It's Here: Get It Together Girl Radio!

Tonight is the night.  After months of planning and preparation, I am launching my own BlogTalkRadio show with Get It Together Girl Radio! Like the workbooks, the show will focus on the little things you can do and changes you can make that will make a major difference in your life.

We'll talk about organization and time management (but I promise you it won't be boring!). We'll talk about relationships (not just romantic ones but family, friends and workplace relationships too). We'll talk about health and wealth. We'll talk about setting and achieving goals and living your dreams!

This is sort of like coming full circle for me. My degree is in broadcast journalism and I worked in radio for several years after college. However, eating shouldn't be optional and cars run better on gas than fumes so I made a career change. People who know me know that this project makes sense for me and the person that I am. A radio show is definitely within my wheelhouse. For me, it is living a dream.

I am truly excited about this. I'm lining up great guest, covering amazing topics and looking forward to calls from listeners and chatting with them.

The live show airs Thursday nights at 8:00 p.m. (EST). If you miss the live show, you can always visit the archive and replay the show when it is convenient by going to www.blogtalkradio.com/getittogethergirl

I hope you share even a little bit of the my enthusiasm. I would love to hear your voices on the show. Call in! Chat with me!

Also if you or anyone you know would be interested in being a guest, email me at karyn @getittogethermedia.com.

Get It Together Girl Radio

I have finally done something I'd been thinking about doing for a while now. I am launching my own BlogTalkRadio show in September.

Just as often as I thought about doing it, I would think myself out of it. I probably didn't have the equipment. I couldn't afford the advertising. It would just be one more thing on a very full plate. The thing is I never went further than thinking. I just knew it was going to take more money, more time and more effort that I could afford.

I'd been yearning to do something though. So a few weeks ago, I actually went to the BlogTalkRadio site and started investigating. I quickly realized, I already had all the equipment I needed to get started, it wasn't going to cost me a fortune to start and there were ways I could actually make money through my show. They even gave me tips on promotion and free training with a veteran host.

So I did it. And it felt good. Heck, it still feels good. Had I taken a look at the site and found that it really was expensive or time-intensive, that would have been fine too. I would have just moved on. The scary thing was that I asked all of these questions and came up with my own answers. I talked myself out of taking action without even having any real information!

How many times do we make decisions like that? We think we know and assume that our thoughts must be the reality. The only way to know is to make the effort and take the time to find out the truth. In my case, it was just checking out a website and talking to a veteran host.

So instead of taking your own expert advice, take the initiative to get the information from the experts. Go on a fact-finding mission. Once you have your facts, then and only then can you really make a good decision.

Get It Together Girl Radio will be a weekly series dedicated to helping listeners get the information and take the initiative necessary to live their lives at full capacity! My motto .. Get Motivated. Get Real. Get There with Get It Together Girl Radio! When I finalize the time for the live show I will let you all know. I will also give you the link to my page, so you can listen to my show anytime!

I'm so excited that last night I recorded a short preview episode that contains information on Get It Together Girl: the history, the concept, the workbooks and now the radio show. Check it out.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/getittogethergirl/2013/07/24/all-about-get-it-together-girl-1

Making the Most of Each Day - Got Pockets?

In this four-week series, we will look at how to make the most of each day by making the most effective use of the one commodity we all share – time.

It would be wonderful if we had large blocks of time. We could really get a lot done if we had an hour or two or even more to devote to getting organized, study, clean, spend time with loved ones, write, read or indulge in a hobby. It’s rare, though, to have that kind of time on your hands. The sad thing is that we sacrifice a lot based on something that really doesn’t have to be a problem.

You have time. Trust me, you do. You just don’t see it because you don’t have great big boulders of time, you’ve got small rocks, pebbles even. However, if you use these small blocks effectively, you’ll be able to find a couple of larger rockers and even the occasional boulder.

