Managing Your Time Effectively

We all wear many different hats, and struggle from time to time with coming up with the best way to manage all of our priorities...between home, work, family, leisure time...how do we balance it all? Here are a few tips to not only help you get through the day, but to help you get the most out of your day, and be more productive. These tips can be applied both at home and at the office.

• When you start your day, write up a list of all that you'd like to accomplish for that day. Identify the priorities on the list and be prepared to shift things around, even moving some of the items to the following day if necessary. One thing I've learned is that its nearly impossible to stick to such a list exactly as it is written, or as you have planned it. I've found that I am far more productive when I remain flexible enough to deviate from the list in order to put out fires and/or handle emergencies, returning to the list once the emergency situation is under control.

• Don't be afraid to delegate when you need to. Many times, we are hesitant to ask for help and feel like we must do everything ourselves. One of the true characteristics of effective time management is knowing when and how to delegate tasks to those who are available and willing to assist you.

• I always recommend to my clients that they keep one calendar. Having more than one calendar leaves plenty of room for error - there's always the possibility that you might forget to update one of them and double book..or even worse..forget about an engagement because its not on the calendar you checked that day.

• Lastly, use your time wisely....even small intervals of time. This one is my favorites. Sometimes I'm amazed at how many things I have accomplished before arriving at the office in the morning. For example: in my area, Sams Club opens to business members at 7:30am, I often run in there at 8am to pick up a few items before going to my office in the morning. It is almost empty in there at that time, absolutely no crowds or long lines. Additionally, I often run out for lunch a little later in the day when most other people have already taken their lunch. This way I can handle errands like running to the bank or post office, and the lines aren't as long as they are around noon when everyone else takes lunch.

Organizing a Move

One of the biggest undertakings in life is managing a move.  There's researching neighborhoods and school systems, figuring out what's important to you in a community, deciding on what to take..what not to take...what needs to be replaced, and then there's packing.  Over the years I have provided move-related services to several people, and wanted to share some valuable tips to help move those of you with this project at hand through to the other side.

Whether your move is work-related, for family reasons, or for a change in climate, you may have already chosen your new community.  But in case you haven't, the following is a great site to do some research on different communities.  The site provides demographics on the neighborhood such as the average family income, demographic make up of the town, school ratings and more: http://www.moving.com/real-estate/city-profile/index.asp. 

If you are using a mover, be sure to conduct a thorough comparison of moving companies before you choose one.  Also, once you select one, make sure you read the fine print in the agreements and other paperwork.

The area in which I can be most helpful is providing advice regarding packing for the move.  Packing can be an overwhelming task, but you want to be sure that you do as much as you can on the front end, so that you have less to do when you land in your new home.  Here is a quick guide to help you with this task:

- You may have to purchase larger boxes, in which case I recommend a visit to Walmart.  Their boxes are much cheaper than the boxes sold at moving companies, storage facilities and truck rental companies.

- For smaller boxes, visit your local supermarkets and liquor stores.  In my experience, the people working in these stores have been very willing and helpful, letting me know what time to come gather boxes before they are put into the incinerator (sometimes its early in the morning or late at night).  The liquor store boxes are particularly good for glass items like drinking glasses, etc, because they are compartmentalized from the wine bottles being shipped in them.  The supermarket boxes are great for books because they are smaller and books are heavy.  You would not want to pack a large box full of books unless you are a body builder, in which case it would still be very awkward to carry :)

- When you begin your strategy for packing, think categories, but also work to pack a room at a time.  For example: when you pack your bedroom, you want to pack in categories like toiletries, shoes, small clothing (underwear, scarves, hats), etc. 

- Be sure to label every box with not only what it contains, but also what room it belongs in.

- Make sure you have enough insulation for your dishes, wine glasses, etc.  You can buy bubble wrap very reasonably at Walmart as well, but you also want to use resources around your home to minimize the cost, i.e. small plastic grocery store bags, newspaper, even paper bags and gift/tissue paper.

- In the kitchen you want to pack all the dry goods and seasonings together, and if you have any coolers, use them for the items in your refrigerator and freezer.  Of course you'd want to pack these at the very last minute.

- Also, you absolutely want to keep all cords that are detached, with the appliance that they go with, i.e. printers, cordless phones, etc.  You can tape those cords to their corresponding appliance so that you are not searching for them when you get to your new living space.

For the most part, if you work your way from room to room, remembering to pack like items together, and keeping the items in each room together for the most part, and labeling every box, you should be in pretty good shape when you arrive at your destination.

And if you simply cannot manage packing, or just choose not to, you can always hire a service to do it for you.  My customers can't share enough about the difference we've made for them in their moving process.

Lastly, when you get to your new home, unpack one room or half of a room at a time.  Don't try to do it all at once.

Hopefully, these tips will help make your moving process a little less stressful.