Since Inspired Home Office classes are offered by phone, I don’t do a lot of teaching in person… but I love it. Last night, I got to speak to a full house of local artists about creating an inspiring studio space at The Art Department (a really sweet local business in Salem). What a blast!

There were moments of seriousness and laughter as we talked about the challenges of letting go of treasures. We dreamed about the environments that would make our hearts and creativity sing. I hope those who attended had as much fun as I did!

Masquerading projects

The distinction between a task and a project was a revelation for me years ago. When I added a project to my to-do list, I felt really frustrated that even though I had worked on if for a good while, but couldn’t get a “check mark” because it wasn’t done. Taxes are a good example. Write “do your taxes” on your to-do list and just wait — it’ll be on there forever.

Last night I shared that a task takes about 15-20 minutes to complete. If it takes any longer than that, it’s really a project. Projects are a collection of tasks.

The reason why it’s so hard to have a project on your to-do list is that it’s too big. What it really needs is to be broken up into smaller tasks before you begin. Even if you just write down the next 3-5 tasks (under 20 minutes), you now have action steps you can follow. Your brain can wrap itself around the idea of a few tasks, but it boggles at whole projects.

Removing the mask — practical ideas for your projects

One of the women who attended my talk last night followed up with a question by email:

I usually think something is just a task and will only take a short time and lo and behold it is really a project!  Like cleaning my quilting space…I thought oh I can get this done in a day and 8 days later it was done!  What is your method for figuring this out…any ideas are appreciated. 

I’m a big fan of writing things down — it’s visual, it’s kinesthetic, and (if you talk to yourself) it’s also auditory. Your brain revels in having all of these sources of input seeing, touching, and hearing your ideas.

So I suggest grabbing a p0en you like and blank sheet of paper. Write the name of the project (or suspected project) at the top and underline it. Then, underneath, do a 3-minute brainstorm listing all of the steps you’d take to accomplish the project. This is the exact same process that we use in the Office Spa Day class.

Cleaning My Quilting Space

Find the scissors and tape measure
Go through the box of fat quarters
Put cutting mat back
Put quilting frame away
Research containers for projects in process
Pick up dropped pins

With this hypothetical brainstorm list, you’d review it looking for things that would take more or less than 20 minutes.

To aid yourself visually, you could put a T next to tasks (less than 20 minutes) and a P next to projects (more than 20 minutes). “Researching containers” would likely take longer than 20 minutes. “Going through the box of fat quarters” might also (what fun!). When you notice which of these items are actually projects, you can either ignore them for now and just work on the tasks for the main project (clearing the quilting space) or make a new sheet of paper and list the tasks for the projects you discover on your list.

How to make it inspiring

Doing this process helps you prevent being surprised by lurking projects. My favorite part is that as I work through the list of tasks, I get credit for all the small things, not just the finished product. This encourages me along the way. I also delight in adding unexpected small steps to the list as I do them, which just gives more evidence of my progress!

The more you do this process (or any variation on it), the better you get at recognizing projects. You get better at guessing how long a task will take to complete. Within a couple of months, you become the Master/Mistress of Projects and they no longer surprise you. It’s pretty awesome to feel some control over the things you take on!

Have you encountered a recent task that turned out to be a project in disguise? I’m curious! Please feel free to share about it below.

It’s almost the end of the month (thank heavens!)

If it were up to me, I’d give everyone the month of January off. I’d wave my magic wand and clear every calendar, enforce regular nap times, and pay all bills due. Yep. A whole month of vacation. Wouldn’t that rock?

Now that the resolution hoopla is finally over, the pressure’s off! We can recover from the January hype and urgency — and settle into a healthy pace. Whew! So glad THAT’s over for another year.

Truthfully, I’ve been grappling with mild depression all month — and I think it comes from a combination of insufficient sunlight and battling off the January “shoulds”. January is an INNER month. A reflection month. A store up starches so that we can bloom like crazy in springtime month.

It’s okay to be introverted. Especially in January. I’m making peace with this and learning to plan accordingly.

