I’m using any moment of free time for the rest of this month to simplify my work life and reduce what I have to handle this year. I am dedicated to finding better ways to handle the essentials of my business and my personal life.

I want shorter, more productive workdays and more time to call my own this year. Peace begins with simplicity — and simplicity is my goal.

As a freelance writer and marketing consultant, I need to reduce the interruptions during my workday to increase my productivity. If you are self-employed, you may want to use a few of my tips and tricks:

Phone

If you haven’t already listed your numbers on the national “do not call” directory, do so now. It’s not ok for telemarketers to interfere with your ability to earn a living or interrupt your family time when you are not working. Getting your numbers out of their reach is the first step to making this happen.

Be sure to inform anyone who calls thereafter that you are on the do not call list and request that they remove your number from their database. If a company continues to call, report them.

(Note: I didn’t register my cell phone number because I don’t give OUT my cell phone number. That’s one number that only a handful of people have — or will ever have.)

If you don’t have set business hours and a firm weekly work schedule, make it now. Let your family and friends know that you are not able to take personal calls during work hours. Don’t be negative about it and always give them a time when they CAN call:

“I work from 8 a.m. until 5:30, but I’d love to hear from you anytime between 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. that way you and I will have eaten dinner and we will have quality time to visit.”

If they still call during business hours, cut it short (even if you aren’t swamped at that particular moment), “Joe, I’d love to chat, but I’m in the middle of a project. Can I call you back after work, say around 7:30?”

It won’t take long for family and friends to begin to respect your work time if you stay consistent and fewer interruptions means you will accomplish more (and make more money).

Mail

Reduce the amount of junk mail you have to handle, sort and discard. Visit http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs4-junk.htm to remove yourself from a number of the top junk mail offenders. It will take up to two months to see any results, but you could have a cleaner, clearer mailbox before the first quarter ends.

E-mail

If your email account has been distributed to everyone under the sun, chances are you are overrun with spam. If you have a good spam program in place, great! If not, you may want to investigate getting one (a task that can devour days of your time).

If you are able to simply change your email address, without throwing your life into a tailspin, do so. A clean slate is a nice way to start the new year.

If you get a new “primary” email address, be sure to inform only the people that you trust not to share your information. This should be an account you protect and keep “clean” from spam.

If you are in business, set up a second account to put on your website. I use an altered image of that email address, rather than typing it in, to help reduce spam. It won’t prevent clients from reaching you, but it does slow down the bots. Since I never give this “web” email out to anyone, I can change it without a huge impact if I’m over run with spam. So far, I haven’t had an issue with that. To make it easy for me, I forward that web-only account to my main address so I see any contacts without divulging my primary account.

Set up a junk account. This can be a hotmail, gmail or yahoo account — or you can set up one using your domain name. I use my domain name and use this one account for all those places where I have to divulge my email and they actually require a verification before permitting me access.

I also use this account for any family members or friends who can’t stop sending me jokes, forwards of whatever, and email chainletters. If this email gets forwarded to everyone they know, it’s not a huge deal.

I have this account come into its own inbox. It’s loaded with spam and I just access it when I need/expect something to come in. If it’s a username/password that arrives in it, I transfer this information immediately to my KeePass program and delete the original email. Once a day, I dump the entire contents of this inbox and don’t waste my time reviewing any of it. Nothing that arrives on this account without my explicit request matters.

Passwords/Usernames/Logins/Etc.

The biggest timesaver I have for working exclusively online is my KeePass Password Safe program. This is where I store all my “username/password” combinations and the stuff I need to access to work online (host passwords, admin information, FTP for various sites, etc). This is my brain. I probably access this program 40-50 times a day and when I get a new computer, it’s one of the first programs to be installed.

Before I started using a password management program, I’d sometimes spend 5 or 6 minutes hunting around for the “critical” information I needed for my own work, or to help clients. Having websites “resend” passwords takes forever and knocks a hole in your time to work.

If you are still trying to remember them all, if you are using a spreadsheet to manage them or if you are using a single username/password combination for everything you touch, stop that! It’s not a secure way to handle delicate data.

Download your free copy of the open-source password manager today and start putting every one of your passwords in it.

