EARLIER THIS YEAR, MISSY STARTED SCHOOL, AND I STARTED DOING FULL DAYS AT THE OFFICE.

Now I'd been warned. My sister had said 'You'll be busier than ever. You think you'll have all this time, but you just won't.' She warned me, and I thought 'Pfft!'.

By week 4 I was an absolute wreck. All I could think of was 'Omg - I have to do this for the next 12 years... and some people have, like two kids... some have four... omg!' (Serious respect to those girls who work full time with kids xx).

Six months in and, honestly, I'm still crazy tired, (and I have my first two wrinkles :( ), but I've gotten really good at saving time and being more efficient, both at home and at work, so today I thought I'd share my tips with you!

This post ended up being quite long, and a little bit random, so I've divided things into Home and Work sections for a little bit of order - enjoy!



HOME:

1. ROUTINES

I'm a zombie in the mornings, and the biggest thing I've found are routines are King - the same thing, the same way, everyday. Get up, make coffee, drink coffee, wake child, dress child, do child's hair, give child breakfast and iPad (so she can slowly wake up), get myself ready, pack bags, shoes on and go. Routines have never been my thing, but without our morning routine, we'd be crazy unorganized. So if there's one, single tip you take from this post, start yourself a strong routine.

2. WAKE UP RIGHT

Try waking up a little earlier. I know, sleep is so precious, but how much easier would your mornings be with an extra 10m? And when you wake up, switch on the radio or music! It gets everybody moving and in a good mood to start the day.

3. BREAKFASTS

Make breakfast easy! Cereal and toast are standbys for a reason - they're fast and easy. I often whip up some Bircher Muesli on the weekend, then serve it through the week. I make it with oats, good yogurt and pureed apples - mix it together, add anything else you like (cranberries, sultanas, honey, cinnamon etc), and leave it in the fridge at least overnight. I'm yet to meet a child who won't eat it, and in winter, 30 seconds in the microwave makes it warm and fluffy. It's fast, good for them and oh so easy - and the perfect weekday breakfast.

4. CLOTHES

Get clothes ready the night before. I lay out uniforms and pack sportsbags in the evening so they're ready to grab in the morning. It saves frantically hunting for tiny socks, and is just one less thing to do.


5. LUNCHES

I also do lunches the night before - obviously with an eye to not making soggy sandwiches! I also make lunches to a formula - sandwich/wrap plus a homemade treat, plus cheese and biscuits, plus two pieces of fruit. For me, this is fast and easy, and I can do it in 5 minutes after dinner. I regularly change up treats, sandwich fillings and cheeses, and buy seasonal fruits so it's not the same thing all the time, and again, it saves time in the morning.


6. BAKING

Most of the time, I bake two slices on Sunday night for lunches, and to take to our various offices for morning tea. I find slices so fast to make - I mean, you just tip them in the pan, smooth them out and once they're baked cut into pieces - many don't need icing, they're easy for little fingers to handle, and I burn them way less often than biscuits. My favorites are all Women's Weekly recipes, and my go to one is this vintage Ginger Coconut Slice. (I never add the ginger.) This slice cuts beautifully, and you can vary the base as much as you like - try adding cranberries, white chocolate chips and just a drizzle of icing


7. CLOTHES AGAIN

By Sunday night I also aim to have all the uniforms and our work clothes washed and ironed so I can just grab and go through the week. It's also handy to have a capsule wardrobe for the week that you can mix and match. I generally just do pants, blouses and jumpers that get mixed up with fun scarves, jewellery and shoes. It saves time, but I still get to change things up depending on my mood - today was a blush, grey, white and maroon day with a touch of gold :)

8. HAIR

Dry shampoo. 'Nuff said.


9. DROP ZONE

Always keep bags, shoes, mail, keys etc. in the same spot, and teach the family to do it too - it makes mornings much faster when you're not hunting for keys. Missy doesn't have homework yet, but we do practice reading and writing every night. I make sure after she's done everything goes back into her satchel, ready to take to school in the morning. It only takes a minute, and saves hassles later.

10. NOTES

Speaking of bags, I get all the school notes out and read them as she's doing her reading - then they either go in the bin, get written in my planner and then in the bin, or signed and sent back to school. A packet of little envelopes is so handy for all the lunch orders and notes, and putting them straight back in her school bag means we never forget them.

11. DINNERS & GROCERIES

Try putting together a list of quick dinners your family love. I don't need a recipe for any of our family favorites - I've made them that many times - so I just have them as a list and use this to plan our meals. It makes dinner time easy to plan, easy to cook, and easier to sit through as there's less whining :) Also, if you can, do your big grocery shop once a fortnight. Going to the supermarket takes so much mental energy! I do the big, three supermarket shop every second week, and a quick top up one for salad, fruit, milk etc on the off week.

