schedule

Getting Back on Track

By Hazel Thornton | May 10, 2021 |

2021 UPDATE: Getting “derailed” is one thing. Here it implies a potential for getting back on track with a little focus, some encouragement, and a few tips from me. However, falling off the trestle bridge into the canyon below, before crashing and burning, is quite another thing! This article is about getting back on track…

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Six Organizing Systems Everyone Needs — System #6: Getting Stuff Done

By Hazel Thornton | November 27, 2017 |

How well are your organizing systems working for you? In the introduction to this series I shared the following: What is a system? What 6 organizing systems do I think everyone needs? What 5 questions can you ask yourself to see if your systems are still working for you, or if they need tweaking? Now…

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Are you too busy to live your life?

By Hazel Thornton | October 17, 2017 |

Once upon a time I was taught the Transcendental Meditation technique. It’s a mantra-based meditation that is done for 20 minutes twice a day, but that is not my point. The thing about the training that keeps coming back to me is this frequent admonishment: If you are too busy to meditate, then you are…

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Time Management Tip

Wanna know my #1 time management tip?

By Hazel Thornton | December 28, 2016 |

I love helping my clients spend more of their time doing what they want to, and less of it doing what they have to! I give them lots of time tips (well, I actually coach them through a whole customized program), such as: Identify your priorities, goals, and time wasters. Create an ideal schedule and…

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Embrace the Clutter!

By Hazel Thornton | July 18, 2016 |

Embrace the clutter! Why on earth would I, a professional organizer, say such a thing? Well, think about it. What’s the opposite of embracing something? Fearing it? Ignoring it? Avoiding it? Doesn’t it seem like anything you fear, ignore, or avoid persists? It doesn’t go away, it just nags at you. Doesn’t it? Maybe not…

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The Chinese Menu Time Management Technique

By Hazel Thornton | May 15, 2016 |

Are you familiar with the Happy Family Chinese-American restaurant meal? Choose one item from menu Column A, one from Column B… and with six you get egg roll…? Well, that’s how I manage my time. Allow me to explain…

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Clear Your Mind and Get it All Done… Sooner or Later

By Hazel Thornton | May 21, 2013 |

I know how to get stuff done, and I can teach you how, too. I have tools and systems for all the stages of workflow (collect, process, organize, review and do). I have an inbox and project lists which I clear and review weekly. I say no to activities that don’t support my goals and…

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Just 10 More Minutes

By Hazel Thornton | April 9, 2013 |

It’s really easy to say to oneself, at quitting time (or bed time), “I’ll just do this one last thing…just 10 more minutes.”  But it – whatever it is — never actually takes only 10 more minutes, does it? Sometimes it takes 15 minutes, or 37 minutes, or 2.5 more hours. And even then, usually,…

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How to Live and Work by Design, not by Default

By Hazel Thornton | January 14, 2013 |

Living and working BY DEFAULT means choosing the easiest path, either by unconsciously resorting to bad habits, or by maintaining the status quo. Sometimes we seek to avoid the conflict that can come with making a change. Sometimes we feel we have no choice in the matter. But I’m with Henry Ford, who said, “Whether you think…

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All I Really Need to Know About Organizing I Learned in Yoga

By Hazel Thornton | June 26, 2012 |

As a professional organizer I have found that yoga provides a perfect metaphor for the balance we are all seeking in our lives. Balance helps us organize our space, manage our time, and improve our relationships with ourselves and others. Here are 7 lessons I have learned from yoga class. They are all based on,…

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