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.

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.

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.

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!

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?

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.