• Want an extra 30 minutes? Wake up 30 minutes earlier or go to bed 30 minutes later. Use half of your lunch time to get things done.
• Got 15 minutes? Use it. A quarter of an hour can be enough time to get some cleaning, straightening, or organizing done. Fifteen minutes of filing or cleaning out your email box can get a lot done. I even write sometimes in 15 minute increments. It isn’t a lot of time but done consistently, it can make a big difference.
• Have just 5 minutes? Five minutes is enough time to return a few phone calls, especially if you are just have information to communicate and don’t have to have a conversation. Leave messages. Call work colleagues before the work day begins, at lunch or right before you leave work. Call family and friends during the work day.
• Drive much? Use your time in the car to return phone calls (Use your hands free headset. Safety first!). This is also a great time to catch up on the news or listen to an audio book. It could be a good idea to turn off the radio or music and use the silence to recharge and get a moment to yourself.
• Dog Gone It! I return a lot of phone calls while walking the dog.
• Use Your Smartphone Wisely. On my Android, I have apps for most of my bills, and my bank. I also have apps that let me check the weather, get movie times, create and update a task list and a calendar for appointments. While I never advocate this while driving, this can be an excellent use of your time when you are standing in a long line, on breaks at work or waiting at the doctor’s office or at the mechanics. Recently, I paid several bills on the train ride to my salsa lesson.

Using the time you have is empowering and effective. It’s a great feeling to know that you are getting things done and saving time to boot.

Making the Most of Each Day - What Matters Most

In this four-week series, we will look at how to make the most of each day by making the most effective use of the one commodity we all share – time.

I’m a big fan of Steven Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. My favorite habit (yes, I have a favorite!) is Habit 3: Putting First Things First. The Habits are designed to be mastered sequentially and this one comes after learning to be proactive and to begin with the ending in mind. By Habit Three, the reader is ready to start living their priorities. This is the time to bring the most important things to the forefront.

In order to put first things first, you have to have the time. What things am I talking about? Exercise, eating healthy, quality time with family, friends and the significant other, prayer and meditation, professional development, hobbies, writing the Great American Novel, these are the things that we say we value but we often put aside. Why? Most often, we simply don’t have the time … or so we say. Take a moment and look up at the banner of this blog. What does it say? LOSE THE EXCUSES! More often than not, not having time is just that, an excuse.

Covey has a simple but dramatic four quadrant square that illustrates where we are currently spending our time and how we can reallocate it to make time for the things that matter most. The quadrant tracks two concepts – urgency and importance.

Quadrant One is the Quadrant of the Procrastinator. Things in this quadrant are both urgent and important. This quadrant is where we are when we are rushing to get that report in by the deadline or stay up all night cramming for the test. It is the quadrant of car trouble, and even heart attacks.

Quadrant Two I’ll talk about last.

Quadrant Three is the Quadrant of the Yes Man. Things in this quadrant are urgent but not important. We are in this quadrant when we let interruptions (chatty co-workers,  non-urgent phone calls, immediately answering non-essential emails) take us away from what is more important. Some meetings fall into this category and things that are important and urgent to others but aren’t important to us appear here too.

Quadrant Four is the Quadrant of the Slacker. Things in this quadrant are neither urgent or important. Some time spent surfing the net, watching TV or napping is a good thing. We all need down time and relaxation. However, if you are spending too much time here, it is a problem.

Quadrant Two is the Quadrant of the Prioritizer. Things in this quadrant are not urgent but they are important. This is where we should spend more of our time. This is the quadrant of planning, relationship building, exercise, planning, and prevention. The lack of urgency sometimes makes these important tasks take a back seat to Quadrant 1.

However, spending more time in Quadrant Two reduces the amount of time we spend in the first quadrant. A little planning and time management and the adrenaline-filled rush to complete the report or the caffeine-fueled cramming session could have been avoided. A little preventive car maintenance could have eliminated the car trouble. It’s possible that making time to exercise, prepare healthy meals and visit the doctor, the heart attack might not have happened.

We can also work on spending less time in Quadrants Three and Four. Begin managing your interruptions. Hold people who drop by to a time limit. Let them know you have five minutes or so to talk and then you have to get back to work. Five minutes later, give them a better time to continue the discussion, if necessary. Use technology to your advantage. Check your Caller ID and voicemail. You don’t have to answer every phone call. Return calls when you have the time. Likewise, set a time to return emails. Use the flag feature to keep them from falling through the cracks.

