Coping with Email Overload
Peter Bregman is the author: 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done.
In this quick read article he offers practical ideas to consider…..
Instead of checking email continuously and from multiple devices, schedule specific email time during the day while you are at your computer. All other time is email vacation time.
via Coping with Email Overload – Peter Bregman – Harvard Business Review.
Outdoor Storage Solves Indoor Problems
According to Rubbermaid roughly half of Canadians store so much stuff in their garage they don’t have room for the car.
Outdoor sheds are the ideal way to get bikes, gardening tools, sporting equipment and many other frequently used items out of the garage, so the car can fit back in.
Check out Rubbermaid’s new Slide Lid Shed The sliding lid on the shed makes it easy to reach everything inside and get the best possible use out of the storage space. Its low profile allows it to remain out of sight, below most fence lines so it won’t change sightlines.
It’s sturdy, compact and come with a heavy duty, impact resistant floor and can be assembled with a few basic hand tools.
Features include:
• Easy to use sliding roof allows access to items stored in back of shed
• Improved locking method for added security
• Extra depth for large, hard-to-store items such as bikes and lawn mowers
• 96 cubic feet in size; dimensions are 55″w x 76″d x 53″h
• Low profile to fit under common 6-foot fence height
• High-quality lap siding appearance and trim to mimic exterior of a home
• Available at Home Hardware stores and HomeDepot.ca
Reach Your Health and Fitness Goals
We are so pleased to share with our community more information about eMbody Fitness, an empowering club here in Toronto. They will help you organize a plan that is perfectly customized for you and support you each step of the way.
This exceptional personal fitness experience embodies everything you want most in an exclusive, luxurious, private fitness venue.
To arrange your personal tour today call Johanna at 416 481 3000
Located at 490 Eglinton Avenue West 2 blocks west of Avenue Road
Special offer: join now and receive $75 off your membership fee.
Downsizing and Dementia – Part Two of Three
This was the article I wrote after we got our mother into a full care facility
My mother suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and for a while she didn’t speak much. I think it’s because she realized something was terribly wrong but was unable to form the words necessary to express it. So she said nothing. As her condition has worsened she has taken to speaking non-stop – not unlike any of her children, although more often than not her words don’t make sense. But every once in a while she manages to nearly form a full sentence or spit out a word that will take me by surprise. For example I recently bought her a new night gown and she looked directly at me and said ‘thank you,’ even though the previous week she had casually introduced me to one of her nurses as her grandfather. So, as her illness progresses I try to listen to the emotion with which she speaks instead of the actual words.
Click here for more information about Alzheimer’s and some of the challenges it presents.
Just recently I was telling one of my siblings about the night I was putting Mom to bed and, in her own way, she began to give me advice about life. Or maybe she was telling me about her own life. Either way, I am confident that what my mother, a village elder, shared with me that night will last me a lifetime.
Without complete sentences and only piecing together words and intonation (and let’s be real – what I wanted to hear) she spoke of family; her children and her grandchildren, love and life and the choices she made.
I feel compelled to ask myself why do I feel these lessons are so important, now? My answer: Because time flies by. A dear friend recently reminded me that the older we get the faster it flies.
These lessons give me the opportunity to re-evaluate what is truly important to me and forgo an overly analytical process. I have decided that with matters of the heart I am determined to be more forthright, with matters of the soul I will listen, with all the ‘things’ that mean something to me I will be more compassionate, more readily available emotionally. I am now more willing to act on what my acting coach used to say: Life is most truthful when you allow yourself to be in the moment.
My question for you is this: how do you get your life to the place you need it to be so that you can live in the moment?
My response: Start by clearing the clutter, physically and then emotionally.
Originally written in Feb 2008
Downsizing and Dementia – Part One of Three
This is the article that I wrote quite a few years ago about a woman named June…..
June had made the decision to move back to the big city to be closer to her children. She was once a married mother of seven and the downsizing process had already happened in various stages in her life. First the divorce, then the children moving out, then changing cities, and then being a grown woman at university in Victoria, B.C.
Months prior to her moving date we started planning exactly what needed to be done. I lived in a different province so we had weekly phone meetings to ensure that she was on track and everything appeared to be coming along as planned. That was how it appeared until I showed up to color code the boxes and assist with the final details of her big move. Green for boxes going into storage, blue for the items going to her new apartment, orange for apartment storage, and each piece of furniture was to be labelled for its proper destination. Everything labelled, lists created, inventory recorded, and packing her personal belongings for the trip.
But as I walked through the door on that sunny West coast day I was greeted by chaos. Every square inch of the apartment floor was covered in papers – some papers were from decades ago and some were yesterday’s flyers, the scattered photographs tallied in the thousands and the only boxes that were packed were the ones that she never unpacked when she moved in years earlier.
This was the biggest downsizing job gone awry and I really wasn’t even sure why. Thank goodness she was my mother and I had siblings to call on. We didn’t know that the advanced stages of dementia caused someone to act this way. Actually, we didn’t know anything about dementia let alone anything about a disease called Alzheimer’s that we were going to be rudely introduced to. That was a day of utter heart-break as I reflect back, yet the movers were scheduled to pick up her life time of belongings and move her across the country … in less than 48 hours.
When I began writing this article (years ago now) I solicited the insight of others who know downsizing very well, allow me to share some of their words of wisdom with you:
I sat in the café across the table from Karen Shin, better known as the Downsizing Diva. Karen shared her view on the common reasons for downsizing: Financial, the house is too big, health, and the natural transition of life – to simplify. I nod in agreement.
