Effective, Efficient, Productive Home Office

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Organizing your home office, whether it is for personal or business reasons, makes all the difference!  Getting down to business at your desk is a chore if it is piled with papers! Establishing a comfortable area for paper work and other office activities is important for productivity. Use these tips to create a space dedicated to effectiveness, efficiency and organization.

Create a Work Zone
As you begin, determine what tasks you are doing in your office and the tools needed for these tasks. By making these decisions at the outset, you are preparing your space for accomplishment. Create areas specifically designated for most frequent activities. As for room arrangement, place your desk in a position that allows maximum use of natural light. Position the desk in a direction that allows for direct viewing of all who enter without you having to turn.  Add an L shape or credenza behind for easy access storage for your command center or project files. 

Desk drawers should have only what you use at the desk in them. Store your additional office supplies in another area. Keep specific categories of items individually stored in different drawers. One drawer should contain checks and bill paying items, one drawer stationary and note pads, one drawer with a pencil tray holding pencils, pens, tape, stapler and scissors. Again, keep just enough to use and not over stuff the drawers. Place books on book shelves, magazines or reading material in a basket to grab and go. Be sure that your telephone, computer and other essentials are placed easily in reach.

A Personalized Paper Plan
A “paper plan” is most important in this work zone. Create an area for “Action” files. This is a temporary home where papers live until either filed away or thrown away. Papers used frequently or that are a “hot topic” need a basket, vertical file, or other space on your desk. Label them according to what actions or terms fit best with your needs. These files can be call, file, mail, or pay. Or these can be named by client name, project name, or other key word that comes to mind quickly. Clearly label your files so you will always know what is in them, and just as importantly, the labels will remind you what not to put in them.

Arrange for the placement of frequently used files to be placed in the desk’s file drawer. Less frequently accessed files can be placed in a separate filing cabinet. As for filing cabinets, use a low-lying, two-drawer cabinet that can be placed next to or near your desk for the added use of its top for other items that you often need. Filing system should be simple easy and manageable. Create categories in your files for the different major work/home areas. For work it may be clients, administrative, financial. For home it may be home/auto, personal, and financial. Use general key words that come to mind quickly, and sub categorize as needed. An example would be Car – insurance, Car – maintenance, or Insurance – Car, Insurance – Home. Think about how YOU think about the paper to find it. Color-coding your files makes it faster to find information. Use one color hanging file to easily slip information into a file. Label the file with a tab using a label maker!

Work Life Balance

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work life balance

 

Is there such a thing a work life balance?  Does balance mean the “scales” are always even?  Work life balance can be seen as always a work in progress, arms of the scale going up and down in small increments, but mainly toward the middle where balance occurs.  In pilates, balance occurs when you are moving many parts in very small ways to keep the momentum of balance in place.   That is really what our lives appear to be when we are balancing home, work, relationships, wellness, spirituality and community.

How do we get this momentum of balance together?

Work life balance comes together when you are strategic about your goals and your plan.   Know what your goal of the balance is.  It can be many different aspects of your life, but not every aspect.  It could be to be healthier, “me” time, career advancement, contributing to the community, deeper relationships or peace of mind.   Choose three areas you can positively change to add to your balance.  Then think through your elements to keep them in balance.

 

Then here are my six elements of balance.

  1. You can do it all, not all at once.  Again, it comes down to choices.
  2. Put in the big rocks first.  do the most important first in your day.
  3. Plan your work and work your plan.  Have great tools like a planner and task list, have a weekly meeting with yourself and keep a task list for every day to keep focused.
  4. Build a team using everyone’s strengths.  Learn to delegate waht you don’t do well.
  5. Power periods and productivity.  Be in the moment, set up power periods in your day for productivity and be brutal about disruptions.
  6. Put your own oxygen mask on first.  Have time in every week to rejuvenate and take care of your health in exercising, relationships, proper sleep and good eating habits.

 

 

Decisions make work life balance happen

Decide on actions that fulfill these elements and position them in your calendar as “sacred” and unchangeable.  You have established a boundary for the really important aspects of your balance, and have flexibility on the rest.  You have to know that your goal is and aim at this with specific actions, not generalities.  Having specific times these actions are set, you can now work around them.  It comes down to plan your work, and work your plan!

Tough to do? Knowing what  is most important to me, I find really makes the difference. If being a great mom is most important, drill down and decide what 3 actions show this.  If being top in your field is most important, you must decide what 3 things establish this criteria for you.  If it is both, let’s create a balance between considering the actions.   I think of it as a road map, getting you to where you want to be.

