Getting the To Do's to Done

Third quarter is over and your heading into the final stretch of your financial year. How are you doing on those business goals for your (your choice) a) portfolio b) directorate c) division d) company e) small business?

Getting things done, the old to do list, and making goals are all activities with which we are very familiar. Many of you have even been on courses to try and figure out how to get those goals accomplished so you can meet your targets.

One of the most powerful tools is merely the language that we use to tell ourselves what to do. Try rewriting that list of To Do's using action verbs that clearly lead to a result rather than vague sentencing of outstanding items to be done. For example:

"Follow up with Jill regarding Great Project implementation" becomes
"Talk to Jill - Confirm implementation and target dates for Great Project have been met."


Put some power into your To Do's and watch the Got it Done's add up.

Client Questions - Why do I get stuck on Email?

The electronic age was meant to speed up the way we work and computers promised to make life easier. They have, however, brought with them their own challenges as witnessed by the common frustrations of managing email. If email is soaking up too much of your day, try these tips:

1. Turn off the email alert on your computer. You know emails arrive constantly. You don't need your computer to remind you there is more work sitting in your Inbox.
2. Schedule a routine time to clear new email messages. Do not schedule this first thing in the morning otherwise it may soak up the rest of your day.
3. Read, respond then delete or file. Keeping loads of email messages in your Inbox is the same as leaving mail sitting on the middle of your desk. Both practices give you the impression you have yet to deal with the messages when in fact, you have responded.
4. Use your email functionality - rules and alerts - to sort your mail when it arrives. If you have a big project on the go, create a folder for the project. Add the folder to your favourite folders where you can see it easily in the top left (or right) of your screen. Create a rule to have all new mail with the project name in the heading or body go directly to this folder. Your computer will tell you when there is new mail in the folder, don't worry. It's like having an assistant sort your mail before putting it in your inbox.
5. Limit your time for email clearing. If you need two or three scheduled times to clear - so be it but limit the time of each session.
6. Be short and succinct in your communication. No one else wants to receive long winded emails at their end since they have limited time to review it as well.

Enjoy shaking off the email shackles.

Forward Two, Back One - Shall we Dance?

So how is that desk going? The credenza? The floor? What about your New Year's Resolutions to keep a clutter free, high efficiency work space?

Right about now, as second quarter comes to an end and tax time looms for many solo-preneurs and small business owners, the clutter is at an all time high and level of discouragement follows suite.

So I thought now would be a good time to revisit an earlier post on backsliding. It is a common experience for almost everyone who is de-cluttering. Even the best of us have moments, days and weeks when decision making is maxed out, time is layered like a lasagna and the opportunity to find "a place for everything and keep everything in its place" just doesn't seem to exist.

The good news is you are perfectly normal. We all go through it. More good news is by taking one step at a time, one piece at a time, you can get back on track. Here are the four steps:

1. Stave off the guilt. Life is too short.
2. Figure out what you stopped doing that was helping you stay organized.
3. Figure out why you stopped doing it.
4. Find one behaviour you can commit to doing again that will start you back on track. My favourite is clear the floor. Somehow the floor has the best glue around and stuff that gets down there just seems to stick. Another would be clearing the space just inside your office entrance way. More glue.

Now repeat item #1 - stave off the guilt!

Back to the Books

Are you a "sticky note" person? You know what I mean; there are some of us who like to make notes on bits of paper to remind us of things. There are a few by the telephone to remind us to call someone, a few on the filing cabinet to remind us where to find something and a bunch all over our desk with numbers, names, notes and reminders that are so buried under the rest of the paper they are long since forgotten.

As an alternative, try carrying a small notebook around with you. Some of us prefer something small enough to fit into a handbag or women's computer tote. Others keep copious notes and prefer the old elementary school, spiral bound, 8 1/2 X 11 note book. The size is not relevant so pick one that works for you. What matters is that the book travels everywhere with you and is available to jot down thoughts, reminders, numbers and notes. No more lost sticky notes and bits of paper all over your desk. No more stacks of paper with random notes that cause increased stress since you can't remember where they were from.

There are some people who can translate the "keeping notes in a book" organizing strategy to a handheld organizing device. This takes discipline and the ability to read and write/type easily on a handheld. If you are one of these people, go for it and use your handheld as your notebook. Remember to back up your device regularly.

You may be surprised to find how liberating it is to have your notes and thoughts with you in your notebook when you need them!

The Ten Minute Challenge

The ten minute challenge is one of my favourite organizing techniques. When used regularly, is highly effective at keeping one's home or office organized.

Find a bag - the new recycled shopping bags are great for this. Give yourself 10 minutes to fill the bag with items that do not belong in your office and need to return to wherever it/they belong. A common variation on this strategy is to fill the bag with items that you are no longer using, no longer want, need etc. If you use this strategy weekly you will soon find your office not only clutter free but a much more productive place to work.

