There’s something about a ringing phone that makes it the most compelling item in the room. When I was growing up, a ringing phone meant that someone you knew was trying to get in touch with you, so you answered it. Nowadays, however, the caller is most likely someone trying to sell you something. I’ve gotten into the habit of not answering my phone unless I know who it is. When I am out of the house and working with a client,…
Read more →I’ve always enjoyed catalog shopping. It was fun shopping from the comfort of my own home. My husband used to tease me about spending so much time waiting on the post office line to return packages. I told him it was better than standing on a fitting room line. When catalogs moved to the internet and the postal service starting picking up return packages, shopping from home became even more alluring. I don’t have to wait on line at the post office…
Read more →The word “routine” is often used in a derogatory way to describe repetitive activities that do not delight or inspire. But I’m a big fan of establishing routines. They enable us to free up our brains to concentrate on other things. After I finished graduate school, I moved into my first apartment and started a full-time job. During the first few months, I sometimes stopped myself on the way to the subway and went back home to make sure I had…
Read more →A few weeks ago, I attended the monthly meeting of the New York chapter of NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers). Our speaker that night was Christine Li, Ph.D., who bills herself as the Procrastination Coach. Her talk was very wittily entitled, “I’ll Procrastinate Later: Getting from Self-Talk to Self-Start”. She shared information that we can use with our clients, and I enjoyed her presentation. I’m guessing that we are not her typical audience, however. She was definitely preaching to the…
Read more →Like many residents of New York City, I don’t own a car. If I want to get somewhere, I can walk, use public transportation, or take a taxi (in ascending order of cost). Depending on the time of day and the distance, any one of those can be faster than the other two. NYC taxis became more convenient in recent years when they installed credit card machines. This made it much easier to pay without having to fumble for cash,…
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