Here is a very simple website that lets you keep track of just two goals at a time.  The simplicity helps you to focus on just two really important tasks at a time.  As the website author says:

1. Set your goals.
2. Accomplish your goals.
3. Repeat.

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Two Goals [TwoGoals.com]

Your garage may seem like one of the hardest places to tackle during spring cleaning. It’s certainly one of the more overlooked spots from a home-organization standpoint, leading to clutter and mess. As a result, tidying it seems more daunting.

Rubbermaid has some suggestions about how to get your garage organized. 

There are 3 keys to a great garage organization system:

• Easy
• Versatile
• Expandable

Read more about their FastTrack systems and how they can help you: Garage Gains [Rubbermaid.com]

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This post talks about common problems affecting the “wired workers” (those who use a lot of technology) and a few appraoches to dealing with them.  Here are some highlights:

Common problems:

• Distractions / Lack of Focus - If you are having trouble focusing on what you need to do, go to a “single-tasking” mode.  So many people are prone to multi-task as much as possible, but when it comes to crunch time, force yourself to single-task until you finish what you need to.  You could also consider shortening your to-do lists to only list the three most important things you need to finish (at night, write 3 things you HAVE to get done tomorrow) and focus on those in single-task mode until you finish them.
• Information Overload - This is an obvious problem with anyone in touch with reality.  Between Facebook, Twitter, Google Reader, your email, oh yeah, and your job, there is just too much information.  Set aside some time to unsubscribe from things that do not really matter and set up email filters to help you only see the information you really need to see.
• Repetitive Tasks - One word: Automate
• Backlog- You have so many things to do in a backlog of information (after a vacation or really busy week) and you dont even know when to start.  Instead of Inbox Zero, start with Inbox 0.5.  Stay at it, and you will get it all done.
• Interruptions - Just turn off the stuff that is bothering you.  Close your door, turn your phone on silent, and stop looking at Twitter for a while, and just focus on what you need to do.
• Procrastination - If you are still putting off the things you really need to do, ask yourself, “What is stopping me from doing this?” After that, take a deep breath, get past that spot, and just do it.
• Overwhelm - If you just have too much to do, try to take on less for a little while until you get caught up, and then slowly get back to doing more.

What are some things you do to overcome common productivity problems?

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Read the original article here: Reusable Solutions to Common Productivity Problems [Lifehacker.com]

In the informal world of e-cards, email, and text messaging, it is easy to get carried away with not being personal with greeting cards, especially birthday ones.  It has become so easy to just send someone an email telling them “Happy Birthday” or sending them a text message before you go to bed, but this really takes all the feeling out of wishing them that “Happy Birthday”.  There are even services now where you can enter birthday dates ahead of time and the web sites will send the e-card on the birthday, so you do not even have to think about it any more.

I think this trend has picked up for obvious reasons (some of the same reasons this blog exists), because people feel like they do not have enough time anymore and they want to make things as easy as possible.  The good news is that I have a great system that you can use to still be personal in birthday cards (or any other type of greeting or communication) without spending a lot more time and energy.

Lets say you are just bad at sending birthday cards, or even calling people on their birthday, I think there are probably 2 reasons this can happen:

1. You just forget about the birthday until it is too late
2. You are too “busy” to buy a card, write something in it for 30 seconds, and send it

Here are some simple solutions to each of those problems:

Read the rest of this entry »

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We came across a great article about reconsidering the order you do things when composing an email.  Typically, here is the flow of input to an email:

1. Input recipients
2. Write subject
3. Write body of message
4. Attach files

The author of the article suggests a different approach:

1. Attach files
2. Write body of message
3. Write subject
4. Input recipients

There are a few good reasons to follow this new approach

1. Attach files - if the file you are sending is the main reason for the email, this will make sure you have it attached before you get caught up writing the email
2. Write body - the body is the next most important part because the body should describe what actions should be taken on the attached files, or the body is just stating the overall purpose of the email and you want to compose that before you put the subject on the message
3. Write subject - creating the subject after the body is a good way to make sure the subject paraphrases the purpose you just wrote about in the body
4. Input recipients - adding this information last does 2 things for you: 1. Hopefully you will never send an email to people by mistake the is not complete, and 2. You might remember to add someone else to the email later based on the information you share in the email

Think about these ideas and give it a try next time you are composing emails.

Original article: Reversing Your Email Composition

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Here is a great website where you can customize and print a calendar to help you organize your schedule: Calendar Labs

What is Calendar Labs?

CalendarLabs is the one stop destination for all the needs of calendars. We provide different kind of free calendar for year 2008, 2009 and 2010. Here you can easily find and customize your desired 2009 calendar. Online calendar and holiday calendar are available for your quick reference.

Use this tool to print out a calendar of holidays or add some astrology or pictures to it to make it pleasing to the eye.

Have a story about a way your organize your day?  Email me and your story can be featured on our website as well!