If you live in the Toronto area, consider joining the Professional Organizers of Canada this Friday November 7th, 9 am to 4 pm, at the Delta East Hotel at Kennedy and the 401. This year POC has opened up the vendor expo to the public. If you are in the area, come by and check out the latest tools and strategies for keeping organized.
Archive for Professional Organizers in Canada – Page 2
If you live in the Toronto area, you may want to join the Professional Organizers of Canada this Friday November 7th at our annual conference. This year the vendor exhibit is open to the public. It will be held Friday from 9 am until 4 pm at the Delta East Hotel at Kennedy and Hwy 401. Why not come up and check out the latest organizing tools and strategies.
It doesn’t happen very often but today is the day I put in a plug for the industry. On the afternoon of the scarey night and just one week before the Canadian national association for professional organizers – Professional Organizers in Canada – starts it annual conference here in Toronto, what could be a better time?
Being disorganized can be stressful and very scarey. Maybe you or someone you know consistently pays their bills late, if at all, because they either can’t remember to pay them or can’t find the bills. Have you ever added up the late fees incurred by those last payments?
This is just one example of the cost of disorganization and there are many more. Costs can be evaluated in money, heartache and physical or emotional stress. If you or a loved one is constantly or chronically disorganized either at home or at work, you already know how painful it can be.
The good news is that there is help. Both the Canadian association Professional Organizers in Canada , or POC, and our American affiliate the National Association of Professional Organizers, or NAPO have online directories to assist you in finding an organizer in your area. In addition, the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization, or NSGCD, has resources available on its website for the public looking for information. With NSGCD you can also look up the certificates that a professional organizer may have earned if they are pursuing education with the study group. Here is a list of the certificates that I have earned.
It may be spooky out there tonight, but living your life ought to be joyful, not frightful.
It doesn’t happen very often but today is the day I put in a plug for the industry. On the afternoon of the scarey night and just one week before the Canadian national association for professional organizers – Professional Organizers in Canada – starts it annual conference here in Toronto, what could be a better time?
Being disorganized can be stressful and very scarey. Maybe you or someone you know consistently pays their bills late, if at all, because they either can’t remember to pay them or can’t find the bills. Have you ever added up the late fees incurred by those last payments?
This is just one example of the cost of disorganization and there are many more. Costs can be evaluated in money, heartache and physical or emotional stress. If you or a loved one is constantly or chronically disorganized either at home or at work, you already know how painful it can be.
The good news is that there is help. Both the Canadian association Professional Organizers in Canada , or POC, and our American affiliate the National Association of Professional Organizers, or NAPO have online directories to assist you in finding an organizer in your area. In addition, the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization, or NSGCD, has resources available on its website for the public looking for information. With NSGCD you can also look up the certificates that a professional organizer may have earned if they are pursuing education with the study group. Here is a list of the certificates that I have earned.
It may be spooky out there tonight, but living your life ought to be joyful, not frightful.
You recognize its time 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? To increase organization in your business requires increased organization for yourself. Get help if you need it and struggle to manage the space, time or stuff.
2. Walk the Talk
Start talking about professional presentation and image at meetings. Add it to performance appraisals to make staff accountable. In order to increase organization in your business, you will have to set the standard across your business practices. The top of your desk is only one place. Staying on time for, during and at meetings speaks volumes about how your expect your staff to perform.
3. Make it easy
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. Give staff the Tools
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. Make Organizing a Habit
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. To increase organization in your business requires routine and practice.
It’s one week into November. Is your family calendar up to date? Is it posted where everyone can see it? After four days away at the Professional Organizers in Canada national conference last week, I have only just got ours up to date today. For our family, it’s a four month white board posted in the kitchen. Each family member is a different colour white board marker with black for family events. We can all see it and any one of us can refer to it while trying to book an event.
What does your families’ look like? Does it work?
This blog is the result of turning dreaming into action. Many years ago, I had the privilege of reporting to a man who, when he learned of my ambition to someday pursue a PhD in the study of leadership, motivation and education, responded that leadership is something we do, not something we study. My path since that moment has taken an interesting turn. The journey has included formation of my company, Wellrich Organizers, almost three years ago and a sojourn through more academia as I pursue certification in chronic disorganization with the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization. A focusing of the education, experience and knowledge gained thus far, professional organizing has proven to be the melding of three knowledge arenas which have long held my interest, study and passion namely education, management and psychology. So here goes….I invite you to join me.