It is easy to end up spending too much time in Quadrant Four. After all, time flies when you are having fun! Give yourself a set amount of time for your activity and then use a timer to reinforce that.

Make the time for the things that matter most. This is where life is lived and memories are made.

Get It Together Girl!: Goal-Setting edition

This brief four-week series will introduce the workbooks in the Get It Together Girl series.

I love setting goals! It's one of the things I'm passionate about. Not only do I set goals annually, but I revisit them and set mini-goals every once. Most of the time, I meet them but even when I don't, I know what I need to do to tweak my plan. I'm so passionate about goal-setting that a few years back, I convinced my manager to let me conduct an optional goal-setting workshop for employees. It was from that workshop that Get It Together Girl!: Getting to Goal - Your Dreams, Your Desires, Your Way was born.

In this 90-minute workshop, we looked at the immediate past (no more than two years) to see what worked, what didn't and, most importantly, why. Then we shoot a year forward to see what we'd like our lives to look like. What is different? What has changed?

It's from that forward look that we start to look at what goals we'd need to create that picture. We also look   at the goals to determine which ones we truly want for ourselves versus the ones others want for us and the ones we thing we should have. Once we get rid of the should goals, we focus on no more than three goals and we develop the plan for achieving them.

As with It's About Time, I created an appendix with practical information - including a series of Goal Assistants for the most popular goals (weight loss, new job, continuing education, saving money, stopping smoking and starting a relationship). With Goal Assistance, I list several tips that will help you succeed as well as several resources to help you along your journey.

Challenge: We're already in December so New Year's is around the way. Instead of focusing on resolutions, think ahead to this time next year. By December 2013, what do you see for yourself and what will it take for you to get there? This is the beginning of your goal-setting journey!

Get It Together Girl!: Time Management edition

This brief four-week series will introduce the workbooks in the Get It Together Girl series.

As the holidays approach, it's a great time to talk about time management. The second in the series, Get It Together Girl!: It's About Time - Finding It, Saving It and Making the Most of It is a collection of time-saving tips doled out one per weekday.

A common excuses that many people have is that they don't have enough time. One thing is certain, you aren't going to get anymore! The trick is to do better with the time you have. Most people get defensive when I say it, but I can squeeze an hour out of the average woman's day.

The trick is to not look for large blocks of time; but to use small pockets of time more effectively. I had a client who claimed she couldn't study for the bar because she couldn't find enough 3 hour blocks of time. I agreed. Three hour blocks of time are hard to come by. I gave her a question and a challenge. My question was how long are the blocks of time she did have. She told me an hour. Next, I challenged her to take those 3 hour subjects and break them down into hour-long subtopics. Working with the time that she had, she was able to finally study.

This book starts with a question? What would you do if you could find an extra two-hours in your week? Next, we spend two weeks looking at different ways to get that time: bundling errands, using the Focused Fifteen outside of organization ....

What makes this book different, is that I've included a lot of extra information in the Appendix. There is a chart for age-appropriate chores for kids, tips on how to delegate as well as web-based and mobile applications that will help readers save even more time.

Challenge: Ask yourself the question: what would you do with two extra hours a week? I start with this question because saving time is a task that is hard to track. If you have a good answer to this question you'll have something to work towards as well as a great way to tell if you have succeeded!

Got a Kindle? Well, I’ve Got a Deal for You!

From now through Sunday, I am offering my eBook, Get It Together Girl!: It's about Time - Finding It, Saving It, and Making the Most of It for free!

For two weeks, get a different time saving tip every day. Plus, there are lots of time saving tips as well as phone and web applications that will help you tame the time tiger!

Sorry Nook users. For now, the book is being offered exclusively through Amazon.

Take advantage of this offer because it ends Sunday night at midnight (EST).

