Today's Organizing Tip

A place for organizing, simplifying, checklists, challenges and ta-das.
Indiana

Re: Today's Organizing Tip

Postby Indiana » Mon Nov 15, 2010 5:54 pm

Organize E-mail in a Snap

Archive

It contains everything you might someday want or need. You can always search this dumping ground by sender, topic, or keyword.

Hold

This folder would be for everything that requires someone else's help.

Follow-up

This would contain all the e-mails that you must respond to but require more than two minutes to do so. (For any e-mails that take less than that to answer, you should respond as you read them.)

Indiana

Re: Today's Organizing Tip

Postby Indiana » Mon Nov 15, 2010 5:56 pm

Save Time and Your Wrists By Using Keystrokes

Action: Cut or copy and paste
Mac: Apple + X, Apple + C, and Apple + V
PC: Ctrl + X, Ctrl + C, and Ctrl + V
Why they help: Almost everyone's first set of shortcuts eliminates two to four mouse clicks.

Action: Select All
Mac: Apple + A
PC: Ctrl + A
Why it helps: Before you cut, copy, or delete, you must select.

Action: Find and replace
Mac: Apple + F
PC: Ctrl + F
Why it helps: If you spell "recommend" with two "c's" in a document repeatedly, you only need to fix it once. You can also find text in a document or a web page without having to read.

Action: Toggle between applications
Mac: Apple + Tab
PC: Alt + Tab
Why it helps: Multi-tasking takes on a new meaning when it's only one click between tasks.

Action: Take a screenshot
Mac: Apple + Shift + 3
PC: Print screen then paste (Ctrl + V) into a document
Why it helps: Instant examples in your greeting cards and presentations!

Action: Move through fields on a website form
Any platform or browser: Tab/Shift + Tab
Why it helps: You can register for a website, apply for a job, and more without touching your mouse.

Action: Force quit
Mac: Apple + Alt + Escape
PC: Ctrl + Alt + Delete
Why it helps: A computer meltdown doesn't have to be a real-world time suck.

Indiana

Re: Today's Organizing Tip

Postby Indiana » Mon Nov 15, 2010 6:01 pm

Change Email Addresses and Bring Your Contacts With You

Taking time to retype your contacts into a new email program's address book is tedious; it almost defeats the purpose of switching to an email provider that's simple and fast. Move your contacts with a CSV type of tile.

An example:

  1. While logged into hotmail, go to the toolbar and select "contacts".
  2. From there, go to "options" in the upper-right corner and select "export contacts".
  3. When prompted to open or save the file, select "save" and place in the desired location. A ".csv file", which contains your contact list, will now be on your computer.
  4. Login to your Gmail.com account.
  5. Using the menu bar at left, click on the "contacts" link.
  6. On the upper right hand corner, select "import".
  7. Click "browse" and find your .csv file. "Open" it and click on the "import contacts" button.
  8. Wait for confirmation, close, done.

Starting from Yahoo!, AOL, or another e-mail provider? Get yourself to step 3 by searching your program's help center. Then, follow steps 4 through 8.

Indiana

Re: Today's Organizing Tip

Postby Indiana » Mon Nov 15, 2010 6:02 pm

Make E-mail Pictures Smaller to Speed Up Transmission Time

If you use the Mac's built-in mail software drag the photos into a new e-mail message, click on the drop-down menu in the lower right corner, and use it to resize the photos as small, medium, large, or full-size. (Medium is usually best.)

For Microsoft Windows, open the folder containing the photos and highlight the ones you want to send. Click on "E-mail the selected items" under the File and Folder Tasks menu on the left of the folder. Windows will give you the option to make your photos smaller before sending them using the e-mail program of your choice.

Indiana

Re: Today's Organizing Tip

Postby Indiana » Mon Nov 15, 2010 6:03 pm

Peel an Orange—with No Sticky Fingers

1. Slice off 1/4-inch round at stem end of orange.
2. Starting at the top, score a complete circle around the orange.
3. Rotate 90 degrees and repeat. Peel back segments of rind, like a petal, from top end.

Indiana

Re: Today's Organizing Tip

Postby Indiana » Mon Nov 15, 2010 6:05 pm

Book a Doctor's Appointment Without Waiting a Month

1. The early bird gets the last-minute appointment. Patients who cancel often call at night or very early to leave a message with the answering service. They don't want to speak to a person because they feel guilty. Call the minute the office opens to nab a cancellation.

2. If that doesn't work, you should say, I can come in Wednesday at any time. Leaving it open-ended shows that you're serious.

