Controlling Family Chaos - Time Management for the Family

Balancing a family's varying schedules can be near impossible. Soccer, hockey, dance, skating, Brownies, Scouts, skiing, swimming, school activities, homework, not to mention play and sleep time, fill our children's lives. Now add in the parental activities, including work, fitness, volunteering, and home maintenance ? and well, 24 hours just doesn't seem to be enough.

See if the following list of strategies can help your family learn to gain control of their time:

1. Hold a Family Meeting

? First parents need to objectively determine some initial priorities for their family. These need to be based upon last years schedule, the individual family member's personalities, finances, current commitments and the comfort level of the family. Some questions that will guide this process are: Do they want to focus on activities or academics based upon last years performances? Will the demands of school or work change? Do they want to fill time with activities or a balance of activities and free time? Do different family members have different needs? Is everyone enjoying their schedules? Is there time for friends, for family, for quiet time, for reading, or for playing?

? Once the family guidelines are determined, hold the meeting and give everyone a chance to choose one or two priorities for the session or year. If one member is having trouble narrowing their list down, have them put them in order of importance. Make sure everyone shares their list and explains why they put it in that order.

2. Create a Family Calendar

? Get a large calendar and input everyone's current schedules for the upcoming month into it.

? Add or remove commitments based upon everyone's priorities determined in the family meeting.

? Make sure this calendar includes school hours and activities, work schedules, activity schedules, religious events, family time, mealtime, homework time, sleep time and most importantly NON-scheduled time.

? Take into account hidden time- travel time, preparation/clean up time, waiting time, etc.

? Determine where conflicts lie ? and as a family see if you can figure out solutions. Maybe one child can suggest a friend they could car pool with, maybe another can walk to their activity, or maybe one can bring their homework along and do it while their sibling is in a lesson.

? Depending on the comfort level of the family ? activities may need to be removed or postponed. Some families thrive on being busy while others need to have a more relaxed schedule.

? Make sure that everyone is in agreement or can live with the schedule.

? Try it for one month and then have another meeting and evaluate the schedule. Make sure it works for everyone and make necessary changes.

How to Handle Those Schedules and Not Waste TIme

Once the priorities and scheduling are done, there are few things that families need to do to make sure that they can handle their schedules and not waste their precious time.

ESTABLISH ROUTINES ? If everyone follows a routine that works, life will run much smoother. Some areas where routines are a must are: before and after school, homework time, chores and meals.
ELIMINATE CLUTTER ? Looking for things wastes a lot of time. Have set places for the things you use daily ? keys, school items, library books, bags, purses, lunch kits, etc.
DEAL WITH PAPER IMMEDIATELY ? Read and recycle mail right at the mailbox, write all pertinent information off school papers, newsletters, mail, flyers, etc on your family calendar and recycle them.
AVOID PERFECTIONSISM ? Aim for completion and excellence. A little dust or a wrinkle won't hurt.
LIMIT DETAILS ? We have so many choices available to us in life. Limit the decisions you offer your family. Ask questions like "Would you prefer a peanut butter or ham sandwich?" rather than "What do you want for lunch?"
TIME WASTERS ? Limit the amount of time family members do the following: watch TV, play video games, surf the Internet, or talk on the phone ? unless you are a teenage girl!

When we have children in school, we can't help but be busy. But being busy with things that are important to us is very different than being overwhelmed by disarray. If we take the time as a family to determine our priorities and work together to eliminate time wasters, we will be in control of our time!

