Tag Archive for: being more productive

Resist Your Inner Pack Rat and Clear Clutter

Cluttered shed

Cluttered shed (Photo credit: UnnarYmir)

I have a confession to make. I’m somewhat of a pack rat. I like to keep things in case I need them. But I really needed to strike back this weekend. I’ve been irritated and borderline obsessed with the clutter that was living in my desk drawer at home. It was filled with lots of papers and things I didn’t need and lots and lots of power cords.

There are chargers for 4 iPhones, a Blackberry, a MacBook, an iPad Mini, an iPad keyboard case and some wireless speakers — I can’t take it! I’ve been researching ways to tame the power cords and got exhausted.

Reasons to Take a Staycation

Reading

For the whole summer, everyone is daydreaming about jetting off for a beach getaway. I bet very few of you dream of staying near home for your vacation, but don’t sell it short! In hindsight, it’s easy to overlook all the bad parts of a taking a trip – the delayed flights, missed connections and lost luggage.

So next time you think you need a break, consider taking a “staycation” instead. This could mean that you stay in a hotel just down the road, or it could mean that you look to buy a “holiday home” near you. This way you’ve always got a place to go on the weekends or somewhere to use if you have guests staying with you.

Use Lists to Cut Out Clutter

Andrew Mellen Headshot Tighter

I love meeting people who are just as organized as I am and getting the chance to learn something new from them. I went to the BlogHer conference in Chicago last weekend (more about the productivity tips and tricks on outsourcing that I learned there to come soon!) and met Andrew Mellen, bestselling author of Unstuff Your Life. Needless to say, he’s an expert at staying organized and keeping it together! So I thought he’d be the perfect “list producer” to feature:

Q: Why do you call yourself a compulsive list producer?

A: I don’t. I call myself a practical list producer.

Q: What do you make lists about?

A: Things I need to do that need to get out of my head, onto a page, then onto my calendar.

These are typically:

Errands

Home Projects

Work Projects

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Make the Most of Your Weekend

Remember that song “Working for the Weekend” by Loverboy from the 80s?

It always puts a smile on my face! Weekends are the best — I think you’d be hard pressed to find someone who disagrees. You have time to sleep in and indulge in all the things you’re too busy for during the work week.

List of Ways to Make Working At Home Easier

Summer is the perfect excuse to work from home. But working from home can be both a blessing and curse. There are distractions around every corner — kids, food, your bed, etc. I don’t work from home that often but when I do it can sometimes be daunting to keep my head in the game. No wonder why people look to use a hotspot booster though, as this will allow them to work anywhere in the world with good quality internet connection. What more could you ask for? I was recommend to look into email hosting, which would enable me to look at my work emails wherever I am. This is beneficial to people who have their own businesses and their own domain. It’s an easy way to get more reliable and efficient service. Who doesn’t like to make work easier for themselves? There’s so much I have planned this summer in terms of my business. I have always wanted to update and improve my website and I feel like this is the perfect time to do it. The last website that I had, I used an outsource company to help create all my pages. But this time round, I want to try and do this myself. I know it will be difficult initially, but I’ll get used to it. Once I look into what ia definition is and all the other terminology, I should be fine! Plus, if I do get stuck, I know a few people who can give me a helping hand.

I often try to keep the same time table I would if I were working in an office. Taking breaks for lunch and walks to keep myself going. I can’t even imagine how difficult it must be if you also throw kids into the work from home mix.

Care.com, which helps parents find babysitters, nannies and child care, recently asked me to give some tips on ways to be more productive and stay focused. Here’s my list of ways to prioritize and get more done at home.

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