Organize Your Happy Butt!

Select any of the following options to jump directly to the section on the Organize YHB! web page:

General Topics
Give It Away = FREE Tip Kit
So Much to Say = Future posts on Organize YHB
Do You Really Want to Hurt Me? = Guestbook

Organizing Tips & Resources
Peaceful, Easy Feeling = Prioritize, focus, organize, and accomplish your goals
Bust a Move = Motivate...get up and get organizing!
Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go = Organize and avoid a hectic morning routine
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For = Links to other organizing resources

Organizing Trivia
Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore = Neat freaks in films
Wind Beneath My Wings = Neat freaks in TV shows
I'm a Believer = Vote for the biggest neat freak in TV history
Every Little Thing She Does is Magic = Celebrity quotes on organizing
If It Makes You Happy = Links to more celebrity clutterbug quotes
The Perfect Country and Western Song = Top 10 unorganized things your mamma would never want you to do

Organizing Products
Who Wrote the Book of Love? = Books to help you get organized
Leader of the Pack = Magazines to help you get organized
Papa's Got a Brand New Bag = Bags to help you get organized
Take Out the Papers and the Trash = Planners to help organize your "to do" list
I Will Survive = The most organized tool in the world

This page is a small sampling of what you'll find on my other websites:

Home Organization Online: Your complete guide to an organized home.

Get Organized: A blog about all things organized, including motivation, time management, productivity, and organizing in pop culture.

Clutterbugs: Anything and everything about Clutterbugs professional organizing products and services.

At any of these sites, you can sign up to get your own copy of the FREE Tip Kit, which includes over 50 ways to boost your organizing savvy!

Do you ever look at your home or office and say, "This place is so cluttered! I need to get it together, but I feel like everything is so far gone now - nothing can help!"

Do you ever think about your life and say, "I am a lost cause - I am so disorganized. Where would I even begin?"

If you find that you are contemplating getting organized or acknowledging that your life and surroundings could be more organized, then it is a safe bet that your lack of organization is a stressor for you.

The underlying stress may take many physical forms - procrastination, anger, anxiety, and depression - just to name a few. The good news: if you are perpetually disorganized, then you can alleviate these negative behaviors by organizing your life, your home, or your office.

The following L-E-S-S-O-N-S can help you prioritize, focus, and accomplish your goals one step at a time!

(1) List every task you must complete or want to complete.

Grab 2 sheets of paper and a pen. On the 1st sheet, write down whatever comes to mind, no matter how big or how small it is, how long you have wanted to do it, or who wants you to do it.

Pay no mind to priority or importance of each item at this stage. This is your brainstorming session! You are going to weed through the pile in the next two steps.

(2) Establish priority order for all tasks.

Look at the list you just created in the previous step. Really examine it.

What items are most important to your family, your livelihood, or yourself? What must be accomplished quickly? Those should be your top concerns.

Which thing will be the most or the least fun? Which thing will be the most or least stressful? As you begin to create your prioritized list of tasks, order it so that you fluctuate between the better tasks and the worse tasks.

This serves as a small motivator; you know that when you are working on a rather unpleasant job, that the upcoming one will not be nearly as bad!

Since you have given the list a little thought, it's time to use the 2nd sheet of paper. Number each line.

Choose the most crucial "To Do" of the lot and place it in the #1 position, and then continue through all the numbers until you are finished ranking the tasks.

(3) Select the most important task of all and start with it.

Your focus should be whatever task made it into the #1 spot on your list. Once you are done with #1, move onto #2.

Whatever you do - keep to one task until it's completely finished. If not, your prioritization has gone totally out the window. Plus, you are likely to be less productive and your project is likely to be more time consuming; both are 2 undesirable results!

(4) Set a time limit to carry out this task.

There are two parts to this step.

(a) Set a long-term goal, such as "Cleaning out my garage will take me two full weeks."

Be realistic when you do this, or else you will be setting yourself up for failure. Give yourself double the time you think it will take you. If you believe a project will take you 4 days, give yourself 8 days.

The extra time never hurts! If something comes up and you need the extra time, you'll not be stressed out because you are missing the deadline. If you finish early, you can pat yourself on the back for reaching your goal ahead of schedule.

The key is to set a deadline and stick to it.

(b) Divide the long-term goal into smaller chunks, such as "I will work on my garage on Saturday mornings from 8-1130am and Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 8-10pm."

Be specific on your days and times, making an appointment with yourself for each period and marking them respectively on your calendar.

What's even more important than making the appointment with yourself? Keeping it. Decide that you have the discipline to follow-through; your mentality is half the battle!

(5) Omit distractions of any kind.

Put the kids to bed.
Put the dog outside.
Turn off the ringer on the phone.
Power down your cell.
Turn off the TV.
Shut the computer off (aka stop Squidoo-ing).
Close the front door and don't answer the doorbell.
Send your wife out shopping or your husband to shoot hoops.

By eliminating factors that could cause disruptions, you are setting yourself up for success in the next step.

(6) Never lose focus on the task at hand.

