Books that changed my life, part 1.

Some books have the ability to change ones life. Ever read some of those? I have some books that really changed the way I'm thinking, or the way I do things, or both. I would like to tell you about some of them. This is the first of 2 articles about this subject. 

"Organizing from the Inside Out" by Julie Morgenstern

Is your house disorganized from time to time, or even worse - most of the time? If the answer is no, jump right on to the next book - this is not for you. :)

You don't need to an extremely disorganized person to have a messy home. Maybe you are just very short on time? Some people are able to have a neat house no matter how busy they are - I'm not one of them. So "Organizing from the Inside Out" by Julie Morgenstern helped me get things into perspective. 

This book isn't describing a tidying "system" as such. It's more about what will work for me? What are my habits and what is my life situation? What are the underlying reasons for me being disorganized? It also helps you tidy room for room if thats necessary in your home. 

Is my house always neat now? Nope - still messy from time to time.  But all things have a place, and all things I don't need are not hard to part with. So the road to a neat home is never far away. 

"Getting things done" by David Allen

Ever confused about what is the better way to spend your time right now? Write that thank you note to your friend? Doing those errands in town? Cleaning the house (it really needs it)? Spend an hour of quality time with your children? (And wasn't it something very important I needed to do today... if I could only remember what it is....) And even worse - at work: your boos demands something from one side, and your customers are on the other side demanding what they need.. What to do first? 

So little time, and so many things to do. "Getting things done" applies for all parts of your life, work life and private life. It helps you getting everything into a system and into writing. It frees up your mind in a wonderfull way! It gives you an opportunity to let go of all the things on your to do list for now (no need to be stressed out because you might forget something important), and helps you to focus on what you are doing right now. It also helps you let go of activities that really isn't helping you reach any of the goals you have in life anyways. 

An example from my own life: I have most of my life dreamed of taking singing lessons. I really enjoy singing and has been doing so in different choirs and singing groups for most of my life. I was often reminded of trying to find a teacher to give me singing lessons, but could not really find the time or the money. And then - I figured out through this book that the singing was actually a very non significant part of my life. None of my life goals had to do with singing! So why spending time and money on it then?

I do slip away from the system from time to time, and can feel very stressed out that I lost control on my responsibilities. But I know what to do to get back on track!  A book thats worth reading more than once!

Come back later for part 2 of this article. 

Tags: organized, organizing, tidying, time management, less stress, stress free, being in control. peaceful home, peaceful office