Productivity @ Home

A Shocking Vision of Students, New Media and Technology

With a teen headed to college next year and a tremendous interest in New Media, this video caught my attention when I saw it recently on a friend's blog.  I've seen my kids "multitask", seen how they interact with their friends online and in person, seen them turn off the TV but live out loud to iTunes, and seen the way they obtain their information.  What are we, the grown ups who love them doing to realize and communicate with them in their changing world?  Fascinating - please take five minutes and watch this video.  I'd love to hear your take.

College Admissions and Facebook: To Friend or Not To Friend?

 Many of you know that my son Eric is in the throes of applying to college. It's likely during the next several months that I'll be writing a great deal on this topic, not only for those of you with high school seniors, but also for those with younger children too. You'd be amazed how quickly this process sneaks up on you, and it seems impossible to be "overprepared" to apply to college.

So many things have changed since I applied to college, including the many technological advances that now exist. So when I ran across this USA Today article this week entitled To friend or not to friend? College admissions in the age of Facebook, it caught my eye immediately. This article deals with the ethical issues that surround college admissions officers' use of social networking sites. Here's an amazing statistic from the article:

While 86% of college students have a Facebook account, according to a 2008 survey by Harvard University's Institute of Politics, only 13% of the 401 admissions officials surveyed this year say their schools have a policy about interacting with students on social networking sites, Olson says. "That's the picture of the changing landscape that we are in right now."

I'm certain that most of you with teens who are online are carefully supervising your kids' use of tools such as Facebook. But it's worth having a discussion today about the types of "friends" your child should be accepting online. We had a personal experience of this during the summer, when Eric received a personal letter from the Dean of Admissions at an Ivy League school. This professional shared all of the usual information about their wonderful college and then invited Eric to be his "friend" on Facebook. Thankfully, I was standing nearby when my son zealously grabbed the letter and headed to the computer. I was able to stop him and have an immediate conversation about the propriety of this use of Facebook. While I'm certain that the college official in question is likely simply using Facebook as another marketing tool, we were able to discuss the importance of Eric's personal profile - both his own postings there and what his friends write on his profile.

It seems that history is now being written about the role of Social Networking profiles in the college admissions process. We've always discussed around our home the need for Eric to have the attitude that his Facebook profile serves in a way as his "online resume". In other words, don't post (or allow the posting of) anything you wouldn't want a potential college or future employer to consider.

For those of you who use Facebook or have teens who are on any social networking site, I'm curious to hear how you handle these issues around your home. How do you regularly monitor your child's online presence? Do you feel it is ethical for colleges and universities to consider information posted online as part of the application process? Please chime in with your thoughts!

Is Your Refrigerator an "Environmental Time Bomb"?

On Thursdays, I share my thoughts on Family Finances. 

Following on the heals of "Cash for Clunkers", plans are underway for a "Cash for Appliances" program later this year.  This article at USA Today provides an overview of the government's plans to emulate the automobile program and use stimulus money to encourage consumers to trade in antiquated and energy hogging appliances for new models with greater efficiency. 

How can you tell if your household appliances are weighing down your family budget?  Take a look at the following resources:

• Energy Star - Chock full of resources and lists of energy saving appliances, discounts, rebates and more
• ACEEE Consumer Guide - A great resources from the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy.  Check out the individual appliance listings for specific tips to make your current appliances more energy efficient.
• US Department of Energy - Additional energy saving tips and suggestions

Prior to cashing in on government trade in programs and perhaps spending money unnecessarily, spend a few hours this weekend reviewing these tips and making and informed decision.

Home-work for Today:

• Chill Out!  Spend 30 minutes cleaning out the contents of your refrigerator, discarding outdated food and wiping down the shelves.

On the Bookshelf:

Billion Dollar Lessons: What You Can Learn from the Most Inexcusable Business Failures of the Last 25 Years

Reading Room Resources:
The Best of the Blogs from this week on today's topic

Are Poor People Lazy?
Kitchen Monki Makes Planning Your Grocery Shopping Easier
Living within Your Means

Planning Your @ Home School Year

Every  Monday, I share my thoughts on Working @ Home.

My kids are coming home with scads of paper these days - syllabuses, learning contracts, long term planning calendars and more -- all designed to help them make the most of the year that lies ahead of them.  With this being the first full week of school, they're off to a quick start.  Homework has kicked in, tests have been planned and the learning has begun.

Seeing them get so serious so quickly is a wake up call for me.  The past few months have been busy - there is little evidence of it here on the P@H blog, but you can take my word for it.  I've been swamped with book edits, magazine articles, podcast interviews, and most importantly enjoying the company of my family.  But now that Eric and Adam are back in school and I've retrieved my "work day" schedule, it's time to put things in order.

