ARoundTuit Organizing & Productivity

This Rhymes with Orange comic was published in last Sunday’s paper, and has since spread like wildfire through Professional Organizer list serves and emails. If you can relate to this, we need to talk.

On a more *professional* note, there are two things I want to point out in this comic, which demonstrate the artist’s keen understanding of office (dis)organization.

1. It makes perfect sense that there would be stuff all over the place, since there’s nowhere to put any of it away.

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As I was skimming the web for inspiration this morning, I was reminded of what I fondly refer to as “the most underrated productivity tool of all”: Happiness.  Most productivity blogs address management of everything from post-its to projects.  Time, paper, email, meetings…  Happiness goes, well, sadly overlooked.

The bottom line of any productivity system is that the users have to be motivated to implement.  And, nothing, but nothing motivates most people like relationship.

Google seems to have cornered the market on workplace happiness.   Check out all the measures (including culture) in place to value creativity and career satisfaction.

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Last Sunday morning, I woke up fine, but my laptop did not.  It would start, then crash.  Start, crash.  After a day of troubleshooting, I realized I would have to face the facts: time to reset the monster to factory settings.  My trusted laptop repair specialist Sam Sato, of Leading Technology Micro, Inc. confirmed (thanks for the freebie, Sam!).

I tell you now I have neither shed tears nor lost a moment’s sleep over this crash.  Even during the relatively long file restoration process (in the Age of Immediate, 7 hours is an … Continue Reading

If you aren’t yet familiar with Randy Pausch’s lecture on Time Managmenet, you are in for an amazing treat.  As Randy said, “what counts is not to getting more done, it’s to get the right things done”.

This is potentially the most impactful 1 hour and 16 minutes you will experience today, or even this week or month.  Hopefully, it will mold the way you consider the value of your time, and of time management.

Just click on this blog entry’s title to view the video.  Or, download the MP3 and listen to it … Continue Reading

There is no shortage of information available on procrastination.  Amazon.com lists 50 titles of self-help books addressing different aspects of procrastination.  Now, if I’m late on a project deadline, the last thing I need is to snuggle in with a book.

I’d like to empower you by telling you that not procrastinating is entirely a matter of decision.  That is to say, procrastination is a result of indecision, more than anything else. Fear, fatigue, perfectionism, disorganization, poor time management, discomfort, and distractions make decision making even harder, but the … Continue Reading

Evernote and Shoeboxed have put an end to the universal struggle of managing receipts and business cards.  Even I, professional organizer, had a pocket of business cards in my work bag, waiting to be made useful…

Until now!  I’m pretty sure the only easier way than this is chuck the papers in the trash and not bother at all.

And a big “thank you!” the nice folks at Shoeboxed, Evernote and … Continue Reading

Click on the title above to watch Evernote’s YouTube video!

Don’t know where to start or how to go about using Evernote in a way that fits your work?

ARoundTuit Organizing Virtual Services are available nation-wide to get you going!

Contact me today to find out why everyone is raving about Evernote!

Thanks to Toodledo, I have been able to accomplish an unprecedented amount of boring but vital admin work this week.

Yes, even a productivity evangalist has her challenges. I dislike burocracy and paperwork as much as anyone else.  A small but growing pile taunted me at my desk. So I moved to another room.

Unfortunately, my conscience follows me everywhere. I know I have to fill out those forms.  And not just one page.  We’re talking projects.

This week, I decided to take … Continue Reading

MOST COMMON PAPERWORK WORK FLOW

This cartoon pretty much says it all for many people.  The more information we have coming our way, the harder it is to deal with.

That’s because the brain can only focus on a few things at a time.  Like your computer, when your brain is overloaded, it shuts down (i.e. give up making decisions and pile up papers to process “later”).

How did things get so bad?

Some information clutter occurs naturally when it simply comes in faster than we … Continue Reading

Anyone here ever heard of Alexander Kjerulf?  If not, you’ll want to.  He’s made a business out of helping people be happy at work.  Here’s Alex’s workplace productivity theory (click here to read the full article):

Now, I don’t believe for a minute that a worker with inadequate productivity skills, but who is very happy, will get more done than a

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