The Life Organizers Top 5 Organizing Tips

1. Use 1 calendar (Digital OR Paper)
   

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1. Appointments
2. To Do’s
3. Reminders

Does your calendar work for you? Do you use multiple calendars? It does not matter if you use digital or paper. Use what works best for you and use it consistently and religiously. In addition to appointments schedule some of your To Do’s in your calendar such as (drop items at Habitat for Humanity or the dry cleaners). You are more likely to accomplish your To Do items if they are scheduled. Having a list of To Do’s is highly recommended.

2.     Passcodes in 1 Place

1. System for passcodes
2. Last Pass or other password manager program recommended

Do you use the same password for every account? Do you struggle to create passwords and struggle more to find them when you need them? Stop the insanity and come up with a system. Experts advise not to use the same password for every account. When you use a password manager program you only have to remember 1 password and the program creates very strong passwords and stores all of your passwords in a secure online vault. Here is an article with additional tips on passwords by Connect Safely.org.

If you hate digital use a notebook or the back of an address book or Rolodex to keep track of them.

3..   Inventory Digital Files

1. Laptop Computer, I pad, phone, Google Drive, One Drive, I Cloud, Evernote, Dropbox and more….so many more.
2. Searching for a digital file folder only works if you are searching in the correct program
3. Make a Plan to Keep Specific Files in the Same Place

Do you store file folders in multiple places? Most people do. If you are searching for a file folder in Google Drive but it is saved in Dropbox you won’t be able to find it. Work on a plan to organize your digital file folders. I need to do this too. What program is working best for you? Use as few places as possible for storing files. Take the time to inventory what files or where. An Excel worksheet works great for this. Digital Clutter is a huge problem.  This is a good article on how to protect and organize digital files.

4.     Plan Ahead & Set Goals

Spend your time wisely, creating personal and business goals. Spending time evaluating what is going well, what can be improved upon, and what you should do in the future is vital. Some people spend their entire lives allowing life to dictate and navigate their future instead of personal intention and goals.    

5.     Just Do It! – Daily, Weekly, Quarterly and Annual Maintenance

Maintenance is not fun but it is necessary. What do I mean by maintenance? Putting things away in a designated place and creating places for things when they don’t exist. This procedure applies to file folders and practically everything else you use including tools, clothing…stuff! Just imagine if your digital files went to a To Be Filed box every time you used them. That is a very scary thought. Paper files often end up in a To Be Filed box, or even worse, they end up somewhere else entirely….the black hole.  They need to be filed as soon as possible to keep clutter at bay.    

Adele Gross
Life Organizer

Copyright All Rights Reserved
December 29 2016

There are so many Apps! In June of 2014 Apple iTunes and Google both had 1.2 Million Apps according to Tech Crunch.com. That number is just a little overwhelming….. If you are the least bit intimidated by the vast majority of Apps…like me, you will appreciate this list.

This is a list of Professional Organizer Approved Apps. Apps can help us organize and keep track of so many things, such as, mileage, recipes, documents, maps, other people’s business cards, projects, schedules and so much more. Some of my favorites are Evernote, Drop Box, and Card Star.

If you are curious about Apps; I recommend going to iTunes or Google, type in a category in the search bar, and see what is available.  Apps are easy to install and uninstall, so no harm done if you don't like it.

Picmonkey:
Edit, touchup, design and collage for photos.

Picsart:
Free Photo Editing, Drawing and Sharing with a Global Community.

Easy Measure:
Measure objects with your phone camera

Bellhops:
They supply local people to help you move heavy furniture around your home or move into a new home.

TinyScan:
Turn your phone into a portable document scanner. Scan docs, receipts, and notes into PDF.

Milebug:
Mileage and Expense Tracker

Waze:
World’s largest community-based traffic and navigation app

Rainaware:
This App tells you how much longer the rain is expected to last. Great for outdoor activities

CardStar:
Organize all of your store reward cards. Take photos of them and store in your phone then you can throw away all those little annoying cards.

The 5 Best Personal Assistant Apps to Help Organize Your Life:
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/25417/20150109/5-best-personal-assistant-apps-help-organize-life.htm

Adele Gross
Organizing Consultant
Simple Solution Organizing
[email protected]
www.simplesolutionorganizing.com
706-714-1314

 Siri can read your texts to you. Siri can send you an email or text (to remind you to do something). Siri can schedule appointments in your calendar, make phone calls for you. Help you find your way home or other places, and locate restaurants.

It's a good idea to learn more about the tools we use everyday....and paying a lot of money for. Here are a couple of articles to read Siri tricks and 10 Siri Tricks to make you more Productive.

I have definitely had problems with Siri but the more you use it the better it gets. When Siri pronounces a name wrong you can correct it. There is trial and error and best to practice using it in your home, not while your driving. That could be a prescription for Road Rage. 

Technology the more we research our tools the better.

Adele Tusson-Gross