So, What Does YOUR Office Look Like?

I have recently been asked the question that all organizers are asked at some point or another, which is: “So, what does your office (and home) look like?” Fair enough. I mean if I’m claiming that I can bring my bag of tricks and we can work some magic on your “in need of some TLC” desk, then it’s only fair that you want to know I can deliver what I promise. It goes back to the old adage “Practice what you preach!” It would seem a little questionable if I were to offer you freedom from stress and in turn I was a basket case myself. I suppose that would be a definite red-flag! But when you ask me “what does your space look like?” I have to wonder what answer you are truly looking for. Would it be more impressive if I said I’m a minimalist, everything is orderly and nothing is out of place…EVER? Or would it maybe seem a little more reasonable for me to tell that my home is functional, everything does have a home, and on a good day, most things are close to their homes?

Let me share a quick story. Before December 2003 (when my first son made his way into the world) I was completely OCD. That’s right, obsessive compulsive disorder, with a capital O-C-D. To give you a little perspective here I have snapped at my mother for not pulling the shower curtain closed after she took a shower at my house. And the towels, well they had to be hung a certain way with the tags out of sight. (I realize now that the easiest thing to do would be to cut the tags off, but that is completely beside the point.) After December 2003, and with a little baby boy in the mix, I made a real concerted effort to continue my path of perfection. I quickly found it to be exhausting, time consuming and down-right stressful. Imagine, causing yourself undue stress – sound familiar to anyone? Over the years, and two little monkeys later, I am proud to admit that I am a born-again organizer. There was a time when I thought of organization as perfection and to be brutally honest, would not rest until everything was organized…perfectly! The reality is organizing and perfection don’t even belong in the same sentence. In fact if you look up the definition of organized there is no reference to perfection at all.

So, when you ask me if my office or home is organized I could easily say ‘yes’, but if you are asking me if it’s perfect, well then the answer is a big ‘NO.’

What’s your preference? Functional or perfect?

Looking for Consistency? Look for Change!

I’ve been attending  Sanera Business Bootcamp (thank you to our host Alicia Arenas) for 3 weeks now and if there’s one common theme that I can’t get out of my head it’s that life is full of change. We grow older – we change. We buy technology today and within a year (or a week) it has changed. But what about ourselves? Do we change? – Only if you let yourself!

I can’t guarantee that you’ll win the lottery tomorrow, but I can guarantee you this; the one thing that is constant in our lives will always be change. We have the choice to be open to change and allow ourselves to grow, or we can be closed off to change and continue to watch those around us grow and prosper.

I wanted to share with you a very powerful message written by author Gail Sheehy which was quoted by John C. Maxwell in his book Self-Improvement 101:

Sheehy says, “If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we are not really living. Growth demands a temporary surrender of security. It may mean a giving up of familiar but limiting patterns, safe but unrewarding work, values no longer believed in, relationships that have lost their meaning.”

In order to change we must evaluate the clutter in our lives, step outside our comfort zone and demand to live by continuing to grow. Put aside our fears and start taking steps to make changes. Sounds great huh? Not always so simple. Who likes to get outside their comfort zone? Me? I’ve been pretty happy with my secluded comfortable surroundings, but then I start to think about all the things I’m missing because I’m “comfortable” – my personal growth has slowed, my circle of friends is quite small, my knowledge of a city I’ve lived in for 5 years is pitiful, I’m missing out on growth for my business… you get the idea. The number one thing holding me back – FEAR! Why are fears so hard to put aside, to get past? I know I would like to wake up tomorrow and never be fearful of anything again. For now? One day at a time. And for starters, I’m working to do one thing every day that’s outside my comfort zone. Did you know that there’s a lot more fun to be had if you just open up to the changes around you? Trust me,  you’ll be amazed, and you won’t be disappointed!

Who Decides What Organizing Should Look Like?

