Home Posts tagged 'Digital tidying'

Digital tidying

  • Home, Lifestyle, Organising

    Tidy goals 2021: 6 tips to start small and grow big

    I’ve never been a fan of new year’s resolutions. Two weeks into the new year I had usually already failed them all and the mountain of guilt grew higher. It’s a little bit like being a cat or a dog person. You either have a preference or you don’t. And it’s also totally OK not to like either! Right now social media is bursting with classes and webinars and challenges to make your life great again, and all is to start now! Covid or no Covid, I find that all this January fuzz has way too much pressure, which nobody needs more of. However, I LOVE long term intentional goal setting and making mindful plans for the new year. Allowing it to take time and implementing tiny changes at a pace to suit yourself and your family is key to sustainable success.

    Join us on the journey to tiny lifestyle changes – HAPPY & TIDIER NEW YEAR! 

    Up your home game, one tiny step at a time

    It looks like we’ll be spending a lot more time at home until we have this pandemic under control. Let’s focus on what we are able to control – OUR OWN HOME. You can choose to make small intentional changes with a big impact: Up your game (but do not try to up it to perfectionism!)

     

    #Tip 1: Start your day with an accomplishment: air the bedroom and make the bed

    This may sound too easy and self-evident, but believe me, it’s not. It has a big impact on you if you start the day with accomplishment, positivity, and intention. 

    Opening the windows, letting the day with fresh air in, thinking of (or write down) a few things you’re grateful for and eventually making the bed is the first set of activities for your morning. Your first accomplishment. Make these activities into your 5-10 min meditation in the fresh air and think mindfully about your day and what you wish to get done. Remember to be kind and talk kindly to yourself without adding pressure. And leave the phone out of sight until you’re ready for the day, physically and mentally. A tidy space leads to a tidy and calm mind.

     

    #Tip 2: Make time for true focus as well as empty time

    Multitasking is a thing of the past. I cannot emphasise this enough – it is absolutely crucial to focus on as little as possible! Being busy as parents, entrepreneurs, and/or employees and only having a limited amount of hours in the day to focus on your work, I have only one tip for you: focus on a few carefully chosen topics for each day. Your to-do list should be manageable and realistic. Depending on the day I have around 3-5 topics on my daily to-do list. Yes, only. It makes me so happy when I have managed to tick them all off. And if not, they will get on top of the list for the next day. Remember: less is more! Lastly, don’t forget to actually schedule empty time into your day. You need it to refresh your mind, getting creative, going outside, or simply for being present, for yourself or for your loved ones.

     

    #Tip 3: Empty counters and clear surfaces

    Trying to keep countertops in the kitchen and other surfaces free from stuff and clutter has made a massive difference to my family’s daily life. In the kitchen it means that you have a lot of space to spread out when you cook or bake. No large amounts of utensils or spices and oil bottles to move around. Keeping on display only the bare essentials makes the kitchen a joy to cook in as well as a breeze to clean afterwards. 
    The dining table is equally important to keep clear so there is space for the kids to do their homework or arts and craft projects. The entrance is your welcome area, try to keep it tidy at all times to welcome both yourself and visitors to your haven of harmony.
     

     

    #Tip 4: Returning things to their homes after use as quickly as possible

    Make it into a habit when coming home to return bikes, kick-boards, jackets, shoes, backpacks, hats and mittens to their homes. It is also a means of respect towards your belongings, to put them to rest after serving you well. And it also means you will always know where to find them when you need them again. Win-win.

     

    #Tip 5: Take 10 mins to tidy your home daily

    Involve each family member, put on some happy music and get going! Do this each day approximately at the same time, before or after dinner for example. At the end of the day put away recently used toys, games, work papers and school stuff where they belong. It doesn’t need to take long to maintain a certain basic tidiness of your home when you make it fun and do it together!

     

    #Tip 6: Take 5 mins at the end of the day to clear your inbox

    Less to do’s = less overwhelm. Process your emails into folders (ideally max 7) on a daily basis. The goal should be to have an empty inbox every week or even every day, if at all possible. If you’re interested to know more about digital decluttering, I’m now offering virtual coaching to free you from digital overwhelm!

