I’m excited to announce that there will be a webinar on Friday the 14th @noon EST for Swiss Cheese Organizing Business Edition. Love is in the air—and what better way to show your business some love than by getting it organized?

You’ve heard me talk about Swiss Cheese Organizing for home, and now it’s time to bring that same magic to your business. The order in which you get tasks accomplished is more important than the amount of time you spend on tasks. I’m going to talk about your ideas and projects, your initiatives, your administrative role and responsibilities, end of quarter/year financials, and even your personal development initiatives. So, how do you bring it all together in a way that makes your heart (and your business) happy? Join me on Friday to find out! Attend live, and I’ll answer your questions in real time—but don’t worry, there will be a replay too.

Let’s bring some harmony to your workflow and get your productivity train rolling smoothly down the tracks!!

Swiss Cheese Webinar:

Friday Feb 14th @ 12:00PM EST

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Swiss Cheese Webinar (Work Edition)

• CustomerService@organize365.com

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media.

Last year, two of our key leaders and I attended a Dave Ramsey Summit. This is how I have gotten some of my best CEO training. I really think about the topics the speaker is bringing up and think of Organize 365® and have I implemented something similar? Have I done that thing? Or maybe is that idea an improvement we should consider? It was great for us to be hearing the same information at the same time and be able to discuss. We even changed our Monday morning meeting a little to catch our staff at a better time of day. And then I thought “Is there anything I need to add to our values?”

What is Busy Work?

When I thought about staffing and when someone leaves Organize 354®, is there a way to eliminate busy work. Do their job tasks still need to be done or were they busy work? Is there someone else on the team that can do those tasks? It got me thinking of all the busy work teachers do. It’s cute to put the little bubbles at the “end” of each stroke of the letters but is it necessary? I’d do it once, then copy the paper the rest of the year, otherwise it would become busy work. Revisiting a closet you’ve done recently thinking you’ll get the same high will let you down because the transformation is not nearly as dramatic. Busy work is that unnecessary re-working of tasks. As long as your work is not done, even if it’s busy work, you won’t have the excess time, capacity, and boredom to seek out what you are uniquely gifted and created to do.

Operationalizing

The flip side of busy work that can appear as busy work is operationalizing your tasks. I started out organizing my sister and I’s rooms. Then I graduated to organizing the homes I babysat in. I have always loved gifting an act of service. I organized the “craft area” by the fire place at my house and my mom loved it. So I did it annually around Christmas for her. But then my parents expanded the house and she got a larger space. My mom is an artists and that was definitely a challenge to understand what was valuable and not. I asked a lot of questions!! I would help other teachers to organize their classrooms. And eventually organized my clients. But in each of those instances I was growing my skill set. I was learning how the spaces were used and why the items were in there. I was operationalizing how I helped other get organized. You can do the same with repeated tasks. That’s why on Planning Day I tell you to stock up your storage for the trimester. Don’t order one of the same thing each month, operationalize it.

The Sunday Basket Replaces Your Checklists

First of all, there is a time and place for checklists. Checklists can be useful if you are trying to establish a new routine. Be careful not to let it become a crutch. Don’t be so stuck on the list that it supersedes your role in the company. And not everything needs to go on the list, just big things you can’t forget. And checklists are good for something you don’t do often. My best example I shared was our packing list for Florida each year. As we grow and change the list does too. We edit when necessary so we don’t forget for the next time we need to use the checklist.

I can remember the last time I used a master to do list. In 2014, I wrote 10 legal pad pages of all my to do’s. I organized them by family member or entity and then prioritized them. I transferred each item to an index card. And I filed them away to deal with on Sunday. It is nice to look at all tasks individually and decide on importance, my time, and my money. I may write down the same task multiple times and that’s ok because I got it out of my head and who cares if I wrote it multiple times. I place them in the appropriate slash pock. I take action on the actionable items. Then once I complete the task I get to toss it in the recycling. Lists never go away, with index cards you can complete them and toss them. The Sunday Basket is safe keeping till you can take action.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• The Friday Workbox®

• The Productive Home Solution

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

As many of you know, following one organizer will bring you to another. In fact, that’s how some of you ended up in my community. So many of you reached out suggesting Kendra Adachi with The Lazy Genius podcast for an interview for the Monday Connections episodes. Thank you so much for the recommendation and we had an insightful conversation.

Lazy Genius

Kendra Adachi was a perfectionist to the extreme. She was teacher’s pet, valedictorian, and voted most dependable by her peers. In 2015, she started a lifestyle blog. The podcast, The Lazy Genius, followed not even a full year later. She teaches women to “Be a genius about the things that matter, and and lazy about the things that don’t.” Once she became a parent she learned that rule. She was so used to doing everything perfectly but once her second child came along she realized you can’t be perfect at everything. And that’s how she got to pointing out to women how to find a happy medium between Boss Babe and Hot Mess.

We agreed how nice it is to come on an episode with an idea and through the recording think out loud. Inevitably we end up with feedback from the community that results in solutions or next steps. When I asked her if she worries about running out of episode topics. She replied with the fact that the perspective on laundry changes with your lifestyle. For example, she may be talking about endless stained laundry from toddlers and grow to sharing about how she is teaching her teenagers how to do laundry. We commented on the value our listeners get from hearing how a female is doing things. Kendra shared that 93% of time management books are from male authors. It’s time for women to learn from each other.

And Kendra shared about “Big Black Trash Bag Energy”. You know when you’re just over it and so you get out the big trash bag with the internet to toss everything and just start over? No need. Just start small. Work on one thing.

Women Have Always Ran the World

Kendra shared the point of view that maybe there’s a stigma to the importance of the female role and how much men value what women do. And I agreed through the lens that women have always ran the world but now that women are in the workforce, it’s coming to light how much women are really doing. And sorry guys, it’s more than you. Men get to watch a football game but women feel like they need to be productive making the meal plan or planning car pool while watching that same football game. We have been the CEO’s of the households but now all that invisible work is being identified. We have these never ending tasks that replenish themselves and leads to weary spirits. Planning is essential for women to manage the household and take care of everyone. Kendra pointed out you are inherently a preparer, an adjuster, or a notice-er. And then we talked about the mindsets and lifestyles of being 30, 40, and in your 50’s. And the two scenarios determine how you got about what you gotta get done.

You Only Know What You Know

I find it so difficult to find other women CEO’s to learn from. We joked those women are too busy to sit down to write a book or record a podcast. My hope is for all women in the 20’s and 30’s to find a community to show them systems on how to be a household manager. You get a new job, you get training. You buy your first house and you’re responsible for the payments but no guidelines on how to care for it. Up to you to hopefully stumble across the Household Operations Binder. Don’t get intimidated by the CEO role. It’s not meant to be this manly corporate role. You only know what you have been taught. Women need to be in community with each other, doing life together. We are the experts in this role!

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Sunday Basket®

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media.