New residential website.

Over the years, my clients have asked if I did residential organizing.  I have always struggled with this question, because it definitely takes a different way of thinking and marketing strategy.  But truth be told, yes!  I do work with people in their homes.  So check out my new website, www.ResidentialOrganizing.com.  If the project exceeds my expertise, I know plenty of organizers to refer you to, so I’m happy to help you.

Are you getting stronger or weaker?

Every time I see  someone say, “I’ll put it here for now.”, I cringe.  But every time, they say no to that thought and go the extra step and put away that piece of paper, or deal with that  that email, they become more organized.  Every time you put off by “putting it here for now”, you weaken yourself and make it so much harder to get organized and find what you need the next time you look for something.  Your energy just gets completely zapped when you try to get back to being organized.

Organization is made up of many small decisions.  We gradually develop habits of what we can realistically handle and what we should say no to because our life becomes chaotic when we hit overload.  As we work towards getting organized and make decisions about what is necessary to keep, what is really trivial and can be purged, we become so much stronger. 

Since no one really is perfect, we don’t need to become discouraged when our office or our homes get a little out of control.  We are learning how to do things differently and change will come with slips or mistakes, and enough of those will eventually teach us onto our way to success.  Growth is always slow, but if we keep our eyes on our vision of organization, we will see the results.

Tip of the Day – Getting Organized Isn’t Always Easy

Truth be told, getting organized is not easy, but it is much easier than the alternative.  The reason you think it is easy to not care about the piles of paper, the projects not being addressed is because it’s become a habit that actually feels comfortable.  In actuality, the stress of not dealing with the misplaced papers, the missed deadlines is hard on you emotionally, physically (we get headaches, sick to our tummies), and often financially (and today who can afford extra losses there!). 

When you get organized, you actually break old habits and learn new ones.  The transition will require concentration and dedication (like the discipline I talked about earlier).  You will need to think about being organized pretty much all the time.  You don’t want to  start veering off into distraction of sloppiness at a whim.

Some people have tried to just “clean it all up” and really try to do it differently – almost like a diet, or a bad realationship, saying  ”It’ll be different this time”.    But without professional help or at least the guidance of a good system, you will find that you end up right where you started.  Some people are lucky and are able to get organized from the beginning and are able to move on with their lives.  Whatever your experience, know that you are not alone and that one of the keys is to know that each person is unique and you need to find a system that works for your needs and your lifestyle.

If you’ve been following my story, you’ll know that getting organized has nver been a natural way of living for me.  It has always been a process that I tweak and improve over time.  My systems change as I change, and very possibly, so will your systems. 

(C) 2009.  Strategize & Organize.  Anne McGurty.

Discipline is constructive rather than destructive

This morning as I was having my personal quiet time, I came across a reading on “Discipline”.  What caught my attention was how it related to people I deal with sometimes getting organized who feel that discipline is a form a punishment – completely missing the more constructive meaning of the word.  Discipline, as my reading defined it, is order, training, practice, study.  How true is that with getting organized.  Without it, our lives are ineffective and full of chaos. 

Discipline, like organization, is a tool of self-respect which can produce a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction.  I talk about this fact in my keynote, what image are your portraying?  One of discipline or one of chaos?  When we discipline ourselves to have an organized environment at work and at home, our heart sing because of the emotional freedom that we feel. 

We all have choices,  My experience has been it’s easier to accept the discipline of an ordered life.

(C) 2009.  Strategize and Organize.  Anne McGurty

50 Tips for Living with ADD/ADHD

Albert Einstein,  Nelson Rockefeller , Mozart , Gen. George Patton, the Wright Brothers , Leonardo da Vinci, John F. Kennedy, Cher, Whoppi Goldberg, Bruce Jenner , Tom Cruise, Charles Schwab , Henry Winkler , Danny Glover , F. Scott Fitzgerald , Walt Disney , John Lennon , Robin Williams , Louis Pasteur, George C. Scott  Winston Chruchill , Henry Ford and Dwight D. Eisenhower …

What do all these people have in common?  They all suffered from adult ADD.  Since I work with clients on disorganization, sometimes it’s difficult to get them on board with the processes that I teach and it clearly is because there are other issues, one of which may be ADD/ADDHD.  So I began to investigate a little bit more into the topic.  Since I’m not an expert in that area, my expertise is the process analysis and implementation, I decided to research on the topic of ADD/ADDHD.  I recently just finished the book  ”Driven to Distraction” by Edward M. Hallowell, MD and John J. Ratey, MD.   

What I took away from the book was quite surprising to me and I am grateful to have more knowledge and compassion to work with individuals who may or may not realize they have ADD/ADHD. 

Some of the tips I took away from the book whether you have this affliction or not, can be used with all of my clients who deal with disorganization in general.   I am sharing with you my favorites.

It’s not unusual that some days you can follow these tips, some days you can’t.  It’s all part of the treatment, a professional coach can help you reinforce.

