Guess which golden girls is me? I 'll give you a clue, this golden girl is wearing yellow/green/golden and is kneeling in the first row but not quite!
It has been 30 odd years since I last went to school. Met about 60 of my batch mates last Saturday. I was late , very late , almost missed them ......... all because I failed to note the times and assumed we would be partying all day and all night..a false assumption for half decade ladies
Well anyway here is something you can do to avoid clutter and chaos: My desk area is much clearer since I adopted some of the suggestions ...you would think it was common sense but guess what, common sense is NOT common!
Quoted from : Order from Chaos
Author : Liz Davenport
The Physical Environment
Preorganizing
Creating a Vacuum
A vacuum means some extra space in drawers, bookcases, filing cabinets, and closets. People stop filing when files become jam-packed. Then a pile begins to grow on your desk and before you know it you are buried in stacks of papers.
Vacuum-creating Rules :
- Don’t get bogged down. Box the old stuff and put it in a closet out of sight.
- Get these supplies: Storage containers and several plastic boxes with lids.
- Create these boxes: Label one “to-do now”, another “to-do later”, and a third “Archive”.
- Clearly label what you archive with a dark marker and write in big bold letters.
- Group like objects: Tax forms and legal documents, Memorabilia, Old Client Files
- Throw away 95% of the old stuff. It’s a fact that 95% of everything you saved over the past six months may be considered trash. Keep only legal papers and documents.
Start at the End, not at the Beginning
Start with the oldest stuff and work towards the most recent stuff on your desk. Be sure to go through the closet that is scariest to open, first. The last place to clear is your desk.
Closet
Take everything out, and identify stuff by category as you go.
Label boxes . Keep those extra office supplies on a more convenient shelf, or use a box labeled “scratch paper”. Decide whether to toss, recycle or keep. If you must keep, put it in its proper category and labeled box. The least used items must be kept out of sight. Create as much empty space as you can.
Bookcase(s)
Empty the bookshelf, identifying categories again as you go. Decide whether to trash or recycle items. Keep only the current phone directory and reference books.
Filing cabinet(s )
If you have a filing system where you are able to find things, don’t change it. Avoid using A-Z filing systems because if you do not remember the name of the file you will have a difficult time looking for it. Use a more general system.
Create Drawer Categories. Have major categories. You can have “Clients”, “Projects”, “Reference Material”, “Contracts”, for instance. Never use the category “Miscellaneous”.
Create larger categories within each drawer.
The rule of thumb is if a file does not have more than 20 pieces of paper in it, then the title is too specific. In “household” you can have a category “car stuff” which holds the insurance, repairs, registration and anything to do with the car. The most recent paper goes in front.
Don’t ask “How should I file this?” but “How will I use this?”
The receipts for bills we pay can be filed in 12 folders, one for each month from January to December. When you have paid the bill, whether it be for the phone, your credit card or gas, just drop the receipt in the month you paid for.
Color code
Clients can be red. Administration can be blue. Finances may be green. Just use colored markers to highlight the labels in color so you don’t have to go out and buy a dozen colored folders.
Don’t be surprised at the amount of trash you are generating as you follow this process.
Computer files
Computer files and paper systems are handled in the same manner. Use the folders in your computer as you would your physical filing cabinet.
As you create new files, save them according to your new system. Trash old files as you go. Label a folder as Archive, Clients, Household, and within each folder there should be more folders.
Boxes under/around the desk .
Again, 95% of the stuff under your desk is trash.
Desk drawers . Dump out the entire drawer then place the items you deem worthy back into the appropriate drawer. Remember to group like items.
Having a “personal” drawer is a big help. This is where the purse, hairbrush, and candy go.
Now take a look around your office and feel the freedom from distractions gently come upon you. You must be feeling lighter already. Celebrate your newfound feeling of physical and emotional lightness!
Step 1: The Cockpit Office
Setting up
- Anything used daily should be within hand’s reach.
- Anything used on a weekly basis should be within arm’s reach.
- Anything used monthly should be in the office.
- Anything used less often should not be there.
Be back in a second
That second actually takes us 20 minutes on average before we get back to our desks to work.
In a regular office, you interrupt yourself by “getting a cup of coffee, going to the restroom, or having a cigarette”. If you have a home office, you have even more time-wasting opportunities. “Water the plant, put in another load of laundry, walk the dog”
You may also forget why you stood up to go get something, (scissors, a letterhead, a stamp) in the first place. This is why we need to have all our essential tools within easy reach to avoid self-interruptions. The trick is you do not have to leave your chair to go get it.
Office Layout
In a study done to identify the most productive office environment the following four components were noted:
- A minimum space of 10 ft by 10 ft
- A door you can close
- A phone you can turn off
- A minimum of 30 square feet of open desk space (meaning desk space with no computer, phone or lamp on it)
The most effective desk configuration is a U. At the bottom of the U, place your computer. One side of the U is for project work or tasks that take about one hour or so to complete. The other side of the U is for those crisis/interruptions that take minutes to complete such as faxing a letter, filling up a form or opening the mail. If you cannot have a U configuration, an L is the second-best layout, with the computer at the junction of the two arms. The third best layout is two parallel desks. The least efficient layout is a straight line.
