Get Organized: College Entrepreneurs Develop Hip, New Organizer

This week, I was contacted by a very inspiring group of college students from Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering in Massachusetts who have developed Accessibles, a hip, new way to organize notebooks and planners.

Rui Wang, one of the students in this group of budding entrepreneurs, explained that, "We noticed that lots of people store their thoughts chronologically and subsequently made etched-metal monthly tabs to let you control how you organize..."

If you'd like to support youthful innovation, initiative, and entrepreneurship, you can grab your very own set of Accessibles here: http://accessibles.myshopify.com/.

The cost is $15, and as this is their first round of production, the product is available in limited numbers until TOMORROW, 15 October.







I'm sure you'll join me in wishing Rui and crew all the best! And personally, as an entrepreneur myself, I'm happy that I can be counted as one of their very first paying customers.

Get Organized: Do You Suffer from Cobbler's Children Syndrome?

The word “cobbler” comes from a bygone era and quickly conjures up visions of Charles Dickens and not so much modern times. But the fact of the matter is — despite living in the 21st century — you may suffer from Cobbler’s Children Syndrome (CCS) all the same.

Simply put, CCS describes a situation where a cobbler spends so much time repairing shoes for all the villagers, that he has neither the time nor inclination to do the same for his own family. As a result, his children have the worse shoes of all the children in the village.

Now, I doubt YOU are a cobbler in the strict sense of the word, but the irony of this syndrome can play out in many situations.

However, let’s focus on just one of these situations, which happens to be the severest of all — when you give and give to other people and causes, until you have nothing left to give to you.

Maybe you have a big heart. Maybe you have a hard time saying “no.” Maybe you feel you have to live up to a set of expectations. No matter the reason, if you have a tendency to take on too many things…it won’t be long before you start to become overwhelmed, exhausted, frustrated, and resentful.

And there’s only one way out of this downward spiral: become a gatekeeper for your schedule. And not an I’ll-let-anyone-or-anything-through gatekeeper but an I’ll-kick-your-butt-if-you-even-try-to-get-past-me gatekeeper.

You and you alone control how you use your time, with a few exceptions, of course. But if you don’t guard your time and use of it, then who will? You have to have high standards for how you manage your time…or else it — and all those extra, non-essential commitments — will manage (or should I say manhandle?) you.


© 2010 Clutterbugs, LLC

Would you like to use this article in your e-zine or on your website or blog? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Carmen Coker is a professional organizer who helps individuals find the motivation and know-how to get organized and stay organized. To learn how to save money, create more space, and manage your time through organization, claim your "FREE Tip Kit: 10+ Pages of Tips and Tools to Help You Get Organized — Finally!" at www.OrganizeClutterbugs.com