Monica Ricci | She Owns It

The First Step To Decluttering Your Life by @MonicaRicci

October 23, 2014 by Monica Ricci 2 Comments

Photo Credit: ali edwards via Compfight cc

by Monica Ricci | Featured Contributor

In addition to my full time productivity and speaking business I, along with my husband and another friend, produce a fun video wine review and education blog. Each summer I spend a month in northern California researching small production wineries, meeting with winemakers, shooting video and yes, tasting wines to determine which ones we’d like to review in the coming year.

A few weeks ago I came back to Atlanta from my annual California jaunt and I realized our house needs attention. Suddenly the upstairs bookcase was overflowing, the laundry room was a little cluttered, and the garage looked dangerously close to messy. It would be easy to blame this new clutter on my sweet husband. After all, a month as a bachelor is bound to take a toll on a married man’s home.

But it wasn’t his fault. The truth is my house looked about the same as it did when I left; the only difference was how I saw it. My eyeballs, having been on the west coast for several weeks, suddenly saw all the little pockets of clutter that I had stopped noticing before I left. Hmmm is that even possible?

Our brains have a mechanism called the Reticular Activating System, which takes note of anything new in our environment to determine whether it’s a danger. After the brain has determined the change or new thing isn’t dangerous, we magically stop noticing it. It actually fades into the landscape of our vision because our brain has decided it’s no longer worth noticing.

A-ha! That explains why all the little piles of clutter in your house suddenly become visible a week before you host a big holiday dinner! Your awareness shifts and you see your home the same way your guests will. (Thank goodness!)

So how do you heighten your awareness without leaving for a month or agreeing to host a big event?

Take a photo. I always have my organizing team take “before” photos of our clients’ spaces before they begin organizing. Flattening a space into two dimensions helps you see it differently.

Another way to reboot your awareness is to choose a small area of your home (or office) and count the things you see. Every single item. We tend to see groups of items as a single thing, and counting each item focuses your attention on the individual members of the group, rather than on the group as a whole.

My colleague Judith Kolberg, who specializes in working with chronically disorganized people, recommends a similar tactic. She asks her clients to look their space through a cardboard toilet paper tube. Interesting huh? Observing very small, isolated sections of your space shifts your perspective.

However you choose to do it, increasing your awareness of your home and office spaces is the first step to decluttering your space and making powerful, positive changes in your life.

——————————————————————————–

Monica Ricci – Productivity Pro and Speaker – Atlanta GA

I believe life and business should be as enjoyable and meaningful as possible and since 1998 I’ve been helping people create simple, joyful, powerful lives! I do this through productivity training, speaking, writing, creating content for blogs, social media and print publications. I love showing people how to get the most out of life by making it simpler and more meaningful using the principles of organizing and productivity, coupled with self-mastery and a dash of technology!

I write my own blog and I create content for other companies’ blogs and Internet channels too. I’ve been fortunate to enjoy a great relationship with the media over the years. I hosted my own radio show, Organization Nation and you might catch me on re-runs of HGTV’s popular show, Mission: Organization, which was a lot of fun!

Teaching is one of my favorite things, so I offer results-oriented workshops that motivate participants to implement new strategies for effectiveness and productivity in life and work. As a keynote speaker, I share insights, perspectives and heartfelt stories that inspire audiences, challenging them to clarify their own priorities so they can live life in a way that makes a difference.

I speak at meetings, conferences, corporate events and I represent products on radio & television. My speaking and writing topics include time management, overcoming procrastination, organization, paper flow, life balance and productivity.

Twitter | Facebook

Monica Ricci

Squirrel! How To Stay Focused in a Distracted World by @MonicaRicci

August 4, 2014 by Monica Ricci 5 Comments

by Monica Ricci | Featured Contributor

In 2009, a Robert Half study found that 51% of CIOs prohibited social media surfing at work. However, in 2011 a mere two years later, another Robert Half study found CIOs prohibiting social media at work dropped to 31%, as more companies cited social media use by employees to be “good for business.”

Whether you’re self-employed or you work for a company, odds are you battle self-imposed distractions all day long. Some days you win. Some days they win. Here are three easy ways to strengthen your attention muscle so you can be victorious over distractions and more productive at work and at home.

Get A Clue
Many of my clients struggle to feel accomplished because on any given day, they aren’t clear on what is truly most important. Heck I struggle with this some days too. I think most people would admit they do. The trouble with unclear priorities and a long task list is that everything seems equally important, so it’s easy to jump back and forth from task to task never really completing anything.

To boost your effectiveness, give yourself something to focus on. Each evening, look at your task list and identify the three and only three highest priorities for the next day. Write them in HUGE TEXT on a piece of printer paper, hang it where you can see it while you work, or make your list a temporary screen-saver on your computer or device. This a constant reminder of your three focus points for the day helps you avoid feeling overwhelmed by the (literally) hundreds of other things you could be giving your attention to. Your Top Three List is there to be your silent cheerleader and get you back on track when you do get derailed.

The Early Bird Gets Things Done
Quick! What’s the first thing you do every morning? If you answered “check email” that could be the beginning of the end of your productivity for the day. When you begin the day by checking email you’ve put yourself in reactive mode, responding to the requests of others rather than beginning your day focused on your own priority items.Checking email first thing in the morning sets you down a path of distraction for the rest of the day.

