Penelope Loves Lists » How We Work

Guest Post: Dreaming Big, One Line at a Time

Meredith — Fri, 20 May 2011 04:22:36 +0000

While I’m crazybusy getting ready for my maternity leave, a few fantastic bloggers have agreed to do some guest posts here on the Penelope site. I’m so grateful for the help.

Today, a heartfelt rumination on effective list-making brought to us by Alexis Anne from Clean, Smart, Simple, Style.

I am list obsessed- always have been, probably always will be, it’s just in my nature.

Making a list is a necessary part of my life when I am trying to accomplish something. But I have to confess: sometimes lists stress me out. A list with no check marks is the worst kind of visual reminder of everything that you haven’t accomplished.

I used to make lists all of the time, but over the last few months I noticed that I wasn’t making lists very often, and I finally figured out why. I couldn’t stand making a list in the morning and seeing it without any check marks at the end of the day. The things that I wanted “To Do” weren’t translating very well into a “To Do List” because I was confusing goals with tasks.

I’ve been dreaming about big things, and setting lofty goals. But sometimes even after several hours of work towards a goal, I don’t “finish” anything, and I can’t cross anything off of my list. I get frustrated, and in the moment I feel like I will never reach my goal.

I’ve always been easily frustrated and impatient. As a kid, if it didn’t come easily to me, I generally wasn’t interested. But when I started playing the piano at age 5, it came easily enough that I stuck with it. No one expects perfection from a 5 year old.

As I grew older though, the work became harder. Songs would take weeks, if not months, to learn. Luckily, my teacher never expected that I would learn something overnight. Every morning I would practice at the piano for 30 minutes and slowly work my way through my lesson for the week- piecing together the notes to my new song. Not surprisingly, I’d often become impatient with my progress and race hastily toward the end, fumbling over notes until the melody was nearly unrecognizable.

Without fail, my Dad’s voice would chime from the other room, “Stop. Go Back. Break it down. Try it again.” He was a stickler for reminding me to learn it line by line until I got it right. Perfection never happened over night, but if I worked hard enough, I eventually reached my goal..

Today, as I find myself trying to move full speed ahead to my goals, impatiently wanting them to happen overnight, I find myself remembering the 30 min of practice a day approach, and the Xs that my piano teacher would mark at the end of the line in my sheet music as the visual reminder that I was not required (or allowed) to do it all at once.

I hear my Dad’s voice reminding me:
Stop. Break it down. Try again. One line at a time.

Even away from the piano, I need to break things down and tackle them one line at a time because when I make a list, I now know that I need to cross things off regularly.

I’m learning that you can’t just write what you want to do. You have to think about exactly how you’re going to do it, and THAT’S the part that you have to write down. You have to break it down into manageable pieces and devote a tiny increment of time to these task every day.

Work on X for 30 min
Research Y for 15 minutes
Contact 2 people about Z

Move through the list line by line, and then less than an hour later you’ve earned the right to put a check in the boxes next to X, Y, and Z. No more blank “To Do Lists” taunting you with what you haven’t accomplished, just visual proof of the steps that you’ve taken towards your goal.

It’s good to have goals. It’s great to write them down. But from one Penelope to another…what’s the point of making a list if you can’t check some stuff off today?

In addition to dreaming big and making lists, Alexis Anne shares ideas and inspiration for home organizing and design at her blog Clean, Smart, Simple, Style.

New obsession: Girl of All Work

Meredith — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 15:00:07 +0000

Very few things make my heart skip a beat faster than a new online retailer of pretty office supplies. Maybe a shirtless David Beckham. No…I’m actually more excited by this new find.

Have you seen Girl of All Work? Penelopes, you must.

Their site isn’t huge, yet. It’s focused and well-curated. It’s no See Jane Work – yet – but it’s got tremendous potential.

I love every item they’re offering. The designs are exquisitely cute and the prices are reasonable compared with similar retailers.