3. One last thing: You know what will not get you in there? Not being nice. Be friendly and They will work to accommodate you.

Indiana

Re: Today's Organizing Tip

Postby Indiana » Mon Nov 15, 2010 6:07 pm

Hassle-Free Ways to Handle Medication

Go for longer-acting options:

Ask your pharmacist or physician if there is an extended- or sustained-release version of your medication, which doesn't need to be taken as often.

Reconsider refills:

If your prescription plan allows it, order a 90-day supply of your medication. You save not only time but also money because you don't have as many copays during the year. If you're taking medication for a chronic illness and your current regimen is well controlled, you may ask your doctor to prescribe six months' or a year's worth of refills at once.

Set up reminder systems:

Various compliance aids can help you remember to take the right amount of medication at the right time. The website ReminderMed.com will text you at specified intervals.

Indiana

Re: Today's Organizing Tip

Postby Indiana » Mon Nov 15, 2010 6:15 pm

10 Habits of Organized People

  1. Walk away from bargains
    Just because you can buy a cashmere sweater for $20 or three bottles of ketchup for the price of one doesn't mean you should. "Ask, 'Do I have something similar?' and 'Where am I going to store it?' before making a purchase.
  2. Make peace with imperfection
    Efficient people give "A-level effort" to the most important projects (say, work assignments or a kitchen redesign), and for the rest they do just enough to get the job done. Maybe you give yourself permission to bring store-bought cookies to a school bake sale or donate a bag of stuff—unsorted!—to Goodwill. Trying to do every task perfectly is the easiest way to get bogged down.
  3. Never label anything "miscellaneous"
    You put a bunch of things into a file or box and write this catchall across the front. But within a week, you've forgotten what's in there. Instead, sort items into specific groups—"electric bills," "light bulbs," and so on.
  4. Schedule regular decluttering sessions
    Rather than wait until an industrious mood strikes (we all know where that leads), have a decluttering routine in place—whether it's spending 15 minutes sorting mail after work or tackling a new project every Sunday afternoon.
  5. Stick with what works
    Don't waste time (and money) obsessively seeking out the best thing.
  6. Create a dump zone
    Find a space to corral all the stuff that you don't have time to put away the moment you step in the door. Once you're ready to get organized, you won't have to hunt all over the house for the dry cleaning or your child's field trip permission slip. A covered picnic basket is one great catch-all.
  7. Ask for help
    The elaborate four-course dinner you planned? Change it to a potluck.
  8. Separate emotions from possessions
    It's healthy to be attached to certain items—a vase you picked up in Paris, your grandmother's pearls. But holey concert tees or cheap, scuffed earrings your husband gave you years ago? Just let them go.
  9. Foresee (and avoid) problems
    You wouldn't leave the house on a gray day without an umbrella, right? People who appear to sail through life unruffled apply this thinking to every scenario Have a cabinet packed with leaning towers of Tupperware? Organized folks will take a few minutes to short-circuit an avalanche before it happens. (In other words, rearranging that cupboard now is easier than chasing after wayward lids as they scatter underneath the fridge.)
  10. Know where to donate
    It's easier to part with belongings if they're going to a good home. Identify a neighbor's son who fits into your child's outgrown clothes, or choose a favorite charity. It will save you from searching for the perfect recipient every time you need to unload something,

Indiana

Re: Today's Organizing Tip

Postby Indiana » Fri May 06, 2011 5:02 pm

Organizing Bills

I have an accordian file with 12 sections for files/papers/whatever. On the front it has a 1 1/2" pocket that is divided in half. The top half has a flap opening, the bottom half has a flap opening but pulls out for a smaller accordion section with 12 more dividers that would fit envelopes or 4x6 index cards. In the top half I keep pens/pencils/stamps/address labels/small calculator/small stapler/etc. I have divided the large pockets by three days per pocket for the dates that the bills are due.

from Sunny

ejagno

Paint Touch-ups Made Easy

Postby ejagno » Fri Jul 18, 2014 11:37 pm

As I finished painting a new wall color in each room of my home I decided to keep a little on hand just in case a touch up was needed. I found several glass spice jars that I'd saved (Lord only knows why) which were perfect for storing enough paint to do several touch-ups. Over the years a Q-tip and this trusty little touch up jar stored in each room has been a lifesaver. Previously I saved all of the unused paint in the garage only to find it dried or sour smelling years and months later when a touch-up was needed. Now I save this 6 oz and throw out the unused bulky paint cans instead of storing them forever to take up space and watch the cans rust.


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