Best Wishes for the Holidays

I would like to wish all my readers a very peaceful and joyful holiday season. If you are celebrating Christmas, then a very Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Lead by Example

You may wish your employees were more organized; that their workspace looked more professional, that the offices represented the values to which your business aspires, that reports were on time and that your directors could find last quarter's results when you asked for them.

One of the most powerful mechanisms to increase your employees' organization is to increase your own. They will follow the example you lead. If timeliness and organization are high on your list of priorities, and you lead that example in all that you do, your staff will follow.

What does your workspace look like? What does the top of your desk look like? Does your company hold a clear out day regularly where each employee has to commit to clearing out their workspace?

What message are you sending to your employees through your level of organization?

Plan Your Return

For many people, today is the last day in the office before a couple of weeks vacation over the Christmas holidays. For others, the last day may be next week or early January before a relaxing vacation in a hot, sunny locale. (I wish!)

Whichever the case for you, take time today to Plan Your Return! Thirty minutes is all it takes to get a grip on the first day back. You will thank yourself - and who knows, maybe I'll get a titch of credit - when you return and realize that you already have control over the back log of work and your top priorities. Think how impressed your boss will be!

1. Clear out the top of your desk even if it just means sorting into piles so that you know what's there. Make sure the majority of the top of your desk is a clear work space. You will be able to return to your desk, sit down and breath. Breathing is good.
2. Schedule your top priorities for your return. Check your schedule of projects and start a list of activities that will require your attention as soon as you return. Book time for these activities into your calendar. Anticipation is powerful.
3. Containerize your mail. If you will be receiving mail into your office while you are away, nothing takes the glow off a sunny memory faster than an overflowing Inbox. Consider a larger container for the duration of your time away from the office. It will help to keep the paper organized before it even gets to you! Containing the clutter keeps you in control.
4. Clear the floor under and around your desk. Take home the 12 pairs of shoes (at least 11 of them). Return the dishes to the kitchen. Throw out the garbage and recycling (or leave them at the door for pick up). If necessary, resort to containerizing and stacking the rest to open up the space and free the energy around your desk. Energy is good.
5. Check the view from the door. You are going to need an organized, powerful view when you first return in order to get a jump start on those ambitious goals to be organized and exceed your quotas for 2009. Organized is powerful.

Have an awesome vacation.

Stressing over Garbage

Clearing out a client's office with them, particularly offices with lots of paper, can be an illuminating experience. Not so much for me, but for the clients.

Typically at the end of the day, we end up with several bags or boxes of recycling mostly paper. There are usually another couple of bags or boxes of garbage. Finally, there is an inevitable collection of material that belongs to other people in the company and will be distributed accordingly or taken to a supply/equipment/archive store room. The end result is a calm and organized work space the even feels more productive, 4 - 6 bags of recycling and garbage in the hallway and a stack of stuff that is doesn't belong in the client's office.

When clients are confronted with the debris in the hallway, the illumination begins; "I can't believe I was so stressed about so much stuff that turned out to be not worth keeping or not even belonging to me!" Bingo.

Take a look around your office. Cluttered? Messy? Paper got you stressed?

I highly recommend a clear out and overhaul. You may be surprised at how much stress you are spending on garbage.

Electronic Clutter

Memory filling up? How many emails in your Sent File?

Try the 15 minutes a day trick. Spend just 15 minutes a day clearing out old, no longer needed files off your computer. You'd be amazed at how many you can clear out in 15 minutes. I'm up to about 250. Multiply that times 5 days a week and you've cleared out 1250. That will give your memory some breathing space!

It's also easier if you switch up the way you sort your files. If you usually sort by name, try sorting by date, by size or, in the case of email, by sender. Changing up the sort helps change your perspective and facilitates the decision making to keep or discard.

Hot Spots - Where are They?

I have written a couple of times recently on the importance of establishing hot files in your office or work area, (see Hot, Hot, Hot, The Disappearing Desk). One question which consistently surfaces when working with clients, is "what is the optimal place for the hot files?"

The answer? There isn't one; the location of the hot files really depends on how you function in your office. The best location will depend on your organizing personality, the nature of your work and the space you have available. Here are some examples in no particular order:

1. In a vertical file holder on your desk. Works well if you have the space on your desk, your need to see the files right in front of you.
2. In the top drawer of your filing cabinet. Works well if you have the file space, you require visual calm in your office, you don't need the visual cues to remember what's there.
3. In a vertical file holder on your credenza (table). Works well if you have the space on a credenza or table, you need visual cues to remember what's in them.
4. In the file drawer on the right/left pedestal of your desk. Works well if you require visual calm, have the space in the drawer, are in and out of the files freqently during the day, don't need them right in front of you to remember what's in them.

Small Business Goals

Whether you are small or large business, if you run the show it is important to know where you are going. Here's an interesting and easy read over on SOHO Blog that will get you thinking.

What do you want from your small business?

Too Lean in Tough Times?