Here’s a glance at what went into my shopping cart at Girl of All Work today:

Classic Tiles Page Flags

Peel and Stick Tabs

More Peel and Stick Tabs

Birdie Notebook with both lined and blank pages

A Teapot Journal for jotting down recipe ideas

My only two suggestions for the awesome people at Girl of All Work? More and larger images, especially showing the inside of notebooks, tablets and pads and more inventory. I know they’ll get there soon. They’ve got so much potential here.

Have you found any great new online retailers lately to help you find pretty office products? Let us know!

Reader Quandry: My boss is NOT a Penelope

Meredith — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 17:00:36 +0000

I’ve been getting a lot of questions from Penelopes asking me how I handle certain organizational dilemmas. (Though, I gotta say, I’m not a professional organizer, I just have my own way of doing things, so, fair warning.) Any time I get the same question several times, I think it’s time to make a post of it. That’s the case here.

The most recent question comes from Zoe. She’s a Penelope with a problem. Here’s what she says:

Dear Penelope:

I have a boss who is not organized but expects everyone else to be. She likes paper, and wants binders for everything. She also likes to keep all her e-mail. I’m responsible for reading all of her e-mail and printing everything that has a date or needs action. I have to give it to her and then keep a copy for myself to follow-up with her.

I put all of her e-mail in a red folder so she can see them, but at times she still doesn’t act upon them. This is further complicated by the fact that she only gives me the ability to read but not to forward or reply to her e-mail. She also expects me to forward e-mails that she receives but I have to copy and paste them into my e-mail system to send them out. It’s so inefficient!

Also, when she’s in the office she takes all of her stuff once she has reviewed it and brings it to me to act upon. Then, when something else pops into her mind, she calls me or “pings” me on the computer to state a task she’d like me to do. So a lot of times I can’t finish one task before I get another request from her.

On top of all this, I still have my other daily assignments – reports, my own e-mail and other processes. I’m drowning.

I need some guidance on the best way to organize all of this and make sure I’m being as efficient as possible. I like to be the best. What can I do to get more organized?

Help!

Zoe

And here’s my answer:

Dear Zoe,

You may not like this answer. But, the truth is, you don’t have an organization problem. You have a boss problem.

I could placate you with suggestions of new “systems” and links to more binders and folders, but as long as your boss insists on such inefficient, time-wasting, redundant processes, you’re not going to feel organized. Because organization isn’t about folders and binders, it’s about doing things quickly and well so you can move onto other tasks.

My suggestion is that you take the time to outline how you think your boss’ email system could work better and more efficiently. Then make a list of the additional tasks you could be getting done if she allowed you to adopt the new system. Share with her how much more effective you’d feel if things worked in a way that made more sense.

I’m a boss. I know if my staff came to me with evidence that doing something a different way would make us more productive and profitable, I’d have a hard time ignoring it. Let’s hope your boss feels the same.

What do YOU think, Penelopes? What would you do in her place?

How This Penelope Stays Organized: an interview with Holly Bohn of See Jane Work

Meredith — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 17:00:02 +0000

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the office supplies website See Jane Work was a big reason I decided to start Penelope Loves Lists.

For years, I’d spend waaaaaay too much time on the See Jane Work website, trolling page after page of gorgeous, useful supplies for my home and work offices. I loved it. And I soon realized that other like-minded souls felt the same way. That was my first inkling of the Penelope Personality.

Holly Bohn, Founder of See Jane Work

So, it is with absolute pleasure that I introduce you to Holly Bohn, founder of See Jane Work. She’s a Penelope herself, living a busy life filled with career, kids and family life. She’s found a way to hold it all together beautifully. And today she’s telling us how:

When did you start See Jane Work? What made you take the leap?

I started planning it in 2003, but didn’t open the site until July of 2004. The idea was born out of frustration looking for one place where I could find stylish, yet affordable, office supplies. I would have to say that although I did a ton of research before starting, there is always a dose of ignorance that helps you take the leap.

