Tax Season—Let’s Get Organized!

It’s that time again—the dreaded tax season.

Are you overwhelmed?  Do you have a hard time finding important documents?

As April 15th rears its head are you left kicking yourself because once again you didn’t get everything organized for early 2017—like you swore you would this time last year?

Are you left struggling with accomplishing the daunting task of finding those papers and receipts—leaving you in a procrastination loop?

This year skip the unneeded headaches and work with me directly, through Virtual Organization.

I will work with you, virtually, to not only get your documents organized for this year, but for years to come—taking the tax season stress out of your life for good!

Kick those worries of tax extension fees to the curb!

After being a Professional Organizer and Productivity Coach for over 20 years, I have seen it all—The shoebox method, glove box system, bags of receipts in the trunk or under the seats (contractors habit!), and unsorted receipts sprinkled throughout the home and office.

Committing to Virtual Organization means no longer putting off what needs to be done.

Let me gently guide you to take immediate action to get real results. Leaving you with the security and accountability of knowing your de-cluttering project will get done.

Take the last minute stress out of your tax season preparation.
Sign up for your FREE 20-minute consult today!

Working virtually is no different than having me work right beside you. You will be able to ask me questions live and together we will work through any challenges you may have.

Pricing is based on your lifestyle and responsibility levels. All packages are custom tailored to fit your needs. Packages include weekly progress sessions via phone, email, Zoom or Skype.

Available by phone @ 516-433-2330 EST, email laura@organizedproductivity.com, or book your appointment via the calendar here.

Check out our latest blogs, for further inspiration:
Pop The Procrastination Bubble and The Stressful Life of a “Work-From-Home” Procrastinator

Confidentiality:  All information is confidential between us and cannot be shared. 
I work according to NAPO (National Association Of Professional Organizers Code of Ethics.

Pop The Procrastination Bubble

Procrastination is defined as ‘the action of delaying or postponing something’.

It is the one action in life that is only ever realized in hindsight. And what does procrastination always want to latch onto? Your ‘to-do’ list!

Now don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t mean that ‘to-do’ list won’t get completed…it will, surely—but, when? During the next few days? Months? Years?  That question still remains.

Procrastination is a common denominator in just about everybody’s life—myself included. During those times of procrastination, you always started your task with good intentions, feeling that ‘today will be the day, today I’m going to get everything done!’—only to find yourself an hour later immersed watching cat videos.

This can leave you feeling unproductive, defeated, depressed and guilty. My view is to not beat yourself up. Life is a challenge. Instead of becoming overwhelmed with all the new tasks that keep getting added to the ‘to-do’ list every day, switch your list into what can be completed in a timely order.

How do you do this? With organization! Yes, even your ‘to-do’ list needs to be reorganized.

Follow these steps to take the stress out of your ‘to-do’ list and nip procrastination in the bud.

  • Break the list down into the various sections of your life where the projects need to be completed (ex. kitchen, office, garage).
  • Add priority codes beside each task, within each section.
  • Give yourself a realistic deadline date for completion.

Just by completing this small step, I bet you’re starting to feel a slight weight being lifted off those heavy shoulders.

An important lesson in life is while you may not be in charge of outcomes,
you ARE in charge of your actions and you have a choice to procrastinate or not. 

Over the last 24 years, I have had the opportunity to work with every type of client out there. It has left me with the knowledge and tools to provide streamlined organization tactics, tailored to each individuals need(s). I am proud to say that I have earned the name “Dr. DeClutter” or “Doc’ for short, from a number of my clients. A title I hold dear to my heart.

Right now, Task Management Solutions is offering two programs to help you find the information you’ve been searching for to help you manage solutions to make your tasks easier.

Sign up NOW for your FREE Virtual Organizing Session to Help Prepare for Tax Time

Pricing is based on your lifestyle and responsibility levels. All 1-2 month packages are custom tailored to fit your needs.  Packages include weekly progress sessions via phone, email, Zoom or Skype.

Available by phone @ 516-433-2330 EST, email laura@organizedproductivity.com, or book your appointment via the calendar here.

I can’t wait to give you an overall sense of wellness and calm, so you can get back to being carefree for summer!

