Organising Solutions

What Are You Busy About?

Kristin Lowe — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 06:40:17 +0000

Ask anyone how they’re doing, and the answer is likely to be, “Busy.” For some people this is a complaint, and for others it’s a point of pride or a simple fact. Thoreau said, “It’s not enough to be busy. The question is, ‘What are we busy about?’” Productivity without purpose is a waste of [...]

Find Hidden Productivity Pockets in Your Day

Kristin Lowe — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 14:02:41 +0000

Do you know that feeling that your workday was crazy-busy, you took care of everyone else’s needs, but you didn’t get any of your own stuff done? It happens to everyone, but when this goes on for several days in a row, it’s easy to get frustrated. For managers and service professionals, this problem is [...]

How to Make Time Mapping Work for You

Kristin Lowe — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 02:24:37 +0000

A tried and tested personal productivity strategy is that of Time Mapping. In a nutshell, this is the practice of putting appointments with yourself on your calendar to help carve out time to work on your high-priority tasks for the day. Sometimes people find it tough to stick to these appointments, especially if the scheduled [...]

Try the “Buy Some Time” Reply Strategy

Kristin Lowe — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 04:24:11 +0000

A common challenge for people who are trying to stop spending every working minute in the email Inbox is wondering, “How can I be responsive without reacting immediately every time someone sends me an email?” This is a great question. As professionals, we do want people to know we care about their needs and requests, [...]

Helping Teams Accomplish More With Less

Kristin Lowe — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 02:44:07 +0000

Things are looking up for our clients since the recent economic downturn, but companies are still cautious about spending and hiring. With smaller budgets, fewer people, and uncertainty all around, managers are looking for ways to help their people stay productive in this environment. A few simple approaches will help people work more efficiently and [...]

Mind Mapping Delivers Superior Results in Less Time

Kristin Lowe — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 04:51:06 +0000

Long used in primary and secondary educational settings to help students plan their writing, communicate clearly and prepare for exams, mind mapping is a technique that is increasingly applied in business to help professionals think more creatively, communicate and collaborate more effectively, beat information overload, and manage day-to-day tasks and projects more productively.

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Good Question!

Kristin Lowe — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 04:05:26 +0000

A journalist recently asked us some great questions about organising. Here they are - along with our responses.

Why do we get ourselves all 'in a clutter?'

Many people are too busy to spend time setting up or maintaining organisational systems. Others find it boring or aren’t bothered by the clutter. Some folks simply don’t think systematically – so it doesn’t come naturally to them.

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Simple Email Management

Kristin — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 03:20:01 +0000

Lifehacker founder Gina Trapani gives a straightforward explanation of email action folders and how to deal with the backlog:

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Quick and Dirty De-Cluttering

admin — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 09:49:39 +0000

This month we continue our 'Quick and Dirty' organising series by looking at how to de-clutter an area of your home that is bugging you.

I call these processes 'Quick and Dirty' because these are basic survival strategies for people who feel overwhelmed and need something simple to help them get moving. So far we've looked at Email, Paper, and To-Do lists.

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What’s the hardest part of de-cluttering for you?

admin — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 04:52:14 +0000