What physical items keep your work organized? (notebooks, binders, etc.)

I love binders, magazine files, and letter boxes. I like my book shelves to look neat so books or other materials that don’t stack well go into magazine files or letter boxes. I also love to collect information so binders with sheet protectors are a key tool for me. Just to name a few, I have a binder for recipes, a binder for organizational tips, a binder for cute outfits (yes, I’m serious), and a binder for decorating.

Are you a “list” person? If so, what kinds of lists do you find yourself making most?

My lists are all over the place. I like to have standardized lists like check lists for the kids and housekeeping check lists, that sort of thing. I also have what I call loose lists, you know the ones you probably won’t follow exactly, but need to quickly write them down so you can get them out of your head and go to sleep. An example might be ideas for better managing my time or goals at work.

What do you look for in a perfect notebook?

I like the idea of having just one notebook so that you can always find your notes, but honestly I end up changing depending on the situation. If I need to look serious at a meeting, I’ll use a Semikolon Clamp Binder with See Jane Work Basic Notebook Paper. If I want to look fun, I’ll use a See Jane Work Composition Book.

A notebook must be stylish and have perforated, lined and hole punched pages.

SemiKolon Clamp Binder

See Jane Work Composition Notebooks

What software or online tools do you use to keep yourself organized?

I use Microsoft Outlook to organize email, contacts, and appointments. I have a file system on my computer-no random saving to My Documents, and I use a task program on my iPhone. I’m still getting used to the task program, I do prefer written lists so I might stop using it.

Mac or PC?

PC I used to be an accountant so I have always used PC’s. Company-wide we use PC’s so it would be a challenge to change.

How many hours a week do you spend on your work, on average?

I’m embarrassed to say as it sounds a little annoying, but I LOVE my work. I would rather do my work than anything else. I eat, breathe, and dream work. I probably average about 60 hours a week. Sometimes more, sometimes less. I do have three kids so that takes a lot of time. I need to exercise more, so I will probably try to cut back this year. I didn’t have to work quite as much when the economy was stronger, but that is probably true of a lot of people.

There are a lot of tasks involved with having a successful career. How do you organize your time? Do you have a method that’s worked for you?

I endorse the Regroup Method. I just came up with that right now so let me explain. With the birth of a new child, or when kids change from toddlers to school age, or when you move or get a new job, your life can unravel. You have to give yourself a break. Take some time to think about how your life has changed and what you need to do to get organized. Don’t be afraid to try new things. What worked when you were single will not necessarily work now that you are married with kids.

Describe your work space currently.

My work space at this very moment is a mess. In fact, a co-worker threatened to “out” me so I’ve decided to “out” myself. I moved into a new office and I haven’t regrouped yet. I need a few more weeks. It was more important to get my family settled. We moved from California to Florida so it’s been a big adjustment.

Describe your “dream” work space.

Bright, sunny, with a big window, a pleasant view, a large work area and cheerful colors. I decorate sort of beachy so lots of aqua and white. I like real materials so I would rather have a vintage metal desk in my budget than a fake mahogany desk. If I lived in a mansion and could have rich mahogany bookshelves filled with leather-bound books I would, but I don’t like to pretend. At this very moment I have a table made of reclaimed pine. It’s got lots of character.

What about your job work makes you most anxious and how do you deal with it?

The unknown is always nerve racking. I’m afraid of making a mistake. I design or buy things for the site that I think people will want, but what if I’m wrong. What if no one buys it?

What’s the one piece of advice you’d give to a young woman entering the work world?

Don’t apologize for being a woman, even to other women. I’m not suggesting you cry during every meeting, but it might happen once in your career. Rather than being mortified and apologizing simply hold your head up, dab your eyes, and go on as if nothing happened. Men are more willing to force their opinions, take risk, say what they think. We should be too and we shouldn’t be afraid to show our feminine side.

