Why You Should Keep Your Old Agenda

Posted on January 2, 2020 by B

It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of purchasing a new planner. The temptation to throw out the old one and start afresh is real but there’s a few reasons as why to you shouldn’t throw out your old agenda (at least not yet).

Unless you keep an excellent diary, your agenda acts as a reminder of what you did every day the past year. This alone can provide a huge amount of valuable information to you. Your planner could act as a record of the shifts you worked, the vacations you took, appointments you had, etc. Having this as a reference could serve you in your future planning needs. (For example, when was the last time you visited the dentist? Took your dog to the vet?)

Every year when I conduct my yearly review, I use my old planner as a guide to help me set up my new one by transferring information such as birthdays, anniversaries and other important dates.

Based on what your schedule looked like last year, you may want to use your agenda to schedule reminders for yourself to visit the doctor, or get your roots touched up.

Looking at all of these dates in your calendar can also help you identify patterns and trends when planning your schedule for next year. For example, last February was so busy that I’ll think twice before scheduling any major project during that time. On the other hand, August is usually such a slow month that I’ll plan to use that time vacationing and working on more personal projects. What are the busiest times of year for you? When are you at your most productive? When do certain clients like to schedule their meetings? Your old planner contains all of this information and more.

I usually like to hold on to my old planner for a year before tossing it, but depending on your storage needs you may find you’re able to hold onto more planners for longer. (Just don’t fall into the trap of holding onto paper for the sake of it!) Not only can they be incredibly useful in identifying productive patterns, they can also provide a fun, nostalgic experience each time you flip through them. For some people, it may just look like an old agenda, but for people like me (and you!) it’s a way of remembering the past and planning for the future.

How long do you hold onto your old agendas for? Do you find this practice useful? Email me at keepingbusyb@gmail.com or comment below and let me know what you do with your old planners. For more organizational and productivity ideas, click here and here.

Do You Have 15 Minutes?

Posted on November 2, 2018 by B

As the days get shorter and the number of tasks on our to-do lists grows ever longer, it’s hard to figure out sometimes even what needs to be done, let alone how much time you need to complete these projects. I’m constantly trying to find ways to maximize the spare moments in time I manage to capture throughout my day. This week, I’m blogging about what to do when you only have a minimal amount of time.

Certain necessary tasks often get overlooked or delayed because we perceive them to be more difficult or longer than they actually are. For example, when was the last time you spent an hour going through your underwear drawer? (Although to be fair, if you have enough to fill a Victoria’s Secret store an hour might not be enough!) To avoid blowing things out of proportion, time yourself the next time you take on one of these tasks. If it takes more than fifteen minutes, it may mean you need to do it more often, or find a way to pick up the pace. Try setting an alarm on your phone. Having that deadline looming over you may be just the motivation you need to try and get the following things out of the way in fifteen minutes (or less!).

• Empty out a drawer and sort it out- any drawer! Junk drawers, sock drawers and underwear drawers are often the most overlooked.
• Reorganize a drawer that’s used often and has gotten a little bit out of hand. Examples may include your cutlery drawer, your desk drawer, or the drawer of your bedside table.
• Dust bookshelves.
• Purge and reorganize your medicine cabinet.
• Organize your cleaning supplies by refilling bottles, replenishing often used items and taking stock of what’s missing.
• Purge empty bottles, unused or unwanted toiletries
• Go through your bookshelves and purge outdated or unwanted reading materials
• Replace furniture pads on furniture
• Clean your coffeemaker and/or kettle
• Organize and purge craft supplies
• Clean out your gym bag
• Clean out your fridge/freezer or any other extra refrigeration units
• Drag your luggage (suitcases, duffel bags, etc.) outside to air out, or a well-ventilated room when the weather isn’t appropriate
• Spray purses/shoes/coats and other appropriate outdoor gear with spray protectant
• Shake out outdoor cushions and floor mats
• Dust and wipe down table lamps and sconces
• Dust and wipe down light fixtures and switch plates

Here’s to a more productive day!

I’m always looking for the best ways to manage my time and workflow more effectively and efficiently. If you’re looking for more ways to increase your productivity as well, click here for more strategies that I’ve developed and researched and here for more ways to stay organized. For more ways to deal with your busy lifestyle, click here.