Tracy Lyn Moland, B. Ed, is a Mom Expert. From having written the best selling Mom Management, Managing Mom Before Everybody Else (tgot, 2003) to being a highly sought after consultant on the trillion dollar Mom Market, her advice and information has been featured in over 300 media outlets and to many conferences and corporations. For more information on Tracy Lyn's consulting or presentations please visit <a target="_new" href="http://www.TracyLynMoland.com/">http://www.TracyLynMoland.com</a>

Simple Strategies for Home Based Business Owners to Reduce Stress and be More Satisfied

Handle small emergencies fast: When a small emergency does pop up being prepared with a home medicine kit will come in handy. Make sure to have one in your car and one in the home and look through them twice a year to make sure they are up to date and have been restocked. Use this same twice-yearly update to change the batteries in your smoke detectors and to put fresh batteries in all of your flash lights. Have a special box where you store a few extra batteries, a new flashlight, some storm candles and some lamp oil for an oil lamp in case of a severe storm or power outage. Just putting these emergency kits together will give you peace of mind and when you need them you won't have to rush around hunting for supplies you will know right where to find everything you need.

Ways to cut down on interruptions from little ones when working at home: Just when you are in the middle of writing an article or have your thoughts flowing for the piece your designing, your little friend comes up and tugs on your sleeve telling you they are thirsty. When working at home with small children around you can cut down on these interruptions and still take care of their needs. Tell your children that you will be working on a project for the next two hours and set up drinks and snacks that they can get for them selves. Put a few different drinks in small single serving bottles in the door of the fridge and have them help you make a snack ahead of time that can be stored in a baggie or Tupperware. Asking your children to respect your two hour work break will help them learn to be self sufficient and they will find creative ways to entertain themselves. Then you can spend some time together and have another work break later in the day.

Start with low maintenance in mind when you design: A great way to reduce home maintenance chores is to plan ahead with low maintenance fixtures, flooring, paint colors, and windows when you are building or remodeling. If you already own a home, when things wear out replace them with low maintenance replacements and cut your work time in half. Make sure to use a light color for exterior paint trim. This will reduce peeling and cracking from the sun and will wear longer. Shades and shutters just need to be vacuumed once in a while instead of taken down and laundered. Rugs with darker colors and small patterns will distract the eye from small stains. Using combination storm and screen windows will save you from changing the storm panels twice a year and using cedar trim will make the boards last longer and you won't have to paint them.

Keep your expectations in balance: Our lives become overwhelmed and cluttered from expecting too much from the outcome of something others or we are doing. Focus on the process of what you are doing. It is not what you do but how well you do it. Make the process enjoyable and an important part of what you are doing this will make you much more accepting of the outcome.

Take a moment to recognize the simple joys: Our schedules have become so full and hectic we often forget what we are working for or running towards. You can remedy this by being more present. Think of the simple things that you enjoy and STOP and enjoy them and then go back to what you were doing. If you are driving along and you see a beautiful vista, pull off the road and enjoy the view for a few minutes. Do you love walking in your yard and looking at the flowers and listening to the birds, then start 10 minutes earlier so you can wonder around the yard before you start your busy schedule. Make a list of 5 simple things you enjoy and STOP to enjoy at least one a day.

Be efficient at the grocery store: Plan ahead, think of 5 or 6 meals that you would like to make and make sure to get the ingredients for each to have in the freezer or pantry. Then you can still leave room for impromptu meals like that craving for take out or your neighbor bringing you some fresh fish but you will have everything you need for several meals without having to keep going to the grocery store.

Don't rush through dinner: Have everyone pitch in when it comes to making dinner and sitting down to enjoy it. The meals don't have to be fancy, just a time to be with your family and get a bite to eat. Take turns with the cooking, setting the table, and washing the dishes. Especially in the summer when schedules seem to be tight with all the activity around the house, keep meals light and focus on catching up with what everyone is doing.

Have a cleaning team: Figure out a list for the top 10 cleaning chores that need to be done each week. Give everyone a few chores to do and write them down on the calendar or post it on the refrigerator. When you each pull together and focus on the few tasks you need to do the house will get cleaned and everyone can feel like they have contributed without one person having to manage everything.

Ban those useful looking gadgets from the house: The marketing of the next cleaning monster, or tool whiz is terrific, you see the ad think how great it would be to have that latest gizmo and before you know it your are stumbling over all sorts of gizmos that were supposed to simplify your life and they have just given you more stuff to clean around. Ask yourself the hard question before you get that next gizmo; is there a tool I already own that could do the same thing? You can use this same question for small handy dandy kitchen appliances. Your closets, workroom, and pantry will be cleared of clutter in no time. Take the money you would have paid for the item, make sure to include the price for shipping and handling and put it in a large savings jar at the end of the year you can use the money you saved for a fun family outing.

