I’ve stopped apologizing for my natural energy that drives me to want to be productive. And I want the same for you. Ultra productive people are so proactive that they have a plan B, C, D, and so on. They are prepared to zig, zag, and pivot at a moment’s notice whenever plans change.

What Do You Do Now?

Ultra productive people capture all their ideas for a rainy day (eh hum, pink work). For me, that “rainy day” came this year when I was supposed to have jury duty. I went through my slash pockets and planned all those tasks for the week(s) I knew I was going to have jury duty. If I didn’t get summoned, I had work to do but it didn’t need to get done. When I arrived at the courthouse, they announced there would be no case and we were absolved from the remaining two days that week. If this happened to you, what would you do? I think a lot of people sit in “I don’t know what to do” and the day gets wasted. I however, thought through my options and decided going into work and finishing some important administrative tasks was the most beneficial use of my time.

When I was still doing in home organization. I developed an A/B schedule. It never failed that a client would cancel. I wouldn’t know what to do because I had planned on working. So my day would go to waste. That is, until I came up with what I needed to do on the days I wasn’t scheduled for out of the house work and days I worked from home. If an out of the house day became a work from home day, I knew exactly what I needed to do. It was like my plan B.

Time for Everyone Including Me

Seems like the mom is always offering to help and pour into their family, but does the family ask the same to the mom? No. It’s just facts, I think. So go ahead and pour into yourself too! I am pouring into me the same way I pour into them. I think about my time A LOT! I think about tomorrow, the week, the month, the next 6 months. I look at my color coded calendar and make sure everyone I love is getting time, that I have set aside enough time for the PhD and work, and now I include ME!

Sunday Basket®/Friday Workbox® Love

I have bountiful pink slash pockets. I have a lot of house projects, trips I want to take, and things I want to try/do. They are in a safe place, the Sunday Basket® for my house and the Friday Workbox® for work ideas. Greg and I went to Home-A-Rama and there we saw Wow Window Boxes. I knew all about Wow Window Boxes because it’s been tucked away in my Sunday Basket® since 2017 when I had received an estimate. I spilled the beans that I was going to ask for it for Christmas. Much to my surprise, Greg said we could do it now. So we did it in time for Thanksgiving!!

You know when you have a plan for your day and then something takes it off track? I always struggle with how annoying it is. But then, I dig into my Sunday Basket® or the Friday Workbox® and there are all my ideas and slash pockets waiting to be executed. They turn into my plan B, C, or sometimes D. I have proactively filed them away in the correct slash pocket, then I can decide how much time I have and what kind of energy I am feeling.

These are just a few ways I am unapologetically proactive so I can be ultra productive. For my family and Organize 365®, I am where work comes from. I love it. I am uniquely created to help others become ultra productive, too!

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• Friday Workbox®

• Podcast 10 Year Anniversary Giveaway

• 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!

In this episode, I introduce you to Mary H. who is married with two sons and a dog. Mary has always been a fairly organized person, but she was looking for productivity tips. She listened to “Best of Both Worlds” and heard about the Sunday Basket®, but first invested in The Productive Home Solution®.

On her 40th birthday, she was ready to burn it all down. There was a lot of change from switching up her position at work, to the world coming out of Covid, to retiring from a side business. She decided to revisit old podcast episodes. She was looking for new ways to do things. Before, when Mary had heard about the Sunday Basket®, she questioned, “Why would you delay what you can do today?” But after revisiting the podcast and trying new ways, she experienced the benefits. When her husband mentioned taking the boys mini golfing, she was able to help him locate the free round of golf she knew she had. It was a win-win. She could easily tell him where it was and they got to use the coupon.

When we started recording, Mary shared she was packing for a Make-A-Wish trip granted to her son. Her son has recently recovered from cancer. But we talked about that unsure time and the systems Mary had in place to keep her son comfortable and her family going. When her son was diagnosed they gave her a binder, but Mary added useful things like checklists and it took the place of a would be Medical Binder. I just had to reference one of mine the other day. How cool is it that information from 20 years ago can help us make informed decisions for today and the future?

Mary also invested in the Kids Program. She admits her kids haven’t participated so much in learning, but it has helped her understand how to facilitate them decluttering and organizing. She used the system 1) to keep the item and keep it in his room, 2) to say the child wants to keep it but not in their room, and 3) to toss or donate. Mary and her son were surprised with how much he got rid of. They were able to donate those toys to another child.

Mary is thankful for the voice of reason through the podcast to focus on the important stuff and continually be thinking of how to always be improving. Mary has always been good to take time for herself, but she can enjoy it now without guilt knowing all the things will get done. She wishes she’d valued trying things in different ways. Just because one way works doesn't mean another way could be even better and more efficient. While she admits she hasn’t used all of the products to their fullest potential, she’s found immense benefit from the items she’s purchased and all of the free content constantly offered from Organize 365®.

Mary’s advice is, “Don’t be afraid to invest in all of the Organize 365® stuff.”

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• The Productive Home Solution®

• The Paper Solution®

• Organize 365® Kids Program

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter

On the Wednesday podcast, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365­® community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps and triumphs along their organizing journey. I am grateful that you are reaching out to share with me and with this community. You can see and hear transformation in action. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.

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!