The Five-Minute Challenge

I bet you didn't know this but January is National Organization Month. It kind of makes sense because at the beginning of the year a lot of people want to start off strong and that requires some organization.

I think the main reason most people aren't organized is because of the time commitment they assume is involved. Since they don't have a weekend, day or even a solid hour to organize then they forgo organization all together.

However, this is an area where a little bit of time can make a big difference, let me prove it to you. Here is the challenge. For the next two weeks, I want you to spend five minutes on twoareas where a lot of people need help.

At Work
Spend five minutes a day sorting through your emails. Here's a tip - do not delete them in date order! That is the way you want to receive emails (so new messages are always on top, but to delete messages quickly sort them by Sender. This way you can delete all of your Daily Horoscope messages at once! You can also arrange them in size order so the largest emails rise to the top. Considering saving large attachments and then deleting the message.

If you want to, on the weekend, take a stab at clearing out your personal inbox.

If everything is organized and you run out of time ... try your Sent Items. Almost no one deletes old sent messages!

At Home
Spend five minutes a day in your closet. Have a box on hand for clothes you want to donate. If you finish the clothes in the closet, move on to shoes and then if you are on a roll, the drawers in your dresser.

Five minutes is the commitment. If you're on a roll and have time to do more but if you accept this challenge you can do no less than five minutes.

A little time each day over several days can make a big difference. Trust me. Try it. You'll be pleasantly surprised!

The Focused Fifteen

It is my philosophy that anybody can do just about anything for 15 minutes. You will almost always be surprised at what you can accomplish is a quarter of an hour.


It really isn't a lot of time. You can watch half a sitcom in 15 minutes. You're commute to work is probably longer. Yet, if you give a focused 15 minutes, you will see results. Notice the word in italics, focused. I'm not talking about 15 multi-tasking minutes when you are checking email, cooking dinner, and  listening to voicemail. I'm talking about devoting that little bit of time exclusively to the task at hand whatever that task may be.


For me, the Focused Fifteen is the antidote to procrastination. If there is something I don't want to do, like, straighten up the house, return a phone call, or on some occasions, write, I reach for the timer. I set my kitchen stove timer for 15 minutes. For that time, I clean or make the call or I start writing. At the end of the 15 minutes, I have a choice. I can stop because I have done what I said I was going to do. Or if I have the momentum and the time, I can keep going.


Fifteen minutes is long enough to overcome your inertia and get a good start. It's also enough time to make a dent in a project and sometimes that dent is all you need. I actually swear by this. It works. I'm so committed to it that my first Get It Together Girl book is devoted to removing clutter and getting organized in 15 minutes a day.


Try it. Use the Focused Fifteen for:

• straighting up the house
• cleaning out the refrigerator
• clearing out your email inbox at home or at work
• sorting through your closet
• journaling

All you have to do is 15 minutes. Once that timer goes off, you'll feel an immediate sense of accomplishment. If you have the time, keep going. If you don't, pat yourself on the back because you did something (and probably more than you thought you would). And, doing something is always better than doing nothing.


If you want to see some real results, get the family involved. Put on some good music and see who gets the most done. Or set your quarter hour for the  15 minutes before your favorite TV show and you have a built-in reward!

Resolve ... You've Got It!

Did you know that less than 50% of Americans set New Year's Resolutions? It's true. For me the word itself is toxic. A resolution to me implies 'wishful thinking'. A resolution is something you make because you think you should and that most people have no real intention of keeping. This is why you can't get into a gym or a Weight Watchers meeting in January or February but by the end of March ... there are no lines at either place!

Personally, I like New Year's. Within the holidays that make up The Holidays, it's my favorite. I love the idea of a new year and a fresh start. I have have some goals that I have managed to accomplish. This year, I eliminated all credit card debt and by December 31, I would have read the entire Bible cover to cover! Of course, some goals have been more difficult (losing weight).

Notice, I called my targets goals and not resolutions. For me, there is a big difference and as a writer and trained journalist, words do matter. A resolution has failure built in. It's a notion, wishful-thinking, a good idea. For me a goal means action. It comes with a plan, milestones and deadlines. A goal means rolling up your sleeves and getting to work.

