Time & Money Archives - Organize 365

Strategic Business Partners ~ Your Business Card

January 23, 2013 By lisa 4 Comments

I have made many business cards over the years. Every time I learn a tip, I add it to my card.

Strategic Business Partners: Your Business Card | Organize365

So imagine my surprise when I received a newsletter from Nancy Fox in my inbox that said, “Your business card is bad, but here are 5 ways to make it great.”

I was so taken aback. First, Nancy hasn’t seen my card. Second I just redid my card again, and I thought it was “perfect”.

BUT I didn’t delete the email. I didn’t have the time to read it, but something made me keep it.

Everyday I would think about the email sitting in my inbox. What did it say? How does Nancy know my business card is bad?

Finally I sat down and read the email – twice. She was right.

I set to work to change my business card… two weeks later this is my current business card…

But I’m changing it again soon, I got my hair cut – A LOT!

In 2013 I am embracing the experts around me and using their strengths to allow me to focus on mine.

It is a freeing thing when you acknowledge that you don’t know, and may not be able to, be the best at everything.

Thanks Nancy for helping me create a better business card!

Filed Under: Professional Organization, Time & Money Tagged With: business card, direct sales, lisa woodruff, organization, organize, organize 365, pinned, professional organization

Strategic Partnerships ~ Why I Hired a Professional Organizer

January 21, 2013 By lisa 3 Comments

I am getting much smarter as I age.

I am realizing my strengths and limits and finding other who can help me get further faster than doing everything in my own strength.

This week I am going to share how I am using professionals to grow my business and allow me to concentrate my time on my strengths.

Why I hired a Professional Organizer

I know you might be saying, you ARE a professional organizer! and I am, BUT I have come to discover that there are many different areas of expertise in the field of professional organization.

You wouldn’t go to just any doctor for by pass surgery, or hire a home builder to build a skyscraper.

I am a professional home and home based business organizer. I am NOT an electronic organizer. And as you can see from my love affair with my Cranberry Planner and Blackberry phone, I am not as high tech as I could be.

The Cranberry Part 1

The Cranberry Part 2

I hired an Electronic Professional Organizer.

Nancy’s heart goes pitter pat when you ask her how to sync calendars, schedule tasks and find contacts. I do not!

However, my post it note, to do lists and planner were not keeping up with the business I wanted to be doing. I spent HALF my week trying to figure out who to call when and what I was supposed to say! That’s when I knew I had to make the leap to a virtual calendar.

Since I am a Blackberry gal, Outlook was the answer for my contact manager and calendar needs. It would also work for email, but I like my Gmail canned responses and I finally have GMail just how I want it!

Outlook has a problem with my private blog email addresses. I might get around to figuring that out one day, but not now!

An electronic calendar

I am really nervous about losing my WHOLE calendar. Since Outlook backs up to a Google Calendar – to my iPad AND my phone, I feel relatively ok about going digital.

I am LOVING that I can see all the calls I have scheduled in a day. I could never do that in my paper planner. I also like the reminders so I don’t miss a call!

I also like the ability to repeat tasks. Many of my calls repeat each week. This has saved me tons of time!

I LOVE the color coding!! I am such a visual person. The color coding also helps me see what business activities I am spending the most time on in each week.

My kids are light blue. Once I got all their events in the calendar I saw why I wasn’t getting as much done as I anticipated!

I have been using my new electronic calendar for 10 days and I officially took the paper calendar out of my planner. I can see the day soon when this feels more natural.

More to learn

I have just grazed the iceberg of what Outlook can do for me. I am excited about using the contact and task features. However, I am learning to do just one thing to mastery and then add the next.

I was psyched when Nancy told me I was her only client with a Blackberry and an iPad. She also said I was Tech savvy.

What about you? DO you use an electronic calendar?

Filed Under: electronics, Time & Money Tagged With: electronic, electronic organization, lisa woodruff, organization, organize, organize 365, pinned, professional organizer, time organization

Helping you add Minutes to your day ~ Part 7: Have an Errand Day

December 17, 2012 By lisa 11 Comments

Tip number 1: Start all your household machines first thing in the morning.

Tip number 2: Maximize your wallet!

Tip number 3: Have a spare key handy.

Tip number 4: Fold your laundry at night.

Tip number 5: Use Visual Checklists

Tip number 6: Plan your week on Sunday Night

Tip number 7: Have an errand day

I know I have blogged about having an errand day before. However, it is seriously one of the best time maximizing strategies I use.

So here are some new photos and thoughts on designating an errand day.

First I make a master list of all the places I need to go and what I need to get or take when I am there.

All of this goes in a clear plastic pockety thing I got at an Office supply store.