For me, this week, this includes getting caught up on email, putting my office back in order, setting some long term goals for this year, and reestablishing a workable daily schedule.  In the mean time, current priorities continue and new responsibilities arise seeking a place in my priority list.  Perhaps this week's re-orienting will mean that a few less important tasks get dropped from my "to do" list.

Even if you do not have children in your home, the school year cycle works well as a frame of reference for those of us who work at home.  What are your priorities for the upcoming school year?

Home-work for today:

• Create a nine-month plan, focusing on long term goals and aspirations for the year.  Make two copies: one to consult regularly, and another to be placed in a tickler file and checked in June '08.

Reading Room Resources:
Blog posts from this week related to Working @ Home

• The Get Started Now Guide to Being Self Employed
• What Matters to You?
• How to Do Good AND Make a Profit

On the Bookshelf:
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich

7 Back to School Lunch Tips

Find more great family recipes and meal planning assistance at Dine Without Whine.

Don't look now, but school's here! Are you ready for one of the biggest challenges for Moms of school-age kids - preparing school lunches day after day?

There's hope and help for you yet. Here are 7 back-to-school lunch tips. Hey, I can't come over and make your kids' lunches for you, but these tips will surely make it much easier:

1. Make dinner do double-duty

You're already in the kitchen preparing your family's dinner, why not use that time to get a head-start on the next day's brown bag lunches?

Make a double batch of meals that taste just as good "the morning after," you know, like fried chicken. Or cook dishes that can be transformed into something "new", such as pasta sauce that's just as yummy as pizza topping (on ready-made crust of course).

To make meal planning easier, take a look at Dine Without Whine. It's a monthly service for planning your family's meals and grocery shopping.

2. Include lunches when meal planning

To do tip #1, you need to be more organized. This means including your kids' lunches when planning your family dinners.

3. Let the kids participate

Lighten your load and teach your children some important life skills at the same time. Even small children can help prepare their lunches.

If morning is too stressful, then make this an after-dinner activity - which brings us to...

4. Make advance preparations

Do whatever you can do ahead of time. For example, cook in batches on the weekend, or put leftovers in packable containers the night before.

5. DIY fast food

Commercial packed lunches are attractive but unhealthy. But who says you can't make your own? Buy your own colorful and attractive lunch boxes, such as a bento-style lunchbox.

Fill it up with a variety of healthy food. Think of mixing up foods with different textures and colors. And cut them up into small pieces so they're easy and fast to eat.

6. Soup it Up

Soup makes a quick and healthy lunch. You can cook a large pot in the weekend and pack it in a thermos for a warm and satisfying lunch. Serve with whole wheat bread and some fresh fruit and you've got a complete meal!

7. Sprinkle in some fun

Sneak a little surprise into your child's lunchbox once in a while. It could be a little chocolate treat, stickers, or a sweet note from you. Getting something unexpected makes lunch fun.

With planning and creativity, your children can have healthy, delicious lunches without too much work for you.

For meal planning help, go to Dine Without Whine. It makes meal planning a breeze, while helping you save time and money.  Then you'll have time and energy for those school lunches.

Using Geek Techniques to Prepare for Back to School

Around the country, families are sharpening number two pencils, buying backpacks and getting fresh haircuts for the annual return to school.  With two busy high schoolers in my home, I’ve been examining ways to help get myself and my boys more organized. 

This week, I thought I’d brainstorm a few ideas for using technology and other organizational tools help me get our family’s act together.  Here’s what I’ve come up with so far:

• Establish a family calendar at Google Calendar. I have the ability to set up a family calendar and “share” it with my husband Greg and sons Eric and Adam.  Since all of us use Gmail, this calendar will be easily accessible every time we’re online.  Greg and I can also access the family calendar from our iPhones.
• Simplify family finances.  I’m looking for ways to reduce paper in our lives, so I’m paying as many bills as possible with online banking.  Our almost 18 year old Eric now has a student debit card that we can closely monitor during this, his last year at home before heading off to college.  Since our accounts are linked together, I can oversee and help manage Eric’s account from one centralized location.  This will also help him gain budgeting skills prior to departing for college.
• Purchase school supplies online.  I’ve been searching for bargains on some of the many supplies the boys will need this year.  I’ll also be purchasing some used books on Amazon once we receive their syllabi and reading lists from teachers.
• Spice up school lunches.  Teens can be almost as choosy as toddlers, and coming up with creative lunch ideas is tricky for children of any age.  I love the article “Beyond Peanut Butter and Jelly” at Faith & Family Live and the article School Lunches at KidsHealth.org for information on nutrition and safety.
• Get connected.  I’ve added my sons’ school website to my favorites, downloaded the annual calendar, and added the principal, high school counselor and a few selected teachers to my email contacts.  I’m also prepared to closely monitor the boys’ grades and attendance on “Power School” and have set myself a weekly reminder alert to make this a regular routine.  I have configured the system to notify me if the boys are late or tardy, or if their grades drop by a certain percentage. 
• Learn with the Library.  We love our public library system and are frequent users.  With online account access, we can quickly and easily reserve books, renew items we’ve checked out, or research events that are coming up at our local library branches.

