Archive for Organize Your Time

The 80/20 Rule is Your Friend

By Hazel Thornton on June 21, 2021 14 Comments

80/20 RuleOne of my favorite concepts in life is The 80/20 Rule.

What is it?

The 80/20 Rule, a.k.a. the Pareto principle, stems from observations made by Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto in 1906, including the fact that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population. Or, generalizing to other situations, roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of the causes.

But why do I like it so much, and why it is your friend?

Because it can help you make decisions…and not worry so much…and get stuff done!

 

The 80/20 Rule (a.k.a. the Pareto principle), can help you make decisions, and not worry so much, and get stuff done!

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Categories : Inspiration & Motivation, Organize Your Home, Organize Your Office, Organize Your Time
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Are you wasting your “free time”?

By Hazel Thornton on May 1, 2020 29 Comments

Which type of person are you?

Are you spending your quarantine time at home, reading books, watching Netflix, doing jigsaw puzzles, and enjoying the heck out of it? Or maybe you’re industriously cooking and gardening, retooling your business to provide virtual services, cleaning and organizing your entire house, catching up on home repairs, learning a foreign language, and writing the next Great American Novel…? If so, this post is not for you. Carry on! You’re doing great!

If, on the other hand, you feel you are “wasting time”, and you’re feeling guilty about it…. or if you’re thinking, “Free time? What free time?!?!”, then this post is for you!

If you haven’t been very productive lately, give yourself a break! Things are hard right now.

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Categories : Organize Your Mind, Organize Your Time

Organizing to De-Stress Your Holidays (all of them)

By Hazel Thornton on November 18, 2019 11 Comments

De-Stress Your HolidaysWhat are “holidays” and why are they so stressful? A holiday is any special occasion, all year round, which involves extra preparations; extra time, money and energy; and extra people, families in particular. Examples include birthdays, weddings, religious holidays, and secular holidays.

Holiday stress comes from having unrealistic expectations of yourself and others. Sometimes it’s the family getting together that contributes to the stress, and sometimes it’s the fact that you’re not getting together, or can’t, whatever the reason may be.

If you can relate to this definition, keep reading for some tips that will help you reduce holiday stress in four major areas of your life.

Holiday stress comes from having unrealistic expectations of yourself and others.

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Categories : Organize Your Holidays, Organize Your Home, Organize Your Mind, Organize Your Time
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The 21 Day Habit Myth (Don’t Break the Chain!)

By Hazel Thornton on November 4, 2019 17 Comments
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Calendar bird photo by Ann Strober.

I hate to be a party pooper, but I just don’t believe it takes 21 days to create a habit. Or 30 days. Or however long people are saying. It’s true that you can’t simply do something for only 3 days, or 10, and expect it to “stick”. And the effort required to create a new habit is well worth it! But I think there are too many factors to pin it down to a specific number of days for all habits and all people.

21 days may not be enough to create the habit you desire. But don’t give up!

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Categories : Organize Your Time
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The Procrastitivity Zone

By Hazel Thornton on September 19, 2019 10 Comments

Click to view larger image.

Sometimes I think procrastination gets a bad rap. Most articles I’ve read (and written) focus on the negative consequences of delaying a task or project. They also talk about how we trick ourselves into feeling productive by accomplishing one thing while we’re delaying doing another. I call that procrastitivity. And I don’t think it’s always a bad thing.

Is procrastination always a bad thing? I don’t think so!

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Categories : Organize Your Mind, Organize Your Time

Why you need a Project Box & a Master To-Do List

By Hazel Thornton on September 9, 2019 12 Comments

Do you have unfinished household projects lying around? I can tell what my clients’ projects are at a glance – there are light bulbs that need changing; clothing that needs repairing; pictures that need to be framed and hung; and gifts that need to be wrapped. They are sitting out on the counters, tables, and floors, all waiting to be done. But they aren’t getting done. Why not?

Just because you put it on the list doesn’t mean you have to do it!

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Categories : Organize Your Home, Organize Your Time
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WHY I Love Chores

By Hazel Thornton on May 7, 2018 19 Comments

House work concept vector illustration.WHY do I love chores? OK, I don’t. Not really. But hear me out….

I LOVE having someone else clean my house. But, for the most part, I prefer to clean it myself for various financial and Zen reasons. I’ve often thought of housework and exercise as the cheapest forms of therapy.

Whenever I feel resentful about chores I remind myself WHY I do them. And then I feel better. It helps me to remember that it’s a CHOICE I’m making; that I’m living my life by design, not by default.

Instead of resenting chores, it helps me to remember that I’m CHOOSING to make my life nicer.

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Categories : Hazel's Organizing Stories, Inspiration & Motivation, Organize Your Home, Organize Your Time

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

By Hazel Thornton on November 27, 2017 6 Comments

to-do list

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 let’s take a closer look at each system…

What is your system for getting stuff done? Does it need tweaking?

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Categories : Inspiration & Motivation, Organize Your Time
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Are you too busy to live your life?

By Hazel Thornton on October 17, 2017 12 Comments

http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-images-chicken-image15981374Once 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 too busy.

As a time management consultant I now believe this concept can be applied to ANY activity in life that is important to you:

If you are too busy to _________, then you are too busy.

If you are too busy to do what’s important to you, then you are too busy.

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Categories : Organize Your Time
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Every YES is a NO to Something Else

By Hazel Thornton on March 20, 2017 9 Comments

saying yes, saying noDo you have trouble saying no? How about trouble saying yes? I just read The Year of Yes, by Shonda Rhimes, creator of Gray’s Anatomy and Scandal, among other popular TV shows. I found it to be both entertaining and inspiring. The basic story is that Shonda realized she was saying NO to most invitations and opportunities that came her way, and missing out on a lot that life has to offer. So, she started saying YES, which, as with many worthwhile endeavors, is easier said than done.

Every YES is a NO to something else.

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Categories : Organize Your Mind, Organize Your Time
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