Where's Your Glue Spot?

More and more I have noticed that most clients have a glue spot in their office or home. You know this place. Whenever something gets put there, it never moves. That specific spot has really good glue all over it and when an item gets put down, its stuck.

Sometimes we just don't see the items in this spot once they've taken up residence there. Sometimes the location is hard to clear out because of its location or things around it. Whatever the issue, the glue spot will forever keep attracting and holding clutter unless you attack it deliberately with some anti-glue strategies.

1. Figure out where the glue is. Prime locations are the floor, just inside the door of your office, (usually the first flat surface), behind the door, under the desk or in a corner behind the desk. Often people have a special glue spot on one corner of their desk. You know the one - you are probably looking at it now.
2. Designate 15 minutes today to clear this spot. Make sure the items that you clear find a home that they can be returned to every time you use them.
3. Designate 15 minutes tomorrow to clear this spot.
4. Designate 15 minutes the next day ... and so on until the spot is clear of debris, clutter or anything else that may have been stuck there.
5. At the end of each day, keep aside 15 minutes to clear this glue spot. Make this a daily ritual.

Glue spots exist, I believe, as a result of our own organizing personalities. Trying to make them go away may be more futile than helpful. Managing the spot will help you to keep yourself and your space organized so that your work life is as productive as possible.

First Quarter Review

How it happened I hardly know but here we are at the beginning of April. That means first quarter is over. How are those goals coming?

Have you checked your progress recently?
Do you know where you filed them?
Are they still valid?
Are they still realistic?
Did you implement the tools to measure them?
Were they measurable to begin with?
Are you happy with the progress?
Are you ready to celebrate your successes?

Where are your targets and goals for second quarter?
Are they specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time limited? (SMART)
Have you set up the tools to measure your progress?
Have you set up a review date?
Have you planned your celebration?
Have you shared the goals and your progress with your staff?
Is everyone focusing on the same organizational goals?

See you next quarter!

Keeping to the Agenda

This post is going to make everyone else happy and give you some more work. "Oh great!", I can hear you say. But remember, when your organization makes everyone else happy, you look good.

It's not about goals - its about agendas. Do you use them for your meetings? Do you send them out ahead of time? Are they clear and concise and related to the previous meeting's minutes (if there was one)?

There is almost nothing worse for meeting attendees, even the virtual kind, than a meeting that doesn't stay focused, runs overtime and doesn't accomplish the goals for which it was set up. Your agenda, sent out in advance, will notify everyone of the purpose of the meeting, the time commitment, who will attend, what they are expected to contribute and what they can expect to get out of it.

Set up your meeting agenda. Send it out ahead of time. Stick to the agenda when you meet. Everyone will be happy to attend your meetings.

Organizing to Maintain your Sanity - 5 Ignore Criticism and Enjoy Bonus

You've heard it. I've heard it. We all know what it sounds like.

"Getting a little anal aren't you? Turning into the next Martha S. here at the office?"

Here comes the criticism from those people, usually one person in particular, who can't stand to let you reach a higher level of organization in your work. It might even be your boss. Who knows, maybe that person is jealous, envious or afraid that you might be more productive, more effective and receive the accompanying accolades that eludes them due to their disorganization.

They have every reason to be very, very afraid. Clutter gone, priorities shift and here you come with productivity in hand. Using the 15 to 45 minutes of routine, organizing maintenance that I have outlined in items 1 through 4 of this series, you will have freed up your mind away from the clutter and what you "should" be doing about it, to whatever your boss, organization or business really wants you to focus on.

If the naysayers want to focus on criticising you, let them do whatever. You've got product to sell, clients to support and staff to lead. You rock!

Organizing to Maintain your Sanity - 4 Go Home

To keep the organizing going, and the clutter at bay, every item in your office needs to go back to its home. In most organizing projects, next to purging, much of the work is in establishing a home for everything whether its paper, files, e-files or other objects. Once an item has a home, it needs to return there when you finish using it.

Again, just a few minutes a day to scan your office and put things away will take you a long way to a more organized existence. If it isn't yours, and doesn't belong in your office, take it back to its proper home. You don't need the job of keeping track of other people's clutter along with your own. If done at the end of the day, you will return in the morning to a more organized office and feel more in control of your work and your life. Keep it simple and commit to completing this task daily.

Organizing to Maintain your Sanity - 3

"If I had time", you say, "I would be more organized!" I know, me too. Unfortunately since none of us have figured out how to put an extra couple of hours into each day, we will just have to work with the 24 hours that we have.

Let's start with your calendar. Do you have one? Do you carry it with you all the time? If it is a paper calendar, can you put it into your purse, briefcase, computer bag? If it is electronic, can you carry it in your purse, briefcase, computer bag?

