Hoarders Among Us

Do you think you could tell if you worked beside someone who is hoarding?  Would their work behaviour reflect hoarding behaviour at home?
Probably not - people who hoard do not normally brag about their hoarding behaviour. In fact, most of them are very private and often have not let anyone in their home for many years.  Normally they can not be identified from anyone else walking down the street or sitting at the next desk.
 Professional organizers do not normally go public with the names of their clients ~ client confidentiality is a key ingredient and ethical imperative in the organizing business.


So this situation is really unusual. I am currently working with Bruce Kirkland, senior entertainment writer for Sun Media. Having been interviewed for an article on hoarding, the reporter, Rachel Sa approached Bruce about participating in a series of articles to publish our work in hopes that other people struggling with hoarding behaviour would see there is hope, and help, available.


I invite you to follow our work and Bruce's progress. This is a very brave thing for Bruce and Rachel to do.

The Wellrich 10 Percent Email Solution

As a professional organizer I am frequently asked how I recommend people stay on top of their email.  There are a variety of strategies for managing the actual email when you first open it.  Use folders to file information and flagging action items for example.  When it comes to the emails that have been left in your Inbox too long here is a process I call the 10 percent solution.

1. Pick a time of day to commit 10 minutes to email management.  Stick to this commitment until that Inbox is under control.
2. Change the sorting order of the Inbox.  If you normally sort by date, try sorting by sender or subject.  This has the impact of immediately changing the context of the emails.  With a different context sorting is easier.
3. Check the total number of emails and then identify what 10% would be.  This is your target; the number of emails you are going to file or delete in your designated 10 minutes.  For example, if you have 1000 emails sitting in your Inbox, try and remove 100 at the first sitting.
4. Quickly scroll through the list and try and delete as many as possible i.e. the easy ones you know are no longer needed.  If you get stuck or bogged down, switch the sort again and keep going.  Try sorting by email topic.  This will sometimes allow you to delete the backlog of emails on one particularly topic and then the last one, with all the accompanying conversation, will be the email to file.

You will be surprised how easy it is to remove 100 emails when you have changed the context.

Organizing on the Go

If you travel frequently for business you know that staying organized while on the go can be a challenge.  There are three main issues to address: a) receipts b) staying productive and c) being prepared.

Often one's entire trip involves keeping track of those darn receipts.  Whether you work for yourself or a large corporation, even with a friendly and fully loaded expense card, that proof of purchase is necessary at every transaction.  To keep the receipts organized keep then contained.  Whether you choose an envelope, a wallet size accordion folder or a plastic folder with pockets, the trick is to keep them in one place where they won't get lost and will be available when it comes to register your expenses.

Staying productive while travelling can be difficult when you are at the mercy of train, plane or bus schedules and someone else's meeting agenda.  Keep a ready supply of "To Do" work on hand either on your computer or in your travel case including some lighter reading.  That way when you have to wait for the plane which has been delayed or the meeting hosts who are late, you can keep yourself productive and occupied.

Finally, business travel may be planned in advance but may also be a last minute opportunity for that BIG DEAL you have been waiting for.  Keep a travel case packed and your business case supplied so that you can leave with very little preparation.  Once you return from your trip, repack your cases immediately; you will be most conscious of what you wished you had on your trip right when you return and can ensure your travel cases are loaded up accordingly.

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!

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!