Use it to store:

• Website username and passwords
• Access information for your website and hosting account
• Email setup instructions and Pop mail configuation settings

If you find the task of finding everything to put it in there daunting, just add them when you “touch” them next. That makes it painless to get the most often used ones in there quickly and you can add any new ones directly into KeePass without recording it elsewhere.

(Note: Be sure to backup your database! I lost mine once in a hard drive crash. It was horrible going back to the old methods to figure them all out again. Now, I keep it backed up once a week on a thumbdrive, and it’s always backed up in my regular backup series.

You

If you sabotage yourself during your work day, you need to correct this. Do you find yourself cruising Amazon or Ebay during your work day, or researching things that “seemed” to have something to do with work initially — but left you derailed somewhere during the search process?

Do you look up and realize that two or three hours have gone by and you have not finished the 15 minute project you started?

Entrepreneurs and freelance folks have a terrible time separating work from living. We almost always love what we do and spend WAY too many hours a day doing it.

The problem is, we also feel that we “deserve” a break and take it in little pieces, rather than in planned chunks. If you need some time, online, to chase some personal interests or to do research that’s not really related to creating income, then do it — but schedule it.

Plan to have one or two 15-30 minute blocks per day for any of these personal activities. Block it out on your daily schedule and set a timer to be sure you don’t “run over” the time allotted. Then, enjoy it — without guilt.

When your time is over, get back to work. The change of pace will probably refresh you and help you to be more productive. Limiting the time and not “fooling” yourself about how much time you are spending will prevent it from impacting your income.

Having a scheduled workday will also help with this. If you work all the time, you feel that you deserve some downtime (and you do!). but taking it without recognizing it can often leave you feeling that you work constantly without relief.

My blog is ALL OVER the place lately. I look at the topics and hang my head. Yes, I should have more control. I’d fuss at any client that was doing what I’m doing. Yes, I’m losing marketing opportunities and my brand isn’t obvious. I think I’m practicing “Do as I say, not as I do.” That’s always popular.

Of course this is not really a “business” blog. It’s more often a personal blog. There, that makes it better!

On the flip side, it does help my readers get to know who I am and where I am at this point in my convoluted little life right now. I’m an “almost” empty nester, dealing with that feeling of loss. I’m also a freelance home-office dweller trying to (yet again) refine my business into a sharper focus and a deeper niche.)

I’m actually considering taking my business into writing as the primary pursuit, rather than marketing. I’ll handle that decision over the next few months, along with the slew of others peering at me with never blinking, always expectant eyeballs. I’ll get to them… every one… eventually.

Right now, I’m dealing with information overload on a stellar level. I can’t quit learning, I can’t quit gathering and I’m wearing myself out with it all — even this week (which is supposed to be my vacation). Without this week “off” I would probably have imploded.

I’m simplifying my life and looking at everything with the “do I really need this item (or hassle, or drama, or hurdle) to make my life complete?” approach. Doing that really changes a person! I’m also applying the 80/20 rule to everything I’m considering from clothes in my closet (my last post) to goals in my life (an even older post that will become a new post once all these decisions are actually made).

I spend much of my “free” time these days wondering, “What do I want to do with the REST of my life?” I’ll probably have that figured out sometime soon. In the meantime, bear with me because while I make sweeping decisions about my life… there’s a little clutter and aimlessness in my blog.

I’ve looked at other “simple” clothing lists and I find them to be too extensive for my needs and desires. I’m going to lose weight … someday… but for now, I’m tired of waiting for the “right” wardrobe. Now, I’m ready to simplify what I have and get rid of what doesn’t fit, isn’t flattering or isn’t comfortable.

I figure when I do lose weight (note the “when” is not an “if”) that buying new clothes will be a treat instead of a chore.

After pruning my wardrobe (again) and after trying to determine what I REALLY need in my closet to do my work, feel comfortable, and have what I need for any “event” without needing to dash out and buy something new — I’ve settled on the following list of basics.