The Stressful Life of a Procrastinator

The Stressful Life of a “Work-From-Home” Procrastinator

Do you work from home and suffer from procrastination? See if this description of a typical day describes you:

You get up in the morning with positive thoughts that today will be the day everything on your plate will get  done. Your intent is strong and you are committed.

All is good for the first 15 minutes of your working day as you sit at your desk.  You feel in control…

Then real life kicks in as you start reading your emails thinking (hoping) it will only take a few minutes.

Well, let’s be honest – with today’s deluge of information you’re subscribed to there’s an overabundance of sites to manage all the information coming at you. You didn’t even get to finish your coffee as you’re answering emails and answering phone calls at the same time.

Then other interruptions come up – unexpected fires that you need to put out or get involved in without volunteering. It’s an hour into work and you’re starting to feel the drain as procrastination sets in causing the first wave of hesitation about how your day will go.

Where’s your list of tasks that need to be done?

Yes, its buried on your desk. So you start another list feeling the drain like you did yesterday … and the day before.

You make the list again but it seems larger than the previous one. You’re thinking about what you need to start/finish but it’s in your head because you can’t follow the numerous lists you’ve made and lost.

Of course you didn’t assign priorities or deadline dates to your tasks as you’re feeling the overwhelm. Yes you’re feeling like you suffer from a disease called “procrastination”!

Procrastination stops you dead in your tracks and makes you feel you are captive behind your desk because you know you have so much to do but you can’t remember what.

Hmmm, should have had some breakfast for fuel but you procrastinated thinking you’ll eat … later.  How about some water to hydrate your body and brain to function as it needs to … later. By the way, coffee does not count as it’s not a food group and you never get to finish a cup anyway.  And no, the large breakfast you’ll have on the weekend because you procrastinated about eating healthy during the week will not make up for it.

Procrastination impacts your health and well-being.

It’s 11:00 am and time to start your tasks even though you’ve been at your desk for a couple of hours. If you’re an entrepreneur or business owner working from home, you’ll side step it to the shower as you procrastinated about it when you got up.

Now you sit down at your desk after grabbing another cup of coffee and a yogurt or granola bar and you start all over again answering emails, checking social media, returning phone calls …

Now what was that all-important project you put off several times already? Can’t find it because its buried on your desk along with your previously made to-do notes?

Here comes that mental and emotional drain again! 

Regroup – dig through just the top layer of those piles on your desk. Feeling like what you need is there “somewhere”?  Will you procrastinate looking for it as it’s just “easier” to deal with what’s coming at you in the moment?

It’s 11:45 am and you ask yourself what you can accomplish before lunch so you do small, menial tasks that are not “A” priorities – “A”= MUST get done today.  You dilly-dally with the easy stuff.  Yes those must get done anyway so they are justified in your head and gives you some sense of completion even though it didn’t add to your daily income or help you develop those projects that will get you new clients and earn you $.

That keeps you busy till 12:30 pm so you fit in some more smaller, easy tasks before you take lunch as the clock ticks and it’s 1:00 pm. You are hungry as you didn’t have a decent breakfast so you take that lunch break but the symptoms of procrastination (meaning you didn’t get the important tasks done) are tying that knot tighter in your stomach.

During lunch (gulp!) you think about what would make you feel good about completing today, you plan in your head what you will start when lunch is over. It’s 1:30 pm-ish+++ and sitting at your desk feels better than when you left before lunch, so where do you begin – oh yeah its time to tackle that big project … but what are the starting steps? Did you write down an outline of prioritized tasks to follow to completion to achieve that goal?  Oh right – it’s on that (those) buried to-do lists covered up by sticky notes or vice versa! (gulp again!)

You do get bits and pieces of the project done during the afternoon, but was it in an order that made sense? Did you zigzag through the steps without a “map” to follow aka action item to-do list with priority codes and deadline dates?

4:30 pm approaches, time to read and answer more emails, try making some phone calls ….  Its 5:30 pm and you’re still in your office but the knot in your stomach returns as it was another unsuccessful and unproductive day because you have that “procrastination disease”.

If you work from home, you take that dinner break but not with a feeling of accomplishment.  So it’s back to your desk about 9:00 pm after the family and pets have been tended to for another shot at those emails and social media posts.