Planning organically for the upcoming year

While I’ve been playing at hibernation the last few weeks, I’ve also been planning like a crazy-woman and loving it. At this point, I have nothing to show for all this planning. There are at least 4 calendars in my office — some big, some small — all of them are helping me figure out how I want to spend my work and personal time. It’s totally awesome.

If I had any advice to share for the end of January, this would be it: Allow planning to be enough in its own right. Recognize the inherent value of contemplating your future before you step out into it.

What does your spirit cry out for?

Now through the month of February, immerse yourself deeply in this question: “What do I want?” And do something radical like really listen to what comes up when you ask it. This is your spirit’s longing speaking.

Knowing what you truly want this year does more than just help you create it. It helps you recognize what is expendable. Knowing what you want helps create the desire to release anything that doesn’t serve you — whether it’s clutter, or old books, or unhealthy beliefs, or soul-sucking projects, or people who don’t give you the respect you deserve. Knowing what you want makes saying “no” possible.

Discerning what you want is a powerful, precious gift that only you can give to yourself.

So I ask you: What do you want this year? Now that the January pressure is off, what is your spirit craving?

Do share your ideas below. I love hearing from you.

xo,
Jen

Not to spook ya, but somewhere in the dark recesses of your filing cabinet are documents you know you want to have better protected.

Your office inventory — the one your insurance agent told you to make just in case the whole place burns to cinders — is filed away in a folder marked “Office Inventory.” This inventory lives in a cabinet which will melt to a puddle of blistered beige goo if the unthinkable happened. Ditto your tax returns, your Microsoft Stocks, and your 11th grade yearbook signed (with love and kisses) by Danny Hammond.

You might not need (or have room for) an honest-to-goodness safe, but most of us do have things which ought to be kept in a place slightly more secure than the usual cardboard accordion folder. Here, then, is a dandy answer!

Well, technically, it’s the red thing under the cat.

The Sentry Safe Guardian Storage Box is small enough to fit in my office closet (above), under your desk, light enough to carry, and works incredibly well as a footstool in a pinch. It has the same capacity as a regular storage box, but astonishingly, can withstand up to 1,200 degrees for up to twenty minutes.

I own one because the nice people at Sentry asked me to review it on my blog! How generous!

The downsides:

You can’t use hanging files. I tried. When you put the lid on, no closey.

See?

If you’re crazy about hanging files and their sticky-uppey plastic tabs (like I am), it’s an odd sensation. You mean, organize without tabs? It’s like going out in public in my bathrobe.

But I tried it.

Proof that organizing doesn't have to be perfect to be effective.

And it wasn’t awful. What I did was cut a few hanging files in half and removed the metal hangers. So there are still dividers. As long as the box is mostly full, it works pretty well.

The upsides:

I’ve been meaning to do this for years.

Technically, the IRS wants you to keep 3-7 years worth of original tax records and receipts. Not bank statements, not credit card statements — original receipts. If they burned up in a fire (God forbid) and I got audited (God further forbid), well I’m sure I’d find a way. But, ugh.

Someday I’ll scan everything (the IRS likes scans), but in the meantime having everything in there and protected makes me feel much better. I like that feeling a lot.

The really cool thing? Receiving the Guardian also motivated me to downsize two file boxes worth of old papers. It took me a weekend, but wow! I love that kind of motivation!

An inspired organizing tip:

If you leave the lid off this box, it’s useless — at least as far as fire protection is concerned. Unless you think you’ll really replace the lid consistently during regular use, plan to put touch-once-per-year archives only in here. Birth certificates. Passports. That way the lid goes right back on and you don’t have to think about it again.

Once you get the hang of putting all those important documents in here, you won’t ever have to frantically search for your passport ever again before leaving for Europe. (And when you do, will you take me with you?)

My summary

This storage box would be better if it copied its non-fireproof cousins and accommodated hanging files. Other than that, it’s pretty darned great! And I’d say the same thing even if the nice Sentry people hadn’t sent me one!

