End of Year Challenge

There are just over 90 days left of 2011. 

Did you have big plans for this year?  Did you make them happen?

If you haven’t met your goals for the year, grab a notebook and your calendar. In the notebook write down every single thing you want to do.  Skydiving? Learning French? Tap dancing? Finishing a project you started? Don’t worry about how much time it will take or how much it will cost or whether it sounds foolish. Dream big.

After you capture all the things you’d like to do, choose one that you can focus on now.  Decide how much time and money you are willing to commit to making it a reality. 

Once you choose your idea, list all the steps you need to get started.  See if you can accomplish your goal without filling your life with lots of new stuff.  Do you really need to buy gear or can you borrow or rent first?  You might have to make some compromises or partner with someone else to help start you off.

Finally, create an action for each step and put them on your calendar.  Commit to your plan by spending a set time each week moving your goal forward.

Let go of the things that drag you down and create a plan to make your dreams a reality now.  What can you do now that will make you look back and say that 2011 was a great year for you? Click on Post a Comment, below, and tell us.

Organized by MarcieTM: Save time and money by letting go of what you don't need and finding room for what you value
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And if you like what you've read, share it using the links below!

End of Year Challenge

There are just over 90 days left of 2011. 

Did you have big plans for this year?  Did you make them happen?

If you haven’t met your goals for the year, grab a notebook and your calendar. In the notebook write down every single thing you want to do.  Skydiving? Learning French? Tap dancing? Finishing a project you started? Don’t worry about how much time it will take or how much it will cost or whether it sounds foolish. Dream big.

After you capture all the things you’d like to do, choose one that you can focus on now.  Decide how much time and money you are willing to commit to making it a reality. 

Once you choose your idea, list all the steps you need to get started.  See if you can accomplish your goal without filling your life with lots of new stuff.  Do you really need to buy gear or can you borrow or rent first?  You might have to make some compromises or partner with someone else to help start you off.

Finally, create an action for each step and put them on your calendar.  Commit to your plan by spending a set time each week moving your goal forward.

Let go of the things that drag you down and create a plan to make your dreams a reality now.  What can you do now that will make you look back and say that 2011 was a great year for you? Click on Post a Comment, below, and tell us.

Organized by MarcieTM: Save time and money by letting go of what you don't need and finding room for what you value
Follow me on twitter and facebook
And if you like what you've read, share it using the links below!

Get Ready Day

As National Preparedness Month winds down, The American Public Health Association wants to remind you about Get Ready Day, the third Tuesday of September.  The aim of the campaign is to help you prepare for emergencies, including infectious disease, natural disasters and other catastrophic events.

They have free emergency preparedness fact sheets, in English and Spanish, which you can download here and keep with your emergency kit.

If you don’t have an emergency kit yet, now is a good time to create one.  You don’t have to spend a lot of money getting ready.  Check the fact sheet for preparing on a budget.  preparing on a budget.

Once you have a kit, you need to review it regularly.  To help you remember, their slogan is “Set your clocks, check your stocks.”  Put a reminder on your calendar to change your smoke detector batteries and update or replenish your provisions when daylight saving time ends in November.

You can learn more about the APHA and Get Ready Day here.

Organized by MarcieTM: Saving you time and money by helping you let go of what you don't need and find room for what you value.

Follow me on twitter and facebook

And if you like what you've read, share it using the links below!

Get Ready Day

As National Preparedness Month winds down, The American Public Health Association wants to remind you about Get Ready Day, the third Tuesday of September.  The aim of the campaign is to help you prepare for emergencies, including infectious disease, natural disasters and other catastrophic events.

They have free emergency preparedness fact sheets, in English and Spanish, which you can download here and keep with your emergency kit.

If you don’t have an emergency kit yet, now is a good time to create one.  You don’t have to spend a lot of money getting ready.  Check the fact sheet for preparing on a budget.  preparing on a budget.

Once you have a kit, you need to review it regularly.  To help you remember, their slogan is “Set your clocks, check your stocks.”  Put a reminder on your calendar to change your smoke detector batteries and update or replenish your provisions when daylight saving time ends in November.

You can learn more about the APHA and Get Ready Day here.

Organized by MarcieTM: Saving you time and money by helping you let go of what you don't need and find room for what you value.

Follow me on twitter and facebook

And if you like what you've read, share it using the links below!

Multitasking

I’ve written several posts about multi-tasking (e.g., Defend Your Day, Information Overload, The Myth of Time Management) and and I address it in The Clutter Book, as well. 

I recently read an article with a title that captured everything I’ve learned about multitasking:  Will Multi-tasking Make You a Scatterbrain?

Dr. William Klemm, the author, states that many adults find it amazing that children “are such impressive multi-taskers;” however, he notes that using cell phones, the Web, text messaging, and playing video games all while plugged into an  IPod “exacts a high price on learning.”