Make sure important notes and schedules don't get lost in the clutter of the coffee table: Designate a special area in your house where important messages and schedules can be posted. Keep this area clear except for these items and you will always know where to look.

About The Author

?BZ Riger-Hull.<a href="http://www.in-spiros.com" target="_new">www.in-spiros.com</a> For valuable free articles, assessments, & practical success tools<a href="mailto:A1@smartautoresponder.com">mailto:A1@smartautoresponder.com</a> Certified as a Success Coach, &quot;Four Agreements&quot; Facilitator, & Tele-Course leader We help you communicate powerfully, reduce stress, Strategically Attract success, & increase your financial well-being.

<a href="mailto:bz@in-spiros.com">bz@in-spiros.com</a>

The Power of 90 Seconds

You can use the Power of 90 Seconds to transform your life. This power will allow you to:

=> Prevent countless problems.

=> Add additional hours to your day.

=> Maximize your efficiently while reducing stress.

=> Save hours of time as you make less mistakes and prevent problems.

=> Make Smart decisions.

Few people truly understand the power of 90 seconds and use it properly. The results are staggering: unnecessary stress, problems, hours of lost time, etc.

You will be different! You will discover this rule and use it to its maximum benefit. This article will show you how to harness the "Power of 90 Seconds."

Let's discover how to use "The Power of 90 Seconds."

You must understand two things:

1. It takes over 20 times more time or money to fix the problem than in does to prevent the problem. (Often it is one-hundred times) Thus time spent on preventing problems is as valuable as gold. (Don't you forget it!)

2. Seconds spend on prevention will save you hours of time, loads of frustration and stress, and piles of money.

Here is how you can use the "Power of 90 Seconds".

Use 90 seconds to:

=> Prevent a problem.

=> Think through a Decision,

=> Do something now which will save time down the road.

=> Fix the problem now.

Example:

=> Your boss comes in and hands you an important document. Instead of using 90 second to file it away, you toss it on a stack of papers. As usual it is gone when you want it three days later. Stress and anxiety builds as the time slips by while you frantically search for the report. You could have saved 30 minutes by using 90 seconds to file it away.

=> You decide not to write down an appointment in your book because it would have taken to long. (30 Seconds). This results in a lost customer, distrust, and a talk with your boss. Thirty seconds would have prevented all this.

=> Instead of writing down a list of the things you need, you go straight to the grocery store. You forget an important idem. The result: * $3 of gas lost. * 1 hour of time gone forever because you had to back to the store.

=> You look outside your window and see that your son has left his bike in back of your car. Instead of spending 90 seconds to move it or tell your son to move it, you decide to wait deal with the problem tomorrow. Of course you forget and back over his bicycle:

Ninety seconds would have prevented:

<ul>

<li> ? Hour changing a tire.(plus $40 for a new one)

<li> $95.95 for a new bicycle.

<li> 10 minutes of lecture from the your boss at work for being late.

</ul>

=> One afternoon you notice that the rope that secures your dog to the tree is getting frayed. Just like human nature, you figure you will replace the old rope with the new rope from the garage in the next few days. Three days later your dog breaks loose. Three minutes of replacing the rope would have prevented:

<ul>

<li> 5 Hours searching for the dog.

<li> $50 reward for having him returned.

<li> $13 spent on printing flyers.

<li> Undue Stress

</ul>

Get the picture? Everyday you will run into situations where you can use the "Power of 90 Seconds" to prevent problems and reduce stress.

It is all part of the 90/10 Secret. Discover the secret by reading the article: "Discover the 90/10 Secret: It will change your life." Find it here: http://www.magic-people- skills.com?9010Secret

To make sure this is clear, let me throw out some specific examples where you can use the "Power of 90 Seconds."