12. KEEPING TIDY

I unpack the dishwasher before making dinner, then I pack it as I cook - so there's no gigantic mess to clear up later. This is one of my favorite sanity and time savers! I also like to throw a load of laundry on in the morning, and again in the evening. This makes such a difference! And since I started doing this, my laundry just magically stays clean.

13. HANG EVERYTHING

Hang as many clothes as you can - don't fold! I hang pretty much everything except socks and knickers. It's so much quicker to put washing away, and if you do it straight from the dryer, you'll save yourself a ton of ironing. Also, I hang business shirts, blouses and light knits on their hangers from the laundry door architrave to dry overnight - it's great in winter when it's too cold to use the washing line, and I can just transfer them straight to the wardrobe in the morning.

13. DELEGATE

Delegate whatever you can. We have pink jobs and blue jobs in our house, and Missy has her own jobs to do each day too. Also, consider getting a gardener or cleaner in. We've had gardeners for years, and they can do in an hour what takes Dan five hours, so for us, it's completely worth it.

14. THE CAR

I always keep baby wipes in the car... because every single morning I only notice Missy has breakfast all over her face when we're half way to school... And really, every mum wonders how they made it through life without baby wipes... they're handy for just so many things.

WORK

1. HOW DO YOU WORK?

Everyone works differently - some are better in the morning, others in the evening, some thrive on fast paced pressure, others need silence and space. Learn how you work, and make the most of it! I crave uninterrupted work time - I can easily focus on a project 7 days a week for a month - in fact it's my idea of bliss! But constantly switching projects, jumping from home to work stuff, and changing gears all day long is just exhausting. So, knowing this, I tend to create solid boundaries between projects - Monday is Project A, Tuesday is Project B, Sunday is home stuff - which allows me time to think and get that uninterrupted time to work.

2. USE A PLANNER

If you don't have one, you need one! A planner means all your appointments, reminders, notes and lists are in the one place. It means you're less likely to forget things - and given how busy everyone is these days, that's important. If you don't have one, you can click here to find heaps of my free planners.

3. PLAN

Take time out to plan your day or week ahead - this is huge. Just 10m checking your planner and sorting out where you need to be and when will save so much stress. It's also a great time to plan your priorities - those must do things that really have to happen. I like to only schedule half my time too - this way my schedule is still flexible enough to deal with unexpected events and interruptions.

4. CLEAN OUT YOUR TO-DO LIST

If your to do list is anything like mine, there's a heap of stuff on it that just isn't that important. Yes, I need to sort out that bottom drawer of random, ancient paperwork that someone else created (I won't name names!). And yes, I have a stack of filing that's getting rather high. And sure, if I was to re-label all my files to bring them in line with our current system, that would be awesome. There's a reason those things have been on my to-do list for months, where so many others have been done and dealt with - it's because they're just not that important right now. We all have things like this on our to-do list, and one day, when it matters, we'll do them. But right now, they don't need to be done, and they don't need to be on your to-do list.

5. APPOINTMENTS & ERRANDS

I try to stack my appointments and obligations as close together as I can - it saves so much time! I get my nails done while Missy's at dance class, and when I'm getting my eyebrows done at the hairdressers, they trim her hair for me while she waits. I also try to stack up a heap of errands and go and do them all at once!

6. USE THE PHONE

It's old school, but try using the phone rather than email! So many things can be sorted out with a 30 second phone conversation, rather than an email chain that goes back and forth all day. Also, I use alarms on my phone all the time so I can focus on work and not worry that I'll forget to pick up Missy from school, call someone back, or just burn the biscuits (which I manage to do anyway lol!).

7. JUST SAY NO

Learning to say no to things you really don't have time for, and really don't want to do is easier said than done. But, with a bit of practice you can do it! Years ago, I used to be on heaps of committees and found that I always ended up taking on the lions share of work. Setting up an inaugural Law Journal? Why not. Revamping the interior of our city apartment building? Sure. Single handedly organizing a charity high tea? Yep. And then I banned myself from going on any committees for a long time - the last one, Missy's kindergarten, I still helped out - but I did what I could, and said no to what I really didn't have time for. There's an opportunity cost to everything, and these days, even though I love helping people out, I tend to think about what it's going to cost in terms of time and stress before taking on something new.

And last but not least, because you must be exhausted by now...