Open desk space
Keep mementos to a minimum. You need room to work. This is the reason we head for the kitchen or dining table when it is cleared after a meal so we can do our projects at home.
Interruptions versus Concentration
Suggestions to improve productivity:
- Close the door and mute the phone. Studies show that a project that would take an hour to complete if you are not interrupted takes about four hours to complete if you are.
- Create a fake door. Hang a “Do not disturb” sign across the entrance of your cubicle so coworkers will honor it.
- Forward your calls to someone else or unplug it. Use voice mail or answering machines.
- Do project work in a quieter space like a conference room, an empty office or at home.
- If your office allows you to wear headphones, play a CD or tape of waves to drown out surrounding noise and increase concentration.
Four “must-haves” for every Cockpit
- A desktop file
- An In box
- A To-Read box
- A To-File box
The desktop file contains current files used daily. These are projects your are working on at the moment, clients you are currently working with, references used daily, and repetitive tasks performed daily like fax and email. Current projects/clients, Frequently repeated tasks, directories you use everyday, and blank fax cover sheets should be in your desktop file.
The desktop file at home: (place near a huge trash can)
Categories
- Bills to pay
- Things to file
- Things to read
- Things to take to office
- One for each family member
The In Box
Everything new goes into the In Box. There are two In Box rules:
- Allot a minimum of one hour each day to deal with all the new information you receive.
Don’t forget the virtual inbox such as email, faxes, voice mail, cell phone messages, etc. also other items where you place newly received information like your purse, bag or the front passenger seat of your car.
Whether you are a morning person or a night person, the time to attack the In Box is when you are sharpest and most alert. Make it a routine time each day.
- Once you take something out of the In Box it should go someplace else. Every In Box must be emptied by the end of the day.
The To-Read Box
We seldom get around to reading everything we put aside to read. How do you purge? Take everything out of your To-Read box, select the three to five most important materials to read and put them back in the box, and throw the rest in the trash.
The higher a stack of In Box files and To Read files, the more guilt is piled on your self day after day. If you have more than three inches of files in these boxes, you will be overwhelmed by a stack of guilt you simply cannot bear to look at.
The To-File box
How often do you file? As soon as your To-File box becomes full.
The Rest of the Tools in your Cockpit
If the stuff is not needed, throw it away. If it merits a category, file it there. If you have an answer to How Will I Use This? Then file it in the place it will most likely be used.
Note: Crumpled pieces of paper take up more space in a trashcan than flat pieces of paper.
One thing you need to learn to throw away: pens that don’t write anymore. We have a bad habit of sticking these pens back in the pencil holder.
- File Folders/hanging folders
Keep a fresh supply on hand so you can add categories as needed.
The most efficient system of keeping business cards and contact information is the 360-degree Rolodex. This way you can’t keep piling things on top like with a flat Rolodex. Just file the cards alphabetically, and if you don’t have 20 minutes to sort out your business cards, ask a friend or even a child to help you out.
- Paper versus Electronic Rolodexes
If your system catches a virus, electronic Rolodexes can be very risky. Paper is faster even if it is bulky. Always have a paper backup to your computerized mailing list, so it can be retyped when necessary.
Keep the most recent phone books, white pages, and yellow pages on a shelf near the phone. Keep the most recent copy of your organizational directory within easy reach as well.
- Note Cards/Thank-you notes
In the age of e-mail we find it more meaningful whenever we receive handwritten note cards that congratulate us or thank us. So keep a nice little file of your personal handwritten notes to look at when you’re feeling down, and also a nice supply of blank ones to write on and send out to people whose day you would like to brighten up. Your email message can be easily deleted, but a warm thank-you note will be kept for a longer time.
- Stamps of various denominations, a postage scale, and postage rates chart
If you do all your own mailing, this is an essential timesaver. You won’t have to waste time standing in line at the post office.
Customizing your Cockpit
If you keep borrowing an item, buy one of your own. If you keep getting up to get something to finish the job, bring it back to the cockpit and keep it there. If you always lose your scissors, buy more than one pair.
Stuff you may need in your cockpit:
- A comfortable chair
- Good lighting
- A clock
- Paper stand/holder for typing ease
- Business stationery and envelopes
- Special paper, mailing labels, colored paper, certificate paper, etc
- Return address labels
- Telephone
- Computer, fax, typewriter, printer, scanner, copier
- Replacement ink cartridges for the above
- Mouse pad, wrist rest, foot rest (tools for proper ergonomics)
- Floppy disks, Zip disks, Jaz disks, blank CDs
- Stapler and stapler remover
- Tape (regular, double-sided, masking, duct)
- Rubber bands
- Paper clips
- Correction fluid/tape
- Calculator
- Hole puncher
- Reference manuals
- Pen/pencil refills
- Scratch paper/sticky notes (in a drawer not on the desktop)
- Calendar
