Mary Dykstra
MBA, CPO, CRTS
Free
Organizing & Time Management Expert
Mary Dykstra Quick Facts
- Main Areas
- Organizing & Time Management for Office, Home & Life
- Career Focus
- Speaker, Consultant & Hands On Facilitator
- Affiliation
- NAPO National Association of Professional Organizers, BCPO Board of Certified Professional Organizers, InForum - Women's Economic Group, Interchange - Association for West Michigan Communication Professionals
Mary Dykstra, MBA, Certified Professional Organizer® is a speaker, strategist, hands-on organizing and time management expert and Certified Senior Relocation and Transition Specialist. Mary is passionate about helping clients and audiences regain control of their minds, lives and environments – long term. Her listening, project management, problem solving skills, empathy and extensive education are focused on addressing the issues and opportunities that come up surrounding organizing, time management, planning, moving/relocation and setting up sustainable systems for her clients. Since 2006 she has served as the Director of Examination Development for the Board of Certified Professional Organizers. She is also an active member of NAPO – the National Association of Professional Organizers. She is the founder of Within Reach Organizing Services and speaks & teaches & consults nationally. www.withinreach.biz
Articles by this expert
SelfGrowth articles and saved writing connected to this expert.
Article
Do You Run Your Business or Does Your Business Run You?
• Do you feel overwhelmed, inundated by your office, out of control, overscheduled and full of mental and physical stress? • Are you running faster, multi tasking more and feeling that you can't get ahead? • Do you accumulate piles of all the things you need to "decide" on? e.g.
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Tips & Helpful Lists for Holiday, Year End Prep and New Year Goals
It's been a challenging year. How are you heading into 2010? Are You Ready For Your Life Now? Many of us are overwhelmed by our stuff, schedules & having to deal with change. I help clients set decision making criteria in 3 areas: What to let in? Where will it go (space & schedule)? How do you know when you are done with it (& what's it's exit strategy)? If you can get a handle on these, organizing and time management becomes much easier long term.
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Organize Your Desk & Office Space for 2010 & Beyond
It’s ‘GO’ Month (Get Organized)! Moreover, it’s a new year and a new decade. This is the perfect time to set the tone for a new phase. Remember, small changes over time lead to a huge cumulative positive change. Let’s talk about your office & desk area, whether it’s a home office or a business office. Many of the same issues are the same for both areas. If you find that you have always struggled with getting or staying organized and managing your time, consider hiring a Certified Professional Organizer to help you identify and set up a sustainable customized system.
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Tips on Organizing & Filing April Taxes
Gather those receipts & tax forms…. According to the IRS, there are 2 groups of filers - those who get their returns in as soon as they have their W-2's & 1099's and those who file at the 'last minute'. Interestingly many of the 'last minute' filers have money coming back but do not have their records organized and feel overwhelmed by the process. According to the Consumer Reports National Research Center, only 40% of Americans think they can find a document at a moment's notice.
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Organizing is a 3 Step Process – Forget the Pretty Bins
Organizing is about having a strategy - its not about having the latest and greatest containers. Many of my clients and audiences fall victim to all the great “Organizing” & “ Organized” pictures of beautiful closet systems, kitchen & organizing bin systems which are only 30% filled with color coordinated items. Advertisers make it appear to be an organizing utopia.
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Simplify, Reduce Debt and Start Enjoying Life More Fully
Simplifying does not mean going without. It means consciously choosing what things, people and events you surround yourself with. I spent 10 years in Marketing learning what colors, words, shapes and offers would make YOU stop in the store, pick up my product and put it in your shopping basket. The industry calls it “impulse purchasing” when you buy things in a store that are not on your list (mental or written). It makes our economy go round. Manufactures and advertisers spend billions of dollars annually to get their products and messages in front of you.
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Learning How to Organize is a Lot Like Learning How to Shoot
A friend named Tom, teased me about being a “pacifist” even though I have (he says) a tendency to say “shoot it”. He tweaked me to be more conscious of my use of language and thought process and offered to take me target practicing so I would have a greater appreciation/respect of firing a gun and my choice of words. I said yes – how hard could it be? Sure looks easy on TV. He brought a number of guns (pistol and rifles) – oh boy – where to start? This was a bit overwhelming and VERY COMPLICATED looking.
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The Top 5 Reasons to Simplify and De-clutter
Like many Americans you probably have to reinvent your self in this current economy. It means learning new coping skills and making business and lifestyle changes. It means maximizing the use of things you already own and sharpening your skill set to get a new job or retain your current job. The American stress level has not been this high since the Great Depression. Instead of putting your energy into worrying (a huge miss use of creative imagination), it's time to be proactive and focused. It's time to get back to the fundamentals.
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Shared Life, Shared Space, Shared Schedules - Tips for couples getting organized
Do you share space with a loved one and find it challenging at times because you have very different organizing or time management styles? I have a number of women and men who call asking for organizing help frustrated with their spouse/significant other's habits. When I enter the situation, many times it's a bit tense because the "unorganized one" feels judged and harassed and the "organized one" can't understand their love's plight and seeming resistance to being "more organized".
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Create Your Own Kitchen Makeover
I have worked with a number of people over the years who have called saying they feel overwhelmed when they walk into their kitchens and are inundated by counter clutter, cupboard chaos, and fridge fright. Ever feel like your home life is out of control and you are overwhelmed by the state of your kitchen? It’s not surprising as the kitchen is the heart center of the house. For most, it’s a multi purpose room - food prep & storage, school study, home office, eating, crafting and visiting area.
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Favorite Quotes & Thoughts from Mary Dykstra
Mary Dykstra, MBA, CRTS, CPO®, speaker & certified professional organizer has been helping corporate, residential and entrepreneurial clients get organized since 1984. After earning her MBA, Mary worked as a marketing consultant and project manager for a number of years, making her particularly attuned to organizing and time management challenges. She continues to take a multi-disciplinary approach to ongoing research and development in a variety of areas that directly impact her clients long term so they can stay focused on their highest payoff activities. She works and speaks nationally and has a particular passion for working with entrepreneurial clients and small business owners who typically struggle with having to ‘wear many hats’ and who get lost in some of the details. First & foremost, she helps her clients set up appropriate decision making criteria in 3 areas then works with them in their physical environments so they can leverage their space, environment and mind to the highest degree.
Contacting Mary Dykstra
For information on speaking, consulting and organizing services please contact me via:
How to get started
"The trouble is that you think you have time" Budda
"Paradise is where I am." Voltaire
"Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive." Elbert Hubbard
"Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right." Henry Ford
“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all”. Oscar Wilde “Vision with out action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.” Old Proverb
My Personal Philosophy: As a professional organizer/coach, it is my obligation and passion to:
· listen
· ask insightful questions
· listen again
· offer potential solutions that are in alignment with how your brain is wired
· deliver exceptional service
· leave you empowered
It’s the subtle things that make the greatest impact. It’s not about you understanding the organizer’s system; it’s about the organizer understanding yours. It’s not about the organizer quizzing you, “when was the last time you used this?” I never use shame-based questions or embarrassment tactics to create action or change. I understand that the similarity between a good habit and a poor one is that they are both hard to break. I work with my clients to identify their priorities and set up systems that help them stay focused on those highest payoff activities with confidence and to create routines and strategies that take them to the next level of making empowering, conscious-based choices.