Keep on keeping on. Don't allow yourself unnecessary breaks, as they will deplete your time and energy, and may even divert your attention away from the goal and onto something else completely.

Set an alarm to go off when your session will be over, and remain attentive until the alarm sounds.

If you find that you are having trouble staying focused, then decrease the time allotted for the smaller sessions. Instead of working 4 hours, try 3 hours...or instead of 3 hours, try 2 1/2...

(7) Show yourself some love.

When you complete a goal, you should reward yourself. Get a pedicure, play a round of golf, go cow tipping - whatever makes you happy and relaxed. And you will enjoy the moment even more knowing that you have taken another giant step toward getting organized!

So, let's review the steps...

L - List every task.
E - Establish priority order.
S - Select the most important task and start with it.
S - Set a time limit.
O - Omit distractions.
N - Never lose focus.
S - Show yourself some love.

"[My mom] was big on cleaning stuff, which is actually a disservice in a way. Because when I got my first place I had pizza boxes and Coca-Cola bottles all over the place. I just didn't have those skill sets, I was like, 'Wow, this is weird because usually I put this down and tomorrow it's gone, but this thing ain't going anywhere.' "
Actor Vince Vaughn
Source: World Entertainment News Network

"I am the most disorganized person, but I would rather be that than have somebody looking after me like a nanny. It would be freaky."
Actress Keira Knightley
Source: www.contractmusic.com

"I'm not very good at cleaning up and doing the homemaker thing."
Singer Gwen Stefani
Source: Cosmopolitan

"Separate bathrooms is always a really great idea. Mine is so messy, I'd absolutely hate for my husband to realize just how incredibly cluttery I can be."
Actress Catherine Zeta-Jones
Source: www.allgreatquotes.com

"I'm very disorganized. It's a great shame for me. The only organizational skills I ever developed involved using a Filofax."
Actress Uma Thurman
Source: In Style

People tend to put off organizing because it seems so daunting - too much stuff and too little time!

The key is to eat away at the mess, little by little, until it all disappears.

Start small - a corner of the kitchen, a shelf in the closet, or a cabinet in the bathroom. Start short - 20 minutes.

Let me tell you about the two main techniques I like to use. (It's true! I won't lie to you...even I need some motivation to organize sometimes!)

(1) I put on my favorite tunes and tell myself to work through 4-5 songs max. The music motivates me to keep plugging away and it takes my mind off the fact that I am working.

(2) During an hour-long TV show, there will be several commercial breaks. Instead of watching the commercials, which are normally a tremendous waste of time, I will work through them by focusing on something that needs organizing.

After a month of 20 minute sessions or weekly TV shows, you will start to see great progress and that will spur you on even more!

As Scarlet O'Hara so famously said in Gone With the Wind, "Fiddly dee, I'll worry about that tomorrow!" And if you want to have a hectic morning, then you should definitely try to emulate her.

But if you want to have a smooth morning routine, I would suggest a little planning and prep the night before...

(1) Select your clothes.
Pick out your clothes for the next day. Iron anything that needs it. Don't forget accessories: jewelry, cuff links, hose, socks, shoes, panties, boxers, scarf, tie, or purse. If you have kids, the same should be done with their outfits.

(2) Pack your bags.
Fix your lunch, get your gym bag ready, and make sure all necessary items for the next day are tucked into your briefcase, backpack, or purse. Again, if children are in the picture, then their bags should be prepared as well.

(3) Check your planner.
Look over tomorrow's activities. This will refresh your memory about must-do items or things you need to take with you the next day.

(4) Collect your stuff.
Place your keys, cell, wallet, purse, laptop, briefcase, etc. in one spot, preferably close by your door. It's a good idea to make this staging ground near an electrical outlet, so battery-powered items can recharge overnight.

(5) Get some sleep.
Go to bed in time to sleep 8 hours (or whatever your body requires to be rested). Otherwise, you are guaranteed to hit the snooze and sleep later than you should!

10. Leave piles of laundry on your bedroom floor.

9. Avoid taking Fluffy for a walk because you can't find her leash.

8. Forget to buy your favorite snack at the store because you didn't make a grocery list.

7. Miss your favorite band's concert because you didn't budget wisely and couldn't afford to go.

6. Be late for work because you misplaced your keys.

5. Get a ticket from the cops because you were driving with expired tags.

4. Disappoint your boss because you couldn't find last month's TPS Report.

3. Miss your cousin's destination wedding in Paris because you lost your passport.

2. Accidentally toss your college transcripts that proved you did get one "A" in your life, even if it was just aerobics...

1. Misplace your naked baby photos!

This page is a small sampling of what you'll find on my other websites:

Home Organization Online: Your complete guide to an organized home.

Get Organized: A blog about all things organized, including motivation, time management, productivity, and organizing in pop culture.

Clutterbugs: Anything and everything about Clutterbugs professional organizing products and services.

At any of these sites, you can sign up to get your own copy of the FREE Tip Kit, which includes over 50 ways to boost your organizing savvy!

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