Your Organizing Coach

Seven Steps to Successful Organizing has arrived!

Today I'm officially launching my free ecourse! I originally wrote it for people who attended a talk I gave last fall and then I realized I could expand it and offer it to everyone.

I love helping people succeed with their organizing projects. If I can do it by laying out a seven step program that they can run with, that's great news. Not everyone needs me there in person or on the phone to make a plan, get motivated and stay focused.

So, check it out at this link. See how it works for you. I'd love to hear about your results!

To Do List Hints on Video

I'm having fun with video! Here's my latest one about to do lists. I talk about three important elements: make it short, write it nice and give it an end. It features a lovely to do list I posted about back in June.

What topic shall I use for the next video?

Shredding Scissors

I saw these at a store today and did a double take. I've never heard of shredding scissors but I think they're a great idea. Many of my clients stockpile their shredding until it gets to be a huge pile that they then don't have time to shred. Even when I get them to station the shredder right where they sort mail and paper, they still don't use it all the time. In fact, a lot of them would just as soon tear up paper than feed it through the shredder.

I'm going to start recommending these shears. I can see one really helpful application for them and that's to shred just the personal information on a piece of paper, or the address label on a magazine. Credit card applications, for example, don't need to be completely shredded. You just need to get rid of the identifying information by using the scissors to snip up that little section.

These shears do straight cut only, so they aren't as good for entire sheet shredding as cross-cut shredders because theoretically the strips can be reassembled. However, if you're trying to make some paper fringe to decorate your tiki hut or sushi plate, that feature comes in handy!

Autofocus with the Master List

The master list is one of my favorite tools. I love making lists and I usually make them by hand in a notebook because they're simpler to work with.

Time management coach Mark Forster is a man after my own heart. He's written several books about personal effectiveness and he's now sharing his Autofocus system on his website for free.

The Autofocus system is simply what I described above, one very long list in a notebook that you keep adding to and crossing off of. The cool thing about this system is that it doesn't involve prioritizing. Forster asserts that as you scan the list, you'll be able to select the important items naturally, using the "balance between the rational and intuitive parts of your mind."

This is really important bedcuase so much of procrastination results from just not really wanting to do things. People do what they do. If They don't want to do a particular thing, they just won't, no matter how "important" they've decided it is. This system forces you to be honest with yourself and either favorably recast (meaning figure out a way to achieve the same goal in a way that you prefer) or delete the to do's that aren't getting done.

List from Carissa GoodNCrazy's photostream.

Stylish Way to Carry File Folders

Of course, you could use a ho-hum briefcase but those are boring. Plus, when you lay it on its side, the file contents are likely to make their ways into other parts of your bag. Why not try a cool-looking, fun-colored totebag made specifically for hanging folders? Arrive at your next meeting calm, prepared and well-accessorized.

 Jamie Raquel makes such a bag and it's very cute. I got one in lime green! The simple, hard-sided design features rails for hanging folders and three pockets for pens, phone, Blackberry or calculator. The outside looks like a well-tailored oversized bag.

I admit I don't really schlep folders around to my client appointments, but I've found a great use for it. Now that I have a laptop, my home office is everywhere: dining table, bed, backyard, local cafe. The tote is a perfect size for my current project folders so I can easily take them along when my laptop and I go in search of greener pastures.

Build Your Own Organizing System

I don't follow a particular organizing method or recommend a specific system. My clients all have their own unique needs, ways of thinking and taste. The challenge is to come up with something that works with the least amount of fuss and bother.

My friend and fellow entrepreneur, Erin Saul, has developed her system by trial and error. The visual aspect is important to her, as is being able to see a whole month at a glance. It's not, as she says, "elegant," but it does the job and she likes it. I asked her to share it with my blog readers, so here's her description:

When I quit the day job to run two businesses from home, it took me a while to get organized in a new way. I finally came up with a weekly schedule that would apply some kind of — if not routine, then maybe STRUCTURE to my week. But with the way my mind works, it was difficult to find some existing method of keeping me on track. I tried a couple versions of some productivity software, but they didn't really work. I had to make it myself.

It's rudimentary, but it made sense to me. And then I found that it didn't work... but it sure was a good idea at the time!

Instead, now...  I'll admit it: I keep three calendars:

1)  The TO-GO PLANNER, which is a dual week-at-a-glance/month-at-a-glance color-coded piece of brilliance I found at The Container Store, and which I take EVERYWHERE with me. The MONTHLY part is what I use when booking events with clients and hang-time with friends. The WEEKLY pages have a timeline/appointment section and also a color-coded section which corresponds nicely to my 'Business 1', 'Business 2', and 'Personal'. I can make more granular notes of what to do when, and see how my day is weighted. This weekly part informs my DAILY to-do list...

2)  I make a separate DAILY to-do list on a 3x5 index card, which fits in my pocket, and which I can access easily and frequently throughout the day to check on my progress, and add more things that need doing, as I think of them. Part of that to-do list is the MAKING of it, which is when I consult the WEEKLY color-coded part of the TO-GO PLANNER I carry around with me. That's when I try to make sure everything matches.

3)  The BIG WALL CALENDAR is mostly for fun, but keeps my head in the game when I'm in my home office, planning my days and weeks and months. I'm a visual learner/rememberer... so the color-coded stickies are for visual reference: Do I have enough pink ones to achieve my goals? Do I have everything done far enough in advance of the yellow events? Did I send birthday cards? And, maybe most importantly, this is where I can see days that have NO events, where I can spend the day on those pesky tasks it takes all day to do (like taxes!).

