Posts Tagged ‘simplifying’

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Delegate: How To – At Home or for Your Work

Monday, October 10th, 2011

 

Become the delegation champion

Delegating – How to do it well. At home or at work. A common theme in client meetings/coaching these past weeks. My hope is that you’ll give this a try, a few times. It takes practice.Most of my delegating practice came from 20 years in business, much of it managing client accounts or managing departments. It’s actually pretty fascinating to figure out a good balance of making this work. Even better is what you get to do with the time you free up!

 

Tip #1 What could you possibly delegate?

Start small. Choose a low risk, small task and delegate it. So your child might start putting his/her own clothes in a hamper, help with folding or remind you of when the timer’s gone off — one of these, not all. Break it down for low risk and build up from there. Or at work, delegate filing papers (after you review how your system works), but not invoices/financials.

If you still can’t figure it out, take another perspective: WHY are you thinking about delegating? What could do with the time you free up? More creative strategy at work? Implement new ideas? Calmer household? Easier schedule/less stress?

Or, maybe you’re interested in delegating what you know you always procrastinate on, but which does need to be done.

Tip #2 Who could handle this?

If you’re not sure the office mate/child/adult can handle what you’d like to delegate, take a step back. Is the task too big? Does the person have the skills? If not, how could you teach those skills – so that someday, you can delegate the task? Or, is there an easier, quicker task you can delegate to get started with this delegating thing?

Tip#3 Expectations – Yours, I  mean

Be clear in your expectations of WHAT needs to get done, the goal, the end game, the results.

Let go of HOW the task needs to get done. That’s what you’re delegating. Let it go. At work & home.

If you believe this is compromising  your standards, it may be! But what are you getting in return for delegating, and is THAT worth lowering your standards, just a bit?

Does the task really truly need all the time you’ve been putting into it? Maybe you’ve made the task/system efficient enough that  less time is just the right thing to do.

Tip#4 What are your “red flags” – What limits DO need setting?

Consider ahead of time what your limits are & communicate these.

Examples: Please don’t spend over ‘x’ amount.

Let me know how much you get done in 1 hour & let’s go from there.

Don’t worry about (or do worry about) separating the laundry into darks/whites.

Please make sure when you put away the pans after washing them, that I can reach this and that one easily.

If you don’t educate on what’s a deal breaker, the task will return to you. And how would that feel?

 

Delegation is a muscle that needs an attentive workout. The first few times you try delegating may not be 100% successful because this does take practice.

Think about why delegating is important to you. What you hope to get in return. Let that motivate you to try again.

You didn’t learn to play the piano in a few lessons, or write a great story or fold the laundry the way your parents wanted you to.

Why would involving another human being in your work be any less easier? But it can be more joyful, too … :)

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Declutter in 5 Minutes: Your Ideas List

Friday, March 11th, 2011

I needed someone’s business card this morning. I only keep the most recent cards, before I’ve put them into Outlook Contacts, which I live by.

I found the card, but I took literally 3 minutes to look through my stack of about 20 cards. Why do I have 20?

One presentation this week and one networking group = 20 cards to decide on.

So I made decisions on who gets to live in Outlook Contacts, because I actually do want  to keep up. (And, here’s another hint: I put a task reminder into my calendar to check in monthly with groups of or certain individuals. I would never naturally remember to do this. )

What else can you declutter in just a few minutes?

Why bother with the little stuff?

Two reasons  (1) Little stuff grows up. Into big piles of stuff.

And (2) the little stuff thinks it’s hiding, but it’s really not. It lives inside our drawers, closets, on our shelves.

Though it’s behind closed doors, we KNOW ABOUT IT.

We remember there’s stuff there and we feel … guilty, annoyed, like a fake. The monkey’s on your back.

And the little stuff adds up: I spent 2 minutes today, but if I’d let that pile get bigger, I would’ve used up more time looking for this one card.

When there’s more  stuff to look through, there’s more wasted time in looking for the one thing you really want.

Little stuff decluttering ideas

And by the way, you will be amazed at how great this makes you feel.  On top of the  world.

These are ideas which would take from 3 – 15 minutes.

  • A junk drawer.
  • Business cards stack.
  • Pencil tins or those pencil drawers that have more pens and pencils than you’ll ever use.
  • One section of your recipe box/book.
  • One bin of arts and  crafts materials, or one shelf.
  • Receipts.
  • Mail.
  • One  file folder.
  • One drawer in the bathroom.
  • Your utensils holder in the kitchen.
  • The linen closet (maybe 10 minutes here).
  • One pantry shelf.
  • One box of DVD’s, movies, photos.

When –Make it easy

The easiest way, so that you hardly notice you are decluttering, is as I did it in my business cards example.

You go looking for something and you declutter that small space.

You put away the laundry – and declutter one drawer.

You cook dinner tonight, and while you’re waiting on a part of the meal, declutter the utensils holder or your recipe box.

When you file something away next  time, take 2 minutes and weed out a file.

You sit at your computer on Monday — and declutter your file folder. Just one.

Set a timer if you need to or if you’re not cognizant of time going by so well.

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A Life in Context

Friday, January 28th, 2011

It would be fascinating to be an archivist. Short of that, I get to work with one on a workshop we’ve developed together over the past year.

Because of my collaboration with Melissa Mannon at  ArchivesInfo, I have a new set of questions as well as a new perspective – particularly related to items of family history.

I typically ask people to consider sentimental and financial value of items they’re not sure whether to keep  (among many other questions; I’m simplifying.).

When we simplify our things, it behooves us to separate emotions from the objects. It’s also useful to take emotion out of the decision making process when possible. Otherwise, we tend to keep more than we wanted to.

Since working with Melissa, I’ve  broadened my perspective to include historic value, a fact versus an emotion. People often say that their things don’t have much historic value. “We don’t have anyone famous in our family. So … what historic value are you talking about?”

In 150 years, how will people know about us, how we live, what was important, our culture, mores? How do we know about those who came before us? We document our culture today by what we preserve for the future.

In your local newspaper, you’ve probably seen requests for identifying people in “old” photographs. They’re not famous people. The photos aren’t that old sometimes (1940′s, 1950′s high school photographs appear in my paper). That’s us.

How do you  know what’s valuable to the family, to the  communities to which your family belonged, to documenting the culture we live in?

So as you simplify your life, think about these new questions.

  • Would you like to know that you’ve shared beyond your own family and contributed as a cultural heritage partner?
  • How important is it to you to be the family’s collector or historian? How do you feel about this role?
  • Has someone in your family asked to have these items?
  • Are there other materials with the same information? (Copies in better condition? Information in a different format?)
  • Do they reflect an important activity of the times?
  • Do you know the accurate story associated with these items? Or, could you find out more information from a family member?
  • Were they created by someone with a special connection to an event?

I’m very excited about our workshop; we’ve had great participation to date. And, it merges my interest  in exploring our past, passing on legacies and family history, with my specialty in organizing for your next chapter- moving on by simplifying. Melissa’s expert knowledge of what, why and how to record and preserve our history mixes beautifully.

Oh, and plus I get to hear Melissa’s expertise each time we prep and give the program.

If this is your interest, we have a facebook page called Life in Context and are building a “family collectors” community there.

Resources:

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More from My Interview with Barbara Winter

Monday, January 3rd, 2011

Look around wherever you are, at home or at your office. Let your eyes rest on each item. If you had the choice again today, would you buy each item again? Do you remember the story about each item? Is the item part of your last chapter or the current one?

In another part of my interview with Barbara Winter, we talked about “our stuff.” What it means to us. (For the first part, click here.) Barbara is wrapping up a move of her home and her business. I was curious to know what she had found out about herself with respect to her things. A life event such as moving gives us greater clarity. b-winter-photo

Observation from Barbara: Just the way work can expand to fill our time, so can our stuff expand to fill the available space. As she began preparing to move, she saw items in her storage spaces she hadn’t seen in a long time – “out of sight is out of mind” was the expression which came to mind.

So the question she asked was: “If it’s been hidden away and I haven’t missed it – does it get to make the move?”

Watch how your stored away items stay in their resting places. Maybe you don’t need some of them anymore. Barbara used to move more often, so each move was the natural event trigger to winnow down. But it had been awhile this time.

Observation – Barbara keeps the item if it “still has a use in my life” or if it “still has an important story.” When you’re moving onto your next chapter as Barbara is, these are two great questions. What you want is some “no regrets” questions.

Observation – Books were the hardest.  The hardest part for most people in winnowing down is often items with sentimental value or items which are close to your values. With books, it’s often a value of curiosity and/or lifelong learning.  Two values you’ll hear often in Barbara’s online presence.

You know you have the knowledge so do you need to keep the physical book? The key, which you’ll notice Barbara does, is to read, share the gems, and leverage what you’ve learned. Collect for a purpose. Another key is to focus on finding great new homes versus “getting rid of” anything. You loved it once after all.

Observation – Being at peace with yourself in your surroundings is crucial

If you’re self-employed, you have more choices about your office environment than when you worked for someone else, so take advantage of this source of inspiration. Barbara wrote about home offices on her blog and inspired me.

