Organizing home office, Organizing hobbies, Organizing “to do” list

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Kathi,

I work from home and can’t seem to stay focused. My desk and schedule are always overrun with items that don’t apply to my job.

Karine, Del Mar

Karine,

With the shorter commute time, you can tidy up your desk at the end of each day without worrying about rush hour. You will begin with a clean slate and produce results in a much shorter time each morning.
You might need to create a separate desk space or counter area for your personal finances. Set up a corner of your kitchen counter for bills and personal correspondence. This will help you focus on work when you are in your office. Keeping personal matters separate from business also makes your home office eligible for a tax write-off each year.

Hire someone to do the lawn, house and other routine chores around the house. This will alleviate the tendency to putter about the house throughout the day instead of tackling the workload.
If long periods of sitting makes you lethargic, arrange two working levels so you can do some of your work standing up.
Get at least ten minutes of exercise each day. Decide to step away from your desk at regular intervals. This will reduce fatigue and increase your concentration for the task at hand.

Kathi,

My husband has a lot of hobbies that are spread throughout the house. I can’t figure out how to keep him contained and happy at the same time.

Jessie, San Marcos

Jessie,

Use tool and tackle boxes to contain his tools and smaller items. Designate one convenient area for him to work on his hobbies and this will be where his tools are stored.
If he plays multiple sports and has a lot of gear, use duffel bags to contain the equipment. Use one duffel bag per sport. This way he can grab it on the way out the door. Keep all of these bags in one central location. Hooks in the garage positioned along the wall by his car will make it easy for him to load and unload when he arrives home. And yes, you get the bonus of keeping them from being spread throughout the house!

Kathi,

I can’t seem to keep track of my “to do” list. It keeps growing and I feel like I never know which task to tackle first. How can I organize my lists to help manage my priorities?

Tanya, Encinitas

Tanya,

For starters, record all tasks and related notes in your day planner or electronic organizer. Keep this planner/organizer handy to add tasks quickly. Forget about sticky notes. Keeping all to-do items in the same place makes retrieving the information easy and quick. No task will get lost and more will get done.
When writing notes, keep a space cleared on the left for priority numbering. Organize your tasks by writing numbers to the left of each item in the order of priority. These numbers will keep you focused on what you wish to accomplish first. After completing the task, draw a slash through the number and move on to the next priority.

To accomplish more each day, never do errands on impulse. Plan your routes carefully, handling as many errands as possible each time. Hopefully with these tips you’ll find yourself making more slashes to your list than additions.

Kathi is a professional organizer, image consultant and event planner based in San Diego California.

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San Diego Professional Organizer

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