Ian's Messy Desk

-- By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

Do you sometimes feel a little bit out of control during your workday, wish you had more time to do the really important things or feel like you are doing a lot of wheel-spinning on non-productive items? You are not alone. Eighty-five percent of people in the workplace have similar complaints and part of the remedy is better control of our day through more effective Time Management.

The answer is not to work harder but to work smarter. Successful people do not necessarily put in more hours but, instead, work their time in a more efficient manner to get more done in less time.

Planning is the most important step in effective Time Management. Three easy rules can be followed to help you to significantly improve your productivity each day, which translates into getting more done in less time.

Make a "to-do" list on a clean sheet of paper or in your day planner, such as a Daytimer. List all items you would like to complete today, if time permits.

Prioritize the "to-do" list. Select from the list the most important item to be done. Ask yourself, "If I could only do one item today, which would it be?" Making a "to-do" list is an important first step but prioritizing that list ensures that we focus on the more important items rather than giving in to the temptation of working on the less important items because they may stand out more or because they are easier to do.

Follow this process every day. For example, yesterday's item #9 may become today's item #1. If you are working off yesterday's "to-do" list, that important item may not receive attention. Daily planning will sharpen daily focus as priorities shift with each day.

These three rules will help you to significantly improve your performance each and every day and will help to reduce that free-falling feeling. You will find you are getting more done in less time and you will feel more productive and less stressed each day. [read the complete article]

A big part of being organized is being able to define the problem at hand. Just jumping right into a solution, rarely works. There may be a dozen different solutions, but only one of those solutions will be the very best one for you.

To find the very best solution, the problem you have must first be clear in your mind, and in the mind of anyone trying to help you.

A problem that is clearly defined, is 50% solved.

Ask yourself questions. For example, let's say your office is cluttered. You might ask yourself . . .

1. How did my office get so cluttered?

2. Is anyone else, besides me, contributing to the clutter?

3. What are my systems for completing projects or going through the mail?

4. How much time do I currently invest in keeping the clutter out of my office?

Once you come up with some answers to your questions, the solution should begin appearing. Keep this in mind when it comes to your organizing projects, and any other projects that you may have. If you do, you're well on your way to being organized

Office Depot Online has a number of business resources listed under the Business Tools section of their web-site.

• E-mail
  • Use the two-minute rule to process your e-mail. If it takes less than two minutes to answer a message, do it then file or delete the message.
  • Use folders to organize messages.
  • IMMEDIATELY delete any messages you do not need to keep.
  • Use follow-up flags or dated calendar alarms to bring forward e-mail when it needs attention.
• Voice Mail
  • Review your voice messages, take notes and delete them.
  • Respond to those that fit the two-minute rule.
  • Schedule the others for follow-up, as appropriate.
• Postal mail
  • Open your post once a day.
  • Toss the junk or the unneeded paper into the bin.
  • Use the two-minute rule.
  • File those that are just for information. Delegate what you can. Place in rest in a follow-up system, so that it comes to your attention, when you need it and not before.

• How to send e-mails from any address using Gmail's SMTP server
• How to Make Your Speaking Easier and More Effective
• Meeting Agenda Template
• D*I*Y Planner | Paper, productivity & passion

• Using Thunderbird to Get Things Done
• Idea Generation Methods
• Outlook and GTD - Filing and Archiving Tips
• Pocket Mod - The free disposable organizer
• The Ultimate USB Key

There's a part inside most of us that prefers wasting time to accomplishing what needs to be done. Wasting time is not all bad. It can serve to help one relax or overcome stress. Most frequently though, wasted time is an opportunity lost.

Over the next few weeks I'm going to post on eight common sources —four internal and four external— of wasted time.

Internal:

1. Disorganization
2. Procrastination
3. Inability to say no
4. Attitude

External:

1. Uninvited visitors
2. Incoming communication
3. Unproductive meetings
4. Waiting

Stay tuned.

Tags: GTD, Getting-Things-Done, Time-Management, Organization

"Out of sight, out of mind." The reverse of that is true too. When it's in sight, it's in mind and we cannot help but be distracted.

Studies have shown that a person working with a messy desk will spend, on average, one and a half hours per day either being distracted by things in their view or looking for things. That's seven and a half hours per week.

