About Me

I was not born organized.

<gasp>

I became organized through years of self-education and trial-and-error early in my career.

<sigh>

I graduated from Wake Forest University using a weekly calendar and eventually earned a Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology.  But even more than my 25+ years of corporate and small business management experience, being a mom has taught me the importance of being organized, setting priorities, and balancing work and life.

In 2007, it occurred to me that other businesspeople shouldn’t have to struggle with getting organized like I did, so I quit my corporate job and hung out my shingle as a productivity coach, speaker, and writer. Since then, I have helped thousands of businesspeople nationwide maximize their effectiveness, balance their priorities, and generate outstanding results.

Here are some things that I love:  my family (of course – all else pales in comparison), helping overworked and underappreciated people (this is my business site after all), my Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (his name is Dobby), cooking in a crock pot, and Spanish moss (minus the chiggers).

I dislike raw onions and the feeling that I may have let someone down.  I believe that perfectionism is a key cause of disorganization, and I blame my ridiculously unattainable desire to be perfect for the struggles I often have to manage my time and not overbook myself.  Yes, even organized folks have these struggles.

If you are still reading, then it’s probably time to stop.

Still here?  Hey, how about we connect on Twitter, Facebook, and/or LinkedIn

Okay, it is really time to stop.

…but make sure you sign up for my newsletter before you leave.

 

Melissa Gratias, Ph.D

Melissa Gratias, Ph.D

Dr. Gratias is a productivity specialist who finds life-affirming messages in Muppet movies and Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes.  Despite being a time management expert, she can’t read a watch very well.  Follow @melissagratias on Twitter, but don’t ask her what time it is.

What do people say about working with me?

The information Melissa provided was very helpful. Melissa was able to share ideas and other techniques with me that I would have otherwise never used. I look forward to cleaning and organizing in ord... Read More

Manager

I wanted to thank you for sitting with me and to let you know that the next day I took the plunge and deleted over 3K emails. I now have less than 2K in my inbox and they are all related to the last 5... Read More

Financial Analyst

Very beneficial [experience].  She had a challenge since I am a pack rat by nature.  Her approach was very straight forward (and actually quite simple) which increases the likelihood of maintaining ... Read More

Corporate President

Melissa Gratias is the office-mate we all need. ​Melissa had me change the way I was thinking about tasks, and streamlined the roughly 400 processes/softwares I had to keep up with deadlines, project... Read More

Melanie O., Director of Taxation

Melissa Gratias honed in on my needs and provided expert advice and help in my transition to consulting and managing several creative projects on multiple computers. With so many options using technol... Read More

Owner/Consultant