If you’re anything like me, you have at least one thing in life that you absolutely abhor doing. I personally dread making phone calls. The truth of the matter is, however, that these tasks still need to get done, whether we want to do them or not. So what’s the solution?

Well, world-renowned time management expert, Brian Tracy, has the answer:

By identifying, then tackling, your biggest, most unpleasant task first—the philosophy of “eating a frog”—you can learn to plan and organize each day, set priorities, get started right away, and complete jobs faster.

So, my challenge to you this week is to “Eat That Frog” first thing in the morning, before you work on anything else. Not only will you end up with an immeasurable sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, but your mind will be freed of its burden, allowing you to focus your creative energies and make the rest of your day far more productive.

What tasks do you regularly put off as long as you can? Or, what strategies do you regularly employ that help you “Get Things Done”? Enlighten me!

This week’s feature: BookJingle.com, the best book buyback site online! (Not that I’m biased or anything… the owner is a personal friend of mine!) But, seriously, Book Jingle will pay you $$ cash $$ for your used books! What a great way to declutter and recycle your personal library! Here’s what you can expect from my friends at BookJingle.com…

Totally free shipping Ultimate convenience Instant (top) price quotes Quick payment within 48 hours High quality customer service

Find out how easy it can be to make money by selling your unwanted books.
Sell some books… feed the pig!

Waiting for an invitation? Consider this it…! Visit BookJingle.com today!

Earlier this month, I was honored to be interviewed by Matt Brezina, co-founder of Xobni :

I had a great call with Xobni user Michelle Deo today. Michelle is a professional organizer from Georgetown, Kentucky. As you can expect, a professional organizer would be pretty excited about Xobni.

As a professional organizer, Michelle helps families and companies organize the processes by which they run their lives and their businesses. This ranges from new organizing systems for their closets at home to filing systems and work-flow management systems for the office.

While Michelle focuses on organizing people’s physical information, she uses Xobni to organize her digital information.

Michelle gets a lot of personal and business email and loves that Xobni organizes her inbox around people. She enjoys the automatic contact information extraction, the photos of her contacts, and having all of the conversations and attachments from a contact in one place. Michelle has been using Xobni for 6 months, and regrets not finding it earlier!

Read the full article »

Well, it’s official… I am now working part-time at Lowe’s. So, if you happen to find yourself in the market for new cabinets or countertops, I’m your gal! Stop by the Georgetown store, and I’ll “hook you up.”

I tell you… It’s really strange to be sitting in the doctor’s office, waiting for the nurse to come in and give Amanda her immunizations (in preparation for Kindergarten), and thinking, “Cool… I actually know the name of that countertop edging!”

This doesn’t make me a terrible mother, does it? 😉

In May 2008, Meredith/NBC Universal announced the results of their survey entitled “What Do Women Want?”™ More than 3,000 women revealed key insights on the female psyche across topics including health and well-being.

When asked which service professionals they would most like to hire, 24% of women responded that they wanted to hire a professional organizer to declutter their living space or office.

This finding suggests that women recognize the need to simplify their overwhelmed lives. But, do they realize the inherent health benefits of enlisting the help of a professional organizer?

As Debbie Jordan Kravatz, owner of Virtually Organized, noted on her blog…

Getting organized:

• helps reduce your stress levels (which can help with everything from anxiety and depression to cardiovascular and weight issues),
• puts more time in your day (which can be better used getting annual check-ups, counting calories, and exercising regularly), and
• frees you up to focus on things BESIDES your cluttered counter tops and overstuffed garage (such as spending time with your loved ones and enjoying your favorite hobbies—activities which have been proven to have lingering health benefits).

What are your thoughts? Have you noticed how the amount of clutter in your home affects your health? I’d love to hear details about your personal home/health connection!