I was thumbing through a magazine the other day and thinking about all the modeling hype. The covers of magazines are plagued with women that society has deemed beautiful. We see (and have been) women and even young girls who are comparing themselves to these ladies and in turn their self esteem is often times crumbling. Why do we compare ourselves to others? Why is it that we so quickly find flaws in ourselves? Would the world really be a better place if every single woman looked like the covers of these magazines? Kind of boring if you ask me!

As I moved on to my Real Simple issue I realized our society was doing the exact same thing with these types of magazines. We are comparing our own lives to the information and pictures that we see. Is your home perfect, like the cover? Do you wish it was? Have you ever questioned the way you were organizing your home after reading an article that tells you something completely different?

This really got me thinking. What DOES society think organizing should look like? And is that image truly practical for most folks? I will be the first to say that the cover of Real Simple and Martha Stewart are always stunning – thus the intrigue to pick up the magazine and read it in the first place. But the beautiful, pristine, model-home like images are not always practical. Yet, we still cut them out, post them up in clear view and hope that someday we will have a home or office that looks just like it. In fact, we may even go to the lengths of creating this perfect environment, just to find that within a few short months, possibly even a few short weeks (1-day if you have children like me) it looks nothing like the picture that we have come to admire.

It’s about this time that we have to really take a step back, really evaluate what organized looks like for us. Ideally your space will resemble the cover of Real Simple, in fact you might just send in a photo and maybe they will call you for their next photo shoot (it can happen.) But realistically your space may be more practical, simple and functional – huge emphasis on functional. Don’t get me wrong, I am 100% behind you getting things organized (it’s my passion of course) but I can guarantee that if you set up a space that aligns more with reality and less with your ideal vision, your maintenance of the space will be much more manageable – which translates to less time spent on maintenance. Now doesn’t that sound good?

Stop Organizing Perfectly

If you talk to most Professional Organizers they will tell you all the benefits of having a clean, clutter free desk. Here are just a few things that could happen to you if you have that clean desk:

1. You’re likely to be less stressed. How many times a week do you frantically search for important documents, client paperwork, lost keys?
2. You’re likely to save money. Do you even know how many dollars you’re losing on reprinting and repurchasing because you just can’t seem to find the ones you already had?
3. You’re likely to save time. Do you even know how many minutes, possibly hours you spend every week looking for something you know you have, but you just can’t locate?

That’s a lot of positive things that could be happening to you. How awesome would that be to reduce stress, reduce cost and reduce wasted time? Hmmm, who wouldn’t want an organized, clean, neat, pristine desk?

Well, believe it or not, there are a lot of folks who don’t. Shocking I know. It almost breaks my heart. But then I started to think about it. Is perfectly organized really functional for everyone? And isn’t the ultimate goal to have something be functional, not model-home-perfect? Something you can maintain with the least amount of effort, because really, other than us crazy Professional Organizers who tend to be “over-the-moon” when it comes to organizing, it’s not really at the top of everyone’s “favorite things to do” list. So, what if Joe Smith down the hall has piles of papers on his desk? Does this automatically make him disorganized? What if it’s just that Joe has 3 different piles, 1 for urgent, 1 for not-so-urgent and 1 for non-urgent? Technically, this is a system right? And if it’s functional for Joe, then that could make it a “functional system?” Of course, this type of system works, as long as Joe doesn’t let his piles get too unruly – which unfortunately can easily happen with a system such as this.

My point you ask? When we think about organized we tend to focus too much on perfection, that pristine, neat organized look, but really “organized” can look different to everyone. Don’t you think it’s time to focus more on functionality and less on perfection?

Is Your Heart In It?

When my good friend (and kick butt business coach) Alicia Arenas said to me this morning, “I can see your passion for organizing and how you want to change people’s lives” it really got me thinking. Almost two years ago (right after baby #2) I spent a good deal of time reading. I was on a mission to find my vocation – not just a job, not another paycheck, something I could put my heart into. With a pending layoff looming I was blessed with a huge opportunity for change. One of the best books I read was Dan Miller’s “48 Days to the Work You Love.” Dan’s book has you asking yourself a lot of questions, but the one question that I asked myself and I pose the question to others quite often, is: “Would you still do what you do if you weren’t paid to do it?” Of course our first instinct might be a big resounding NO. I mean who wants to work and not get paid right? Dan’s message is a lot deeper then that. By asking this question you can begin to dig deep and realize how passionate you truly are about what you are doing and why you are doing it. Is it something you can get behind? A message that makes sense, aligns with your opinions, your beliefs? Or are you settling for yet another J-O-B?

