Menu Plan Monday 7 July 2008

Remember last week when I told you about that expensive sandwich in England?

Here's another one. This one cost 5 Euro (R60) in Clonakilty, Ireland.


Today I'm speaking to two groups of women in business on "how to manage your time and get the right things done".

I'll let you know how it goes - I'm sure it's going to be FABULOUS because this is my FAVOURITE speaking topic to my FAVOURITE type of audience so we are sure to have FUN FUN FUN :)

Can you tell I'm excited???

Tomorrow, I'm having an operation and they say I won't have to stay over *please pray that this is so* I've had this done twice before and the previous two times I had to stay the night which I hated.Anyway, because of that, my menu is very simple this week:

Monday
My usual stir-fried chicken, veggies and noodles. I made it last week with a satay sauce (really just a tablespoon of peanut butter per pan - I do each meal separately) which was SO DELICIOUS it was almost sinful :)

Tuesday
I'll be drugged on painkillers, probably. Dion will grab some leftovers...

Wed - Friday
I have some things in the freezer. The curry and rice from last week is still there, there are also some ready-made meals to just pop into the microwave. Normally I hate buying things like this - expensive and not as good as my cooking - but I'm taking it easy and focussing on getting well.

Any ideas for some REALLY quick meals? I won't be able to stand for very long periods...

Visit Laura for more menus (did you have a good holiday, Laura?) and have a great week!

Let's get your HOME OFFICE organised

You are invited to spend a few hours with me on 17 July.

At the end of the day you will have...

* a well-ordered, organised desk and office plan with clear zones
* a system to reduce your email overload
* an easy, step-by-step plan to prioritise your work
* at least 3 clear ways to make your computer do your common business tasks, automatically
* a clear, simple way to deal with all the paper
* ideas on how to maximise your office and storage space
* and much, much more

and of course, you have 60 days’ unlimited email support while you take action on your plan

Date: Thursday 17 July

Time: 12 - 4pm Eastern Standard Time/ 6 - 10pm South Africa Time

What do you need: Telephone and notebook


So how does this work?

Once you register and pay, I’ll send you all the call-in information plus the handbook for the day.

On the day, at the top of every hour, I’ll teach for 15 - 20 minutes and the rest of the hour, we (the entire class) will all action that section of our offices.

What are the sections we’ll tackle?

12pm How to organise your desk for maximum functionality and efficiency

1pm Clear the paper clutter and create a system for the flow of paper in your office

2pm Conquer your email, set up folders and organise your inbox

3pm Prioritise all your projects and develop a system for planning your month, week and day.

3:50 - 4pm Wrap-up and how to maintain your organised business

The best thing about this seminar is that you’re learning and doing so at the end of the day, you have a beautifully organised and functional office!

Have a read and see pictures of my own organised office here:
http://snipurl.com/2tver

(Important note - I'll throw in a FREE copy of my "7 easy steps to organise your office" for every person registering on or before Thursday 10th July - my way of rewarding you for TAKING ACTION)

If you'd like to attend but the date doesn't suit you, let me know and I'll email you when I do this again in about 6 weeks or so...

Best regards

Marcia Francois
Time management expert ~ Speaker ~ Author
If you want to get organised, please visit my website for your free Organising Success Pack

Tweaking your organising systems

One of the most important parts of organising is tweaking your systems.

It's perfectly normal to organise a space and find that it's not quite working the way you envisioned.

That doesn't mean you throw out the whole thing! Please don't do that :)

All you need to do is a little tweak here and there.

Like this:
The other night I was doing my whole face routine and realised that I was slightly irritated by a tiny cabinet above my basin. Remember, I have the dubious honour of having the smallest bathroom in the world. My Private Platinum Clients actually love seeing it - I should charge admission :o

This is how it looked before. There are tiny mirrored doors which open to the left and yet, I use the Yardley Oatmeal range on the left.