Since this series is about maintenance tips I am concentrating on keeping organized (as opposed to the clearing out and sorting to get organized). Ensure that today's appointments are in your calendar. Review tomorrow's appointments before the end of the day so that you have time to prepare for whatever is scheduled. If you have car service arranged, have you organized someone else to take the kids to swimming? It takes only a minute or two to review the appointments for tomorrow. It could take a lot longer to catch up if you miss something or it takes you by surprise. At the end of the week, review your appointments and plans for next week. Again, the anticipation will give you a chance to plan and prepare.

Once that is done, you can head for your evening knowing your plans for tomorrow and next week are already in place and organized. Aren't you clever!

Organizing to Maintain your Sanity - 2 The Entrance

Have you ever noticed the tendency to walk into your office and immediately put down on the first horizontal surface whatever is in your hands? It is such a common habit that we professional organizers find amongst our clients that if you are missing something, I would suggest you check the first flat surface you find in each of the rooms you have just visited.

To maintain your sanity and stay organized, the next habit to develop is to clear the flat surfaces just inside the threshold of your office. (Notice I didn't say "...and then get rid of the flat surface." Maybe later!). Take a few minutes each day - 15 to 30 should do it - and clear off those surfaces. Needless to say, once you do the big clear out the first time, each subsequent day will be easier and require less time.

Concentrate on what is just inside the door or threshold of your office. Is it a shelf, a credenza, a chair or a filing cabinet. Whichever, clear off the surface and put everything in its rightful location. Remember to take anything that doesn't belong in your office back to its rightful home. You don't need other people's clutter in your office!

This series of posts is all about maintaining organization in your work life. The idea is to tackle a little bit each day that ends up as a huge accomplishment and a calmer environment for you in the long run.

Organizing to Maintain your Office - 1 The Floor

I am committed to education. I am committed to educating my clients with new behaviours and habits to keep their lives organized. I have heard it said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. If my clients continue to do what they have always done - their lives will once again be full of the clutter that I help them control/purge/manage and they will be no more organized then before we started working together.

This week's posts will address basic, simple habits to help you keep the clutter at bay. Organizing does not have to be complicated. In fact, the less complicated your routines the more likely anyone - you, your spouse/partner, your children - are likely to follow them. Keep it simple and focused - keep the clutter away.

Habit 1 - Clear the floor.
Spend 15 minutes at the end of each day clearing away the debris off your floor. Refile the file folders that you dropped their. Pick up the paper and recycle or file. Return the books to the book shelf. Look under your desk. Is there an old pile of shoes? Throw out the ones you no longer wear and put the others in the closet with your coat. Anything that doesn't actually belong in your office can be returned to its rightly location.

If you are doing this exercise at home, and you have children, they can easily help. Bear in mind, it does not need to be a lengthy process. Give the children 15 minutes to run through the house and pick up/put away their toys, books, homework items, sports equipment. Consider giving a reward when they are done like reading them an extra chapter of their book or a Popsicle.

There may be lots of clutter on the floor when your first start. That's OK. Try this for 28 days without a break and I guarantee you that by day 29 your house will be tidier and you will feel more organized and in control of the clutter.

Declutter the Feeder

Hop on over to my colleague Marcia Francois at Organizing Queen. Tomorrow she will walk you through an online decluttering exercise - like those feeds to which some of us are addicted but really never use. Sound familiar? Lean and clean to be productive and effective.

Home Office - Not to Abound

If you are working in a home office, you may have already identified that it is important for your work life balance to set up a form of boundary or border. Separation of work and home life is essential for good organization, good health and productivity. Here are a couple of ways to accomplish these borders:

• Use screens, room dividers or use a bookcase/filing cabinet or other furniture as a room divider.
• Use an office in a cabinet set up so that you can close your office at the end of your work day.
• Have a separate phone line installed for your business.
• Ensure that family and clients understand when you are available and when you are not. What are your working hours and when are you home for your family?
• Get dressed each day for work. Establish a ritual for "entering" your office. Do you have your coffee/tea/water in hand?
• Ensure that you have a storage closet or other space for supplies so that they don't end up all over your home.

These tips will help you to maximize your focus while at work and minimize the intrusion while at home.

Recession Strategies

"Who has time to organize?" you ask. "My boss has just been let go and a dozen colleagues have been downsized. A neat office is not on my priority list."

While a neat office may not be high on your priority list, A1 performance ought to be. In these difficult economic times, you want to be sure your high performance is facilitated by your organization level and not hampered or impeded by your lack of organization.

And if you think you have hidden your disorganization from your colleagues and boss for these past years - think again. Most managers have a pretty good idea of who is well organized and who is not. For one thing, organization and performance are frequently related - your colleague next door with the clean desk doesn't waste any time in getting your boss the report he/she needs or following up on that very hot sales tip.

If there were ever a time to commit to improving your organization level, now would be it. Start with either your desk or the floor. Get rid of the extra paper, shoes, garbage, recycling and boxes. It will speak volumes to those in charge about your commitment to productivity.

