What ‘Ag’ Women Want!
Margie P. Memmott
Associate Professor/FCS Agent
Juab County
Marilyn K. Albertson
Associate Professor/FCS Agent
Salt Lake County
Organizing Your Important
Papers
Marilyn K. Albertson
Associate Professor/FCS Agent
Salt Lake County
Do You Have Your Financial
Affairs Organized?
• Do you have a system for organizing
your important financial records?
• If you could not manage your
financial affairs, are they in order so
someone you trust could find your
financial information?
Are You Prepared?
• Do you know where to find all your
important documents?
– Bank Account information, Credit Card
information, Wills and Trusts and
beneficiaries, Insurance Policy
information, Medical information and
insurance cards, Loans, Credit
obligations, etc.
Are You Prepared?
• What events or situations
would require you to have a
portable document detailing
your financial affairs to take
with you out of your home?
• Could you get it quickly?
First Take a Look at Your Financial
Records
• What should you keep?
• Where should you keep it?
Take a Look at Your Record Keeping
• Do you have important documents stored
safely?
• Do you know how long to store different
types of records?
• Do you have files set up for
– Family Records
– Property Records
– Financial Records
– Legal Records
– Farm Records
Have a Plan…
• Prepare a Financial Records
Inventory
• Prepare financial records for
safekeeping
Take a Look at Your Record Keeping
• Do you have a current household
inventory?
• Do you have a financial notebook
prepared for an emergency or to work
with in handling your financial affairs?
Starting A Financial Information Binder
• What For?
– Provides a quick reference to your entire
financial situation.
– It can also provide valuable information
for someone who may need to manage
your affairs were you unable to.
Parts of a Financial Notebook
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Personal Directory
Professional Directory
Document Locator
Wills and Trusts
Health Information
Financial Section
Personal Property Inventory
Parts of a Financial Notebook
continued...
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Social Security Benefit Statement
Pension Benefits
Widowhood Analysis
Paycheck Stubs
Loans
Etc.
Include in Your Notebook
• User names, passwords
• List of debt obligations with due
dates, contact information
• Photocopies, front and back, of all
credit cards
• List of beneficiaries of insurance
policies, wills, bank accounts, etc.
Update Yearly
• Maintenance? Your Financial
Information Binder should be
updated annually and whenever a
significant change occurs (such as a
birth, death, marriage, divorce,
relocation, purchase
or sale of assets, etc)
Replacing Valuable Documents
• What if you lose everything?
• Some resources for replacing
documents may be destroyed
• Most can be replaced
• Resource list may be available for
your state.
Some Forms to Assist in
Organizing Your Finances
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Goal Sheet
Summary Record
Net Worth Statement
Income and Expense Statement
Savings and Spending Plan
Reminder of Special Expenses
Worksheets
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Disability Income Needs
Credit Management – PowerPay
Retirement Forms
Large Future Irregular Expenses
Are You Ready to Live Alone
HAVE A PLAN
Define your financial goals
Identify Goals – What you want out of life.
Goal
Need, Want or
Hope
Date to
accomplish
$$
Needed
PowerPay© Program
• Program to analyze your credit
situation, know how long before the
debt will be paid off, interest to be
paid and ways to pay off debt more
quickly
• Site: PowerPay.org
Online version 5.0
• Online
• In Spanish
• Meets Rehabilitation Act section 508
accessibility standards
• PowerSave
• New features requested by users
Emergency Fund
Balance Transfers
• Having an organized system
for managing your financial
affairs can give you peace of
mind and reduce the stress in
your household.
BALANCING WORK AND FAMILY
Organizational Skills to Increase Effectiveness and Reduce Stress.
Margie P. Memmott
Associate Professor/FCS Agent
Juab County
Work Smarter… Not Harder
Don’t let it pile up…
Working on multiple projects
• Studies have shown that multi-tasking is
actually counterproductive. Key in on one
project at a time. You'll be more effective at
getting it done in less time, and you'll do a
better job on it. Your mental and creative
energy will be focused and not distracted by
what the other tasks may be demanding.
Also, the sense of accomplishment from
completing one task will energize you for
the next project.
• You know those file drawers and closets that
are so full, they won’t quite close?
It turns out they could be bad for your health:
Every time you look around and feel anxious
that the mess is getting out of hand, your body
releases cortisol, one of the classic stress
hormones.
- Steven Maier, PhD, a neuroscience professor at
the University of Colorado.
The 3 E’s in Effective
• EVALUATE
– What can you change?
• ENVISION
– Make a plan
• EXECUTE
– Take action with enthusiasm
– Be consistent
Chaos
vs. Organization
Knowing where things are is
important.
You can have lots of stuff
and still be organized.
Organization and Cleaning Tips
• Organization is an ever-changing
process; it’s a journey, not a destination.
