I’m working with others, I do this throughout, in a conversational manner. Sometimes I need to ask questions rapid fire, probably to the point of annoyance for some! Be very direct about what you need to know, list questions out before writing emails, making phone calls or going to a meeting. Really listen to the other person’s response! Are you hearing them or what you want to hear?

Beware of how technology impacts our communication. Our voice, tone, language and the words we use can be easily misinterpreted. Interpretation can be an especially dangerous game when sending messages in short formats’ such as text messages. Beware of email etiquette and take responsibility for how people may misinterpret by being short, sweet and to the point in your written communication.

Eliminate distractions and interruptions. When you are trying to communicate an idea or important topic, distractions and interruptions can totally derail our train of thought and leave us without important pieces of the “puzzle”. Turn your ringer off, shut your office door and give your direct attention to whatever it is you are needing to communicate.

Keep your communication short, simple and clear. Think about the idea you need to communicate from the receiving end and try to troubleshoot any potential pitfalls.

Timing, this one is huge! Are you being mindful of when and what the other person might be doing? Are you texting in the middle of the night? Are you expecting an answer right away? Be mindful of both the timing of your communication, your expectation of returned communication (send someone a gentile  and kind reminder if you haven’t heard back in 24-48hrs) and are you being mindful of returning other communication in a timely manner or letting them know if you expect to be delayed?

Re-evaluate your own poor communication habits, such as interrupting, multitasking, not listening and avoiding direct contact. Good communication habits are about more than just delivering your message. It’s equally important to know how your message was received. It’s not about who is right or wrong and it’s always important to remember to listen (more than you speak).

Ultimately poor communication affects productivity but can lead to much bigger problems…it’s a downward spiral. Take a few moments to reflect on how your style of communication might be received by others.

Are there are some new tools you can implement that will help you be more productive in the way you communicate for success?

5 mind map tools for a deep dive

by Filed Under: Inspiration & Education, Paper management, Planning & Goals, Productivity, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources, Wellness & Mindset 1 Comment

Mind maps tools are increasingly popular among companies, business owners, individuals, and educators. Using mind maps for a deep dive into a specific topic, project, or goal allows you to throw it out “on paper” and get the order of your ideas.

All mind maps have one thing in common. They have a central structure that radiates out organizing ideas by using lines, symbols, photos, and text to support and provide additional information for each big idea or topic. Mind maps can be either paper or computer-based, both follow the same structure, breaking a topic out from a central idea. The wonderful thing about the process of mind mapping is that you can dive deeper into a subject as you radiate out and continue to brainstorm. The mind map process is both intellectual and creative and is such a wonderful tool for individuals and businesses’ that are more hands-on and intuitive in their goal setting and brainstorming process. The key is to find out which method works best for you, your needs, and capabilities.

Paper Mind Maps

Paper-based mind maps are easy to create – you don’t need a computer, internet access, or computer chargers. All you need is paper and a pen, easy peasy! You can quickly jot down everything that comes out of your mind and map it out exactly how you’d like it. A paper mind map is great for those who need to get all of their ideas out quickly and allow for refining later. It can also be a helpful tool for organizing ideas and actions for teams.

Paper mind maps wick and easy to access anywhere, but there are a few downsides to using traditional pen and paper – it could easily get lost, crumpled, or get eaten by your dog! You aren’t able to change your ideas with ease unless you use a pencil, and if you are creating a large mind map you’ll need a lot of paper (which isn’t so ecologically friendly) and can take up a lot of space.

Digital Mind Map Tools

There are dozens of mind map software to choose from, these are just some of the most popular and user-friendly systems that I’ve used myself, with clients or heard good things about.

Coggle

Coggle is a web browser-based mind mapping software that makes creating a mind map simple, easy, and fun. This software offers both a free and paid version and it is an excellent investment if you create a lot of mind maps. It allows you to collaborate easily with a team. You can add text, hyperlinks, and images anywhere on your map with Coggle. The attractive branches can be customized with color, making these mind maps easy to follow.

Inspiration Mapsmind map tools

Inspiration Maps offers both computer and web-based software that has been newly introduced for iPad and iPhone. Its key features include the ability to create an unlimited number of maps and outlines, a user-friendly interface, and the ability to customize, add graphics and photos to any part of your map. You are able to choose from over 100 pre-made mind map layouts and hundreds of graphics within the app. With its autosave feature, you can be certain you won’t lose any of your data if the internet goes down and you are able to share it on a variety of platforms. It is very inexpensive for all the features and is worth the purchase!

Mind Meister

In addition to its catchy name, Mind Meister is another great software for creating mind maps. It is focused more on business and educational use and has a variety of features that support a lot of users at one time. It is available for download and can be accessed on any platform and has intricate sharing capabilities.

When making your decision take into consideration the pros and cons of each, the features, cost, ease of interface, accessibility, and most importantly that it suits your needs. At the end of the day, mind maps are supposed to be a fun, interactive tool that helps you expel all the information out of your brain. Don’t lose sight of that and have fun mind mapping all your great ideas!

Do you already use the mind map process? If so are you using pen and paper or software? What are some of your favorite things to mind map?

info@hkpowerstudio.com
[office] 240-778-2804 *area code must be dialed/no text

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