A little time can make a big difference

Sometimes we get bogged down with the idea that we need to invest loads of time and/or loads of money to make a difference. It's just not true!

While some jobs may take a full day, or several days together or spread across a period of time, it's also very satisfying when a brief session of just an hour or two can make a big difference - with minimal cost and stress. For example:

There's one of my favourite IT clients: a wonderful octogenarian (do you think you're too old to use a computer?) who calls me from time to time with a neat list of queries that she's been building up. We sit down and focus on those specific needs, for around two hours, and then I might not see her again for months. She's left comfortable with the knowledge she's gained, and happy to continue on her own.

There was the lady who used just two hours of my time to make suggestions about better storage solutions in her flat. We didn't actually do any physical work; we simply planned, threw ideas around, checked some possible storage purchases online, and I left her with a shopping list and a plan of action. She called me a couple of weeks later, completely triumphant at the changes she'd been able to implement, but "I would never have managed it without your ideas".

There was the lady whose whole house was in need of sorting; but we spent just one day, seven hours long, on the most troubling room (the sitting room). We ended up with a full car each - hers for the charity shop, mine for the tip - and she looked around and said "It's like having had the plumbers in. Now I can carry on and do the rest myself. The books in my bedroom can now come in here, so the items in the attic that belong in the bedroom can then move in there..." She'd got it. She understood the processes we'd been through, and how to continue with them for herself; but she'd previously been overwhelmed by where-to-start syndrome.

Would it help you to invest in a little time for yourself?

• an hour of thinking and suggesting, of ideas and discussions on the use of furniture and storage in a problem space
• an hour learning how to make best use of your mobile phone, and making sure that you never lose contact details again
• two hours of working through a list of difficulties on your computer
• a couple of hours spent sorting your filing systems into an order that really works for you
• a few hours spent working on decluttering and/or organising one room that will get you kick-started to keep up the good work on the rest of the house

... go on, give it a go. You might be surprised just how many solutions we can find together in a short time!