Included in the clear envelope are all the recipets I need for returns, coupons for the stores and claim tickets.

I clip my coupons with little bull clips by store so I remember to use them all.

Mail goes right up on my dash – I love this trick!

Having an errand day saves on gas, time and sanity! Try it.

So what about you? How do you maximize your errand time?

Filed Under: organization, Time & Money Tagged With: add minutes to your day, errand, errand day, organize, organize 365, organizing, pinned, time

On the Seventh day of Christmas Organize365 gave to me ~ Seven Card Cubbies!

December 7, 2012 By lisa Leave a Comment

On the seventh day of Christmas Organize 365 gave to me:

Seven Card Cubbies

Card cubbies are a great way to keep track of all your store loyalty and gift cards,

They are also a great was to keep track of your clients or networking partner’s buiness cards.

Card cubbies are a great gift by themselves, or with a gift card included!

How do you keep track of your busienss cards and gift crads?

Filed Under: On the Go, Time & Money Tagged With: 12 days of christmas, card cubbies, christmas, christmas gift, Clever Container, gift, gift card, lisa woodruff, organization, organize, organize 365, pinned

On the First Day of Christmas Organize365 gave to me: One Couponizer full of coupons

December 1, 2012 By lisa 6 Comments

On the First Day of Christmas Organize365 gave to me:

One Couponizer full of coupons

I picked this as my first day of Christmas not because I have one in stock… I have 4.

But because this is the number one product people call me out of the blue to buy. And here’s why:

It really is a great coupon organizer for ALL your coupons. The colored layout map is great to use to sort your coupons as you are cutting them. It even comes WITH the scissors and a carrying bag!

Once you open the front cover I know you’ll be in love because there is literally a place for everything!

The couponizer is broken up in to 4 sections.

Section One: Planning

It starts with a shopping list pad.

I love that there are pockets for the coupons I know I will be using and a separate pocket to put them in as I am shopping for checkout. There is another pocket for coupons that are expiring this month.

There is also a special place for my store loyalty cards!

Section two: Grocery Coupons

There are 18 grocery aisle pockets.

Section Three: Other Coupons

Here’s where this couponizer takes off and separates itself from all other coupon organizers. There is a place for ALL of those other coupons you get in the mail and the paper each week. I even put the coupons I know I will use from the Entertainment book in here.

Do you have fast food coupons? Oil change coupons? Dry Cleaning coupons? There’s a place for that.

Section Four: Results

How’d you do? The coupinizer comes with a tracker to track your couponing success!

Do you use receipts for your budget? There’s a spot for those too!

Do you clip coupons?

Filed Under: On the Go, Time & Money Tagged With: coupon organizer, couponizer, lisa woodruff, organization, organize, organize 365, organize coupons

Helping you add Minutes to your day ~ Part 6: Plan your week on Sunday Night

November 26, 2012 By lisa Leave a Comment

Tip number 1: Start all your household machines first thing in the morning.

Tip number 2: Maximize your wallet!

Tip number 3: Have a spare key handy.

Tip number 4: Fold your laundry at night.

Tip number 5: Use Visual Checklists

Tip number 6: Plan your week on Sunday Night

It seems time is going faster and my life is getting busier by the day.

Every Sunday night I take my planner and plan out the following week. Who is going where with whom and who is driving!

Then I plan my work. What jobs do I have planned. Do I need to buy anything for those jobs, etc.

Fnally, I have started to plan our meals again. It has been over 2 years of eating on the run and heating up frozen meals.

Tow weeks ago I actually cooked Monday – Thursday!

Last week hubby did the menu planning…

and prepared foods for me to just pop in the oven!

How about you? Do you plan out your week?

Filed Under: organization, Time & Money Tagged With: add minutes, add minutes to your day, lisa woodruff, organization, organize, organize 365, organize time, time

How I Do It All

October 1, 2012 By lisa 8 Comments

I don’t. :0)

After reading Work Shift I don’t feel nearly as stressed about trying to do it all – EQUALLY, but there is still WAY too much as a wife, mother and business owner to get done in 24 hours a day.

This became ultra clear yesterday at the grocery.

First of all – I needed 2 carts, Because I just don’t have time to shop weekly. I DID remember everything thanks to my grocery checklists.

BUT on my way out to the car… I remembered…. I forgot to empty the trunk.

Woops. Which got me thinking about this post.

It had been 3 days since I ran out of Coke. I was shopping at 4pm and had already had one GIANT fountain Coke, a Starbucks coffee and was on my second fountain coke.

I guess caffeine is part of “how I am doing it”

I think it is also worthy to note that a HUGE portion of my food bill and the whole extra cart was for this…

It’s better than fast food.. right?