• Everyone is different in temperament,
attitude, build, energy, and ambition;
every situation requires a different style
of organization to get the job done. The
secret isn’t in how you get organized –
it’s in wanting to be organized and
committing yourself to do it.
• Your system of organization should fit you
personally. It should be tailored to your style,
your schedule and your motivation.
• However, you need to remember that you
don’t work in a bubble. Your co-workers/family
also need to be able to both find things and
also put them away.
• Create a usable, understandable filing key so
that everyone can help with the organization
process.
Making space
Here’s how you can change your life through
organization.
Julie Morgenstern, “Organizing from the Inside
Out” provides a simple way to remember how to
take control of any SPACE.
• Sort: Identify what’s important to you and group similar
items
• Purge: Decide what you can live without and get rid of it.
(donate it, sell it, store it, toss it.)
• Assign: Decide where the items you keep will go.
Remember, make it logical, accessible, and safe.
• Containerize: Make sure they’re sturdy, easy to handle,
the right size, and that they look good. The art of
containerizing is to do it last, not first.
• Equalize: Spend 15 minutes a day to maintain
what you’ve done.
What gets noticed
“No matter how the windows
might sparkle, or the floor
might shine, your efforts won’t
be noticed or appreciated if the
table isn’t cleared or the desk
is cluttered.”
More resources:
USU Extension –
Quick tips for clutter control
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Don’t procrastinate…get started.
Stop making excuses for your clutter.
Learn to let go… be a giver or throw it away.
Limit the amount of storage taken up by clutter.
Practice the in-and-out inventory rule…if
something new comes in, something old goes out.
• Less clutter gives you more time, money and
energy.
• Keep everything in its place.
• Don’t let perfectionism keep you from
organizing…sometimes good is good
enough.
Make your workspace inviting
•
Eliminate chaos. A messy work area reduces the physical space
needed for productivity, blocks creativity, increases the chances that
you'll lose something and dramatically increases stress. Clear the
clutter. Remove the majority of knickknacks, picture frames and toys.
Keep only a few inspirational pieces if you like, towards the back of
your work area -- in view, but out of the way.
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Stock your workspace for its main functions. Think about how
you're going to use this workspace, and plan around that purpose. If
you use your desk at home to write out bills, keep a pen, calculator,
stamps and other necessary supplies right in, or near, that work area.
This will help make the task much quicker and easier.
•
Use organizing tools. Baskets, trays, holders, file folders and other
organizing tools can help you get your workspace organized. Before
buying any of these tools though, be sure to take the time to think
through 1) why you need that tool and 2) if the tool you're thinking of is
the best one for the job.
Make your workspace inviting
•
Think ergonomics. If you feel physically uncomfortable in your
workspace -- your eyes feel strained, your muscles ache from
constantly stretching to reach something, your wrists hurt, your
back hurts, etc.-- then it's time for you to re-think and rearrange
your physical workspace for health and comfort. Be sure you are
working in sufficient lighting conditions. If you aren't, you may
consider some track lighting or additional lamps. Is your chair
uncomfortable? If so, it may not be the right chair for you. Or,
maybe the seat should be raised or lowered. If your wrist hurts from
using the computer mouse, get yourself a mouse pad with
cushioning. Position your computer monitor at, or below, eye level,
at a comfortable distance.
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Put stuff away at the end of the day. When you're done using
your workspace for the day, put everything back in its place. Don't
leave this area in chaos. This way, the next time you return to your
work area, you'll have an inviting space that will allow you to get
down to work without delay. This applies to your home as well.
SCHEDULING
The key is not to prioritize your
schedule, but to schedule your
priorities.
Scheduling
• Not every idea works for everyone.
Find and use what works best for you
and those who work with you.
• Some ideas
– Use notes and checklists
– Use a planner, appointment book, or
calendar.
• Only you can decide what will work for
you. Find something and
stick to it.
There are only 24 hours in a day
• TAKE YOUR LUNCH BREAK!
• Choose to eat a few lunches
per week in silence. Use it as a
time to eat slowly and to be with
yourself and your thoughts.
Managing Stress
Develop a method to handle stress
• No one lives a stress free life. Some
days are worse than others, but we
all have stress. Since it is always
going to be there, how do we handle
it? What methods work for you?
• If you are always feeling stress,
seek a new method to handle stress
since whatever you are doing now is
not working.
Serenity Prayer written by Reinhold Niebuhr:
“God grant me the serenity to accept the
things I cannot change, the courage to
change the things I can, and the wisdom
to know the difference.”
Dealing with stress...
• Go through your inbox/to-do list and
take care of everything you can as you
come to it. Setting it aside will just
create piles that you will be tempted to
procrastinate taking care of.
Dealing with stress...
• If you are busy, let your co-workers
or family know. This is not rude.
People will understand that you are
busy and need to get your tasks
accomplished.
