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The Organized Lifestyle Magazine
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HOME * OFFICE * TIME * SPIRIT
March 2008
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Hello Bonnie,
Since I started writing the Organized
Lifestyle Magazine (OLM) in January 2006 I
have intermittently written about my mother
who, as you know, suffers from Alzheimers.
My philosophy is to try to learn from
situations that may otherwise seem senseless.
This is why I choose to share with you how
much I have been learning about myself as a
result of her sickness. Her illness is an
impetus for me to seize my life more fully,
and is also an affirmation of the services
that Kaos Group offers.
We've all seen that some individuals are
rather adept at creating organization from
chaos. In our experience here at Kaos, we've
seen that some people hide behind their
disorganization out of a sense of fear or
doubt or hopelessness. It sometimes feels
easier to maintain the status quo than it is
to tackle our dragons and move into a more
fully realized state.
Allow me to paint a picture for you - and
yes, it's another one about my mom.
Recently, I took my children (Tess and Ty) to
see my mother. When we arrived, my hands
were filled with coffee, tea, and a little
box of Tim Bits. I quickly realized that I
was going to have to convince my mother to
walk with us to a comfy sitting area to enjoy
our visit. Technically, she doesn't know us,
so this posed quite the challenge.
Imagine for a moment how we ask a young child
to walk with us down the street - we take
their hand, right? So, I reversed the process
and asked Tess and Ty to each take one of
Grandma Jo's hands and follow me to the
sitting area. They did this effortlessly,
just like they would with a younger child,
and I was speechless. It was a picture that
will forever remain in my mind because this
is what our parents did for us and what
inevitably we will end up doing for our
parents. Just imagine how sweet it was to see
my 6 year old and 3 year old walking their
Grandma down the hall. Priceless.
My question to you is this: Who is holding
your hand when you need it? It might sound a
bit silly but we all need someone, at some
point, to hold our hand. I can think of
several examples of people who may hold our
hands at one point or another: A Business
Coach, a Life Coach, a Therapist, a Colour
Consultant, an Interior Designer, a Mentor,
or even a Professional Organizer.
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February Foto Fun!
I recently realized that February is the time
of year I professionally print all my photos
from the previous year. This was not a
conscious choice on my part; it just happens
that way! However, I've discovered that once
you get started it's really a rather fun
process.
So, here's a little something we like to call
"February Foto Fun!" - some tips on how to
start getting your photos organized on the
computer, printed onto paper, and filed into
your albums.
- Put all pictures into one folder which
you can keep on your desktop for easy access.
I suggest using shoe boxes for hard
copies.
- File the photos into years and then
subdivide into months - the better your
organization here, the better your results.
- Give yourself a reasonable time frame to
work on sorting - 2 hour chunks spread over
2-4 weeks is a good way to start. The key is
to set achievable goals.
- Buy some great photo albums. I love
three ring binders because I can insert
plastic sleeves for keepsakes that are larger
than a photograph - such as the Valentine's
Day card that my daughter made me last
year.
Note: Do not scrimp on your
photo album.
This is what will preserve your photos and
memories.
- When you're ready to print your photos,
there are lots of options from which you can
choose. You can order on line, take files to
a printer, or transfer them to a CD and take
them to a kiosk at Shoppers Drug Mart.
- Once you have the copies, it's time to
sort them again. Now is a good time to
cross-reference against your desktop folders
to ensure that you have everything you
wanted.
It's a fun project to complete and you'll be
happy you did it!
Read more about
kAos
Group Residential Organizing.
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The Elusive IT
We seem to spend a lot of time talking and
thinking about
it. Sometimes
it
flies, sometimes
it drags. We
often wish we had more of
it - we look
for ways to save
it. What is
it? - Time, of course! There are lots
of simple techniques on how to save
it
and manage
it better - heck, there
are literally hundreds of books written about
it. And yet we often find ourselves at
the 11th hour wondering where
it has gone.
Below are 13 common
it wasters from
Tony
Allesandro, a successful business
strategist.
Tony tells us that time wasting activities
can be initiated from the people around us as
well as from within ourselves. Some time
wasters are unavoidable, but we can reduce
their impact on our lives. Start by
identifying the most frequent sources of time
wasters in your day. As a means of
comparison, we've included a list of time
wasters. Many researchers find the same
handful at the top of their lists, which
indicates that these are problems that are
common to all of us:
- Scheduling less important work before
more important work.
- Starting a job before thinking it
through.
- Leaving jobs before they are completed.
- Doing things that can be delegated to
another person.
- Doing things that can be delegated to
modern equipment.
- Doing things that actually aren't a part
of your real job.
- Keeping too many, too complicated, or
overlapping records.
- Handling too wide a variety of duties.
- Failing to build barriers against
interruptions
- Allowing conferences and discussions to
wander.
- Conducting unnecessary meetings, visits,
and/or phone calls.
- Chasing trivial data after the main facts
are in.
- Socializing at great length between
tasks.
Do you need assistance with enhancing your
it? Time management is about self management
and there are many ways to squeeze more
productivity or enjoyment out of the 1,440
minutes that each day provides. See below for
the next Time Management seminar offered by
Deanne from Kaos Group or contact her
directly for your private analysis and
training. info@kaosgroup.com.
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Tax Tips
"Can I write that off?" -- This is a very
common question from business owners. The
next most popular question is, "When is that
due?" In preparation for Tax Season, here is
a condensed version of allowable business
expenses and common deadlines, along with a
plethora of sites to assist you with your
inquiries.
Allowable Business Expenses:
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You must be able to prove to CRA that the
expense is directly related to the operation
of your business.
- Normally, allowable expenses include
office supplies, business insurance,
advertising and promotional materials.
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"Meals and entertainment" is an area of
which you need to be careful. On the
receipt, be sure to write the names of the
people at the meeting. Only 50% of the GST
paid on a meal is allowable for credit.
- Auto: You are only allowed to deduct
auto expenses incurred for business purposes.
You should keep a mileage log book of
business kilometres driven, as well as all
vehicle related receipts.
The above tips are compliments of Intellibiz
Accounting Solutions Inc. Carolyn is easy to
speak with and well versed in her field. She
can be reached at (905)-775-9233 or by email
at carolyn@intellibizaccounting.ca.
Important Deadlines:
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February 28th
- T4 slips & T5
slips
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March 1 - RRSP contribution
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April 30
- Personal Tax Return
(other than self employed individuals)
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April 30 - GST owing on self
employment income
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April 30
- Personal taxes owing
(self employed included)
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June 15 - Personal tax return for
self employed individuals and their
spouses
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June 15
- GST return for self
employed individuals
Informative Articles for Tax Questions,
Myths, Deductions, and Tips:
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Helping Yourself
There are many books, magazines, newsletters,
and on-online magazines available for any
form of self-help, organizational tools,
personal development, and spiritual enhancement.
Here are a few of mine. I hope you find them
helpful.
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Deanne's Web Picks
Offer your hand to help Tri for
Dakota
.
Quicken
- Personal and Business Financial tracking.
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Deanne Kelleher
Kaos Group
phone:
416.347.9002
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