Be Kind To Each Other

This week’s blog is on being nice to each other. I think this is an exceptionally easy concept, but it is sad how often people over look small things that would show kindness to others.  People get busy.  People think it is weird to be kind to a stranger.  Or, they just don’t realize how much a small gesture could change someone’s day.

Years ago, a friend told me, that she tries to say at least one nice thing a day to a total stranger.  She also told me that once a week, she tries to compliment someone for a job well done.  She said that the positive energy created by this routine was astonishing. I thought I would give it a try and she is right… that positive energy grows daily and soon, you find yourself looking for a stranger to say something nice to or really watching what other people do to help you.

Now, just to say something is not really the point.  It should be something you truly feel and should come from a place of kindness.

For instance:

• If you see someone on the elevator with a great pair of shoes or a nice haircut… tell that person. 
• Hold the door open for others. 
• Make a point of really looking someone in the eye and thanking them if they hold the door for you. 
• Thank the UPS guy for delivering you package to your door.
• Tell the guy at the gas station you really like his car.
• Ask your waitress how she is doing and really give her time to answer and care about the answer.
• If someone at work does something above and beyond for you… send their boss a note telling them you are thankful to work with someone that goes the extra mile (cc the person to ensure that they know you appreciate their efforts).
• Put a recommendation for someone on LinkedIn or on whatever company site your company might use for this (Cheers for Peers is utilized at my company).

Along these lines… Thank you all for following my blog while I discovered the ins and outs of the blog world. Your comments and kind words made this a really great learning experience.

This will be my last blog.  I am going to work on learning new things and possibly find a new outlet for my Sue’s Simple Suggestions! 

The Simple Answer to Closet Chaos

If you are like I was … you probably have said on more than one occasion, “why do I still own that”, or “I can’t remember the last time I wore that”?   We have all been there.

I live in Missouri and we have cold and warm seasons here, so I swap cloths for the summer and winter.  The trick to not letting my wardrobe get out of control is...

Turn the hangers around.   It is that simple.  

When I load in the next season, I put all the hangers in backwards.  When I wear something, I put it back in my closet the normal way.  At the end of that season, when I am moving cloths around for the next season, I only remove the items with the hangers going the normal way.  I then take a very honest look at the items I did not wear all season. Most of the items were not worn because I am tired of them or they don’t fit right anymore. I take a box or a bag and place those items into it and the next time I run stuff to charity, I take that bag or box along.  There are some items that I will give a second chance.  But, if they are not worn after two seasons, they definitely go to charity, no matter how much I love the looks of the item.  Apparently, I love it on the hanger, but not on me … so it should get to be enjoyed by someone else that might actually make good use of it.

If you live in warm weather, pick a month of the year (January or your birthday month) and move the hangers once a year (or even twice a year) to all face backwards.  Then, at the end of the time you decide works best for you, clean out those cloths and make a charity run.

I do this with shoes also.  I turn them around in their little cubbies and any pair that has not been moved around by the end of the season, probably gets to go to charity also.

Say it with me, “I am never going to do that”

How many of us have a few tasks on our list that we think we should do, but we keep moving them to another day, week, month or even year.

I have had many over the years. I kept them on my task list and then would feel guilty every time they popped up. I still wouldn’t do them – I would just move them to sometime in the future. Then, in the future when they came up, I would go through the entire process again. Yes… it was a vicious cycle filled with shame and guilt.

Then, I was in a task management class and it was stated that it was okay to admit that I was never going to do that task. If it didn’t hurt anyone by my not doing it, it really was allowable to just delete the task and never worry about it again.

