We've all done it!  Halfway through vacation, we start to worry about our overflowing inbox, the meetings we're missing and what will be waiting for us when when we get back to the offic.  Here are a few tips to ease the transition from a walk on the beach back to the daily grind.

1.  Make your vacations a REAL vacation.
Your out-of-office reply is there for a reason!  Don't check you email every day or call in to see what is going on.  Take a break... it'll make you stronger in the long run!

2.  Give yourself a transition day or two.
Rather than coming home the night before you go back to work, give yourself time to run errands, pick up groceries, do laundry and gear up a bit.

3.  Make a plan for your return.
Don't overbook yourself your first couple of days back at work.  Carve out time to go through emails, dig through anything that accumulated on your desk and get back in the groove!  Block out this time on your schedule so you don't get booked for meetings!

The new year is the perfect time for fresh starts, and 2016 is no exception!  Get your office in order with all the best in organization, and update with the latest new products to make work more efficient.

You know the old adage, "Time is money"? An organized office saves both.  When your workspace is filed, labeled and beautifully organized, you know exactly where to look for everything. There's no wasted time digging for those meeting notes from last week or that invoice that was supposed to be paid yesterday.  With the proper organizational tools, there's a place for everything.  Check out the Twist January Work - Life flyer, you'll find lots of ideas you'll want to put to work!  There's new products and technology to help you get more done in less time and make the most of your workday! 

Keeping track of dates and time is important if you want to beat the holiday rush, but equally important is taking advantage of some time saving shortcuts.
​Here are some tips sure to help.
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Addressing Made Easy
You can make short work of long mailing lists by using Avery Address Labels and free easy-to-use programs such as the Avery Wizard for Microsoft® Office or Avery Design & Print Online to create professional looking, custom-printed address labels in minutes. Visit avery.com/templates to find out more.
 
Check Your Zip Codes
Don’t let an incorrect zip code send your mail in the wrong direction. If in doubt, just go to www.usps.com and click on Look up a ZIP Code. Once you’ve got your mailing list in order (with full addresses and correct ZIP Codes) use the Avery Wizard or Avery Design & Print Online and get step-by-step instructions to mail merge your mailing list and print onto labels in minutes. If you don't have a spreadsheet with all of your names and addresses, you can start with our pre-formatted files for Microsoft® Excel or other database programs.
 
Reuse those boxes
Got a used box that would be perfect for something you need to ship, except it has its original shipping labels or other markings all over it? No problem. There’s no need to scratch off the old labels—all you need are Avery Shipping Labels with TrueBlock® Technology and free Avery Templates to format and print the new shipping address. You can also make old boxes look like new by covering up old markings with Avery Brown Kraft Shipping Labels. And because Avery Shipping Labels completely cover up everything underneath, your packages look neat, legible, and professional.
 
Avoid Post Office Lines
Why go to the Post Office when you can calculate and print official USPS postage right from your own PC? You can print postage using popular Avery 5160 Labels and Avery 8160 Labels at www.avery.com/postage, powered by Stamps.com. For new customers, check out the special introductory offer (valued at $100).
 

This blog post was originally posted on the Smead Organamics blog

Coping with holiday stress is a huge concern for many people. Many people try to pack months worth of activities into just 6 short weeks. Most individuals admit to having stress directly related to this time of year. For mental and physical health reasons, coping with holiday stress is very important. In fact, there are four holiday stress-inducers that you can try eliminating to make your holiday season actually feel like a holiday:

1. Doing too much in too little time. It’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to do more in the same amount of time. Unfortunately, the holiday season doesn’t grant us any more hours in our days. This year consider putting on hold some of your family’s activities during the holidays in order to accommodate the increases in your schedule. Things like your child’s piano lessons or your book club will easily resume after the holiday.
   
   
2. Having unrealistic expectations. Do you try to address greeting cards, do all your baking and finish up your shopping in just a few days? To quote Dr. Phil: “How’s that workin’ for you?” Instead, start your holiday preparations early. Things such as addressing greeting cards, stocking up on groceries for the holidays or doing the majority of your baking can be done in October or November.
   
   
3. Going into debt. Keep a close eye on those credit cards. Spending money you already have in your checking account will help you avoid additional debt and those January blues that come in the mail in the form of credit card statements.
   
   
4. Sticking to traditions. If truth be told, some traditions bring on stress and aren’t even enjoyable anymore. Maybe this is the year you choose an artificial tree versus cutting one down yourself or maybe you decide to decorate your home with only half the decorations you normally do.
   
   

Strategizing against the causes of stress will bring more order, calm and peace into your day. Just by coping with holiday stress you’ll have more enjoyable memories of the entire holiday season.
By: Audrey Thomas, Certified Professional Organizer®

Do you have a paper planner and Microsoft Outlook but can’t decide which to use?

The good news is, you don’t have to give up one for the other – you can successfully combine Microsoft Outlook with your paper day planner for a dependable and productive planning solution.
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Here is some practical advice for making them work together:

KNOW YOUR ROLES:
The Outlook and day planner relationship works best if you properly define the roles of each tool. Outlook should be your “master” scheduling device. You should maintain all time-sensitive data here. If it’s tied into your work network most appointments begin here already, and it offers terrific reminder features.

Your paper planner, on the other hand, should serve as your portable all-purpose tool. It works great while on the go or at your desk — just flip it open for access to your daily plan. (Outlook can be a distraction, especially while working in other computer programs.)

FOLLOW THIS DAILY ROUTINE:

•  Sync your day: Establish a time for planning your day ahead. Typically, I recommend the morning for this activity, however many enjoy planning at day’s end. Make it a routine by setting aside at least 15 minutes each day.
•  Review on paper: Run through your day planner and extract all task and appointment notes from the previous day. Input this information directly into Outlook, making certain to include start dates and due dates.
•  Important tip: Always reference in Outlook where the task or appointment request was found in your paper planner notes, in case you want to refer back later.
•  Process your email: Scan your past day’s messages and create tasks from those that require follow-up action. Simply open the message, open the “File” menu, choose “Copy to folder,” and select “tasks” from the drop-down menu.
• Another Important tip: Create new task subject headings that more specifically address the action required.
• Update your paper planner: If you perform this routine daily, keeping your tasks and schedules in-sync is a quick, reliable process.
  •   First, go to your Outlook task screen and copy into your planner the tasks you need and want to do today.
  •   Next, go to your Outlook calendar and update today’s appointments in your planner.
  •   Then, go to your monthly calendars and copy into your planner any schedule updates for the week and month    ahead.

NOTES TO REMEMBER:

• As you go about your day, use the tool that is most convenient. In other words, hand-write notes for new tasks and appointments if you’re using your planner for activities such as taking meeting notes, and create Outlook tasks and appointments if you’re reading email. As long as you perform the daily sync your system will be current.
• Printing out your Outlook schedule is the preferred choice of many. Use Day-Timer’s Print Your Own planning pages.

A FINAL THOUGHT:
Stick to your daily plan. As new urgent tasks arise through the email and conversations of your day, you must decide whether they take priority over those that you’ve already assigned yourself.
 
Day-Timer Spokesperson Jeff Doubek can be reached at jeff.doubek@daytimer.com