Mary is fabulous to work with — she not only helped with organization of an office that housed an existing business, she also organized that same office to launch a new business! I highly recommend Mary — she is very enjoyable to work with, and she went above and beyond to straighten out an administrative mess!” Val Strang, Burn Fitness, LLC
Better Life Habits Blog
How to have less stuff in your office.
It's pretty easy for an office to get out of control, stuff-wise. Things come into our space with very little effort, but it requires time and effort -- even if just a little bit of both -- to get things...
Cost of Disorganization
12 Can’t-Fail Organizing Tips
Following are a dozen tips to help you get organized and improve how your time is spent.
1. Use a timer…Often organizing tasks aren’t started because “there’s not enough time”. Set a timer for 15 minutes and just see how much you get done. You’ll be surprised. This is a particularly good idea if it’s a task you don’t enjoy. You can focus on even the most unpleasant tasks if you know it’s only for 15 minutes. Using a timer allows you to avoid watching the clock.
2. Be focused…Like a laser beam. This is a good tip to keep in mind when you are using the timer. For whatever period of time you’ve set aside, don’t let anything distract you. Keep a pen and paper handy so that if you are reminded of something you need to do or a call you need to make, you can write yourself a note to do it later rather than disrupt your organizing effort. Let the answering machine or voice mail take your calls, and ban interruptions.
3. Don’t leave the area…While organizing, if you find something that belongs in another area, don’t take it there at that moment. Leave it outside the door of the area you’re working in and take it to its proper place at the end of your organizing session. If you leave the room to put the item away, chances are you’ll get distracted along the way and plunge into another organizing effort. An hour later you’ll be out of time and now two areas will be in disarray.
4. Have supplies handy…To avoid distractions and stay in the area you are organizing, you need to have all the organizing supplies you need at the outset. Depending on what kind of space you are organizing you might need boxes, file folders, sticky notes, markers, packing tape, trash bags, paperclips, and labels or a label maker. Think the process through and gather your supplies before you start.
5. It’s not always about getting rid of stuff…People procrastinate about organizing because they don’t want to have to get rid of everything that matters to them. The good news is you don’t have to get rid of everything – just the stuff that is no longer wanted or useful. However, remember that if you are going to keep it you need to…
6. Have a place for everything…You can’t put things back if there isn’t a place where they belong. Everything should have a home. If you’ve tried every room in the place and something just doesn’t belong anywhere in your home or office, you should let that item go!
7. Keep your space at 80% of capacity…Stuff is always going to come into your life so you need to make sure you have space for it. In order to do that your initial goal in getting organized should be to have your space 80% full. As you collect more stuff on an ongoing basis you either need to offload some old stuff to stay at 80% or increase your storage space. Those are the only two options!
8. Create a system for you…Magazines and catalogs are great for inspiration and ideas but the organizing systems were either created for the sole purpose of photographing them, or are in homes where they knew the photographer was coming! Don’t get caught up in how things “should” look or work. Create solutions that work with your needs, habits, and preferences.
9. Automate, delegate, eliminate…What tasks can you automate – bill paying, call screening. What tasks can you delegate – correspondence, cooking, cleaning, errands. What can you eliminate – meetings, excessive volunteer obligations, magazine subscriptions
10. Get comfortable asking for time to think about requests…When someone asks you to do something, take some time to think about how it fits into your overall plan. Do you have the time to do it? The desire? Just because someone asks does not mean you have to say yes right away.
11. Modify requests to suit your needs…Taking the time mentioned in the point above allows you to decide whether agreeing to the request as offered is the best thing for you. Maybe you are willing to help, but with modifications to the request.
12. Say “no” and lose the guilt…Sometimes you just have to say “no”. It’s perfectly okay to do so – in fact, you should do it now and then. If you have a handle on your priorities you can decide if the request fits into your picture. Many people feel taken advantage of because they can’t say “no”. But no one can take advantage of your time without your permission.
Getting organized is not the goal. Organization can simply help you clear the path to better personal and professional results. It helps you get from here to there with a minimum of stress and maximum productivity.