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.