I do have a passion, and for me that passion is organizing. Someone recently asked me when I started organizing and I think I surprised them a little with my response. I said, “As a business, or just as a person?” For me, organizing is a part of who I am. I can vividly remember being 8-years-old and actually asking my grandmother if I could organize her junk drawer. I smile when I think that to this day my grandmother still calls or emails for organizing tips and advice. I guess you could say she was my first client.

I’m realizing that when you have a passion and your heart is in it others see that. They feel that. They know that about you.

What do you say you’re passionate about? Is your heart in it? Can others see that?

Do Your Organizing Systems Need a Maintenance Check?

We’re all pretty aware that in order to keep our vehicle running properly we have to take steps to keep the maintenance up-to-date. If we don’t change the oil regularly, our engine will get “cranky.” If we forget to check the air pressure on the tires, it’s quite possible we could end up with a flat, or worse yet, get into an accident.

We may be cruising through life without a care in the world when all of a sudden the “check engine” light comes on. At this point you get to make a choice, kind of like the old school “Choose Your Own Adventure” books. Are you going to be a faithful car owner and take your vehicle in to investigate the problem? Or are you more of a risk taker and you’ll just “wing-it” for now and deal with it later?

What about your organizing systems? What happens if you don’t do regular maintenance, “oil” changes, “

tire pressure” checks? What will our life look like? And what about our space? Without regular maintenance (daily pick-up sessions) our space will be cluttered, and over time become unbearable and even unsightly. If we fail to do oil changes (dispose of the old stuff to make room for the new) then we pile piles on top of piles. Old stuff is buried on the bottom, like the old sludgy oil, which could easily make us miss deadlines an

d important information. And when we forget to check the tire pressure (make sure the current systems are still working properly) we fail to see if our current systems are still working properly. Does your filing system still function? Are you cramming papers into a filing cabinet that is bursting at the seams?

Just like a car, without regular maintenance our life will not run smoothly and we will encounter countless time-sucking issues that could have been avoided. When was the last time you did a regular maintenance check on your organizing systems?

Show Fear Who’s Boss

You want to get organized, but can’t seem to make it happen. Could you be afraid of getting organized? Those fears are mental clutter and they are holding you back!

Just a few short weeks ago we pledged our New Year’s resolutions. For many, getting organized is on their top-10-list. We say that our New Year’s resolution is to get organized, reduce the clutter in our life and our space, but when it comes time to take action, we let our fear make decisions for us and we fail to get the job done.  Have you ever found yourself plagued with thoughts of fear? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. It is human nature to be afraid, but what sets you apart from everyone else is how you choose to react to those fears.

Tell me, do any of these thoughts sound familiar?

I’m afraid of throwing out something important. What if I need it later?

I’m afraid of what I will find underneath all that clutter.

I am afraid of how much work is involved and I don’t know if I can do it.

These feelings are not uncommon. All too often we find ourselves NOT doing something because we have let our fears hold us back. Let me ask you this. If you decide to not start something because you are afraid, where does that leave you? Let me give you a hint, it leaves you right where you are today – overwhelmed with clutter and chaos in your life.

Every time you decide to face your fear, you gain courage, strength and more confidence in what you are doing. It’s okay to be afraid, BUT, do not let your fear make decisions for you – show fear who’s boss – YOU!

An Organized Mind is a Powerful Mind

All too often one of our great thoughts or ideas just slips right through the cracks. Our mind can often be a jumbled mess, and is the farthest thing from a neat, orderly filing system. Now, it is hard to imagine our brain as a 2-drawer filing cabinet, in fact, it would probably look more like hundreds of  two-drawer filing cabinets. We try to file thoughts and ideas away in hopes that some day we will revisit those thoughts and ideas and plan their implementation.