Books - Enough Already

Peter Walsh's most recent book Enough Already is now available on Amazon. I highly recommend this to those of you who are overwhelmed not only by your clutter, but by your life in general. True to his character, Peter handles not just the stuff in our lives but the issues of emotional and mental clutter.

Whether you are tackling little clutter, big clutter at home or at work, I recommend this read to you.

Quiet Hour for Executives

How often do you book a meeting with yourself in order to get time alone to work on a priority item? All too often, we feel guilty for booking time to ourselves rather than making ourselves available to the people in our business world. Consider, however, whether or not those priority items are in fact getting done on a timely basis with the number of distractions coming into your workspace during your regular work day.

Booking a quiet hour whether for a project, a task, or to think can be a very effective organizing tool for managers and executives. It is especially effective for planning time at the end of the day. The best time to plan for tomorrow's agenda is at the end of today. Taking a quiet hour to review your priorities, plan out your day and block in your activities will increase your effectiveness as a leader and as an employee.

It may take a couple of times before the people around you realize that you really do mean to be left alone. Don't answer the phone, email or door. Pretend that no one is in the office. Concentrate for that quiet hour on the task at hand. Pretty soon other people will learn to respect your time and need to work alone. Especially when they see the productivity that results!

More on Labelling E-files

You have no problem handling file names with dates attached but now you are wondering "How do I label files so that my most frequently used items come to the top of my list when my computer only files by number or alphabet?"

Use letters like numbers to help your computer file by frequency of use. If you use a file often, start the file name label with an A (or AA, AAA depending on the number of files you are labelling). Start the file name of those files used least often with a Z (ZZ or ZZZ etc.)

Your computer will obligingly file alphabetically reading those letter first and your files will be listed according to frequency of use.

Keep it all Contained

I'm staying on the limited real estate theme today. With a small desk/work space, it is more important than ever to ensure all your work tools - pens, rulers, paper, drafting tools, memory keys - are as contained as possible. When small items have a home to be returned to, they are less likely to wander around your work space.

The containers for these items could be anything at all that works for you. If you are using vertical storage space, you will want something the fits on the space and is easy to get to. If the work space is in the open and subject to the public eye, you may choose decorative containers. If you have only yourself working in the space, why not use a clear container to help you locate what is inside.

If you are a tosser and dropper, and not likely to open a lid to put something away, then use open storage like bins, open boxes, baskets or a similar item. Once again, make sure the items you use on a regular basis are at your finger tips and the items you use occasionally are not sitting in prime real estate!

Solutions for Limited Real Estate

Is your desk too small for the stuff that sits on top of it? Are you feeling cramped and penned in by hot files, current files, your computer and just the mere presence of your coffee cup?

Whenever possible, move to vertical storage and even a vertical desk. what? Put my desk on the wall?

Pretty much, that's it. consider placing shelving units above your desk or, if space does not permit, even to one side of your desk. Then set up the items off your desk onto the shelves. Those things you use daily will be closest to you while the occasional items can sit on the shelves farther away.

Label those E-files

Enough about organizing paper, I can hear you shouting.

OK, let's get a grip on all those files on your desktop.

Computers don't read or count. They recognized yes or no. When labeling your files, the computer will automatically try and sort either alphabetically or numerically depending on the symbols you have chosen (letters or numbers). If you want a file sorted by it's name in a date order use a number to represent the date. Use "0" placeholder for single digit months i.e. Jan to Sept otherwise your computer will put October first in the list.

Ecofriendly Labelling

While there is no doubt, many of us print as little as possible, sort only what we can't avoid and file what is left over, paper seems determined to be here for a long time. As a result, paper files are still an organizational structure that must be managed.

Here is a tip to limit the number of file folders that end up in the recycling. When labelling the folders, use a file label to write on. They are readily available from most stationary or business supply stores like Grand and Toy or Staples. If you put the file name right on the label, when that file is finished, the file folder can easily be reused by simply putting a new file label over the old one.

Desktop Disco

What's dancing on your computer desktop? Virtual clutter can be just as bad as the stuff kicking around the floor of your office.

Do you habitually leave documents sitting on your desktop so that you can find them easily the next time you want to work with them?It's not a bad idea - until there are so many files or shortcuts on your desktop that you can't find any of them. That's right; just like the top of your physical desk.

Don't panic, the solution can be relatively simple. Set up folders as hot files on your desktop to house the material you are currently working on just like the hot files on your desk. Keep them specific and time limited. When the project is over or completed, purge the folders and move them off your desktop. By then there will be other files that need to be moved into hot files.

Weight Lifting with your Computer Bag

When was the last time you cleaned out the laptop bag? First of all, are you still using a carrying bag or have you switched to the more ergonomic backpack yet? These are not always feasible for the business environment but they are certainly better for your back.