When I looked around my home office, I realized I needed to move upstairs, to more light. This year, it was a repainting and renovating of this office – from paint to rugs to a fabric bulletin board and my vision board – where I can actually see it this year!

Barbara calls her new home and home office her “stop in between adventures.” And she passionately commented that she wants to be a “really outrageous grandmother” this coming year, too!

So between the books, the concept of her “cottage in between adventures” and being a really outrageous grandmother, I can imagine what her new home and office will look like, once she’s all moved in.

So how about it. What would we notice about your home or office if we visited today? Seriously – Do they reflect who you are and what’s important to you?

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Hung Up on Hanging Around: Why is it so Hard to Organize My Clothes?

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

Chrysanthemums“Do you remember the day when your pocketbook color was supposed to match the color of your shoes?

How can this burnt orange pocketbook EVER match a pair of MY shoes?“

Question from a woman in her late 50′s/early 60′s, standing in the pocketbooks aisle as I shopped for a Springtime pocketbook.

I do remember those days. And I don’t own a pair of burnt orange shoes. I settled on navy blue, no surprise if you know me. And it won’t match, but I’m thinking that’s not so important anymore.

And last night, I learned from someone at Black Forest (took myself out to dinner) … her daughters and their friends didn’t know what mom meant when she suggested a color of “hose.”

So our clothing. Why is it so hard to keep it to a manageable amount and organized so we can find what we know we have? And what to do?

Also see my post earlier this week on 10 tips to let go more easily.

Why is it so hard — and what to do about it.

You can’t get started.

Consider why it might be hard. No time? Seems overwhelming to go through the whole closet?

Ideas that work: Set a timer for 30 minutes and just do that much. Choose one category, like shirts and just do that much. As you put away clothes at the end of the day, look at a few hangers to the right or left and just decide on a few at a time.  Invite an organizing buddy to support you; work together for a few hours and see if that motivates you to continue. Create a deadline, such as “I’ll get the closet done by the time Mary shows up next week for her visit.”

You spent good money for it.

Ideas that work: If you’re not wearing it often, then are you really getting your money’s worth? (I’m not talking evening wear, New Year’s even, once-a-year clothing here.) Do you have a friend who could get your money’s worth out of the item? Be great to see it on her, so you’d get value from giving away something precious and seeing it. Or go the opposite way — if it fits, and you want to wear it more often, what could you buy to go with it so you’d increase the chances you’d wear the item. And is that worth the money to you?

It’s hard to give up on the last chapter and move on.

Ideas that work: Who are you today? What lifestyle do you live? Compare your lifestyle to how you want to look. What’s the gap and why is there a gap? Have you moved onto a new chapter of your life and are just realizing the difference in clothing you need? Maybe you don’t want to entirely give up on the last chapter of your life  yet? You don’t need to. Organizing and simplifying is not about getting rid of everything. It’s about reducing not eliminating. So keep some of your favorites from your last chapter. As you go through them, you’ll figure out which are the favorites to bring forward into your new chapter. You can also keep photos of your in those clothes, particularly if they are from long ago memories.

Too much laundry.

Ideas that work: Questions to ask yourself: Do you have a system for doing laundry: the sorting, certain days of the week, how everyone in the household can help, where the folding is done, who puts away their clothes.  Do you keep the cycles going or forget about them? Use a timer you bring with you around the house to keep the cycles moving along and not dragging on forever.

Do you think you might have too many clothes? “Too many”  is a subjective term, so ask yourself if the time you spend IN your clothes is in balance with the amount of time you spend dealing with your clothing — dry cleaning, laundry time, looking for things, ironing, etc. It’s a balance.

When was the last time you weeded out? Look honestly at what you have; do you wear most everything fairly frequently? For some people, it helps to choose a number of items. Give yourself a boundary: One woman chose 12 for the number of shoes for the season. Another client used drawer space as a physical boundary: the drawer was for the work-around-the-house, kick around and work in the yard clothes. She’d allow one drawer for his/hers. Flower 06

Our size(s).

Ah, the messages we hear, whether from media, family, friends or ourselves.  You get to some age or stage or mindset when you decide what your size is going to be. You decide on the type of lifestyle, eating and exercise habits you want in your life.

Ideas that work: But the easiest way to give away the other sizes? Invite a friend or family member who is that size and ask her to help you go through your closet. You both benefit. You get the whole closet done. She gets new clothes and maybe a lunch or glass of wine at the end of the day! If you don’t have a friend that size, please check into local organizations where you can donate. choose the organization before you start going through your closet. It will be far easier to let go if you can picture where your clothes are going to. Some clients will visit there first, and then go home, all fired up!

Enjoy  Springtime with the time  you’ve added to your life by reorganizing ~!


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