October 2008

THE ANTICRASTINATION TIP SHEET
From Rita Emmett
Author of The Procrastinator's Handbook
The Procrastinating Child
The Clutter-Busting Handbook and
soon to be released: Mange Your Time to Reduce Your Stress

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QUOTES FOR OCTOBER

There must be more to life than having everything. --- Maurice Sendak
Life is not a having and getting, but a being and a doing --- anonymous
Not what we have, but what we enjoy, constitutes our abundance. --- J. Petit-Senn
The wise man does not lay up his own treasures. The more he gives to others, the more he has found his own. --- Lao Tzu

You can find all the above quotes and more in The Clutter-Busting Handbook

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MESSAGE FROM RITA

Hi Everyone,

It's been a super-busy, super-fun time. I've been out of town a great deal and last week was thrilled to attend several events that lead up to receiving a "Distinguished Alumni Award" from my high school. Quite an honor and lots of fun. I thank my friends in Colorado, Diane Hansen and Kathy Teal, for nominating me.

Then yesterday, working in a recording studio, we wrapped up reading my upcoming book for the audio CD for McMillan Publishing. They plan to release the CD to book stores in December the same day as the book comes out. It's called Manage Your Time to Reduce Your Stress: A Handbook for the Overworked, Overscheduled and Overwhelmed". Think anyone will relate to that???

Now let's get to some thoughts on keeping clutter under control by setting boundaries.

Boundaries And Your Stuff

If you are an accumulator, if you snip articles out of papers, or purchase endless amounts of fabric or beads, or save vast amounts of nails or old cell phones or your children's art work. Or if you are crafty and you collect odd things that you "might use some day" (such as 583 empty toilet paper rolls), you need to set boundaries.

Keep these items in a container (a box, drawer, old coffee can) and set a boundary that when it fills up, instead of getting another container, you will empty out the old one. You and your child might not be able to say good-bye to a recent drawing, but when the art box fills up, you can dig to the bottom and select a few old ones that you can live without.

An accountant named Jamie empties out her box of fabric once a year; and every January, Carl, a financial advisor, empties out the drawer full of fabulous cartoons and weird stories that he has clipped from magazines and newspapers throughout the year. Both Jamie and Carl know that the box and drawer will fill up again in no time and they will never miss what they eliminated.

Clutter is a huge source of stress. We accumulate it by playing "mind games" such as "Somebody some day somewhere somehow might need this so I better save it".

Sometimes we need another "mind game" to counteract clutter. For example, another way to set boundaries is: whenever you purchase something new --- whether it's a tool, an outfit, jewelry or whatever --- get rid of something old. "A tie for a tie, a shoe for a shoe."

If you can't get yourself to cut back on what you accumulate, setting these boundaries or limits will help you keep your accumulations from taking over your home or office or... your life.

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Have You Tried One Of Our Fabulous Teleseminars Yet?

November 17 at 8 pm (Chicago time), Rita will interview Dr. Bill Hemmer in a teleclass called:

Are You Crazy Or Just Tired?

Have you ever thought you were crazy? You knew you had to be off the deep end to feel the way you do. No one in their right mind could feel like that, right?

Do you wake up just as tired as when you went to bed? Do you yawn all day and have problems focusing on tasks that used to be a piece of cake?
Join the Club. These problems are much more common than you think and are correctable.
Do you relate? Join us November 17 for answers and solutions.

Sign up here

If you have questions such as "What the heck is a teleseminar" click here

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