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.

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?