Shirts/Blouses

• White pin-point tailored oxford button-down shirt
• Long-sleeve natural linen (ethnic) tunic top
• Silk patterned suit blouse
• Plain white t-shirt
• Black “Attitude” T-shirt (Janice Joplin one right now)
• Long-sleeved button-down shirt (lavender mini-check)
• Lavender long sleeve crew-neck cotton shirt
• Bright 3/4 sleeve shirt, princess seam button-front with collar (solid red)
• Black silk (washable) or Khaki tunic-length tank top
• Sheer, flowing patterned shirt with butterfly sleeves (for over tank and camisole tops)
• Black short sleeve Mock-turtleneck (for hot weather) / Black classic turtleneck (for cold weather)

Sweaters

• Cotton fine-cable twin set (in Oatmeal)
• Black V-neck all-weather fine-gage cotton sweater
• Black short-sleeved collared sweater (ribbed)
• Dark sleeveless sweater (chocolate brown or black)

Bottoms

• Pair of Jeans (yes, just my favorite pair)
• Pair of casual black/dk brown twill pants
• Pair of khaki slacks (cold weather) or long khaki shorts (warm weather)
• Long indigo skirt (Denim or Tencel - my preferred fabric)

Sets/Suits/Full Outfits

• Swimsuit
• Scrub suit (for lounging and painting and remodeling)
• Tea-length machine washable patterned sheath tank dress
• High Quality Basic Black All-Season suit (jacket, long skirt, slacks)

Unmentionables

• Sleepshirt
• Four camisole bra tops (brown, white, black, lilac)
• 3 pair white socks/5 pair black socks
• 2 pair of tights/hose (one light, one dark)
• 2 white bras/2 black bras
• 10 pair undies (5 each black and white)

Accessories/Other Stuff

• Black leather organizer purse
• Go-bag (electronics/mobile office or weekend of clothes)
• Keen Sandals (or tennis shoes)
• Pair of basic black leather heels
• Boots (work, hiking or western)
• Silk scarf (multi colored/patterned)
• Leather coat - stadium length
• Leather gloves

By most standards, this list is sparse. That’s ok. It’s not colorful. That’s ok, too — I prefer basic. By modern “norms,” my housing desires are also small.

I don’t want multiple closets or a huge one and I prefer to hang everything because I find that folded clothes seldom look as good on as hung ones do. It’s easier to find what I’m looking for in the bleary-eyed a.m. hours if everything is hanging in one place. (It’s also faster to hang clothes than it is to properly fold them, and I’m all about the efficiency.)

The way I see it, I have a washer and a dryer, and I’m not afraid to use them. I prefer NOT to have enough clothes that I don’t have to keep things done up. I don’t like having mounds of dirty clothes and with my most recent purge, I can’t. I may cut back more in the future, but this is good for now.

Now, I have only the clothes I really love. I have just a few of them and all is right with the world.

Ok, my office “situation” was beyond unbearable. I had actually started queuing up the Flickr slideshow of Uncluttered Office Spaces to try to inspire myself. My “borrowed” desk was supposed to be temporary, but it had become way too permanent. It was too tall, which meant that my feet were dangling from my deskchair and I was “reaching up” to type. I sit at my desk alot, I type alot. I was starting to experience weird aches and pains. I couldn’t wait any longer.

So here’s a shot of my un-touched up, uncleaned, uncleared desk. Look quick, because I may lose my nerve soon and pull it down and vehemently deny that MY desk ever looked like THAT. Right now, I make myself feel better by knowing that this IS, after all, the before. :O)

There, confession made. Complete with photographic evidence. So I looked at that mess and tried to determine what was essential to my work and happiness, and what was just extra stuff.

I determined that since most of my “stuff” was digital these days, that I only needed a few things that weren’t on my computer. I also decided that having my daughter’s desk right beside mine was not the best choice.

So I moved her into the adjacent room (where I can still see her while she’s completing her homeschooling assignments). I also moved my desk away from the window to avoid the early afternoon sunbeams that often blinded me.

I also moved the printer to a closer proximity (you can’t even see the printer in the “before” photo.) I pulled the cheap (but functional) kidney shaped computer desk from Serenity into the house and set it up with only the bare necessities. I’m keeping only those items I need every day at fingertip access. The rest, I’m tossing, donating or storing elsewhere.

It’s liberating!

I’ve also recently reworked the way I handle my finances, the way I keep my books and store my client files (the few that are actually physical paper). These items must be easy to access, so they are on the shelf to the left of my workspace. There’s even a place for my new, wonderful, PERFECT purse on that same shelf so those essentials can be reached without getting up.

