What a year! Do you totally agree with me when I say "I blinked and the year has passed?" I can't believe how fast time is going.

I know that this would be a great time to talk about New Year's Resolutions but, please, don't make any. Yes, you heard me right—don't make any New Year's Resolutions. Have you ever made any that you've kept to this day? If you have, congratulations! But, for most, New Year's Resolutions are made to be broken.

I'd much rather you think about your visions for the year of 2007. What do you want to have accomplished by December 31, 2007? Where do you want to have traveled? What fun things do you want to do? What do you want to own? What do you want your personal relationships to look like?

Answer these questions and you're on your way to the best year yet! Then break down your visions into action steps, get the action steps on your calendar, and look out! You will accomplish all that you want to do and probably before the end of 2007!

Before pictures of the office.

I could not wait to share with you about my weekend in early December in Las Vegas! I had the joy of working with Marilyn Sherman of UpFront Presentations

She and I had met at a Mark LeBlanc business-building workshop over Labor Day and she had commented how she could really use my help in her office. We visited a bit but since I hear that a lot (and not all people who say that follow through with hiring me) I let it go. But Marilyn was determined! We visited a bit over the next months and then made plans for me to come to her office in Las Vegas. I didn't have to be persuaded too much to go there in December from South Dakota!

I'd like to share some principles and tools with you that I shared with Marilyn to take her office from a place of stress to a place of joy!

You can see from the 'before' pictures to the right that paper pile-up was a major problem. The reason this is an issue for most people is that there is no decision-making process when papers comes into their life.

Filing Cabinet—After

The first time you touch a piece of paper use the FAT Principle. Either File it, Act on it, or Toss it. That's it—FAT.

If you truly want to make filing effortless and a no-brainer then you need the Paper Tiger Software System found at www.SaveAnHouraDay.com. We used this miraculous tool in Marilyn's office and it made filing and revamping her file cabinet and file drawers in her desk a breeze.

 

Core File System

For papers that you need to take action on but don't have time for at the moment always ask yourself "When do I need to see this item again to complete it before it's due?" This will tell you where to put it in the Core File System.

Core File System

Most of the papers (usually 95%) on my client's desks and floor are papers that they need to take action on. These papers become stacks because they don't know where to put it so they won't forget to do it.

You need the Core File System. This system is 31 file folders labeled 1 - 31 and twelve more file folders labeled January through December.

If you need to see a note you wrote about calling your financial advisor on the 15th of the month—put the note in the 15th folder. If you need to sign up for a conference in March put the conference brochure in the March folder.



When you look at an area that is totally chaotic and you feel overwhelmed you may be tempted to organize it shelf by shelf and just move things around. Stop!! You need to take everything out of the area that you want to organize. With Marilyn's bookcases we took everything out and put them by categories on the floor. Then she went through the piles and got rid of what she didn't need or what she didn't want to have in the office.

Then we decided which shelves were for product, books, binders, etc. and put everything back.

Clear plastic bins—need I say more?!!

You might be thinking—how long did this take? That's an excellent question. It always takes longer than you think because paper is extremely time consuming. Marilyn and I worked a total of 22 hours in her office that weekend.

You may say—I don't have that kind of time. My reply is—you can't afford NOT to take the time to get organized. Just look at the 'before and after' pictures. Marilyn felt totally stressed and uncreative before—now she can't wait to go into her office and already her business is growing!

Go to your calendar right now and block off time to get your office organized. You may not be able to take an entire weekend but block off 2-3 hour segments wherever you can.

I absolutely love teaching the principles and tools that I shared with Marilyn. If you're looking at your office and thinking that you'd love to have the results that Marilyn did—please call or e-mail me today and let's get started.



Everything I shared with Marilyn is in my book and manual "Organize with Confidence". Check them out today!

January 11, 2007	Vermillion, SD
January 12-13, 2007	TimeSpa, Sioux Falls, SD
January 24, 2007	Sheldon, IA
February 2, 2007	Sioux Falls, SD
February 3, 2007	Brookfield, WI
February 6-7, 2007	Jacksonville, FL
February 8-10, 2007	Denver, CO
February 21-23, 2007	San Antonio, TX
March 8, 2007	Fargo, ND
March 13, 2007	Sioux Falls, SD
March 31, 2007	Chamberlain, SD
May 1, 2007	Sioux Falls, SD
May 5, 2007	Chamberlain, SD
June 13, 2007	St. Cloud, MN

See more details of upcoming speaking engagements at www.elizabethhagen.com/speaking_training.html.

I'm in the process now of booking winter/spring speaking engagements. For more detailed information about each speaking event please visit my Speaking page on my website.

It's time to make your life easier!

Would you like to spend a fun weekend learning all that I have discovered in the past 25 years so you, too, can be more focused, have more confidence, be more balanced, and have more time?

I would like to cordially invite you to do something extraordinary for yourself!

SIGN UP BEFORE JANUARY 1, 2007 AND SAVE $30!!!

This incredible event will be held January 12-13, 2007 in Sioux Falls, SD. You will enter the TimeSpa at 3:00pm on Friday and leave totally refreshed and with an action plan to have more time in your life at 4:00pm on Saturday.

This event is the first of its kind anywhere and I am THRILLED to present it to you.

This weekend is for you if you:

• Feel swamped by piles of paper.
• Have more work to do than hours in the day.
• You can never find what you need when you need it.
• You have stacks of paper on the kitchen counter and your desk and you have no idea what is the best use of your time.
• You feel totally overwhelmed at the office and home and you know it's preventing you from what you want to achieve in your life.
• You are not spending your time you'd like on what you really enjoy.
• Know change has to happen but don't know where to begin.

After the weekend you will:

• Have an action plan with doable tasks.
• Leave with an increased sense of "I can do this" and feel really great about yourself.
• Feel pampered.
• Have fun!
• Meet other wonderful women who you can reach out to after the weekend is over for support.

For more information and to register please visit www.ElizabethHagen.com/TimeSpa today! If you think this is right for you - and I hope you do - please register soon as I have 10 seats left.

Take ACTION TODAY!! Call me at 605-357-8767 or register at www.ElizabethHagen.com/TimeSpa.