Putting things back - examples

Spring work: A couple of days ago, I went over to my son's place to help with some spring stuff. I took some tools along for the spring maintenance on their lawnmower - changing the oil, sharpening the blade, cleaning the air filter. And of course, I had to have my 4-year-old grandson help me. He loves to help Grandpa. As I finished the first task, my daughter-in-law asked, "While you're at it, could you check the weed eater and blower." Then I got in on some trimming that was too high for her to reach. It was one of those perfect spring days, so being outdoors was enjoyable and the work was satisfying. Accomplishment feels good. I ended up spending so much time there that I didn't get my own lawnmower cleaned up. I got that done yesterday.

Put them back: The point I'm getting to is about putting things back when you are done. As soon as I got home I took the tools out of my temporary tool box that I use to transport tools and put them back where I store them. A while back I didn't do that, then couldn't find some tools I wanted to use. I finally remembered they were still in the transport tool box. By taking them out right away and putting them back, I will be able to find them next time I need them. I sometimes feel lazy and want to put it off until later. Then I forget. It is much better to do it right away.

This includes toys: When I came back home, I brought the 4-year-old with me. We played a while until the rest of the family joined us for dinner. Then we went for a walk which included a tricycle and wagon. At the end of the night there were toys out in various places. My wife reminded me that they needed to be picked up. Suddenly that seemed like a lot of work. I was tired from the outdoor work. I wanted to pretend that I didn't know where all the toys are supposed to be. But in the end, they were all put back. Now the grandsons will be able to find them when they come over next time. Because they always expect them to be in the same place. They know right where to go to find something. My wife is very organized, and her "insistence" that the toys be put back helps keep our house neat and tidy. And it is a safety thing. If we get up in the middle of the night, we won't be tripping over toys. So I'm not complaining. (My wife just read this and said, "Not complaining! The whole thing looks like whining to me!") She just doesn't understand. :)

Organize your passwords

Passwords have become so important in our age of growing security concerns. Many sites require login information including a user ID and password. Each site has its own requirements as far as what letters and numbers may be used for IDs and passwords.

Why not just use the same passwords for all accounts? I used to wish I could use the same user ID and password for every site and program. That sure makes them easier to remember. However, various sites have different requirements. Some require only letters, some a combination of letters and numbers. Some can be only five characters, while others must be at least six or more. So the same ID and password doesn't even work for every site. At the same time, I've realized that if I use only one ID and password for all accounts, and someone somehow gets my ID and password, they then have the key to all my files and information. I have heard of people getting their password stolen and losing a lot of information off of their computers because of it. So it seems to be a good security measure to use different passwords for various files, sites, and programs.

Remembering them becomes a problem. I now have a bunch of user IDs and passwords. Some I have remembered to write down. Some I think I will surely remember. But with slight variations of my main ID and password to fit different requirements, it is becoming harder and harder to remember which one goes with each account. It often takes trial and error to match the right one. I started keeping a simple note file on my computer of all my IDs and passwords. Then I realized if someone were to get that file, it would not be good. I started writing them down on paper which is alright as long as I don't lose the paper or it doesn't get into the wrong hands. If our house was broken into and my computer stolen, they would have a handy list of my passwords to take with them. That doesn't sound that good either.

Internet Explorer stores them. Oh no! Do you remember that handy little box that pops up, "Remember me on this computer"? That seems quite helpful. However, I recently learned that Internet Explorer stores them on my computer unprotected. Again, a security problem. I don't know about other browsers, but I assume they would all handle IDs and passwords the same. Anyone out there know for sure?

Securely storing passwords. My son, Brian, recently told me about RoboForm. He said he has been using it for a while and really likes it. I downloaded it today. It looks like it will be just what the doctor ordered. It not only saves passwords in an encrypted file, it will also store other information that is usually asked for most forms that must be filled out when starting new accounts. RoboForm will automatically fill in those forms, and will remember you on your computer. The best part is that RoboForm is a free download. It is simple to set up. I would highly recommend this for securely storing passwords and other sensitive information. As I often say, if it is good enough for Brian, it is good enough for me.

Organize by setting goals

I think it was Brian Tracy who said that when you write down your goals, the universe begins to work with you to make it happen. My experience has pretty well shown that to be true. The goal of course has to be realistic. I could write down, "I want to be a millionaire by tomorrow at 7:00 p.m." But we know that won't happen unless I won the lottery. And since I didn't buy a lottery ticket, that is not going to happen. However, the realistic financial goals my wife and I have written down have happened, and well in advance of our target dates. See my post on 6 Steps to Financial Freedom to see how we met our financial goals nine years ahead of schedule.

