Check it out: How to Really Become the Boss of Your Life

I was doing some reading over at Dumb Little Man today and came upon an article called “How to Really Become the Boss of Your Life.” It was written by Alex Shalman or Practical Personal Development.

Shalman lists seven areas/things you can free yourself from to help you gain more control over your life:

1. Freedom from food.
2. Freedom from money.
3. Freedom from government.
4. Freedom from love.
5. Freedom from guilt.
6. Freedom from oxygen.
7. Freedom from ignorance.

Head over to Dumb Little Man and check out Alex’s article.

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Tip of the Day: Start your work day with a little planning.

Plan your day before you start reading emails or checking voicemails. Take 10 to 20 minutes at the start of your work day to figure out what you need to get done and by when. Set priorities and realistic goals. Make sure the things at the top of your to-do list for the day are things that absolutely need to get done today. Work your way down the list with things that can be done at a later date toward the bottom of the list.

Make sure the items you add to your list contribute to your overall project or business goals. Planning your day before you get inundated with emails and voicemails is a great way to establish some direction and lay a foundation for the day. Even better – if you can make the list the evening before, you’ll be ready to get right to work as soon as you arrive.

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Ten Things to Toss Today

Harboring an an excess of stuff can definitely be a downer. Clutter often effects people in ways they don’t realize. A cluttered environment can often deplete your energy, put a damper in your productivity, and in general, can bring on negative stress and unnecessary frustration.

The following is a suggested list of ten things you can get rid of today that will help create a little more space in your life.

1. Trash. Empty your trash cans on a regular basis. Gather up trash that’s laying around and throw it out.
2. Junk mail. Need I say more? Okay, I will. Get rid of your junk mail. Sale papers from stores you don’t shop at, credit card offers, and other junk that comes in the mail – get rid of it immediately to avoid a pileup.
3. Items you no longer like. If you bought a shirt you once loved, but not it’s out of style, or you just don’t like it, there’s no reason to hold on to it. Ask a friend if they’d like it, or donate it. If you have a lot of items you no longer like, combine them with the things that fall into the next category and have a yard sale!
4. Items you no longer need or that have become useless to you. Just like items you no longer like, if you bought something at one point because you needed it, but you know you really don’t need it any more, donate it, sell it, or if you know someone who (genuinely) needs it, you can ask if they’d like to have it.
5. Outdated materials. Old store sales papers, catalogs, periodicals, event invitations, coupons – these are all perfect examples of irrelevant material than can become overwhelming if we let it pile up. Recycle it!
6. Duplicates and excess “stuff”. I’ve walked into many situations with clients where we’ve come across 10 pairs of scissors, five staplers, and even a couple of irons. I’ve fallen victim to this myself – you don’t remember you have something, or you can’t find it, so you just buy another one. Well, not only is that a waste of money, but now you’re left with more stuff taking up space than is really needed. Pick the best pair or two of scissors and get rid of the rest. If you have way too many pens, just keep the ones that write the best. Only keep the stapler that doesn’t keep getting jammed.
7. Free giveaways or tchotchkes. Just because it was free doesn’t mean you need to keep it. If you collect free stuff from festivals, meetings, conferences, or from people who just give you stuff in passing, you are in no way obligated to keep it. I must admit, there are some clever tchotchkes out there, but appreciate it, have your laugh, and let it go.
8. Things that no longer work. If that toaster isn’t working – get rid of it. Toasters are inexpensive, you can get another one if you need to. I know an older woman, approaching her 90′s, who is of the mindset of getting things fixed. She recently paid $350 to get her TV repaired. First off, the repair man should have, in my opinion, told her that her TV wasn’t worth $350. He chose to take advantage of her instead. No one would buy that TV for $350 if you tried to sell it, and she could have purchased a much better (and lighter) television set for less money. When she moved in with her daughter a month later, she had to give the TV away. If your kid’s toy is broken, please get rid of it. Old broken cell phone? Donate or recycle it to an organization like CollectiveGood, please.
9. Things you keep in your off-site storage unit. Why are you paying for storage? I suppose for some people out there, legitimate reasons exist. But if you rarely visit your storage unit, how important is the stuff you are keeping in there? I had a storage unit once. I was living in a studio apartment and maintaining a storage unit to the tune of $80/month. While I did go every once in a while to retrieve things, my mom pointed out that I could put that money toward a bigger place. That made sense. Did I get a bigger place? No, I just got rid of the stuff in storage because I realized it wasn’t important enough to want to move it all in with me.
10. Items that have negative associations. I mentioned this in my 10 Minutes, 10 Days series. Keeping items that bring up negative emotions for you continue to stir those emotions whenever you encounter them. Free yourself from the negativity by letting go of these items.