I realize that this all seems like the OPPOSITE of a simple, elegant system... but it works for me. Digital calendars and PDA solutions don't help me because I can't get a good VIEW of a day, week, or month the way my mind needs to see it. When my head starts swimming with random, disorganized things-to-do... that's when they slip through the cracks, and when I start getting cranky. I've learned these things about myself... and also that I'm one of those bizarro organize-y people who just love calendars. This way, I get to use three! The key is to find something that works for you and to be diligent about it. I also found that I love routine. When I get to start my morning making my daily to-do list with some hot tea, that grounds me. Then I'm off and running toward a productive day!

Erin's company, Namaste Mofo™, designs and sells T-shirts with "irreverently reverent yoga slogans" on them. The company motto is that all human beings are complex and can honestly embrace holistic ideals and still be totally punk rock. She rocks!

Making Notes on the Go

Well, my love affair with Jott is pretty much over. Jott is still a very clever and wonderful system for capturing to do's and other info via cell phone. And in true Web 2.0 fashion, its now offering links to Twitter and Facebook and a ton of other features.

But the free account does not send my Jotts to my email anymore and that's a drag. I don't blame them for making money from their service; it's very worthwhile. But it's not what I need anymore.

The other problem I've run into is the new California law prohibiting handheld cell phone use. It's too much of a production for me to put in the Bluetooth device every timeI get in the car so I don't do it. When I get an inspiration I don't want to forget, I can't just pick up the phone anymore and Jott it.

So, I'm back to my first love, the digital voice recorder. I had to get new batteries for it, but it works great and I'm relieving our initial romance all over again. These devices are still easy to find in many variations so it helps to know what you want before you shop.

Mine records memos of a few minutes apiece. I think there's room for about 20 minutes of recording (sorry, it's in the car now, where it lives, so I can't check). Some record much shorter messages; great for remembering phone numbers and mini shopping lists, and they fit on a keychain. Others are almost like dictation machines.

I like to be able to record ruminations and ideas, so I need a minute or so of time. I do carry it around sometimes, so it has to be small. And it's only got a few physical buttons so I can easily use it in the car without looking at it. My phone records memos, but there's more button pushing involved.

I don't need it to record video, be USB compatible or hold 68 hours of recording (yes, there's one that does that!). Simplicity is key for me. My basic need is not to forget ideas that come to me while I'm driving and can't write them down. I should probably get another one for the shower; the other inconvenient idea-getting spot. I'm sure someone makes a waterproof one...

Microphone from hiddedevries' photostream

How Can I Help You Get Organized?

I'm glad you asked! Time for a little shameless self promotion here. In the left column you'll see some new links to information about my new organizing sessions, Office Oasis and Office Options.

What's Different?
These sessions are mini customized organizing workshops. You can pick specific trouble spots so that you'll get exactly the help you need get and stay organized. They're designed specifically for your home or business office; having a narrower focus means you'll get specific and detailed strategies.

I Don't Have an Office!
Sure you do. You've got a desk and a phone, you make appointments and pay bills. That's an office. when it's organized, you'll be:

• clear about your priorities
• confident about how you spend your time
• relieved that you've finally done it!

I Live Far Away!
I can still help you over the phone, email or Skype.

Oasis palm from batega's photostream.

How Do You Spend Your Time?

For clients with time management troubles, I have recommended occasionally that they keep track of what they do all day. It may be startling to find out exactly how much time you spend cruising around the internet or caught up in cross currents of email, but the idea isn't to make you feel bad. The idea is to find out what you're actually doing with your time so that you can change it effectively.

Keeping track can be as simple as having a pad ready to jot down notes at timed intervals. David Seah has an elegant, easy to use version that shows time graphically since you fill in a bubble for each time increment. You can see it immediately; the more bubbles, the more time spent. His tool, the Emergent Task Timer, is available as a free PDF download on his site (which has tons of great productivity information, too).

Benefits of time tracking:

• Find out what you're doing when you're wasting time
• Find out how long you spend working on specific tasks; makes it easier to plan for them in the future
• Get an idea of when your high and low productivity times are during the day
• Discern patterns to tasks that you can use to your advantage. Email flurries at certain times of day can mean that others are most easily contacted then, for example
• Find patterns of work time followed by down time. You may find that some aspects of your work need more downtown to recover from
• Make sure you're taking productive, refreshing downtime; don't count more email checking as an actual break

A key to getting the most out of tracking your time is to do it now, or starting tomorrow morning. Don't wait for a less stressful week, or one with more interesting things going on. Print out enough sheets for the rest of the week and just get started. There won't be a better time.

"Time Disappears" from jtravism's photostream

Pen vs. Keyboard: Which helps you organize better?

I have a hybrid organizing system that involves pens and keyboard. I use a Palm for my datebook and address book and I write my to do lists by hand. I've tried to get the whole system on the Palm, but it just doesn't work for me. Partly, it's because of the thinking process that goes into writing my lists.

I noticed back in college that I remembered more about a lecture when I took notes, even when I never looked at them again! I could actually visualize the page where I'd written a particular note and recall what it said without opening the notebook. I also occasionally read that hand writing activates different areas of your brain than typing does.

I'm reading a productivity book that recommends going entirely over to writing by hand and I have to say I'm tempted. I plan to review the book, Todoodlist, when I finish it, but right now I'm just intrigued by why it's so different to move a pen across paper.

When I write a list by hand, lots is going on. I stop to doodle in the margin, I write smaller or larger, I notice more graphically how long my list is, I make symbols in the margin to group items, I make sublists out on the right margin, I scratch the cat's head with my pen, etc. I find I'm thinking, planning, visualizing, daydreaming and strategizing much more than I do when putting to do's into the PDA. It's also more enjoyable. That's got to be worth something!

I also prefer writing on unlined paper. Maybe that's another good blog topic...

What do you prefer and why?

A Hand Writing from tosaytheleast's photostream