It took me about 5 seconds to do a quick tweak and move the bottles to the other side, like this:



Much better! Now when I slide the doors open, I can get to the moisturiser immediately and I don't have to slide the doors an extra 10 cm open.

It's about the small things. In the coaching world we also call these small things tolerations - they drain you just a little bit every time you think about it.

If there's a space that seems just slightly off to you, think about making a tweak here and a tweak there until it's organised just enough for your lifestyle.

What are you going to go tweak and re-organise?

Menu Plan Monday 30 June 2008

The Bay Cafe, Ambleside, Lake District - England

Let's see...1 ham sandwich, 1 portion of chips (yes, that's a portion - you'll see I took a bite out of the one if you look closely), 1 coffee and 1 tea for a total of £13 (R208).

I wanted a picture because for that same meal we'd pay about R50 in South Africa.

At the time I thought it was very expensive but I later realised that was NOTHING compared to Dublin :)

Weight loss

I've lost another 0.2kg. Slow and steady wins the race, right?! On the bright side, I went to gym THREE times this week (that's a miracle for me)

Anyway, onto this week's menu...

Monday

Stirfried chicken and veg in a satay sauce on noodles

Tuesday

Dion's night

Wednesday

Curry and rice with pumpkin

Thursday

D - fish and chips

M - healthy pizza and chips

Friday
Tomato soup; cheese and tomato toasted sandwiches

Questions

Please feel free to ask the organiser (that would be me) any questions and tell me if you want to remain anonymous or if you don't mind me posting it on the blog. Thank you kindly :)

And now, I'm off to put the finishing touches to the handbook for the Virtual Organising Seminar and then to bed :)

Have a lovely week, everybody, and here's to healthy eating!

Going vertical

Walls are probably the most under-utilised spaces in any home.

There are so many corners and dead space that can be easily put to good use if we just go vertical.

I picked up these calico and mesh organisers at Mr Price Home and they are just ready for me to organise keys, letters to post, and all that getting-out-of-the-house stuff. These things could very easily organise your launch pad.

You could use the bigger one for your children's school papers or bills to be paid.

How do you use vertical space in your home?

Travelling light - how to organise your clothes

This is how I usually travel for 4 - 5 days within South Africa. This is an actual picture of my luggage when we flew to PE for our anniversary last year.

(when I wrote those two sentences, it reminded me of the lady's voice on the London Underground. This is West Ham. This is a district line train to Upminster. If you haven't been on the Tube, you'll think I'm crazy).

Anywayyyy, and this is how we travelled to the UK and Ireland for 22 days in May 2008. The blue and grey bags are mine and the lime-green and red ones belong to Dion.



Aren't you impressed?

I never thought I'd EVER be able to travel like this. Never.

But wait!

We went on a 3-day trip from Dublin to Cork and surrounding towns (Kinsale, Clonakilty, etc.) and I only took the backpack! I know, I can hardly believe it myself.

Do you remember my super-duper plan to keep within the cabin luggage allowance of 15kg?

It worked.

I threw away decluttered 7 long-sleeved tops, 1 t-shirt, 4 pairs of socks, 2 books and of course, all the presents we took with us.

I was prepared to throw away some more stuff so I packed those right on the top in case they asked us to pay. Fortunately, I was only 0.8kg over so they didn't charge us anything.

I will definitely do this again when we travel because it worked for me.

How do you make sure you stay within the baggage allowance when you fly? Or do you just pay if your bags are too heavy?

How to have an AWESOME summer

Lighten Up Teleclass
July 8, 2008
5:00 pm Pacific / 8:00 pm Eastern

Do you remember the freedom, fun and aliveness of summer? The sun on your head as you ran. The breeze from the swings as you touched your feet to the sky.

Laughing so hard you rolled on the grass. Exploring places unknown. Creating adventures.

Those days seem long gone, now that we have the seriousness of making a living, taking care of people, paying the bills.

Wouldn't you like...