8. TAKE TIME

It's so important to take time to just zone out and clear your head. Taking a holiday is awesome - but it's not really a holiday if you're rushing around from site to site, looking after the kids and making sure everything is going to schedule. What was that Modern Family quote? 'I'm a mom, traveling with my kids. It's not a vacation, it's a business trip.' Sometimes, holidays are more stressful than they are relaxing, and taking time is as much about the little things as the big ones. I've found that anything that stops the whirl of to-do's and must not forget's in your head is great for destressing. I tend to zone out and clean the house with my headphones in, take 5m to have a cup of coffee and read the paper, or of an evening, watch a series on Netflix. It's easy to get not only physically tired, but also mentally and emotionally exhausted, and it's really important to take care of yourself, so make sure you take time for you! xx


So there we go! This post ended up being waaay longer than I expected, so if you've gotten this far, well done! And hopefully my tips will help you survive the craziness of juggling work and home :)

If you're looking for more posts on getting organized, just scroll down to the suggested posts below - and don't forget to sign up to my newsletter along the way :)

All the best,

Eliza.

TO DO LISTS CAN BE SO OVERWHELMING. THERE'S JUST SO MUCH TO DO, AND SOMETIMES IT'S HARD TO KNOW WHERE TO START.

I used to struggle with this. There was always too much to do, all of it mattered, and I'd be floundering - running from task to task, trying to figure out what was more important, where to spend my time and what to do first. And really, I got very little done.

I mean obviously some stuff was more important; spending 20 minutes on Missy's reading is super important, spending that time organizing my baking drawer... yeah, not so much.

But other things sat in that murky grey area in between - go to the gym for an hour, or keep working to hit that deadline?


We've all got a massive list of things we should be doing. And we've all got the same number of hours in every day. But there's one little secret that'll take you from being bogged down in endless to dos, to actually owning them - and achieving what you want and loving it.

And the secret is, sorting out your priorities.

Ok, so perhaps it's not a huge secret - but how to actually do it is. If you've ever read anything on getting organized, 'prioritizing your to-do list' comes up a lot - but it's rare for anyone to explain how to do it.

And not many people actually know what their priorities are - they've never really thought about it. Of course kids and work and your relationship are - but in what order? And how about the other stuff you love? Also, many people have never truly set their priorities because they have to make choices - 'I want this, more than I want this.' And making decisions is hard.

Now, priorities aren't goals. Goals are something you'll achieve in the future like getting that job, losing 10kg or renovating the house. Priorities are in the present tense - they're what you can do and be today. This blog is a priority for me. And being a great mum and wife. But my blog comes second to Dan and Missy. Always. Because those guys are more important to me.

In a nutshell, your priorities come down to what you care about most, in order of importance.



But they aren't set in stone! Your priorities will change as major pieces of your life change - Missy started school this year, so all of a sudden her reading and routines are hugely important to me, where as last year our routine was pretty non-existant and revolved around Dan's hours at the office. Dan's priorities have changed this year too - he can't get home at 9pm if he wants to see his daughter - so now, those late nights at work are less of a priority than playing with Missy.

The order of your priorities will change from week to week too. Last week, my first priority was coping with the crazy at the office until Wednesday, and Missy's birthday party after that. Apologies to everyone emailing me about when the 2018 planners are coming, but her party and friends came first, and I spent two days preparing and baking, and gladly stayed up until 4am both days. And it was lovely - she and her friends had an awesome time, and she'll always remember it. This week though, it's all about the blog, and I've pushed back everything that's not urgent to focus. I've even cleared my social calendar for the next month to concentrate on the blog - because I want my blog stuff more than I want to go to those events.

Ok, so I'm going to stop rambling and give you a quick 7 steps to sorting out your priorities and owning your to do list.

SEVEN STEPS TO OWNING YOUR TO DO LIST

ONE:

Grab a piece of paper and write down what you want. Don't think, just write down what you think your priorities are. Write what you want - not your husband, friends, mother or mother-in-law. Just brain dump everything that's important. It might be that you want to spend more time relaxing, or giving more back to the community, or repairing your marriage if it's gone a little off, working on a hobby or building your business. Your priorities will be unique to you.

TWO:

Take a look down your list, and whittle them down to just five. It's ok to have more, but try to keep it short. Then put them in order of importance. Yours will look something like this... (yep, these are actually mine at the moment).

1. I want to be a great mum to Missy.
2. I want to be a great friend to Dan - wife or no, at heart we're simply best friends.
3. I want my blog to absolutely fly.
4. I want to help out Dan and Dad in their respective businesses to take the pressure off and help out the family in the long term. (I don't get paid for office stuff if you're wondering why that sounds odd!)
5. I want to have a beautiful, organized home.

THREE:

Now, go through your to-do list and get rid of anything not aligned with your wants above that you really don't want to do. Don't feel guilty - you've just set out the things that are most important to you, and anything that doesn't align, is just not 'you' at the moment! For me, that means I'm not volunteering this year, that I say no to a lot of social events, and those long, long, loooong calls with my sister (unless I'm doing housework lol!).

