Organize to Thrive
Productivity Coaching, Time Management Consulting and Leadership Coaching for business and nonprofits - get your most important work done. Collaborating with leaders and their teams to become more strategic, focused and productive. Leadership and Board Coaching, Strategic Planning Facilitation, Productivity Coaching and Time Management Consulting, Professional Speaker.
Productivity Coach, Productivity Consultant, Leadership Coach, Time Management Coach, Business Consulting, personal productivity, time management, nonprofit, board coach, collaboration, strategic planning, facilitation, change management, leading productive teams, project planning, board development, volunteer engagement, association management, workplace productivity, executive director.
-1
archive,category,category-organizing,category-4,wp-theme-bridge,bridge-core-3.3.4.9,qode-page-transition-enabled,ajax_fade,page_not_loaded,,qode_grid_1200,footer_responsive_adv,qode-theme-ver-30.8.9.1,qode-theme-bridge,wpb-js-composer js-comp-ver-9.0.1,vc_responsive

Organize to Thrive

01 Jul

Posted at 21:58h in Leadership, Organize to Thrive, Productivity, Tech & Digital Clutter

Last week I worked with a client who had just received a well-deserved promotion. His new manager voiced one concern: she was worried he might miss something important in his email. He was smart, capable, and willing to work hard. But years of accumulated email made it difficult to distinguish what actually required his attention.

For years, my recommendation would have been straightforward: reduce the noise first. Archive older email that no longer requires action. Remove newsletters, completed projects, duplicate conversations, and information that belongs in a reference folder. Then work through what’s left and decide whether each email should be filed, deleted, or kept as an action item.

That process still works. But something has changed. Today, AI can help with routine sorting and review. Instead of manually combing through thousands of messages, AI can identify newsletters, group similar conversations, summarize long email threads, highlight messages that appear to require a response, and even suggest rules or filters to keep your inbox cleaner going forward.

Notice what AI isn’t doing. It isn’t deciding what matters. You are.

AI Changes the Work, Not the Principles.

I still believe the biggest reason people feel controlled by email, rather than in control of it, is that they keep too much in their inbox. The result? Stress increases, important emails get buried, and managers begin to worry that something important will slip through the cracks.

Here’s the core methodology: every email should fall into one of three classifications.

Classification Explanation Action
Trash I don’t need it anymore Delete it on the spot
Reference I might need it later File it in a folder (Outlook) or label (Gmail)
Action I need to do something with it soon Leave it in your inbox and organize it by priority (more on this later)

 Step 1: Clear obsolete emails from your inbox.

  • Email search has improved dramatically. You can usually find an old message when you need it, but keeping every searchable email in your inbox creates clutter and makes the inbox harder to manage. Instead, create one folder or label for older emails and move them there. The name does not matter; the goal is to give yourself one place to search later.
    • What to call it? It doesn’t matter. Call it what works for your brain: Old Inbox, Past Inbox, Past Emails, Reference…
    • How many old emails to move? For most people, anything more than a month or two old is no longer actionable. If two months feels safer to you, that’s perfectly fine. The goal isn’t to be perfect, it’s to get your inbox back to a manageable size. You’ll want to move a block of emails from your inbox into your Reference folder.
  • The goal is to clear the clutter as quickly as possible to give yourself a fighting chance to get your inbox under control. The more emails you leave in your inbox the more decisions you’ll have to make. Remember, you’re just moving where you search, it’s a waste of time to worry about processing them – we’re moving forward!
  • Move old emails in blocks. If you try to move too many at once, your computer may slow down or freeze, so try 100 or 200 at a time. To select a group, click one email, hold Shift, click another email, and then drag the selected block into your new Reference folder.
  • Sometimes Gmail may leave messages in your inbox if they still have the Inbox label. If that happens, ask AI how to remove the Inbox label after moving or archiving messages. The point is to clear your inbox, not just copy messages somewhere else.

Can AI help with this? Not much. This part is mostly mechanical: selecting older emails and moving them into one reference folder. The good news is that there is very little thinking involved. Put something not too compelling on TV, move emails in manageable batches, and remember: this is a once-and-done task.

Step 2: Processing what’s left in your inbox

Before AI:

  • Sort by sender and file or delete what’s no longer actionable.
  • Sort by subject and clean up duplicate or outdated threads.
  • Set up rules for recurring emails you need to keep but don’t need to see regularly, such as newsletters, shipping notifications, and receipts.
  • Organize what remains by priority.

With AI: Let AI become your assistant.  These AI prompts do not ask AI to make decisions for you. They ask AI to show you the landscape so you can decide faster.

