National Procrastination Week

2nd Week of March

As human beings, no doubt all of us are prone to procrastination at times - including me. One of the things I've observed in my work as a Professional Organizer is how connected perfectionism can be to disorganization. Perfectionism can lead to procrastination and then to paralysis, in a vicious cycle.

This is especially true for projects with no clear deadlines like organizing your finances or cleaning out and organizing the garage so can park your car in it. You know what I'm talking about ... the important but not urgent things that need to get done but keep getting put off indefinitely.

Perfectionists often strive for impossibly high standards. As a result, they're caught in a trap of feeling their efforts are never good enough - if it isn't utterly perfect, it's terrible. As a result, they feel paralyzed to move forward with their goals. Unrealistic standards cause perfectionists to wait too long to get started. Then they rush to do something, anything.

The irony is that the more relaxed realist often outperforms the perfectionist. Since it doesn't have to be utterly perfect, they're not paralyzed about making progress toward their goals. They're able to put in an effort earlier and over a prolonged period of time so the final outcome is typically better than the perfectionist's.

So what is the answer if you find yourself caught in this trap? Look for role models who are satisfied with "good enough." Learn to set up realistic goals. Talk to a trusted friend, find an accountability partner, or seek coaching. Do a little every day and eventually your productivity will start to look like PROGRESS and will indeed be GOOD ENOUGH.

It's always great when you find a helpful resource or product to make tasks easier.  Here are few that can help you tackle, and stay on top of, your finances. 

Organize Your Personal Finances in No Time by Debbie Stanley.  With this guide you'll learn:

Estate organizing is an often forgotten piece of the financial puzzle when organizing your finances. Many people believe mistakenly believe it's only for older people who are nearing the end of their life, but that's not so. Not to be morbid, but disability or death can occur when you least expect it, at any stage of life. Organizing your estate is like a "love letter" you give to your family. It will give you (and them) peace of mind knowing that everything is easily accessible and organized.

So what exactly is estate organizing? It's setting up an organized system that includes all the information your family would need in the event of your incapacitation or death. At Real Order, we can help you locate and assemble the estate documents you have and identify anything that is missing. You would be referred to qualified professionals to fill in the missing pieces of your estate plan. Here is a partial list of the information that would be included in an Estate Plan Workbook:

Credit freezes are one of the most effective tools against economic ID theft available to consumers.  They allow you to seal your credit reports and use a personal identification number (PIN) that only you know and can use to temporarily "thaw" your credit so that legitimate applications for credit and services can be processed. That added layer of security means that thieves can't establish new credit in your name even if they are able to obtain your ID.