    Life is all about balance. You don’t always need to be getting stuff done. Sometimes it’s perfectly okay, and absolutely necessary, to shut down, kick back, and do nothing.
    LORI DESCHENE

    This article was first published on the expat blog My Swiss Story, where I am part of the expert editorial panel as the Home Expert. Would you like to contribute as a guest writer? Please contact me. 

    Read More

  • Family, Lifestyle, Organising

    Photo books. Organise your photos and create a gift of love.

    This year many of us might not be able to travel to see family and friends over the end of year holidays. Maybe you think this strange year’s photos are not worth showcasing? Well, they are! If you ask me I think everybody should make a photo book from time to time. Wouldn’t it be amazing to make something with your own hands and see a huge smile or tears of happiness on loved ones faces? Not only as a quick fix holiday spirit boost but for long lasting enjoyment! And no, you don’t need to be a professional photographer to do this, your own smart phone pictures are more than enough! They show authentically and genuinely you and your (family’s) journey.

    Why should you make a photo book?

    It’s one of the most thoughtful, unique and personal gift ideas you can have. And it’s made with love. I have only made a few photo books myself over the years. Then life and 2 kids happened and my photo book inspiration ended with my daughter’s first year photo book. This was almost 8 years ago. We all LOVE looking at her photo book, especially the lady herself. The feeling of holding a physical book with magical and precious moments is something completely different than just looking at pictures on a smart phone or on a computer display. This year I’ve promised myself to make a family year book. Are you ready to try it together with me? And yes, let’s break it all down into smaller parts. One task per day or per week. The choice is yours – depending on when you want the gift to be ready.


    #1 Organise and sort your digital photos into a single place

    If you’re anything like me you probably have tens of thousands of pictures in your photo archive. Don’t despair, you’re not alone and we’ll get through this together! If some of them are currently stored on different devices, the first step is to bring all your photos into one place. Smart phone pictures, camera pictures on memory cards, pictures received on email or WhatsApp…the list is endless. Move them to one single place you feel most comfortable with. This can be an external hard drive, a folder on your computer or an online cloud service. The first time you do it, it will require some time and effort but once the system is in place you will only have one place you need to back up and it will stay organised when you commit to it.

    By sorting and organising your pictures into one place you will eventually save time, energy and ultimately, receive joy.

     

     

    #2 Develop a filing system and folder structure

    The truth is, there is no ‘one size fits all’ system and structure. The filing system will reflect you as a person and photographer. Your needs are as unique as you are. Here below I’ve made a list of some easy guidelines to get you started on your filing system:

    1. Create folders by year

    2. Within the year folder, create chronological sub folders:
    months, occasions, seasons, holidays, whatever feels as a logical timeline to you.

    3. If you take pictures of different themes, make sure you have corresponding sub folders for them. Think family, food, nature, sports etc.

    4. Organise your favourites in folders also by person (ie. grandparents, siblings, friends etc.) if you know that you wish to make personalised gifts during the year.

    5. Create a separate project folder, ie. Photo Book Christmas 2020. Within this folder you can break it down into further sub folders, as needed.

    How do you NOT get overwhelmed with all the pictures being taken every month?

    As a rule of thumb to always stay organised, happy with and in control of your pictures is to make use of this action list:

    * Think twice before shooting yet another picture, it will save you lots of time later on

    * At the end of each month: go through the past month, delete duplicates , blurry ones and all others that don’t pass your joy check

    * Optional: edit pictures to be kept

    * Add all the chosen photos into the right folders at the end of each month

    Speaking with my professional organiser hat on and from experience: the key is commitment and sticking to your system, once it’s up and running.

    #3 Curate your photo collection ruthlessly and realistically

    Once you’ve started decluttering your photos every month you will soon be a total decluttering photo guru! Be ruthless as well as realistic. You cannot fit all your favourite photos into one book. Unless you’re making a book series of them! Make joy based decisions and only choose the Best of the Best, the ones you truly love the most. Here too, less is more and around 150 photos is ideal for a photo book. It will be tough to get down to this number, but it will be worth it and you will feel like a champion!

    Start copying your chosen photos into the project folder and sub folders. Make sure you only COPY the pictures into your Photo Book folder, if you make a mistake and delete something you’ll still have the originals safely in store in the original folders. Once your project is done you can delete the project folder.

