Organize 365 Podcast

Today's podcast came from a reader's submission, "Now that I no longer have kids' schedules dictating my time, I have no clue how to start planning MY time." I find this is SO true. When I have very little time, I manage my time and tasks well. When I feel like I have "all the time in the world," I waste almost all of it. In this podcast, I am diving deep into how we look at the time we have and how to make our own goals and deadlines to live the life we want. I'd love to walk you through how to set and start your home organization plan in motion. Please join me in an upcoming webinar. https://organize365.com/mindset-webinar/ You can view all the productivity podcasts here: https://organize365.com/productivity/

Basements and storage areas are the easiest places to hide treasures we aren't sure if we still want and items we don't know how to properly get rid of. Today, I am revisiting this space with more ideas to help you tackle your storage monster. And with the winter holidays just around the corner, I have a challenge for you and some tips on scaling back and organizing your holiday decorations. You can find more storage organizing posts and podcasts here: https://organize365.com/home-storage-and-organization-ideas/

This summer, I took the 10 Weeks To An Organized Move blog series and organized it into a free eBook resource. This is now located in the Productive Home Solution

Once you have your tasks divided out by type, then it's time to find new pockets of time to accomplish your to-do list! Here are 10 ways I have been able to find more time in the last 10 years: Watch less TV. Limit my time on social media. Turn off my phone notifications. Shorten the amount of time I spend straightening up in the morning. Smoosh household tasks together. Skip household tasks all together on one day each week. Get up early or stay up late. Hire help and use that time on your focused work. Trade a day with a friend or use dates to knock out to-do's. Work faster and accept that done is better than perfect. Listen to this week's podcast to hear how I did – or didn't - use each of these strategies in different phases of my life. For all links to all the posts in the productivity series go here:

Once you have streamlined and moved most of your household tasks to large chunks of time in your calendar, you can now start to use 5 minute snippets of time to knock off some of the repetitive routine tasks on your list. This opens up more valuable chunks of time to get done bigger - and more valuable - projects. I know it sounds kind of counterintuitive, but if you are always doing little tasks here and there, you never feel done. If you have a 4-hour time block set aside to do those tasks and can knock 30 minutes off during the week through six 5-minute chunks, you feel accomplished and organized! Here are twenty tasks I do in 5-minute pockets of time to get you started thinking about what your twenty tasks will be: Start a load of laundry Empty the dishwasher Fold a load of laundry Clean off the kitchen counter Do the dishes Clean out a shelf in the pantry Empty all the trash cans Pick up toys in the family room Collect all the towels and start the laundry Vacuum a room Delete email and voicemail from your phone Change your furnace filter Take items up or downstairs Go through your mail and open it all Write a thank you note Book a doctor appointment Refill soap dispensers Clean out 1 drawer Shred paper Put 10 things away Use those minutes you spend talking on the phone or waiting for people knocking off your repetitive tasks!

All work is NOT created equal. Before you listen to the podcast this week, make a giant list of all the tasks you want and need to get done. Then listen in to discover how to re-organize your to-do list to get the most done. There are 4 kinds of tasks that end up on my to-do list. Here is a brief synopsis of each one: 1. Ideas - Oh boy, do I have a BUNCH of ideas! Instead of putting my ideas on my to-do list, I jot the idea on a scrap of paper and toss it into my Sunday Basket. Then every 2-3 weeks, I read through my ideas and 80% end up getting tossed in the garbage. 2. Repetitive tasks I can be easily distracted from while doing them - Laundry, dishes, bill paying, cooking, grocery shopping, yard work, etc. These never-ending repetitive tasks can easily be done while listening to a podcast or beside my husband or kids while chatting with them. I save these tasks for Sundays and evenings when the family is home. 3. Focused work - These are the big things on your to-do list that would make a difference in your home, family, or career, but they require silence and focused work to get them done. Often, these are the items that move from list to list because we don't have the time to do them. NEWS FLASH, the time is never going to magically appear. Sorry. To change your life and get big things done takes prioritization and time. Start by finding 30 minutes a day to put toward your focused work. Just ONE goal. Then work your way up to 2-4 hours a day. This is NOT easy, but SO worth it! It will feel weird pulling that time from other areas, but once you accomplish one goal you will be hooked! 4. Thinking time - This is not a to-do on your list, but I find if I do not have any time for my mind to wander - while I am driving, walking the dog, or doing the dishes - I get cranky. I need time to think and dream about possibilities and solutions. I am an entrepreneurial creative type and we need lots of time to think. You might need some planned thinking time, too! For all the links to all the posts in the productivity series go here: www.organize365.com/productivity

Discover how reusable checklists can revolutionize your routines! From annual beach packing to weekly resets, the host shares practical examples that save time and stress. Explore systematic monthly and yearly checklists for managing home, family, and even pets. Learn how to capture recurring tasks effectively and plan annual chores and expenses. Plus, find inspiration to create personalized lists that suit your needs and keep you organized!

The Mindset of Organization: Take Back Your House One Phase at a Time has launched on Amazon. This book will help you identify the phase of life you are in, and will help you to learn the skills of organizing that are needed at that level. I look forward to helping YOU get organized!

Step 2 in becoming more productive is to take your Sunday Basket to the next level. This is part two of Sunday Basket 2.0 It's time to add some planning time to the Sunday Basket. Once you have all your actionable to do's chosen for the coming week, group the tasks that make sense to do together. Like all the errands. Then using the Sunday Basket planning printables decide which days you will do each of your tasks. Stack your tasks to get the most done in a short amount of time. Download the Sunday Basket Planning Printable at www.organize365.com/productivity Join me on Facebook www.organize365.com/>Facebook All the posts in this series will be linked at www.organize365.com/productivity

Why do you want to be more productive? It is easier to find time when you know what you will do with it. Step 2 in becoming more productive is to take your Sunday Basket to the next level. This is part one of Sunday Basket 2.0 Start to write down EVERY thing you want to do or remember and put those in the Sunday Basket. And start to track your time. What tasks or activities could you eliminate in order to make more time in your schedule to reach your productivity goal? Join me on Facebook www.organize365.com/Facebook All the posts in this series will be linked at www.organize365.com/productivity