This post is going to make everyone else happy and give you some more work. “Oh great!”, I can hear you say. But remember, when your organization makes everyone else happy, you look good.
It’s not about goals – its about agendas. Do you use them for your meetings? Do you send them out ahead of time? Are they clear and concise and related to the previous meeting’s minutes (if there was one)?
There is almost nothing worse for meeting attendees, even the virtual kind, than a meeting that doesn’t stay focused, runs overtime and doesn’t accomplish the goals for which it was set up. Your agenda, sent out in advance, will notify everyone of the purpose of the meeting, the time commitment, who will attend, what they are expected to contribute and what they can expect to get out of it.
Set up your meeting agenda. Send it out ahead of time. Stick to the agenda when you meet. Everyone will be happy to attend your meetings.
Archive for March 2009
If you are struggling to manage photos and mementos, I suggest you hop over to Org Junkie. This month Laura is dedicating to organizing photographs and keepsakes. These items are always a challenge for clients – they are even a challenge for me. She has recently collected a series of helpful links and resources.
You’ve heard it. I’ve heard it. We all know what it sounds like.
“Getting a little anal aren’t you? Turning into the next Martha S. here at the office?”
Here comes the criticism from those people, usually one person in particular, who can’t stand to let you reach a higher level of organization in your work. It might even be your boss. Who knows, maybe that person is jealous, envious or afraid that you might be more productive, more effective and receive the accompanying accolades that eludes them due to their disorganization.
They have every reason to be very, very afraid. Clutter gone, priorities shift and here you come with productivity in hand. Using the 15 to 45 minutes of routine, organizing maintenance that I have outlined in items 1 through 4 of this series, you will have freed up your mind away from the clutter and what you “should” be doing about it, to whatever your boss, organization or business really wants you to focus on.
If the naysayers want to focus on criticising you, let them do whatever. You’ve got product to sell, clients to support and staff to lead. You rock!
You are looking at the title of this post and thinking to yourself “OK, Carolyn has lost it. Why would I go to all this work if I don’t enjoy being organized?“
Because people organize themselves for all kinds of reasons. Some of us like to be more in control of those parts of our lives that our within our control. Some of us are responding to the pressure from our spouses, our kids or – yup, even when in your own home – our parents. Some of us get ourselves reasonably well organized and then feel uncomfortable; its as if the clutter around us fills a void left by something else.
Whatever your motivation for organizing might be, a higher level of organization, supported by a daily 15 to 45 minute ritual as I presented in items 1 to 4, will help you spend time pursuing those goals that are really important to you rather than managing around, through, between, over or even under clutter.
So now that your home is in pretty organized shape, sit back and think about all the things you can focus on now rather than what you “should” be doing about the clutter. You’ve done it. Move on. In fact, you don’t even have to look at the clutter any more since you cleared the floor, de-cluttered your entrances, set up for tomorrow and put things back in their homes. What is really important to you? Planning a favourite meal for your family? Reading a book? Studying for a “feels like its out of reach” university/college degree. Go for it. Make it happen. Enjoy your organization.
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.
“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!
To keep the organizing going, and the clutter at bay, every item needs to go back to its home. for a residential organizing project, next to purging and/or downsizing, much of the work is in establishing a home for everything in your home. Once an item has a home, it needs to return there when you finish using/playing with it.
Again, just a few minutes a day to scan through your home and put things away will take you a long way to a more organized existence. Teach your children from an early age to cruise through the house before bed and put away their toys/homework/books/video games. Assign them a time limit. Keep it simple and commit to completing this task daily.
“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? Do you have a family calendar (if you have a family)?
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!
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.
Have you ever noticed the tendency to walk into a house, room or 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 those flat surfaces just inside the threshold of each room. (Notice I didn’t say “…and then get rid of the flat surfaces.” 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 entrance way to the room. Include the entrance to your home. If this is a big undertaking, start with one room a day until they are all done. Each successive day, revisit the first location for the daily review.
This may feel like an overwhelming task at first. If you have a lot of clutter, break done each location into a couple of smaller tasks. Start with one small surface each day. Then move onto the next surface the next day etc.
This series of posts is all about maintaining organization in your home and 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.
