Whatever the situation, it is likely that children will spend a good amount of time learning remotely this year. With that in mind, we can plan ahead to create a calm home atmosphere that’s conducive to learning. How to do this?
Parents, are you dreading the start of the school year and its uncertainty? In this age of COVID-19, school districts struggle with their back-to-school plans. Who knows how these plans will work out in the long term?
Whatever the situation, it is likely that children will spend a good amount of time learning remotely this year. With that in mind, we can plan ahead to create a calm home atmosphere that’s conducive to learning. How to do this?
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Your checklist, that is.
If you have a tendency to forget critical items when you leave the home, here’s a solution. Create a checklist like the one below. Post it in a prominent location such as on the door, or in your vehicle. My Checklist:
Other possibilities for the checklist:
Done! No more embarrassment, frustration, anger, or upset. Embarrassed by losing the same things (phone, keys) over and over again? For people with ADHD this problem is all too common. For the rest of us, losing items becomes a reality when we’re stressed or tired. There are serious consequences for misplacing important items: we are delayed getting out of the house, we make a bad impression, we disappoint ourselves, we arrive late to appointments and jobs, and we appear to disrespect friends, family and coworkers! There are viable strategies to help even the most absentminded.
A basic principle of organizing is to assign homes for all our things: papers, shoes, tools, sports equipment, photos, clothes and so on. The same is true for crucial items like keys, phones or store/gift cards. Not only do these items need homes but we must be consistent about returning them to their rightful places. How to do this? (click on Read More) Have you finished the first step by removing old files and folders? Now it’s time to make a second pass to organize your personal files. Follow these tips to make them orderly and self-explanatory.
1. FILES AND FOLDERS
I recently had the unfortunate experience of an email meltdown, which took many hours to fix. My inbox was filled with thousands of emails and their duplicates. Computer viruses were partly to blame but my own negligence was also a factor. Long story short – I cleaned up the mess and vowed to keep it under control. Here’s how I decluttered thousands of messages and instituted a management system for the future. Could your emails use some decluttering too? (Click on Read More)
February is a great month to focus on paper management. Now that the New Year is underway, it’s time to purge old files. At this time of year, who isn't motivated to organize next year’s tax records more effectively. If you have been procrastinating on getting papers under control adopt some ideas from this short list of tips and tricks. Even small improvements can make a big difference in finding what you need. WHERE
WHEN
WHY
HOW
Do you want to be more efficient? Do you want to spend less time and get more done? Do you want to work with more focus? Do you want to successfully avoid distractions? Here is a technique that is sure to get you there.
I recently listened to a workshop recording by Alan Brown, a productivity coach who provides coping strategies (targeted toward persons with ADHD) to help people be more productive. He described methods to get “unstuck” in our work by focusing on common trouble spots - experiencing scattered thinking among them. His strategy for controlling scattered thinking was a revelation to me. Personally, I get distracted when working alone and on tasks that I don’t want to do. My mind wanders or I find alternative busywork rather than focus on the one task to completion. When this happens I feel like I have wasted my time on little things. I feel disappointed in myself. As Brown acknowledged, there are many stumbling blocks to getting the important stuff done (indeed many books have been written on the subject) but remaining focused is the worst for me and for many of my clients. Here is Brown’s approach to reign in the brain each time it strays off course. He suggests labeling our thoughts (just like attaching labels to baskets) into three categories: 1) “this is what I am doing now”, 2) “this is important but not what I am doing now so I’ll put it on my calendar and go back to my now task”, or 3) “this is not what I’m doing now and it doesn’t need to be done”. We can train our minds to use this three label system to effectively manage distracting thoughts and bring us back to the focus of our time right now. Personally, I have written these three labels on index cards and posted them beside my computer. The labels feel more physical, more real, like the labels on baskets. They serve as my accountability - like a person standing beside me keeping me on task. The practice is called awareness. It is (loosely) what is known as cognitive behavioral therapy in psychology. Here is how I use this system when I really must power thorough my to-dos. I create my to-do list the day before. I prioritize the top THREE items that I really must get done before the end of the day. These are deemed realistic and doable. I find a block of time during the day for each item. And then I get started. When my thoughts wander from the now task or I start killing time (in any number of ways) I try to become my own witness. I look at my cards. What is my now task? Am I still on the now task? Have I wandered onto something frivolous and need to nix it? Or have I remembered something important and need to write a reminder so that it will get done at an appropriate time later. Sometimes I truly need a little break to walk around or get a cup of tea but these interruptions are limited to ten minutes in two hours. Otherwise, it’s back to work. Before you try this out be forewarned that some people fail to recognize when they are getting off course; they forget to be their own witness or don’t know how remain aware. If this is a challenge for you, set a timer to ring every ten minutes. When it rings ask yourself the on-task questions. You may think that a timer would be distracting in itself, but it is worth the interruption until you get the hang of it. Sometimes the sound of a radio or TV can keep you in the moment also. I encourage you to try this awareness strategy to see if it keeps you on task. Practice for just ten minutes at first and increase the duration with each session until you feel you have achieved mastery. You WILL become more productive if this plan is in place before starting on the now task. You will gain control over the old, unproductive scattered thoughts and feel a sense of accomplishment. |
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Carol Martin-Ward, encouraging practical ideas for easy organizing Archives
March 2021
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