A few years ago, I developed a goal-setting workshop. During a two-hour session, I guided participants through a process that helped them establish goals that were meaningful to each person. Goals they wanted to achieve and not goals they thought they should achieve (no one accomplishes those!).

We started by looking at the past 12-24 month and pinpointing the highs and lows and what lessons could be extracted from both. Then we took a pass at creating a few (no more than 3 goals). Finally, we created plans for achieving those goals that included a Plan B, milestones and rewards.

If you are interested, you can get a free two-page goal planning worksheet here.

However, I've taken that goal-planning session and transformed it into the third Get It Together Girl book - Get It Together Girl!: Getting to Goal - Your Dreams, Your Desires, Your Way. It's available on Kindle ($1.99), on Nook and paperback ($6.99). If you want to create some compelling goals that you are actually excited to achieve, check them out. You won't regret it.

The Great Organizing Giveaway

Giveaway ... I love, love, love this word. It normally means that you are getting something, and something for free at that! Since January is National Get Organized Month, it's the perfect time for The Great Organizing Giveaway. Creator Stephanie Callahan has reached out to organization experts, productivity professionals, and me! We've all contributed something to the giveaway. There are ebooks, audio programs, tip sheets and more.

On January 25, visit http://www.asktheorganizingexperts.com/ to see all of the giveaways that are available. There are categories for organizing your time, your home and your office.

Did you know that ....

• 91 percent of people surveyd by the National Association of Professional Organizers felt they could be more efficient at work if they were better organized.


• Overall, 71 percent surveyed indicated their quality of life would improve with more organization.

I'm excited! The Great Organization Giveaway will feature a number of tools that can help you finally reach your organization goals. And did I mention, they are free? What could be better??

Stepping Out Of Your Own Way

As a coach, as things happen, I always look for the lessons in everything that happens. Releasing my eBook, has shown me a lot! One important lesson I’ve learned is that in some cases, I’m my own biggest obstacle.

I have submitted press releases electronically all over the country. The procedure is to submit the release and then follow-up with a phone call. The phone call is the part I dread. I’m not a big procrastinator but there are a few things I tend to put off and this was one of them.

What’s the big deal? I don’t know but when I think of pitch calls, I think of the person on the other end thinking of me as some sort of telemarketer – and you know how people treat telemarketers. So before I even pick up the phone I have vivid visions of rude producers and guest contacts. I see in my mind people hanging up on me or just showing a stunning level of disinterest.

Plus, I had some rather big names on my list, and when I thought about calling those big national shows, I got intimidated. Who am I to sit on a stage that has been littered with celebrities and household names?

There was little doubt on that Monday morning before I started making my calls that I was in the wrong frame of mind. If I was going to start out feeling defeated, then what was the point. So I thought about it some more and actually came up with some answers to my own self-defeating questions.

What if people are rude? It’s a possibility but it’s the job of the producer to find good content for their shows, so most of the people will probably hear me out. Besides, if one is rude that doesn’t mean all of them will be. The rude people will be in the minority.

Who am I? I’m Karyn Beach and I have a great, quality program that I’m offering that will truly help people save time and reduce stress. People need to hear about this!

Why should I be a guest on a big-time national show? I’m passionate about my product and because when I’ve done television and radio in the past and done very well as a guest.

After I thought about it, I wasn’t thrilled about making the calls but I was in a much better mindset about it. I was ready.

And do you know what? That day, I didn’t encounter any rude callers. In fact, I mostly got voicemails, but the people I did speak with were open and receptive. By the end, I was actually having a bit of fun!

Coming up with answers to your most negative questions and rebuttals to your most defeating comments can make a huge difference in how you approach your obstacles and overcome them.