Clear out those files that you haven't used since the last project finished - and while you are at it, purge the files before putting them away.

Reduce the number of pens, pencils you carry around. How many do you really need? And what about all the computer attachments? If you carry your computer regularly, do you really need all the bits and pieces that you use once a year? Could some of that be stored in a dust free container in your office and be packed for the overseas trip once a year when you need the electrical converter?

Do your weight lifting at the gym - not getting in and out of your car or the bus.

To Store or not to Store

Yesterday over on Calm the Clutter, my residential/home office blog, I wrote about open versus closed storage. It is important to remember that, while storage containers can be pretty, handsome, can calm the visual noise and look very productive on the book shelves of your office, they may not be necessary at all.

Before finding a container for anything, take a really good look at whether or not there is any point in you keeping it. Do you really need to keep all that scrap paper? (Can it be sent to the local school/daycare for crafts?) Do you really need to keep all those trade show giveaways? (Can they be donated somewhere they will be used?)

You get the picture?

Anniversaries are Special

Are you using your electronic calendar to it's fullest potential? It can help you organize some of those annual other repeat events that are worthwhile remembering - like your best client's birthday.

Book the event into your electronic calendar and use the Recurrence function to book it again the next time it occurs. Then set a reminder a few days ahead so that you can prepare for the event, like calling him/her up with good wishes. Won't you look organized!

Travel Light

Are you still fussing with liquids and containers when travelling? Have you invested yet in the travel size containers for your business travel kit? Make the commitment. They are widely available in a variety of price points. Do yourself a favour and pick up a package.

They usually come with several bottles and a couple of jars, all measured to meet international travel requirements. I have found them available at Canadian Tire Corporation and the Solutions Store. They fit perfectly and without fuss into most travel kits - even for those of us who don't travel as much!

Shopping Addiction Revisited

It seems more than a few people are becoming concerned, and now willing to discuss, the very real concern that is a shopping addiction. This recent Chatelaine article on Shopaholics, by Rebecca Caldwell (no known relation), is a healthy discussion on how this addiction looks in real life.

Committing to Turnover

It's the end of the first week in February - have you turned over your year end yet?

Are you still mixing 2008 invoices/receipts with the new 2009 items?

Have you collected your 2008 documentation for year end reports and income tax preparation?

Do you have a designated location for your 2009 invoices/receipts i.e. e file/folder, paper file, folder, envelop or even a plastic bin?

Have you opened up a new file/folder for February 2009 so that January 2009 can be easily identified/located/sorted/recorded ___________ (fill in your own blank).

How much does your small business/home-based business pay in bookkeeping fees?

Would a little more organization reduce that for you?

What could you reinvest in your business with the proceeds?

Have you scheduled your semi-annual clear out day yet? When was the last one?

Book a day or half day, order the pizza insist that your staff commit to be present for the clear out. This is a very effective tool to ensure your offices do not become a cluttered, unprofessional place that causes you to cringe when clients come knocking!

Top 5 Series - Excuses Professional Organizers Hear for Disorganization

This probably isn't you, but perhaps someone you know, is chronically disorganized, forever holding everyone else up and causing deadlines to slip, and shrugs off the suggestion for help form a professional organizer or complaints from colleagues with:

1. "I don't have time to worry about tidy piles of paper". You don't, however, mind asking everyone else to wait while to try and find the quarterly report or have to reprint it because it is truly lost in your mess.
2. "I don't need to be more organized; I can find anything I want in my office". Except that it takes you three hours to find a single piece of paper or file folder and meanwhile, everyone else is held up in their work.
3. "I'm not disorganized, I just like to keep things in case I might need them, someday". Meanwhile you keep insisting you need twice as much filing space as everyone else, your office is a stack of boxes covered in dust i.e. haven't been touched in 5 years.
4. "I am actually very organized. I know exactly where everything is". Have you noticed you are chronically late for meetings, late on work submission, rushing for completion of tasks at the last minute. You think you're organized? Have you asked your colleagues recently?
5. "I have my own style of organization. No one else would understand it". You might be correct - if you didn't show up for work tomorrow no one else would be able to find any of your relevant work. Your office and your contributions to the company would be dismissed as meaningless.

When we work for someone else, the work they pay us to do generally belongs to that company: files, paper, reports etc. You have an obligation to ensure that if you don't show up to work tomorrow, for whatever reason, someone else can step into your shoes can pick up the baton. When was the last time you asked your colleagues how they feel about waiting for you to finish reports - chronically late

Think about it.

Client Questions - Is Backsliding Failure?

Q I had cleared most of my desk and office and was enjoying being able to see the desk and find things again. Then we had to put a rush on a project and now, two week later, I feel like I am back where I started. In a mess! Is this normal? Will life ever be different?

