The Productivity Cafe is your source for ideas on getting things done, being effective, reducing stress and having some fun. To get the most out of the Cafe:
If you have many checking accounts it's a good time for you to consider streamlining this part of your life. Elaine writes that she has 4 checkbooks and uses different accounts for different things. As a streamliner I am almost speechless as I think about how complicated that must make things. Some complexities that come to mind:
That all adds up to headache to me.
To streamline I suggest an alternative. First Elaine can simply move all her funds to her favorite bank and close 3 of the accounts. That bank might have the most locations close to her, offer free money card transactions, have the easiest download center online, and possibly all these features.
If she needs to track expenses by category the manual method is to put a code in the check register as she writes check. Periodically she tallies expenses by code.
The computer method is to download transactions to money management software such as Quicken or Microsoft Money, code the transactions to relevant categories, and enjoy the simplicity of automation totaling expenses by category. The great thing about the computer method is that the computer remembers how expenses from a particular vendor are categorized and automatically enters them next time she visits the vendor.
If you have multiple checking accounts please share the reasoning behind keeping them in a comment below. If you're going to close some accounts now, let us know that too.
Taking a couple of nephews
/home.asp?loc=300austin">bowling last month cost nearly $100 (they serve dinner at the alley and play the best party music I ever heard at a bowling alley). With the stock market on a roller-coaster everyone is looking for ways to fill free time without breaking the bank. Bowling at 300 is not the way to do that.
Instead, have some family fun, connect with your kids (or some borrowed kids), and do it on the cheap! This weekend plan to play the Wii with the kids, pull out Jenga, or learn how to play little-known and highly entertaining Farkle dice game.
Invite some friends over and turn this good, clean, and often raucous game-playing into a regular event.
For a lively and long lasting activity this weekend, plant a window box – indoors.
Fresh herbs are the most common way to dress a window and have fresh flavors to add to meal preparation. It's fun to watch small plants, or seeds, flourish and ultimately provide a harvest. The supplies you need are easily purchased at a hardware store or garden center. Here in the Northeast plants are dirt cheap since the growing season is just about complete. The other supplies you need are inexpensive too. Consider reusing or repurposing a bucket, pot, or other container for an interesting option. Beyond that you need some potting soil and that's it, you're ready to plant.
Easy-to-grow herbs include basil, parsley, oregano, and mint. The mint might grow wild so I recommend putting it in its own container.
If you're not used to tending plants, remember to water your new decoration – and occasionally add some fertilizer. (I managed to kill some healthy azaleas by over fertilizing a few years ago – let me (not you) be the one making the mistake by killing with kindness – literally.
If you are procrastinating there are a few steps you can take to get the ball
Let me tell you story of my procrastination as it followed these steps.
I recognized that I was procrastinating because my desk is super organized, follow-up to almost everything pending is complete, I keep making trips to the kitchen for a snack, and I was not picking up the phone to find out the information I need (my goal).
I narrowed all the possible things that I was avoiding to one phone call. The goal of that phone call was to uncover the next step that I have to take with Dad's estate. I know this is the thing that I was avoiding because almost everything else I need to do is done. I was happy to chat with my sister, my business Mastermind group, and almost everyone. I tidied my storage room, my notebooks, my computer, my kitchen (the curse of working at home), and my closet. I'd put getting the answers on the back burner while a presentation deadline loomed even though I might have been able to achieve both deadlines. After the other deadline past I was free to work on the estate question. I put it off for 10 days.
Finally I prepared as if I wasn't putting off this phone call. I reviewed a teleseminar focused on the topic of the question. I made a list of the 6 specific segments of this question that needed clarification. I was really scared by this because it seemed so obtuse and like asking these questions was going to lead to a multitude of related tasks. I was sitting here with all the documentation in front of me 100% prepared to make the call.
I picked up the phone and dialed… a business friend (notice I justified the call by calling it business). This was a major stall move! After I checked in on an issue she's wrestled with for the last week I did it. I said, "I need you to hold me accountable to making a call about Dad's Estate." And then, the tide turned. By asking LM to hold me accountable I had given myself the push to take the action I'd been avoiding and to make the call. I didn't want to have to report that I was continuing to procrastinate. I was on my way to actually making the call (though with dread).
I picked up the phone and dialed – the people with the estate answers this time. Whayland said he couldn't help me. My mind screamed, "Oh no, I knew this was going to be painful." Wayland transferred me to Chuck. Twenty two minutes later I hung up the phone with my answers, confidence, and elation. It turned out these guys really did have the answers and it wasn't going to require talking to a half-dozen people. The answers they gave me are manageable. The complexity I anticipated was 50 times what it actually is. And my procrastination is no more.
Of course I called LM immediately and told her the good news.
Now I have new, doable things on my ToDo list and can keep moving forward on Dad's estate.
What have you been avoiding doing?
Why don't you identify exactly what you're avoiding and try telling someone about it. Be brave after you tell them about it and say, "Would you hold me accountable?" Feel free to offer a prize or penalty for yourself (whichever motivates you more). Watch and feel how your mindset changes once you've made your issue public. Override the procrastination and get that big thing done!
This weekend take a vacation at home. Go visit a site, destination, or other special place that you would usually wait to see until you have visitors from out of town. And, think of the places that people for other states or countries travel to that is close you – those are places I'm talking about.
This weekend we are going to see fireworks at nearby Longwood Gardens. Some of the friends we're taking live in our town and haven't been to Longwood in the last decade or more. Yet, when we're there we hear as many foreign language speakers as we do English speakers. That means that people from around the world make Longwood Gardens their destination and make the effort to travel to it. It's a big deal. And, it's a 20 minute drive for us.
Shelly always waits for her sister to visit to go to her favorite restaurant, Teca. Her boyfriend could give her a great surprise by taking her there this weekend (or make the reservation this weekend and plan for a few weeks down the road!) What a great way to delight someone!
What little vacation can you take close to home this weekend?
Using address labels and address stamps is a quick, inexpensive, and clever way to streamline completing forms.
When handed the clipboard to update his information at the doctors' office Joe walked to a seat and a minute later was back at the welcome desk. The receptionist looked up and said, "Back already?" "Yep, ready to go," replied Joe. "How'd you do that so fast?" the receptionist asked. "My secret weapon," said Joe with a grin.
Joe completed the contact information by opening his wallet, taking out a self-stick address label, and applying it to the form. That move took a few seconds. Then Joe concentrated on the questions on the form completing them swiftly and he jumped ahead of the other 3 people who were printing their name, address, zip, etc. with pen. The bonus to Joe's address label trick was that the label is easy to read so they get his information easily & correctly!
Whether you're completing a form at the doctors' office, addressing an envelope, or filling in almost any other type of form, use address labels and stamps! Carry a few labels in your wallet. And, for goodness sake, do not worry about the address information being right on the address line! Everyone will appreciate the clear print of address labels. You might want to get a set made that includes your telephone number to have even more complete information with you in a snap.
Philadelphia Magazine has an annual issue recognizing excellence among local entities. This year Organizers Inc., the parent company of the Productivity Café is honored as The Best Of. Thank you to those who nominated me and those who put us at the top of the charts. Read about us on page 174.
Chris Jordan presented at TED Talks in January - his talk was just posted and is a great way for us visual learners (that's at least 60% of us) to get a new perspective on excess. He combines art and social lessons. Click the play arrow to see the talk. (11:00)
For more on TEDTalks go to: www.ted.com/index.php/ .
For more of Chris Jordan's Art go to his website: Chris Jordan's Photography Website.
You've gotten your estate planning done and collected your documents according to Step 4. Now the question is, "Where are you going to keep all that stuff?" The key to this decision is that those documents need to be found easily. It would be considerate and helpful if you put them in a user-friendly system too. Oh, and tell a couple of trusted people where they are. A friend's parents won't talk about this stuff and they have two houses so it's going to be a chore just to locate the papers. Not talking about these vital resources and documents is unnecessary and possibly troublesome.
I recommend you get a 3-ring binder for your core documents rather than put them in a nice file folder called Estate Documents. I say this based on experience - - - if the documents are secure in a binder and all in one place the Trustee can grab one thing and take care of the task at hand. (Throughout this article Trustee and Executor are used interchangeably and mean 'that important estate person handling your wishes'). For example, the Trustee will probably have to open a new checking account for the Trust. She can simply take the binder and have whatever the banker asks to see. For example, she will have the first & last pages of the Trust Document, assignment of trustee, and the deceased social security number or the trust EIN.
In the Binder I suggest you put your core documents which include:
You can buy binders with tabs for organizing these items (Google 'estate +organizer'). Or, simply make your own with index pages and labels.
In a second binder put financial papers such as:
The remaining documents a probably suitable for a third binder or file folders. Group things together – no need to put a prenuptial agreement and marriage license in separate folders - put them together and call them Marriage Documents. Group your Insurance Policies in a folder called Insurance. Put real estate deeds in one folder. You get the idea.
In a folder called Estate Documents put any remaining documents. Also add a note saying where your binders are and what is in them.
There you go – you're ready for anything now - and your survivors would thank you!
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