  • Show me every newsletter I’ve never opened (then you decide: do you unsubscribe or make a rule to move it automatically out of your inbox into a folder.)
  • Group similar emails – instead of having to read and process 50 emails you can read 2 or 3 and decide on the action.
  • Find emails that require responses – let AI help you identify what’s actionable
  • Identify duplicate threads
  • Summarize long conversations
  • Suggest rules
  • Find commitments
  • Identify emails I’ve already answered that no longer require any action.
  • What kind of emails do I have left in my inbox? A few minutes later it returns this:
    • 212 newsletters
    • 43 receipts
    • 18 travel confirmations
    • 5 legal documents
    • 9 unanswered client emails
    • 7 commitments
    • 11 invoices awaiting payment

Instead of spending 90 minutes figuring out what’s in your inbox, you can spend those 90 minutes deciding what actually deserves your attention. Now you’re talking about priorities. That’s a huge shift.

Step 3: Respond in a timely manner

Stay on top of your emails daily and respond promptly to emails that need to be addressed today.

Before AI:

    • We’re going to sort your emails by priority (I love using categories for this, more details here, and if you love this idea, buy my book and read chapter 12) so you are working on the most important emails first.
    • Then you are going to take it one email at a time and respond… and respond…and respond

With AI:

    • I still love sorting by categories, so I know what to do first
    • Let AI help you draft a response. Instead of reading, thinking, and writing from scratch, give AI three key points you want to communicate and ask it to “write a concise response.”

Things I would never let AI do:

    • I would never let AI permanently decide about Delete – File – Action. Those are judgment decisions. You could, however, ask for recommendations.
      • AI suggests
      • Human decides

Other Things to consider:

    • When should you trust AI? Always verify.
    • How do you avoid becoming lazy? Let AI be your collaborator and editor.
    • Don’t ask it to think for you, ask it to think with you.
    • How do you keep your authentic voice? Over time AI will learn your style, however if something is important discipline yourself to write from scratch. Allow it to help you think… but then start a fresh document and start writing.

Connecting AI to your email

  • ChatGPT can now connect directly to supported email accounts for eligible plans. Claude is moving in this direction as well, and there are also dedicated AI email assistants. But whether someone can connect depends heavily on whether it’s a personal account or a company-managed account.
  • Personal Gmail or Outlook
    • This is the easiest.
    • A user goes into ChatGPT Settings → Connectors (or Apps, depending on the interface), signs into Gmail or Outlook, grants permission, and then ChatGPT can search, summarize, and reference their mailbox when asked. It can also work with calendars and contacts if those connectors are enabled.
    • For example, someone could ask:
      • “What emails require a reply?”
      • “Summarize everything from Susan over the last two weeks.”
      • “Find invoices I haven’t responded to.”
      • “What commitments did I make yesterday?”
    • That’s a very different experience than copying and pasting emails into ChatGPT.
  • Corporate Accounts
    • Many companies don’t allow employees to simply connect AI to corporate email. But those companies do have corporate AI tools that are integrated and approved. If your company uses ChatGPT Enterprise, you can connect through that. If your company uses Microsoft Copilot, you can connect through that. If your company uses Google Gemini, you can connect through that.  Ask your IT department which AI tools are approved in your organization, then ask that AI assistant how to connect to your email.

AI is changing how we work, but it isn’t changing the fundamentals of productivity.

Your inbox still needs a trusted system. Your priorities still require judgment. Your relationships still deserve thoughtful responses.

Let AI handle more of the organizing so you can spend more time making good decisions.

Want to Build an Email System That Actually Works?

AI is changing how we process information, but it doesn’t replace the need for a trusted productivity system. In Productivity for How You’re Wired, I walk you through the complete email methodology—including how to reduce inbox clutter, organize actionable email, create sustainable systems, and build productivity habits that fit how you’re wired. The technology will continue to evolve. The principles won’t. If you’re ready to create a calmer, more intentional way of working, you’ll find practical strategies you can use immediately. Available wherever books are sold, including Amazon in print, eBook, and audio.

18 Mar

Posted at 11:27h in Attention Managment, Focus and Prioritize, Organize to Thrive, Tips for Easier Living

While I don’t consider myself an ADHD coach, over the years in my work as a professional organizer, coach, and productivity trainer I’ve had a great deal of training and learned a lot about supporting clients who live with ADHD and other executive function challenges. Although I haven’t worked hands-on in clients’ physical spaces since before the pandemic — hard to believe that’s now six years ago — I spent two decades organizing homes and offices after launching my business in 2001. I added coaching to my practice in 2008 and began fully integrating organizing and coaching work in 2011.