How do you keep busy? Share your secrets with us by commenting below, or keep it between you and I by emailing keepingbusyb@gmail.com.

Do You Have 10 Minutes?

Posted on October 31, 2018 by B

Ten minutes of free time is a bigger deal than you think it is- in fact, some people swear by a scheduling method that involves setting aside an extra ten minutes for every hour block of time you schedule. Allowing yourself extra time after a meeting, phone call, or even an appointment with yourself can create extra time to check off your to-do lists, review your notes and prepare for the next task at hand. Bonus: if you find your meeting is running long or you run into unexpected complications with your work, you’ve got some extra time to play with. Here’s what else you can do if you only have 10 minutes.

When You’re at Home
• refill soap containers/replace soaps in bathroom and kitchen
• replace candles in sticks/holders/candelabras
• sort and take out your garbage/recycling/compost
• collect scattered children’s toys and put away
• clean your household mirrors (bathroom, bed, entryway)
• wipe down doorknobs (do this at your office too!)

When You’re at Work
• check your privacy settings, cookies, browser history on computer, laptop, or tablet and clean-up/modify as necessary
• clean out the nooks and crannies of your computer (and the rest of your electronics!) with compressed air
• test and purge all unwanted, broken or old office supplies
• sort mail; discard junk and make plans to deal with the rest

When You’re Just Looking for Something to Do
• sort through your coupons
• clean out your wallet
• clean out your purse or handbag

Here’s to a more productive day!

How do you keep busy? Share your secrets with us by commenting below, or keep it between you and I by emailing keepingbusyb@gmail.com.

Do You Have 5 Minutes?

Posted on October 29, 2018 by B

Five minutes of free time may not actually seem like a lot, and it’s certainly not enough to put on a calendar. But if you’re waiting around for your kettle to boil, or on hold on your phone, or even waiting for the bus, there’s still lots of things you can accomplish within that small time frame. Who knows? Filling those gaps that occur over the workday just might be the key to avoiding that long list of minor to-dos that never seem to get accomplished. Here’s what you can do with only 5 minutes.

When You’re at Home
• make your bed (I timed this one and believe me- it really only does take 5 minutes instead of the half hour I convince myself it will take every morning)
• deadhead a houseplant
• change out hand towels/dish towels/rags/sponges
• wipe down one surface (a counter, sink, dresser…you choose!)
• shake out doormat/throw rug

When You’re at Work
• dust laptop or computer keyboard
• consolidate the unused hangers in your closet
• wipe down your desk
• clean phone, tablet, or laptop cord

When You’re Out and About
• delete old photos or unused apps off of your phone
• check privacy settings on your favourite social app
• clean your phone screen
• check (and delete!) your junk mail

Here’s to a more productive day!

How do you keep busy? Share your secrets with us by commenting below, or keep it between you and I by emailing keepingbusyb@gmail.com.

Say No to Miserable Monday Mornings

Posted on September 10, 2018 by B

And I mean really say no. Say no to the tears, the tantrums, the frustration, the sinking feeling that the rest of your week is going to pan out in the same chaotic way. Just no. You have to say no because your mood in the morning is going to reflect on your mood for the rest of your day. Say no because your bad mood is setting yourself up for failure.

Did you just catch what I wrote back there? Your mood in the morning is going to reflect on your mood for the rest of your day. So there is a way to turn things around if you want to avoid that downward spiral, even if your morning didn’t start off as smoothly as you’d hoped. (You can read more about how to cope with a late start here.) It’s just a matter of making some small adjustments to your morning routine. (If you don’t have a morning routine that might be part of the issue, which is why you should read this post here.)

I’m not a morning person either so trying to get back into the swing of things after the relaxation and freedom of the weekend is especially a challenge for me. However, since changing my alarm in the morning from a blaring alert to an upbeat song, I’ve found my mood improve dramatically from the moment I open my eyes. Giving up on the snooze button helped as well, as did my habit of setting myself multiple alarms. Now when I hear that song go off in the morning, I know it means business and I have no choice but to wake up. (Click here if bedtime is an issue for you too.)