It seems unlikely to have a professional organizer publish a post, cautioning about being too lean. I would, however, like to recommend this post from All Business, The Small Business Blog, by Rieva Lesonsky. Rieva points out that chopping too much from your small business during tough times may not be helpful in the long run.

Top 5 Series - Indicators of Disorganization Revisited

It has been over a year since I last published this post on Indicators of disorganization. At a time of the year when many people are looking forward to the next year and planning out goals and targets, this seemed like a good time to review why some people never meet their goals. Add to the season a little economic turmoil and organized, clear about your direction and on track to reach it, was never so important.

You think you run a great company. Maybe you do. You’ve studied the books, taken the courses, run the retreats. At the same time, you admit to yourself when no one else is looking that something isn’t quite right. You, and your company, may be suffering from a basic lack of organization. Here are the top five indicators I find when companies are swimming in corporate clutter and stuck in the land of corporate disorganization.

1. Targets are not being met.This is the indicator that keeps you awake at night. As we scream through the third quarter you are already sweating. You didn’t meet first quarter or second and here you are behind the eight ball for third.
2. Employees don’t understand the mission and/or strategic goals.You have the mission memorized. You’ve agonized over your strategic goals. Every word is perfect. You’ve done the retreat and handed out copies. Why is it then, that no one remembers? Why don’t your employees remember what the company is trying to accomplish this year?
3. Employees are unhappy.You have a sense that there are just too many good bye lunch parties. Meanwhile you’re soaking up your training and development budget with new hire orientation rather than development of your existing and loyal employees. At the same time, you’ve hearing complaint after complaint from employees about this, that and the other thing. They never bring it up to the team meetings, (do you have them?) they just grumble.
4. Offices, work spaces are cluttered.Starting with yours; Do you, or your staff, keep asking for another copy of ____________ because they can’t find it? Do you, or your employees spend too much time looking for things and not enough time acting on goals? Sure, you know exactly where that proposal is, right? If I said you had 10 seconds to find it, could you? What is under, behind or beside your desk? Your employees desks? Check it out.
5. Someone, or ones, is (are) working longer hours than they should. i.e. outside of the normal ebb and flow of business and seasonal cycles, you have one employee, maybe its you, that is always there later than everyone else, comes in on weekends, and probably still is not meeting their performance objectives.

So now you are going to spend the day acutely aware of these indicators in your company. That’s ok. Remember, the first step to change is recognizing when there is a problem.

The Disappearing Desk - Take 2

Many people struggle with a desk covered in paper, files, reports and debris from the work day. There is now doubt, trying to get a grip back once this has got away from you can be an overwhelming task. Try this to get back control:

• As usual, start small. Take 5 minutes first thing in the morning to sort just one corner of your desk. Sort the paper by date, project, time line or subject. There is no right or wrong way only a way that makes sense to you.
• At the end of the day, take another 5 minutes to file the piles you sorted this morning. Sorting takes far more brain power, decision making and emotional/intellectual energy than filing. Do the filing at the end of the day.

Try this for 28 consecutive work days. I promise you that at the end of the 28 days your desk and your organization will be at a very different place - a very good place.

Top 5 Series - Actions to Meet your Goals

Your picking up a theme here? That's right; end of the year and its time to make sure this time next year you have completed your goals for 2009. Here are strategies to make your success more likely:

1. Keep your eye on the end result. Whatever your goal is, make sure you can see it, taste it, feel it, hear it. Make sure you can articulate it, really, really well. The more real it becomes for you the more likely it is you will make it a reality.
2. Break your goal into steps. Regardless of how long it will take to meet your goal, break it down into bite size steps along the way. This will give you more chances to recognize your success and celebrate.
3. Write the goal(s) down. Write it or them as clearly and concisely as possible making sure they meet the SMART criteria of specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time limited.
4. Get your intention to level 10 on a scale of 1 - 10 (with 1 the lowest level). If your intention is not up at the 10 level, you may be inclined to give up or back away from your goal everytime you meet with adversity. What does it take to get to level 10? You decide. Often it includes getting support and help to keep you accountable to yourself e.g. a coach. It might be sharing your goal with a boss or friend who will help to keep you accountable.
5. Celebrate your successes! Everytime you meet a milestone, celebrate. You are on your path to success.

Clearing out Files

The end of the year is an excellent time to purge out your files and make room for the next year's activities. Before starting, make sure you are familiar with your company's Document Retention policies and procedures. If you head up a company, make sure that you have document retention policies and that your employees know what they are so that they can also clear out some files. If you run a small business or home based business you may want to check with your accountant for the retention requirements of business and tax documentation.

With all the rules taken care up, try starting small. Purging files is not the most exciting thing to do no matter which way you look at them. Try committing just 30 minutes a day for each of the next ten work days before the holidays. You'll be surprised what you can accomplish in the total of 5 hours.

Countdown to January 1, 2009

It's coming - no matter how you try and stave it off, the new year will be here in 27 days.