As I’ve mentioned many times, your brain can only do one thing at a time. When you think you’re multi-tasking, you’re actually switching between activities, which is distracting and, Dr. Klemm adds, “interferes with memory formation and what memory researchers call ‘consolidation’ into lasting memory.”  He goes on to describe the Interference Theory of Learning:

Memory consolidation is often prevented when one event follows too soon after an initial learning event. Memory of initial learning events can be blocked if you try to learn two things at once. In fact, learning may be disrupted for both things.

He says that multi-tasking affects your working memory:

Multi-tasking bombards working memory with scrambled and unfocused information and probably keeps the brain from learning how to optimize focus and orderly sequence thoughts. Several studies show that intelligence correlates with working memory capacity, which under the best of circumstances is limited. Working memory is the platform on which you think. Over-loading this small-capacity thinking platform just makes it harder to think straight.

Need more evidence that multi-tasking is counterproductive?  You can read the entire article and the studies conducted that inform Dr. Klemm’s writing.

Do you agree or are you still convinced that you can do more in less time by doing more at the same time? Click on Post a Comment, below, and tell us.

Organized by MarcieTM: Saving you time and money by helping you let go of what you don't need and find room for what you value

Follow me on twitter and facebook
And if you like what you've read, share it using the links below!

Multitasking

I’ve written several posts about multi-tasking (e.g., Defend Your Day, Information Overload, The Myth of Time Management) and and I address it in The Clutter Book, as well. 

I recently read an article with a title that captured everything I’ve learned about multitasking:  Will Multi-tasking Make You a Scatterbrain?

Dr. William Klemm, the author, states that many adults find it amazing that children “are such impressive multi-taskers;” however, he notes that using cell phones, the Web, text messaging, and playing video games all while plugged into an  IPod “exacts a high price on learning.”

As I’ve mentioned many times, your brain can only do one thing at a time. When you think you’re multi-tasking, you’re actually switching between activities, which is distracting and, Dr. Klemm adds, “interferes with memory formation and what memory researchers call ‘consolidation’ into lasting memory.”  He goes on to describe the Interference Theory of Learning:

Memory consolidation is often prevented when one event follows too soon after an initial learning event. Memory of initial learning events can be blocked if you try to learn two things at once. In fact, learning may be disrupted for both things.

He says that multi-tasking affects your working memory:

Multi-tasking bombards working memory with scrambled and unfocused information and probably keeps the brain from learning how to optimize focus and orderly sequence thoughts. Several studies show that intelligence correlates with working memory capacity, which under the best of circumstances is limited. Working memory is the platform on which you think. Over-loading this small-capacity thinking platform just makes it harder to think straight.

Need more evidence that multi-tasking is counterproductive?  You can read the entire article and the studies conducted that inform Dr. Klemm’s writing.

Do you agree or are you still convinced that you can do more in less time by doing more at the same time? Click on Post a Comment, below, and tell us.

Organized by MarcieTM: Saving you time and money by helping you let go of what you don't need and find room for what you value

Follow me on twitter and facebook
And if you like what you've read, share it using the links below!

Let Go of Constant Communication

Over the weekend I saw the movie The Help and I enjoyed it thoroughly, except for the phone screen six seats down that was shining brightly into my eyes.  I didn’t realize that such a small screen could put out that much light.  Maybe the owner didn’t realize it either, but it was incredibly distracting.

Why would anyone need to use a phone while watching a movie?  I’m guessing she was texting or tweeting or facebooking or somehow communicating with people outside of the movie theatre. 

I’m not sure why some people aren’t able to ignore their digital devices for a few hours.  When did it become necessary to share your thoughts with all your followers instead of sitting quietly and watching a movie?

I believe that smart phones can be valuable tools when they are used properly.  I also believe that you need to have some technology-free time in your life.  Learning to let go of hand-held electronics can be the first step.

Do you feel like you need to be “plugged in” constantly?  Is it central to the communal experience? Click on Post a Comment, below, and tell us.

Organized by MarcieTM: Saving you time and money by helping you let go of what you don't need and find room for what you value.

Follow me on twitter and facebook
And if you like what you've read, share it using the links below!

Let Go of Constant Communication

Over the weekend I saw the movie The Help and I enjoyed it thoroughly, except for the phone screen six seats down that was shining brightly into my eyes.  I didn’t realize that such a small screen could put out that much light.  Maybe the owner didn’t realize it either, but it was incredibly distracting.

Why would anyone need to use a phone while watching a movie?  I’m guessing she was texting or tweeting or facebooking or somehow communicating with people outside of the movie theatre. 

I’m not sure why some people aren’t able to ignore their digital devices for a few hours.  When did it become necessary to share your thoughts with all your followers instead of sitting quietly and watching a movie?

I believe that smart phones can be valuable tools when they are used properly.  I also believe that you need to have some technology-free time in your life.  Learning to let go of hand-held electronics can be the first step.

Do you feel like you need to be “plugged in” constantly?  Is it central to the communal experience? Click on Post a Comment, below, and tell us.

Organized by MarcieTM: Saving you time and money by helping you let go of what you don't need and find room for what you value.

Follow me on twitter and facebook
And if you like what you've read, share it using the links below!