• to feel that joy again?


• to be relaxed instead of stressed?


• to be able to take a little time for yourself?


• to create an atmosphere of laughter in your home?


• to let go of striving and pressure for a bit?


• to say during Labor Day weekend, "That was a fantastic summer!"

Don't let this summer slip away from you again. We all need time to relax, reflect and lighten up.

Join Beth Dargis for her Lighten Up Teleclass:

http://www.mysimplerlife.com/lightenup.htm

Menu plan Monday 23 June

Marcia & Suzanne - Stirling, Scotland 14 May 08

Hi everybody

I thought I'd share a picture from Scotland - see above. Have you noticed how I've been sneaking pictures of my holiday on this and the other blog?

Notice that I'm dressed in winter woolies while Suzanne looks like she's enjoying a lovely summer day.

I kept saying to her, "are you sure you're warm enough?" :)

(She's from Phoenix, Arizona so she was enjoying Scotland's cold weather).

weight loss

Only managed gym once this week and have lost a further 0.2kg. I actually getting to the gym quite an achievement because it was the LAST thing I felt like doing on Thursday after my terrible day.

Home/ office organising challenge

You are all invited to join me while you organise your home or your office for the next 10 weeks. Read more here.

This week's menu
Monday
Spaghetti, mince (ground beef) and kidney bean casserole

Tuesday
Dion's night...

Wednesday
Curry, rice and pumpkin (BTW, that night in Scotland, I had a chicken biryani; Dion & Suzanne had a chicken korma)

Thursday
Baked potatoes with bolognaise sauce

Friday
Boerewors rolls and low-fat chips

What does your week look like?

P.S. I'm still looking for a graphic designer if you know of anybody suitable. Jade, if you're reading, when I clicked through to your blog, it said I have to be invited to read it so there was no way of contacting you. I'd love to see more of your work :)

Designer needed

Hi all

I'm looking for someone (or more than one person) to do some design work for me. I need the following things done:

1. HTML weekly ezine template
2. blog makeover for Organising Queen (this blog) and for Marcia's take charge blog

The reason I'm posting it here is I know there are many talented designers out there who YOU may know of. Or maybe it's YOU.

I also think my blog readers might "get" me and my personality better which means less back and forth about style and so on....

If possible, I'd like to exchange services for coaching/ organising/ products but otherwise I need a really good deal.

After all, I'm not raking in the mega bucks just yet :)

Anywayyyy, if you know of anyone or it's YOU, please leave me a comment or email me on marcia AT takechargesolutions DOT org.

Thank you kindly and goodnight!

Marcia

P.S. I have had THE MOST AWFUL day (crying, etc.) until a delightful interview this evening and then more crying! If you feel "led", would you please say a prayer for me? Thanks again!

Organising your CD listening

Please excuse the shockingly bad pictures - as you can see, with and without flash was equally bad!





















In an effort to overcome perfectionism, I am just posting them and trust that you'll still hear my message LOUD and CLEAR.

Anywayyyy, I have this weird tendency where I like all my CDs to be listened to equally so this is what I do.

(if the pictures were better, you'd be able to see but ...well...we do what we can)

One of my goals for the year is to listen to a worship CD every week. I'm not in the car very much because I work a mere 20 minutes from home, and I must listen to the news, so this is a real stretch sometimes.

So I take a CD to the car on Mondays usually and try and listen to it twice all the way through during the week. This is to keep me focussed on God and not on the other drivers cutting in front of me, etc.

On Fridays when I get home from work, I take the CD and return it to my CD rack, but upside down, with the writing facing the other way. So when I choose the new CD for the next week, I know immediately which ones I've already listened to.

And so on. And so on.

And when they're all the wrong way around, then I flip the whole rack (that's the kind of CD racks we have) and start all over again. Bear in mind that I only have about 15 worship CDs that I LOVE, so it's really not that complicated a system.

That's what works for me!