Keep the clutter before you at a minimum and you will have a more accurate focus on what you need to do to increase your daily productivity.

1. Specify a clear cut goal you want to accomplish.
2. Specify when you’ll do it.
3. Record your hit rate.
4. Make a public commitment.
5. Add an explicit penalty for failure, if you need to.
6. Think small.
7. Specify the amount of product you’re going to produce.
8. Get a timer that beeps every five minutes and chart whether you’re on task.
9. Arrange for regular contact with your monitor, daily or weekly as needed.
10. Arrange for your friend to monitor your graphing as well as your goal attainment.
11. “Put Satan behind you.”
12. Recycle.

read the entire article

what a great idea reader contest

That brilliant idea you came up with saves you so much time you’ve been patting yourself on the back ever since. Or maybe that gadget you MacGyver’d out of a piece of this and a hunk of that lets you breeze through chores so fast you’re practically bored now.

We’re looking for your best time-saving, problem-solving, stress-reducing, or money-saving idea or invention. If we choose it as one of four first-prize winning ideas, you’ll receive a $10,000 cash prize, and you will be featured in the pages of Real Simple’s February 2006 issue. Four runners-up will snag $2,500 each.

Seem a little early to be thinking about Christmas? We’ve already begun our Christmas shopping. If you’d like to make the most of the season and the day, some simple — and early — planning can go a long way to help.

Christmas is the time of year associated with love, joy and goodwill toward men. Until we approach the holiday and reach a level of stress we didn’t realize a human being could reach! In an attempt to head off the holiday hassle this year, here are a few tips on creating a personal holiday checklist to make the holidays go as smoothly as possible.

Be a Perennial Shopper

The first idea isn’t always practical for people, but if you have the time and the means, keep an eye out throughout the entire year for clearance items or great sales that you can take advantage of to cut down on your Christmas giving list. In short, it pays to be a ‘Perennial Shopper’. Store all of the items in one specific place so that you don’t forget you have them! Order Christmas gifts online to save time and avoid getting mobbed in. If ordering online, order well in advance to ensure delivery well in time before Christmas.

Sort Out Your Gift List

At the beginning of November, sit down and make out a list of people you will be giving or sending a gift to. Place the people who will need their gifts sent through the mail at the top of the list because you will want to take care of them first. When your list is complete, it’s time to go through the gifts you purchased throughout the year and assign them to the appropriate people on your list. Voila! You’ve already whittled away at a few names. If you have trouble assigning all of your gifts, don’t worry. Put the remaining ones aside and you will find that you either forgot a name on your list or received an unexpected Christmas present from someone you should exchange with.

Start with the Card List

The Christmas gift list will be similar to the Christmas card list, so in late November, you should take the first list and add the names that need Christmas cards. Take your list and divide it by five 5. The next five days will be spent preparing the assigned number of Christmas cards until the list is complete.

Wrap them up!

Buy your Christmas wrap early and keep it easily accessible somewhere in your home. Every time you return from Christmas shopping, immediately wrap the gifts and put them away. It will save so much time in the long run and you don’t have to devote an entire day to completing this task.

Plan Your Grocery Shopping

If you are planning on entertaining during the holiday season, try to plan out your meals and each time you go shopping, stock up on the non- perishable items and the frozen items you will need. Anyone with a family knows that what does not get consumed at a party will have no problem finding another event for it to be enjoyed.

Also before leaving for shopping, plan ahead the quantity of groceries that you will need based on the number of people you are expecting to come over. Take a stock of your Pantry and fill it up with necessary items.

Prepare Your Home for Guests

Take a critical tour of your home from the point of view of a third person and make note of things to be fixed or added. Check the condition and availability of your cooking and baking pots and pans. Get your appliances serviced and blades and knives sharpened. If you have a loose electrical switch, get it repaired. You don’t want to be left stranded on the day of a party or dinner. Check your burners and grates.

These ideas might seem simple, but they can help free up some extra time and help you to enjoy a smooth holiday season. With fewer tasks to be accomplished in such a short amount of time, you can focus on the important aspects of your Christmas celebration.