That means a number of things to a number of people; budgets, performance appraisals, sales targets are just some of the items that are lurking just beyond that January 1 holiday. How to get on top of it?

Start by listing all the items you know are due in the first weeks of the new year. Now start to plan when you will get them accomplished. Take out the calendar, look at the weeks ahead. Wow, already pretty packed right? That's the problem with trying to get much of anything done during the month of December.

Nevertheless push on. Book in 2 - 3 hour blocks to accomplish those tasks due in the first couple of weeks. On your list of things to do, make a note of all the bits that need to be accomplished in addition to just getting the work done. Is there information you need to gather? Book time with your staff for performance appraisals? Pull together the sales reports? Now get these items booked in the calendar.

Smile and look forward to the New Year knowing your new year tasks are booked and ready to be tackled.

Fussing about Filing

Probably the number one item that clients want me to help them fix in either their home or their office is paper and filing. It seems that paper, and keeping track of the pieces we wish to keep, is a struggle even for the most organized.

Most people struggle over the structure of the filing system. "If I file something in here, I never know where it is and can never find it again."My advice to clients is that there is no perfect filing system. There are good commercial systems, (e.g. Paper Tiger), there are common systems (alphabetized) often used in corporate settings and then there are the rest of us.

It is important that you pick a structure that works for you. If you organize visually, try using coloured files. If you are tend to talk to yourself and are auditorily oriented, try using file headings like "Keep this for Income Tax Time" or "Things I keep to refer back to". Sound corny? Who cares? If it works for you, that's all that matter.

Thanksgiving

A very peaceful and joyful Thanksgiving to all our American readers.

Where is Everything - Policies and Procedures

Do you have current policies and procedures for your company?
Do you know where they are?
Do your employees know where they are?
Do they know what they say?
Do you have document retention policies?
Do you know what the means?
Do you know what the law in your jurisdiction says about retaining documents?
Do your employees know what the law in your jurisdiction says about retaining documents?
Do your employees know what your company mission is?
Do they share the vision?
Are your mission, vision and values reflected in your policies and procedures?

Top Five Series - Reasons for Procrastination

And you thought you could duck under the radar screen! Sorry my friend, upon review of the posts this year I realized it has been a long time since I confronted the big, ugly enemy of procrastination.

Are you a procrastinator? ("Oh yeah" - I can hear you whisper under your breath.) You are wondering why and what you can do about it? The following list is an adaptation from the book Making Time Work for You, by the Time Guru himself, Harold L. Taylor.

1. A procrastinator's view of time is distorted. With 2 weeks before the due date, you think yo have lots of time to get that report finished. The reality is, no where in those two weeks do you have the 9 hours of time free to actually finish the report. The solution: as soon as you know the report is due - book in the time to complete it. Now book in extra time since we both know it will take twice as long as you think it will.
2. A procrastinator is often a perfectionist. The perfectionist is often afraid to start something for fear it won't be perfect. The solution: get started to that you have lots of time to make it good enough which is much closer to perfect than not done at all.
3. A procrastinator often sees tasks as overwhelming. Solution: just do it. Start with any small piece of the project even if it is just five minutes. Break the rest of the project down into bite size pieces that you can manage.
4. A procrastinator is often someone who thrives on the adrenaline of crisis and deadlines. If you work in the publishing industry you likely have a busy, rewarding life. For the rest of us, it is important to understand that always running late is inefficient, disorganized and often problematic for everyone else around you. Solution: learn to get your adrenaline kick by getting the project done early.
5. A procrastinator is often just plain disorganized. Some individuals avoid starting projects because they are too disorganized to arrange the information and material they need to get it done. In the meantime, they are still scrambling to find the information and material for the previous project or report which is late. Solution: plan ahead. Plan your year, months, weeks and days by blocking time to accomplish your goals and projects.

Organize with the Blues at Holiday Time

This is a follow up from my earlier post on Organizing with Depression. Holiday time can be, for many, many people far from a joyful celebration of anything. For many people it becomes an overwhelming time of year that they learn to dread and fear. Celebrating holidays both and home and in the business environment comes with many expectations that some people simply can not meet. Does this sound familiar and contribute to your feelings of overwhelm? Hlidays come with:

• extra food that maybe you have been trying to avoid all year to loose weight
• expectations of gift giving that maybe you can't afford or don't have the energy to arrange
• visits with family that perhaps aren't your favourite friends
• multiple distractions (lunch/parties/people collecting for gifts) at the office interrupting attempts to put together projections for next year

Whatever contributes to your blue mood and feelings of overwhelm, the first step is to acknowledge the problem. Next take a good look at what you can control and what you can't. Can't avoid the office party? Can you control the length of time you are there or whether or not you nap before hand to ward off fatigue and frustration. With the downturn in the global economy, gift giving is going to be a very serious financial trial for many, many people. Can you pear down your list? Consider making a contribution to a charity in lieu of sending gifts to clients - then send them a card that discribes your gift on their behalf.

Take back control of what you can. It will help that blue be a little more rosy.