Why set goals?
"If you don't aim at something, you'll never hit it." "If you wander around aimlessly, you'll never get to where you want to go." "To fail to plan is to plan to fail." These quotes all give us reasons to set goals. When we have goals, we are aiming at something, we have a direction to go, and we have made a plan so that we are not planning to fail.

What makes a good goal?
People who have advised us on setting good goals say that goals must:
1) be written down (otherwise you'll forget what they were and that you were working toward them),
2) be realistic (so they are possible to achieve),
3) be specific ( so you know exactly what you are aiming for),
4) be measureable (so you can tell when you have achieved them), and
6) have a specific deadline (so you keep working toward them rather than procrastinating).

Test your goals.
When you set a goal, test it with the above criteria. If it doesn't meet one or two of those standards, rewrite it until it does. You may have to let a goal simmer overnight to bring the clarity it needs. Then try again the next day. Keep writing and rewriting goals until you know they are right.

Update goals.
Don't be afraid to change or update goals as necessary. They are not carved in stone, unless your only goals are the original Ten Commandments. Circumstances change. Since we met our financial goals ahead of schedule, we made new ones. Most of those are retirement goals. I've moved my retirement date ahead by 3 1/2 years. That was well worth setting some goals and a great benefit of achieving them.

Some Examples
Let's test a couple of examples.

Example # 1: "To become a millionaire by tomorrow at 7:00 p.m." What's wrong with that goal? It meets all of the criteria listed above for a good goal except it falls way short of criteria # 2, being realistic. So don't set that as a goal.

Example # 2: "To improve my blogging skills." This falls short of several of the criteria. It is not specific or measurable. How will I know when I've achieved this goal? Plus there is no deadline. I could work on this goal for the rest of my life and never know if it is done. Or I could read one post on blogging tips and say, "Well, I'm done with that goal."

Example # 3: "To pay off all my current credit card debts by 12/31/08. That goal is realistic and very specific. I can know when I'm done with it, and I've set a deadline. Now I can begin to make some action steps to make it happen.

Goals can be very helpful for organizing our lives and getting done what needs to be done. Use goals wisely and you can free up more time to have fun. That was my only New Year's resolution a few years back. "To have more fun." That is not a good goal according to the "Good Goals" criteria, but it made a good New Year's resolution. As I look at retirement in a few years, that is going to be my motto: to have fun. I don't plan on working until I drop dead. So I have my retirement goal: the date is set and the plan is to have fun. Now my current goals are all working toward that.

Happy goal setting! And have more fun while you can.

Photo Organization - a success story

My wife started scrapbooking several years ago. She was working full-time back then, so she worked at it slowly. Over the past few years she has gone through our pictures from the past, gotten them organized, and purchased the albums she would need. Last August she quit working so has had a lot more time to devote to it. She has enjoyed scrapbooking so much that she has almost caught up from our childhood (pictures from our parents) up until our grandchildren. We are now getting a bunch of digital photographs developed and then she will tackle those as well. She has eight albums done and is currently working on two more which will catch her up completely.

In a recent Ann Landers column, "Archeological Digger" wrote that they are going through her mother's photo albums. They want to return old pictures of her nieces and nephews to them or their parents. But the rest they can't identify and "no one is interested in people or places they don't recognize." Scrapbooking solves the problem of unidentified photos. Anyone looking through our photo albums will be able to know who is in the pictures and when they were taken. They will know the sign in one of the pictures is the sign at the entrance to a town named after my great-grandfather who donated the land for the town. Those are interesting bits of information that shouldn't be tossed in the garbage just because the next generation doesn't know what is in the picture. I'm sure my grandchildren will be interested some day to know that their great-great-great-grandfather has a town named after him, which is also their last name.

My wife got started scrapbooking through out daughter-in-law, Cheryl. You can get more information at Cheryl's Creative Memories site. Or can go here for my original post on photograph organization.

February Recap

Here are the organizational topics covered during February.

1. Financial freedom can be difficult. Any steps we take to work toward the goal of financial freedom or independence is time well spent. For some basic help, see "6 Steps to Financial Freedom."

2. Photographs can add up to meaningless piles in hidden away boxes, or they can be a treasure of memories. See Organize your photographs for a creative way to make them treasures.

3. Finding receipts when you need one for a warranty claim can cause major frustrations. Check out "When did I buy that?" so you never lose a receipt again.

4. Important ideas should be used, not lost. Track them rather than relying on your memory. "Organize your ideas."

Gmail advanced organization

In January I did a post on "Organize your email and/or gmail." I gave some basic tips for keeping your inbox clean and tidy. I just ran across some advanced filter techniques if you are interested in moving on to the next step of Gmail organization. You can find these tips in a post by Matt Cutts, "Three solid Gmail productivity tips". Check it out if you are looking for a way to use your Gmail inbox to create a To-Do list from your Gmail, or several other advanced custom filters utilizing "persistent searches".