Kolz Blog

I’m now reading an interesting book entitled Organizing from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern. There are a lot of useful tips there about how to declutter our life and better organize it. I especially like the fact that it takes the organizing issue from the inside out, which means that it creates a system that matches our personality rather than blindly takes one of the systems out there. I haven’t finished the book, but a thought came to my mind: there is a way to make decluttering and organizing much easier and less complicated, and that is a step to be taken prior to decluttering. I believe it will make our life simpler and happier, and here it is: Think twice before accepting new stuff into your life Spend time to think and think again before accepting new stuff into your life. We may think that having more stuff is a sign of abundance, but having more stuff actually takes up more resources: money to buy it, storage space to store it, and especially mental energy to think or be distracted by it. So you should have a filtering system not to let stuff easily comes into your life. It’s a prevention to cluttering problem. If you have this filter in place, you may eliminate the need of decluttering in the first place. [Read more]

“It is more than probable that the average man could, with no injury to his health, increase his efficiency fifty percent.”

- Walter Scott

Some people always seem to get everything done in a day; others find getting anything accomplished to be a struggle. What separates the frenetic, time-starved man from the productive one? Surprisingly, not much. Time management is really about managing yourself. It’s about making a commitment to be more organized, maintain your focus and use your time to your best advantage. Even if there were more than 24 hours in a day, we would likely always find ways to overfill them. Maximize the use of your time by becoming more aware of how you spend your day. With a little planning, you can establish a routine, create shortcuts and use your time wisely. Whether in your personal or professional life, here are some solid tips to maximize every hour of your day. 1. Get out of bed quickly.

The time-starved individual shuts off the alarm and dozes off a couple more times before finally getting up. He ends up oversleeping, and in doing so wastes up to 30 minutes of his morning. Even if he does get to work on time, he’s rushed and stressed upon arrival. Avoid hitting the snooze button by moving your alarm away from beside your bed. Once you get up to shut it off, head straight for the shower and start your day. Be a time-savvy person and rise when the alarm wakes you instead of wasting time lolling about in bed. You’ll arrive at work looking refreshed and ready to tackle the day’s challenges.

2. Organize your day.

The time-challenged person dashes about wasting time, energy and biological fossil fuel. His ineffectiveness, disorganization and lack of foresight result in lost time and frazzled nerves. Plan your day with a personal organizer — just as you would for work-related tasks. Review and update your plans as your day progresses, in case you need to move certain entries around. It might be convenient to take a half-day off work on occasion to run all your errands at once. Plan ahead and line up some appointments you’ve been putting off, like the dentist, doctor or oil change. Become a time management expert and you’ll accomplish more each day.

3. Foresee efficiency obstacles.

A person who’s always in a rush fails to take into account crucial details like driving distances and traffic delays. The result is that he often ends up off schedule. Be realistic when you make your plans. If doing your grocery shopping takes thirty minutes, allow a little longer in case there’s a long line at the cash. If you don’t, the domino effect will throw off your subsequent plans. Be a time-conscious person who has a realistic view of how long each task requires. Allow for transit and transition time, as well as unexpected disruptions.

4. Allocate specific times for specific tasks.

The person who’s running after time procrastinates. He defers his duties, sometimes ignores them completely, and then becomes frustrated. What you need to do is develop a routine. Let your tasks become automatic. If you know that you’ll be checking your e-mail between 9:30 and 10 a.m. each morning, you’ll get it done faster. Train yourself to be aware of time. Create a routine to achieve more with less effort. [Read more]

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