FOUR:

Take a look at what's left, and see what you can pass off to others - delegate stuff to your spouse, kids, employees etc. No one likes it when mum is so stressed out she's losing it every night - it's not fun for anyone. So just do it. If your spouse or kids have never had to chip in, just give them stuff to do - be blunt, and just say 'I need a hand, can you do xxx please.' There will be whining, but it's worth it in the end. For me, even though helping Dan and Dad is in my list above, there are a few jobs I told them they need to do themselves, simply because they have the knowledge to do in 2 hours what took me 12 after I finally found all the info, and it was cutting into my blogging time - which at the moment, is a higher priority.

FIVE:

Break your time into zones or areas, based on your priorities, and divide your to-do list accordingly. For me (because it's easier to explain with an example!), I head to the office three days a week, blog for three days a week and clean the house for one. Evening time is time for Missy, and when she's in bed, Dan and I have our time to catch up and talk.

Now, it's pretty rare to write 'Chat to daughter about her day' on your to-do list... We don't tend to write down relationship things to do - even though for most of us they would be top of our priority lists. And that's ok - relationship stuff is more about focus - if there's a dedicated time, like the evenings, to just focus on that relationship, and do things for that relationship, without other aspects of life taking over, then that's what really counts. In the evenings, I do reading, sort washing, get uniforms ready, make dinners and pack lunches - as well as chatting, teaching, playing and helping her. It's rare that I'll let office stuff intrude into this space.

NB: I also always have an Errands/To Buy list going for when I'm down the street if you're wondering where to put those things :)

SIX:

Highlight or star the top three things in each area/zone that will make the biggest impact. This way, next time you're in that space, you'll know exactly where to start. (And break them into smaller chunks if they're big projects!) Yesterday after school, we had an impromptu catch up with some of Missy's friends and their mums. This is really important as she's known these kids since she was born, and they don't necessarily play together at school. Anyway, we didn't get home until way after 5. I didn't have a lot of time, so I just did the things that would make the most difference - reading, dinner, uniforms and lunches - and called it a night. If you know what's most important, you can always make sure the most important things are getting done!

SEVEN:

Go for it! Use this system and see how it works for you - and tweak it to suit your lifestyle. If you've never set up your to do lists this way it might take a little while to get used to - but I guarantee you'll find yourself getting more of the important things done. And don't forget - the order of your priorities can change from week to week, but the actual priorities should basically stay the same - it's a good rule of thumb to go back and re-assess them every six months or so.


So there we go! By looking at your to do list in light of your priorities - and what you really care about - you'll find it transforms from being an odious, horrible list of chores, into something that - you guessed it - you actually want to achieve.

And you're going to start achieving more things that actually matter to you.

So good luck! If you're looking for more posts on getting organized, just scroll down to the suggested posts below - and don't forget to sign up to my newsletter along the way :)

All the best,

Eliza.

SOMETIMES IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS WE DO THAT MAKE THE MOST IMPACT - AND YET THEY'RE OFTEN THE THINGS WE PUT OFF OVER AND OVER AGAIN BECAUSE WE'RE TOO BUSY.

Today's post is as much for me as it is for you guys - there are so many little things I've been meaning to do and just haven't gotten around to - and some are are just so quick and simple!

So if you've got a spare 20 minutes - or even 10 minutes - cast your eye down the list and see how many little things you can get organized and done today - trust me, you'll thank yourself later!

Oh, and they aren't all chores! The last section is called Just For You - because everyone puts off the fun, me-time stuff, and it's super important too!




AT YOUR DESK:

1. Tidy your desk!
2. Go through that stack of papers and purge.
3. Back up your phone.
4. Back up your computer - or just all those photos.
5. Clean out your phone and delete all the apps you never use.
6. Plan the week ahead.
7. Plan your meals for the week.
8. Write your grocery list.
9. Write any upcoming birthday cards - and wrap presents.
10. Reply to emails and/or zero your inbox (checkout my post here.)
11. Make those appointments you've been putting off - the dentist, financial planner, optometrist etc.
12. Brainstorm a Christmas Gifts list - you'll thank yourself in December.


AROUND THE HOUSE:

13. Clean out your handbag (you know it needs it!)
14. Give the fridge or pantry a quick tidy.
15. Water your plants and/or replace the water in vases.
16. Put a cleaning tablet through the dishwasher or washing machine to clean it out.
17. Dust your knicknacks.
18. Give the car a quick tidy - just get rid of all the rubbish and clutter and wipe the dash.
19. Re-arrange your mantlepiece display - or even the living room furniture for a fresh look.
20. Clean out your medicine box.
21. Sweep the porch... (or the verandah... or the patio... :)
22. Squirt the shower with cleaner and let it soak.
23. Grab a garbage bag and roam the house looking for clutter to donate.