=> Fill the car up with gas when the tank is only 1/4 full. Never will you have to waste time and money standing by the side of the road.

=> Replace burned out light bulbs, old tires, or etc. now. Take 90 some time and do it now, before you fall down the steps in the dark, have an accident, etc.

=> Think before you speak. Save embarrassment and a ruined reputation.

=> Use 90 seconds to file something away before it gets lost.

=> When you see something that could be a future problem, fix it now.

=> Make the phone call now, instead of waiting.

Do you see the "Power of 90 seconds"? Let me use one last point to illustrate it.

One day I was on the beach by the great Lakes. For six hours I played soccer, volleyball, and had a blast. However, I did not take the time to spend 90 seconds and apply sun block on my feet. My feet got scorched and I mean scorched. The result?

=> $$$$$$ spent on lotions and creams

=> Fiery pain for 7 days

=> Swollen feet..

=> Numerous hours lost while I laid on the couch with my feet on ice.

=> Missed activities, work, and a lack of productivity.

If I had used 90 Seconds to put sun block on, none of this would happened.

Prevent problems and you will prevent trouble. Use this secret now. Find more articles at <a target="_new" href="http://www.Magic-People-Skills.com">http://www.Magic-People-Skills.com</a>

About The Author

? 2001, Arlen Busenitz. Arlen is a free lance writer specializing in people skills and personal improvement. Free articles and the "Secret to Making People Like You" can be found here:

<a href="http://www.Magic-People-Skills.com/" target="_new">http://www.Magic-People-Skills.com</a>. <a href="mailto:Arlen-impression@Magic-People-skills.com">Arlen-impression@Magic-People-skills.com</a>

Time Is Everything

Time is wealth;

Time is health;
Time is power;
Time is strength.

Time is the essence of life

Time is everything

But time is nothing,
without proper planning.
Its just the wastage of time
And God never forgive those who waste their time

All influential people,

All important people,
All successful people,
Have one thing in common

They all value their time.

For them,
Time is everything!

Do you value your time and the time of others?

About The Author

Hifzur Rehman is the editor of <a href="http://www.selfimprovement.ch" target="_new">http://www.selfimprovement.ch</a> This site offers everything for a successful living.

<a href="mailto:hrehman@selfimprovement.ch">hrehman@selfimprovement.ch</a>

Having Time on Your Side

<B>Clarity brings accomplishment</B>

One of the most important things you can do to effectively manage your day, week, month or year is to get clear on what it is you want to achieve. When you lose track of your goals or fail to plan appropriately, you end up spinning in circles and nothing gets accomplished. The clearer you are on your goals, the better results you will get. Make sure your goals are personal to you and not part of someone else's expectations. You will be far more motivated to achieve success when you are working towards something that really matters to you.

<B>Goal setting leads to success</B>

Goals are best visualized, worked on, and completed when articulated with the written word. As a motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar says, "Written goals transform you from a wandering generality into a meaningful specific." By writing your goals, breaking them down into manageable tasks, and constantly keeping focused on the bigger picture, you'll gain clarity and insight that will help you move forward on your action plan. Once you try this, you will be amazed at the results. It really does work--as long as you do the legwork and keep the momentum going!

<B>Goal setting principles </B> Be creative when writing your goals and have fun with the process. <LI>Imagine that you have no limitations on what you can do, have or be. As Brian Tracy says, "Only big dreams can keep you excited and working enthusiastically every day towards their accomplishment." <LI> Do not allow yourself to think of the reasons why you cannot accomplish something. <LI>Keep your focus on why you can do it. <LI>Keep the mental roadblocks out of the way then leave room for your goals to start developing. <LI>As long as you are perfectly clear on your goals, it will be easier to achieve them. <LI>Write your goals in the present tense. <LI>Each of your goals will begin with the word 'I'. An example might be; "I create more profit in my business by writing my goals daily". Begin with 'I' then use an action verb. Prioritize your daily goals <B>Prioritizing</B>

Prioritizing your daily goals is one of the most important things that need to happen so you can accomplish more in less time. This single action step has saved individuals and large companies thousands of dollars and made them more efficient in many ways.

