Top 5 Organizing Tips for 2017

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

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