 Introducing the amazing, versatile stair step folder holder thingy! Isn’t she a thing of beauty?

Each of us has something like a stacker on our desks which holds work-in-progress folders, as well as the “to be read when I have a minutes and/or want to impress somebody who happens by” folder, and, of course, the “I have no idea what to do with this, but if I wait long enough I might have an epiphany” files. Sadly, these little organizers do little to actually organize us. Generally, they effectively hide the folder labels because they are all on the same level and cannot be easily seen.

 Ahhh, but here we have the perfect office accessory. This is the little black dress in the world of home office-ers. Not only is it inclined upward from front to back, making it possible to actually SEE what you have stored there, but it’s also made of 30% recycled materials! The best ones have high dividers that prevent papers from flopping over.

The only down-side I can find to owning your own amazing, versatile stair-step folder holder thingy is that you might find some nasty surprises when you clean out your old stacker.

“Huh. I thought I’d sent that form to the Internal Revenue Service MONTHS ago.”

Don’t like black? Try these on for size!

 I use this exact one in my own office.

Do you use a graduated file holder? If so, what do you put in it?

It’s not that I’m a cheapskate, really. I just hate, HATE to throw away a perfectly good file folder because I can’t scrape the old, outdated label neatly and completely off in order that I might re-purpose the thing. Usually, I end up turning the folder inside-out and hoping that I don’t get myself into an unforeseen filing cabinet collision which might reveal my little secret.

The folks at Post-It seem to have heard my pleas. (Or, snarls as the case may be.) Recently, Post-It(R) introduced a new line of heavy-duty, durable and thoroughly peel-off-able file folder tabs. Not only are they extra thick and easy to peel, stick and replace, they come in hot colors – fluorescent pink, yellow, green and orange which will surely speak to me at the end of the day when numbers and words all begin to look like hieroglyphic artifacts.

I love these things! They’re inexpensive, durable and they are pretty. Who knew office supplies could amuse me so completely?

Do you have a trick for reusing old files — or do you toss them and start fresh?

na – no – rhy – mo

National Novel Writers Month – November 2011

It’s a 30-day writing plunge for people all over the world. It helps people get motivated to do the writing they always wanted to.

The goal? 1666 words per day – or a total of 10,000 words for the month.

Technically, I’m not writing a novel. I’m writing non-fiction, but I’m participating anyway.Isn’t it fun to write your own rules?

Here’s a short synopsis of the book:

Creative people have such an incredible capacity to change the world through their ideas. Yet, if they have no physical space to do this work, all the accumulated clutter blocks their ideas and motivation. This non-fiction book helps cluttered creatives bring ingenuity and spirit to their spaces and to create environments that support and inspire their best work.

How I’m getting ready

Never having done this much writing before, I’m nervous! Whew! Here’s how I’m getting ready:

• Assess whether I really want to write 10,000 words (or if a different goal is more realistic)
• Set aside time in my calendar to write
• Flip through my notecards that outline the book (just to shift the stuck energy)
• Mention it on Facebook to connect with other writers
• Sign up for a NaNoWriMo account (free!)
• Write about it on my blog (yay!)

Insights?

If you’ve ever participated in NaNoWriMo or written a book or done something big that you were nervous about, I’d love for you to comment below. Please share your experiences about what worked for you and what you learned. I welcome your insights!

Has your life grown a little drab? Is your ‘to do list’ unimaginative and bland? Mr. Sketch to the rescue! For those of us whose color-coding system for calendars, appointments and grocery lists has become a bit mundane, Mr. Sketch introduces colorful, SCENTED markers guaranteed to spice up even the most vanilla of post-it notes.

Now, when I get up early and stumble to my home office with my first cup of coffee, I can organize my day by SMELL! Morning appointments are cherry, afternoon calls are licorice. From melon to mango, Mr. Sketch makes it possible for me to plan my entire schedule without even opening my eyes! Ok. Perhaps that’s stretching it.