One example of this is a client I've worked with who started out just seeing all their goals listed on a schedule each day. The complaint was, "I have too many things to do each day and not enough time to get it all done." We started analyzing why this was happening. Then I put a process in place so my client would plan and prioritize each day. The results were astounding. This person was not only able to get more done but this also allowed him more time with his family every day.

<B>Action steps for prioritizing</B>

<LI>Write down your goals for the day. After you have them listed, then start organizing in priority order. An 'A' is a goal that is extremely important to you. A 'B' is something you'd like to get done but it's not as urgent as the 'A'. The 'C' goals are something that would be nice to get done but not as important as 'A' or 'B'.

<LI>After you have separated all your goals, look at the 'A's and start numbering them in priority order. All of the 'A-1s' are your first action items to do that day. These are the urgent, important tasks that need done. The 'A'-2s' are important but less important than the A1s, and so on with the 'B' and 'C' goals.

<LI>If you have trouble prioritizing, ask your self the question "If I could only accomplish one more goal on this list, which one goal would that be?" This will help you decide the urgent from the important so you can prioritize every goal in descending order according to importance. Take responsibility for the results

<LI>Accept 100 percent responsibility for getting the results necessary to achieve your goal. If you decide to take a half-day off, don't beat yourself up. Know that you are living in the choice to do that. So accept that responsibility. I'm sure there will still be a lot you accomplished that day.

<B>Seeing daily results</B>

Do something everyday that moves you towards your desired goals.

There's an old saying of 'by the yard, it's hard, but inch by inch, anything's a cinch'. It's the tasks within the project are what gets the job done. When you review your goals, projects and tasks, and put them in priority order, you will be clear and focused on the tasks at hand while strategically moving towards your ideal results.

At the end of the day, review your list and monitor how you did. You'll see how much more you'll achieve by developing these simple, daily habits.

<B>Self-Management</B>

Setting your goals INCREASES: <UL> <LI>Effectiveness <LI>Motivation <LI>Direction <LI>Accountability <LI>Desirable results <LI>Personal satisfaction </UL> <UL> Lack of goal setting DECREASES: <LI>Urgency <LI>Ability to priority <LI>Measurable results <LI>Productivity <LI>Efficiency <LI>Organize to get maximum results </UL> Once goals are prioritized, the next step is to plan and get organized. The better planning you do, the more results you will achieve. By following the steps in this article, you will: <LI>Get better results than ever before <LI>Discover a sense of pace and direction <LI>Achieve results in priority order <LI>Create the accountability you need to get more done <LI>Have more time for family and friends <LI>Do more of what you enjoy doing <LI>Expand your sense of control <LI>Feel more satisfied with your daily results

<B>Start the process now! Good luck with getting more done in less time. </B>

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Reprinting These Articles You are welcome to use one of these articles. Just be sure and include the "author's box" at the end:

<B>Cheryl Vallejos
Prime Leaders Community
<a target="_new" href="http://www.PrimeLeaders.com">www.PrimeLeaders.com</a></B>
Helping good managers become great leaders!

President and CEO of Endorse Success, LLC and Prime Leaders Community, Cheryl Vallejos has more than 22 years of experience in organizational business management. Her passion is helping small businesses create big profits. Cheryl's business and personal clients include those wanting career advancement, people starting or expanding their businesses, and those needing guidance and support in setting, meeting, and exceeding their business and personal goals.

A dynamic and impressive leading-edge coach and consultant, Cheryl has combined extensive business management experience with her highly regarded talent as a certified coach to helping entrepreneurs and businesses improve productivity, cut costs by over 25% and find that elusive extra time in the day for family and friends.

Cheryl recently launched Prime Leaders Community, an excellent business resource that provides networking, leadership coaching and training, tele-seminars and much more. She has successfully started, owned and operated 3 businesses, and is the author of four books: Injecting The Juice Into Leadership.

