Home Is Where the Office Is

Those of you who have read The Happiness Project , by Gretchen Rubin, are familiar with this little gem, but it is one of those life rules that saves me on a regular basis. If I come across something that can be done in a minute or less, I do it right then and there. The minute that it costs me up front is FAR LESS than the mental space, worry, and inevitable clean up of the larger problem I caused by neglecting it in the first place.  How many times a day do we think to ourselves, "I'll RSVP to the event this afternoon." "I'll remind that client about the conference call in a few minutes."  "I'll confirm with my boss later." When? When I have more time? More time than 60 seconds ? The more those quick little tasks add up in my brain, the more overwhelmed I feel. And so, the rule: If it can get done in less than 60 seconds,  do it now!  This applies to household stuff too. Dumb stuff... like making the bed. My whole life I was told to make...

Once again I am thrilled to have Joseph Powell as my guest blogger! You all enjoyed his writing as much as I did, and his guest blog is in the top 3 most visited posts. His website was recently updated, and I'm officially in love - be sure to check it out. And now, enjoy his words, his wit, his wisdom, and his beautiful work! Somebody knocked on my door a few weeks ago and wanted to know if I had a screwdriver. Aside from the fact that my first thought was whether or not I had orange juice, it made me realize something. In the nearly eight years that I have lived here, that's maybe the fourth time a neighbor has knocked on my door. For anything. I live in the middle of downtown Denver. Living here was appealing to me because I could walk most places, access bars and restaurants easily, and I worked two blocks away. I did look at Wash Park (It's really Washington Park, but you can't just say that out loud) and it was a little too...well, it wasn't f...

I'm so thrilled that today's guest blogger agreed to impart her organisational wisdom here today! (Yes, that's an "s" in organisation). Helen Butler, of Australian-based Clutter Rescue, has been one of my favorite people to follow on Twitter (Follow her @ClutterRescue ), with her practical and easy tips on how to get your home, office and life in order. Enjoy! When you’re juggling children, work, friends, partner, and life in general things can get busy!   Finding time to keep your office paperwork under control can often be the last thing on your mind! But what if there was something that promises to reduce the time in your office, to get done what you need and still have time for all the fun things in life? No I don’t have a magic wand - but I do have the 4 F’s! The 4 F’s will help you decide what to do with each piece of paper that comes into your home or office.   The key to complete success when using the 4 F’s is to: 1.       All...

I'm so thrilled to have Tami B. as this Wednesday's guest blogger. We've known each other since elementary school, and it's so fun to be able to learn from this side of her life - the professional home officer side.  She was smart, witty and organized then, and she's even more so now! Enjoy!  Wife, Mother, Home Officer From the time my son was born and my daughter was 16-months-old until they were 3 and 4, I worked part-time from home with them at home with me. That was one of the most challenging – and exhausting – things I ever tried to do. I often think of that time as the “Dark Years,” as I finished up a great many work “days” in a dark house at 2am. When the opportunity came up for me to start working full time, I knew it was time to get the kiddos in preschool. Leaving them each day was hard, but I was also a little giddy at the thought of getting to work in a quiet house. During the day! I was working on two separate projects,...