Get Organised and Transform Your Life

It takes effort to get results, and not just any effort, it takes smart effort. You cannot expect to achieve anything without doing something. Unfortunately in our society today, people are making an enormous effort to keep themselves busy all day, yet for many they look at what they have done and realised that much of the time had been wasted. They review their day and wonder what they had achieved.

You need to plan, focus and take action on what you want to achieve to get the outcome you desire. You need to get organised!

My Story

Last year I was in a shop trying on a shirt and I asked a lady who was also in the changing rooms how it looked on me. (I never ask the sales assistant as they usually tell you it looks great regardless of whether it does or not). She thought it looked great and I must confess, I thought so too! Still, being a woman I like to have someone else to confirm it.

Now here's what I found both flattering and interesting. The lady said "The shirt looks great, I wish I had the same body". She was referring to my body! That got me excited! That's the first time someone had said that to me. Mind you this woman was about 15 kg overweight and would probably think that about anyone who was smaller than her.

I replied "Thank you! (and then blurted out in a nice way) However, you could too, just exercise regularly and eat healthily". I forgot to mention she had an open packet of potato chips in her bag. This lady probably thought I was born this way, one of the lucky ones who could eat and drink anything they wanted and walked occasionally for exercise.

It takes effort

What this lady didn't know was that every morning I drag myself out of bed at 5.30 a.m. to work out at the local gym. And I do that regardless of how cold or wet it is, how tired I am, whether it's summer or winter. I pay the price to get the results. I'm also particular about food, trying wherever possible to eat low fat, low sugar food and drink plenty of water.

If there's an easier alternative, a magic pill which will miraculously keep the weight off, body toned and make me feel great consistently without harming my health, please let me know. Until then, I'll keep paying the price and making the effort because the results are worth it.

Pay Yourself First

Having read the last couple of paragraphs you might say "why doesn't she exercise later in the day?". The reason I don't is that I am a "morning" person and know that by going to bed earlier and getting up early I can get it over with first thing. Otherwise if I chose to exercise later, chances are circumstances would arise and I'd postpone it.

One of my coaching clients is a runner. He originally rang me because his work and his life was out of control. He runs 20 kms a day and has done so for many years. I asked him how did he manage to religiously run every morning before work yet couldn't seem to leave the office by 5.30 p.m. each night. He answered "It's easy to jump out of bed in the morning and run, there's nothing or no-one able to stop me at that hour (5.30 a.m.). Yet when I'm at work there are too many demands on my time and they seem to always arise late in the day."

Learn to pay yourself first. Just like George Classon wrote in his book "The Richest Man In Babylon", take 10% of whatever you earn and pay yourself first. Use it to invest, otherwise there will never be anything left once you pay everything else. And I'm sure many of you can relate to that.

How to Pay Yourself First

You need to make yourself the first priority. Ensure you allow time each and every day to action your own personal agenda.

Here's a couple of ideas to get you started:

Block out time each day in your diary for your exercise. Eg. Walk at 6.00 a.m. or lunchtime. Plan that first.

Block out time each day to follow up on your personal issues. Eg. Book dental appointment, respond to phone calls, contact bank. Do that early in the day otherwise you'll run out of time and leave it

Make sure that you stick to it. Learn to say 'no' if other people want to make other plans for you during those 'me' times. You must take care of yourself first. You have the power to say 'yes' or 'no' to other people's demands on your time. Treat yourself as your no. 1 priority.

The Final Word

When you decide (yes, that right), it's when you decide to make yourself the highest priority in your life, you'll find how much easier it is to live your life. When you decide you're worth it, it will be easy for you to say 'no' to other people's demands/requests. Of course, you'll need to learn how to organise yourself so that you are effective as possible.

About The Author

Lorraine Pirihi, principal of The Office Organiser (http://www.office-organiser.com.au) is Australia's Personal Productivity Coach

Lorraine specialises in working with businesspeople showing them how to dramatically boost their productivity, reduce the stress and the mess in their lives and have more time for enjoying their life.

We Offer a Broad Range of Services and Products including: Coaching for small business owners and professionals, keynote presentations, workshops, books, CD's, DVD's, and on-line learning programs.

Take action today! Contact Lorraine to discuss your specific needs at lorraine@office-organiser.com.au

In The News:


Ex-Mexico cop pleads guilty in US to organizing cartel hit squad
Chicago Tribune
(Reuters) - A former Mexican police officer accused of organizing a hit squad for the once-powerful Tijuana drug cartel pleaded guilty in a US federal court on Friday to racketeering and drug trafficking, prosecutors said.

and more »

BetaNews

Get organized with WikiPad
BetaNews
WikidPad is a simple text editor that allows you to construct a custom personal wiki on your own PC, perfect for organizing thoughts, ideas, to-do lists, contacts and more. How does it work? Suppose you need to buy a few birthday presents for someone.


CBC.ca

Teamsters trying to organize parkway truckers
CBC.ca
The Teamsters union is attempting to organize nearly 150 dump truck drivers working on the $1.4-billion Windsor-Essex Parkway. Union organizer Rick Parent said he's distributed union cards to several of the drivers. Parent said he couldn't gauge ...

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SimplyUs Brings Couples Closer, With An App For Organizing Their Lives Together
TechCrunch
That idea comes from co-founder Jonathan James' background in productivity software โ€” formerly at Microsoft, James worked on early versions of its SharePoint application, and found that while he was incredibly organized at work, at home he and his ...

and more »

Akron Leader Publications

Organizing Memorial Day parades: A labor of love - and respect
SouthCoastToday.com
By Curt Brown Although the number of veterans who march are dropping in some communities, the organizers of Memorial Day parades on SouthCoast remain passionate and consider what they do to be a labor of love. "There's work involved, but I enjoy ...
Area Memorial Day ActivitiesFenceviewer
Old Coyote named Grand Marshal of Memorial Day paradeThe Bozeman Daily Chronicle
Memorial Day events & observancesWIVB

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Benefit being organized for Natick man with ALS
MetroWest Daily News
By Brian Benson/Daily News staff Family and friends of a local man battling ALS are organizing a benefit to support him while trying to raise awareness about the fatal disease and the need to support research to find a cure. Stephen Malieswski, an avid ...


Sydney Morning Herald

Quebec Students Protesting Tuition Hikes Organize on Twitter
Mashable
The hundreds of protesters that were arrested on Wednesday evening in the Canadian province of Quebec for rallying against university tuition hikes have been organizing their efforts on social media for months. The tuition hikes, which would raise ...
The Quebec Student Strike Celebrates 100th DayIn These Times
Mass arrests: Over 700 Canadian protesters detained in police crackdown (VIDEO ...Skim That

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Jewschool

Nominate someone for the Community Organizing Residency
Jewschool
by Kung Fu Jew [โžš] ยท Friday, May 25th, 2012 From our friends at Bend the Arc, the organization(s) formerly known as Jewish Funds for Justice-Progressive Jewish Alliance-Shefa Fund, the Community Organizing Residency is accepting applications โ€” and ...


Coupon Lady: Organizing your stockpile
The Augusta Chronicle
We would always start our summer vacation helping my grandmother clean, organize and get ready for the canning season ahead. I recall the smell of the Murphy's Wood Soap that we used to scrub the wall paneling and furniture.


Bin-Store's Wide Range of Products Gives Spring Fever to Eager Organizers
SBWire (press release)
Organizing the space around their homes and offices is no easy job, and often there is too much stuff but nowhere to put it. Long-term storage is one option, but most people want to have easy access to their affairs when they need them.

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