Clutter Note:

When delivering a gift through a service like Pro Flowers ~ consider what the recipient will do next with what they receive.

Items in a gift basket are great if they will be appreciated and used.

Plants, such as the Gardenia Bonsai I reviewed, are an excellent solution if you know it will have a place in the persons lifestyle {remember: finding a spot for it to live & taking care of it will also be a part of the gift too}.
 

Anyone who knows me {well} is familiar with my "travel adventures".

Like the time I spent 14 hours in the Seattle Airport only to be sent back home & miss the trip completely or the time when I entered the New Jersey Turnpike going the wrong way in a rental car at midnight {and completely confused the toll booth guy when I went through the second time}.

All this to help you understand why/how I embrace the situations around me as an opportunity to laugh & learn. So here we go ...

I flew from Chicago to Seattle sitting in front of a Dad with his two young boys today. The younger boy was 2 & as we were settling in for takeoff {you know, the time when you HAVE to stay in your own seat} the toddler was quite adamant about sitting on Dad's lap.

As a mom of The Teenager {almost 16} & The Pipsqueak {11} I'm familiar with what type of challenges & stresses a parent can be under while traveling.

I must say though, I had seen this Dad with his two Prince Charmings in the terminal before our flight & he had done an excellent job as traveling single dad {yes, Mom, you can be proud}.

As the anxiety in this little tike began to escalate my 'Mom Mode' kicked in & I began mentally reviewing the contents of my carry-on. What could I do to help this little guy stop focusing on what he couldn't have {Dad's lap} & begin focusing on something fun.

Brace yourself, here comes a cliche ...

I knew I had 1"x1" Post-It Notes & a pen. So I quickly retrieved them & communicated with the little guy via the space between the seats.

Me: "How old are you?"
Dad/Little Tike: "2"

Me: "Would you like to play a game?"
Little Tike: adorable grin & shy cuddle into Dad
Dad: "Sure" {mixed expression of relief & uncertainty}

Me: "Here's the first thing you'll need"
I handed him a simple Bic pen

Me: "Here's the second thing you'll need"
I handed him the Post-It Notes {yellow, white & green in color}

Me: "Now, do you know your ABC's? Or your numbers?"
Little Tike: "It's yellow!"

Me: "Oh, cool you know your colors! Can you draw me a picture?"
Dad: "Can you draw her a picture of something?"

{once he was done}

Me: "Ok, this is the final step. Can I see it?"
{he handed it to me through the seats}

I then reached back through the seats & made an attempt to stick it to the tray table in front of him.

Me: "It's sticky! Once you finish the drawing, stick it on here & you can look at them all!"
Little Tike: {a delighted squeal & he went immediately to work creating his collection}

A little bit after take off Dad returned the supplies & mouthed a "Thank You" over his sleeping little guy.

When everything had to be put away again at landing time I offered up the supplies for entertainment.

The Moral of the Story:

Sometimes it's the simple things {& a whole lot of creativity} that can help you get off the ground & land again.

And for all my parents out there, consider what the "take off/landing" activity will be for your young ones, it's easy to overlook.

Wishing you safe & creative travels,

april

Any friend of Kim's or Mom Impact's is a friend of mine!


Surf around, be sure to check out the 2.0 Lifestyle Blog & enjoy!


april

I just returned from speaking at the Mom 2.0 Summit ~ where social media, marketing folks & Mom bloggers came together for amazing conversations.

Of course, I was there to talk about Mental Clutter in our 2.0 Lifestyle but I have to admit, I met some pretty amazing women doing phenomenal things.

You'll see below a "slide share" presentation from VolunteerSpot[dot]com. I actually had no intention of posting about my conference experience {on this blog} until I looked at this website!

Here's the simple version ... this site provides {for FR*EE} Volunteer Coordination! I was a goner when I saw the recommendation that teachers could use this site for scheduling Parent-Teacher conferences!

Rest assured I am forwarding the information to our PTO so she may educate any & all at our schools!

Now, you may be wondering ~ "April, why are you endorsing such a unique website?". First & foremost, this is a complimentary plug ... secondly ~ because the potential life simplification this service has to offer can not be kept quiet! So once you check out the site ... be sure to use it for simplifying your volunteer scheduling needs & then tell everyone you know too!

Thanks!

Recently there was a question floating around amongst my colleagues

"How many magazine subscriptions is too many?"

Of course, numbers began flying through the forums ... 3 ... 15 ... 50

But it got me thinking, weren't they missing the point?

If we stick with my organizing philosophies {find what works FOR you} then would the number really even matter?

If you're a Mom of extremely athletic children, find yourself waiting between games on tournament weekends and capatilize on that time to read 5 of your favorite magazines {or indulge in guilty pleasures like foodie or gossip magazines} then wouldn't that number of 3 be too limiting?