Recently, a colleague invited me to present on organizing at the International ADHD Virtual Conference. Preparing for that session reminded me that many of the principles I’ve taught for years are especially helpful for people whose brains process decisions, structure, and follow-through differently.

Here are a few highlights — ideas that can help anyone create systems that make life easier.

  • When people think about getting organized, they often imagine labeled bins, color-coded planners, or picture-perfect spaces. But real organization — the kind that truly supports your life — isn’t about aesthetics. It’s about reducing friction.
  • Being organized is not a personality trait or a moral virtue. It’s a quality-of-life strategy. It reduces stress, saves time, and prevents unnecessary frustration so you can direct your energy toward what matters most. Small systems make a big difference. Something as simple as consistently putting your keys in the same place can eliminate daily stress. These practical habits reduce frition and create calm and reliability in otherwise busy lives.
  • When you make a decision to do something, pause and ask yourself “how am I going to remember to remember?”  It could be to put the box in front of the front door so you see it when you leave, or to set an alarm, or to put a note in your chair that you have to pick up to sit down.  But it has to be something! Your brain works off of cues, and if there is no cue to remember it’s just not going to happen.
  • A major reason organizing systems fail is that they don’t match how people are naturally wired. Each of us has a different structure preference — the amount of order and routine we need to function well. Some thrive with highly structured systems; others feel overwhelmed by too many rules. Many do best with moderate structure: enough clarity to support action, but not so much that it creates resistance. Understanding your structure preference helps you design systems that work with your behavior rather than against it. The goal is not perfection. The goal is usability.
  • This is why I often say: If it’s not easy, it’s too hard. Systems that require excessive decisions, effort, or maintenance rarely last. Simplifying processes — and limiting choices — conserves mental energy and improves follow-through.
  • A great example of this is underestimating how long tasks take. We tend to think only about the active portion — the meeting, the errand, the project work — and overlook preparation and cleanup. Planning for the full arc of a task reduces stress and creates more realistic expectations…and reduces friction because we anticipate more realistically.

Ultimately, organizing is not just about managing physical space. It is a foundational element of personal and professional productivity. When your environment supports your workflow, decision-making becomes easier, priorities become clearer, and momentum becomes more sustainable. Whether at home or at work, thoughtful organizing creates the conditions for better focus, stronger execution, and more intentional use of time and energy.

Where Can You Reduce Friction?

If you’d like more specific ideas, my book , Productivity for How You’re Wired, offers practical tools and insights to help you design systems that support the way you think, work, and live. Available on Amazon in print, eBook, and audio.

05 Jun

Posted at 19:22h in Organize to Thrive, Planning Tools, Productivity, Stress Management, Time Management

To Do List Magic

We all know we should occasionally organize our closets, and kitchens, and paper piles, but have you ever considered giving your To-Do or Task List a thorough reorganization? The results can be just as transformational. 

Before becoming a Productivity Coach, I spent years as a Professional Organizer, helping clients clear physical clutter. I discovered that truly lasting results come from a deliberate, step-by-step process:

  1. Remove EVERYTHING from the space (or section).
  2. Make intentional decisions about what to do with each item. Organizing expert Judith Kolberg introduced the concept of sorting items into three categories: friends, strangers, and acquaintances.
    • Friends go BACK into the space
    • Strangers are donated, recycled, or discarded
    • Acquaintances go into a holding zone (storage — just in case) or are returned if there’s room 

Making intentional choices about every single item—and being VERY purposeful about what occupies your valuable space—is genuinely MAGICAL. I can tell you if I go to organize my junk drawer (or any space) and open the drawer and ask myself – is there anything here that should go, I get an average result that lasts a few weeks or months. However, if I remove everything – and deliberately return the things-that-really-matter, my organization lasts a good year or more.  Try it – it’s amazing how effective it is!

But do we do this with our To DO Lists?  It’s tempting to stick with our usual weekly reviews, but just as our physical spaces benefit from an annual deep re-org, your digital or paper task list deserves the same attention. I recently did a full Task List overhaul myself, and here’s how I did it:

  1. I keep my Task List on a Google Sheet (as discussed here.)
  2. I made a backup copy, just in case.
  3. I added a new column and transferred EVERYTHING from my Critical/Hot/Sooner/Later/Waiting lists into that column.
  4. Then, I sorted and redistributed each item back into the appropriate category.
  5. I also cleaned up my sub-lists—professional development, major purchases, blog ideas, tech tools, tasks in progress with my VA—and deleted many obsolete or unnecessary items.

The result? A clean, focused, manageable list that clearly highlights what’s most important. Removing clutter is not just liberating—it drastically reduces stress and increases clarity.