Making bleary-eyed decisions stresses me out so I try to do as much as I can the night before to help my grumpy morning self: pack my bag, choose an outfit- anything that can help simplify my morning routine. Keeping things streamlined in my home doesn’t hurt either- I’ve made all of my accessories and toiletries easily accessible and I’ve been in the process of creating a drop zone to help me get out the door quickly. If you wake up and find your mind racing, you may want to include meditation, yoga, stretching, or journal-writing into your morning routine to clear your mind and get you motivated.

You also may want to consider what your schedule looks like Monday morning; I once had a client who took that time off to do his weekly review to get a clear picture of what the week ahead looked like. (In some ways it makes more sense than a Friday, no?)

More than anything, though, I’ve found that a change in my attitude has been key in making my mondays a little more manageable. I’ve tried to let go of the little things that used to freak me out (like having a bad hair day) and put things into perspective. At the end of the week, a lot of what I worried about Monday morning has already been accomplished. Why would I bum myself out about the things that I needed to get done before I actually had an opportunity to do them?

So when Monday morning comes around, I try to do myself a favor and take everything in stride: all my tasks will get done in a (probably) timely fashion by the end of the week, and all my little frustrations will (most likely) be gone by then as well. I changed my perspective, which changed my mood, and it kind of changed my Monday mornings. I hope it changes yours as well.

Do you have your own strategy for waking up Monday mornings? Tell us your secret to becoming a morning person- comment below or email me at keepingbusywithb@gmail.com and I may feature your advice in an upcoming article!

More Thoughts on Procrastination

Posted on November 3, 2015 by B

A little while back I wrote about some of the ways in which procrastination is a healthy device that allows us a little more insight as to how we work, why we work the way we do and some of the ways we an embrace procrastination as a natural part of the workflow process. Intrigued? Don’t wait until later to read it. (You can find it here.)

As much as I believe in the potential for procrastination as a useful tool to work smarter instead of harder, there is a fine line between embracing the practice and being overwhelmed by it. When a procrastination habit becomes harmful, it’s probably time to reconsider the reasons behind it and develop new strategies to make sure we meet our deadlines on time, while still on our terms.

There’s no scientific method to my strategy to combat procrastination, but the solutions I’ve found seem to fall into three categories.

Determining the Problem

A doctor can provide relief for certain symptoms; however, he or she cannot treat you until the root cause of the illness has been determined. In a similar fashion, until you determine why it is that you’re procrastinating on a certain task you cannot begin to find a true solution to your bad habit. You’re simply putting a band-aid over the problem. Do some real soul-searching to try and figure out why you’re doing this to yourself.

Are you suffering from a lack of motivation? Set goals, determine rewards and build patterns into your daily life that help you work towards the completion of your project.

Having trouble keeping focus? Shorten the blocks of time you plan to focus on a certain task. More often than not even committing to just ten minutes of performing a certain task can encourage us to focus on it longer. Still not working? Take notes on your energy levels and amount of focus throughout your day and adjust your schedule accordingly. Try saving the more difficult or complicated tasks that require the most of your attention during the times when your alertness is at its peak.

Deleting the Unnecessary

Often our schedules are overflowing with multiple commitments, social engagements and various other personal and professional activities. It’s easy to procrastinate when feeling overwhelmed or stressed so when yourself letting important things slide because of an overcrowded schedule, it may be time to decide what activities and commitments to delete. Can you get by on less shift at your part-time job? Can you get away with dropping an elective? Any commitments, whether they be personal, professional or academic should be dropped if they become toxic, harmful, unreasonably demanding, unnecessarily involved, not enjoyable, or unhelpful towards your goals. If certain tasks are getting out of hand, see how much work you are able to delegate to colleagues, co-workers and friends, even if the arrangement is only temporary. We all need breathing space.

Discipline thyself.

It’s easy to lose focus when there’s no focus to your schedule or work. Blocking off chunks of time and forcing yourself to commit that time to working on certain tasks may be the actual motivation to get things done. If work is ill-defined or poorly organized, it can be off-putting to try and follow a task through to completion, and sometimes even possible to start. Evaluating energy levels, eliminating distractions, and creating environments conducive to our own unique productivity needs are all great ways to enjoy work more, and dare I say make it easier?

