Five Steps To A More Organized Desk - Steps One And Two

Somewhere under the paper, the letters, and the electronic accessories there’s a desktop just earning to be productive.  In five steps you can be reunited with your desktop and be a whole lot more productive and focused. Although there aren’t many steps, this project will take time – the amount of time depends on the depth of your stacks. It’s time well invested because not only will you have a lovely vista for cranking out work, but also you’ll be developing habits that will have you increasingly more organized.

SOS! Organizing When Visual Reminders Are Needed

“I need lots of reminders where I can see them. How can I keep things organized but still keep things out where I can see them? If I don’t see something I will forget about it.”

Let’s start off with a little experiment. Turn on the radio and leave it on. Turn on the stereo with your favorite CD and leave it on. Turn on the news. Can you make out what the headline stories are? Can you understand the words of your favorite song’s refrain? Can you tell when a commercial comes on the radio? With everything bombarding your senses, discerning individual details is difficult at best.

This experiment is analogous to the effect of leaving everything out as a reminder. Leaving everything out creates a lot of visual “noise.” The noise prevents any specific thing from alerting you – ironic considering the intent of leaving things out is to act as a reminder.

Leaving everything out is counter productive and memory by itself is untrustworthy. What’s needed is a system of reminders that alert a person at the right time. The system needs to be easy to use so the reminders can be entered quickly and consistently. The system needs to be easily gotten so it’s accessible to everyone.

The tool of this system is the planner. A planner is more than a calendar. A planner provides its owner a place to integrate tasks, objectives and goals with the calendar. The planner has a place to record daily to-do lists. Need to renew your driver’s license? Put it in your planner. Need to fill out an application? Put that task in your planner. The planner becomes the one place to record what needs to get done It’s simpler to have one place to check than an entire tabletop.

The planner is just one part of the system. The other parts are to provide homes for the planner. plus the items that are sitting out and to set up a routine of consulting and using the planner. Designate a spot to put the planner when you are at home and in the office. Nothing else belongs in the planner’s home but the planner.Having a specific home for things eliminates guesswork. Carry the “homes” principle to the papers you need to act on. An action file is a great place to file them. I’ve written about action files before: Organize Bill Paying.

To develop a routine of using the planner, leave it open so you can see what is recorded. Establish several times during the day to check the planner: morning, lunch and evening, for example. Carry it with you when you go to appointments. When the planner is your constant companion then you always have your reminders with you organized in a way that is doable rather than overwhelming.

One planner can replace a whole tabletop of reminders -- making your space a lot more clear and peaceful and your to-dos a lot easier to get done.

Karol has nominated the Leukemia Society for the charity drawing.

National Organize Your Home Office Day

Today is National Organize Your Home Office Day. About a third of the requests for help that I receive are related to the home office. Today we'll look at some of the common issues and what can be done to resolve them. There's a little treat for you at the end of this post.

Issue: Paper stacks. This is the most common issue in the office but it's actually a compound issue created by a couple of other issues - an inadequate filing system and cheap file cabinets.

Issue: Inadequate filing system. Many people label their files with little thought to how they need to file, access and use the information. When it's time to file, an inadequate filing system will leave them guessing which file to use and how long to keep the information.
Resolution: Consider using a packaged filing kit. A good kit explains how to file along with file labels. My personal favorite is FreedomFiler (www.freedomfiler.com).

Issue: Cheap file cabinets. They're rickety, have sharp edges, and the drawers extend only half-way. No wonder no one wants to file!
Resolution: Invest in a good file cabinet. Look for a sturdy cabinet with full-extension drawers. You won't believe the difference a good file cabinet will make and it will probably be less expensive than you think. You might even look forward to filing! One of my favorite brands is Hon which is readily available at any big box office store.

Issue: No office. Your space is so small there is no room for an office so the bills are on the counter, and the coffee table,  the school papers are on the dresser, and the tax papers are ... where?
Resolution: Create a portable office and assign a place to store papers that need action. A file box with an insert to hold desk supplies or a file cart with drawers can be stored anywhere and offers portability when it's time to sit down and do a little work. The files can be labeled by the category of the action (call, pay, research, read, etc.) or set up as a tickler system (check out my earlier post "Tickle Yourself Into Action") By the way, just file papers as soon as the action is complete. Putting the paper in a "file" file doubles your work.

Issue: Missed deadlines. Bills don't get paid on time. Projects are late or never get done.
Resolution: A better planner. A planner that marries the to-do list with a calendar makes it easy to schedule things so they get done. Break large projects into smaller tasks and record these tasks in the to-do section of the planner. Record deadlines and due dates. Consult your planner several times a day to keep on top of your plan for the day. My two favorite planners are the Taylor planner (www.taylorintime.com) and Planner Pad (www.plannerpad.com).