OUT AND ABOUT:

24. Take those bags that've been sitting in your car for ages to the thrift shop.
25. Buy that gift you know you'll need next week
26. Check the air in your car tyres at the service station - and fill up with fuel while you're there.
27. Drop stuff around to friends and family - that platter you borrowed, the Barbie Doll left at your house, the book you promised to lend them...


JUST FOR YOU:

28. Pick a bunch of flowers from the garden.
29. Research your next holiday.
30. Meditate.
31. Do a quick workout.
32. Download a new screensaver for your phone.
33. Browse Pinterest for next season's fashion inspiration.
34. Make a new playlist of favorite tunes - or clean out the ones you have.
35. Browse Netflix and add stuff to your 'To Watch' list.
36. Grab your favorite hand cream and do a mini mani.
37. Call or text someone you haven't spoken to in ages.
38. Write in your journal.
39. Look at free online courses for something you've always wanted to learn.


And there we go! I bet there were quite a few that had you thinking 'Oh I really have to do that!' - there certainly were for me.

So now I'll just be ducking off to see how many I can get sorted - because there's no time like the present!

If you're looking for more posts on getting organized, just scroll down to the suggested posts below - and don't forget to sign up to my newsletter along the way :)

All the best,

Eliza.

TAX TIME IN AUSTRALIA IS OFFICIALLY HERE, AND IT'S TIME TO CLEAN OUT THE PAPERWORK AND GET READY FOR THE NEW FINANCIAL YEAR!

So many people absolutely hate doing paperwork, and it's often because the system they're using is way too complicated.

You don't need 40 different folders. You don't need fancy apps to photograph everything. And you SO don't need fussy little color coding systems.

It's paperwork - not rocket science! In my non-blogging life, I manage the accounts for about ten different companies - including ours - and mountains of paperwork is my everyday reality. The key to it is having a system that is simple.

Now I love great tech and new platforms and apps, but when it comes to paperwork, I'm all about old school simplicity. Because it works. I can put my hands on any piece of paper that's come in over the last two years in seconds. Seriously.

So today I thought I'd share my super easy filing and paper management system. This is a really general one that works for everyone, and at the end I'll add a few of my tips for small business (just remember though, I'm not an accountant!). All you'll need is a folder, your planner, your printer, hole punch and stapler, and maybe some sticky notes.


1. HAVE AN INBOX

Or an in-tray, a basket or just a dedicated spot where you dump mail, invoices, receipts etc when they come in. Make sure the whole family knows about it too!

2. BIN WHAT YOU CAN

When it's time to go through it all - once a fortnight/month - do it over the bin. Junk mail and advertising go straight in, and if you open all the envelopes as you go, they can go straight in the bin too.

3. EMAILS

Print out any invoices and receipts you receive via email, and add them to your pile.

4. SORT

Sort everything into three piles - Bills to Pay, Correspondence to File, and Stuff to Follow Up.

5. FOLLOW UP STUFF

Anything in this pile that takes 5 minutes, do now, then add it to your Correspondence to File. For everything else, add it to your planner to action on a specific day, or add it to your to-do list. I leave the papers in my planner for reference later (and when they're done I put them back in my Inbox to file next time!)

6. FILING

Go through and note any dates/info you'll need to remember in your planner, then sort them all by date, hole punch, staple and file in your folder. I staple small store receipts to a blank piece of paper (so they don't get lost amongst the bigger papers), and then file them as usual. If I have heaps, I put them in an envelope, hole punch it and file as usual.

7. BILLS TO PAY

Go through your bills and pay them! I like to use my Expenses printable as a cover sheet - it makes things really easy to find as there's a list summary for what you've paid each fortnight/month. You can find them here on Etsy. Make sure you write the date paid on each invoice, and the method or account if you use more than one - if a payment is ever queried, this makes it easy to trace. Then just stack them all together, put the coversheet on top, staple, holepunch, and file in your binder.

NB: If paying all those invoices just isn't going to happen today, leave the unpaid ones in your inbox, and file the rest.

8. STICKY NOTES

These are optional, but I often use them for those few, really important things I know I'm going to need to refer to - generally correspondence like PAYG Payment Summaries (group certificates), insurance policies, contracts - basically important tax stuff and membership info. You can also staple them to the front of your folder if it's a paper one!


And that's it! You should now be all organized! How easy was that!

This is a really easy way to organize individual and family paperwork. Just keep adding layers of correspondence and bills each fortnight/month, and if you ever need to find anything, just flick back through to the correct date, and it'll be right there. Stapling things helps divide all that paperwork into sections, and if you use my expenses printable, you can easily find the right section quickly.

And don't forget to start a new folder each financial year!

FOR BUSINESSES:

If you have a business, these are my tips for organizing your paperwork - just remember though - I'm not an accountant!

1. SEPARATE EVERYTHING

It's a must to separate business and personal paperwork, so you'll need to do the above process twice, and keep everything in separate files.