If procrastination is a sickness then it’s one we all suffer from, but hopefully by gaining an understanding as to why we do it, we can gain more insight as how to prevent it but for now, hopefully we’ve found our prescription.

KBwB-Flower-50

Have you been procrastinating on commenting on this blog? Putting it off can be bad for you and your health. Share your strategies on how you got your life back on schedule by commenting below. Still too shy? I’ll keep your thoughts a secret if you send them to be at keepingbusyb@gmail.com.

When Those Lists Keep Adding Up

Posted on March 19, 2015 by B

KBB_stack_of_filing Almost everyone I know has a to-do list. Think about yours. It could be on a piece of paper, scrunched in a corner of your daily agenda, or neatly outlined on your Smartphone. Maybe it’s just in your head as you scramble to get out the door to do your errands.

No matter what form, we all have our ways of prioritizing all of the things we need to do in order to keep our businesses, homes or lives in order.

Now I want you to think about your list. If you’re like most people, your list is probably a mile long. You’re bound to forget one of those things, or worse: you might put it off.

Thought about that list? Great. Now ask yourself, what’s the one thing that’s been on here forever? What do I just keep forgetting? What to-do just seems to keep on slipping through the slats? You might have to dig a little deeper to think of that one thing but once you have it, grab onto it mentally and don’t let go.

Is this an exercise in procrastination? (No. I was going to write a post about that but I think I’ll just do it later.) It’s actually proof of something that I’ve only learned very recently.

To-do lists don’t work.

Now don’t immediately start composing that nasty email to me, because to-do lists have helped out a ton of people, myself included. But all too often we fall into the trap of using a to-do list as a brain dump. We write down every single little thing we’ve ever thought of doing ever, instead of just keeping it short, sweet and limited to a certain category of things.

People familiar with the practice of GTD (Getting Things Done) will remember how creator David Allen suggests organizing several to-do lists in order of context.

I have to admit that had been something that has helped me tremendously. My lists are shorter and I am much more selective about each of the items that go on each list.

This doesn’t mean you have to become a hardcore GTD convert in order to gain something from this practice. The next time you write down a to-do list for all of the errands you need to run on Saturday morning, limit the things you need to do to just that Saturday morning. If it’s not an errand, don’t add it to the list. If you do, you run the risk of losing your memory’s grip on that item and the task will never be completed. Not much of a to-do list, right?

It may seem like common sense, but you’d never include items to pick up at the grocery store on a list of things to do to clean your garage. So why would you do any of that to your to-do lists?

Try at least grouping your to-dos into like categories. You may even want to try separating those to-do lists by context, rooms in your house, or by home improvement projects. Whatever floats your boat!

Who knows? You might actually end up getting some of those nasty tasks crossed off.

KBwB-BFlower-50 How many items do you have on your to-do list? I’d love to hear about yours as well. Drop me a line at keepingbusyb@gmail.com or comment below. Together let’s get them done! Looking for other projects to keep you busy? I’ve been sharing all of mine here.

The Procrastination Problem

Posted on November 9, 2012 by B

Aaah, November. I remember back in the day when I was a student, I’d spend the majority of the month acting like a crazy person. I’d skip classes in order to study and took power naps at weird times of the day so I could get up early and start studying some more.

One particular night stands out above all others- I had two essays due the next morning, and I pulled an all-nighter trying to finish them. I will always remember this night fondly because I got both essays done on time and received a pretty good grade on both. However, this was also the night I discovered my body’s caffeine-limit- two pots of coffee and four Red Bulls in a 24-hour period left me puking in the bathroom at 6 in the morning, editing my essays in between retching.

The stuff we do for that piece of paper, right?

The thing is, I probably could have avoided that night altogether had I not procrastinated. Trust me- everyone will do this at some point in time, so you’re not alone. (Even supposedly ultra-organized people like myself.) I have never heard of anyone not procrastinating on a particularly tricky or dull assignment at some point or another, so if you have heard of someone who hasn’t procrastinated ever, this person is probably a) a robot, which means they aren’t human and it doesn’t count, or b) this person has a horrible disease in which they think they are a robot. in which case they should probably seek medical attention.

