Self Improvement

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?Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up." A. A. Milne

In personal development growth occurs more easily when we create space to grow. In order to experience living beyond limits in business or personal lives we must rid ourselves of the chaos and clutter that keeps us clogged up. To change life and business begin by getting organized.

1- Know Your Top Priority Zones- Focus on 3 to 5. Top priority zones are the most valuable areas of your life. Consider the roles you play throughout the day. What means the most to you long-term? Examples are spirituality, self-care, family, business, career, home, education, hobbies, volunteer work, etc. To make the best time management decisions know your priorities. You will be challenged by a new opportunity. Does it honor your priorities? If not, say "no" for now.

Under each top priority zone list the top 3-5 priorities. For instance, under self-care you could have exercise, take vitamins, eat 5 fruits/ vegetables, read for 30 minutes, and drink 8 glasses of water daily. The more you can simplify and get focused the better.

2- Schedule Blocks of Time- Blocks of time for your various priority zones give you time and a clear focus on the priorities in each area. Consider how much time you need and how much you can commit to each priority. When is the best time of day to schedule it so that you follow through? Customize your schedule to fit your energy level and personality so your time is used efficiently.

3- Now you can create your "to do" list or "toleration" list- What are you putting up with that needs to be handled. Get it out of your head and into a system such as a list, daytimer, palm pilot, blackberry, computer, etc. Plan to do it, delegate it, or dump it. What can you let go of? Give yourself permission to let go so you can focus on what will make the greatest difference.

4- Systematize- Create systems that save you time and make life easier. If there is an area not working for you chances are it is in need of a simple system. How often are you running to the store and what can you do to make one trip? When you buy something new, get rid of something old so your closets never get packed. How can you spend less time waiting in lines, managing e-mail, and handling paperwork? What marketing system can you put in place so you know exactly what to do each day. Create a home for everything so you know exactly where items go. Instead of items landing where they were left have a designated space for office supplies, a space for hardware, etc. Pick up more ideas at www.StartingNowCoaching.com

5- Set Yourself Up for Peak Performance- Take regular breaks to rejuvenate. In the book the Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal, the authors Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz suggest taking 10 minute breaks every 90 minutes. Get plenty of sleep and choose healthy energy sources vs. adrenaline for endurance. By the way...I hope you chose self-care as one of your top priorities.

Take a day off, get help, do what it takes to organize your life and business. Save time doing what you don"t like and more time doing what gets you pumped. That"s when you will bubble over sharing the special gifts you have to offer and we will all be better off. StartingNow!

Copyright 2006, Beth A. Tabak, All rights reserved.

Beth Tabak of http://www.startingnowcoaching.com is a Business & Life Coach, speaker, columnist, & owner of Starting Now. She coaches big thinkers to move beyond limits, stand out in the crowd, and experience the vastness of their capabilities. Stop by to see all that?s available to you and say ?hello?.

Hooray for spring! As we move into spring and prepare to put away our winter boots, bulky sweaters and those nasty winter blues; it is also a good time to start thinking about clearing the clutter from our lives as well. Clutter is one of the biggest challenges people face when trying to be organized. The external environment we create for ourselves is often a fair reflection of our internal environment, thus, when our lives are filled with clutter, we end up spending too much of our time managing the small stuff, and we never have time to manage the things that really matter. Here are 5 ways to spring-clean the clutter from your life.

1. Breakdown the project, and lose the all or nothing approach
Start with one room at a time, or one area at a time. It is unrealistic to say that you are going to complete an entire house in one day. By doing that, you set yourself up to fail by having unrealistic expectations. It is best to decide on a starting point and decide on the length of time you will work on the project. For example, "I will organize the den area of my home starting Saturday morning at 10am; I will work on the project for 2-hours". After the allotted time has passed, make a decision about when you plan to resume the project and congratulate yourself on the progress made.

2. Collect like items
Put like items together; put all the clothes in a pile, all the papers in a pile, all the shoes in a pile and. Collecting like objects, helps to break the project down into smaller pieces; by doing this, the goal of completion becomes more of a reality. Once you have the room separated by like items, you may want to continue breaking the piles down even further by continuing to separate items that go in the same area.

3. Label everything
Labels, Labels and more Labels, by labeling boxes, containers and even the outside of drawers or cabinets you are defining a place for things to go. This also makes staying organized easier over the long haul, as everything in your home or office has a home, a consistent and appropriate place where that object is normally kept. Some items that you use every day, may be on display and/or readily available for frequent use. Other items like holiday decorations or out of season clothing, can be stored until needed. When you begin to see that there is actually a place for things to go, you gain more confidence in your ability to continue the project and also your ability to keep the area clean.

4. Use it or lose it
This is one that may be difficult for some to wrap their hands around, so for all you pack rats out there, here it goes. The rule of thumb is, if you haven"t used it, looked for it or needed it in a year, it probably has very little or no value in your life. For important papers, the general rule of thumb is 3-5 years, but it is important to use your own discretion when deciding how long you should keep an important document.

5. Make it a family affair
Enlist the help of the entire family, pick a day, cut off the TV, cut on the radio and make it a fun family project. By doing this, you also make others accountable for their actions that may have led to the clutter and it also gives you the opportunity to spend some quality family time together.

The idea of clutter is overwhelming but the sooner you get started; the sooner you"ll achieve your goal.

Personal challenge for the week: Define an area of your home or other personal space, and use the steps listed to begin the process of removing clutter from your home and your life.

Journaling exercise: What are some things in your life have you neglected because of clutter and disorganization. What are some things you plan to do too eliminate the disorganization and clutter from your life so that you have more time to focus on what really matters? (The plan needs to be realistic and concrete, actual steps and things you will do to become more organized) For example, I plan to wake up 1 hour earlier than usual, so that I can spend time preparing for my day. I will do this so that I won"t feel so rushed and will have time to enjoy some well-deserved personal time for myself.

Wanda Austin-Williams is a Clinical Therapist and Personal Life Coach. She is the owner and founder of Total Essence Counseling & Life Coaching Service in Ann Arbor Michigan. Total Essence Counseling and Life Coaching focuses on helping people live authentic, healthy and purposeful lives. Wanda is also the author of a weekly ezine entitled, Live Joyful, Live Purposeful. For more information about Total Essence, email totalessence0@lycos.com or check us out on the web at http://www.totalessence0.com