My new space looks like this:

I do have a cluttered framed print above my desk — it’s plastered with a slew of my favorite photos. Not serene, not feng shui, but I love it and it makes me happy to focus on those photos and those memories at a glance while I’m working.

The light is a clip-on metal with a conversion “swirly” fluorescent bulb that really brightens up my work area without wasting energy. I tamed the tangle of cords and used twist-ties to group them and keep them unknotted.

The “new” desk is missing something, my largish stereo speakers and the huge base unit. I’ve replaced them with the tiny ones you see on the top of the new desk. They sound pretty good, but they can’t thump like the other ones could. That’s ok. I’ll make the sacrifice.

This isn’t the “ultimate” office, but it’s much closer than what I had before. I still need to add a rolling storage cabinet with a hanging file folder drawer in the bottom and a shallow drawer on the top. I’d like to have it outfitted so the printer will live on top. (I’m still looking for that cabinet.)

I’d also like to have a “hot file” for the incoming papers between the time they are received and the time I handle them (pay the bills, complete the project, file the papers). I’d like to hang this folder-sized hot file on the wall beside my desk.

But for now… I have to run and get my desk dock for the iPhone (thank goodness Apple designs things sleek and small!)

I’m loving Pandora. I really am. I like “discovering” new music that comes pre-matched to my musical tastes. It never gets old and there’s always some new artist, style or song to enjoy. If you haven’t tried it yet… go … do it. Now.

I have also found a literary version of the same “database analysis approach” to recommending new things to try, it’s called WhatShouldIReadNext.com. So if you want to get some qualified recommendations for your next book, give it a whirl.

Once you find the book you want to read, why not read it in the same way NetFlix lovers watch movies? Check out BookSwim, it’s the NetFlix of books. If you prefer to read your book recommendations online, why not try DailyLit - and read the books you want in “bitesized” pieces via email or RSS. That way, you can read it on your cell phone/smartphone as easily as on your computer monitor. (Try on one of the free titles for size before committing to buy.)

I’m on a rampage. It started in my closet at 3 a.m. (Couldn’t sleep, dunno why.) I have been reading Unclutterer (I find it inspiring most of the time). And I came upon a post about simple clothing. Now, I’ve already “simplified” my clothing a number of times. But something hit me (in the way things can only hit during the wee hours of the morning) and I started tearing into my closet.

With my family size cut in half, I’ve discovered that the extra hangers lurking in my closets are like the extra baggage I’m carrying around in my head. And it’s time to purge physically as well as mentally — which helps with the empty I feel in my heart at the moment.

I decided it’s time to take the next step. So, I started with the closet. I’m just anal enough to like matching hangers, so I’m getting rid of the ones that don’t match. I’m giving them to my mother. She knows how to distribute goods as needed throughout the family. I fuss at my parents for all the excess “stuff” they store and organize and maintain, but the fact is the rest of us (extended family included) go to them for that odd little something we need (from a replacement computer cord to a dress belt for a new skirt). Or maybe for some extra hangers.

So, as I clean things out and minimize my needs and my wants, I wonder if I’m able to do it only because I know they are my safety net. I fuss at them for the stuff they keep. I act all holier-than-thou about my smaller footprint, my smaller amount of “stuff” and my simple life goals. Yes, I give most things to Goodwill, and I’m starting to eBay some of the larger or more expensive pieces that I no longer need or want… but the other stuff, I always offer it to my parents first. Then, I give them crap about all the stuff they keep.

I’m sure there’s some deep psychological something going on here, but for now, I’m headed back to my room to finish my most recent purge. I’m far too busy to think too hard about too much on a holiday Monday.

Cheers!

I’m told (by my father) that this is not the best time to make huge, sweeping decisions. He says I should give it a couple months. He says things will look different as I “settle in” to my new life.

There has been so much change of late, and yesterday my youngest son graduated and left for his apartment in Lexington. I don’t know what possessed me to allow him to leave on the same day he graduated. That was especially stupid of me.

But, he was chomping at the bit, wanting to go, ready to start his life as an adult. He wanted to get a job or two this summer and begin saving up the cash he still needs to meet his bills at the University of Kentucky. He’s a good boy, and I could see the irritation in his eyes as I asked him for the unthinkable… to stay with me a week after he was “free” from high school.