Karen acknowledges that a potentially painful moment for her clients is the realization that no one values your ‘stuff’ like you do. Since the young kids are in the acquiring stage they may not be interested in the big ol’ stereo cabinet or Grandma’s dining room suite so be prepared to sell it, donate it, or pitch it. Remember though, there are university students who would love and cherish your furniture! You can reach out to your community to donate your furniture or belongings. If you need help contact an organizer in your neighborhood by visiting Professional Organizers in Canada. Churches are often at the heart of family shelters and accept or can coordinate donations. If you’re still unsure contact your local MPP to find out who picks up what locally.
Karen and I end our wonderful conversation on a final note about the three things that she knows: 1) We all have too much ‘stuff’ 2) You can’t take it with you when you go and 3) We are all going.
Real Estate agent Robin Millar recommends that families consider the options that exist between parents downsizing and younger family members upgrading. As well, she recommends to those who are still reviewing their downsizing options to speak with a financial consultant and explore the pro’s and con’s of renting versus buying. You are welcome to contact Robin by email robin@robinmillar.ca or by calling 416.486.5588 to speak with an experienced agent in the field of downsizing, upgrading, and evaluating your options.
If downsizing is your goal I hope this information has helped you. If you are located in Toronto there is a great store called The Moving Store they will do an onsite estimate of the supplies you will need to move and deliver everything when you need it. They also offer container rentals instead of buying cardboard boxes. If you aren’t in Toronto you can still order their nifty moving items on line.
10 Helpful Tips about Moving
1.Identify the activities you enjoy: are the amenities in walking distance, are you still driving – look for accommodations that cater to these things
2.Take pictures to preserve your memories
3.Work room by room
4.List the items to a) go to family, b) sell, c) donate, d) recycle
5.Use contractor garbage bags – they are durable and worth the few cents more
6.Prep a working belt with the supplies you need: markers, packing tape, scissors or straight blade, masking tape and sandwich baggies for containing screws and small pieces
7.Use a table to pack on – your back will thank you
8.Create a master list
9.On moving day pack your car with the necessities: Linens for your bed, medications, a mini tool kit and your master files (all the moving information – contact names, floor plans, etc)
10.Pre arrange pet care for moving day
A final note about how things turned out with June. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s within six months of us moving her to the city and has since moved into a full time care facility. It is likely that you or someone close to you will suffer from dementia and potentially Alzheimer’s. I recommend you visit the Alzheimer’s web site for more information on the common signs of the disease. It is also very helpful when tackling a downsizing project that you consider speaking with a Professional Organizer. They are experienced, informative, and often the calming, organized strength that is needed to assist you in achieving a peaceful transition.
Feel free to contact me by phone 416.347.9002 or email me directly at dk@kaosgroup.com. Visit the kAos Group web site to learn more about what we do.
Tips to Fight Email Overload
About.com has advise on just about everything which can get overwhelming if your searching their site for good articles. I have found a few writers whose articles I really enjoy, Alyssa Gregory is one of them. In this article she provides us with some tips on How to Fight Email Overload
If you like one or more of her ideas simply create systematic way you will start to implement and continue to follow through to success.
Two Great Workshops – One Great Day
Open to the Public – Hosted by the POC
Two Great Workshops – One Great Day
Do you need clients? Do you feel like you’ve tapped all your resources, and still have room in your calendar to book more client sessions? LinkedIn is a fantastic online networking opportunity that many of us simply aren’t using to its fullest potential. Margarita Ibbott will be guiding us on a LinkedIn workshop, in order to allow us to get more our of our LinkedIn profiles. The clients are out there, we just need to reach them.
So, you’ve got your clients, and you’re feeling great, but now what?
Do you have a process for executing and evaluating your social media communications? Do you have standard template for your day to day business functions like your voice mail response or your email signature? How do you benchmark your achievements on a monthly basis? Whether you’re a new business owner, or a veteran organizer, Deanne Kelleher will be helping each of us to develop our own Operations Manual. This is an essential tool for all businesses, and will help us to streamline our efforts “for sanity and profit”.
Both of our speakers, Margarita and Deanne, were presenters at the 2011 POC Conference. Their sessions were so well received that we wanted more! The Professional Development Day is guaranteed to be a rich learning experience, and you will walk away feeling renewed and energized. Sign up today to ensure your spot!
About Our Speakers
About Margarita Ibbott
Margarita Ibbott, professional organizer and workshop leader, is the owner of Downshifting-Professional Organizing Solutions. Her personal experience as an “end-user” helps clients understand how Social Media can help a small business owner expand his/her brand online. Margarita’s ability to teach and facilitate workshops gives participants the understanding that she practices what she preaches.
About Deanne Kelleher
Deanne Kelleher draws on her innate organizational instincts and her keen understanding of people to help clients identify and implement needed changes to improve efficiencies and maximize growth potential, in both their professional and personal lives.
Deanne is the founder of kAos Group, author of the Core FourTM System, a Silver Leaf member of the Professional Organizers of Canada, and is a certified trainer with Personality Resources International in the Four WaysTM system.
As the leader and key driver behind kAos Group’s vision, Deanne develops systems and processes that help individuals and companies uncover new sources of time and money in their businesses and day-to-day lives.
She works closely with clients to help identify inefficiencies — the clutter and disorganization that prevents professional and personal growth — and helps clients uncover new sources of time and streamline their business and personal lives to reduce stress and increase productivity.