2. EXTRA FOLDERS

You will probably need an extra folder or two for all your business paperwork. For our design company, I use three folders - the Expenses one I went through above, plus one for invoices we send out, and one for all our tax data (GST spreadsheets, cashbooks, BAS etc). For other companies that only do a small number of big invoices (e.g. monthly consulting = 12 invoices), I just have everything in one file and sticky note the invoices.

Sometimes, if there's a special project happening - e.g. developing a platform or renovating a property, then a separate file for those expenses is really important as it allows you to keep an eye on your costs. And if you're doing it on behalf of a client, it allows you to invoice costs quickly.

It does depend on your business, but as with most things, the simpler you can keep it, the better.

3. IMPORTANT DATA

For our company I keep all the important stuff in one section of my planner - all the ID numbers, bank account numbers, phone numbers and memberships. I also have a page with employee details and wages calculations, superannuation details etc. I need to refer to this stuff constantly, so it's easy to have a nice little summary I can quickly refer to, rather than going through those folders all the time.

4. KEEP PAPER COPIES

I know it's 2017. And I know everything is in the cloud. But it only takes clicking one dodgy email to completely corrupt your computer and all the connected hard drives and USB's. I know this because it happened in our office earlier this year - that email apparently came from a well known power company, we thought it was for us, and then hundreds of documents were just gone. It created so many problems, and we had to refer to all the printed hard copies. So, if it's important - leases, contracts, insurance policies, assessment notices - make sure you print it!


So there we go! I hope that helps you get organized this financial year - you'll find doing your paperwork is a breeze with this simple system :)

If you're looking for more posts on getting organized, just scroll down to the suggested posts below - and don't forget to sign up to my newsletter along the way :)

All the best,

Eliza.

SO MOST OF YOU GUYS DON'T KNOW THIS, BUT BLOGGING ISN'T MY ONLY JOB.

I also spend my days as a property manager for my dad, accounts and admin girl for Dan, and the go-to GST girl for about 10 different entities. There's a running joke in the office that I need a spinning job-title sign on my desk - so everyone knows what role I'm in that day! And it certainly makes it interesting when people ask me what I do; normally I just say I'm Girl Friday :)

Now I know I'm incredibly lucky and I really do enjoy it all, but the workload can get pretty big at times; especially as all this has to happen while Missy's at school. So I've become an absolute master at getting stuff done fast, and making the most of my workday.



So here are my 10 tips for really rocking your workday and getting through stuff. These tips will work for anyone - I do many of the same things whether I'm cleaning the house or reconciling accounts.

1. DEFINE YOUR TIME

Work out what you're doing and when. Pick a project and focus on that, don't bounce between things - you'll just end up faffing around and getting nothing really meaningful done. On Mondays I reconcile accounts, and on Wednesday mornings I pay accounts. Period. For home stuff, I do grocery shopping on Mondays, and laundry on Saturdays. A simple plan like this will give you a clear starting point each day and you will instantly become more effective because you're focused.

2. ONLY SCHEDULE HALF YOUR TIME

If you have smaller jobs to do and schedule your day in time blocks, only schedule half of it. Every job has a bunch of unexpected things happen each day - unexpected phone calls, urgent tasks, troubleshooting - and many projects can end up taking a lot longer than you thought. Just yesterday I had to update some credit card details for a subscription - it should've taken 5 minutes but it took over an hour. Stuff like this is so frustrating, but it will happen, and if you don't allow for it, your whole day can be thrown out.

3. MAKE TWO LISTS

One for now, and one for later. On the Now list, put only stuff that you can do now. Keep it focused (see number one above), and make those items easy and incremental - you'll find yourself completing it rather than procrastinating, and the more you do, the more momentum you'll get. Put everything else on the Later list and deal with that after you're finished.

4. GET RID OF DISTRACTIONS

Get rid of as many distractions as you can - don't go on social media, don't reply to that message, and don't get caught researching for hours (somehow 'researching' always ends up on Buzzfeed...). Focus on what you're doing, and do it. Then do all that stuff when you're finished - even add it to your Later list!

5. MUSIC!

Obviously I don't do this in the office, but get those headphones out and play something upbeat! It's great for tuning out (bad pun, sorry) and focusing on the task at hand, and if it's relatively energetic, you'll find yourself working faster :) Today I've been writing to the sounds of Alle Farben and Lemaitre and it's just been awesome - this post has come together waaay quicker than normal. So give it a try!

6. BATCH TASKS

Got five calls to make? Five baskets of laundry to fold? Do them all at once - batch them together and do it in one go and you'll save time. This is also true if you have appointments - either having people come in to see you, or going to your own - if you can batch them together and do them back to back, you'll be focused, and you can then get some work done later without distraction.