• Sometimes you may even need to
shut your door, and that’s
o.k.!
More tips to make your day more
productive:
• Get ready the night before.
Whatever you can get done the night before, from laying out
the outfit you plan to wear, to setting the breakfast table, to
checking your To Do list, to filling your car's gas tank, the
more you'll be able to get done the next day.
• Use your To Do list.
Don't go through your day in a random, haphazard fashion.
Do one thing at a time as listed on your To Do list, and cross
each task off your list as you complete it.
• Stop trying to be a super hero.
If you can delegate some tasks to your spouse, your kids,
your associates, your co-workers, an outside source, etc.,
then do it. Once you take the 'I have to do it all myself'
responsibility off your shoulders, you'll be able
to get more done and feel less exhausted at
the end of the day.
More tips to make your day more
productive:
• Know yourself.
Work on your most important projects and tasks during the
time of day when you feel most energetic and awake.
Determine if you're an early bird or a night owl, and schedule
your projects accordingly.
• Get something done, even if it's small.
Try to start and finish your first task of the day. Completing a
project early on is great motivation for you to continue being
productive. I always start my day with a task or project that I
can complete in 15 minutes or less. Once I'm done with it, I
feel energized and move on to the next task or project of the
day with ease.
Some new (and old) ideas to relieve stress.
• Stay away from overly competitive
people.
• Focus on the solution- not the problem.
• Associate with positive, upbeat people.
• Accept that everyone has peculiarities.
• Be content with what you have.
• Only make promises you can keep.
• Cherish your family.
Family
Family
• Things which matter
most must never be at
the mercy of things
which matter least.
Balancing Work and Family
• Where does your family fit into all
of this?
• Many of us believe that “family
comes first” – how can that be
true if we put all of our time and
energy into work? That leaves
nothing left for our family.
Balancing Work and Family
• If you have a significant other
and/or children, you need to
have some positive energy left
for them at the end of the day.
• Schedule family time and
activities into your planner.
Transition from work to family
• At work, we are ‘professional’, so it’s
usually the family that receives the brunt of
our stress as we tend to ‘vent’ at home!
• Reduce stress between work and family
– Use drive time to mentally transition
– Sit quietly and meditate, or even walk
– Change out of work clothes, transition to next
‘role’.
– Say hello to each family member, center
yourself at home . . .and vice a versa!
Transition from work to family
• Transfer principles of office
organization to managing
your own household and
family tasks.
– Ideas that don’t work
– Ideas that work
Goals to help you get organized
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Slow down
Imagine doing less
Make time for loved ones
Practice patience
Learn to gently say no
Increase your quiet time
Follow your heart
Yield to Life, Peace, Joy
SIMPLIFY
If you don’t set your own goals –
Someone else will set them for you.
So what are you going to do about it?
• Change Process
– Where do I want to be? (You can’t
change what you don’t
acknowledge).
– What are the barriers to get where
I want to be? (Don’t give your
power away to someone else to
control your attitude).
So what are you going to do about it?
– What must I do to get where I want
to be? (If you always do what
you’ve always done, you’ll always
get what you’ve always got).
– What is my timeline to get there?
(The difference between a dream
and a goal is a timeline!)
Remember the 3 E’s in Effective
• EVALUATE
• ENVISION
• EXECUTE
Life before planning and action
Now here’s a happy ‘Woman in Ag’
Bibliography
Albertson, M. K. (2008) Salt Lake County Director. Associate Professor, Utah State University Extension.
Aslett, D. (1993). The cleaning encyclopedia. New York: Dell Publishing.
Chapman, E. & Major, J.C. (1991). Clean your house and everything in it. New York: Perigee Books.
Dixon, Maria. (March 2007). Limit your daily interruptions. Retrieved February 28, 2007 from, Healthy Utah.Org
Stress Management Monthly Article. Website: http://www.healthyutah.org/home/hltharticles/stressarticle.html
Hoole, D.V. (1975). The joys of homemaking. Utah: Deseret Book Company.
Kelly, K. (Mar. 2001). Making kids do chores can be a labor of love. U.S. News and World Report.
Maier, Steven F. (Guest). (January 2007). Urge to purge. Oprah Show.
Memmott, M.P. (2007). Juab County Director. Associate Professor, Utah State University Extension
Miner, F.D. (2008) Utah County Director. Professor, Utah State University Extension.
Moore, C. (2007). Are Household Chores Extinct? Utah Association of Family and Consumer Sciences.
Morgenstern, J. (2004). Organizing from the inside out. New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC.
Rowe, B. and FCS Agents. (2001). Take Charge of Your Money. Utah State University Extension .
Selzer, S.M. (1993). Life’s little relaxation book: over 300 ways to r-e-l-a-x. S.P.I. Books.
Shuster, C. Extension Agent. Ohio State University Extension. Perry County.
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