Work life balance for me means a full schedule of clients, time with my grand kids, time to exercise and time with my husband.  I work with clients in blocks of time throughout the week, including Saturday.  On Friday is my “Gigi” day where I pick up my grand daughter from school.  Each week I schedule pilates, and then walk with a friend 3 times a week on a flexible schedule.  Dinner time each night is my time together with my husband, but it can happen anytime between 6 and 8 pm.  Everything else I work around these 3 aspects of what I consider the most important parts of my week. I see clients around the schedule, accomplish tasks at home including paper work, and take personal care with a good bedtime and focus on healthy eating.

Find your work life balance with this equation and share with us what made the difference for you!

Using Vertical Space

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Using an “organizer’s eye”, there is often space in a home, closet or office that is unused.  Vertical space can be a great asset for organization.

  • Use a section off your kitchen as an office nook with calendar, bulletin board and wall pockets for information.
  • Use a narrow bookshelf with baskets at your back door to keep all the last minute items you need.
  • Use a mud room installation at your entry for backpacks and shoes.
  • Use hanging canvas organizer in your closet with plastic bins to hold lingerie, pajamas, and socks.
  • Use decorative hooks on a wall to hold hats.
  • Use clear push pins near the bathroom mirror to hold jewelry.
  • Use a wall pocket just inside your office door to hold unprocessed papers before cluttering your desk.
  • Use a dry erase board to list projects at your office.

What clever uses of vertical space do you use?

Kitchen Organizing: The Heart of the Home

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kitchen organizing

 

Our kitchens are the heart of the home!  We want to nurture and communicate with our families, have dinner together, and make this hub of activity more efficient and less cluttered.   Take a simple, step by step approach to making this space more effective. Kitchen organizing makes family life more cohesive, less stressful and more fun!

  • Pare down to what you need by assessing what is in each drawer and in each cabinet.  Keep the multi-function tools and donate the single use tools.  Do this in baby steps, just drawer by drawer.
  •  Arrange your kitchen tools by use.  Keep food preparation items near the sink, food storage items near the refrigerator, cooking items near the stove, and plates and glasses near the dishwasher for easy retrieval and storage.
  • Be brutal about your food storage containers. Keep all the rectangular containers nested together with the lids nested in a separate container and then the circular containers nested together with the lids nested in their own container.
  • Group small appliances together for easy access and improved storage.  Assess when was the last time you used your bread maker or waffle iron  and donate these if it is a while ago.
  • Establish work zones for frequent tasks.  A lunch zone is great for getting your kids’ lunches together, including sacks, Ziplocs, and snacks that go into the bag.  A coffee zone for the morning java might include coffee pot, coffee filters, mugs, and sweetener.
  • Your “command center” for paper keeps piles from forming.  Use a desk top sorter with hanging files for categories such as Action, Pay, File, and then one slot for each of your kids and husband or wife. Drop paper in when it arrives and then take an hour once a week for administrative tasks.
  •  Add a calendar space for your family calendar.  Be sure to hang this where everyone sees it regularly and add information during your family meeting to keep it up to date.
  • Review the expiration date of food in your pantry.  Set up the “grocery store” on the shelves and put a label where food goes.    Remember to keep a section for healthy snacks for your kids to easily grab and go.

Tackle Tasks One At a Time

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tasks and time management

 

 

All the experts agree, it takes time for change to happen.  It can be from 30 to 60 days to create a habit or develop a routine.   So take it in baby steps.  Start with awareness of what small change will make the biggest difference.  And remember, multi-tasking sets you back.  Tackle tasks one at a time.

  • Building in extra minutes to every task.
  • Staying mindful and being in the moment on whatever the task is.
  • Creating a checklist for step by step completion
  • Finding a partner for every task to help you with accountability.
  • Using a timer to get you started and get you finished on your task.
  • Setting out a sign that signals a productivity period to keep unwanted distractions away.
  • Establishing a power period twice a day to work undistracted on one very important task
  • Linking one new task to an established task

What do you do to tackle one task at a time?

