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"EITHER RUN THE DAY OR THE DAY RUNS YOU"

3/26/2018

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Feel like you were so busy all day long and never stopped? You're exhausted but when you looked on your list you discovered you still had the majority of your important work to complete? Then this is for you!

​1- In Kenneth Ziegler's “Organizing for success” the key to figuring out what you want to improve is by figuring out what’s going wrong. After all how do you know where you want to go unless you know where you’re starting from? So if time management is your issue, figuring out what you spend your time on is key.  His advice is to keep a journal, and fill in the time slots with all the different activities. Try to be as accurate as possible and don’t wait till the end of the day to fill it in, keep your diary with you at all times. At the end of the day add how many tasks got completed. You can download his journal at http://www.kztraining.com/timekeepingjournal/pdf/Timekeeping%20Journal.pdf
Print and follow his instructions.

2- PLAN: Start your day with a realistic plan. Plan your calls. Plan your email before you start typing. (What are you trying to say? What's the most important point?) Be prepared. Batch like activities together.

3. Slow down and stop multitasking! Focus on one thing at a time so you can keep your focus to completion of what you're trying to achieve.
Happy Organizing! :-)
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What does it means to get organized? It’s NOT about Perfection!

3/18/2018

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 It’s NOT about Perfection!
When people meet me for the first time, it is not unusual for me to hear, “your house must be looking so good”, or “I’d love to see your desk” and it occurs to me that some people think organizing is about perfection and appearance and everything looking neat. To me that misconception about being organized is not only unrealistic but has also some negative connotations and since perfection is impossible to achieve, it would explain why others think it is an impossible task for them to get organized. It is just like assuming that because someone is asked to eat healthy they will never eat ice cream again and that level of “perfect” eating is not something that is attainable.

So what is being organized? In actuality, being organized is about efficiency, effectiveness, and making your life and surroundings work for you in reference to time management, productivity, paper management, space management or clutter. It is about having the most functional, useful, efficient system that helps you achieve your goals. And like most things it is different for everyone.
So after we purge, place things efficiently and effectively and optimize the space then your surrounding will appear much neater.
 
Staying Organized:  
Organizing is a process, not a destination.  
Have you ever gotten everything organized and then, over time, some of it fell apart? This happens for one of two reasons.
  • When you try to organize yourself, you may not know how to implement the most appropriate systems for you. So the system breaks down and you feel unorganized again. It would be a mistake to view organizing as an all or nothing activity with an end. It is ever evolving as is life, and needs to be worked constantly.
  • The other reason an organizing system breaks down is that something in your life has changed, causing the current system (which may have been the correct one at the time) to break down. When you pursue an organizing project with a professional, your sessions may come to an end, yet your life continues to evolve and you continue to work the systems. Life events such as depression, a new marriage, divorce, birth, a family death, job change, etc., you may temporarily loose your ability or desire to be detail-oriented and work your systems thus causing their break down. 

Author

Sophie Bent is a Professional Organizer & Productivity Consultant @Bent On Organizing, LLC. She is a NAPO Specialist in Residential Organizing in South Florida and has been organizing businesses and homes since 2008. Contact her at 561-404-7181 or www.bentonorganizing.com 

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Don't let your taxes take you to task!  Be ready....

3/13/2018

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Does tax season stress you out?

Keeping orderly records for tax-filing purposes is perhaps just as important as making sure you claim the appropriate tax credits, deductions or filing status. Without the right paperwork, you could miss out on important money-saving benefits for the 2017 tax season such as tax benefits for businesses.
 
Step 1: Designate a place for all your tax documents
Disorganized rooms, desks and filing drawers can be distracting and lead to lost documents and wasted time looking for them. (The shoe box method is inadequate and your accountant probably charges you extra to sort it out for you).

Step 2: Sort, file, save
For each potential tax record, ask yourself the following questions:
  • Do I need to keep this? Yes, if it is tax related or a business deduction.
  • If I need to keep it, where would its home be? A Special folder or file box would do.
  • Retention Guide:  For the IRS description of what documents to keep and for how long go to:
    https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/what-kind-of-records-should-i-kee

Step 3: Categorize your records for tax purposes
  • Be sure to keep records and a separate file for papers you‘ll need for your tax return. Don’t miss out on claiming expenses and deductions because you misplaced them or don’t have a copy of a key invoice.
  • Sort your paid bills by subject, such as office expenses, home improvements, Health expenses, donations, credit cards, investments, etc. (See Schedules A and C for a more complete list of allowed deductions that apply to you).
 
Step 4: Assemble your records for this year's return
With your files in order, it’s much easier to gather what you need for your 2017 return - whether you are preparing the return yourself, or sending your documents to a tax preparer. Use the worksheet your preparer provides.
 
Step 5: Schedule time to stay organized for future tax seasons
The best way to get and stay organized is to schedule a regular time and day each month or one hour a week to sort through new documents and organize your record keeping. (Using prepared software such as Quicken or Quick-books makes it even easier once you have it set up properly).

Step 6: Hire a Professional Organizer: 
A professional organizer can help you create a file system and help you keep it organized so that your tax records are ready to be filed.

So if you are still struggling with this year's tax, lets make sure your 2018 taxes are ready to file.
Happy organizing! 
                       

Author

​Sophie Bent is a Professional Organizer & Productivity Consultant @Bent On Organizing, LLC. She is a NAPO Specialist in Residential Organizing in South Florida and has been organizing businesses and homes since 2008. Contact her at 561-404-7181 or www.bentonorganizing.com 

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    Sophie Bent

    "Helping people get organized and transforming their lives has been one of my life's greatest enjoyments. Thank You!"
    ​
    Sophie Bent has been a professional organizer and productivity consultant since 2008 and is a member of NAPO and a member of the South Florida Association of Professional Organizer.

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