Buttoned Up » Everyday Life

Entrepreneurs: organize your to-do lists to boost revenue!

Sarah — Fri, 24 May 2013 23:10:05 +0000

One of the most interesting things I have learned from leading both the boot camps and the one-on-one organizational coaching is that we have an awful lot of entrepreneurs following buttoned up – from Lia Sophia sellers to gift shop owners, financial planners, and everything in-between. It makes sense – you’ve got a lot on your plate…so the more organized you are, the more likely you are to succeed.

That’s why when I came across the headline: How Your To-Do List Can Boost Your Bottom Line in Entrepreneur magazine, I felt compelled to share it here.

The post had me at hello with the statement that successful entrepreneurs tend work smarter, not harder. As many of you know, I’m a firm believer in the power of focus and the importance of lists (ahem, cultivated during a weekly strategy session) to get there. And then they went on to give six great ways to tweak your to-do list so that you actually do that. Here’s their first tip:

Monetize your to-do list. Determine the financial value of completing every task on your list, then write those dollar amounts next to the corresponding items.

For example, if the task is to prepare a proposal to land a $150,000 contract, write “Finish Proposal ($150,000).” If the task is to return a phone call from your number-one customer, who generates $1 million in annual sales, write: “Return Mary’s phone call ($1 million).”

Genius, right? Nothing like assigning monetary value to your efforts. Once you’ve given your task a meaningful value, the author advises that you sort them from highest to lowest, divide the list in half and focus 80% of your time (4 days) on the top half, and the remainder of the time on the bottom half.

Read the article here to get five more great ideas.

As the author eloquently noted,

To get extreme results from less work, you need to be willing to sacrifice good opportunities to focus intensely on great ones.

Using financial value as an organizing principle is a fresh and compelling way to ensure you do just that.

What techniques do you use to focus on what really matters in your business?

18 ways to simplify this summer

Sarah — Fri, 24 May 2013 18:47:27 +0000

1. Map out your schedule

Summers typically mean more free-form schedules, especially if you have school-aged kids. Take some time NOW, before summer revs up to map out a basic weekly routine so you aren’t constantly scrambling.

2. Pick a uniform

Rumor has it you only wear 10-20% of the clothes in your closet. Why not make getting dressed a little easier by picking a summer uniform set. A simple pair of dress-up/dress-down chinos, 3 or so colorful shirts and a go-with-everything cardigan.

3. Keep a stocked trunk

Always be ready to hit the beach or the park. Keep a bag of sand toys (for kids and/or grownups) in the trunk so that no matter where you are – you’re ready to play! We’ve done this for 3 summers in a row, keeping things in a blue Ikea bag. It’s been one of the smartest things we’ve ever done.

4. Turn off your smartphone after 6pm

How often do you have your nose in your smartphone in the name of “productivity?” And (be honest) how often are you truly doing something productive on it? Research shows that turning off and giving your mind a break from the constant barrage of new information & messages actually makes you more productive in the long run.

5. Grill more

Cooking dinner on the grill is easy. And delicious. And best of all – less cleanup!

6. Skip the gym

Head outside instead.

7. Allow screen time on Friday nights only

We all consume entirely too much media. Set a set day of the week where screens are allowed, like Friday evenings from 6-8pm. Having that “rule” makes it easy to eliminate nagging from kids, which means you’re stressed less. Send them out to play or to read a book instead.

8. Shop at the farmer’s market & order non-perishables online

Shopping at a farmer’s market is a lively activity! So much more fun than the grocery store. Shop for your produce, eggs, bread and such there and purchase all of your other groceries & personal goods online if you can.

9. Make salads for dinner

Salads are easy to whip up and delicious. This Avocado Wasabi Salad from VeganYumYum looks mouth-wateringly good!

10. Have a garage sale

Get rid of the stuff you no longer need – and put some cash in your pocket to boot!

11. Skip the manicure

Manicures are nice every once in awhile. But they don’t stay looking perfect for long if you’re an active person, which means you have to stay on top of it, which means 1 hour less per week of productivity.

