The cost of disorganization is high. For instance?
•late fees on bills and credit card payments
•poor credit rating for late payments
•overnight fees for mailing time-sensitive information
•loss of early bird discounts
•time & money wasted on upkeep and maintenance of unnecessary stuff
•storage unit costs
•loss of non-convertible living space
•time & money wasted looking for or replacing misplaced items
•stress-related health issues

A recession is already a stressful time requiring more attention than usual to lessen the cost of disorganization and poor health fallout. The best part is it's totally preventable! Read the following 5 tips to see how.

#1: Think Lean: Cutting Financial Costs
It takes time to review your finances, it's tedious and no one wants to do it. It also takes a lot of organizing skills just to find and sort through papers, plan and schedule the related tasks.

It took me a few hours to find hardcopies or backup of all the financial information I wanted to review, putting it into a format I could make sense of and then implementing the cost cuts and adjustments I wanted to make. But after I finished I felt great and I succeeded in: cutting my car insurance by 30%, adjusting client billing rates, cancelling two recurring charges on my credit card, getting a better deal on my phone and internet service, buying cheaper health insurance, and narrowing my marketing plans. I'll save over $1,000.00 a year.

So getting lean is well worth the effort. If you'd like to give it a try, but don't know how to get started, contact me for a consultation on setting up a simple profile you can manage yourself.

#2: Think Thrift
What do you already have that you can use rather than buy new?
But wait! That doesn't mean go overboard by saving all your stuff unnecessarily - "just in case." During a recession you might need your living space more than you need your stuff. You may want to convert a spare bedroom, basement or garage into a home office or space for a renter. So thin out that unnecessary stuff by continuing to recycle and resell even if you reuse and repurpose.

For example - what do you do with those super old textbooks and encyclopedias from the 70's that ebay doesn't want, the library doesn't want and even freecycle.com turns down? Donate them to a large charity like the Salvation Army. They will donate the books to a recycler who assures that the entire book gets ground up. The books are recycled into cardboard and other low grade paper and not dumped in the landfill. The books are re-born into something useful, and everybody wins!

#3: Don't Freeze - Focus!
Getting focused is largely about what you choose not to do, rather than what you choose to do. It's a matter of setting aside other work or projects to concentrate on a priority, a kind of temporary clearing the deck of distractions so you can reach a goal. Getting focused is how we get things done. During a recession, there can be more things to get done than usual. Watching our money, making repairs rather than buying new, shopping with coupons - it all takes time. And sometimes the sheer volume of what we have to do makes us freeze right in our tracks.

#4: Health is Wealth now more than ever.
Stress over economic concerns and job worries wreaks havoc with your immune system and your health in general. Fast food sales skyrocket during these times as people (mistakenly) believe they are saving money and getting more bang for their buck. Eating cleanly and well does not have to be expensive. If you can't afford the health club or are cutting back, you can create a home gym for almost nothing and still get a fantastic workout in 30 minutes contact me to find out how. And walking - one of the best exercises in the world - is free. There are lots of hills in the Seattle area to help you firm up your quads and glutes in no time! Now more than ever you need to put yourself at the top of your own list!

#5: Get Closure and Just Do it.
Projects that never get completed and constant barrage of more and more tasks to do can really take their toll on you. I'm a big fan of closure. That means that if you take on a new volunteer obligation, finish the work on an old one and close it down. Closure also means be real about your daily to-do list. Why torture yourself with a long list you can't realistically accomplish? Instead of 30 items, put 20 on there and finish/complete/bring to closure 15 of them. Now, that's a good day!

Part of what generates our bottomless to-do list is the fact that we are "always on". Besides email, cell phones, and text messages, there is now Facebook, MySpace and Twitter generating more contact, more communication, and more action. "Always On" has its place and a huge positive side. But it can mean that your day swells up with even more things to do. If you're challenged to be productive now, adding more can put you over the top, physically and emotionally. Be smart about how you handle yourself. Remember, "Just because you can doesn't mean you should."

Sweat Out the Tough Times!

My prescription for these tough economic times is to strap on your running shoes, pick up some hand weights and work it out! These uncertain times have ramped up everyone's stress level - including mine! And while you can be tempted to become immobilized on the couch, fence, or whatever - you need to do exactly the opposite.

In fact there is no better time than right now to focus your energy on your body and on you - be selfish! I find my mental clarity shoots up several notches after I get those endorphins pumping through my blood. Right now I'm depending on working out to keep me sane. The uncertainty of the economy, business dropping off and the need to be ever more creative and focused place more demands on me than ever. For a while I started feeling like a worm on a hook, wriggling first one way and then another - but still stuck!

That's when I realized that life is simply sometimes just tough. You can't change it, but you don't have to be overwhelmed or defeated by it. Emotional and mental pain can do a number on your health - it will leave you without passion, motivation or confidence. That's why taking care of your health - eating supportively and working out regularly is SO IMPORTANT. It shows us that we do have control over our choices and outcomes. It's a powerful reminder that we can contribute in a constructive way to our own well being.

I believe you feel the most alone and overwhelmed in life when you're no longer participating in something meaningful. What these tough times are teaching me is that I am building a stronger, more confident me! When my lungs are screaming as I run an 8 minute mile, I'm not thinking about the negative and messy parts of my life. I'm building my self confidence and my self esteem. It's a commitment I make every day to keeping passion in my life.

Now it's more important than ever to keep moving! Get off the couch and give yourself the attention and care you deserve. I'm right here to help if you need me.