Issue: There isn't enough room on the desk to work because of the computer.
Resolution: Move peripherals off the desk. I like to use a shelf above the desk or a small table at a right angle to hold the printer. A keyboard tray will open up more desk space.


Issue: A stack of business cards - who are these people?
Resolution: When you receive a business card write down the date and the place you met on the back of the card. You might also consider jotting down why you might be interested in contacting that person in the future. Can't think of anything? Maybe you really don't need to keep that card after all. A Rolodex is a simple way to file the cards. Use one strip of tape on the left edge of the business card to tape it to the Rolodex card and you will be able to access the back of the card.


Having a little business card envy? The folks at UPrinting.com can take care of that for you by printing up some snazzy new cards. Uprinting.com is sponsoring a give-away so one lucky winner will receive some new business cards.

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Give-away will end at midnight (Central) Wednesday, March 24, 2010 when an entry will be drawn.

One entry will be given when you become a follower of this blog.

One entry will be given when you become a fan of the Clear Spaces Facebook Fan Page.

One entry will be given when you become a Clear Spaces Twitter follower @ClearSpacesLLC.

One entry will be given when you reply to this post with your office organizing challenge to be featured in Stump the Organizer Saturday! Can't think of a challenge? Tell me your favorite organizing tip. Let me know if you have done the other things (follower, fan, tweet) too.

Visit back on March 25 to find out who is going to get some snazzy new cards free. Now go out there and be productive!

Stump the Organizer Saturday! Organize a Busy Desk

Thanks Rachel for your question for SOS. Rachel has entered the American Cancer Society for the charity drawing at the end of the year. Here’s how she described her situation: “Right now, I am working from a desk in our loft. But it is also used as our computer desk, filing area, etc...basically it's a HUGE mess.” She added that she’s pretty organized everywhere else in her life. Also the desk has no drawers or any other storage because her last desk had too much storage and that led to problems. The picture is of the desk area.
The key in this situation is to think beyond the desk, and create an office with different processing centers. Luckily, the basics for setting up an organized office area are already present. My first suggestion is to set up a chase perpendicular to the right side of the desk so that the chase fills in the corner and is the same height as the desk. This will give you an L-shaped surface area.
The chase will hold the printer so it can be moved off the floor. I’d put the printer at the end away from the desk. Move the vertical sorter to the left of the printer. The vertical sorter is my favorite tool for creating an action file. Each slot holds papers that need a specific action such as “to pay,” “to read,” “to write/email,” “to research”, or whatever suits your needs. However, I have found that “follow-up” is an essential category. “Follow-up” holds items that you need to revisit soon to make sure that someone else has completed their action. Align the vertical sorter so that the empty slots are facing you. Now you can label each slot with its specific action. The labels are absolutely necessary in keeping your action items organized. Now you can easily view and access papers that need action. When the needed action is completed for an item, just file it in the file cabinet. If there is room, place a tray to the left of the vertical sorter to act as an in basket.
Under the chase you will have room for the plastic drawer unit, a shredder, and a can for recyclables. There may even be room for the file cabinet at the end of the chase. Moving the file cabinet under the chase will create a paper processing area with left-to-right flow for paperwork. Good flow is efficient and has a comfortable feel.
The chase can be as simple as a finished board – like a bookshelf board - resting on the plastic drawer unit and file cabinet, or the board can be mounted to the wall with bookshelf brackets. The length and width of the chase depends on the dimensions of the area. From the photo it looks like a two-foot by four-foot board will fit the space nicely.
While you are picking up a board for the chase, pick up a narrow board that is the same length as your desk and two glass bricks. Use the bricks and board to make a shelf that will sit on the desktop against the wall. The shelf will hold the boom box, box of tissues, cup of pencils, and other necessary supplies that you need while you are at your desk. Raising these items off the desk maximizes the amount of space left for work. The glass brick allows light to reach the area under the shelf.
There are just two additional suggestions. Illuminate the area with wall-mounted lamps. Task lighting really helps make an area more comfortable. Label each drawer in the plastic drawer unit with the category of the items within it. Labels tell you not only what belongs where, but also what doesn’t belong.
The suggested changes are pretty easy to make but provide needed space for existing processes and defines what each space is. I would love to know how these suggestions work for you.
If you have a question to submit to Stump the Organizer Saturday! please email me at denise@clearspaces.org. Please include your favorite charity for the drawing to receive a $10 donation at the end of the year.