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The Challenge: Reduce Your Possessions to 100 Things

I was playing around on the internet, reading lots of different things (as usual), when I came upon Greenopolis.com . The particular article I found on there was called “Can You Live with Just 100 Things?“

Do you have clutter in your home, your office or your life? Chances are you do. At one point or another we’ve all had a moment when we realized the sheer amount of stuff we have in our lives. Well, there is a growing number of people that are doing something about this, and de-cluttering their lives. It’s called the 100 Things movement, and the challenge is to reduce your possessions to 100 things (or less). Sound tough? It sure is.

The article eventually linked back to a Time Magazine article called “How to Live With Just 100 Things.” Apparently, this 100 Things challenge is a movement – and a great one at that if you ask me! Slowly ridding myself of more and more possessions is something I’ve been working on for a while. I never had a specific number of items in mind to keep, and I don’t know if I’ll get down to 100, but maybe I could get down to 100 and am just making excuses as to why I can’t (I have two business. If each book I own counts, that’s a real drag. I have what? Hundreds?), but it’d definitely something to strive for.

The guy who sparked this movement is named Dave Bruno. This movement is a great example of what can happen when you put a great idea in your blog, people see it, and then it spreads like wildfire. On his blog, Dave explains his personal challenge and how the challenge got started and what it’s all about.

I personally plan to take part, and keep track of my challenge. I know this will be tough for me, so I am definitely on the look out for an accountability partner!

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Six Ways to Simplify

I’ve noticed, through my work with numerous clients, and various companies and organizations, that we tend to make things more complicated by adding a lot of extra unnecessary steps to the things we do every day. The following are a few things you can do to “cut the fat” and simplify your life.

Sign up for automatic bill pay (at at least pay bills online).Most bills can be paid online – including land line and cell phone bills, utilities, and credit card payments. Most of these companies and others will also allow you to elect the “automatic debit” option, so your bills are deducted automatically (just make sure you have enough money in your bank account to cover the bills!). Paying bills online and/or signing up for auto pay saves you from having to write checks, use stamps, and remember to put the bill mail.

Focus on one area or project at a time. Don’t worry about everything big thing you have to tackle – because most likely, it’s probably a lot. Make note of your responsibilities and projects, keep the note(s) handy for reference, but save yourself from becoming overwhelmed by focusing on one issue at a time. Perhaps the most time sensitive?

Pick out your priorities. If you have a to-do list that is a mile long, pick out your top two or three priorities, and focus on those. You’ll feel a greater sense of accomplishment once you’ve gotten the most important things out of the way.

Don’t wear shoes in your house. This is something I was introduced to way back in my elementary school days. I grew up in a city where many of my Asian friends were first generation Americans. When visiting their homes, I (along with everyone else) had to leave our shoes outside. A few years down the line, my mother implemented this in our own home, mainly because it cut back on how often she/we had to clean the floors. All of this probably goes out the window if you have pets, but I never have. By not tracking what’s outside inside, you can definitely cut back on the amount of vacuuming and sweeping you have to do. You’ll probably be able to go longer between deep carpet cleanings as well.

Stop dry cleaning.Dry cleaning isn’t cheap. And when you factor in having to drop it off and pick it up, it becomes more expensive. Buy more machine washable clothing. The only things I currently own that supposedly need to be dry cleaned are a couple of winter coats – and since one is a few years old, I figured I’d throw it in the wash and see what happened – and it came out just fine. Also, you can use products like Dryel, and use your own dryer to handle some of those Dry Clean Only garments.

Use what you have. I have a client who is a perfect example of this. She is a big time crafter. She has so many crafting goodies, she could probably open her own store. It took a while for her to realize it, but she finally came to see that she had more than enough to do almost any project she could think of. We came across so many pairs of scissors, glue guns, craft paper, and embellishments during our project that there’s no need for her to buy anything more for a long time. If you have plenty of notebooks, stamps, office supplies, etc – use what you have before you fill up your space with more.

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Tip of the Day: Tackle Your Post-it Notes

Post-it notes are great for jotting down quick notes to use as reminders for things that need to be taken care of. I love post-it notes and use them often, but the important thing to keep in mind is not to let those post-it notes turn into clutter.

Set aside some time to gather all your post-its into one neat stack. Go through each note one-by-one and take care of what’s on it. If you have a name and number on a post-it – add that person to your address book and toss the note. Did you jot down an event date and time on a post-it? Add the event to your calendar and, again, toss the note. If something written on the note can’t be taken care of in the moment, add it to your calendar for a set date and time so you can get it taken care of.

