Two Forward, One Back

You organized your desk top, cleared out your files, set up your hot files and got your income tax in on time with a moderate "clean up this mess" bill from your accountant.  Congratulations!

And now you sit dispondant staring at a piles of paper on the floor, an inbox full of unopened mail - both electronic and otherwise - and stuff all over your desk.  You've spent the last half hour trying to find something you know you had last week and need before the end of the day.  It's 10:00 on Monday and you are already frustrated and ready for the weekend.

Relax. With even the best of intentions most of us experience some form of organizing back slide at some point in our lives.  For most of us, it is a regular occurance and merely another facet of staying organized that needs to be managed.  Event the most organized professional organizers backslide from time to time and need a little boost to get back on track.

First, realize this is normal and not serious.  Cut yourself some slack; you are human.
Second, focus on what is really important right now - if you need that thing you are looking for, is there someone else who can help you look.  A second pair of eyes often will see things that you don't and will find it faster.
Third, recover your organization by scheduling several small organizing sessions for yourself and commit to this time for yourself to get back on top of the stuff.  It could be 15 at the end of the day or 30 minutes at the beginning of the day.  Pick whichever time your are most productive.
Fourth, start small.  Don't expect to clear all the paper in the first 5 minutes. You may need a whole week to get back on track.  Keep your expectations realistic, stay focussed on your goals.
Finally, reward yourself.  If you clear the top of your desk after the second session, celebrate. Well done!

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 - 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!