So, I whined inside (as quietly as I could) and gave him his freedom.

Now, I have been surfing the waves of self-pity as the tiny house I inhabit now echoes. With only a 10-year old and a puppy to occupy me, I’m looking long and hard at my life.

The “simplify, simplify” philosophy in me is growing stronger. And I find things like this: http://www.cagefreefamily.com/ both enticing and a form of personal validation for my current purge urge. I don’t know what is enough, but I know right now what I have is too much. WAY too much.

I’ve even decided against the Airstream and have listed it on Facebook’s marketplace. A 24′ long RV to be pulled behind a gas-guzzling truck is too much for just two people. I’ll be putting it on Craigslist this week, and probably on eBay by next week, if it’s not already sold. I had a buyer for it, but he decided to buy an SUV instead. (Don’t ask me, it made NO sense to me, especially after he checked my asking price against the market price and told me how low mine was.) “I was gonna try to talk you down, but then I looked them up and they are mostly much higher.”

Yeah, I knew that. :O)

I still want to travel. I have just been re-evaluating the mode of the transportation. I’ll know more when I purge a bit more. I’ll be able to figure it all out once I let the dust settle and once I sell many of my current belongings and donate the rest. But, right now, I’m thinking a Class C is the direction I need to go. I don’t want to have to “climb out” of my RV in order to trot around and get into the cab of the truck to drive off. Traveling as a single woman means I need additional safety features… like an attached cab.

Right now (and for the years to come) what I want most is time, the health to enjoy that time and less of my energies going into obtaining, caring for and protecting “things.” It sucks the life out of me. Literally.

So, despite the fact that my son didn’t stay with me this week, I’m not going back to work quite yet. I’m going to enjoy this week away from clients and business projects. I’ll be spending it with me. I’ll be spending it with Alex. And we will both be learning to adjust to the changes. I’ll get caught up on sleep (I’ve been creating a debt there for at least three decades), cleaning, organizing and determining where I go from here… now that my children no longer outnumber me. Now that being a “single mom” seems more like just being single.

I’m sure I’ll get used to it… eventually.. but right now, it just feels weird. And sad. And I find myself feeling a little lost.

So, while my son struggles to navigate his new life, I struggle in my own way to navigate mine.

Bear with me as I work around WickedBlog to make it a bit more “clean” in appearance and function. I’ve always gone dark with graphics and the visual impact of my blog, but I think it’s time to let a little light shine in.

As I’m struggling to simplify my physical, psychological and personal surroundings, I’m also simplifying my online and digital existence.

So, the look of WB will be changing for the next few weeks as I figure out how to clean things up, keep it easy on the eyes, easy to navigate and find what you want, make sure it validates properly and take special pains so that my “simplification” kick doesn’t get offset by a too-low text to code ratio or any of the other search engine “no-no” paths.

Hopefully, when I finish up, I’ll have a better product for my readers and an easier to maintain platform for myself. (I’d appreciate any feedback on what works and what’s not working here as I make the changes.)

While gasoline prices top $4.00 per gallon and the economy pundits’ projections dip and sway, I’m glad that my business is already established and runs from a home office.

I’m also pleased that I’ve taken the time to evaluate my clients, services and my business expenses and trim them all back neatly. My next big “trim” will be the number of days I work per week. I’m preparing for it now and hope to implement my new, shorter workweek by the end of July.

Determining how much I should make this year made it easier to look at how many days a week would be required to make that target income and to plan accordingly. It’s also made me re-evaluate my original numbers and trim them back even more.

I credit the price of gasoline for encouraging me to take some steps that are improving my business and my life.

Dovetailing Errands

I’ll be spending one day out of the office per week to get the things done I need to do. I visit with my parents once a week and spend the day. They live two hours away. On the way up, I run errands for the business and pick up anything I need that’s only available in their city while I’m there (that way the trip can be expensed). They have an office supply store and a general merchandise super-store there. I don’t have either of those here.

I get an early start so I can arrive at their house between 9 and 10 a.m. In the late afternoon, I head back to the house and do my grocery shopping and other personal errands on the way home.

