Get Organized – Get Motivated!

Jan 15, 2013 | 9:36 AM

Contributed by Stephanie Staples at Your Life Unlimited


A fun conversation ensued during my interview with Kelly Swanson, the humorous motivational speaker unlike any you have heard before!  As well an inspiring story of money magnet, Jon Santos, turned childcare worker – find out how and why he changed his life.

 

http://www.cjob.com/Shows/Episodes.aspx?PID=2553  JANUARY 11, 2013

And …If you have more papers and junk than you know what to do with, if the pile never seems to go down and your stress just seems to go up, then follow this simple procedure that will help you feel and be more organized.

When I decided to take charge of the paper clutter, I started with the mail (regular, snail mail). I went from going through it every day  to only once a week. This alone was a huge time-saver.  I would sit down with the pile of snail mail on Fridays with the intention of touching each piece of paper only once, if possible.

I then inserted the R.A.F.T. system into play (I am not sure who to give credit to for this idea, because it’s not mine, but it a good one!). The R.A.F.T. method means:

R: Recycle – junk mail, straight into recycle the bin as long as there is not any personal information on the documents.

A: Attend – these are the items that require your personal attention, deal with these a.s.a.p.

F: File – these are important documents that need to be keep, but there is nothing you actually need deal with. If you haven’t already set up a simple filing system for banking, vehicles, travel, house, pets, receipts or whatever areas you deem important, make 2013 the year to do that. Help your teens set up one for themselves, too.

T: Toss – I know you think you might use or need it later, but will you? Really? How many papers have you stock piled over the years. Will you really need this? Can you scan and save it on the computer? Be ruthless, if it doesn’t fit into one of the other categories, toss it (or shred it if it have personal info on it)!

While you are at it, how about going through your old files? Consider sorting just one area or file a day – or even a week – I am willing to negotiate!  You don’t need to keep every hydro receipt since you bought your house.  You don’t need to keep every conference packet you’ve ever been given. And do you really needs all those outdated textbooks? It feels so good to get rid of unnecessary clutter.

For the love of trees everywhere, for the sake of creating more space in your home, for the sanity of tidy people in your life – start distancing yourself from your paper. Look at every paper that comes into your home through fresh eyes, send them through the R.A.F.T. filter and be proud of yourself for starting 2013 on an organized note!

The post Get Organized – Get Motivated! first appeared on Your Life Unlimited.

Contributed by Stephanie Staples at Your Life Unlimited