My brainstorming list is certainly not complete, but I’m off to a great start towards being more organized this school year.  What tools help you prepare for the school year ahead, whether your children are homeschooled or attend traditional schools?  I’d love to hear your tips and tricks for making the “Back to School” transition a more sane and happier time of the year.

100 Apps to Turn Your iPhone into the Ultimate Personal Assistant

Thanks to Amber at Select Courses for sharing a great article entitled 100 Apps to Turn Your iPhone into the Ultimate Personal Assistant.  As someone who is already attached to my iPhone, these great app suggestions give me even more ideas for using it as a major productivity tool.  Have a favorite app to share?  I'd love to hear about it!

Getting Things Done with New Google “Tasks” Feature

I’ve been a fan of Google’s Calendar feature for a few years, as well as a user of Gmail for all of my email needs since before it came out of beta testing.  Google recently answered one of my personal productivity “wish list” items with its launch of a new “Tasks” management system. 

The Tasks, available from Google Labs, enables you to add items to a virtual “to do” list, assign due dates, and document details in notes.  The feature even gives “type A” personalities like me the satisfaction of checking a box when you’ve completed a task and seeing it crossed off your list.

I have been using Google Tasks with both my Google Calendar and with Gmail.  A wonderful feature of the application is the ability to quickly and easily create a task from an email in just a few clicks using keyboard shortcuts.  I tend to keep my email inbox stocked up with items that need my attention, so this new Task feature enables me to confidently add them to my “to do” list and then move them out of the inbox and into files without fearing that I will forget to complete the necessary action item if it’s not sitting in my inbox.

If you are already using Gmail, you will need to go to the “Settings”, click on the “Labs” tab, find “Tasks”, select “enable” and then scroll to the bottom of the page and save your changes.  Once you’ve done this, you can add a task either by keyboard shortcut or by selecting “Add to Tasks” from the “More Actions” menu directly above the email you are reading.

Because the task list resides online, you can access it anywhere you have internet access simply by signing into your Gmail account. If you are fortunate enough to own an iPhone, you can easily access your Google Tasks from your phone.

For a complete overview of the Tasks feature, complete with images and easy to follow directions, visit the Official Gmail Blog.  To integrate Google Tasks with your Google Calendar, visit this post.  The simple integration of these powerful tools and their ready access continues to please this Geek Gal.  I love having access to my data and to do list at any time.  It turns waiting situations into opportunities to cross tasks off of my list, which is always a good thing in my book!

Learn and Do Everything in Less Time

On Wednesdays, I share my thoughts on Learning and Professional Development.

A big thanks to Kelly from ClearViewEducation.com for calling to my attention their recent post entitled 100 Awesome Cheat Sheets to Learn and Do Everything in Less Time.  Since personal productivity is all about "Getting Things Done", this is the type of cheating that works for me!

The Cheat Sheet list includes a broad cross section of topics including hobbies, productivity and organizing, finances and home and garden.  The "Laundry 101" Cheat Sheet is going to get printed and posted in my laundry room alongside the "Cleaning Cheat Sheet" so that I can spend more time enjoying the "Wine and Food Pairings" Cheat Sheet!

Is compiling lists of things that will make life less complicated cheating?  I call it good time management and recommend you head over and check out 100 Awesome Cheat Sheets to Learn and Do Everything in Less Time today.

Have a post to share?  Email me any time at lisahendey@gmail.com if you have a tip on personal productivity that will help our readers!

Clear the clutter, cleanse the soul

The following article, reprinted with permission from of the Arlington Catholic Herald, is more religious in nature than those you will typically see on Productivity @ Home.  But I felt compelled to share it here since I'm a great admirer of the work being done by Project Nazareth's founder, Abby Sasscer.  How many of us would have the generosity of spirit to share our time and talents with others who might benefit from the services we offer.  In Abby's case, this organizational expert, author and speaker provides free in home consultations to families in need of her service.  Making herself available in this fashion has supported her speaking work, helped spread the word about her e-book, and helped countless homes fight the battle against clutter.  I'm pleased to reprint this article -- written by Katie Bahr -- and to recommend Abby Sasscer's e-book as a great resource as well. 

Whether you want to do it or not, the time spent clearing the clutter from your house may be good for more than just extra closet space; it can also benefit your soul.

That’s the idea behind Project Nazareth, an apostolate formed to help families declutter their homes and simplify their lives to become closer to God.