For all those out there procrastinating right now, take comfort. A professor once told me that procrastination is a good thing. She often encouraged us to embrace the urge to procrastinate rather than to fight it, as studies have often showed studying (or writing essays) in short spurts is actually more productive than hitting the books for ten hours straight at the library. Your brain is sharper and retains more information that way. If you feel the urge to procrastinate, it may be your brain’s (or your body’s) way of telling you that you aren’t mentally prepared to complete the task at hand, therefore creating a sub-par result like a bad grade, or a ~~blog post~~ essay that makes no sense.

Of course, procrastination isn’t always good. For example, if you have one hour until your exam starts, it’s probably not a good idea to start studying right now. The adrenaline coursing through your body is not going to allow your brain to mentally focus on the task at hand until you’re actually sitting there in the exam center, pen at the ready.

But there’s no reason you still can’t take my professor’s advice. Instead, be kinder to yourself and realize that you’re not a machine- you’re a person who needs study breaks and sleep and proper food (eating an entire bag of Sour Patch Kids does not constitute as a meal, and neither is a cup of coffee). Here are some ways I’ve found that you can turn procrastinating into something productive.

1) Make a snack. And make it something healthy, please! Instead of limiting yourself to eating at the computer, which can cause you to overeat, take five minutes and make yourself a snack that has protein to help with the sleep deprivation from which you are suffering, no doubt, and a carb that will take your body longer to process so you are energized longer, such as a piece of fruit.

2) Play around. Give yourself a few minutes to mosey on over to FreeRice.com. It’s totally addictive, it makes you think, and it helps donate grains of rice to those in need. See how many grains of rice you can stockpile before you answer too many questions wrong, post your results to Facebook, then get back to work!

3) Clean your bathroom. Or your dorm room. Or your kitchen. Or whatever. You get to burn some of those calories you’ve been retaining since you’ve been stationary for so long, and you get to do something productive. I always find I do a better cleaning job when I’m using it as a way to procrastinate. Something about the thought of churning out another homework assignment makes me realize how much I care about the cleanliness of the grout in between my bathroom tiles- of which there are many.

4) Grab a coffee. Agree to meet up a similarly swamped friend and go to the coffee shop down the street. Stand in line. Bitch about all the work you’ve had to do and how little sleep you’ve gotten. Discuss the merits of the different coffee roasts and which one is more caffeinated. Tip your barista (she’s probably in the middle of midterms too!) then walk back to the library, or wherever it is you’re studying. If you’re at home, make yourself another pot of coffee and give yourself five minutes for it to brew. Pause. Enjoy your first sip. There now. Doesn’t it taste that much better?

5) Take a walk. It’s by far the best way to procrastinate. You get exercise and you blow off any steam that’s been building after working through a frustrating calculus problem. There’s something about the fresh air that seems so invigorating, especially at this time of year. Take your hot chocolate, take a friend, take your iPod- whatever works! Allow yourself at least ten minutes and enjoy the crunch of the leaves and that last little bit of fall sunshine. Some say that exercise of any kind can get the blood flowing back to your brain, which allows you to focus and study much more effectively.

Use all of these tactics, or none- whichever works for you. After awhile, you’ll figure out what works for you, your body and your lifestyle. And if all else fails, you can always revert back to my favorite procrastination technique- the crazy, late-night dance party. Stick on some J-Lo and shake it!

Or not. After all, you could always do it later!

KBwB-Flower-50

Need more excuses to procrastinate? Visit my books page or my baking page to see what I’ve been doing with all of the time that I’ve been wasting. Although let’s be honest with ourselves- can we really call baking a waste of time?!?

Keeping Busy With B

Tag Archives: scheduling

Why You Should Keep Your Old Agenda

Do You Have 15 Minutes?

Do You Have 10 Minutes?

Do You Have 5 Minutes?

Say No to Miserable Monday Mornings

More Thoughts on Procrastination

When Those Lists Keep Adding Up

The Procrastination Problem