A In a word, Yes and Yes. Backsliding is a normal part of trying to improve one's level of organization and, for most people, periods of disorganization are a pretty normal part of life. The difference between the generally organized person and the generally disorganized person is there ability to respond and return to a higher level of organization when the flurry dies down. Try these tips to stay on track and return to the track when you feel derailed.

• If you have a large project on the go, take a tip from the designers and find a container to hold all the project material. If it is paper and the project is too big for a file folder or box folder, get a box, basket, bag or anything else that suits your office and the project. Using a single container will ensure that all the pieces of the project stay together and that the project itself doesn't spread across all your other work. At the end of each day, commit to putting all the project pieces back into its container.
• If you find yourself backsliding, remember that this is a normal part of progressing in organization. Its ok, you're ok. Avoid beating yourself up. Focus instead on how much you enjoyed being more organized and how much you look forward to catching up again. Renew you commitment to yourself to greater organization and move on.
• Clear off your desk - even if you have to put everything into a big back to do it. A clear desk will help you think more clearly, breath better and generally function at a higher level.
• Break down the problem into small, chewable chunks and pick one chunk at a time to work on. If necessary, spend 15 to 30 minutes a day sorting through the paper, regrouping the projects back into their files or containers. You may find that asking a friend or colleague to help will get the job done faster. Try offering to swap organizing time.

Managing Email 4 - No FYI's Thank You!

Here's a tip from Julie Morgenstern's book Never Check Email in the Morning.

Avoid sending FYI's. They clog your inbox and everyone else's and are a tremendous time drain with little reward. Never send an FYI without telling the reader at the beginning of the message why you think it will be of interest to him/her. For example, send and FYA or For your Awareness to keep you boss on the inside track just in case.

Friday Inbox Delete Diet

Inbox a little heavy these days. Like most people you have probably read the important messages, left the rest and moved on with your day. Result: your inbox has several hundred or more messages patiently awaiting your attention. "It will never happen", you moan. "I will never have time to figure out what to do with them all". Probably not. Try this instead.

Reorder you Inbox, or whichever folder you've decided to attack, by some other method than the usual one. If you order it by date, switch to by sender. Try subject. Try size. It doesn't matter as long as it is different than your day to day sort.

Start anywhere in your box with your finger over the DELETE key. Notice how the 30 messages from your boss relating to last year's budget are no longer relevant. How about the 14 messages relating to the Christmas party. And there are the 23 messages about the add space you were considering but never bought. Keep going, you are doing great.

Evenutally all messages that you keep for content need to be filed. Elsewhere I have talked about matching up your e-files to your paper files to make the filing process easier. But for the numerous messages that just collect because we never get around to clearing them out, a Friday Delete Diet can be a wonderful thing. Very lightening before the weekend.

Shopping Addiction

Professional organizers often find themselves with clients whose homes are filled with belongings. In many of these cases, the clients admit to suffering from compulsive shopping behaviour. Compulsive shopping, also known as shopping addiction , is as severe and debilitating as any other addiction. In some cases, it is even more difficult to manage; alcoholics can stop drinking. Individuals suffering from shopping addiction are still required to buy basic neseccities for their lives.

Wikipedia describes the condition as oniomania and provides a summary of information and resources related to compulsive shopping. Individuals suffering from compulsive shopping may feel "good" when they shop and use the behaviour to help themselves feel better. Typically the shopping is then followed by feelings of guilt and remorse. The items are often never used and sit untouched with their tags still on.

If you think you may be suffering from a shopping addiction it is important to get help for yourself. In Canada, the Canadian Association for Mental Health can be helpful in directing you to the right resources.

Chronic Disorganization

As with most states of being, there are different degrees of disorganization. One can think of a continuum from very organized to severely disorganized. Chronic disorganization, however, is considered to be a different situation altogether.

People who are chronically disorganized likely live in a state of severe disorganization. They do not typically respond to conventional organizing practicies and strategies no matter how hard they try to make them work. They have three difining features as identified by Judith Kolberg in Conquering Chronic Disorganization:

• They have been disorganized all or most of their adult life;
• Being disorganized negatively effects their quality of life in some way everyday; and
• Previous attempts to be organized have not been successful.
  

Chronically disorganized people think, learn and organize in ways that are unconventional and therefore conventional organizing strategies do not work for them. Fortunately Judith Kolberg and a number of colleagues have made it their business to understand how to help individuals with chronic disorganization. She founded the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization which now provides education to professional organizers and related individuals on working with those who suffer from chronic disorganization.

So if you think you may be chronically disorganized check out the

NSGCD website. The professional organizer directory on both Professional Organizers in Canada and National Association of Professional Organizers includes identification of those who specialize in this area.

You don't have to live with your disorganization.

Client Questions - Is Anyone Else Disorganized Like Me?

Q "Now that you have seen my disorganization and mess, tell me, are there other people that are disorganized like me? Do their colleagues know?"

A Yes. Usually.