    Remember to check that the resolution for your chosen pictures is good enough for printing. The recommended resolution for most photo book developers is 300 dpi (dots per inch). Even if you have photos with a lower resolution they might be ok too, but maybe just in a smaller size. Usually the photo book editing software will also tell you if your picture is of a high enough quality.

    #4 Why are you making this book? Tell Your story

    When you’re creating your photo book, think of it as telling a story, Your Story. Some of these questions might be worth considering so you know what kind of story you want to tell, to whom and in what context.

    Who is it for? Grandparents? Children? Potential clients?

    What is it about? Is it about your family, important events or about a passionate hobby?

    Where will it be seen? Does the text/images need to be larger for older eyes to see? Or is it to showcase your art pictures on a coffee table?

    Why are you making this book? Is it a personalised gift? A memory book for your kids? A book to keep on display in a public space?

    Once you’re clear on the purpose of the book, you’re ready to write your texts. If you prefer texts. Some books work perfectly well without any added clarifications. Always keep your audience in mind and think about what kind of story they’re interested in hearing.

    #5 Create your photo book

    Now when your photos are in order it’s time to get creative! Choose a photo book provider based on location, quality, personal preference, budget.. Before I have also chosen a provider in my home country when making books or calendars for relatives, it’s much more cost efficient, quicker and it’s being mailed locally. Win-win. Ifolor may not be the top of them all quality wise, but a really good and affordable option if you want a provider with many different country options to send out locally from. If you’re based in Switzerland you may want to look into this family owned local Swiss company called Bookfactory. I teamed up with them because they are offering amazing quality products (their yearbook featured below) and Bookfactory have been so kind to offer our readers, that’s YOU, a 20% discount for any photo book product with the code BFXMYHAPPYHOME (valid until 31.01.2021)!

    And finally, if you get really into creation mode, I recently stumbled upon Neveo, a service where you can create and send out a monthly photo journal to grandparents or other relatives. But that’s for the next level book makers..

    Have fun creating and gifting love!

    This article was first published on the expat blog My Swiss Story, where I am part of the expert editorial panel as the Home Expert. Would you like to contribute as a guest writer? Please contact me.

    Read More

  • Home, Lifestyle, Organising

    Declutter your digital life now – thank yourself later!

    Before going back to work after the summer…hand on your heart: do you get exhausted even thinking about the amount of clutter in your workspace, physical and/or digital? You can’t even see your wallpaper on your desktop, your inbox is overflowing, your calendar is already packed, your phone memory is running out, you forgot your passwords, and your phone keeps beeping with notifications..you get the picture.

    Think about it: does clutter and digital stimuli increase or decrease your productivity and joy at work? Yep. Clutter might be the cause of overwhelm as well as lead to a lack of focus and loss of control. To achieve a lifestyle and work style that is purely joyful we need to tidy up also your digital space. The goal is to get you back in control over technology, which is supposed to help you instead of draining you.


    Get started with the 5 day digital declutter challenge: a step by step guide

    You choose a start date and get going with the first task. Some tasks take more time than others, just go with the flow and allow it the time it takes. Remember that you’re doing it for YOU! Each day and task gets you closer to your goal: your new digital minimalist you. Well done for taking the decision – you’re already one step further than before!

    Day 1: Digital documents and desktop

    The first step is learning to let go and say goodbye with gratitude. We already know from the KonMari MethodTM that it’s essential to joy check your belongings and only keep what speaks to your heart. We can apply the same principle to your digital files on your hard drive. In addition to following any document policy of your company and asking yourself if your document sparks joy you will of course ask yourself whether you will need the document for your work and whether it should be kept for future inspiration or reference. Delete all files you no longer need and keep all saved files logically organised in order for you to minimise search time when needing a file. Depending on your job create a minimal amount of main and sub folders and stick to them. After finishing a project, decide what documents to keep and let go of the rest. You will quickly notice how staying organised will become an addictively happy habit!

    Dear Desktop, you’re not a dump for random files. Simplicity is key – your desktop should make you smile, not cry! First, choose a wallpaper that inspires you! Keep your desktop visually tidy, and make it a useful place for your job: decide which items should be kept there, for example pending items, frequently used apps or inspirational documents or pictures. Once the pending items are done, delete them and enjoy the empty and calm space, inviting new creativity.

    Finally, don’t forget to delete the contents of your downloads folder – it might contain massive amounts of unnecessary files taking up a lot of valuable space.