7. KEEP IT SIMPLE

Good enough is good enough, and done is better than perfect. Spending an hour finding the perfect font for that report is a waste of time (unless you're a designer :). Just the other day, our accountant actually told me my spreadsheets were some of the prettiest he'd ever seen - Calibri people. Calibri and I switched off the gridlines. That's it! As long as it's clear, and easy to read, it's perfect - and no one will care whether it's in Arial or Trebuchet. Same goes for home. I could spend ages making a perfect Beef Wellington for dinner, but would they love it? In all honesty, they probably wouldn't care. But a simple roast I just throw in the oven? It's their first choice every single time.

8. DON'T GET OVERWHELMED

Most of the time we get distracted during a task that's hard or overwhelming. We procrastinate because we don't know what to do next, or we just don't want to. We all have things to do that absolutely suck... but we still have to do them. So if you find yourself in this situation, just break it down into more manageable steps and do one at a time. One little thing at a time, and you'll be done before you know it.

9. TAKE A BREAK

Focus until you feel you need a break. There's generally a natural pause in your work - finishing a big batch of tasks is a good example, and you'll naturally need to take five. I often find this happens when I get stuck and need to think about how I'm going to solve a problem. I'll go and make a coffee, come back and see the solution straight away. If you need a break, take one - it's good for you to clear your head.

10. PLAN FOR TOMORROW

At the end of the day is the perfect time to get a handle on what you need to do tomorrow. Define your time, check your schedule, go through your lists and write some new ones (points one to three above). In the morning, you'll be able to dive right in and start the day organized and focused on what you need to achieve. It's the perfect way to start a productive day!

So there we go!

I use these methods everyday to help me get through everything, and I hope they help you get stuff done too.

If you're looking for more posts on getting organized, just scroll down to the suggested posts below - and don't forget to sign up to my newsletter along the way :)

All the best,

Eliza.

I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING, BUT INBOX ZERO IS NOT A UNICORN - IT ACTUALLY DOES EXIST, AND YOU CAN ACHIEVE IT WAY EASIER THAN YOU THINK.

At the moment, I'm managing four work inboxes - and getting bombarded with emails - so email zero has become my new best friend. I mean, I don't literally have zero in my inboxes, but there are rarely more than a dozen things sitting there - and it's so easy when I need to jump back in to that role.

Cleaning out you inbox is a bit like cleaning out your car - you put up with the mess and ickyness for ages, always thinking 'I so need to clean that, but I so don't have time now'. And then you actually do it, and every time you get in your lovely spiffy car, you think 'Oooh, pretty! Why didn't I do this ages ago?'


Well today, lets clear out your emails, get rid of the icky stuff, and you'll have a clean and shiny inbox... you might even say something silly like 'Oooh, pretty!' every time you open your emails (don't stress, I won't judge :).

This is my personal method for doing email zero - for all my Girl Friday jobs as well as the blog. It won't take long - only about 30 minutes, and at the end, I'll list my top tips for maintaining it too :)


STEP ONE:

First things first, set up your filing system. Mine is super simple: I just archive everything. If I need it, I'll search for it. Easy. Sometimes though, it's good to have folders - to split correspondence between clients or projects. Either way is fine, but if you do have folders keep them simple - the more complicated the filing system, the harder it is to maintain.

STEP TWO:

If your inbox is massively out of control, just grab everything over 2 months old and archive it. If you're using files, stick it all in a folder called 'Old Stuff'. Or, if you're sure there's nothing important in there, just delete it. Either way, none of it is current, and it's not worth spending hours going through it all. If you need it, you can search for it, and if it's super important, I'm sure they'll send you another email!

STEP THREE:

Delete the junk. You know what it is - the newsletters you never read, the chain store promos, the mailing lists you can't even remember signing up for. A quick way to get rid of it all is to search by sender; this brings up every email from them on one page and you can just select a page at a time to delete (or Ctrl + A to select them all in Outlook.) This makes a huge job really quick, so go through and delete as much as you can.

STEP FOUR:

Jump over to your Junk folder and check there's nothing important in there - just move anything you need to the inbox and delete the rest. Then go through your Drafts and delete all those random emails that never got sent. Be ruthless - most of this stuff you won't need to keep.

STEP FIVE:

Your inbox should be looking really good now! Go through and find everything you need to keep, but doesn't need any follow up - think bank notifications, paid invoices, receipts and confirmations. Grab all this, and either file it in your folders or just hit archive.

STEP SIX:

By now, everything left should be important and need follow up action. Grab your planner, and go through each email. If it only takes a minute to respond, do so and archive/file it - it's done! The trick to a really effective inbox is to only file/archive things once they're done - so either deal with each email in your inbox, or add it to your to-do list. Leave what hasn't been dealt with in your inbox and you're done!



Time for a huge sigh of relief - you've done it! Which is great... but the goal is to keep it looking that way.  