About the Author

This article appears in the Christmas 2004 issue of ‘Celebrating Christmas PDF Magazine’. To read the complete article and to download a FREE copy of the entire magazine, go to http://www.celebrating-christmas.com/magazine.shtml

Packed with illustrated articles on holiday recipes, crafts, home decor, party planning tips, gift ideas and family fun activities for Christmas, ‘Celebrating Christmas’ magazine is the ultimate combination of a ‘Home and Lifestyle’ and ‘Holiday’ magazine and is aimed to help you celebrate a better, merrier and stress-free Christmas.

The Wanderings of a Wanton Wordsmith - Introducing the Post-It Portable Workspace

The basic idea of the PPW is simple: I took a series of plastic sheet protectors, which provide a nice surface for Post-it notes to adhere to. Inside them, I placed sheets of card stock (file folders, cut down to 8-1/2 × 11) for rigidity, and I put the whole mess in a 3-ring binder.

• GTD
• Post-it
• Productivity
• Tips
• Organization
• lifehacks
• Getting-Things-Done

by: Beth Tabak

The more you get up to bat the more you develop skills. Each time at the plate is another opportunity coming your way. The more you take action the more you will advance. Whether the game is your sport, career, business, home, or taking a risk one thing is clear. The more you take action, the greater your skills become, and the more you achieve. Below are 5 tips to eliminate overwhelm and accelerate action.

1. Maintain a Clear Path~ Imagine mowing your lawn by just wandering around mowing wherever you see grass at any given moment. Can you imagine how long it would take? Studies are now acknowledging multi-tasking to be multi-debilitating. The more you create a clear track of what needs to be done while fully focusing on one thing at a time, the faster you can move forward on it. See the resource below for help with this.
2. Microstep to Success~ Overwhelm is paralyzing. Start by microstepping. Take tiny steps to progress. Do what you know you can do (even if it seems ridiculous). I know I can clean out 1 drawer. I know I can put on my workout clothes and walk to the street. I know I can sit down with pen and paper for 15 minutes to ponder my book idea or begin a business plan. Microstepping will move you forward, build momentum and confidence.
3. Set Time Deadlines~ Setting deadlines when you begin a task helps maintain pace. It prevents the regret of, “where did the day go?”. Time is a valuable asset to be cared for. When beginning decide how much time you will allow, and focus to complete within that time. Set times during the day to manage tasks that would normally interrupt you such as e-mails, phone calls, and co-workers. When interruptions are inevitable, set a boundary by deciding the time you will allow for the interruption.
4. Schedule the Significant Stuff First~ We are so responsible that we cast aside the things that will make the biggest impact in our lives. Or maybe it is fear that holds us back. In any event, add the important things to your schedule as a priority and move towards what you want.
5. Systematize~ Consistently look to create systems to save time. Remember how time is saved by having a system to mow the lawn. When something new goes in a cabinet something old comes out. Return calls and check e-mails at scheduled times daily. Throw junk mail in the trash immediately. Give your items a home so nothing is ever lost. Schedule blocks of time to handle tasks in the various roles you hold. Automate. Keep a running list of items you need and errands, then handle at once. Systematizing with regard to a person’s strengths and passions is even more advantageous.

Resource~ You are welcome to use the complimentary Get Things Done Task List. Send a blank e-mail to GetThingsDone@aweber.com, confirm your request in the follow-up e-mail, and you should receive it in minutes.

This is the time to step up to the plate. Put the breaks on overwhelm and accelerate action by taking the first step� Starting Now!

Copyright 2005 © Beth A. Tabak, All rights reserved.

About The Author
Beth Tabak is a Business & Life Coach, columnist, & owner of Starting Now. She coaches small business owners and professionals to step out in a big, bold way to grow beyond limits, and create the life and business they keep thinking about. See what's in it for you at http://www.startingnowcoaching.com.
startingnow@houston.rr.com

By: Janet L. Hall

On July 15, 1993 Walter S. Mossberg, the author and creator of the weekly “Personal Technology” column in The Wall Street Journal, was quoted as saying: “The promise of the ‘paperless office,’ [and home] where documents are entirely created, distributed, read and stored on computers, has been about as reliable as the promise of a check in the mail.”

Now, almost a decade later, that statement is as true as it was then and possibly even worse! Many still have the mind set that everything that is on their computer must also be printed out, never of course to be seen again! You WILL have paperwork, in some form or another, until you die. It’s a fact, a part of life that will not go away. The truth is you will continue to have piles and junk cluttering your desk unless you take control of the situation and learn how to handle everything that lands on your desk.