12. Go for a walk every evening after dinner

Instead of turning on the boob-tube, head outside after dinner every night that it’s sunny and go for a stroll. It’s relaxing, good for you – and likely to clear your head so you sleep better too.

13. Focus on 3

Stop using your laundry list of things to-do as your to-do list. At the start of each day, write down the THREE things that you absolutely, positively must get done!

14. Pack light

If you only wear 10-20% of your wardrobe anyway – streamline what you pack. Make sure everything can be worn with at least 2 other items.

15. Make a summer bucket list

get clear on what you want to do before summer is over. Having a list to work from will make you more likely to actually DO it! I love this one from The Happy Family Movement.

16. Be a local tourist

Chances are your local area has a lot of interesting things to offer. Put your tourist hat on and discover parts of your town or region with fresh “tourist” eyes and skip the far-flung travels.

17. Only say yes when you REALLY mean it

This one sounds hard, but is easy if you have a standard “no” response at the ready for politely declining invitations to do things that you don’t REALLY want to do. The two scripts I have at the ready are, “My heart says yes but my calendar says no” and “We’d love to, but that’s not going to work for us I’m afraid.”

18. Go 30 days without buying anything new (except food)

Can you do it? I’m thinking of setting July as the buy nothing new month in our household.

What kinds of things do you do to simplify life in the summer?

Tool: Habit Forming Interactive Printable

Sarah — Thu, 23 May 2013 18:02:51 +0000

Your journey to a better you begins and ends with habits.

Unless you learn to harness their power, you’ll always be at their mercy and on your back foot. Use this chart to track your daily progress. Believe it or not, making note of your small wins — sets in motion other small wins, which ensures you continuously improve. And you thought sticker charts were just for kids! With this interactive form, you can type in your list (in Adobe Reader) & print it out OR print it out first and fill out by hand. However you use it — it’s an endless supply!

Only $0.95! Buy Now

4 ways to dress up dinner with mango salsa

Sarah — Mon, 20 May 2013 05:38:07 +0000

I’ll admit it, I’m a tad obsessed.

I’ve got it bad for mango salsa.

Ever since I made it with my own two hands for the first time last summer, I simply have to have it at least once a month. I love how easy it is to whip together. I love how the juicy sweet-yet-tart mango bits add burst of technicolor flavor to otherwise basic fish, chicken, shrimp, and well, pretty much everything else.

I love how the cooling-yet-complex cilantro adds a bit of Caribbean flavor. And I love the added zip the lime juice provides.

But most of all – I love seeing my boys inhale spoonfuls of it, and whatever I’ve put it on, and gobble it up.

They eat it on fish (which means they eat fish!). They eat it on chicken (which means they eat chicken!). They eats it on rice and beans (which means they eat rice & beans!).

You get my drift.

It’s been so wonderful to see their palates expand beyond bland.

My Recipe & Instructions
Seven minutes is all you need to whip up this magical concoction. Oh, and 1 ripe mango, 2 limes, a small bunch of cilantro, 1/2 an onion, and salt.

Dice the mango (if you need a mango tutorial like I did, this one from Simply Recipes a good one), squeeze the juice out of the 2 limes, chop the cilantro and the onion. Dump all the ingredients into a bowl and stir. Add salt to taste. Add more cilantro to taste (I usually use about 1/3 of the cilantro from the big bunch I get at the local farmer’s market).

You can prepare it ahead of time…or not. I’ve tried it both ways and it’s always delicious.

Here are four fabulous variations on the theme from talented food bloggers I follow (and think everyone else should too).

Kiwi Mango Salsa via Iowa Girl Eats (yes, as a fellow, or rather, former Iowan – I can attest mango salsa is definitely not just a coastal thing)

Cucumber Mango Salsa via Imperfect Homemaking

Avocado Mango Salsa via Pinch of Yum

Spicy Mango Salsa via Skinny Taste

Have you ever become obsessed with a food like me? What was it? Have you ever tried mango salsa – if not, what are you waiting for?

New printable: interactive diet & fitness tracker

Sarah — Mon, 20 May 2013 04:46:04 +0000

Keep track of calories in & out with this interactive daily diet & fitness tracker.

