by Katherine Macey
How many of you have ever had a hard time setting and achieving your goals?
I have. I love dreaming about the future and coming up with things I’d love to see happen in the world and, honestly, there are lots and lots of those goals I’ve failed to accomplish. And after a while, it becomes disheartening if your vision never seems to come to fruition. So I’ve developed a new way of setting my goals. And this year, it seems to be working, so I thought I’d share the idea with you. SMART PATH goals.
I think I first learned about SMART goals more than 20 years ago when I was training for the New Zealand Women’s Canoe Polo squad. We were training for the 1st World Championships and the national association brought in a sports psychologist. Now, to an engineer (or anyone else with a logical mind like mine), a SMART goal makes a lot of sense. You get into the details of the goal and make it more easily attainable. SMART stands for:
- Specific (so you know exactly what your goal is)
- Measurable (so you know when you’ve achieved it)
- Achievable (so you can achieve it)
- Results (so you know what you are getting)
- Time based (so you know when in time it will happen)
This method for goal setting has served me well in most respect ever since then. The part I struggle with most is the achievable part. There are three aspects to the achievable aspect that I’m sharing about today.
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by Katherine Macey
I recently attended the National Association of Professional Organizers annual conference. I’m always inspired by the speakers and my fellow organizers. I want to share three particularly amazing resources I think you will love too, all regarding using a minimalist approach to life.
1) This year the opening keynote speakers were a pair of young guys, Joshua Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, a.k.a. The Minimalists. They shared their stories of letting go of the extra things they had in their lives and the resulting happiness they experienced. You can see their TEDx talk here (https://www.youtube.com/). They continue to blog about their lives, simplifying their existence and pursuing meaningful endeavors at their blog (http://www.theminimalists.com/).
2) Another inspiring blog is Zen Habits (http://zenhabits.net/) by minimalist Leo Babauta. Zen Habits is about “finding simplicity in the daily chaos of our lives. It’s about clearing the clutter so we can focus on what’s important, create something amazing, find happiness.” Leo is a father of six who lives in San Fransisco. I have two children and can only imagine the complexity that six would bring to a life! We simplify our lives by scheduling the majority of the kids after school activities together. They both take Kung Fu, they both take piano. And other than Girl Scouts once every two weeks which only my daughter participates in, they have time to spend playing with their neighborhood friends. Almost a lost art in Los Angeles where kids seem to be scheduled every moment of every day.
3) The third resource I will mention today is the blog Becoming Minimalist (http://www.becomingminimalist.com/) by Joshua Becker. He is part of a family of four living in Arizona and has shared his story with various TV stations and has written several books to inspire you as well.
The best thing about all these writers is that what they say is simple to do. It doesn’t cost you any money, in fact, you may end up making money if you sell the things you no longer need.
How will you make more space in your life today?
What can you let go of that you no longer need?
by Katherine Macey
It doesn’t matter if my clients live in 800 square feet or 4000 square feet, during our initial interview, they invariably say, “We don’t have enough storage space.” And it feels like that. Spaces are jammed with items, items with no home are spilling out of their storage space and the situation feels overwhelming to the client. And yet, invariably, once we have sorted through the items, we discover more than enough space for the things the clients loves and uses.
Clutter accumulation can be insidious. It occurs slowly, one item at a time, over a period of weeks, months or years. And if you’re not vigilant, suddenly, your home is filled with clutter. We moved into our current abode about 18 months ago and since then, I admit, I’ve been a bit lazy about making sure things leave the house as rapidly as they enter it. The result? Since I’m a master at space management, I can pack an awful lot into a small space, but it has to go in just so, or it doesn’t fit! Our home that felt comfortable when we moved in, now feels overstuffed.
So we’re having a purging month. We’re letting go of things that could have left our home 6 months or even a year ago since we haven’t used them since then.
How about you? Will you join me in a space challenge?
Some options for space challenges:
- Challenge: let go of 1 thing per day
- Super challenge: let go of 1 thing the first day, 2 the second, 3 the third, and so on.
- Just get rid of the extra stuff! (This is my husband’s favorite option – no need to keep track or count!)
- Post progress on the Organize to Excel Facebook page – we want to see your hard work!
by Katherine Macey
Spring is traditionally a time for new beginnings. Trees have new growth, flowers blossom, and many babies are born. It’s a time of year when everything feels invigorating, it’s a time of expectation.
Yet, if your space is full of clutter from past activities, you do not have the space to create, to explore, to experience those new beginnings.
So take an inventory, either on paper, on your smart phone, or just in your head. Notice which items you have that are related to activities that you no longer do, or are outdated even if for a current activity. Look for items that, if you let go of them, you wouldn’t miss.
How much space could you create if you sold/donated/recycled those items?
And what would you do with that space? Breathe, feel abundant and luxurious. Maybe you would invite friends over to enjoy the new space you have created.
How would more space change your life? Maybe you’d just be able to get dressed more easily in the morning. Maybe you’d have space to play board games with your kids. Maybe you wouldn’t do anything with the space, just enjoy it.
Imagine a whole new world without the clutter. In my home, we’re getting rid of many of old books that the kids have outgrown. We’re keeping a few as mementos, but let me be clear, my husband and I are keeping them. We enjoyed reading them to our kids, they hold those great memories and, okay, I have fantasies about reading them with grandkids someday too. Everything else is being donated to the library or recycled. Now my kids have got space for new books and toys that they can enjoy.
What are you letting go of this Spring?
by Katherine Macey
Somehow during fall and winter, you collected a few more items than you needed. Maybe it’s a primordial urge to hibernate and bring things in for comfort (can that really be necessary in Southern California?), or maybe we spend more time at home during the winter months so more things accumulate. But chances are, whatever you collected, you have things that you could let go of. It’s time for a good spring cleaning, and a good place to start is your closet.
Maybe you have winter clothes that you didn’t get around to wearing this winter. Let them go. Bring out your spring and summer clothes and decorations. Let go of anything that looks tired or you know you won’t use this year. Let spring time be that time for renewal. Allow those things that you won’t use to be returned to the general flow of things in the world. You do not need to be their keeper. Let someone else use them. Donate to a thrift store or a homeless shelter.
Give yourself more space to move, breathe and enjoy life.
I recently went through the sweaters in my drawer. Since I live in Los Angeles, I really don’t need them all that much, but I hadn’t cleared them out in a few years and since I’d been given some as gifts recently, the drawer was getting decidedly difficult to both put the sweaters away and close easily. Time to reduce the frustration and decide which sweaters to let go of. Now it’s easy to put my sweaters away and close the drawer.
Where do you get frustrated by small things? What could you do to change that small frustration?
by Katherine Macey
This is a scary question. Is your financial disorganization costing you? Or worse, how much is your financial disorganization costing you (because if your finances are not in order, I can virtually guarantee it is costing you something).
Do you struggle to keep your financial paperwork under control? Do you have little piles of receipts all over your office, or are they shoved in a box to hand over to your accountant at tax time?
There are two secrets to keeping on top of it all so you are not missing important deductions and your poor accountant is not pulling their hair out at the end of the year!
- Set up a filing system that is easy to use and accessible.
- Do a little bit often.
Setting up your filing system
Paper systems
The simplest filing system mirrors your accounting system. The categories you use when entering your expenses into your accounting system will be the same ones you use for your filing. Make a folder for each category of spending you get receipts for. Now each week, after you enter your receipts and invoices into your financial tracking system (ledger, spreadsheet, Quickbooks, etc.), simply drop the receipts into the appropriate folder. You will keep track of your spending and your income and know where you stand each month.
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