Being More Organized & Productive

December 10, 2009

Interview with Marcia Ramsland, author of the book Simplify Your Time: Stop Running & Start Living!

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Mike Carruthers:
Want to get more done and feel in control of your life? A good place to start is the clutter.

Marcia Ramsland:
So, for instance, at home you want to think about the visual line of site when you walk into your home. How are the kitchen counters? Two thirds of the front should be clear  - the back one third has stuff.

Professional organizer Marcia Ramsland, author of the book Simplify Your Time, says visual clutter tends to make you less organized and impedes your productivity.

At your desk in your office, visual line of site...  the front two thirds of a desk, the credenza should be clear. And then you’re dealing with the work you have to do instead of the stuff that’s reminding you and bombarding you everyday.

Planning your day the night before is a very effective tool, says Marcia, and it doesn’t have to be complicated.

For instance, just a Post-It note on the middle of your desk (that says),  “When I come back tomorrow morning these are my three main priorities”. So when you plan tomorrow the night before it really makes the mornings go smoothly. And if you can control your mornings you can control the rest of your day.

Scheduling the important things and making sure they get done is essential.

The reason is, if you go through the day and you accomplish thirty things but you never get to that one thing you really had to do today you feel sort of like a failure at the end of the day. And remember it’s not the things you do that are going to make you tired but it’s the things left undone - so really key in on those ones that tend to be undone.

To hear the complete unedited interview, click here