Beyond Folders : stress relief, organizing

Disorganized? Stressed Out? You Could be Hurting Your Health

Community Manager — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 12:50:00 GMT

Google the phrase "disorganization and stress" and 384,000 results pop up. In .25 seconds flat. Whoa. But Googling isn't the only way of knowing disorganization is linked to stress, just feel your own blood pressure rise as you search messy desk piles for a crucial missing document. Stressed out? Heck yeah!

Being disorganized means more than just being messy, forgetful or chronically late; being disorganized creates stress which can have an adverse affect on your health.

Stress Mess

According to WebMD, people experiencing symptoms of stress may:

Feel cranky and unable to deal with even small problems.
Feel frustrated, lose your temper more often, and yell at others for no reason.
Feel jumpy or tired all the time.
Find it hard to focus on tasks.
Worry too much about small things.
Feel that you are missing out on things because you can't act quickly.
Imagine that bad things are happening or about to happen.

Combating stress is vital for maintaining good health. Heart disease, cancers, high blood pressure and mental illnesses are all linked to stress to some degree.

Ready to combat stress and improve your health? Tackle that to-do list and organize those files. Just as an apple a day keeps the doctor away, so too does being organized. Give it a whirl.

You may wish to review some of our past posts for help getting started:

And finally, we are big believers that organizing can be fun. We like the blog The Happiness Project for tips and techniques for combating disorganization, managing your time effectively and best of all, for its guidance on how to get happy. Start small, read The Happiness Project: Six Tips for Forcing Yourself to Tackle a Dreaded Task. You'll be happy you did!

How do you combat stress? Share your thoughts here and on the Beyond Folders Community's Facebook and Twitter pages.

by Carly Fadako

Assessing Your Daily Routine

Community Manager — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 14:09:00 GMT

Be honest. How often do you hit the snooze button? We've all had days where the only time for quiet contemplation are the moments between the alarm's brrrring and when our feet hit the floor.

Stop moving on autopilot. This fall carve out time to assess your daily routine. Do a soup-to-nuts overview of where you are in your life and how it functions.

Take Time to Make Time

This assessment is going to look different for different people. Some of you want to squeeze fifteen more minutes of productivity into your day, others hope to create that much efficiency in an otherwise disorganized day. Regular readers of our posts may have time-management and organizing firmly in hand, but might be looking to add another dimension to their days, be it extra energy, sense of purpose or even greater happiness. Yes, happiness.

Writer Maria Robinson has observed "Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending." So take a look at your day and work towards your new ending.

Create Extra Time

Are you a juggling, multitasker who has most bases covered but needs an extra 15 minutes? Tips for squeezing more productivity out of an otherwise organized day include:

Steal time from tasks. Emails take 20 minutes a day? Allot yourself 15.
Delegate. Older kids can take over certain tasks. Ditto spouses or hired professionals.
Take advantage of technology. Coffee timers can brew your pot while you shower. Grocery shop and pay bills online.
Remember good enough works, perfection is not necessary. This is crucial for the hyper organized amongst us to remember.
Say no

For more tips, read 15 Ways to Find Extra Time and 5 Time-Management Tricks.

Organize Your Time

Do you move through your day haphazardly? Hoping to make it through your to-do list, running late and constantly in search of a missing item? Taking the time to organize your time and belongings will make your days more productive and less stressful.

Make a to-do list and prioritize it
Set a schedule for tackling tasks
Schedule your day/week to include time for organizing and downtime

Find a personal organizing solution that works for you and stick with it. At a loss for where to begin? Consider hiring a professional organizer or try a popular system such as David Allen's Getting Things Done.

For more tips, read our past post Tackle Your To-Do List with Time-Blocking and Time Management Training: How to Manage Time and Maximize Effectiveness.

Add Meaning to Your Time

Effective time management adds productivity to your days and decreases stress but it can also do more. Spend time to add value to your days: organize your calendar to find time for exercise, meditation or that wholly American pursuit, happiness.

These innovative resources suggest ways to add what you value to your days:

What does your daily routine look like? Do you have any tips for assessing your routine and making the most of your days? Share your thoughts here and on the Beyond Folders Community's Facebook and Twitter pages.

by Carly Fadako

Downside of Disorganization

Community Manager — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:09:00 GMT

"One of the advantages of being disorganized is that one is always having surprising discoveries." A.A. Milne

Stumbling upon a long forgotten pot of honey might have delighted A.A. Milne's most famous literary character Winnie-the-Pooh but for most of us, disorganization leads to unpleasant surprises. Unpaid bills. Overlooked invitations. Expired documents. The list goes on.

The Beyond Folders bloggers spend a lot of time offering tips and resources for turning piles into files and for clearing clutter from your desk tops (both virtual and physical!) but sometimes what's really needed is not how-to advice but why-to inspiration.

Why be Organized?

Being disorganized is a luxury most of us can't afford. Late bills equal extra finance charges and fees. Lost receipts leads to footing bills for company expenses rather than getting proper reimbursement. Crammed cabinets results in duplicate and triplicate items piling up, unused. Read on for what being disorganized is costing you:

Being disorganized not only exacts a financial toll, it can cause unwanted stress and can even make you sick. Sound extreme? Consider how your blood pressure skyrockets when you're frantically searching for that must-have document that is who-knows-where? And dust mites and germs lurk in piles of clutter. Unclutter and unwind. For more about the link between being disorganized and your health read on:

Do you see a downside to disorganization? What inspired you to kick your clutter habit? Share your thoughts here and on the Beyond Folders Community's Facebook and Twitter pages.

by Carly Fadako