Managing Worry: Productivity Tips for High Achievers Who Worry

Are you a worrier? Do you frequently spend time and energy worrying about your finances, your children, your career, world politics? Worry can be a highly useful, brilliantly engineered cue to action or a useless and destructive energy drain. The challenge is to decide which it is, on a case-by-case basis, and manage yourself accordingly.

Here is a quick and dirty, but highly effective way to manage your worrying habit.

1. Learn to recognize when you are worrying.

This takes practice. You may not recognize yourself worrying until you've been at a particular worry for days or weeks. But whether you catch yourself in the first minute or the first month, the most important step is recognizing the pattern. You can develop your &quot;witness&quot; over time and become more proficient in noticing when you are worrying.

2. Determine if something needs to be done.

Ask yourself, &quot;Is the worry a cue to action?&quot; <ul> <li>For example, if you are worried that your toddler will get lead paint poisoning from the lead paint on your windows, there is indeed something that needs to be done. You need to get the lead paint removed from your windows. And keep your child well supervised in the meantime.</li> <li>If you don't know whether or not something needs to be done, find out. You need to get more information ? THAT's what needs to happen. </li> </ul>

3. If something needs to be done, get it done as soon as possible.

Often just deciding to take the action can loosen worry's grip on you. But it's critical that you follow through -- take that action as soon as it is feasible. <ul> <li>Call the state agency that deals with lead paint removal and get the names of contractors who do that kind of work. Get moving with hiring and scheduling a contractor. Call your pediatrician and get advice about how to protect your child during the removal process and follow up on every detail. </li> </ul>

4. If nothing needs to be done, release the worry.

<ul> <li>If the lead paint removal is scheduled, your child is adequately supervised, and you're following all of the pediatrician's instructions, there is nothing more to be done. Your job in this case is to re-focus your attention elsewhere.</li></ul>

For most people, relinquishing the worry is the hardest part. If you generally let worry run unchecked, you know that it's a very greedy energy that will take as much of your attention as you let it. It will reduce your effectiveness and productivity. Some serious boundary-setting with yourself is required here.

Experiment with the following strategy. In your mind, respond to the worry with something like this: "Thank you for sharing. I appreciate your concern (this is important). But there is nothing more to be done right now, so I'm going to stop thinking about this.&quot; Then get yourself to focus on something else ? find something else compelling and engaging to think about. You might line up some contenders in advance. Just about anything that works for you will do.

Sooner or later, the worry will return. Repeat steps 1 through 4 as needed. This is an iterative process. Hang in!

Here is a short list of some of the worries that my clients have learned to deal with more effectively:

<ul> <li> Personal finances. My client regularly pictured herself as a bag lady, penniless and homeless, despite her current (and past) circumstances, which were nothing of the sort. The action that was called for was to develop a strong and detailed financial plan with an expert.</li> <li> Global warming. My client, a self-proclaimed &quot;tree-hugger and dirt worshipper&quot; was sick at heart and frequently anxious about global warming. The action called for was to get involved with conservation and political action organizations. </li> <li> Career. For one of my clients who worried she was failing in her current job, the solution was to identify where she needed to improve her performance, and to get training in that arena. Another career-anxious client determined there was no action required. She learned to respond to the angst by listing for herself the ways she was effective in her work; this activity served to change her state of mind. </li> </ul>

Do you need help figuring out whether a worry merits action or how to disarm a stubborn worry-habit? Invest in yourself and get the help you need. Coaching can make a difference. <a href="mailto:sharon@stcoach.com">Contact me</a> for an initial consultation at no charge.

Copyright, Sharon Teitelbaum, 2005.

Sharon Teitelbaum is a Work-Life and Career Coach who works with high achieving women with young children , people at mid-career , and professionals seeking greater career satisfaction or work-life balance. Her book, Getting Unstuck Without Coming Unglued: Restoring Work-Life Balance, is available at her website, <a target="_new" href="http://www.stcoach.com">http://www.STcoach.com</a>.

Certified as a Professional Certified Coach (PCC), Sharon works by phone with clients around the world and in-person in Boston.