Examples:

• Task – take all the stored pictures that are not digital, scan them, and save them to folders in my pictures directory.
• Monthly, this would pop-up on my task list and try to guilt me into doing this. It never sounded like fun. I could never convince myself that this would be something I really needed. Instead, if someone asked for a baby or vacation picture, I found it in the box, scanned it and then sent it where it needed to go.
• I finally deleted this task. No one died. My guilt was gone. I made a pact with myself that if technology changed to make this easier or I retired and wanted a long-term project, I could revisit this. I keep the box safe in my basement and go to it only when I need a picture from it.
• Task – create a database of the collectibles I have.
• This also lived on my task list for a long time. Once a year, I take quick pictures of all the stuff in the house for insurance purposes. Along with that, I would always come back to the thought that I should create a database of what collectibles I owned, estimated worth and where they lived in the house. Again, this never sounded fun and I knew it was going to be a monster of a project once I started it. And, would I ever maintain it? Probably not.
• Again… I deleted this task, and no one died. I have the love of my collectible items. If I pass away, it is up to my survivors to determine if something is worth anything or where it is stored or displayed. They can sell it off at a garage sale or try and sell it for profit. It won’t make any difference to me.

I know we all have things we feel we ought to do, but honestly, these probably don’t need to be done to make our lives complete. Go to dinner with a friend instead or play with your kids or pets. Walk in the sunshine or travel. I am pretty sure all that sounds like more fun than that chore you allow to keep nagging at you.

Inbox at home? Absolutely!

I heard this suggestion back in my 20’s.  At first, I thought, “inboxes are only for work”.  It seemed strange to me to think of an inbox sitting in my house.

• Wouldn’t that make my house too much like work?  
• Wouldn’t this cause my personal life to be too structured and boring? 
• Would it suck the fun out of coming home and leaving work behind?

I decided to give it a try when I heard the suggestion a second time at a time/task management seminar.  I placed it discretely in my kitchen.  At first, I only put my “deal with” mail in it.  I found that this worked well.  When I needed to pay bills or deal with a letter, it was right there.

I started putting my task notes in the inbox.  I would grab them before heading off to work and then deal with them during the day. 

My husband got one also.  It made it very easy to sort stuff and toss his bills, task notes, or letters in his inbox, so he could easily find them. 

Eventually, I grew to love my house inbox much more than my office inbox.  My house inbox often contained fun things - notes about vacation and flyers on events I wanted to attend. I began to clean my inbox daily and always enjoyed seeing what my husband had put it in.

I now have two inboxes.  One I keep for the stuff coming in.  The other I use as a “pending/holding” box to store items that require follow-up.   For instance, I purchased tickets from an event flyer. I put the flyer in my pending/holding inbox till the tickets arrived. When the ticket came in, I just pitch the flyer.   This is a great visual tickler system to ensure the tickets arrive safe and sound.

I realized that a home inbox was just a great way to collect the things I needed to deal with.  Instead of trying to remember where that flyer or bill went, I had it all in one place.  I could deal with the item, rather than deal with trying to find the item. 

Extra vacation cash – made easy

Want a little extra cash to take on vacation with you?   Of course … who doesn’t.  

We all want that special t-shirt or hat, or that commemorative plate with your pictures on it. Those little things help you remember your vacation and bring a smile to your face.

But, how many of us, by the time we book the vacation, are struggling to have a few extra bucks in our pocket?

My husband and I started years ago, “saving” … vacation spending money.  We do this in two ways.

• We spend cash for little things (coffee/soda at the quick shop, drinks with a friend, cat toy for the cats, etc.).
• Any coins we get from the bills used to buy the item, we bring home and put in a jar.
• Before vacation, we take the coins to our bank and have them turned into bills.

• We only have cash back credit cards.
• Everything else we buy (groceries, gas, dinners, etc.) goes on the credit card.
• Before vacation, we request that the credit card send us a check for our cash back rewards balance.
• We cash that check at the bank.

We have managed to save a few hundred dollars this way and we use that money only to buy something cool on vacation or add a side trip that we might otherwise have not been able to afford.  

Color Can Change Your Life … Part 2

In my Jan.17 blog, I talked about how color can change your email. The suggestion allows you to view emails from certain senders in a different color or font which helps them stand out from the rest of your normal emails. 