The problem though is that we have so many thoughts and ideas, that it is nearly impossible to mentally keep track of each and every one. Here are a few key tips that will keep your mind less jumbled and your thoughts and ideas more organized:

1. Write it down. Get a journal, something attractive that will entice you to write. Keep this journal handy and record all your thoughts and ideas as they pop into your head.
2. Digital voice recorder. A voice recorder is going to allow you to record your thoughts and ideas just as quickly as they pop into your head. A more frugal option is to check your cell phone and see if it has a voice recording option, or downloadable application.
3. Leave yourself a message. You are on the go, no time to write something down, call yourself and leave a message. Think about how great it is that you won’t be forgetting this very important thought or idea.

What is it that  jumbles your mind? Is it thinking about what’s for dinner tonight? Or maybe a great idea for keeping the kids entertained? Or possibly an exciting new idea for your business? Record these thoughts either in writing or on a voice recorder, and never again lose those valuable information.

The Truth About Perfection

I get the wonderful opportunity to write my blog post today from snow covered Western Pennsylvania, north of Pittsburgh for those familiar with the area. I’m looking out the window at the most beautiful sight, a layer of white, untouched snow, covering the ground. As I sit here enjoying the beautiful snow, from the warmth of the indoors, I realize that the snow is perfect, but its’ perfection is only for a limited time. Soon, it will melt, get dirty, or most likely have footprints and sled tracks from my two boys running around the yard.

In our daily lives we often times find ourselves striving for some sort of perfection. Perfection that gives us a moment (or two) of bliss, but in the long run our “perfection” never seems to last. Maybe it is too difficult to maintain or is in fact unrealistic. For example, we may want our office to look pristine, organized, and like a picture in a magazine, but the second we take out a file, or start sorting through the mail we begin to clutter things up again.

Creating an organized, “perfect” look actually has less to do with perfection, and more to do with functionality. By asking ourselves the following five questions we can create an organized office that is functional and perfect for each of us.

1. Who uses this space? If a home office is it used by others or for other functions?
2. What purpose does this serve? Is it something I use while in my office, or something that is just taking up space?
3. When was the last time I used this? Does it even work?
4. Where does it go? Does it belong on the top of the desk, or does it have another home?
5. Why am I holding onto this? Is it something I could find again somewhere else?

By asking these questions you can reduce the office clutter, reduce your stress, and bask in your perfectly functional office.

5 Reasons to Get Your Business Organized in 2010

With 2009 coming to close it is a great time to start thinking about your business goals for 2010. Take inventory of what key things worked for you in 2009 and what did not. If getting organized has been on your list, but you just can’t find the time to do it, you may want to reconsider. Being disorganized is costing you and your business precious time and money. Here are 5 reasons you should get your business organized in 2010.

It’s time to:

1. Waste less time. When you are unorganized you waste precious time searching for lost paperwork, lost emails, lost documents. By organizing your office, and especially your files, you can reclaim precious time that may be better spent on other areas of your business.
2. Make more money. When you have time to focus on our business, and not be distracted by disorganization and clutter, you are sure to see your profits increase.
3. Be more productive. When clutter takes over our lives and our spaces we find ourselves unable to focus on the way we want, or need, to focus on our business. Getting organized will allow us to work more efficiently and be more productive in a lot less time.
4. Spend less money. Stop purchasing duplicate supplies because you can’t locate the originals. Getting organized and creating a “home” for your supplies will save you time and money.
5. Reduce stress. No one wants to feel overwhelmed when they look at their office, or search for a file. An organized office is more inviting for you and for others. Not to mention how a peaceful, more organized office can encourage free-flowing creativity.

As you prepare for the arrival of 2010, make certain that getting organized is part of your business action plan. By taking the time to get your mind and your space organized you can increase your profits and better utilize your time in the coming year!