Presentation: Its A Spring Thing! Tackle the Clutter & Take in the Color

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IT’S A SPRING THING! Tackle The Clutter and Take In The Color 

Get ready for spring with a new look for your home! Join Certified Professional Organizer and Family Manager Coach Ellen Delap to learn the six step technique to tackle your clutter.  Interior Designer Leslie Sarmiento will share the newest trends in color and design for your home.  Bring a friend to enjoy this delightful afternoon program held at Kingwood Public Library on February 15 from 1 – 2:30 pm.  Please rsvp to Ellen at edelap@professional-organizer.com or Leslie at lesliesinteriors@msn.com

 To learn more about organizing, visit www.professional-organizer.com.  To learn more about interior decorating, visit www.lesliesarmiento.com.  Join us on Facebook at Professional-Organizer.com or Leslies Interiors.

S.O. S. – Send One Suit – and make a difference! Kingwood, TX Drive on March 8, 2011

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Kingwood professional organizer Ellen Delap and her company Professional – Organizer.com will be participating in this year’s Dress For Success Houston’s S.O.S. (Send One Suit) Drive.  The effort, formerly known as Clean Out Your Closet Week, provides interview suits, confidence boosts and career development to more than 45,000 women in over 75 cities each year.  Dress for Success is a not-for-profit organization that helps low-income women make tailored transitions into the workforce. Each Dress for Success client receives one suit when she has a job interview and a second suit when she gets the job.

 If you would like to contribute, please bring your interview appropriate suit in excellent condition, cleaned, pressed and on a hanger to Kingwood Country Club on March 8, 2011 from 5:00  – 6:30 p.m.  Don’t have suit to donate?  Dress For Success Houston suggests donating $75 toward the cost of a suit for clients over size 14. Receipts for donations will be sent directly by Dress For Success Houston.  For more information call 281-360-3928 or email edelap@professional-organizer.com.    

 I have my suit already chosen to donate! Do you?

Paper Triage

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paper management

 

We hear that philosophy, Only Handle It Once, OHIO, for paper all the time. But what if we thought of a new mantra for our paper strategy, paper triage.

 

What is paper triage?

Paper triage is when we sort the important from the trash. We make the first brutal decision of what to keep and what to eliminate. In this one step, we are taking paper from overwhelming to in control. We are making decisions about what is a priority or not.  Just like triage in the medical field, we are getting to what is most important first.  To be most effective with triage, we need to be honest about what we keep and why we keep it.  Empower yourself to make bold decisions and keep less.  Except for bills, many papers will come around again, such as electric rates, credit card offers, and information in general.

 

Resources for what to keep and what to toss.

If in doubt there are two great resources for what to keep.  On www.oprah.com, look at the ABCs of Important Papers by Julie Morgenstern (http://www.oprah.com/home/The-ABCs-of-Important-Papers).  This is a lengthy list of what to keep and for how long.  Also you can review on www.realsimple.com the five steps to simpler record keeping is a quick reference (http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/5-steps-to-simpler-record-keeping-10000000688976/index.html.)

 

Paper triage routines

Do you already do some sort of triage?  I hear from clients “I sorted my paper in the kitchen, but now what?  There are still piles!”   This is when we add admininstrative time to a weekly slot.  We commit to a time we can now really work on the paper, again by prioritizing.  Make a list of the tasks associated with each paper, then review and prioritize.  Establishing your command center with these slots, Action, Pay, Pending,  and File, give you another visual reminder of what your tasks will be during admin time.  If you need additional categories, Receipts, School and Church may help you too.

Best time to triage? Its really up to you! Can you do it right when you get the paper and work at your command center? Do you need time without distraction?  Set aside this time daily to prevent being overwhelmed.

When will you do your triage and get your paper under control?

 

Need new ideas for paper management?  Check out my pinterest board Paper, Paper, Everywhere.

Weekend Warriors: Taking Care of your Car: My Vehicle’s Glove Box is Full of Paper! Help!

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This is the fourth in a series about “Weekend Warrior: Organizing and Taking Care of your Home and Car.”  This guest post is by  Lynn Beckwith, owner of Beckwith’s Car Care, sharing ideas on what papers to keep in your glove box.  

Our glove boxes become miniature filing cabinets over the years as we continue to add copies of vehicle registration, inspection forms, maintenance receipts, repair receipts, and miscellaneous purchases.  Just like any filing cabinet, they frequently need to be purged.

So, what should be kept?

Keep your owner’s manual.  It is a handy guide to understanding everything from the type of oil you should use to what that crazy little light on your dash means. 

