Taking Back the Time I Waste on Social Media

We love social media. Some of us admit to being downright addicted to checking our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts many, many times a day. I’ve come to realize all my social media “checking” comes at a big cost. This cost is time, energy, stress, and anxiety.

Josh and Ryan, aka “The Minimalists,” spoke at The Neptune theater in Seattle recently, and told their story of how they rescued their lives from debt and consumerism to a huge captive audience. It was an instructional evening in many ways, but my main take away from the evening was this: minimalism is much more than the purging of physical stuff or rejecting consumerism (although that is a large part of it). Josh and Ryan could call their presentation: “How to Live a Deliberate Life”: ridding ourselves of everything in our lives that weighs us down, stresses us out, imprisons us, distracts us, kidnaps our thoughts, confuses us, overwhelms us, or keeps us from being able to do only those things which are truly important to us.

Productivity Tips, social media

Part 2 – Does the Thought of Tax Preparation Make You Panic? How We Can Help

Unless you are an accountant, for many of us, filing our tax returns ranks on the list of fun activities right next to root canals. Some of us get through this yearly chore one way or another and file our taxes by the deadline.

For others, it is not so easy. Many Americans who struggle with this deadline may end up paying hefty penalties for filing their taxes late or not at all. There could be many potential reasons for filing late, but for some, the reason is simply disorganization.

All over the United States families struggle with the volume of paper coming into the home. Catalogues, magazines, kids’ schoolwork and projects, work papers, receipts, oh and – mail, enter our homes daily.

income taxes, paperwork, Professional Organizer

How Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) is Killing Your Productivity

Every second of everyday, we are barraged with TV and internet ads, special sales, loyalty program offers and marketing messages cleverly designed to instill FOMO and to make us want to buy “stuff”. Of course, we need some “stuff”, but it takes serious mental strength to resist the FOMO and the constant pull toward over-buying.

“May we have your email address so that you can receive special promotions?”

Every time we visit a store (physical or online) we are asked for our email address so that we can receive coupons and special offers. We give out our email, we join the loyalty program because we might miss out on a good sale or promotion if we don’t. Even if we don’t frequent a particular store more than once a year, we don’t want to miss out on something special, so we sign up.

Productivity Tips

The ADHD Guide: Getting to Work on Time

Those who have adult ADHD rely on routines to get through what they need to do, to free up time for what they want to do. Mornings can be especially tough. Even an ingrained morning routine is hard to follow when you may not feel fully awake. The following are strategies that will help speed up your morning:

Two alarm system

Get two alarm clocks. If one alarm clock fails to fully rouse you, consider placing a second alarm out of arms reach – such as on your dresser- so that you are forced to get out of bed to turn off the alarm.

ADHD, Productivity Tips

Paper or Digital Calendar: Which is Better?

The short answer is of course that it comes down to a matter of individual preference. There are advantages and disadvantages to both the paper or digital type of calendars. We love all things digital, and many digital calendar apps are great, but there are many instances where the paper calendar diary works just as well, if not better. Our preferences may change over time and depending on the task at hand.

apps, time management

Goal Setting Strategies for Adults with ADHD

Many adults who have ADHD are curious, intelligent, resourceful, imaginative, genuine, hyper-focusing, out of the box thinkers. This is especially true when they are working on something they find novel and exciting, interesting and fun! But when it comes to tasks they find horribly mundane and boring – ADHDers often can’t get going, they struggle, they get distracted and derailed. Even getting through daily responsibilities can be tough. They may set huge goals (or too many goals) for themselves but just can’t execute on them. They may have great intentions but come up short. Sometimes, they get discouraged and frustrated, and give up on setting goals altogether. This is not caused by a lack of effort; it’s caused by brain chemistry!

If this sounds at all familiar, help lies in customizing time management strategies to work specifically for you and making those strategies part your daily routine.

There are some things in our lives that energize us and some things that sap our energy. Only you know what types of activities recharge your batteries – thus making you more mentally available to get work done.

Think about your best days, your most energy filled, most productive days. What helped you feel so good? Were you well rested? Did you get to exercise? Did you have a great conversation with a friend? The answer is different for every person. When we are aware of what energizes us, we can seek to optimize that energy and harness it toward more productivity.

ADHD, Goals, Productivity Tips

Five is the Magic Number (on Your To-Do List)

There is nothing like crossing items off our to-do lists to give us a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. But, what if your to-do list is more like a wish list – an unrealistic list of tasks and jobs that leaves you feeling overwhelmed and paralyzed instead of productive and accomplished? Your to-do list should be a tool that moves you forward, not quick sand that slowly pulls you under.

There are lots of ways to organize your tasks – color coding, by project/area, work vs home, etc. However, if you have a lot on your plate or you have trouble staying focused, it helps to have a smaller number of specific tasks that you really will be able to finish.

Five tasks = the magic number.

Productivity Tips, To Do List