Impediment to Efficiency

As hard as I try to be well organized, efficient with how I spend my time, and as productive as possible each day, sometimes events occur that impede my success in these areas.  It makes me crazy!  I crave order, after all. 

There's almost nothing worse (except for serious injury or death to a family member or close friend, of course) than having a dead car battery.  It's so sudden.  Unexpected.  Unwelcome.  There I was, prepared for an afternoon of meetings that I'd been looking forward to.  I had freshened my lipstick, made sure I had a bottle of water with me, grabbed my bag, and jumped in my car.  I turned the key, and...nothing.  What??  I turned the key again...still nothing.  Oh no--my car won't start!  But I have important plans, dammit!  This can't be happening! 

Planning is a good thing.  Whether you resist it or not, it's necessary for most of us to plan much of our days in order to get things done.  But it's also important to be flexible and adaptable when unexpected impediments to our efficiency occur.  (I'm writing this at the car dealership waiting on a new battery--thank goodness for wireless!  And thanks, Tim, for the jump.)

Frustrated By Your Disorganized Office? You Don't Have To Be...

Common Office Organizing Myth...

I'm going to judge you, yell at you, make you feel bad and guilty about your disorganized office.  No--that's a MYTH!  People are sometimes intimidated when I visit their office because they think I'm going to judge them about how disorganized they are.  Not true!  Nobody's perfect, and frankly, we all have areas in which we struggle with varying levels of disorganization.


 I enjoy what I do because I like helping people organize their space so that they are able to function at a higher level of efficiency.  I am understanding and non-judgmental, and it's my genuine desire to help others navigate easily through their days just by improving their organizing skills. 

Don't be intimidated by consulting an office organizer--we are human, too!  There's no shame in asking for help when it will result in saving time, stress, and money. 

Organize Before Your Vacation and Really Relax!

I took a quick trip to the beach last weekend.  The weather was beautiful, especially considering it's mid-November and months of cold weather are right around the corner.  It was great to get away for a few days and leave some of the everyday stress behind.  There's something about watching the waves that's so relaxing...

 Anyway, before I left on my trip, I spent a bit of time organizing my desk and some of the papers that had found a resting spot on it and had been there for several days.  No, my desk isn't perfectly clear at all times!  That's unrealistic for anyone who actually gets work done during the course of the week.  I wanted to come back to a well organized desktop on Monday morning.  I mean, who wants to face a semi-cluttered desk after a nice, relaxing weekend?  Kind of defeats the purpose of getting away in the first place!

But it did occur to me that if every Friday I acted like I was going on vacation, I would be motivated to make sure that all papers, folders, and files were put away so that on Monday I would start fresh.  You try it too!  Fridays you'll leave with the peace of mind that you've organized your workspace, and Mondays you won't dread whatever is lurking in piles on your desk--there won't be any!
  

Reduce Your Paper Output

Often the biggest contributor to office clutter and chaos is paper.  What should you do with it all?  Where does it come from, anyway?  Aside from engaging the help of a wonderful professional office organizer (!) to assist you with your paper struggles, there are ways that you can decrease your own paper output.  Decreasing paper output not only helps you, but you'll also be doing others a huge favor by producing less paper clutter for them.

Quick paper reducing suggestions:

• Think before you print!
• Send copies of documents to fewer people.
• Reduce the number of office forms.
• Call to reply to someone if a letter/memo is not necessary.
• Email (although too many emails is another big issue for folks...think before you email, too).
• If you must write and send on paper, keep it brief.

Going "paperless" is not an option for everybody, but most people can find small ways to use less paper and reduce their struggle with having too much of it.  Less paper...less stress!

Easily Organize Business Cards!

If you're like most business people, you don't have a shortage of business cards sitting around your office.  But what you do have is a shortage of space to keep them.  Maybe they're in a jumble in a desk drawer.  Maybe they're spilling over your desktop.   Maybe you even have a shoebox full of them stashed in a corner!  I think I've seen it all when it comes to people and their business card storage.  

What's the point of keeping all of the cards you accumulate?  To build your list of contacts, of course!  But having them in a disorganized heap really does you no good, does it?  I have a suggestion:  order this fabulous eco-friendly, bamboo business card holder from organize.com.  You can alphabetize the cards, and it's compact yet expandable if you need more space.  And wait, there's more good news!  It won't take you as long as you think it will to put the cards in there.  The most important step is to begin!

 

Get Organized and Thrive!

"Life today moves more rapidly than it did 50 years ago and will continue accelerating in the years ahead, presenting us with more opportunities and ever-greater demands on our time...In an environment like this, those who are organized will thrive...you can no longer afford not to be organized.  Organizing has become a survival skill for the modern age..."  Julie Morgenstern, Organizing From the Inside Out

I like this quote--it gets to the point!  When I work with clients who have struggled with chronic disorganization issues in their offices, they quickly realize that becoming better organized makes a profound difference in their professional, and oftentimes personal, lives.  It makes a difference not just with efficiency and productivity, but with decreasing stress levels as well.  You can't afford not to be organized--this kind of change is good.

Look how happy this organized guy is!

Save An Hour A Day--Get Organized!

In a 2008 NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers) survey of 400 consumers nationwide, 27% said they feel disorganized at work, and of those 91% said they would be more effective and efficient if their workspace was better organized.  28% said they would save over an hour per day and 27% said they would save 31-60 minutes each day.

That's a lot of time saved just by becoming better organized!  What would you do with an extra hour each day?