Keep only the current vehicle registration and insurance card.  Many of us tend to put the new one in and leave the old copy too, just in case we ever need it, loose the new one, or some other reason.  Guess what, they are expired, no good . .  . chunk them!

When it comes to your maintenance receipts, you have two choices.  The first option is to keep all of them. When it comes time to sell your vehicle this proof of maintenance goes a long way towards comforting the buyer that they are making a good decision.  Proving that proper maintenance has been performed can also be important when dealing with factory and extended warranties.  Of course, I am assuming that you have maintained your vehicle on schedule.  If you have not maintained your car properly, then toss them.  Proof of lax maintenance is not going to help you out.  If you are keeping your car forever, these records can help you stay on top of your scheduled maintenance.

The second and best option is to utilize a repair facility that will keep all of these records for you, even better if you can access them on-line when needed.  Whether you have a fleet of one vehicle or many, a quality independent automotive repair shop should keep your records and help remind you when maintenance is due. 

The repair receipts should be kept at least until the warranty on the repair runs out.  This applies to everything from alternators and batteries to tires and water pumps. Even if your repair shop keeps these on file for you it is a great idea to keep them in your glove box in case you are traveling.  High quality independent repair shops offer a nationwide warranty and your receipt should have the contact information listed on it.   Theses receipts can also be helpful when selling your vehicle because some components tend to fail in cycles. A recently replaced part could help assure that it will not be needed for a while. 

So, whether you are selling your car or keeping it forever it is a great idea to keep your paperwork in order.  If nothing else you won’t have to fumble for your registration the next time you are pulled over.

In general:

  1. Look for a shop that will help you develop a customized maintenance plan that takes into account your vehicle specifications, your driving style and your budget.  Find one that will help you stay on schedule with reminders and maintain your records for both warranty and re-sale purposes.

 

The staff at Beckwith’s Car Care specializes in developing customized maintenance plans that have kept their customer’s vehicles safe and dependable for over 20 years.  The Better Business Bureau has selected Beckwith’s as not only the best repair facility in the Houston metropolitan area, but also as the recipient of their Ethics award.  The award winning staff includes one of the 2011 Top 20 automotive technicians in the nation.

 Lynn Beckwith is committed to the automotive industry.  Watch for her features on Fox 26 and visit the archived videos on-line.  She can be reached at 281-540-2000 or you can email your automotive questions to help@thatcarlady.com. Please visit her blog at www.thatcarlady.com or on facebook at www.facebook.com/thatcarlady.

 

 

Lists that really work!

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list making productivity

 

 

It used to be that we could keep our tasks and projects in our heads.  Things were simpler, life was simpler and we had less to do.  Not any more!  Because our lives have become more complicated, having a great way to capture tasks and projects is critical to productivity and peace of mind.

Paper lists

One of the simplest ways to get all your lists in one place is a super cute spiral notebook.  It must be a size that can fit in your purse or bag to be carried with you wherever you go.  Being just so adorable means you will use it for each and every thing you need to remember.  Being a size you can carry means you will have it with you all the time.  If you like to have categories for your lists, you can divide you page with a vertical and horizontal line to show four squares.  Or you can purchase a spiral with color on the edge of the pages to have different sections for different parts of your life.   Your categories might be work, home, church and kids. Or it might be calls, errands, computer and anywhere.  You decide if you need categories and what these might be.

Lists made especially for families are available on www.familymanager.com.  Here there is the daily and weekly hit list,  a summary of the seven different departments that families require, such as home and property,  food, time and scheduling, finances, family and friends, special events and personal management.  With this list, you are sure to be on top of family activities and more.

 

Digital lists

Evernote is a way to use technology for list making.  You can capture any ideas, thoughts or lists on any computer, phone or mobile device. It is a free service and can be uploaded to all types of technology.  Everything you capture is automatically processed, indexed, and made searchable. If you like, you can add tags or organize notes into different notebooks.  You can keep files for “someday maybe”,  your kids’ shoe sizes or whatever you need wherever you go.   Keep a record of your favorite wines by snapping a photo of the label when you find one you like.  Check it out at www.evernote.com.

 

Prioritizing your list

And once you have your list, remember to prioritize.  We can truly only accomplish between three to seven tasks in a day.  I suggest determining your 3 Most Important Tasks (MITs) for every day.  You start the day with focus and end with productivity.

Make a commitment to your list making by finding and using the right tool for you!

 

Find more ideas for productivity on my pinterest board Powerful Productivity.

 

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