“Think a step ahead!” One of my old colleagues used to say it all the time and she was extremely proud to be at least one step ahead of everyone else. Indeed, thinking ahead can have numerous advantages as colleagues, friends and I have discovered over the years.
How often do you plan your day or your week ahead? Are you pretty relaxed and decide as you go but then noticed you haven’t achieved as much as needed? Have your friends jokingly referred to as scattered brain and given you notepads and calendars to be on time?
We all have heard about the importance of planning. Abraham Lincoln once said: “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” The better prepared we are for our activities, the smoother the execution and the outcome. But why don’t we plan for the week ahead?
This was a busy week for me. INDEX, the largest exhibition for interior design, took place in the DWTC. I couldn’t wait for its doors to open and being amazed by the beautiful designs, patterns and colours. This year, I also made it part of my own learning to attend a number of design talks.
I’m so happy to bring you the highlights of the most powerful presentations to you. Let they bring creativity, inspiration and peace of mind right to your home!
Over the last few weeks, I tackled a number of smaller projects. Going through my paper folders and shredding those no longer needed. Sorting my electronic pictures. Clearing the fancy dress outfits. Decluttering and organising my things created such a liberated feeling!
Do you want to get on a natural high? Declutter and you’ll get this feeling of being liberated! Just follow these simple steps:
Decluttering and organising a bathroom is probably one of the fun-filled activities for Organised Life and Mind. We may not spend a lot of time there. Yet, getting ready in the morning, applying the make up, preparing for the day ahead, is such a crucial time. How often are you looking for your favourite make up in the mornings?
A recent client was sick of searching for her make up and not knowing how much she all had. Our session was a fun filled afternoon, which probably sounds surprising for you. Not often do people think of organising as a fun activity. What was different here?
Have you ever experienced this? Your life is fine, you have a beautiful home and yet, there’s a room or an area which is just full of clutter. You feel it’s just too much to tackle. It’s so much easier to close the door or put a blind eye to the mess. In short, you’re overwhelmed!
Last week, a client felt overwhelmed with the question: “Where do I start?” She had a number of areas in her bedroom which she wanted to organise: The closet, the dresser and the en-suite bathroom. Yet, she didn’t know how to get there and became overwhelmed working on these 3 projects simultaneously. Since we started working together, we broke down her projects, removing the feeling of being overwhelmed and replacing it with the joy of quick successes!
Over the last two weeks, I had a number of clients and readers asking me a VIQ, a very important question: how do you stop the email madness? They’re bombarded with emails and their inbox is taking on a life of its own. One of my clients was happy to share her story of how we got her to become the master of her emails, rather than email dedicating her life.
Let me introduce you to Amanda*. She is leading a service team based over 3 different continents and due to the time zones, the team has to operate via email as one communication channel. Very often, the team copied Amanda into the email as an FYI. With over 12,000 emails just in the inbox, more in the subfolders, there was a lot of information sitting around – often doing nothing.
Time seems to fly in Dubai. How can it be that we’re almost in April while we just celebrated New Year’s Eve? They say time flies if you’re having fun. Generally, that seems to be true and like you, I don’t want to stop having a good time. And yet, I know that we can’t always have fun and live carelessly in the day. Often, the weekend is filled with errands, boring tasks which were ignored during the week and some fun activities. How can you make your time work for you and enjoy your weekends even more?
I’m super excited to write this post in Tokyo, Japan. A project is taking me to this fantastic country and what a great way it is to learn more about organising in small spaces. For us in the Middle East, space is often not an issue. Villas and apartments are substantially larger than in Europe or even in Japan, where the average apartment is a mere 59.7 sqm (642.6 sq ft).
It’s not surprising that the Japanese have taken residential organising to a whole new level.
Keeping the home office organised is a very common struggle for many of my readers. One of my clients and I spent a very productive decluttering session, purging, sorting and organising her papers and files. It was so rewarding seeing her achieve peace of mind by knowing where everything is now stored and according to her preferences.
I want to help you to be as productive as you can be in your home office and compiled some top tips for you: