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Achieve Results at Home, At Work, and In Life
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 Welcome to the new subscribers since last issue! I have met a lot of wonderful people through my recent speaking events. One particularly interesting speaking event was my workshop on November 4th for Putnam-Northern Westchester Boces in Yorktown Heights, NY. The topic was "Dealing With Change," and as you are all well aware, November 4th was Election Day. What a thought-provoking and lively exchange the workshop turned out to be! And it was accompanied by a historic voter turnout at the polls. Now, that's change!
Speaking of change, I will soon be launching the newly designed LMOS website. It will offer the latest multi-media tools, such as audio and video clips, a comprehensive products and resources page, articles, and lots of other useful information designed to assist you on your organizing journey. Stay tuned for the launch! For a teaser, check out the video of my sign language interpretation of a reading from the soon-to-be-released memoir, Hands of My Father, by Myron Uhlberg. It presently appears on the About Lisa page of my website. As we progress on our "DECIDE to be Organized journey," this month's feature article focuses on Step 3 of the DECIDE process - Eliminate. For those of you just joining us, I encourage you to click on the link below to Past E-Zine Issues and review the DECIDE overview and steps 1 & 2 of the process. To further inspire you, I've added my all-time favorite organizing-related quote by Hans Hofman (many of you have heard me quote this phrase during organizing workshops!). As always, I welcome your comments. Enjoy!
Happy Thanksgiving!
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- November 12th - Presenting "Organizing & Time Management for the Entrepreneur" for the Entrepreneurial Assistance Program of Orange-Ulster Boces in Goshen, NY.
- December 2nd - Conducting "Sexual Harassment Awareness & Prevention" for employees of Suny Orange in Middletown, NY.
- December 11th - Presenting "Dynamic Communication & Effective Business Writing" to employees of the City of Yonkers.
- December 15th - Will be a guest expert for the Entrepreneurial Assistance Program Roundtable. Along with other business experts, I will be offering feedback to new entrepreneurs on their business plans and goals.
- January is National Get Organized Month! In honor of Get Organized Month, I will be launching several new programs designed to help clients that want to get better organized, but need to do so on a budget. The new DECIDE™ to be Organized Support Group will deliver cost-effective coaching on specific topics in a supportive and motivating group environment. Get inspiration, education, and action! Stay tuned for sign-up details (will first be offered locally in Orange County, NY). In addition, I will be setting up my first round of DECIDE™ to be Organized Teleclasses. Teleclasses are ideal for people that want to listen and learn in the comfort of their own home or office, or that are unable to attend a live organizing workshop. If there's a particular topic you would like to see offered, please let me know.
- Launches of Upcoming Products and Programs in 2009 - From Here to There: The Path to Getting Organized, my first audio and print series, will be launched in 2009. Check the Products page of my website for more details! In addition, I will be launching a second E-zine, "Next Level Business Success E-Zine -- For Small Businesses That Want to Think Big!" This E-zine will be geared towards professional organizers, and other small business owners, and is being created to meet a demand for quality business coaching information from a fellow organizer with a background as an attorney and trainer of entrepreneurs. If you want to receive the "Next Level Business Success E-Zine," be sure to send me an email!
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"The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak."
~ Hans Hofman
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DECIDE™ to be Organized: Step 2 - Eliminate
In September's feature article, I outlined the 6-step organizing process that I developed and use with my clients, DECIDE. In order to refresh your memory, here is an overview of the process:
This month, we will focus on Step 2, Eliminate. Eliminate is as much about saying no to tasks that do not further your goals, as it is about physically purging items from your home and office that you do not love, use often, or need. During this phase, you will need to spend time and energy thinking about, and ultimately purging, what is not serving you. One of the biggest obstacles to achieving organizing results is keeping everything and treasuring nothing. You must let the cream rise to the top to truly appreciate the gems. If everything is special, then essentially nothing is.