A Hole in the Wall

A lot of us pride ourselves on being good advice-givers. A friend’s marital woes, a co-worker’s difficulties with the boss, your brother’s issues with his neighbors, the answers are obvious! Yet, when it comes to taking our own good advice, something happens. There is a disconnect. We know what we should do but …

It’s hard to take our own advice – but why is it so difficult to do what we know we should do? In getting Get It Together Girl ready, I had a heck of a time. Monday, the day I was planning to release the program, everything that could have gone wrong did. The PayPal buttons stopped working. All the sudden, I couldn’t pull up the Media Kit on-line. E-Book didn’t want to work. And, before noon about 10 other ugly issues reared their nasty little heads. Keep in mind, all of this was happening after I had gotten less than 8 hours of sleep over the entire weekend.

I called a friend in tears. As our call ended, another friend called and I cried on her shoulder too. Both of them gave me the same advice. Step away for a minute. Take a break. If I had been on the other end of the line, I would have given myself the exact same advice. Do you think I took it?

No. I kept going, calling help desks and trying to figure it out on my own, frustration continuing to mount. In fact, after one fruitless help desk call, I actually kicked the wall and made a hole in it!

Why didn’t I take what was clearly good and timely advice?

For one, emotion. My emotions were running high and, at that time, my emotions were actually more in control of me than my rational mind was. I was frustrated. I was upset. I was a little angry. I was on an emotional white water raft, careening over the fast and bubbling emotional rapids. I heard their words but I didn’t hear them.

Another reason it was hard to heed their advice was that I was the one with the investment. Sure they can tell me to take a break. What’s a break to them? I was the one who had written the eBook. I was the one who had developed the website and the media kit and the flier and the media list. This was me. It was an investment of my time, money and effort. And now, as all of this is about to come to fruition, you want me to take a break. I can’t break. I’m too close. Not now!

The hole in my wall stopped me. It stopped me cold. It made me realize how intense I’d become. I needed to break. And I did.

I went out and got something to eat. Being out of the house and away from my desk made a difference. It was only a half hour but my perspective changed. It was while I was away that I came up with a reason why all the website problems might have been happening. And, it worked. When I got back and implemented that one change, about 8 of those 10 problems were resolved. And getting that book out on time became a reality.

I worked the rest of the afternoon and resolved those last few problems and by early evening, I was sending out emails announcing the Get It Together Girl program.

Now, I also have, in that hole in my wall, a very real reminder of the importance of taking my own advice.

Get It Together Girl!

Maybe it’s the Virgo in me but I love to be organized. Love it! Love it! Love it! I don’t expect everyone to go overboard with it like I do, but a little organization can go a long way.

Imagine not having to rush though a Monday morning (only to get to work to realize that you left your earrings and cell phone at home). Picture a day where you don’t have to hunt for your keys. See yourself getting into a car or sitting at a desk that is clutter-free. It can happen and I can help!

Today I am officially releasing a new program to help whip you into organizational shape. Get It Together Girl: A 28-Day Guide to Practical Not Perfect Home Organization. The heart of the program is completing daily tasks Monday – Friday in 15 minutes a day!

The program is based around the concept of a Focused Fifteen. You commit to spending 15 minutes on a particular task. However, you are spending that 15 minutes on this tasks and this task alone. No multi-tasking.

Here’s how it works.

Get It Together (GIT) Tasks: Each day, Monday through Friday you are expected to spend 15 minutes on a daily assignment.

Weekend Accelerators: Weekends in this program are optional. You don’t have to do a thing if you don’t want to. However, should you decide you want to do something over the weekend, there are a variety of tasks, that take a little longer, for you to do.

Keep It Together (KIT) Tasks: These are little things you can do to maintain your level of organization. The best part about the KITS is that most are easy enough to do in a minute or less. They are so easy that you can share them with the hubs and the kids.

In addition to the workbook, you will also have access to the Get It Together Girl audio archive. Listen to 1 – 2 minute clips each day for some extra motivation or an added tip or two.

Finally, you will also get access to the Get It Together Girl message board. Share your experiences with others who are also on the road organization. Ask questions. Exchange your own tips. I will be actively participating as well, answering questions and giving you encouragement!

You get the workbook, the audio clips and the message board for $29.95. That’s just over a dollar a day. Less stress, less mess and more success. For details ... http://www.getittogethergirl.org/