It often takes a lot of courage for a seriously disorganized professional, manager or executive, to let a professional organizer into their office. Many of my residential clients have not had anyone into their home for a very long time. They are too ashamed. Their embarrassment and concern that they will be chastised by friends and family ensure that those friends and family will never be invited over. Their embarrassment is expressed in a desire to know they are not the worst or most disorganized people I have ever worked with. In the business environment, executives, often the highest producers, are running scared that the rest of the office, especially their boss, will find them out.

The reality is that there are many business executives teetering on the edge of collapse because their business world is so disorganized. There are a lot of people in this world with a lot of stuff they a) don't need b) don't use c) don't have room for and d) don't know how to manage or part with and e) can't manager their time. The impact on their lives is no different than the impact on the disorganization in the life of the clients that express their frustration and embarrassment in the form of today's question.

If there weren't lots of disorganized people in Canada, the country would not support the growing roster of industry professionals such as the members of Professional Organizers in Canada , now with over 600 members, or its affiliate, the National Association of Professional Organizers in the United States.

More important, however, is how each individual or family, struggling with disorganization, gets a grip on their lives so that they too can achieve their business or personal objectives without the emotional and mental stress of always covering up for their disorganization. So if you are wondering if anyone else in the world suffers from disorganization like you do, the answer is yes. Lots of people. Does the rest of the office know? Yes. The symptoms of your disorganization or visible to everyone. Now what will you do to manage it?

Purge Time!

How are those files? Full of material from 10 years ago. If you haven't already, now is a great ime to revisit the contents and get rid of anything that is a) not relevant, b) not legally required, c) not accurate.

Remember, not all legally required material has to be kept in your current, day to day files. In fact, material that is several years old and retained purely for legal reasons may be better suited in a long term storage area that is access seldom if ever.

When your done the paper files, start on the e-files.

Why Am I Always Disorganized?

When working with a new client, one of the first challenges I face is to understand why the client is disorganized. Our first visit together is an assessment session which helps me to understand the issues that they face and why they face them. Understanding reasons for disorganization is key to overcoming it. Without an understanding of the underlying isssues, it is very difficult to help an individual, family or business implement systems, structures, process and particularly behaviour changes to achieve a greater level of organization.

Julie Morgenstern, in her book Organizing from the Inside Out, offers a clear and simple discussion of the causes of clutter. She describes the three levels or reasons for disorganization and points out that "everyone struggling with disorganization suffers from at least one Level I cause, but may also be suffering from some Level 2 and 3 causes as well". I have summarized them here for you so that you might have insight into your own reasons for disorganization.

1. Level 1: Tehnical Errors. These include the simple mistakes in your organizing systems, such things as items not having a home, inconvenient storage, more stuff than storage space, or complex, confusing sytems that are too complicated for you to use.
2. Level 2: External Realities. These include factors in the outside world over which you have little or no control. Understanding how to manage these factors will help you to create realistic expectations for yourself. They include unrealistic workload, the speed of life and technology, life or business in transition, uncooperative partners or limited space.
3. Level 3: Psychological Obstacles. These include hidden, internal forces that keep you disorganized no matter how much you might wish to be otherwise. Understanding these issues can help you either work around or through them to seek greater organization. They might include a need for abundance, craving the thrill of creating order from chaos, having unclear goals and priorities, being afraid of success or failure, feeling the need to retreat, having a need for perfection or distraction, and having sentimental attachments to items.

Top 5 Series - Indicators of a Packrat

Managing the behaviour and characteristics of a packrat may be something you assume that professional organizers focus on mostly with residential clients. The reality is that packrat behaviour is seen equally often at the office. The following behaviours and characteristics, modified from a list developed by Judith Kolberg and Kathleen Nadeau in ADD-Friendly ways to Organize your Life, may be familiar to you because of your own life or perhaps the life of someone around you:

• You hang on to things that you, or anyone else, hardly ever uses;
• You eagerly collect items regardless of whether you need them;
• You refuse to part with items because you think you will use them someday (but can't remember the last time you used it);
• You consider yourself a packrat;
• Your workspace (or home) is so cluttered it is hardly functional;
• You have difficulty making decisions about objects.

Sound familiar? The following strategies may help you get started on a healthier path.

• Try the "two for one" policy when bringing new things into your environment. If you bring a new book to your office, commit to removing two books already there that you can't remember the last time you touched.
• Ask someone you trust, a clutter companion, to commit to a day of clearing out your workspace. It will probably take more than one session but you will find even starting will be very rewarding.
• Clear a sorting table so that you have a clear space at waist height in which to sort. You will find this easy on your back and the sorting will feel easier.
• Choose items in your workspace of better quality and let the quantity of objects diminish. If you find 4 staplers, keep the best one.
• Play the Friends, Acquaintances, Strangers game. Objects that feel like friends can stay. Acquaintances may or may not stay depending on their timeliness and utility related to your or your company's strategic goals. The strangers leave your space.