Living a deliberate life

It means I only get out once a week now, but it also means I accomplish the bulk of my non-client related to-do list on that one day. These choices aren’t purely financial. I’ve actually started recycling. (Dropping it off is another item on my errands list each week.)

My new push to live life more deliberately and to think things out before jumping and running helps me to minimize the ecological impact of my life. I watch the extra packaging and purchase fresh foods locally as much as possible.

I’m actually saving money

Making sure that I never make a trip out for just one or two things requires me to plan ahead, make lists — and an unexpected bonus is that I’m avoiding impulse purchases and using less gas every week. By doing the shopping on my way home from my parents’ house, after I’m already tired, I’m not tempted to participate in “entertainment” shopping.

I don’t stay in the store long enough for the bright packaging and the multi-million dollar ad campaigns to do their job. I go in, get what I need and get out. My shopping lists are pretty basic and fairly healthy.

An improved way to measure success

For years, I emphasized making more money. It was a “marker” of my success. It helped me to feel that my little cottage industry was real, sustaining and important. It meant that leaving my corporate job was the right decision.

Now, I’ve changed my approach. Now, I look at what I really need and am honest about what can do without. I weigh my purchases more carefully and I bundle all my travel into a single trip. Now, I realize it’s not how much I make that really impacts my quality of life — it’s how much I spend. (more…)

This weekend, Alex and I went to the farm. It was to be a nice quiet weekend, wherein I sorted through some boxes of stuff I have stored there in my new push to simplify my life. Extreme simplification.

So I attacked several of my personal sacred cows… my photographs and letters and sentimental boxes.

Several years ago, when I realized that books could be culled, I felt liberated. I ditched many boxes of books I’d had on my shelf for years — that I’d already read, but that I felt I couldn’t discard. I don’t know why I felt that way about books, but I did. I think it’s something about being a writer with a love of the language. Books were always sacred.

Donating them to Goodwill made me feel that I was “sharing” them rather than discarding them. (more…)

It’s been days since I’ve written. It’s not that there’s nothing interesting… it’s that there is too much!

I’ve been studying pretty hard to determine where the portable applications options are falling these days. I still can’t find a cross-platform option I like, so I’m looking at those options I need to work on Windows machines AND those needed to function on a Linux box.

As these things unfold, and I learn more, I’ll share.

In the meantime, I’ve cleaned off my desk and organized all the drawers (no small feat), completed the revamp of my new Moleskine hack, have a financial system for the business that’s half digital/half paper that’s simply beautiful, and I’m trying to figure out how to deal with the fact that my youngest son will be leaving home in less than three weeks to begin his life solo.

(These days are hard on a mom.)

The havoc that has been my life is finally reorganizing… and my ability to carve out some personal time from all my responsibilities is becoming a reality. The ironic part is that I’ve been crazed since January, and just as I start to get things together and begin to feel human again… Byron is packing his bags to leave.

I hope to be able to take a couple days off work as soon as school is out and spend them knocking around with my son. He’s so busy and I’m so busy that I miss him lately, and soon I’ll miss him even more — and from a distance.

You know, my parents should be given a medal. Other people in my life have to tolerate my moods, my latest kicks and my never-ending jabbering when I’m worried, excited or “all stoked up” about something. My parents endure it — regularly.

I’m all about the getting rid of stuff right now. I’ve renewed the fevor of my disgust with the consumptive, collective hoarding habits of our society in general and with my own tower of possessions, in particular. I mean, really, how much “stuff” does one person need?!?!

So when I get excited about a project, like my current one of eliminating all the clutter and trimming my possessions to a bare minimum, it would be my parents that have to listen to my incessant chatter about it.

I feel for them. My own daughter wears me out with her constant talking, but I can tell her to hush, or send her into the other room when I’m at wit’s end. My parents are nicer than me.

Someday I may learn how to quit talking with that voice in my head says, “For God’s sake, shut up!” In the meantime, I’m thankful for my parents.

Who knows, maybe I’ll learn to be more tolerant of Alex’s jabbering…once she’s in her 40’s. Perhaps, she will be a faster learner than her mother and will be capable of listening to that voice in her head when it says “stop talking,” — but I think her maternal genetics will be working against her. Poor thing.