 Often times, people and organizations are faced with so many decisions that they become overwhelmed. Here are a few tools and tricks that I employ with my clients to assist them during the Eliminate phase:
- Broadly Define "Eliminate" - Think of eliminating items from your home and office, and tasks from your schedule, as a broad exercise. For example, eliminate may mean to purge an item altogether by discarding it (either in the trash or in the recycling bin). However, eliminate can also mean to donate items to those who could truly use them and may really need the items. It can also mean to purge items from your home or office in one format, but save them in another, as is the case when I have clients scan hard copy documents to electronic format. You can also freecyle items (check out freecycle.org), archive them to another location, box them up and assign them an expiration date, box them up and place them out of "rotation" temporarily to bring out at a future date, etc. There are many ways to eliminate other than truly trashing an item! Thinking broadly of how you can eliminate your clutter will help you rid your life, home, and office of even more.
- Start With a "First Pass" - If you are nervous about eliminating too much too quickly, start with a First Pass. This is an effective tool for people and organizations that need to take it slow, and tread carefully. You can always go back and purge or donate more later, but a slow and steady start will at least get you going. It all depends on your comfort level, which may change depending on the items to be purged. Sometimes, all you need is to start exercising your "purge" muscles to motivate you to keep going!
- Use "Meta Decisions" - A Meta decision is an umbrella-type decision that impacts all of the smaller decisions that come thereafter. It is made with the intention of impacting or replacing a number of future decisions. Thus, Meta decisions are crucial to organizing because they save the mental anguish and time involved with making hundreds of individual decisions one by one. For example, you can make a Meta decision to purge any business paperwork that is over 7 years old. Then, all you need to do as you are sorting is look at the dates. Anything that is older than 7 years automatically gets purged. This takes the guesswork out of reviewing and making a decision regarding each and every document. You can use Meta decisions with clothing ("I will not keep anything that I have not worn in the last 2 years"), magazines and newspapers ("If I have not read it in the last 3 months, it gets donated or thrown in the recycling bin!"), e-mail ("I will check email for 1 hour in the morning, 1 hour after lunch, and 1 hour in the evening only."), requests for social events ("I will commit to 3 social events this month only."), etc. Essentially, using Meta decisions is a clever way to establish rules and set boundaries. Try it! I guarantee it will free up some of your mental clutter, allowing you to purge more of your physical clutter.
So I challenge you to Eliminate as a way to simplify and move forward on the DECIDE™ journey. Next month, we will move onto Step 3, Categorize.
Until next month,
Copyright 2008 Lisa Montanaro
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEBSITE?
You can, as long as you use this complete statement: Copyright 2008. Lisa Montanaro, "The Solutions Expert," is Principal of LM Organizing Solutions, LLC, a professional services firm created in 2002 that offers professional organizing, business and life coaching, and motivational speaking to individuals and organizations. Lisa publishes the monthly "DECIDE™ to be Organized" E-zine, which offers free tips, articles, and advice on how to be more organized. Sign up today at www.LMOrganizingSolutions.com. |
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 PURSEKET - A GREAT HOLIDAY GIFT!
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| Lisa Montanaro, "The Solutions Expert," is the founder of LM Organizing Solutions, LLC, a professional services firm created in 2002 that offers professional organizing, business and life coaching, and motivational speaking to individuals and organizations. If you enjoyed this E-zine, you will love Lisa's soon-to-be-launched audio and print series, From Here to There: The Path to Getting Organized. Pre-order your copy today! To explore how LMOS can improve your home or work environment, contact Lisa Montanaro at (845) 988-0183 or by e-mail at Lisa@LMOrganizingSolutions.com. |
Contact Information
Lisa Montanaro
Certified Professional Organizer, Business & Life Coach, Motivational Speaker
LM Organizing Solutions, LLC ™
PO Box 113
Warwick, NY 10090
(845) 988-0183
www.LMOrganizingSolutions.com
Lisa@LMOrganizingSolutions.com |
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