Disorganized Success - At What Price?

Many of you are successful and busy professionals in either your own company or a corporate firm. Some of you are successful despite the fact your world teeters on the edge between organizational disaster and "pulled through again" as you live with your organizational struggles.

Disorganization can be very, very stressful. Living in fear that the rest of the office, business or corporation will discover how disorganized you really are is a stress that few professionals can withstand for very long. You may have tried to be more organized and failed. Perhaps you have been disorganized all your adult life. Perhaps your disorganization permeates your private life as well as your business life - but at home the world may be a little more forgiving.

What price is your disorganization costing your life? Stress? Someone else's time to find things? Rework? Redo?

Perhaps now is the time to consider getting help before the stress takes over or the balance of your life tips in the wrong direction. The National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization is a research based education organization for professional organizers and other health care providers who are interested in chronic disorganization. The group provides resources to the public and a referral program. In the United States, the National Association of Professional Organizers also has a referral program. In Canada, the Professional Organizers in Canada can help you find an organizer with special skills in chronic disorganization in your area.

Don't pay the high price of disorganization. Your life is too valuable.

Prepare for Tax Time 2010

Many of us have just come to the end of a fiscal year, matched up to the calendar year. Why not get a jump on tax time for the following year? Your box of receipts may still haunt you until you hire a book keeper for this year's tax, but next year could be a different story for you.

Pick up at your local office supply store an accordian folder with at least 12 tabs. They are often available as 6, 13, 31 (date) or 26 (alphabetical) tabs. Label the tabs by month.

Use this monthly organization to put all your receipts for 2009. Each time a receipt comes in, drop it in the relevant tab slot. If your business is big enough, you may wish to have one for revenue and one for expenses.

If you are using electronic files, consider the opportunity to convert your paper receipts into electronic documents using tools such as offered by The Neat Company.

Going Slow to Get Fast

They all want to race down the hill as fast as possible at the age of 7. With no fear of dying, and only 3 feet to fall if they catch an edge, the young skiers head from top to bottom at mach schnell (made up word from KLR) if unchecked. KLR, their ski instructor, patiently and firmly reinforces the basics; you have to slow down in order to get fast.

How often could we all profit from KLR's sage advice? Are you moving too fast, wound up in the day to day tornado of life at the office, that you can't get to the end result fast enough?

Try slowing down and reviewing the basics. Is my company clearly focussed on where I want it to go? Have I reviewed and revised the firm's strategic goals to reflect the marketplace and our relative position in it? Do all my employees understand their role in the strategic goals? Do they understand the firm's expectations of them?

Do I demonstrate in my behaviour the professional behaviour I expect from my staff? Do my actions reflect the goals I hold for myself and my firm? Do I demonstrate the priorities and focus my attention and resources clearly on their importance?

Slow down. You'll finish faster.

Focus - and Refocus

I first published this post in 2007. The women at iLash Girls have reminded me that we are wise to revisit our focus on a regular basis. Thus I have chosen to republish in the hopes that you will find it helpful to refocus your view of the work to be accomplished this year.

Focus – with a camera? A noun or a verb? And what makes me think it has anything to do with business anyway? Ever try creating something without it?

Probably the single biggest reason employees fail to reach their goals and business fail to succeed is lack of focus. Do you have a mission? Do you know where you are going? Do you know what it will look like when you get there? Do you have a road map? Have you shared the map with anyone else? Have you shared it with everyone else?

If you or your employees are not focused on the goals of the company, they are messing around with what I call corporate clutter; All the stuff that gets in the way of your business, project, division, board of directors or _____________ succeeding (you fill in the blank). It is no different than in your home where clutter takes time, energy and money to manage, and manage around. If your day is cluttered with unnessary and unfocused activity, you are messing with clutter and wasting energy that would otherwise help your business succeed.

Focus: think about it.

Someday Syndrome

You may be business owner, a senior executive or staff. The beginning of the year finds most of us looking ahead, planning for our next round of accomplishments. How often do you find yourself saying "Someday I will..."? Occassionally? Frequently? Procrastination is a syndrome that gets to us all at some point or another. Can you however, say "never again"?

Alex Fayle has done just that. His Someday Syndrome site lists three components to the syndrome:

1. Someday My Ship Will Come In
   Waiting for, instead of pursuing, your dreams
2. I'll Get Around To It Someday
   Wasting your life with navel-gazing and other procrastination games
3. I Might Need It Someday
   Filling your life with stuff instead of achievements.

Whether you occassionally defer your goals or chronically meet the year end with disappointment, I recommend a visit to his site. There was never a better time than the beginning of a fresh new year to set your sites on a set of dreams to turn to realities.

Happy New Year

I would like to wish all my readers a happy, health and prosperous New Year.

Stay tuned for fresh organizing tips and information starting Monday January 5, 2009. Until then...
Carolyn