This color hint helps you use your inbox as a quick to-do list/task list.

You can use the categories not only for color coding calendar items, but for color coding emails. I use this feature to help me manage my inbox. Note – I am using Outlook, but I am guessing that most email programs have a feature like categories.

After I have read the email, if it cannot be dealt with and deleted, or dealt with and filed … then I leave it in my inbox and mark it with a category. 

For instance, I have a category labeled “1:1 meeting / talk to Rick”. On the calendar, I would use this to color 1:1 meetings. In my inbox, I would tag any email that I needed to talk to Rick about with this color.  When Rick walks by or calls, I can quickly look at my inbox and see what I need to talk to him about.   This allowed me to move forward with that email.

I also have a category that I use that is named, “in person meeting / pending”.  If I am waiting on something from someone, but I don’t want it in a folder and/or I am guessing the reply will come later the same day (so it is not worth putting it into the longer term “pending” folder), I mark it with the pending category. Once I get the reply I need to move forward, I can remove the category and/or file it in the appropriate folder.

All uncategorized emails in my inbox are items that I still need to deal with. This helps me keep my inbox much more manageable.

The secret of task tagging

This simple suggestion seemed weird to me when I first heard it, but I have grown to use it more and more with each passing year.

If you are not near any of your normal note taking options (as discussed in the blog “better notes”), but you need to remember to something, lock that thought onto something visual that you know you will see.  I call it “task tagging”.

For example … As I am walking to the mailbox, I think, “I need to feed the birds”.  Now, we all know that the moment I bring the mail in, open it and decide what should be pitched and what needs to be dealt with – I will have forgotten all about feeding the birds.  So, as I walk, I repeat to myself, “when you see the cat food (which is in my kitchen, where I put the mail), remember to give the birds some food”. 

So, I take the mail to the kitchen and sort it all.  I get a glass of water.  I have totally forgotten about the birds and go walking into living room.  Voila, I see the cat food.  That quick visual makes me think “feed the birds”.  Since this is a two minute or less task (see my Two-Minute Rule), I stop, put the water glass on the counter, and fill the bird feeder. 

And… my cats love it.  Cat TV is back on in the backyard and everyone wins.  I feel good about myself for helping the birds (and squirrels), entertaining the cats, and I get to check one more chore off my list.

Another example is … I am working in the yard.  I remember that I need to call mom.  I don’t plan to be done in the yard for another hour.  Again, we all know I will totally forget about the call by the time I get back to the house and clean up.  I think a few times to myself, “when you finish taking a shower, notice the pictures in the bedroom and really notice mom’s picture”.  It is amazing that once you get used to this visual tagging, you will get out of the shower and while you are dressing, you will notice the pictures and then remember that you need to call mom. 

It took a bit to get good with this visual task tagging, but honestly, it really does work and you get better with it over time.

My journey to be “Smiley” again

To anyone that says you must be serious to be taken seriously … they are just wrong.

I owe most of my successes to my positive attitude. 

I started out my working life as a waitress at a Cheers-like pub. To increase tips, I wrote on each check, “have a good day” and added a smiley face.  😊  The regulars began calling me “Smiley”.  The boss bought us company jackets with our names on the front and mine didn’t say Sue, but Smiley.  I realized that I was known for being friendly and smiling.

When I entered the corporate world, it was apparent to me that some managers thought I should be a less smiley. I was seeing grumpy people getting promoted and squeaky wheel complainers getting their way.  I wondered if I needed to get more formal and earnest.

When I landed a job in an electronic banking department (which was a very new concept at the time) my friends told me to be more subdued and solemn since banks were serious places. We were encouraged to embrace computers.  To help me learn, I started a daily quote email blast with a Friday joke.  More and more people told me they liked Friday’s the best.  I turned the email into the “Daily Smile” with humor every day.  People started asking to join my mailing list and sharing it with their friends.  My boss enjoyed that I was using technology and becoming well known.  When I considered looking for a new role, he gave me a raise and asked me to stay with him. 