So how do you maintain inbox zero? Here are my top tips.


1. SWIPES

Quite a few apps now (Outlook, Email and I think Boxer), allow you to customize the swipe shortcuts. So I have all the inboxes on my phone set to Delete if I swipe left, and Archive if I swipe right. This is the most brilliant thing, and it makes keeping on top of a mountain of emails as easy as swishing my finger.

2. RULES

I've just started using rules in Outlook, and it's great. We have a few tech subscriptions where I can receive 50 odd updates a day - all of which I need to keep, but none of which I really need to read. I just made a rule to move everything that came in from those email addresses into a separate folder, and voila - it cut the clutter in my inbox in half, and saved heaps of time moving them around manually.

3. UNSUBSCRIBE

I know it's a pain, but if you unsubscribe from things you don't read and don't want as they come in, you'll have way less clutter, and way less to sort through. Or you could just make a rule to delete it all...

4. NOTIFICATIONS

Notification settings are a big one, and so easy to change. Just log in to your social accounts and turn off as many as you can. If you do this, it'll also mean that one day when something really important does come through, you're less likely to miss it.

5. DELETE THINGS DAILY

You don't need to literally have nothing in your inbox, or reply to all emails everyday - I don't. But you do need to give them a quick look over, and delete and archive everything you can. It only takes a minute or two - especially if you use swipes - and then it's done


So how did you go? Is you're inbox looking all beautiful and clean now?

Like I said at the start of this post, it's not hard to get to inbox zero, and with a few tricks, it's not hard to maintain - and you'll be so much more organized and focused, and way less likely to miss important stuff.

If you're looking for more organizing posts, just scroll down for suggestions - and don't forget to sign up for my newsletter along the way... (I promise not to fill your inbox with junk lol :)

All the best,

Eliza.

VERTICAL COLUMN PLANNERS ARE SO POPULAR RIGHT NOW, SO I THOUGHT I'D DO UP A FREE PRINTABLE IRMA WEEKLY PLANNER TO SUIT ALL THOSE READERS LOOKING FOR ONE!

You can easily see your week at a glance, and there's an extra column on the right that would be great for those weekly must-do's, and there's also a handy to do list and big notes section.



This planner is a great option if you love to time block as the blank daily spaces make it easy to mark off time; and if you're trying to stick to a new routine, you'll easily be able to see whether you're on track.





As with all the Irma planners, they're available in both A4 and A5 sizes, and in six colors.

To browse through more Irma diaries and planners just click here!

Or if the Irma planners aren't quite your style, you can check out the new Agatha, Cleo, Lola, Frankie, Harlow and Elsa collections in my Etsy store here!

To download, simply scroll down to the links below - and don't forget to sign up to my newsletter on the way!



All the best,

Eliza.

IF YOU EVER WONDERED WHICH PLANNER I USE EVERYDAY TO KEEP MYSELF ORGANIZED, THEN THIS IS IT - THE FREE PRINTABLE IRMA WEEKLY DIARY.

The thing I love about this diary is it's so flexible and minimalist, and I can easily see my week ahead at a glance.





The top bar on the second page is fantastic for priorities or inspiration, and I find the goals and to-do's I put up there each week actually get completed - just because I can see them all the time and don't forget.



This is a fantastic diary if you have big, messy writing like me!

I keep this planner in a binder on my desk, with a big stack of notes pages and a master to do list at the back - that way I'm ready for anything the week throws at me!

As with all the Irma planners, they're available in both A4 and A5 sizes, and in six colors.

To browse through more Irma diaries and planners just click here!

Or if the Irma planners aren't quite your style, you can check out the new Agatha, Cleo, Lola, Frankie, Harlow and Elsa collections in my Etsy store here!

To download, simply scroll down to the links below - and don't forget to sign up to my newsletter on the way!



All the best,

Eliza.

ONE OF MY FAVORITE DESIGNS THIS YEAR, YOU'LL LOVE USING THIS SWEET AND SIMPLE FREE PRINTABLE IRMA DAILY PLANNER!

Great for students as well as work and home, there's plenty of room for appointments and notes, as well as a handy checklist for your daily routine or to do list.




The top bar with a little cut out heart looks pretty as it is, but would also be the perfect place for a daily quote.

I've left those three bottom boxes free of headings - you could use them like built in post it notes for memos, or for daily meal planning, habit tracking, goal completion... the options are endless.




As with all the Irma planners, they're available in both A4 and A5 sizes, and in six colors.

To browse through more Irma diaries and planners just click here!

Or if the Irma planners aren't quite your style, you can check out the new Agatha, Cleo, Lola, Frankie, Harlow and Elsa collections in my Etsy store here!

To download, simply scroll down to the links below - and don't forget to sign up to my newsletter on the way!



All the best,

Eliza.