What’s on your desk right this instant?

Letter trays, a tray to hold my stapler, tape, pencil cup and clips-so they’re not spread all over the desktop. A lot of catalogs and 2 project organizers overflowing with work. I really need to do some filing. Oh yes, and way too many cords.

What’s your favorite book (or books) of all time?

East of Eden" target="_blank">East of Eden by John Steinbeck or Streams in the Desert.

Do you own any pets? If so, what kind?

A Portuguese Water Dog, all black. That’s as much as I can manage right now.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

Champagne. When I lived in California my guilty pleasure was strawberries (slightly healthier). They grew them right by my house so they were the really sweet ones that you can’t find anywhere else. You have to eat them the day they are picked. I can eat a ½ flat of strawberries (that’s 4 of those little green baskets) in one sitting. For non-food splurges probably expensive laundry detergent. I like The Laundress and Good Home Company Beach Days Fabric Softener.

What’s your favorite way to wind down after a hard day?

A nice family dinner when the kids don’t argue at the table and everyone likes their food. A bubble bath with a magazine and glass of champagne is also fun.

ANNOUNCEMENT: And the Winner of the Knock Knock Products Giveaway is….Alyssa Holbrook. Congrats, Alyssa! Please email me so I can get the details for sending you the package.

Two Books on Work That Rocked My World

Meredith — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 17:00:21 +0000

I’ve read 2 books in the last year that have absolutely rocked my work world. Each one inspired and reinvigorated me and changed many of my work processes. They are both books that, when things get a bit stale or frustrating in my job, I can go to for new insight and a bit of an energy boost.

I wanted to share them in case you, too, needed a shot in the arm of your work or career. It’s a great time of year to start thinking of new ways to work and different ways to think about the work we do, right?

Rework" target="_blank">Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson

Ah, 37 Signals. I have to admit, I love this company and have a scorching crush on it’s founder, Jason Fried. (You can see my favorite videos of him here. Very useful stuff.) This may make sense as one of my colleagues told me “if Jason Fried had lady parts, he’d BE you.” So, no surprise that his new book, written with co-founder Hansson, lit me up.

The book is all about looking at work in a totally new way. And boy, do they. They espouse all sorts of “crazy” ideas, like it being better for a company to stay small instead of growing too quickly and that meetings are inherently evil time wasters. They believe normal offices are places completely antithetical to getting real work done and that most people should be given the opportunity to work from home at the hours that work best for them. All totally true and yet somehow against conventional, Big Company wisdom.

I love the short, easily digestible format of Rework. It’s super easy to dip into for just a few minutes. But every single short section left me with something new to ponder. It’s one of those books where you start out highlighting the important stuff and then realize you’re highlighting damn near the entire page. And their no-nonsense, “like it or lump it” writing style really appealed to me.

And, if you’re not using their web-based productivity software for your work OR for blogging, you should be. My company practically runs on their stuff. We couldn’t do our work without Backpack or Basecamp especially.

Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose" target="_blank">Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose by Tony Hsieh

Tony Hsieh is the founder and CEO of Zappos. This book is an absolutely fascinating look into how that huge company was born, the struggles they went through as they grew and how they maintain their phenomenal success now.

But, most importantly, this book is a primer on creating a Company Culture. Hsieh gets really specific and clear about how he’s created a company that’s not only profitable, but that values it’s employees and their personal growth.

I was inspired by his mantra about “surprising his customers with great service”. At every point, Zappos tries to do that and I think that’s why they’ve been so successful. We’ve implemented several strategies at my company based on this principal and have had excellent results.

So there you go, two must-buy work books if you need some New Year inspiration. Let me know if you have read these, or read them in the future. I’d love to hear what you think.