Organize Without the But

For today's post, I'm sending you over to millionairemummynextdoor to read about removing buts from our lives i.e all the reasons why we think we will not, should not or could not be successful. Check it out.

When do I Shred?

As a professional organizer, I am frequently asked by clients whether or not they need to shred paper that is being sent to the recycling bin.

In business, as in the residential setting, anything that identifies you and can be traced back to you via account number, address and the worst identifier - payment account number - must be shredded to protect your identity. You do not want this material wondering around once the the recycling material gets into the public domain i.e. out of your hands.

In addition, int he case of business, you must protect the identify of your clients. So, if your clients or their business with you, which, in most cases you are obliged to keep confidential, you must shred the material.

When in doubt, shred.

What's Your Organizing Personality Type?

Are you visual person susceptible to the noise of many different items of different sizes and colours on a shelf?

Are you a tosser who like to "toss" items into a storage bin/basket/file/drawer?

Are you auditorily inclined? Do you find yourself talking to yourself all the way through the next year's budget preparation complete with a "There, that's done for a year!" when its complete?

Much the same way we have preferences in the way we process information and respond to new opportunities, we all have organizing personalities. Your organizing personality is related to your learning preferences and generally falls into the categories of visual, auditory, or kinesthetic. There are however, many other ways to organize. Some people have a tendency to organize by time.

Understanding what your personality will help you to tailor your oranizing systems and process to match your personality. A mismatch wil lead to systems which don't get used and process which fall apart with the resulting disorganization that ensues.

To determine your personality, what and listen to how you organize at your desk. Do you talk out loud (auditory)? Do you like to sort your files by colour (visual)? So you like to sort by date? Do you prefer all your surfaces to be clear but don't care about the inside of your drawers or cupboards? Do you need everthing out where you can see it (visual). Do you like to get up and file or toss things in your office (kinetic)?

Stick to your Agenda

If you are in the habit of holding meetings, make sure you commit to using and sticking to an agenda. Make the purpose of the meeting clear along with the time you expect that objective to take. If necessary, time out the items on the agenda to ensure you and your meeting participants keep to the time allotted for the meeting. Keep this a habit and people will be happy to attend meetings that you chair.

Calm the Visual Noise

If you are working from a home office, you may be struggling with getting everything to fit into a relatively small space. One of the challenges is to keep the space visually calm while keeping all the tools and supplies of the home office contained.

To accomplish this, consider using same colour containers. Whether they are the same style or even shape won't matter so much if they are all the same colour. The result will be a visually quiet space. Multiple colours create visually noise and can be distracting while you are working.

If you use different coloured containers as a mechanism to identify them, consider using complimentary colours. While they may be different, the appearance with be less like noise and more like music.

Time Tamers - Prepare Ahead

Simple concept isn't it: be prepared. If you were a Boy Scout or Girl Guide, you would have memorized this motto along the way somewhere.

In application to business and time organization, the concept is no different. The more you can prepare ahead of time, the more relaxed, organized, polished and professional will be your presentation and performance. By preparing your material ahead of time, and confirming everything is ready in advance, you will also be able to avoid most technical hangups, forgetting things, or other people forgetting things.

Because you are a professional business person, your dates are already carefully mapped out on your daytimer right? Good. Now schedule in preparation time well in advance. Finally, follow up by scheduling in time, no later than the day before, to confirm that everything and everyone is in place. Now you can relax.

Time Tamers - Schedule, Schedule, Schedule

So often we struggle with those not-so-fun tasks that every job, business, company can claim. If you work in a SOHO it might be organizing your receipts to send to the book keeper. Oh, you do your own book keeping and the receipts are still in a box/envelop/pile on the desk?

Here's a strategy for tackling that not-so-fun chore: schedule, subdivide into bites, conquer.

Start by scheduling some time to tackle the job. Without a Level 10 Intention, its not going to happen. By scheduling time on the calendar, you can at least get your intention close to 10.

Next divide the project into bites, something you can chew without choking. Maybe start by sorting the receipts into months and filing them into separate envelopes one for each month. Already separated? Try dividing or labelling them into your expense categories. Can't find the receipts? There's you first bite: spend the scheduled time collecting all the receipts you can find in your office and put them into envelopes, one for each month of the year. (Try an accordian file and you don't need to worry about labelling the envelopes!).

Too often we fail to accomplish a task because it never gets scheduled into our calendars. Other bits and pieces of our business gobble up the day, the week, the month. If the task is an unpleasant or difficult one and you are procrastinating as a result, you probably find yourself doing almost anything else than sitting down to tackle it. Schedule a date with yourself to take it down.

The weather is chilly, the snow is threatening and winter is looming in the shape of a big, grey, cold cloud. I promised last week that I would report on the success of Bob McGee's (CHFI, Toronto) coat drive from last weekend.

Toronto has proven once again it is a city with lots of heart and closets with lightening potential. Over 10,000 coats were collected which will be distributed to children where needed. Here's a picture of the truck loads. Way to go TO!