Research shows that people who keep track of what they eat and how often they exercise lose more weight in the long run than people who don’t. With this interactive form, you can type in your calories in and calories burned (in Adobe Reader) & print it out OR print it out first and fill out by hand. However you use it — it’s bound to help you stay on track!

Only $0.95!

Click here to buy

7 easy ways to update & organize kids rooms

Sarah — Wed, 15 May 2013 04:35:42 +0000

My three-year-old has an awkward bedroom.

The problem is, it’s a nursery and he’s just not a baby anymore (no matter how much I try to pretend otherwise). Since we don’t think we’ll be having any more little ones, we’re starting to think about changing the decor a bit to make it more suitable for a big boy.

What to do? I don’t have a large budget, but am looking for ways to take his room from nursery to little boy’s room.

I went searching for ideas and found 7 darling ideas that won’t break the bank AND that I can probably do myself!

Use a wagon to store & organize books. This is also a great idea if existing bookshelves are bursting at the seams like our son’s.

Use scrapbook paper to add a pop of color and cheer to the back of a hanging cube shelf. Not only does this look great – but it adds useful storage space as well for the nick-knacks of childhood.

Paint the walls a fun color and then add decals. Although I’m deeply skeptical of my crafting abilities, I think I could manage this. And this blogger Grinning Cheek to Cheek has a special discount for Wonderful Walls Stickers on her site.

Use 3 bookcases – two upright, one on its side – to create a reading bench. Simple AND what’s not to like about all that extra storage!

I never would have thought to use cloth-covered pinboards to decorate a child’s room — I always think of them in the kitchen or home office. But in reality, it’s a genius move. Not only would a row of these add a grown-up touch, but they are the perfect way to display photos and artwork too.

Spray paint an old mailbox, stencil on your child’s name — and voila — instant spot for their backpack and those little random pieces of paper. Plus it would be fun to drop in a little love note now & then too.

What kinds of simple things have you done to transform a nursery into a functional child’s room? I’ll take any ideas you have!

By popular demand: our #1 tool is now interactive!

Sarah — Fri, 10 May 2013 01:09:17 +0000

Stay on top of where you need to be and which tasks absolutely, positively must get done today with this Daily Schedule Form.

We’ve been blown away over the past year just how many tens of thousands of downloads and Pinterest love this daily schedule form has gotten. Many hundreds have ~~asked~~ begged us to create an interactive version so that they could type in their lists.

Well, if you’re an addict of this form and were hoping we’d develop an interactive version – today’s you’re lucky day! With this interactive form, you can type in your list (in Adobe Reader) & print it out OR print it out first and fill out by hand. However you use it — it’s an endless supply!

Only $0.95!

Click here to buy

6 cures for I’m-too-busy-itis

Sarah — Thu, 09 May 2013 14:04:18 +0000

When was the last time you just stopped what you were doing, turned off distractions, and just spent some real, quality time with your family? Or even just one-on-one time with a child?

I don’t know about you, but my mind and body have a tendency to be on full-throttle from the moment my alarm clock (a.k.a. my 3 YO) buzzes at me until the moment my head hits the pillow at around 11:30pm.

Wake up to 3YO dancing on my head, realize his night pull up leaked, change him, throw dirty pajamas in the hamper, realize hamper is full so grab laundry bag, throw in a load on the way downstairs, get breakfast going, pack lunches, wake up sleeping beauties, and on and on I go cycling through an arm’s length to-do list. As soon as one task is crossed off, another jumps on the list to take its place.

Sound familiar?

The upside is that it feels productive. That’s always nice, especially if your days are filled with chasing after unpredictable little people. We all need to feel like we’re accomplishing something.

The only problem is that it’s so easy to get so stuck in the doing that you stop being.

As a mom, I am frequently guilty of getting so caught up in the work-dinner-activity-grocery shopping-shuffle that I cheat my boys – and myself – out of the little moments. Moments where I’ve got 42 pounds of cuteness on my lap, a nose full of Burt’s Bees-scented hair, and am wondering aloud how on earth those pretty colors got inside that big glitter-filled ball as my son turns it around in his chubby fingers.