A few key insights:

  • Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. Does that task advance your goals or support someone important? If not, is it worth your precious time?
  • When everything feels urgent or important, nothing truly is. Time is finite—every “yes” to the unimportant takes away from what truly matters.
  • As Brené Brown reminds us, feeling resentment often signals that a task should come off your list.
  • Remember: what was a priority last week or last month may no longer be relevant today. Priorities shift, and highly productive people are ruthless about removing unnecessary tasks.

So, what will you REMOVE today?

If you enjoy my blog, you’ll love the insights in my book, Productivity for How You’re Wired, available on Audible, in print, and as an ebook all on Amazon.

20 Dec

Posted at 08:45h in Organize to Thrive, Productivity, Productivity for Leaders, Time Management, Tips for Easier Living

 

healthy productivity

It’s a hard time of year to be productive.  There are so many distractions!  Instead of trying to do it all, how about doing what you have to do well, and setting yourself up to have a truly healthy and happy holiday season.

Be realistic about how much you can get done between Thanksgiving and New Year’s and create a plan to get it done:

  • Use your to do list to support you in identifying the work that has to get done
    • While I’m a HUGE fan or organizing your list in order of priority I know some of you chose other approaches.
    • Simple solution – use your Sharpies for colored stars – red for “must be done before Christmas” and green for “would love to do before Christmas.”
  • Set deadlines on your important work – those red star projects. Then assess
    • Can I get this all done and still do everything else I want to do (parties, shopping, decorating)?
    • If not, reassess and be realistic about what you can really accomplish
  • Choose non-essential work carefully – don’t have unrealistic expectations
    • Ask yourself “what’s the worst thing that would happen if I don’t do this before New Year’s?”

Protect your off-time. When not at work or working:

  • Know that your office won’t fall apart if you don’t check your email
  • If you check your email and there is something you want to do, do it and get it done, but don’t feel like you have to do more than that.
  • Stay present – remove the temptation of distraction
    • When out or doing something fun, use the Do Not Disturb on your phone
    • Keep your phone in your purse or pocket… or gasp (leave it in another room, in the car or somewhere out of reach!)

Prep for an easier reentry:

  • Going out of town or taking a few days off? Prep for leaving.  Coming back to a clean slate, both physically and digitally, will help you get back into action much more quickly. Before you leave, take an extra hour or two to:
    • Clear your desk
      • Throw your trash/recycling away
      • File papers you want to keep for future reference
      • Put your current projects into their own folders and set them in a project file holder
    • Clear your email inbox
      • Delete the trash (yes – get the JUNK out of your inbox!)
      • File emails you want to keep for future reference (Make a 2019 folder and put it all there…)
      • The only thing left in your inbox will be things you need to address when you get back. Now you have a fighting chance!
    • Work harder to finish your “must do before Christmas” so you can take time off and really relax and enjoy yourself.

Wishing you a healthy and productive holiday season.

25 Nov

Posted at 11:36h in Organize to Thrive, Productivity, Productivity for Leaders, Time Management, Tips for Easier Living

  1. Google Calendar
    • Because it syncs flawlessly with my iPhone.
    • Because of the new REMINDER feature that reminds me of tasks I need to do on a specific day.
    • Because I can paste a phone # or Zoom link into the location field.
  2. Apple Watch
    • Because I can keep my phone on silent and my wrist vibrates when I have a call or text.
    • Because I can quickly find my iPhone at any time by pressing one button (iPhone pings!)
    • Because I now don’t need to have my phone with me all the time.
      • I really value that I can get help or be reached in the case of an emergency.
      • And I love that I don’t have to carry a pocketbook and can pay for things with Apple Pay.
  3.  Evernote
    • Because it’s easy to manage my tasks and change my categories as needed.
    • Because it’s easy to manage a project in a note.
    • Because it’s easy to find the notes I take!

Productivity Tools I WANT for Hanukkah/Christmas – The ability to mark my texts as UNREAD….The ability to mark my texts as UNREAD…The ability to mark my texts as UNREAD…The ability to mark my texts as UNREAD….

11 Feb

Posted at 23:58h in Focus and Prioritize, Organize to Thrive, Productivity, Time Management, Tips for Easier Living

Most people rely on their internal compass to get their important tasks done. But what happens when that internal compass doesn’t motivate you ENOUGH for you to get started?

Sometimes deadlines or bosses exert enough external pressure to complete the task, but other times even that isn’t enough. Add to this, that the more time passes, the worse the incomplete tasks make you feel, and the task becomes even more daunting.

How can you get those daunting tasks done? (more…)