Business Development

I have just returned from three days at the Professional Organizers in Canada annual conference here in Toronto. It was an information packed, fun filled and industry driving conference with almost 25% of the organization's membership in attendance.

The talent in attendance was exceptional. Harold Taylor and Krista Green were both in attendance to reveal their latest training and business development programs. Elaine Shannon from the Organizing Connection and Laura from I'm an Organizing Junkie brought us up to date with the latest in online business development. Authors Karen Shinn and Gail Shields launched their new book GO! The Essential Guide to Organizing and Moving.

Having filled up my brain and note book with enough ideas to keep me planning for centuries, the conference finished off with a powerful presentation on The Courage to Succeed by Tanya Chernova and Joanna Andros of Courageous Living. They challenged the audience to step right out of the box, break the old neuro-receptor patterns that lead us down predictable roads and start to form new thoughts around our ability to accomplish those goals we desire for ourselves or our businesses.

It's a simple enough message but one which we often forget. When was the last time you took a courageous step to move your business forward? I did; I accepted the invitation to be a tip host on the Organizing Connection.

Vendor Expo - 8th Annual POC Conference

If you live in the Toronto area, consider joining the Professional Organizers of Canada this Friday November 7th, 9 am to 4 pm, at the Delta East Hotel at Kennedy and the 401. This year POC has opened up the vendor expo to the public. If you are in the area, come by and check out the latest tools and strategies for keeping organized.

Warming up the City - Clear out the Coats

OK folks, time to clear out the closets. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find as many unused coats in your closets as possible. Think of the space you could free up! Think of the warmth you could pass on to someone else!

Bob McGee from Toronto's CHFI FM radio station is, for the 5th year, collecting coats for children this weekend. Here is the link to the details where you can drop off the coats.

http://www.chfi.com/events/more.jsp?content=20081020_142107_26440

Let's make this a challenge. I'd like to see how many coats this blog can send out to Bob and friends to help keep the kids warm. Add your comments and tell me how many coats you are send up. I'll report the tally on Monday.

Organizing with Depression - Are you Depressed?

You can't get to sleep but you don't want to get up. You can't seem to concentrate at work and you have no energy to apply yourself. You are becoming less and less organized and slipping futher and further behind in your work. And the strange thing is - you've noticed that you don't really care any more. In fact, you really don't care about very much right now. Even those golf clubs which you used to keep busy every weekend, haven't left the cupboard in months.

You may be suffering from depression. One of the key symptoms is a lack of energy and diminished interest in things that used to be important to you. With the lack of energy comes an inability to organize. Filing, sorting and especially deciding all take emotional energy. An individual suffering from depression doesn't have the energy it takes to focus on some of these tasks and see them through to completion.

If this sounds like you, it is important that you get treatment from a physician or other health care professional. There are many different medications available for the treatment of depression. There are other treatments available as well. Don't let depression deprive you of enjoying the beautiful life you deserve.

Disorganization - Scarey Stuff

It doesn't happen very often but today is the day I put in a plug for the industry. On the afternoon of the scarey night and just one week before the Canadian national association for professional organizers - Professional Organizers in Canada - starts it annual conference here in Toronto, what could be a better time?

Being disorganized can be stressful and very scarey. Maybe you or someone you know consistently pays their bills late, if at all, because they either can't remember to pay them or can't find the bills. Have you ever added up the late fees incurred by those last payments?

This is just one example of the cost of disorganization and there are many more. Costs can be evaluated in money, heartache and physical or emotional stress. If you or a loved one is constantly or chronically disorganized either at home or at work, you already know how painful it can be.

The good news is that there is help. Both the Canadian association Professional Organizers in Canada , or POC, and our American affiliate the National Association of Professional Organizers, or NAPO have online directories to assist you in finding an organizer in your area. In addition, the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization, or NSGCD, has resources available on its website for the public looking for information. With NSGCD you can also look up the certificates that a professional organizer may have earned if they are pursuing education with the study group. Here is a list of the certificates that I have earned.

It may be spooky out there tonight, but living your life ought to be joyful, not frightful.

Strategic Goals Revisited - The Links

To review development of your goals click here.

To review measurement of your goals click here.

Strategic Goals Revisited

The Hallowe'en gools are around the corner and third quarter is history. And then there's this thing called the global economy and those volatility indicators.

You can't stop the Hallowe'en loot or make time stand still. November 1 will arrive this Saturday whether or not you have been tracking progess on your strategic goals this year. Nor do you have much control over the global economic factors which will play out for better or for worse.

But you do have control over tracking your progress on your business or personal goals. The good news is that if you haven't started yet, you still have eight weeks to get your tracking systems in place. That bad news is that without concrete information about your progress in 2008, it will be pretty hard to set realistic goals for 2009.

Where are you at?

Hot, Hot, Hot - Keep Those Files Close

Do you have hot files in your office?

Hot files are the ones that either you are working on everyday because of their importance or contain the key To Do items because of their relevance.