Stump the Organizer! Organize Bill Paying

“How do I keep track of bills so they get paid on time? Then how long do I keep them after they are paid?”
This is such a great question Cathy because it’s about a topic that affects everyone.
Unpaid bills need a home s so they’re easy to find when it’s time to pay them. Personally, I like to keep an action file that is organized by the category of action such as “to pay,” “to read,” and “to follow-up.” I like the action file because I like doing similar activities together. Some people like the tickler file system that is based on 43 files (1-31 for each day in the current month plus one file for each month). Bills and anything else that need to be processed on a particular date are filed under the appropriate day. Items for future months are filed under the appropriate month. Some people like how the tickler file creates a daily agenda.
Regardless of how unpaid bills are filed allow sufficient processing time. Payments need to be mailed seven to ten days prior to the due date to avoid late charges. Allow three to four days for processing when making online payments. Record the date to pay bills in your calendar, and use this date to file the bills if you are using the tickler file. I like to limit my bill paying to a couple of days during the month because the routine provides me with a certain amount of financial predictability. The dates chosen for the bill paying routine allow sufficient time for the payments to be received and processed.
Bill paying is a rather mundane task and it’s easy to put it off or forget about it. Schedule bill paying in your planner. Scheduling provides the time to get it done and a certain amount of importance.
The last step of the process is filing the paid bills. File the bills as soon as you are finished so you avoid making two tasks out of one. Using a month system to file paid bills is fast and easy. Bills paid in September are filed in September. In a year, just take out the old bills and shred them before filing the new bills. However, if your bills are tax-deductable you will need to file them with all of your tax-deductions for the year and keep them for seven years after filing taxes– or for the length of time your tax preparer recommends.
Organized bill paying involves providing a home for the paid and unpaid bills plus scheduling the bill paying. Once organized you may find you never pay a late fee again. It’s like money in the bank!

Clear Desk = Empty Mind?

My client ushered me into his office while chuckling “I had always believed that a clear desk meant an empty mind, but I guess this means my mind is overflowing!” Indeed his desk was stacked with papers, an extra keyboard – because the old one stopped working – books, and folders. The stacks had migrated to the floor and the credenza behind his desk. His tone turned solemn. “Seriously, I’m overwhelmed. I don’t know where papers are, and I feel like I’m on a slippery slope.”
Situations like this happen for a reason. It’s my job to discover the reasons and develop strategies to reach the client’s goals.
In Bob’s case (not his real name), a colleague’s recent move to another company meant his workload was doubled. In the past Bob’s systems barely kept him in control of his work. But with the increased workload, he was now drowning.
For Bob: out of sight means out of mind. Bob’s not alone. Approximately 60% of the population is very visual. For this group there is a tendency to leave items out in the open as reminders that some action is needed. You can appreciate why Bob would think that a clear desk was anathema to productivity. But when the “reminders” start to accumulate they form “visual wallpaper.” It is impossible to discern the individual tasks. The whole becomes a large, menacing “to-do.” It’s enough to paralyze the most stout of heart. The lessons in this case are valid for most of the population.
We started with a strategy of “divide and conquer.”
We spent the morning sorting through each stack. Eleven banker’s boxes were labeled with ”do it now”, “do it yesterday”, “file it”, “personal”, “shred”, “goes somewhere else”, and the name of each of the five projects he was currently responsible for. I picked up each item, and Bob assigned it to a box.
For Bob “do it now” and “do it yesterday” were more meaningful than “important” and “urgent”. Every label must be subjective in the way it prompts the user.
Setting up a box for items to shred or put to away elsewhere helped us remain focused on the task of categorizing. With the major sort into categories completed, we began the minor sort.
Starting with the “do it yesterday” box, the next action for each item was written down on each document’s upper right-hand corner and put in a stack of items with similar actions. In the end we had divided the urgent items into many stacks: “call”, “email”, “discuss”, “research”, “follow-up” and “read.” This exercise was repeated with the “do it now” and “personal” boxes. For the project files we noted the next action in planning.
An open desktop file box containing hanging folders was set up on Bob’s now cleared desk. Each folder was labeled with an action item category, and the tabs were arranged alphabetically. Arranging the tabs in a staggered fashion insured that every tab was visible. We added two more categories: “hang-on to these” and “file it”. The “hang-on to these” folder mainly holds reference items that will be needed soon: for example, the agenda for an upcoming meeting. Bob was able to prioritize within each category by putting the most urgent items at the front of each folder.
As Bob completed each action he noted the new next action, and he filed the item accordingly. Eventually all necessary actions would be completed, and Bob can note the name of the file under which the item should be filed. Now Bob’s assistant can do the filing with very few, if any, requests for direction from Bob.
The cycle of noting the next action and filing the item put Bob in control of his workflow. When he chooses to make calls, he has all the items that need calls grouped together at his fingertips. The open file box keeps work handy, organized and visible without cluttering the desk. Also it is easier for Bob to delegate work to his assistant.
All in all, Bob felt very satisfied with the system. And to his surprise he found that his clear desk encouraged focus, productivity, and planning.