Why I Keep a Book Journal: hint, it’s because I’m a fraidy cat

Meredith — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 17:00:31 +0000

I’d love to keep a diary. There’s so much that appeals to me about it. The daily regularity of it. The ability to use a beautiful notebook. Seeing pages and pages of neat handwriting. The potential for a system of color-coding my moods of the day.

Endless Penelope joy, right?

But I just can’t do it. Not because I couldn’t keep up with it, more because I can’t stand the thought of the vulnerability of it. All those honest thoughts, spread out for all the world to read should something happen to me. Because you gotta believe my family, my daughter at least, would read it after I was gone. I know I would.

No, I can’t put myself out there like that. I’m too nutty in the head.

What I can do, and have done for 10 years now, is to keep a book journal. Every time I read a book, I write down the title and author’s name, the start and end dates of my reading, the source of the book recommendation (my sister, a review in the NY Times, etc.) and my star rating, 1-5. (Very, very few books get a 5 star rating.)

I then follow that info with a few sentences about what I thought of the book. I don’t get into a lot of plot detail, just whether I liked it or not and why. Since I read a lot of mysteries, I’ll add one line describing the victim in the book. Helps me recall it when I read it back later.

Finally, I’ll try to sneak in some small detail about what was going on in my life while I was reading it. This last little detail gives me my “diary” fix. Each entry takes me no more than 5 minutes, tops.

And you Penelopes will totally understand this: on the last page of the journal, I keep a tally of how many books I read each year. I love counting them up every Dec 31st and making that entry. The current journal I use, by the way, is one my daughter and I picked up at Target. I always use a spiral bound notebook because I hate to write on the left side of hard bound journals. Makes my writing all wonky and I get cranky.

The Book Journal serves two purposes for me:

1) People ask me for book recommendations all the time (which I love) and the journal helps me to be able to give them a line on books they might like. I couldn’t store all that data in my memory.

2) I can read back through my little sneaky notes and get a sense of what was going on for me at different times. That’s comforting and useful to me somehow.

And, someday, my kids might want to have these journals and maybe go back and read some of the books I read. I like that these “diaries” of mine would serve as a guide.

If you didn’t want to keep a handwritten Book Journal, you could use a website like Good Reads to keep track of what you’re reading. Lots of cool functionality there.

What about you? Do you keep a journal of any kind?

An Interview with Julie Morgenstern: Part 2 – How Julie Stays Organized – plus a GIVEAWAY

Meredith — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 16:00:23 +0000

Penelope Loves Lists: In Time Management from the Inside Out, you talk a lot about different calendaring system options. What is YOUR method? What tools do you use for calendaring yourself?

Julie Morgenstern: For my calendaring method, I use a Time Map, which is a tool that I have been teaching my clients for years. A Time Map eliminates your need to multi-task, and puts you back in control of your days. It helps you to become proactive amid the swirl of demands that come your way. Simply put, a Time Map is a budget of your day, week, or month that carves out distinct times for each of the key departments of your life. Instead of feeling that you have to act on every request the minute it crosses your path, your Time Map guides you, helping you determine whether you have time to handle an unexpected task, how much time you will devote to it and when you will do it. When you don’t have a Time Map, you have no idea what to do when. Every day is a total free-for-all. You just say yes to whatever screams loudest, with no perspective on how to prioritize incoming requests, and when you should be doing things. Of course, this is what leads to multi-tasking…just doing things as they come at you.

A Time Map provides structure to your day — carving out regular time for what is most essential to you. Rest assured that a Time Map can be adapted to your personal style, whether you thrive on routine or variety, whether you have complete or only partial control over your day. Built around your own custom set of priorities and personal style, your Time Map reflects who you are and what is important to you.

PLL: What are your “hot spots”? What are the physical places or work issues you struggle to keep organized? How do you handle them?