Often when a hot file system has not been set up, people tend to keep the key files out on their desk. Eventually a whole bunch of files are on their desk and a few get moved to the credenza. Then there are a whole bunch on the credenza and a few get moved to the floor... you get the picture. You may be looking at that phenomena in your own office or that of your key director/manager. Try this strategy:

• Pick a separate colour file folder for your hot files. Pick a hot one that will grab your attention.


• Clear out of the things in/on and around your desk the key projects on which you are focussing.


• Find either a desk top file vertical file holder or pick one of the side drawers of your desk and empty it out.


• Put the files in the coloured folders and label them accordingly then file them in the spot you have chosen.


• This is the new home of your hot files and you will find them there, in prime real estate, each time you need them.
  

Time Tamers 1 - Hyperfocus Alarms

If you suffer from ADD you may be all to well aware of the dangers of hyperfocus when you get into a project. Four hours after starting, you pull your head out of the project to find that you are over an hour late for dinner with your boss and you have only worked on a small component of the overall project at hand.

Consider keeping a time tamer alarm close at hand for these situations. Set the alarm for 45 minutes to an hour. When the alarm goes off, get up from your desk, walk around, get a drink to stay hydrated. After 5 minutes or so return to the task at hand and reassess the degree of focus you have given based on your objectives for the time you have to work.

Remember to reset the alarm before you return to work.

Organizing out of Procrastination

Are you a procrastinator? Are you overwhelmed with the tasks at hand and would rather just avoid them?

Here is an excellent, short discussion around procrastination at the office and what to do about it:
http://www.lifeorganizers.com/office/procrastination-at-work.htm

Top 5 Series - Strategies to Increase Organization in your Business

You've been working diligently to increase your personal organization. As the paper clears and the dust settles, you realize your staff are also working in a cluttered, ineffective environment. It's time to change the culture in the office from "No one really cares since these aren't public offices" to "We are proud of the professional environment in which we work". These strategies will help.

1. Set the standard yourself. As head of the organization, directorate or department, your leadership sets the tone. If your office is a pile of disorganized papers, you give your staff the impression you don't care what the place looks like. Why should they? I know, I know. You can find anything you want in the office right? Are you sure? How long will it take you? And if you don't show up tomorrow is that the way you want your leadership role remembered?
2. Start talking about professional presentation and image at meetings. Add it to performance appraisals to make staff accountable.
3. Ensure that every staff member has immediate access to a blue box for recycling; right beside their desk in place of a garbage can wouldn't be tool close.
4. Ensure that every staff has the tools they need to be organized in their work space. Do they have reasonable access to appropriate filing space? Do they have a desk that works? Is there a book shelf or alternative for holding company policy manuals or obligatory preventative maintenance reports? If you aren't sure what is missing or why an employee is so disorganized, consider having a professional organizer conduct an assessment of the work space in question. There may be more complex organizational issues that the employee is struggling with.
5. Schedule a semi-annual clear out day. The rules for the time are simple. Everyone participates in a clear out of their work space on this day. No other meetings or activities are booked. Order lunch for the gang.

Managing Email 3

I am going to stay with the email theme. A common challenge for all of us is dealing with the email messages in the Inbox that have been read but not deleted or filed. Some days/weeks/months later there is a significant backlog and clearing it out is such a huge task we all avoid it.

Try this: Dedicate 10 minutes every working day for a month to email clear out. Start by changing the sorting criteria for your Inbox (just for clearing out purposes). If you have email sorted by Date Received, switch to Sender or Subject. Start anywhere at all, it doesn't have to be at the top, and quickly scan the messages in the reading pane. Notice how your perspective on the messages changes?

By changing the order of the email on your screen, you change the perspective for your brain which is often all it takes to boost the Keep or Delete decision making process. In organizing, its the equivalent to moving all the material you need to sort through out of its usual living place and sorting it in a completely different environment. Try it and remember: 10 minutes a day.

Managing Email 2

Congratulations - you turned off the email alert and scheduled yourself to clear email after 11:00 am - didn't you?

Messages are easily lost in the Inbox. To avoid forgetting about a message, learn to use your flag alerts. If you are visually oriented, chose a different colour for different types of alerts: e.g. follow up from your VP could be blue, follow up for you subordinates could be green. Your computer will keep track of the messages that are flagged.

Meanwhile, try and delete messages as soon as possible and file those messages that you need to keep but don't require any further action. The filing system in your email should mirror that of you paper files. That way, your brain only has to remember one system and is more likely to remember where items are located. Finally, in the worse case scenaria affectionately known as the "beer truck phenomena" (what happens if you don't show up tomorrow because you have been hit by a beer truck?) the risk to your company that something important is lost, is reduced, as the likelihood of finding material in your computer is increased.

The Disappearing Desk

Are you feeling hemmed in when sitting at your desk?

Take a quick inventory of what's on it: computer CPU, printer, screen, keyboard, telephone, several "In" piles, three projects in process (at least that's what you can see well enough to count).