1. Don’t try to do it alone.  Be sure you are working with a professional who can help you make change.
2. Educate yourself with support groups and associations.
3. Choose a coach – keep it light with humor, stay encouraged and on task.
4. Educate and involve others of your needs, i.e.,  your  family,  job, school , friends.
5. Your personality gets excited!  Give up the guilt over high stimulus behavior, just choose good outlets.
6. Listen to feedback from trusted others on your progress.   You may be a poor self observer.
7. Join or start a support group (you already sought them ought, take action, if you don’t like what’s out there, start one!)
8. Get rid of negativity – a good psychotherapist can help you if this transition is difficult.
9. Dont’ feel chained to conventional ways of coping.  Let go of the should be’s in your life, i.e., you should be an executive, doctor or lawyer.
10. Know that what you have is neurological, biological brain disorder, not a will based or neurosis, or weakness in character.
11. Try to help others with ADD. 
12. Incorporate performance management.  Establish external structure, make use of lists, notes, rituals, reminders, files, pattern planning .
13. Use pizazz, make your environment as peppy as can be, make organization stimulating, not boring, use color for visual memory
14. Regarding paperwork, OHIO, only handle it once (make a decision), respond once away, throw or file permanently  – respond on the spot.  (We might need to work on this one!)
15. Set up an environment to reward rather than deflate.
16. Acknowledge and anticipate collapse of projects, endings of relationship, problems.  Preparedness creates a lower stress environment.
17. Embrace challenges – better to be too busy than not busy enough
18. Make deadlines
19. Breakdown large tasks into small ones, give deadlines to small tasks
20. Prioritize rather than procrastinate.  If too many projects or tasks, first things first.
21. Accept the fear of things going too well, dont’ gum things up just for the excitement. 
22. Notice how and where you work best, on the train, listening to music, in a busy coffee shop.  Work in those conditions.
23. Know that it is ok to do 2 things at once, take a shower and think,  jog and plan your day.
24. Do what your good at, if it’s easy, that’s ok.
25. Leave time between engagements to gather your thoughts.  These mini breaks will ease the transition .
26. Keep a notepad in your car , by your bed,  jacket , pocketbook, you never know when you need to write something down.
27. Read with a pen in hand for marginal notes and the inevitable cascade of thoughts.
28. Mood managment:  Have structured blow out time, set time up every week with loud music or at the race track , feast, let loose in a  safe way.
29. Recharge your batteries, create daily waste time without feeling guilty, take a nap, or meditate.
30. Choose good helpful addictions, exercise, yoga!  Something positive. 
31. Understand mood changes and ways to manage.  They will change independently,  get refocused and don’t blame them, they will pass, make strategies, change settings, so you can move past them.
32. Recognize your internal cycles, ie., a.)  something startles your system, a change, disapoointment or success; b.)  the startle is followed by a mini panic; c.)  you try to deal with the panic with obsession or ruminating.. break the cycle with chain of friends to call, videos to watch, ways to exercise, punching bag , rehearse a few pep talks, the blues will pass
33. Learn how to name your feelings. 
34. Expect depression after success – the high stimulus is over, you  tend to miss the conflict or the chaos.
35. Learn symbols slogans or shorthand to label slip ups, misktake or moodswings – blonde moment!
36. Use time outs when upset or overstimulated
37. Learn how to advocate for yourself – get off the defensive
38. Avoid premature closure to a deal, conversion – dont cut to the chase too soon.
39. Avoid sugar (I’m sorry!)
40. Try to let a successful moment last and be over over time .
41. You may hyperfocus at times and sometimes it’s productive.  However,  be aware of the bad, imagined problems may be exagerrated.
42. Exercise vigourously and regularly – stick with it, it’ll reduce noise in the mind, it’ll soothe and calm the body.  Make it fun. 
43. Interpersonal life.  Make a good choice in a significatn other.
44. Learn to joke with yourself and others with yoru symptoms and impulsivelness.
45. Scehduel activiteis with friends and adhere to them faithfully.
46. Find and join groups where you are liked appreciated and enjoyed.
47. Dont stay too long where you arent undersood or enjoyed – demoralizing and draining, dont try to make it work.
48. Pay compliments, notice others, get social training
49. Set social deadlines, keep it organized.
50. Set time  daily to meditate (in the morning and at the end of the day) to focus on your intentions and and identfidy your successes for gratitute in the evening.

Again, I’m not an MD or a psychiatrist, this is my opinion as a productivity trainer and my takeaway from this book.  I thought this list was so valuable to offer as a baseline.  If you think you have issues with being disorganized (possibly suffering from ADD), this list identifies some techniques as a good start.   I also learned that it can be a very isolating disorder, so I encourage you to reach out to someone safe.  If you need a referral of where to start, let me know. 

(C) 2009 Strategize & Organize.  Anne McGurty

I have successfully migrated to Microsoft Exchange. No more synching my BlackBerry to my computer, no more double entry oversights! Yeah!

Off to do some marketing today, setting up a trade show booth at www.sadboc.org. Great audience to promote producivity training!

Have something you need to donate or recycle and don’t know where? Visit www.earth911.org. Type in your zip code for the closest location.

Always a great day when a client says – stop by my office and see what I’ve done – Sarah D shared her success organizing Tasks in Outlook

Just finished writing weekly ezine. I’m on a fitness theme… gained 7 pounds in North Carolina!