Do you know what is common in most homes across America? What a common theme among women (especially Mothers) is? Do you know what that one looming dark corner is that gets everybody down?
A cluttered, disorganized, messy home. The lack of ability to complete projects. A sense of never accomplishing anything.
If you want to be highly encouraged by other mom's and find a community of hard working moms check out powerofmoms.com. You will find a wealth of knowledge about many things on motherhood and life. I say all of this because you will find these steps over at Power of Moms as well. Here are the four steps to help you take the next step to dissolving your clutter and completing that project.
1) Pinpoint those Projects
Do you remember that post about my "Everything Book"? You can check it out again if you need to, but in summary, I use a notebook to write down all of my lists. I am a list maker on steroids, but would usually lose the scrap of paper that had my list on it. So I bought a back to school notebook and started using that for my list making. That turned into packings lists, grocery lists, menus, to-do lists, etc. Now I always know where my project list is and I can always look back and see my accomplishments too. (what a good feeling!)
The best way to pinpoint your projects is to make more than one list. Say 3 or 4 with titles like: Personal, Family, Home, and Future. Say you want to try a new makeup look. Write it under "personal". Need to power wash the fence? Write it under "Home". Want to go to a bike trail and make a day of it soon? "Family". It's important to keep things separated out so that your list is constantly getting crossed off. (Who doesn't add something to the bottom of the list after completing it just to cross it off? It's a reward. It feels good!) This is where the "Future" list comes in. If it's the dead of winter and you write down power wash the fence, the item will sit there for months. It will be in the way and eventually get discarded (not making it to the new list) and maybe not thought of again until it's too late...again.
2) Identify Your Next Action
You want to take your family to the bike trail this Saturday! It's on your list and everyone is looking forward to it...sometime. (You've been saying this for a month now but you need to see if the baby seat fits on your new bike first.) To accomplish this weekends family outing you need to accomplish what called a "Next Action". Go see if that baby seat fits on your new bike!
You plan on trying out a new look for yourself. It's been on your to-do list all summer, but you need a specific makeup brush before you can try it. You could buy at Wal-mart but it never gets put on the "Grocery list" and so you just haven't done it. What is your "Next Action"? Writing down the makeup brush on the grocery list.
Identifying and completing the "Next Action" for a particular item can be one of the easiest, and quickest things to do, but if not done it can hold back the entire project. Sometimes you need to write down (and do) the small things to make your way toward the big thing.
3) Think in Context
The best way to get things done is to always be working at something. But what do you do when you are waiting for your kids at ballet practice? Just wait? Writing out a list with categories such as: home, computer, phone, and errands will help you know what is available to do. If you are waiting to pick your children up and have 5-10 minutes before the teacher dismisses them, check out your "phone" list and make a few calls while you wait.
Another reason to think in context is to eliminate back-tracking. Once you file that last e-mail and reply to that last tweet you don't want to turn the computer back on for a forgotten item. When you think in context it helps keep you on track. When you first sit down at the computer you look at your "Computer" list and when you are done, that's it, you are done! Nothing has been forgotten.
4) Decision Helper
I think the decision helper is one of the most important steps to getting things done. If you are in the wrong mood to do something it takes longer, is less enjoyable, and sometimes isn't done as well. So before you decide on a task to do, think through these four criteria: a) context b) Energy c) Time d) Priority.
Context: is this the best time and place to be doing this project?
Energy: will I be wasting an energetic me on an un-energetic project that could be done later? Would I be better equipped for this high energy project tomorrow morning?
Time: Do I have the time to complete this project now? If not, is this something that needs to be finished all at once? Is this the best time to be doing this project? Could I be more useful somewhere else right now?
Priority: Is this the most important thing to accomplish right now? Are there time restraints that won't allow me to do something else if I don't do that thing now instead of this project? Does my family need me?