Move all the hardware off your desk. Do a quick sort of your In piles into four file folders: read, call, write, decide. Put them into a vertical file holder on your desk, to the left if you are right handed, (vice versa) with the labels facing toward you. Make sure the three projects are in some form of file holder and add them to the vertical file holder.

Take a quick inventory of what's under it at your feet: computer CPU, printer, several pairs of shoes, gym bag, handbag, assorted brief cases or other business cases, recycling box.

Move the CPU and printer. Put the shoes, gym bag and any other clothes in the closet or in a bag hanging behing the door. Put the business cases in the closet. Use the recycling box for the sorting in the second paragraph above.

Enjoy your space.

Managing Email 1

Overwhelmed with email? Many of us are. Many of us are also concerned with the amount of time it can consume. Have you ever found yourself still clearing email several hours after you started, not having realized the time that was eaten up?

To begin taking back control, turn off the email alert on your screen. Very few of us really need to know when emails are coming in unless we have a time-sensitive message for which we are waiting.

Avoid clearing email first thing in the morning. Having planned your list of things to do the night before, you know what your top priorities are: let those have your best hours first thing in the day. Schedule time to clear email towards the middle of the day and again later in the day. Allocate a certain amount of time and stick to it.

Clutter on the Calendar

Having trouble managing your time?
Are you feeling as if you are always busy but get nothing done?

Check out your daytimer and see what is scheduled. Now take a look and notice what is not scheduled.

Time management is a challenge most of us face most of the time. Organizing time can be harder than the paper!

Too often we book time for those things in our business which is urgent but at the end of the day not very important to the goals and objectives of our organization.

Manage your time - don't let time clutter manage you. Try this time management tip: allocate at least 50% of your day for those things which are most important, but not urgent, and directly target achievement with the goals and objectives of your organization.

Now watch your productivity soar and your business take off.

Tips for Managing Dyslexia

Individuals coping with dyslexia are often looking for strategies to support them both in the workplace and at home. As a professional organizer, I am often asked about organizing strategies for managing varies learning disabilities. This knol, recently written by Sandra Crux, may be helpful to those of you who are managing with dyslexia. The knol, or bit of knowledge, is designed to be an authoritative article on a subject. Ms. Crux provides a comprehensive collection of strategies for managing dyslexia both for adults and childrens. I hope you find it helpful.

http://knol.google.com/k/sandra-crux/dyslexia-4-using-organizational/8d8s0hdum67q/5#

Boundaries & Borders

For entrepreneurs, small business owners and those of us with home based businesses keeping work and personal life separate becomes a significant challenge. With only one filing cabinet, business and personal files have no choice but to co-habit. If your office is the corner of the family room, tax time may find you with receipts all over the dining room table while you sort, add and prepare for your annual tax submission. Even if you have a large corner office, you may find that there is some information that always gets handled from your office and therefore you keep those files stored at the office. When tax time is over, or the big project is complete, whichever is your reason for extending beyond your "office" boundaries, is it important to develop boundaries and borders that separate work life from personal life.

Working animals, such as sheep herding or seeing eye dogs, have defined cues that tell them when it is time to play and when it is time to work - the harness for example. Without these cues and without clear separation the animals become confused as when they are working and when they are just playing.

The same is true for the rest of us although thank goodness we don't have to wear a harness to tell us when we are at work. Wtihout this clear distinction, however, our lives become imbalanced, productivity decreases and destress time disappears. Here are some tips for home based workers to help maintain boundaries and borders:

• Start by designating an office. No matter how small or large, ensure that the space is preserved for your business work space.
• Separate your files by using a different colour label or file folder for personal and business files. Ideally, use different file drawers.
• Schedule your time so you know when you are "on the clock" and "off the clock". The timing of the work day is less important than the designation of the working hours.
• Use specific cues to tell you when you are at work. This could be a coffee mug that is reserved for work hours, a pair of shoes that you "go to work in".
• If you are working on a big project that requires spilling onto "non office" home space, try designating a large basket to house the project work during non work hours rather than allowing it to takeover the living room completely.

In Favour of Staples

Whether of not you have issues with paper, you probably have both paper clips and staplers in your house/office. Many people are in the habit of paper clipping sheets together because it is quick, easy, they wan't the sheets together and may want to unclip them in the future.

Watch out for those paper clips adopting other documents. Use staples whenever possible over paper clips as the latter will often "clip" up another document that is not meant to be clipped to it. Most recycling opportunities will now take the staples with the documents.

Organizing in Africa

Congratulations to our friends in Africa who have just announced the launch of the Professional Organizer Association Africa. For more information, or to find a professional organizer in that part of the world, check out their web site at http://www.poaa.co.za/.

Go Vertical - Save on Bandages and Headaches

If you are struggling with paper on your desk - or anywhere in your office - the biggest contributing factor may be that you are still storing your active work files horizontally rather than vertically.