    Day 2: Email: Unsubscribe from all you don’t read or need

    Any newsletters, marketing emails or mailing lists you don’t find interesting or valuable, just ruthlessly scroll down and click the Unsubscribe link. Grouping or sorting your emails by sender might also help with this. Trust me, you will love the new zen look of your inbox and you’ll never go back to the way it was.

    Day 3: Clear your inbox in one go

    We send and receive way too many emails. Emails are necessary to a certain extent but many of them are usually containing a message growing your to-do list hence creating more stress. Like with the digital documents, firstly decide on the criteria for which emails need to be kept. If you need only an attachment from an email, save it to the appropriate document folder and delete the email. Then the easiest way to get rid of emails is to group or sort them by sender. This way you get a good overview of who’s mainly taking up space in your inbox and you may also delete multiple emails from a particular sender at once or move all messages from a certain sender to a dedicated folder. Once the emails are done you may tackle the existing folders. Again, keep the amount of folders to a minimum (ideally max 10) and use the search function within a folder when looking for a certain message. You might want to consider blocks of email time each day, for example morning and end of day, to allow for full focus on more important tasks in between.

    Day 4: Smart phone apps & notifications

    We all know how addictive and distracting smart phones can be. They’re designed to increase productivity (and get us hooked!) but if we get too attached it has the opposite effect. The usage and amount of apps might easily get out of hand unless you have a strict self discipline. The fewer apps the fewer distractions you naturally have. Let’s start by cleaning up all your apps and delete all that you don’t even know what they’re for anymore. Again, make sure you align the criteria for apps to keep with your ideal work style vision. This way you’ll make space for those important apps that are needed in your profession and truly spark joy for you! Now it’s time to organise your screen. Divide your apps into simple categories and make separate folders for these categories so you can have a clear overview of your essential apps. Some people like grouping their apps by function, some even by colour, I suggest you always choose the way that works best for you!

    The final step is to go through the notifications settings on every app you use and ensure that you are receiving only the absolutely essential ones. This would most likely mean getting rid of a lot of social media notifications, but in return you will get your focus and concentration back! In addition your device’s newly extended battery life might just positively surprise you!

    Day 5: Contacts & network on social media

    LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, phone contacts etc…there are so many different platforms and we actually don’t need to be everywhere. What kind of people do you enjoy spending time with? Which connections do you really need for work? What kind of people might be able to enhance your ideal work vision and goals? Why don’t you continue your tidying journey and use the KonMari Method to go through your contacts and network in order to keep only those that are truly meaningful to you and speak to your heart. You might be surprised at how much lighter you’ll feel and how much easier it is to value and nurture these chosen relationships. Building relations that matter, choosing quality over quantity might just be the icing on the cake, freeing up more mental space for yourself and creating space for truly authentic connections. 

    Bonus task: Reduce screen time

    Yes, smart phones are addictive, but they are also a helpful tool connecting us with family and friends and staying informed about important events. The average person uses a smart phone for several hours per day. It’s no secret that a smart phone may affect your productivity, sleep and even happiness. Getting insights about how much and how often you use your devices might be helpful for your wellbeing, on many levels. Here are some tips to reduce screen time:

    • * Put your phone away when it’s not needed, ie. during meals and social gatherings
    • * Use an old school alarm clock instead of your phone and keep it out of your bedroom at night.
    • * Develop a calming evening routine a couple of hours before bed time without a screen.
    • * Develop an empowering morning routine hour without a screen.
    • * Set your screen to greyscale – it makes it less appealing (great tip for kids too!)
    • * Set an hour or two when no devices are allowed, for example no devices each day after 8 pm

    Why is it important to declutter your digital life?

    Because you’re worth peace of mind! A beautiful, fulfilled and purposeful life begins with and needs simple things. Like a tidy and contented mind. Or a happily balanced home and career. Be mindful of how you live your life and what brings you joy and calm, both at home and at work. This challenge and these tips are aimed at helping you succeed in decluttering that virtual noise so that you can become more productive, stress less and be able to focus and enjoy what matters most in your daily (work) life. Here less really is more.


    This article was first published on the expat blog My Swiss Story, where I am part of the expert editorial panel as the Home Expert. Would you like to contribute as a guest writer? Please contact me. 

    Read More