There are a lot of ways to organize things, paper and pen, or computer, phone apps, or memory (not recommended!) But the point is to think through it, write things down a lot, cross things off a lot. Keep moving forward. If you accomplish a dozen minuscule things that day write them down and cross them off. Feel good about it. If you did one huge thing that day, have a party! Tell a friend! Keep your brain and body in the accomplishing mode and never give up. For lots more encouragement and ideas (all much more professional and better taught) check out powerofmoms.com.
Sarah
1) Pinpoint those Projects
Do you remember that post about my "Everything Book"? You can check it out again if you need to, but in summary, I use a notebook to write down all of my lists. I am a list maker on steroids, but would usually lose the scrap of paper that had my list on it. So I bought a back to school notebook and started using that for my list making. That turned into packings lists, grocery lists, menus, to-do lists, etc. Now I always know where my project list is and I can always look back and see my accomplishments too. (what a good feeling!)
The best way to pinpoint your projects is to make more than one list. Say 3 or 4 with titles like: Personal, Family, Home, and Future. Say you want to try a new makeup look. Write it under "personal". Need to power wash the fence? Write it under "Home". Want to go to a bike trail and make a day of it soon? "Family". It's important to keep things separated out so that your list is constantly getting crossed off. (Who doesn't add something to the bottom of the list after completing it just to cross it off? It's a reward. It feels good!) This is where the "Future" list comes in. If it's the dead of winter and you write down power wash the fence, the item will sit there for months. It will be in the way and eventually get discarded (not making it to the new list) and maybe not thought of again until it's too late...again.
2) Identify Your Next Action
You want to take your family to the bike trail this Saturday! It's on your list and everyone is looking forward to it...sometime. (You've been saying this for a month now but you need to see if the baby seat fits on your new bike first.) To accomplish this weekends family outing you need to accomplish what called a "Next Action". Go see if that baby seat fits on your new bike!
You plan on trying out a new look for yourself. It's been on your to-do list all summer, but you need a specific makeup brush before you can try it. You could buy at Wal-mart but it never gets put on the "Grocery list" and so you just haven't done it. What is your "Next Action"? Writing down the makeup brush on the grocery list.
Identifying and completing the "Next Action" for a particular item can be one of the easiest, and quickest things to do, but if not done it can hold back the entire project. Sometimes you need to write down (and do) the small things to make your way toward the big thing.
3) Think in Context
The best way to get things done is to always be working at something. But what do you do when you are waiting for your kids at ballet practice? Just wait? Writing out a list with categories such as: home, computer, phone, and errands will help you know what is available to do. If you are waiting to pick your children up and have 5-10 minutes before the teacher dismisses them, check out your "phone" list and make a few calls while you wait.
Another reason to think in context is to eliminate back-tracking. Once you file that last e-mail and reply to that last tweet you don't want to turn the computer back on for a forgotten item. When you think in context it helps keep you on track. When you first sit down at the computer you look at your "Computer" list and when you are done, that's it, you are done! Nothing has been forgotten.
4) Decision Helper
I think the decision helper is one of the most important steps to getting things done. If you are in the wrong mood to do something it takes longer, is less enjoyable, and sometimes isn't done as well. So before you decide on a task to do, think through these four criteria: a) context b) Energy c) Time d) Priority.
Context: is this the best time and place to be doing this project?
Energy: will I be wasting an energetic me on an un-energetic project that could be done later? Would I be better equipped for this high energy project tomorrow morning?
Time: Do I have the time to complete this project now? If not, is this something that needs to be finished all at once? Is this the best time to be doing this project? Could I be more useful somewhere else right now?
Priority: Is this the most important thing to accomplish right now? Are there time restraints that won't allow me to do something else if I don't do that thing now instead of this project? Does my family need me?
There are a lot of ways to organize things, paper and pen, or computer, phone apps, or memory (not recommended!) But the point is to think through it, write things down a lot, cross things off a lot. Keep moving forward. If you accomplish a dozen minuscule things that day write them down and cross them off. Feel good about it. If you did one huge thing that day, have a party! Tell a friend! Keep your brain and body in the accomplishing mode and never give up. For lots more encouragement and ideas (all much more professional and better taught) check out powerofmoms.com.
Sarah
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