For the more practical among us, Mr. Sketch’s scented markers provide an outstanding way to capture the attention of co-worker, students, and family members! Not only are theynon-toxic and brilliantly colored, they pack an extra punch! Since scent is one of the brain’s most powerful memory tools, Mr. Sketch promises to stimulate the olfactory bulbs of everyone around you.

Oh. And did I mention how much fun they are?

Do you love Mr. Sketch too? How do you use these in your home office?

Not only is today the first day of summer in the northern hemisphere and the first day of winter in the southern, it’s also National Day of Slowness.

It’s odd-sounding, I’ll admit. Slowness is associated with snails. And traffic. Slowness is my brain on an un-caffeinated morning. So, how is slowness a good thing?

A few years ago, I discovered the Slow Movement when I read In Praise of Slowness by Carl Honoré. All the parts of the Slow Movement are efforts to get humanity to slow down and savor life. There’s Slow Food (heard of that one?) — the antithesis of fast food. Slow Foodies encourage buying locally grown foods, preparing them deliciously, and then savoring them as they’re eaten. Sounds like a slice of Under the Tuscan Sun, but you don’t have to travel to Italy — you can have this experience in your own kitchen.

Other parts of the Slow Movement include Slow Cities, Slow Sex, Slow Medicine, Slow Children. Inspired Home Office is all about Slow Organizing.

Can you imagine bringing more intention and love to your life?

In this driven culture, I believe that we don’t need more. Even though that’s what every ad and publication wants you to believe. We don’t need faster internet or more apps or the latest thing. Honoré calls this the “cult of speed.”

What we really need is to slow down enough that we can be present with what we already have, and find gratitude there.

Slowing down brings our stress level to nil, allows us to connect meaningfully with ourselves and others, and deepen our sense of contentedness. Aliveness. Purpose.

Slowing down is a process.

Most people’s initial reaction to slowing down is “Where on earth would I find the time to slow down?!” The truth is, you have to reserve it. Maybe on Sunday nights, you can make a Slow Meal. Or you can attend an Office Spa Day once a month for some Slow Organizing.

Lately, I’ve been reserving 30 minutes at the beginning of my day to meditate and find gratitude for the abundance in my life. It’s changing me in positive ways I could never have anticipated. I love it. Even when it’s hard to reserve that time.

A way to begin

If you want to slow down, it helps to choose one area you and learn the terrain. To start, simply notice which area of your life seems most out of alignment. Which area of your life could bring your more joy or peace if you paid attention to it? Start there, and be curious about what you’d like to experience. See if there’s any slowness you want to invite there.

Is there an area of your life you’d like to slow down? Feel free to comment and share!

Adorable, isn’t it? I’d be willing to bet that if I added a warming bed, it would be kitty bliss!

Hat tip to Nita for the resource!

They always seem to come up in Office Spa Day or in the Wish Kit Class…

“The cords over and under my desk look awful!”

For all the mobile (and stationary) devices we use, juice still comes out of a hole in the wall. And every cord we connect to that area adds to the visual distraction. It might not be visible when you’re seated at your desk, but stand in the doorway. Yup. There they are.

Here’s what I use in my own office. A combination of these:

And this (had to crawl around under the desk to take it):

All together, the hook and cable ties probably cost $0.11 at the hardware store.

Here are some other solutions I’ve seen:

This DIY one courtesy of Darcy (click photo for instructions):

Photo credit: RecyclArt.org

I love the 3M “Command” line of products – they stick to surfaces without damaging them. I just found out they have a kit for cord-wrangling!

You probably have the supplies for this in your drawer — it’s not perfect, but it’s simple and brilliant.

Photo credit: TokesterJokester

Here’s one IKEA cord-taming solution that looks interesting (see all 5 here).

Phot credit: Unplggd.com

Home Depot has some interesting, more permanent solutions (click for images).

Here’s one more from the Container Store called the Cord Zipper. Hat tip again to Darcy!

What do you use?

I’d love to know what you’ve found that works for you. Feel free to email me a photo and I’ll add it to this post or just comment below.