Begin your day PROactively. For the first thirty minutes of each day, avoid email, Facebook, Twitter, other social media and Internet news sites. Instead, hit the ground running by working on high priority items on your list. Once you hit the 30-minute mark, continue working on your projects for as much longer as you can bear it before giving in to checking email. Make it a game. The more you practice this distraction avoidance habit, the easier it will become and you’ll feel the the positive difference at the end of the day.

Imagine Your End Result
In his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Dr. Stephen Covey’s second habit is “Begin with the end in mind.” Covey said when you know what you want your end result to be, you can use that as a filter of sorts, for choosing today’s tasks and actions. I believe you can use the same philosophy to help you stay focused on a daily basis.

Any time you’re feeling tempted to give in to distractions and interruptions, quickly think about the end result you’ll achieve if you can resist the interruption and continue to work on your current project. More specifically, focus on how great you’ll feel when you’ve remained focused. Sure, you could think, “I know I’ll be happy when this project is done.” However, vividly imagining the positive emotional feeling you’ll have can be a more powerful motivator than logical thought. Whether that emotion is pride, happiness, or plain old relief, as long as it’s positive, conjuring up the emotion before it happens can be just the ticket you need to keep you on track.

—————————————————————————

Monica Ricci – Productivity Pro and Speaker – Atlanta GA

I believe life and business should be as enjoyable as possible. Since 1998 I’ve been speaking, writing, creating content and offering one-on-one organizing & productivity training. I’m a fan of spending time with friends, board games, travel, amazing food, great wine and helping people create lives they love!

Twitter | Facebook

Monica Ricci

Are You Using Your Superhero Power? by @MonicaRicci

July 11, 2014 by Monica Ricci 3 Comments

by Monica Ricci | Featured Contributor

Did you know you possess a superhero power? We all do! Thanks to my superhero power, I was able to enjoy a wonderful weekend doing exactly what I wanted to do with exactly the people I wanted to be with. My superhero power also allowed me to get a new phone and avoid a costly monthly payment. Our superhero power makes it possible for us to do great things, accomplish our goals and create a life we love, but too often we forget it’s there.

What’s this amazing superhero power we all have? The power to say “no.”

Women often have a difficult time saying no and I believe it’s partly because of the way we’re socialized. As young girls we’re trained, (consciously or not) to “be nice.” Little girls are taught to be agreeable, say yes, and take care of others’ needs before their own. And because nurturing comes naturally to most females, it becomes easy to put everything and everyone else first.

The result? We grow into adult women who never learned to say no in appropriate ways. The inability to say no assertively means we’re stressed, over-committed and maybe even resentful.This is where learning to use your superhero power is key.

Remember hearing “You’re not the boss of me!” when you were a kid? As an adult, you are indeed “the boss of you.” You can say no to anything you want to.

Time Suckers
We all know people who have no sense of time so they’re happy to waste as much of yours as you’ll give them. One way to say no to time suckers is by simply being less available. When caller ID tells you a sucker’s on the other end of the phone, let them chat it up with your voicemail. If you really must answer the phone, set the tone of the call right up front. Try saying, “Hi Time Sucker! Great to hear from you! I have exactly two minutes before I go into a meeting, how can I help you?”

If your time suckers are technology distractions like email, social media and Pinterest, say no to your own inner third-grader who just wants to play. Putting boundaries on yourself helps you stay focused and boosts your productivity. Try allowing yourself just five minutes per hour of computer fun during work hours, and use a timer to stay accountable. Using five minutes of email or social media as a reward for 55 minutes of focused work is an easy way to enjoy your work day while staying productive. Nothing feels as good as accomplishing all your goals for the day.

Other People’s Plans
Can you chair the Girl Scout banquet this year? Will you be a parent booster for the marching band? Can you organize a charity fundraiser? Will you run for the board of the professional association this year? Do you want to run the networking group?

Because you’re capable and competent, people probably ask you to take charge of things and it’s easy to say yes without thinking because you may have a heart for the group. Before you volunteer for events, causes and organizations, be sure you know the full scope of the work and how much time it require to be done well. Notice the qualifier, “to be done well.” The last thing you need is to be a volunteer who takes a job and doesn’t do it.

When someone approaches you to take on a volunteer project you don’t want, say no and suggest an alternative. I always say, “Thank you for thinking I’d be great in that position. I can’t take it on right now, but you may want to check so-and-so’s availability.” Remember, “No” is a complete sentence you never have to feel compelled to offer a reason.

Your Work
When you’re a business owner sometimes the hardest thing to say no to is your work. You’re driven, you’re successful, you’re a responsible leader of people, creator of ideas and brewer of coffee. Lots of coffee. Your work is like the Sirens of nautical legend; oh so tempting and lovely yet often the very thing that causes you to crash and burn (out).

Practice setting boundaries in your work life. Let voicemail pick up after hours. Close the laptop at 9:00 pm instead of 10:00 pm. Turn down that new prospect that isn’t quite right for you. Say no to the “great opportunity for exposure” that you won’t make any money on. Suggest a Skype meeting instead of driving across town to have lunch with a networking pal. Here’s one… actually take a whole weekend OFF. (gasp!)

Saying NO to over-extending yourself at work helps you avoid getting stressed out, burned out and turning out less-than-stellar work. Let’s face it, it’s tough to keep your passion around work when you’re exhausted and annoyed.

When you embrace the fact that saying NO to more things in your life is a powerful habit, you’ll get the benefit of being able to have more time, space and energy to say YES to what’s most important to you!

————————————————————————————

Monica Ricci – Productivity Pro and Speaker – Atlanta GA

Twitter | Facebook

Monica Ricci