Life changed.  I was fortunate enough to open my own online shop. I sought advice from friends that owned their own businesses. One owner told me that people can hear you smile when you engage them, so always wear a smile no matter what else is going on in your life. Many of my repeat customers told me they returned to my shop (even though my prices were not the cheapest) because I was always happy and fun to deal with. I began to realize that I could get ahead in life without having to be grumpy or a complainer.

Fast forward and I am back in the corporate world. I planned a retirement event for an executive that had been with the company 40 years (we will call him “Bill”).  It was an important event with many executives in attendance. Our division vice president (who had worked with Bill for decades) spoke at the event.  He started his talk by stating that his favorite thing about Bill was the fact that no matter what was going on, Bill always said, “good morning” and was always willing to share a smile.

I was shocked.   What an odd thing to mention regarding a career that spanned 40 years.

I asked the vice president about it later and he stated that at the end of the day he respected people that worked through issues, projects, and assignments with a smile and a positive attitude.

Fast forward to my current position.  I started this job with a smile and a cheerful attitude.  I decided the people that thought you needed to be more stern to be professional were just misinformed.  I am very good (and professional) at what I do, but I always try and say “hi” to everyone and put a smile in my voice when engaging people.  People have mentioned how nice it is to see me always with a smile.  My bosses have appreciated my kind attitude and I have been promoted twice in three years. 

Smiley lives!   😊

Color can change your life … or at least your email

I, personally, love this little trick.  Many of my friends and family didn’t know this existed till I showed it to them.  Though… to be fair… I didn’t know this existed till someone showed it to me.  I am a firm believer in taking people’s great ideas and sharing them with anyone that wants them.  Knowledge is a terrible thing to waste, as they say.

This simple suggestion will allow you add color and/or fonts to your emails, which helps certain senders or topics to stand out from the crowd.  After being off a few days, how many times have sat at your computer to read email and wished there was an easy way to spot your bosses emails from the tons of others?  To help this, I mark my boss in red to help make sure I can easily find those first. 

I will offer instructions on how to do this in Outlook 2016. I am also sure that there may be ways to set this in your email system (if different from mine), but I am currently using Outlook, so that is what I can speak about.

• Click the View menu - from your inbox
• Click View Settings in the Current View group
• In the resulting dialog, click Conditional Formatting
• Click Add
• Give the new format a descriptive name
• Click Font
• You can assign other formats, but in this case, we want to color the message - that's a Font attribute
• From the Color dropdown, choose a color
• Click OK
• Now that you have the color, you need the condition
• Click Condition (under Font)
• In this case, you want to colorize messages from your boss
• You can pick the email address from your address book or type it in
• Click OK three times to return to the Mail window

Adding the color is a simple enough task, but if you move the message to another folder, Outlook removes the color; it stops applying the rule. To keep the color from folder to folder, you can copy the rule to other folders as follows:

• In the Inbox, click View
• From the Change View option dropdown, choose Apply Current View to Other Mail Folders
• In the Apply View dialog, expand the Inbox and check the appropriate folders
• Click “apply view to subfolders” if you want that option
• or, click individual folders
• Click OK

Over the years, I have played with fonts and other options over the years. I think that changing the font styles is a bit less effective in quickly scanning your mailbox … but play with it.  You might find that you like different font styles, along with colors, in your mailbox.

Two-Minute Rule – Helping to tackle procrastination and time management 120 seconds at a time

I learned this rule a few ways, over a few years.  The time management help was priceless.  And, it had the extra added benefit of helping me with some of my procrastination and dread of certain chores.  BONUS BIT!

The two-minute rule is so simple…

1. Look at the item.  
2. If it can be done in two minutes or less, just do it right then and there.  

How many of us look at an email and think “I will deal with that later”, when honestly, if we dealt with it right then and there, it would take 2 minutes or less. 

