Getting Organized Requires a New Outlook

By Lea Schneider, professional organizer

If you are like me, you may feel as if you have too much to do!

Let’s see….birthday cards to buy, spring flowers to plant, proposal to write for work, errands to run, rooms to paint, doctor’s appointments to make, bills to pay, phone calls needed and emails too.

When you just don’t know where to start, then try getting a new perspective. That old to-do list gets longer and longer. The more you add to it, the harder it is to decide where to start.

Try a new twist on the to-do list. Grab a pad of paper.

Begin by making a list of the kinds of general categories of things that you typically need to do. Your list should be customized to you. Include a column for things special to you, such as a class you take or a side job that you might have. Here are some sample topics:

• Things for and around the home
• Things for work
• Stuff to do for the kids
• What I need to do for me
• Finances
• Outside activities
• Class

Now tear that page off your pad. Create your to-do list on a fresh sheet.

Turn the pad so that the longest side is horizontal. Write your headings across the top.

Home • Work • Kids • Me • Finances • Church • Garden Club

Now make a to-do list, placing each item under the correct heading. Sure you still have the same number of things to do but with this method, it is much easier to focus and choose priorities.

Grab a highlighter and highlight the most important five. Work on those five and when they have been accomplished, cross them off and highlight five more.

This method is sure to help you focus.

Happy Organizing,

Lea

* Reprint Information: Editors and publishers are free to reprint any tips as long as it's reprinted in its entirety and carries the signature line of Lea Schneider, owner of Organize Right Now LLC, Pensacola, FL, www.organizerightnow.com. Please send a courtesy copy to lea@organizerightnow.com.