Paper likes to be stored horizontally, it won't argue with you. But you will end up with a lot of paper cuts, headaches and lost documents if you are housing files on your desk and credenza in piles. Everytime you go looking for something you have to sort through the whole pile because a document that is horizontal with something on top of it can not be identified. A file folder that is stacked horizontally in the middle of other folders is very hard to identify.

Instead, identify half a dozen files that represent the bulk of your day to day work. Organize the files vertically in a desk top file holder with the labels clearly identified. Using a file label on the file tab makes the label easier to read and easier to reuse. You might try using a specific coloured file folder for these half dozen or so files so that they can always be easily identified when lying around your office.

Sitting in their file holder either on your desk or credenza will make them easy to see, easy to access and reduce the need for sorting through lots of paper - paper cuts and bandages.

Colour Your World

Colour can be a quick and easy way to help with your paper issues. Many clients complain to me that they can get paper into files initially but when they start using the files (projects, meeting agendas etc) the files pile up and the paper starts getting lost. Eventually their desk or credenza becomes a messy pile of files and paper and those familiar feelings of overwhelm and frustration creep in.

Despite our best attempts at limiting the number of documents that are printed, it seems that paper is here to stay - at least for the meantime. Try using coloured files to help with high level decision making, storage and retrieval of paper. For example, if you run a home based business, consider using one colour for personal files and another for business. In a corporate environement, consider one colour for project files and another for operational day to day activities. If your company uses manila folders for environmental reasons, use coloured file labels to help with storage and retrieval.

It is helpful to limit the number of colours and use colour for high level sorting. Too many colour choices can increase organizing challenges especially for individuals who are easily distracted or have difficulty focussing.

Eliminating E-file/Paper File Confusion

I am often told by clients that they can manage to keep one but not both of their information filing systems up to date. Either the paper files are comprehensive and up to date or the e-files are organized and up to date. Often clients find they can't keep them both organized.

A good rule of thumb is to try and mirror your e-file structure to your paper file structure. Give your brain a break and make the sorting process as easy as possible for both electronic and paper files by using just one structure.

Then remember to schedule a regular if not frequent purge.

Tracking Progress

Last post we looked at goal statements and how they meet SMART criteria. Now let’s keep track of the results.

The first rule is to keep things simple. Start with the number of goals. Too many and you will spend all your time managing them and no time actually working on them. Too few and you will fail to reach you objectives. The number and complexity will depend on your business/department/project. There is no magic number. If you have none, try starting with the Shakespearean magic number of 3.

Second rule is to work backwards. If you want 70 new active clients by December 31, 2008, how many do you need each month/week/day to meet that goal. Tracking daily for this goal is probably too small a time frame and will produce data that takes time to process for very little return. Tracking weekly on this goal will give you information before the end of the month on whether or not any progress is being made. Tracking monthly may leave you fretting after month 3 that the goal is not being met and 25% of the year is up – the cycle time from identification to correction to results may be too long to permit timely correction when necessary

Thirdly, ensure that progress feedback gets to the people trying to meet the goal. If your sales staff are reporting weekly the number of new active clients, publish the aggregate data to all the staff each week. Meanwhile, you have an opportunity for intervention with any individual sales staff who is not meeting targets. At the same time, celebrate monthly accomplishments!

Checking Progress on those Goals

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Now six weeks into the calendar year is a good time to review the progress you have made on your strategic goals. Having established the goals, you will need to ensure tracking, monitoring and evaluating systems are in place to manage your progress.

We will start by reviewing the goal statements themselves. Are they specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time limited (otherwise known as SMART goals)? If you have established an annual goal, it is time limited by the end of the year in question, say December 31 or whichever year end you have chosen for your review.

To be specific, your goals must state exactly what you wish to accomplish and, to be measurable, in quantifiable terms.

For example:
We will increase our active client roster.

Versus:
We will increase our active client roster by 50% to a total of 210 active clients, by December 31, 2008.

On December 31, you will either have 210 active clients or you won’t. Your degree of success will be relatively easy to identify.

The criterion of attainable refers to the ability of anyone to reach the goal given the same circumstances under which you are working. If it takes a month’s time on average for each sales person to develop each new lead to an active client, and you have 2 sales staff, assuming they have 100% conversion from leads to active clients, you could only reach 21 new clients by year’s end. The example I gave required 70 new clients.

By comparison, the realistic criterion refers to the likelihood that the goal will be attained under the same circumstances. If you have 5 sales staff regularly securing 1 new active client each month, after 12 months, you will have 60 new active clients. Can that same staff increase their conversion rate to achieve the required 70 new active clients by year’s end?

OK. You have reviewed your goals and you are satisfied that they meet the SMART criteria. Next post we will look at tracking your progress.

New Year's, New Goals

As the first one-twelth of the year comes to a close, have you planned your results for the year yet?

What would you like to accomplish by the end of 2008?

What would you like to be remembered for?

What would you like to stop doing?

What will you do more of, how much and when.

Enjoy, preparing this next chapter of your accomplishments.