Or, how many of us look at the mail we just threw in that pile on the counter and think “I will deal with all that mail later”.  We all know that 95% of it is junk and that we could easily open the 1 item that needs our attention and just pitch everything else, but we add it to the pile and think we will find a better time later to go through it all. 

The funny thing … the more mail and email piles up, the more we dread dealing with them.  

And, the sad thing is … when we do finally convince ourselves that we have time to deal with the pile, we have to go back and look at each item again before we can make a decision about it.  So, we have wasted time dealing what that simple piece of mail/email - twice.  This double reading adds up and this is time we could have been playing with our cats, doing a crossword puzzle, or dealing with more important emails.

How does the rule really work; check out these examples:

• Email
• Look at the email
• Reply to the item
• Forward the item
• Trash the item
• Make a calendar item regarding the email
• Make a task about the email
• File the item in a sub-folder as reference
• Mail
• Look at the mail
• Pitch it
• Open it
• Put it in the bills to be paid
• Put it in the to be filed folder (or just file it, if that will still take less than two minutes)
• Smile at the card your friend sent you and send her a text letting her know you enjoy the thought (yes, that also takes less than two minutes)

This rule can also be translated to almost anything. For example, I get delivery boxes often.  I cut them down and take them to the recycle bins every few weeks. I could pile them up and then deal with cutting them all down over the course of 30 minutes or so before I drive them to be recycled.  I could feel dread at having to do this chore whenever I wanted to run errands.  And ... I have boxes piling up in my garage or in my kitchen.  

Where my cats love big piles of boxes, I do not.  

So, since I have the box cutter out to open the box, I just slice the box flat and put it into the carrying box that I use to transport all my cardboard to the recycle bin.  Then, whenever I have another errand to run, I can easily grab that box of cardboard and complete a few errands easily.  No need to spend time before I run my errands getting the boxes ready.  

Decluttering … The project I have learned to love

I know what you are thinking … I am one sick woman if I love to declutter.   I know … it means opening that junk drawer or looking in the back of the closet in that catch-all box and actually making decisions about what can stay and what should go.  But, I truly have learned to love the feeling of purging and the more open feeling when I look around the house and see “empty” areas.

What positive results, you might ask:

1. I can find things I truly need much more easily, since there are not a ton of things to look past before I find what I need.
2. I feel less stressed.  I always thought it was a myth that a less cluttered environment leads to a less stressful mind, but after a decade of working to declutter, I think it is true.
3. A local charity or your neighborhood garage sale folks, love you.
4. Your cats find new hiding places and toys they forget they had.

My husband helps … and here is how we make it more fun and not so daunting:

1. We set one day a weekend and we set aside 1-2 hours.
• We generally do this each weekend throughout the winter and by spring, the house is a bit less cluttered.
2. We usually start slow, with a cup of coffee and some news reading or tv watching before we start.
3. We start in one room … once the coffee kicks in.
4. We set up boxes for donation or a garage sale, and a box for trash.
5. We literally touch every item in the room - open ever cabinet, drawer or box - and make decisions about every item.
6. We try and eliminate at least a quarter of the items in the room. 
• Some rooms like the bathroom are tougher to do this for, but closets and junk drawers more than make up for the bathroom.
7. After 1-2 hours, we stop. 
• We clean up whatever mess is left.
• The full box(es) go to charity or into the garage for the sale later in the spring.
• The trash goes to the trash can.
• The partial boxes just go out of the way.
8. We then reward ourselves for a job well done.   We go out to lunch, catch an afternoon movie, or take a nap.
9. The next weekend we start wherever we left off.

Two other things we try and implement throughout the year, though we are not as good at these yet:

1. Put a donation box in the garage and put items in as we realize we don’t need them anymore.
2. Live by the “One in / One Out” rule.  If something new comes in, something must go in the donation box in the garage.

We are not 100% faithful about doing this every year in every room, but we have tried to get in the habit more and more as the years have gone by.   It makes a difference in our lives.  As with everything else, I see positive results happening in my life as a result of removing the clutter.