Oh boy. It’s hard to believe that I once made everything organic, from scratch and gluten free, casein free, egg free….

Oh well, different seasons have different challenges.

How about you? What helps you “do it all”?

I want ideas :0)

Filed Under: Kitchen, On the Go, organization, Time & Money Tagged With: coca cola, coke, do it all, grocery shopping, organization, organize, organize 365, time organization

We’re out of…

September 27, 2012 By lisa 11 Comments

I have been working really hard at refining and maintaining my organizational systems.

I am also working on being “available” to my family from 4-7 to help with dinner, homework, etc.

I have been growing my business and LOVING every minute of it!

On Labor Day I deep cleaned the first floor of our home and for the most part, it’s staying that way.

I have stayed on top of the laundry. And even though I am pulling clean socks from this clean basket instead of my drawers I am still counting that as a success.

I am even being proactive… This week I bought this toner because mine is LOW – not the typical I ran OUT and am in crisis mode. No. I am working ahead!

A few weeks ago we were down to our last toilet paper roll, and out of paper plates, but even that didn’t phase me.

But this morning when I went for that ice cold bubby Coke and found NONE.

AGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now THAT is an emergency!

So off to the nearest drive through I went… in my pajamas.

How about you? What is your “must have” item?

Filed Under: Time & Money Tagged With: have to have it, organization, organize, organize 365, time organization

Do You Work Shift?

September 20, 2012 By lisa Leave a Comment

I am constantly asking other busy women and working moms “how they do it.”

As if someone will one day impart their dubious wisdom to me and I will be struck with the ultimate AH HA! moment and have perfect clarity on how to balance work and home.

I am an ebook junkie. I love anything that talks about productivity and balance. Basically anything that will help me work smarter and not harder!

Last night I came across this awesome new eBook Work Shift. I bought it at 9:30 and had it read by 11!

Click here to visit Anne Bogel.

In reading Anne’s book I realized that the work “balance” I am looking for doesn’t exist. Families today are doing work differently than in the past.

It’s not about being a “stay at home mom” or a “working mom”. Very few women are exclusively either. Most of us are this new hybrid of woman who is at home and at work on flexible terms and flexible positions.

And many men have the same arrangement.

AH HA! That’s me!

I started thinking about my friends… Michelle, Sharon, Kim, Melena, Emily, Maria, Erin, Vanessa, Christine… all my direct sales friends… they ALL Work Shift!

Anne’s book has given me a better perspective of how families are earning incomes today, what that looks like in different stages in life and made me feel OK with that.

It is the stages that spoke to me the most. I mean, I am going to keep plugging at my businesses and dreams and fitting them into my days, but I was frustrated that my summer schedule and fall schedule looked different. No “plan” I make lasts more than a few months.

Activities change, schools change, etc and I am the one flexing my work schedule.

Yes.

:0) I was trying to make a traditional job out of a glorious flexible one.

I now have an answer to the question, “Do you work?”

Yes, I work shift! Do you?

(Note the link in this post is my referral link. You can read my disclosure policy here. Thanks for your support!)

Filed Under: Paper & Office, Time & Money Tagged With: organization, organize, organize 365, time, work, work shift, working

Errand Day and a Master Shopping List

September 11, 2012 By lisa Leave a Comment

Have you EVER made it to the grocery store and back and NOT realize you “forgot” to buy something?

Yeah, me either! ;0)

Back when my kiddos were babies, I used lists to survive! There were a couple of routines I used that saved tons of time.

The first one was to use only one day to run errands.

This worked for SO many reasons.

1. I chose Tuesday as errand day. This allowed me to spend Monday cleaning the house and realizing what we were out of.

2. Hubby would know I was ONLY shopping in Tuesday and to get his requests in or wait!

3. I could load up the car all day Monday with stuff that needed to be returned, exchanged, donated, etc. I would make a master list of where I needed to go.

4. I could clip the weekend coupons and make the best shopping lists to stretch our money.

5. I would run out of steam. I know this doesn’t sound like a benefit, but it was! As errand day would wear on, I would get tired and decide it wasn’t worth it to hit “just one more store”. So I saved money!

The second time saving idea was to create a master shopping list.

{Note the picture above is our current master list. It has changed drastically through the years as we have gone organic and the gluten free and back again. This is NOT meant to be an ideal list!}

Monday night after I made our “meal plan” and grocery list I would read through my master shopping list and see if there were any regularly used items we were out of that needed to be added to my list.

Using these two systems has saved our family lots of money. It has also saved this mama time and trips to the store!

I can’t wait to start using these routines again. How about you? How do you remember what to buy at the store?