JM: I would say that like everyone, my systems become challenged when my company grows. With each new service offering we develop, or for each division we add, my roles and responsibilities change, the information I need to track changes, and for a period of time, while in transition, my files, desk and even my schedule can become messy. Until you know exactly what your new role is, and the information you need to manage a new aspect of your business, it’s hard to create a system. So, with growth come periods where things are less buttoned down than I prefer to be. But, those periods pass, and then a new system is born.

Julie doing some organizing

PLL: In what form (online, notebook, etc.) do you keep your daily To Do list?

JM: I view my to-do list as an extension of myself, so it is very important that I have chosen the right system. I prefer a paper planner. These work best for “visual/tactile” people (i.e. those who find physically writing things out pen to paper helps them think and remember more clearly). Entering information into a paper planner is more instant than booting up an electronic device. Portability is essential for women on the go. Sometimes our work requires us to keep our schedules on the computer. If this is the case, combine these systems by printing out a planner sized version of your calendar each day, recording changes on the printout while out of the office. Update your computer schedule first thing each morning.

Having a single, reliable to-do system puts me in command of my days by providing a complete picture of everything I need to do. Prioritization is easier when I have full context. And I am more confident staying focused on the moment, when everything is present and accounted for.

PLL: What’s your favorite organization tool?

JM: I use a tool that I designed called the “Julie Morgenstern Balanced Life Planner” to keep me on track and balance my time between writing, speaking, running a business, being a mom, spending time with friends, and still dedicating some time just for me. This system gives helps me plan my days realistically so I feel excited, rather than overwhelmed, when I wake up. With this planner, I stay on track, create days that are meaningful, and connect my daily activities to my big picture goals.

Throughout my 20 years as a time management coach, I’ve found that there are certain key skills that make the difference between a day that feels in balance vs. out of balance. And those are the skills I teach my clients in one on one sessions to create meaningful and fulfilling days. In partnership with Franklin Covey, I wanted to design a planner that brought the coaching I do with my clients directly to you. The “Julie Morgenstern Balanced Life Planner” teaches you the 5 Gateway skills to staying in balance:

Skill # 1-Time Estimating
Skill # 2- The 4 D’s to streamline your to-do list
Skill # 3-Group Similar Tasks
Skill # 4- Creating a Time Map
Skill # 5- Controlling the Nibblers

PLL: What does a typical Tuesday (or any weekday) schedule look like for you?

JM: On my Time Map, a typical day of the week is divided by distinct blocks of time. These blocks represent the key departments of work and my life. My schedule will generally look like this:

8:00 am – 9:00 am: Wake up, exercise, meditate, eat breakfast, feed my cats

9:00 am – 12:00 pm: Writing and creative time

12:00 pm – 2:00 pm: Touch base with staff and do media interviews

2:00 pm – 5:00 pm: Client Meetings

5:00 pm – 7:00 pm: Wrap-up and handle day’s requests

7:00 pm – 11:00 pm: Dinners out (business and leisure)

PLL: Are you working on something new? Can you give us a hint?

JM: I am working on some great new products that will help you stay organized. Stay tuned!

While we wait for Julie’s new products, let’s spend our time reading her latest book, SHED Your Stuff, Change Your Life: A Four-Step Guide to Getting Unstuck" target="_blank">SHED Your Stuff, Change Your Life: A Four-Step Guide to Getting Unstuck. I loved this book. It walks you through practical ways to break through whatever is keeping you from meeting your goals, whether it’s organization challenges or mental barriers.

I’m excited that Julie’s given me a copy of SHED Your Stuff, Change Your Life to GIVEAWAY to one of you. To qualify to be the randomly selected winner, tell me in the comments what it was that you liked about or learned from meeting Julie over the past week.

Deadline to enter is Friday, 9/10/10 at 9am PST.

An Interview with Organizing Guru Julie Morgenstern: Part 1 – Up Close and Personal

Meredith — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:00:50 +0000

If you asked me the one person I’d most like to meet, you might expect me to say something like Oprah or President Obama. And, surely, meeting either of those people would be life-changingly awesome.

