sim·pli·fy

sim·pli·fy 

To make simple or simpler, as:
a. To reduce in complexity or extent.
b. To reduce to fundamental parts.
c. To make easier to understand.

2014 came before I even realized what had happened.  I spent the last two months of 2013 sick with strep, sinus infection, strep, and then a cold– I was ready for 2013 to be over.

During 2013 I spent a great deal of time, trying to simplify- which is  a feat with a toddler in the house.  I managed to go paperless thanks to an amazing scanner (This amazing scanner is well worth the $$).  Going paperless was not only a huge amount of time but a walk down memory lane -apparently I have kept every single thing I have ever written and made since high school.  I reorganized my office.  Cleaned out our attic- it was so bad it took two of us a week to get it so you could walk inside it.  We went to a cash only system for the household budget.  I feel like I did so much last year to get things organized and simplified.  And yet, I still am buried in emails, paper, and junk!

This year, I am moving forward with the same task to simplify.  With a stronger focus on how I mange things not seen.  Things like calendars, client emails, to do lists, tasks and so on but also relationships (both personal and clients).  I am also reducing my commitments from committees to playdates to how many new clients I add.  I want to focus on the relationships that I currently have so that I can give those relationships my focus, attention, and energy.

I have spent the past few weeks organizing bills, getting ready for taxes, and coming up with a way to manage my inbox!

What have I found so far that are helping to simply things? The first two things I have been undertaking is my email inbox and passwords. I found three great services that help to make this smoother:

Unroll.me

“Unroll.me is the easiest way to manage your inbox. Unsubscribe from unwanted email subscriptions, discover new ones and organize them all in one place.”

Yes- please! This has taken away a lot of the noise in my inbox. Even better when I have time, I can look at one email and choose what emails I want to view. My inbox saw a HUGE improvement when gmail added the Promotions tab, but this makes it so much easier.

Lastpass

Lastpass is a way to manage all of your passwords in one place. It even will help generate better more secure passwords. Using the word love for a password management application might seem strong. But I am in LOVE.

Zoho

I am migrating all my emails from gmail to Zoho Mail.  They allow for folders, filters, tasks (set from the email and you can refer to the email), all integrated within the mail inbox.  Life is already easier.  Now when a client emails me, they go into their folder.  No more sorting through 100 emails to find the one email from a client with the info I needed!  Not to mention it is add free, and you can use your own domain name.  Go Zoho Mail for top class, ad-free (privacy guaranteed) email hosting.