Don’t let your post-its become clutter. Make sure you go through them at the end of each day, or if you don’t write very many, once a week should be fine.

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Three Tips for Handling Email

(Published in the CAM Green Solutions Newsletter, June 18, 2008.)

Dealing with work related emails (as well as personal ones) can become less frustrating if you make sure to make these tips part of your email reading routine:

Answer email promptly. Avoid allowing your email inbox to get cluttered. In many ways, dealing with email is like dealing with papers and other physical things – you save time by handling it as few times as possible. When reading emails, go ahead and take a moment to respond to the sender while information is fresh in your mind.

Flag things to follow up on. If you can’t respond right away to an email for a particular reason (you need to do further research, you need to talk to someone else, etc), flag the email for follow up. Gmail let’s you “star” emails, which is a method I use for personal emails to highlight things I need to follow up on. When using Outlook, you can flag an email and assign a follow up date to it – a reminder will be placed on your calendar, which makes it less likely you’ll forget to respond to the email.

Delete messages instead of storing them. As mentioned above – keep your emails from becoming clutter. If you’ve responded to an email and the issue is resolved, go ahead and delete the emails. If you think you might need a paper trail, create folders to store the emails in. One thing I love about Gmail is their archive feature. When I am finished with an email, I archive it, clearing up my inbox. But, if I ever need to search for an email, or any content within it (like a phone number, address, or something else), I just use the search box to enter what I am looking for. Folders and archiving are best used for emails you might have to reference again. If the email really isn’t important (old newsletters, invites for meetings that have already passed, etc) – go ahead and delete it!

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Creating a Smart Schedule

I’ve recently been brought on as a columnist for a newsletter! CAM Business Solutions, based in Downtown Los Angeles, puts out a weekly Green Solutions newsletter, and I’ll be contributing to the newly created Organizing and Efficiency section.

The following article is from the issue sent out on Thursday, June 12, 2008.

Creating and Maintaining a Smart Schedule

1. Always strive for balance: Take your energy and productivity levels into account when creating your schedule. Avoid leaving your schedule empty or too loose if there are important things you need to get done. Avoid adding so many to-do’s, events, and meetings to your calendar that you feel exhausted at the end of the day. Which leads to tip #2…

2. Create breathing space: If you think certain task will take you 15 minutes, plan for 20 or 30 minutes. Leave room in your schedule for travel time so you aren’t rushed, and if there is traffic or something unexpected comes up, you’ll be able to handle it – with time to spare. Meetings and conference calls can sometimes run over the scheduled amount of time, so try not to schedule meetings and calls back to back. Leave yourself a few minutes in between in case the meeting runs long, but also so that you can grab a bite to eat, return a call or email, stretch your legs, or to prep for the next meeting.

3. Cut down on your commute time: If you have errands to run, meetings to attend, or clients to see, schedule things in close proximity around the same time if possible. This saves gas money as well as time. The time you spent trekking back and forth across town can now be used for more important things (and that includes rest!). If someone wants to schedule a meeting with you, but the topic in question can be handled over the phone, don’t hesitate to request a phone meeting

4. Run errands during off-peak hours if you can: Grocery stores tend to be less busy before work hours, and earlier on weekend mornings. My favorite time to hit the grocery store or places like Target is on Sunday night. On weekends, stores tend to be a little less crowded when they first open than during the mid-day hours when everyone is out and about. What are the off peak hours for the places you frequent? Definitely try to make your stops during that time.

You can view the entire newsletter online for more great information. To subscribe to the Green Solutions newsletter, send an email to newsletter@cambusinesssolutions.com .

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10 for 10: Day 10: Do One Thing At a Time

I am the official Queen of Multi-tasking. Sure, it’s a self appointed title, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true. I don’t know if it is the world we live in today, if its just something that is prevalent in my generation, or just my personality, but I feel like multi-tasking is in my blood.

If you peered into my window at home (please don’t) on some random weekday evening, you’d find the TV (or my iPod) playing, while I toggle back and forth between reading things online and checking emails. I’ll also be checking my voicemails and writing notes on who to call back. I will start some to-do list in between firing off several text messages and a couple of IMs.

I’m usually pretty proud of myself for being able to pull this off.

I do believe that multi-tasking is a great skill to master, and it is especially helpful if you are someone who runs a front office or if you act as a project manager which is something I do. I have to jump back and forth between calling people back as soon as possible so I don’t miss deals or clients, handling email, scheduling things that come up as a result of those emails and phone calls, plan, research, and execute. If you couldn’t multi-task, you’d probably fall apart.