But, for my little Penelope self, my answer would be organizing guru and bestselling author Julie Morgenstern. I love her style and every one of her books. She inspires me to be my most effective both at work and at home. In fact, I’ve written about my favorite of her books here. It’s literally one of my “Books to Live By”.

So imagine my excitement when Julie said she’d be willing to answer some questions for us. She was so forthcoming that I decided to split her answers into 2 posts. We’ll be in Julie Heaven this week, Penelopes.

In today’s post, we got to know her a little more personally, which is a huge treat for a fan like me. The next post will give us some insight into how she keeps herself organized, including the tools she uses on a daily basis. Oh, and we’ll also be doing a GIVEAWAY of her new book. Look for that post next Monday.

Here’s what she shared:

Julie Morgenstern

Penelope Loves Lists: Were you neat and tidy as a kid or teenager? What did your room look like at 16?

Julie Morgenstern: I grew up as an exceedingly disorganized kid. My room was so messy, one friend recently told me she used to be afraid to visit me, because every time she did, she’d end up losing something in the chaos.

As a theater person and dancer, I collected everything, from costumes, props and vintage cooking utensils to old class notes, souvenir restaurant menus, and playbills. These were my treasures. But I could never find anything.

There wasn’t a day that you could see even a square inch of the floor. It was a nice floor, too — Congoleum, a jazzy turquoise and blue design I had begged my parents for and which they bought me in the hope that it would inspire me to keep my room neat and navigable. No such luck. Within a day of being installed, the Congoleum was covered in rubble, rarely to be seen again.

Every six months or so, my parents would “hit the roof,” and banish me to my fourth floor “jungle” for the weekend with a direct order not to come out until it was cleaned up.

Truth is, I wanted to be organized because it was almost as frustrating to me to have my room in such turmoil as it was for them to see it that way. I’d begin by dumping out all the drawers and emptying all the closets in an effort to decide what “junk” I could get rid of. In the course of sorting through this stuff, I would rediscover lost treasures I hadn’t set eyes on since the last time I’d attempted to get my room in shape. “Wow, this reminds me of that trip I took” or “Gee, I could really use this someday,” became constant refrains, slowing the clean-up process to a crawl.

The clock was ticking. Sunday night was fast approaching. Soon there would be a knock on the door. My parents ready for the grand unveiling! I would look around my room and realize that it actually looked WORSE than when I started. In a panic, I’d quickly gather stuff from every direction and shove it into drawers, closets, and under the bed with no rhyme or reason.

The knock arrived; my parents came in, saw the Congoleum, and applauded me for my efforts. The room was perfect. But I knew better. Sure enough, by the next day, the Congoleum would start to disappear again as the piles returned. I’d have spent sixteen hours of determined activity with no visible payoff for my efforts whatsoever; another marathon organizing session down the tubes! In six months I would be at it again.

PLL: How do your naturally organized or “Penelope” tendencies inform your role as “Mom”?

JM: Being a mom and an organizational expert, I have always known that it is important to avoid insulting and judging your child when it comes to organization. I feel great that I never told my daughter Jessi that she was disorganized…no matter how messy her room got (and it got messy!). I always focused on where she was organized. Within the piles, there were systems…her dance things, friends phone numbers and stuffed animals were always well organized. And I just told her that when the other things started to be as important to her, she would organize those as well. And she did! Starting in junior high school, she began to organize her homework and school papers, then it was her clothes, and today she has a system for just about everything.

Every teenager and child is organized someplace, somewhere, in some way. I feel that one of the most important motherly jobs is to help them change their “hopelessly disorganized” self-image. Eliminate phrases like “You’re such a slob” and “Your room is a pigsty!” Instead, concentrate on the positive — maybe your kid’s room is mess, but they always turn in their homework on time. Maybe they have papers piled everywhere, but their photo albums and scrapbooks are in enviable order. Recognize the ways in which your child is organized, and let them know you are confident in their ability to apply those skills to other areas of their life as well.

