Articles by month: August 2017

I have a teenager who is starting college. He is disorganized and doesn’t know what he can or should take with him for his dorm room, and how to manage his schedule, and do things like laundry and homework without help. What can you suggest? – Worried Mom

I am a college student and I am repeatedly late with getting papers done and turning in homework. I should have plenty of time, but I really do procrastinate. I spend a lot of my time on YouTube and Facebook doing nothing in particular. I don't know if you have any ideas about how I can deal with this. - Wasting Time in College

I am rather disorganized but my biggest problem seems to be in making decisions. I get completely overwhelmed and stuck. I cannot decide what to do first, if I should attend an event, whether I should purchase an item. Do you have any good advice to help me make choices more easily? - Decision-challenged

What do I do with all my books? They are everywhere. I love to read, but cannot possibly hold onto all the books I now have. I really don't like to get rid of my books. What do you suggest for this problem? - Bookworm

I read somewhere that one of the biggest time-wasters is procrastination, but I think it is disorganization. Which is it?

Signed, Disorganized Procrastinator

I have previously written about the benefits of becoming organized, so here I am going to specifically discuss how keeping a disorganized household is a huge time-waster. It robs you of time: time to work on important and worthwhile projects, time with family or friends, time to regroup and decompress, and time to play.

Procrastination is not only a huge time-waster, but a stress-inducer as well.

In an often-told tale that goes something like this, a Native American elder once described his inner struggles to a friend:

The Internet, a wonderful tool that allows us to retrieve information in seconds, can also rob us of hours if we are not careful. Have you ever looked something up and found yourself reading countless other articles by following link after link of fascinating data? I know I have! There is so much to see, and it is so easy to get to that it is tempting to just read and read and read. How do we stop?

Life is full of interruptions and always will be. That's what happens when you live among other humans. How we respond to it is another thing. While the interruption may not be entirely in our control, how we handle it is.

Every year I freak out around the holiday time and I really would rather not do that. I overdo it, even though I tell myself not to, and I don't really enjoy it as much as I would like because I am running around doing way more than I can handle. Any hints you could provide would be wonderful! - Stressed Out for the Holidays