You answer what you can or do more of those C, D priority items but you’re too tired to tackle the A or B tasks.  But it’s OK – there’s always tomorrow … and you dream of crossing things off your list again.

The lack of systems at your desk has you drowning in computer files and paper piles.  And let’s forget about the personal responsibilities you try to fit in with children and spouses, house tasks, bill paying, exercise …

Hmm, could this be why you don’t feel your best as those knots that keep tying themselves tighter are affecting your health, peace of mind, mental stability?  Yep you’re in the big procrastinators club that most of the population is in.

How do I know all this?  Am I a mind reader?  Procrastination is a common daily feeling for everyone as it’s triggered by lack of systems, lack of direction and hierarchy of priorities, interruptions, delays, clutter …

If this is what your day sounds like, or every day for that matter, we need to talk!  Let’s do a virtual coffee break = free 20 min. chit chat about what’s not working and how I can help eliminate procrastination. Disorganization is at an all-time high with productivity at its lowest point ever.

Book your free consultation now as the spring energy invites a new refreshing perspective.
Available by phone @ 516-433-2330 EST, email laura@organizedproductivity.com, or book your appointment via the calendar here.

Our “Spring Into Action” program starts April 1stSecure your FREE Consultation NOWspace is limited!

The internet makes it easy to work virtually so there is NO excuse as I’m there for you and appointments with nationally known “Dr. DeClutter” are open for evenings and weekends to accommodate you.

How to not be unproductive and procrastinate

What to Do About Procrastination and Feeling Unproductive

Do you wake up in the morning with a plan of what you expect to get done, but by the end of the day it just doesn’t seem to work out “your” way due to procrastination?

Do you have a constant nagging feeling of guilt because the most important things you wanted to accomplish didn’t get done AGAIN?!

As the days and weeks roll along, that unproductive feeling becomes an avalanche of undone tasks snowballing into one another….

So, what exactly does being unproductive mean?

Overwhelmed? It’s that moment when you kick yourself in the butt because important action items written on some itsy bits of paper are lost in a pile of other random notes and reminders, some which were written so long ago that you can’t remember what they mean.

Those same random pieces of paper are posted all over your computer, your wall, stuck to other pieces of unrelated paper on your desk, the kitchen counter, your bathroom mirror, or even hiding in one of your drawers…

The bottom line is unproductive means missed opportunities.

Being unproductive means that you are not producing your desired results.

You are not reaching your fullest potential. Not getting any closer to your end goal.

What To Do About Procrastination

To achieve your goals and reach your desired results, you need a structure with goals and steps to achieve each goal. This structure has to have a map defining priorities of the steps required, and the deadline completion date for each item.

With my help, you don’t have to figure it out on your own!

to-do-checklistI’m a list maker – seems like I’ve always been.  On Sundays I make my weekly to-do list for each day.  The few times that it went “MIA” (IE: left in a shopping cart or lodged in with the mail when my hands were full) has sent me into sheer panic.

I must clear out my head and write things down and I have clients that still use the same organizational tools I left them with during my last visit.

My experience has taught me that an organized environment and planning productivity work hand in hand.
It creates accountability and allows us to see exactly what needs to be done and when. It prevents us from “chasing our tail” while scurrying around trying to figure out the next move.

It’s time to stop the snowball effect.  

No more excuses.
No more procrastinating because “the phone rang” or “I had to answer my emails” or “someone stopped at my desk” or “I had an emergency” or “I was supposed to…”.

Sound familiar? You are not alone!  

When I work with a client, we do a “brain dump” and get all those “un-dones” out of their heads and into a detailed “map” to work from.  In a personal setting, we actually make a separate list for each aspect of their personal lives including children and house projects.

Professionally we list projects that have been put on the “back burner” for months and even years.

It’s amazing how the stress is immediately reduced by simply clearing out your mind.

Imagine what it is like not having those “un-dones” swimming around your head while you’re sleeping?  The use of the “daily map” has rewarding benefits turning your unproductive life into one of accomplishments you can see and feel good about.

It is time to Step Into Action and pat yourself on the back.

Need help? I invite you to click here to set up an appointment for a Free Discovery Session.

I can hear you rustling to take the steps necessary to join my “Step Into Action” Program today.

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