Your House In Order

With so much of our life in the digital cloud, passwords are a necessary evil.  If you’re like me, creating and managing passwords is a chore. Almost every site you visit requires a password and the strongest passwords are impossible to remember.  How many times do you stare at that blank “Enter Password” box and…

If you work from home you probably spend at least three or four hours a day writing and answering email. Whether we like it or not, email is the dominant form of business communication today.  We may text, tweet or facebook our friends, but when we need answers or want results, email is the first…

Nothing gets done by thinking about it.  I have lots of projects in my head.  I know what needs to be done to accomplish each one of those projects.  I could easily write a to-do list for each one.  However, until I actually start a task – until I take action – the project will…

Admit it, the thing that bugs you the most about your office are those piles of paper. They’re on your desk, on the extra chair, on the floor and on every available surface.  How did they get so big? Why can’t I get rid of them? What are they?? First, control the inflow.  Do you…

This is the most tedious, yet the most satisfying part of organizing.  When you’re done, you have identified only those things that really belong in the office.  Chances are that 80% of the papers in all those piles can be discarded.  However, to find the 20% of value, you need to go through everything. Here’s…

Before you start working from home, figure out what kind of space you need for your office.  Do you flop your work down on the dining room table and expect to be productive?  You will need a well-defined space to suit your needs.  Here are some things to consider: Why do you need a home…

I just started running after an 18 month hiatus.  I had been running marathons, half-marathons, mud runs, 200+ mile relays as well as the occasional 10K and 5K.  I had been a serious runner. I thought I could start right up at a moderate three to four miles a day, then work back up to…

How do you handle your mail? Do you put it on a pile to deal with later? Do you receive catalogs from stores you never heard of? Do you subscribe to magazines you never read? Do you lose bills and end up paying late fees? If you answered yes, keep reading! 1. The Circular File…

I recently read Charlies Duhigg’s excellent, lucidly written book, The Power of Habit .  His premise is that if we understand how habits work we can change them.  If we develop new habits – new patterns of behavior – we develop new neurological patterns and in effect re-wire our brains.  Powerful stuff. I was particularly…

You may have noticed that I don’t display before and after photos on my website. It’s not that I’m not proud of my work – I am always pleased with the progress clients and I make. I even take before and after photos while I’m working with a client to document and validate progress. But…