She delivers keynotes and workshops on work-life balance issues, has been in national publications including The New York Times and Working Mother Magazine, and has appeared on cable and network television. She publishes <a href="http://www.stcoach.com/newsletters/index.html">Strategies for Change</a>, a newsletter offering practical tips for work-life success.

Sharon has been married for 30 years and is the mother of two amazing young women. You can contact her <a target="_new" href="http://www.stcoach.com/contact.html/">here</a>.

It?s Not The Same Old Routine

We are constantly inundated with routine (often boring!) tasks around the house. This can cause major frustration because many of us don't do them efficiently, and most of us fail to complete our entire list of chores! You may take comfort in comment from a commiserating colleague: &quot;A creative mind always has more ideas than the physical body is able to carry out. The only people who finish their 'to do' list are dead.&quot; So, relax, there is only so much time in the day, and ask yourself, &quot;What's the most important thing to do today?&quot;

It is important to make the most of your time and energy, but many of us take the long road to accomplish our work, when it turns out there was a short cut all along. Wouldn't you love to lower your stress and add &quot;free&quot; time to your day? Here are a few tips you might try to accomplish your routine work more easily.

? Create a communication center on the fridge for messages, chores etc. Add a cartoon now and then to add a smile to your day!
? Make a master calendar for scheduling family commitments. Use a different color for each family member.
? Create a checklist for groceries arranged in the order of your grocery store aisles posted where family members can add items as you run out.
? Sort recipes in categories that make sense to you ? &quot;potluck ideas&quot; or &quot;company ideas.&quot;
? Keep related items together, for example the coffee filters and coffee &quot;live&quot; above or near the coffee maker.
? Designate every location or container for a specific purpose -- a drawer for tools, a shelf for single size linens, or an attractive wastebasket for umbrellas.
? Keep cleaning supplies in a bucket other plastic container for easy portability.
? Identify a specific place to put car keys, gloves, umbrellas etc., for quick access when you leave the house.
? Use an answering machine or service to control calls. Return calls at your convenience. Keep a notebook by the phone for messages. Identify messages for family members with initials.
? Teach your children to use an alarm clock or clock radio.
? Choose clothing and accessories and pack lunches the night before.
? Start a child's file system with a simple container, basket, file or shelf. It may contain information about their medical records, medicines, education, extra curricular activities, memorabilia, etc.
? Run errands at non-rush hour times if possible. Keep stops sequential to avoid driving in circles. Take one child along for one-on-one time and stop for ice cream or a look at the petstore.
? When opening your incoming e-mail, apply The FAT System? (File-Act-Toss). Sort actions requiring action by category such as &quot;Call,&quot; &quot;Discuss&quot; or &quot;Pay.&quot;
? Attach the old message when replying to an e-mail to help the recipient remember its original content.
? Keep your filing system simple. Don't create too many categories, it's better to put information into the largest general category first, and break it down when it becomes too bulky.
? Finish one task at a time. Distractions will leave you with a lot of chores that are half way done.
? Practice the Art of Wastebasketry?. Ask yourself, &quot;What's the worst possible thing that would happen if I didn't have this? If you can live with your answer, toss it ? and live happily ever after!

Your daily routine will take time. And don't beat yourself up if you can't get it all done. But remember, a little organization can go a long way. Often it's a simple change that makes a big difference. You may find your self saying &quot;why didn't I think of that before?&quot; You can contemplate that thought at the end of the day, while you relax in a lounge chair, enjoying your free time.

? Barbara Hemphill is the author of Kiplinger's Taming the Paper Tiger at Work and Taming the Paper Tiger at Home and co-author of Love It or Lose It: Living Clutter-Free Forever. The mission of Hemphill Productivity Institute is to help individuals and organizations create and sustain a productive environment so they can accomplish their work and enjoy their lives. We do this by organizing space, information, and time. We can be reached at 800-427-0237 or at <a target="_new" href="http://www.ProductiveEnvironment.com">www.ProductiveEnvironment.com</a>