Or how about if you're a Mom Blogger, traveling from conference to conference this time of year & find yourself sitting in airports for lengthy layovers ~ there is only so much technology you might want to surround yourself with ~ and again you divulge in the pleasure of your favorite subscriptions ... should you be denied because someone else said "there should be a limit!"?

And guys, don't think I've forgotten you out there! If you're a man who enjoys his hobby magazines & likes to take a little relax time ~ should we stop you?

I think NOT!

The point here folks is ~ determine what capacity stands in your way of feeling good about your surroundings or level of commitment & adjust accordingly.

If you have a different take on this topic I would love to read your comments!

Happy Magazine Subscribing!

april
 

I hope this post finds you saying a warm farewell to 2009 & embracing the transition to our new 2010!

Many of my clients find the changing of a complete calendar energizing & motivating ... I encourage them to embrace whatever the feeling is and evaluate what they'd like to improve ~ SPECIFICALLY.

So, I'm sure you can guess what's coming next :-)

Resolutions.

To be honest, I don't believe in New Year's Resolutions. Mainly because folks tend to make them too ambiguous.

A list that looks like this:

• Organize the Garage
• Stop running late
• File all my paperwork
• Stay on top of the laundry

Is destined for disappointment.

Now, you may be thinking ~ "Gee April, why don't you burst my bubble a little more!"

Just the opposite though ...

I challenge you in the next week to adjust your 'list' by using those 'To-Do' items as a starting point {instead of the end all thing you're going conquer this year}

And then let's check back in.

So, here's what it would look like...

Instead of:
"Stop Running Late"

Try:

• Time myself getting ready
• Time my commute
• Time how long it takes to drop the kids off at school

Once you have collected your 'data' you can compare it to your long term goal & figure out exactly what part of "Stop Running Late" needs an adjustment.

** I once had a client who had no problem getting up in the morning, getting ready & driving to work ~ although, was rarely on time. When we took a closer look, it turned out that there wasn't any wiggle room for the toddlers to be picky eaters or for the time it took to physically corral the kids into the car ~ this took approximately 15 minutes {exactly how late this employee was each day}.

By adjusting the morning routine to accommodate the extra 15 minutes, arriving at work went from sliding in {hoping no one noticed} to arriving calm ~ cool ~ collected. **

Leave comments on what your "resolutions are this year" & let's get some specific strategies underway that will help you find success!

Till next week ~

Look for your Simply Organized habits,

april

... Where does the time go?

It's almost as if sitting in front of the computer to "quickly check my email" is code word for "Hit the time warp button & zap me with a brain-dead laser".

As the organizer, I even fall victim to this activity with unawareness.

Advising my clients to try certain strategies is one thing, but when I find that I too am struggling, I look for creative innovative solutions to bring into the arsenal of "try this & see if it works for you" tool bag.

Standard strategies are:

• use a kitchen timer {set it for 10-15 min & when it goes off it means you're done, get up & leave the vicinity}
• allocate a certain time of the day to check the email {morning, afternoon, evening?}
  
• adjust your junk mail filters to a higher sensitivity
• don't sign up for too many eNewsletters

However, I've found those to be more precautionary measures. In addition to the above you can also implement:

• Folders, with categories that are appropriate to big picture topics {allowing you to "file" things for a later date}
  
• Focus, check email with a mission "I'm looking for any emails from ..." & then only open those {don't let the other stuff distract you}
• Establish a "read later" folder & then {here's the key} a dedicated time to address those
• And finally, establish a "fun email" time {after kids are in bed, during 1 load of laundry on Saturday, early in the morning ~ before anyone wakes up}
  

The idea is to establish a more efficient use of your In-box time. If you know you need the info for the field trip from the teacher's email or the meeting time & place your secretary sent you, then enter the danger zone of your in-box armed with the defenses of the most critical goals on your mind the entire time.

You're in, you're out & nobody gets hurt!

Now a new strategy I'm giving a try, due to my own recent ability to be so easily distracted {it is so much more fun to surf the Container Store(R) sales page than it is to pay my bills!} :

• I'm setting a day that will be a "no email day".

For me this works out to be Sunday. So often I'll jump on the computer while I'm waiting for the laundry to finish up or I'm ready for a break from some other chore & inevitably the Gmail page is still up from the last time I was called away from the computer. So I am instantly faced with the 'new' messages & drawn in by the titles or subject lines. Then before I know it, the laundry buzzer has gone off 3 hours ago & nothing else has gotten done! {because of course, I ignored the washer/dryer & kept having fun!}

My newest distraction ... Facebook.

And of course, I have it set to email me when I get a new message. So, you can see where this is going, I'm immediately drawn in by the notices I receive that someone has "socialized" with me! {more on that aspect later}

I'm curious how my readers are handling their email woes ~ please be sure to leave comments & let's get this conversation going.

• Have these tips helped?
• Have you tried it all & found something that "stuck"?
• Or, have you just completely given up on the whole thing & ignore it completely? :o)

Looking forward to hearing from you, I'll do a follow up post once I have some feedback.

Have a Simply Organized week,

april