Take a second and look at your desk, your countertop, dining room table, or what ever you call your desk or workspace. How much of your desktop can you actually see and use? Do you even know what’s in those piles? Does it look like something might be starting to “grow” from all the yesteryears of lunches, snacks, and dinners you’ve had there? Do you have so many gadgets and doodads, personal items and pictures scattered about on your desk? When was the last time you saw the whole top of your desk and it saw a can of polish?

Here are just three interesting statistics from two polls from Coopers & Lybrand and USA Weekend:

• The average desk worker has 36 hours worth of work on their desk and wastes up to 3 hours a week just “looking” for STUFF!
• 7.5% of all documents get lost and 3% get misfiled.
• Professionals spend 5 to 15% of their time reading information, but up to 50% looking for it!

Think about your desk for a minute and how your days play out:

• Estimate how many hours of work you have piled on your desk?
• Estimate how much time you waste each week looking for stuff on your desk?
• How many documents did you lose or misfile last year?
• Are you scheduling regular time to read?
• What do you do with the article, magazine, or memo you have read?
• After reading, if you keep, can you find it if needed?

Ten Tips to Clean Off Your Desk

1. SCHEDULE a date and time with yourself. Write it on your calendar and keep this appointment, just as you would an important meeting with a client or a doctor.
2. TOOLS: >>Set a timer for the length of time you have decided to work on this project. >>Make signs or mark boxes with the following: Current Paperwork, Reference Paperwork, Historical Paperwork, Refer to someone else or take home, Supplies, Reading, and Data Entry (those business cards or scraps of paper that you need to put into your database, address book, or calendar). >>Box of garbage bags. >> Pad of Paper and Pen (to write down anything you think of doing or to make a to-do list for later.
3. CLEAR and EMPTY: Take everything off your desk and out of your desk drawers.
4. SORT everything into new piles that you made signs for or the boxes you marked from number 2 above.
5. File or Toss: Click up a FREE copy of our “5 W’s of File or Toss” at fileortoss@sendfree.com
6. Read or Toss: Click up a FREE copy of our “5 W’s of Read or Toss” at readortoss@sendfree.com
7. Polish your desk and get the dirt and grim out of your desk drawers.
8. After sorting ONLY put back on your desk what you use Daily, such as: Pen, Pencil, Phone, Phone Pad, Desk Workbook, Tickler File, Computer, Calendar, and Lamp.
9. Do NOT put back on your desk items that are seldom used and NOT used daily, such as: Gadgets/Toys, Glue, Scissors, Hole Puncher, Pencil Sharpener, Ruler, and In/Out Box (your Tickler File will replace this).
10. Drawers: Before you start putting things back into your desk drawers, think of how you would like to utilize them, and consider which hand is habit for you to open a drawer. The hand that is “habit” should be the same side of your desk drawers that you store frequently used items, such as: Supplies, Stationary, and Current Files.

Ten Tips for Maintaining a Clean Desk

1. When you stop working on a project put it away.
2. Put date or calendar related papers/files into your tickler file as soon as they land on your desk.
3. Sort through mail and toss out all junk mail as soon as it arrives.
4. Schedule regular reading time and put “to read” material in a reading folder.
5. Do NOT use scraps of paper or sticky pads. Use your Desk Workbook to record all your notes, ideas, phone numbers, web site and email addresses, errands, and to- do’s.
6. Schedule regular desk maintenance.
7. Schedule filing time and store your to-file in the corresponding date of your tickler file.
8. Make a frequently called numbers sheet and store under your mouse pad or inside a drawer.
9. Create a Pending Folder to store papers or files in that you are “waiting” for more information, someone else to get back to you on, or something you have ordered.
10. Dust, polish, and wipe down your desk weekly.

About the Author

The Organizing Wizard, Janet L. Hall, is a Professional Organizer, Speaker, and Author. She is the owner of OverHall Consulting and Organizing By Phone. Subscribe to her FREE organizing newsletter at http://www.overhall.com/newsletter.htm or visit her web site at http://www.overhall.com.

All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted to reproduce, copy, or distribute any articles by Janet L. Hall or pages on this website so long as article (s)/page (s) are kept intact, this copyright notice, and full information about the author (or authors) is attached.