But in today’s fast paced society where we tend to focus on instant gratification, a lot gets lost in our shuffling around. We work on a million different things at once and then at the end of the day wonder what we’ve done or where the time went. How many times at the end of the day have you thought “did I accomplish anything today?”

When we multi-task, we feel like we are really awesome for being able to handle so many things and so much information at once. In reality, when we engage in multi-tasking, we’re diluting our attention – so rather that one task or project getting your full attention at the time, 10 or 15 little tasks get incredibly low amounts of attention. Sometimes we lose track of the details – and details put together make up the larger picture. I believe that focusing on one thing at a time, and seeing it through to completion is likely to get a project done faster. Often times, multi-tasking just delays the completion of multiple projects – because they are ALL in a constant state of being worked on. I think I’d rather have one thing completed and scratched off my list than 10 things “in progress” carrying over from day to day.

When we are jerking our attention from one thing or another, we’re also more likely to allow interruptions from other people, which can further delay getting things done. We lose our concentration and have to figure out where we left off, or we take on whatever project Jim just dropped on our desk and increase the amount of projects we’re half working on.

Stop. Slow down. Deeeeeeeeeeep breath. Focus. Reassess.

Make a list of things to be done, preferably in priority order if you have things that need to get done by a certain hour or a specific day. It is likely that some of the things on your list will have various steps to completion, so group those things together. If you aren’t a list maker (even I have my phases of interest in them), just be aware of your behavior. Are you jumping from task to task? When the phone rings while you’re washing the dishes, do you answer? Pretty much everyone has voicemail now. Call the person back later. You’ll be more relaxed for the call, knowing the chore is complete. Flip that around – has a friend called you for advice? Sit down, listen to what s/he has to say, provide your insights, be a good friend, and tackle the dishes when the call is over.

Try, at least for a while, to focus on one thing at a time. It can be tough, especially for us “multi-task or die!” kind of people, but it sure does relieve some pressure, and at the end of the day, can probably help you feel a little more successful too.

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Day One: Consider: What kind of clutter do you have in your life?

Day Two: Clear the walkways in your home or office.

Day Three: Clear the clutter off your dining/kitchen table or nightstand.

Day Four: Get rid of old invitations, cards, address books…

Day Five: Clean out your fridge (and freezer).

Day 6: Get rid of old periodicals.

Day 7: Meditate or read something inspirational.

Day 8: Toss items that have negative associations.

Day 9: Say no to something (or someone).

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10 for 10: Day 9: Say no to something (or someone)

Have you noticed how easy it is to say “yes”?

Have you noticed how hard it is to say “no”?

I have never really thought of myself as a yes person until recently.

Yes, I can help you with that. Yes, I’ll be there. Yes, I can take on this project. Yes, I can put a few more hours in. Man, I’m tired!

We directly agree to a lot of things. But have you also considered the things you indirectly say yes to?

Yes, I will respond to business related emails 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Who needs one entire day off from anything work related? It’s just a few emails. Yes, I will continue to allow you to take advantage of me.

Sometimes, we say yes to things because, sure, we really do want to be there or we really would love to help (and have the time available to do so). But, if we are honest with ourselves, there are a lot of things we say yes to because it’s easier than saying no. It’s easier to say yes than to see the disappointment on the other person’s face. It’s easier to say yes because you feel like it’s your job. Sometimes we don’t say no out of fear of the unknown – what will the person say? What will the person do? What will happen as a result of me saying no.

Saying no can definitely be freeing – it can free up your mind, your schedule, your spirit. And you don’t always have to use the word “no.”

Thank you for the invitation, but I’m not available that night. I’m I won’t be able to handle that in the time frame you need. I can handle it next week, or perhaps there is someone else who can help you this week who is more available than I am. No, I will not allow you to treat me this way.

If you really don’t want to attend that event, politely decline. If you don’t want to assume responsibility for a certain part of a project because it will encroach on your personal time or space, suggest another person the task can be delegated to.

Learn to say no. I’m learning…help me feel like I’m not the only one!

Today: Say no to something or someone.

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Day One: Consider: What kind of clutter do you have in your life?

Day Two: Clear the walkways in your home or office.

Day Three: Clear the clutter off your dining/kitchen table or nightstand.

Day Four: Get rid of old invitations, cards, address books…

Day Five: Clean out your fridge (and freezer).

Day 6: Get rid of old periodicals.

Day 7: Meditate or read something inspirational.

Day 8: Toss items that have negative associations.

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