Julie working with one of her clients

PLL: What’s your best advice for maintaining work/life balance?

JM: People often make the mistake of dividing their lives into just two parts—work and home. That’s misleading—there are multiple elements to your life outside work, and it’s important to balance your time between all of them.

“Balancing your balance” is the real secret to being in control. You need to balance three categories of your personal life to give yourself true energy:

Physical Activity

Taking care of our bodies through sleep, exercise, a healthy diet, and regular medical check-ups provides the physical well of energy we draw upon to accomplish everything we need to do. Yet, this is often the first thing to go, when we are stressed.

Escapes

Hobbies and activities that instantly transport us to a place of joy provide one of the most efficient ways to recharge our batteries. Reading, dancing, gardening, golf, playing Frisbee with your dog, or sauntering through a museum can get you quickly out of your head and into another world— renewing your spirit, and giving you the opportunity to come back to work with a new perspective.

People

When overwhelmed with work and stress, it’s very easy to take our relationships for granted or get disconnected. Keeping our relationships strong feeds our spirits, grounds us, enforces our identities and brings out our best selves, which is all very important in a time of transition, in which we can feel lost. Spending time with the people who know and love you can remind you who you are, and give you renewed confidence for tackling your greatest challenges.

Together, these three categories form the acronym PEP, which is exactly what they will give you.

PLL: What’s the best book you’ve read lately? Or, your favorite book of all time?

JM: When I was trying to write my first book, I had the worst writer’s block. Here I had a book contract and a deadline, and spent three months writing and rewriting the first three chapters. At this pace I would not have finished the book in time. A dear friend recommended Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life" target="_blank">Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott, which is the most influential book I’ve read for my business. Her wisdom cut right through my paralysis, and unleashed my voice. I got the next 12 chapters done in the following three months, and my book went on to become a New York Times bestseller. Five books later, I still draw upon the lessons I learned in Bird by Bird.

Again, The next post will give us some insight into how Julie keeps herself organized, including the tools she uses on a daily basis. We’ll also be doing a GIVEAWAY of her new book. Click here for Part 2 of my interview with Julie Morgenstern.

I love a tool that does it all

Meredith — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 16:00:33 +0000

I happened upon the Post-It Flag Pen/Highlighters during one of my “shopping for the kids’ school supplies” trips to Office Depot. (Any excuse to fawn over office supplies, right?)

I love these little guys! As the name so aptly suggests, they are a pen, that’s also a highlighter that also includes Post-It flags on the cap.

And the cheerful, slightly 80’s design makes me giggle.

Post-It Flag Pen/Highlighters

My favorite uses for these All-in-One Wonders:

1) My day job is in publishing, so when we’re in “proofing mode” these pens are life-savers. Being able to quickly jot a note, highlight a line of text and flag that page for our editor is such an efficient, time-saving way to work.

2) For Penelope Loves Lists, I’m often reading books that I want to review later for the blog. I can make sure not to miss any unmissable nuggets with this tool.

No question that we ALL can find uses for this kind of pen, right?

Three cheers for the 3M company! They’ve brought us so many useful things – Post-Its, Scotch Tape, I could go on. Don’t you just bet 90% of their workforce is full-fledged Penelope?

How To Stick It to the Ink Cartridge Companies

Meredith — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 16:00:12 +0000

Did anyone see this little goodie in the August issue of O Magazine?

Turns out, simply switching your default font will save you money in printer ink.

Using Century Gothic instead of Arial, for example, will save you up to 30% in ink cartridges over time. This makes good sense if you notice the thickness of the letters in Arial vs Century Gothic.

Given that I think that printer cartridges are one of the most annoying necessities of the modern world, I love this money-saving tip.

I was further heartened by the news that my signature font, Calibri, is also a money saver. Score!

By the way, it’s normal to have a signature font, right?