Over the past six months I’ve been making an effort to switch off the list-driven me at regular-ish intervals. The image above is from one of those moments with my little guy (we’re goofing off at a Monster Truck show).

Here are 6 tricks that are working really, really well.

Start your day with gratitude

Before heading downstairs to start the breakfast prep, I close my eyes and pick one thing about each family member that makes me feel really lucky. It takes about 30 seconds, but it has made a profound difference.

Sharing lunch packing duties with my better half

Put the question: “what kind of mom do I want to be today?” at the top of my physical to-do list

Try to get down on my knees and really look at my boys in their eyes when they ask me an earnest question about something

Limiting laundry duty to three days a week

Monday and Friday for the boys, Sunday for mom and dad.

Limiting screen time to Friday night

It’s a rule that keep ME from pushing the easy button too many times. My iPhone counts as a screen.

How about you? Do you get stuck in the busy-itis rut? I’m curious what kinds of things you do that snap you out of that go-go-go mode and center your attention on what’s truly important. Please share!

Must-have organizational invention: Sugar Snap Files

Sarah — Fri, 03 May 2013 15:56:31 +0000

Disclosure: Scan Snap Files are a sponsor of ours. The views about the product are , of course, 100% my own & totally honest. As you’ve probably noticed by the dearth of product reviews on this site, I’m pretty picky about what products I choose to review. This made the cut!

Most moms I know with babies under a year old are pretty darn frazzled. Chronic sleep deprivation = mom brain. And mom brain gets in the way of being buttoned up.

Every Mom’s Organizational Challenge

Whether it’s your first or your fifth, juggling the million and one things that need to be ported everywhere (wipes, diapers, snacks, drinks, extra clothes, lotions, and potions) is mind-boggling.

I can remember staring in disbelief at my poor overstuffed Vera Bradley bag wondering how I could cram in a few more items. It was a total mess. When I needed something – a diaper, a new onsie – I would waste ridiculous amounts of time rooting around for it. Then I’d give up on propriety and dump out the entire contents so I could get to what I needed.

And on those days I had to leave the diaper bag packing in my husband’s hands? Fughedabboudit. The neurotic mother in me would get a little crazy making checklist after checklist for him. Because if I didn’t, we’d invariably be stranded somewhere without the exact item we needed and have to rush out and buy a quick replacement.

Our diaper bag was dysfunctional to the max.

The Cure For Messy Diaper Bag

I can’t quite remember where I saw the SugarSNAP Files for the first time. But one glance and I knew. To borrow a phrase from my favorite movie When Harry Met Sally, “I knew the way you know about a good melon.”

The founders jokingly refer to the typical diaper bag “situation” (like the one I described above) as the “Burmuda Triangle.” And they’re on a mission to save other moms from that fate.

So they created SugarSnap Files.

What are they? Quite simply – a filing system for all of those diaper bag items! There are five lightweight mesh bags with a patterned backing in each set. Each bag in the set acts in much the same way file folders act in your drawers. Only they hold baby gear. Each bag in the set has a labeled tab that makes it easy to see what’s inside when peering in from the top of a bag. They also can be hooked and unhooked from a master ring as needed.

Oh – and they have a laminated diaper bag checklist – ideal for dads everywhere.

I love enterprising women creating amazing new things. And this filing system for diaper bags is nothing short of amazing. I got one in the mail to test and it honestly made me very sad these weren’t around when my boys were still little.

If you are expecting or know someone who is — this is a must-have. I’m personally going to stock up on these as baby shower gifts. Unique. Beautifully constructed. And perfect for both Type-A AND Type-B moms.

What do you do to organize your bag?

Tool: Grocery List Interactive Printable

Sarah — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:24:50 +0000

Who hasn’t wandered blindly at the grocery store, trying to remember what to buy?

Buttoned Up’s simple grocery list makes it easy to keep track of the items you’re out of so that when it’s time to hit the grocery store, you’re sure to be a model of efficiency. With this interactive form, you can type in your list (in Adobe Reader) & print it out OR print it out first and fill out by hand. However you use it — it’s an endless supply!

Only $0.95!

Click here to buy