According to Abby Sasscer, a parishioner of St. John Bosco in Woodstock and the founder of Project Nazareth, the act of living simply gives families an opportunity to love God and practice virtue in their everyday lives, or their “domestic church.”

“I try to teach the families that the goal is not to have a perfectly organized house. The goal is heaven,” Sasscer said. “We can grow in holiness everyday within our domestic Church by practicing the virtues exemplified by the Holy Family in Nazareth. Every time we declutter, we practice the virtues of simplicity and holy detachment. Every time we manage our time and treasure wisely, we practice the virtues of wise stewardship and trust in divine providence. Every time we plan our menu, we practice the virtue of faithfulness and prudence.”

For Sasscer, organization and simple living are second nature.

Growing up in the Philippines, she was exposed to poverty every day on her way to Catholic school. She was impressed with the way those families handled their lives with very few possessions.

“I noticed something beautiful, that the poor families tended to be happier, more content and more thankful for what they had,” Sasscer said. “The simpler they were, the happier they were.”

After coming to the United States as a teenager, Sasscer spent time visiting a few convents. Again, she was attracted to and impressed by the simple and orderly lives of the nuns.

After receiving her bachelor’s in business administration, she parlayed that love of simplicity and order into her career when she got a job systematizing small, and eventually home, offices.

After she left her job to home-school her three children, she couldn’t leave her organizational talents behind and kept working to systematize parts of her own house. Eventually, a close friend started asking for tips on how to organize her house as well.

Sasscer wrote a manual, which later grew into an e-book called Simplifying Your Domestic Church — A Spiritual Journal to Help Families Declutter, Organize and Systemize their Home.

The e-book was written originally for home-schooling families, but the information, with sections on organizing vital documents, decluttering, menu planning, time management, tithing and Christian budgeting, is helpful for all families.

Sasscer compiled advice from other mothers, motivational quotes from saints and the Scriptures, and workshops on topics like budgeting, scheduling and menu planning. The book is organized in easy-to-read sections, with bullet points instead of long paragraphs.

“Most of the books on decluttering and organizing are so cluttered and disorganized,” Sasscer said. “I’m not really out to have a best-selling book. I’m out to help people and I don’t think they need to spend all their time reading.”

After the e-book was published, Sasscer began getting invitations to speak at diocesan parishes and to visit people’s homes for private consultations, all of which led her to form Project Nazareth.

“It was almost like an accident, really. Chronologically, it wasn’t planned by me,” she said. “It was planned by the Guy upstairs.”

Today, Project Nazareth has three main parts — “Project Mary” speaking engagements, “Project Elizabeth” home visitations and “Project Martha” phone consultations.

During the “Project Mary” engagements, Sasscer speaks to mothers with young children, teaching them how to instill the values of simplicity at an early age.

For the “Project Elizabeth” home visitations, Sasscer visits families in and around Shenandoah County. Home visitations take a minimum of three hours during which Sasscer will either assess each room in the house and give suggestions, or she will help the family focus on totally decluttering and organizing one room.

“Most of my visits are with home-schooling families and we really work together to prepare their classrooms for the next year,” she said.

The last part of Project Nazareth is the “Project Martha” phone consultations, which use a 24/7 hotline families can call if they need guidance.

Because Project Nazareth is an apostolate, all services are provided free of charge, with Sasscer only accepting offerings to cover her own costs for gas, meals and supplies.

For families looking to simplify and organize their own homes, Sasscer said the most important thing is to get rid of as much clutter as possible.

“On a practical level, the less stuff you have, the less stuff you have to organize,” she said.

She encouraged families to declutter twice a year, ideally during Advent and Lent. She also discouraged families from keeping things for future use.

“By excessively storing things for future use, you’re possibly depriving other people from using them right now,” she said. “Keep the gifts coming.”

During home visits, Sasscer encourages families to fill at least one big black garbage bag with stuff to give away. She jokingly calls these “body bags.”

“Consider it a body bag, like you just went to war and that’s the collateral damage,” she said. “You don’t keep body bags in your home because they stink on the spiritual level. It’s not alive, but it sucks all this energy out of you.”

When families are having a hard time getting rid of things, Sasscer often challenges them to think ahead in their lives to what they will really need.

“I encourage the person to constantly fast forward to the last two hours of life and ask, ‘Do I need this 20-year-old fondue set to get to heaven?’”

By clearing the clutter, families can redirect more of their attention to God.

“Picture yourself walking into a church,” Sasscer said. “You don’t have a lot of crazy clutter. Everything is simple, Christ-centered, uncluttered and light. You can focus on God. Simplifying the domestic church is like creating that same atmosphere within your home, and not just treating it as a giant storage shed.”

Find out more:

For more information, visit projectnazareth.info.
24 hour voicemail service: 800/382-0859 ext. 6498.
Buy the e-book at chcweb.com.