http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogList.asp?sort=organizer&schedule=108 I will be giving tips and information on how to be more productive in the work environment. My target audience is small business owners. Sun, 3 Oct 2010 14:45:20 EST en-us http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3201 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3201 Sun, 3 Oct 2010 13:30:00 EST There are a lot of myths about the organizing industry. It is still a relatively new industry even though it has been around for twenty-five years. I even bought into some of the myths when I started my business. It wasn't until I had worked with several clients that I began to change my thoughts about professional organizing. In today's economy, one of the first reasons people find it hard to hire a professional is money. Most people think that they must charge a lot for their ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3152 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3152 Sun, 8 Aug 2010 13:30:00 EST When you sit down at your desk and open your computer to check your email, do you start your day with tasks that evolve from your email messages? I have to admit that I have done that a lot. By the end of the day I wonder why I didn't accomplish other projects that were more important. Sound familiar? I have had to work really hard to break this habit. When I begin to check the email messages, my intention is to look at them quickly to see if there are any messages that I can answer ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3138 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3138 Sun, 1 Aug 2010 13:30:00 EST Is your email in-box as cluttered as your desktop in-box? I find that many clients have an email in-box that has unread or old messages from days past in it. If this is true for you, read the information below to find out how to avoid email clutter. Keeping your in-box empty is part of creating a productive work environment. Let¡¦s pretend that you just opened your email messages. Follow these steps and see if when you finish, it is empty and you have taken care of everything in it. ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3137 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3137 Sun, 25 Jul 2010 13:30:00 EST Most of my time as a productivity specialist is spent showing clients systems that will help them become more productive. It didn't take me long to realize that even the best systems in the world won't help someone become more productive unless they employ certain behaviors. This article will identify some of these behaviors. Create a weekly/daily to-do list and stick to it. If you don't complete something on the list, revaluate the task and either reassign it or eliminate it. ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3053 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3053 Sun, 30 May 2010 13:30:00 EST It is finally here, the vacation you have waited for all year! Your urge is to run out of the office as soon as the minute hand reaches its destination to signal, "It's vacation time!" But hold back as much as you can and plan for leaving and returning. Here is a checklist of things to take care of before you leave . Have you notified everyone that you will be out of the office? That might mean leaving a voice mail message on your phone or a special message on your email. Have ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3013 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3013 Sun, 2 May 2010 13:30:00 EST Spring is a time of renewal. Flowers start to bloom, the grass grows again, and we shed our winter clothes for lighter, softer garments. It is a tradition in many homes to also take care of cleaning the windows, drapes, bedspreads, rugs, etc. Apply the same renewal to your office. With only a couple of months into the New Year, it should be easy to clean up. First, look at your immediate work environment, your desk. Have only items on your desktop that you need everyday: telephone, planner, ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2960 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2960 Sun, 4 Apr 2010 13:30:00 EST Sometimes the best thing we can do to increase productivity is to do something different. Instead of being productive in your office, get outside and take a deep breath of the new, fresh spring air. Take a look at the new plant growth that is taking place. Enjoy the smell of the hyacinths. Never mind all of the wreckage left after this winter's historical snowfall. See what is new and enjoy it. Spring is my favorite time of the entire year. I guess it is because what proceeds it is ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2891 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2891 Sun, 28 Feb 2010 13:30:00 EST On a scale from one to ten, one being the least productive and ten being the most productive, how would you rate yourself on productivity during an average work day? We all know that life happens and unusual circumstances change our daily routine, but for the most part, you need to consider what your average day looks like. Do you have the tools you need to work at your optimum level of efficiency? Here are six essentials for a productive work environment. None of them require a degree in ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2849 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2849 Sun, 31 Jan 2010 13:30:00 EST Using the File-Act-Toss System™ to Help Make Decisions about Paper Retention Have you ever struggled with trying to decide what to do with a piece of paper that comes into your office? Most people have at one time or another. That is why we say, "Clutter is postponed decisions." That is why we accumulate so many piles of paper. We either don't have a home for them or we aren't sure whether we need to keep them. The File-Act-Toss System™ makes it easy to decide what to do with the ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2828 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2828 Sun, 17 Jan 2010 13:30:00 EST ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2829 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2829 Sun, 17 Jan 2010 13:30:00 EST Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2799 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2799 Sun, 20 Dec 2009 13:30:00 EST I have been in the process of re-branding my company in the past few months. My new name is Productivity Solutions. I help small businesses create and sustain a productive work environment by organizing their workspace, paper and digital information, work flow design, and project management. Watch for more information about office productivity in the ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2776 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2776 Tue, 1 Dec 2009 16:07:29 EST 1. Some people have the organizing gene, I don't. 2. If you are organized, you are neat and clean. 3. Being organized takes lots of time and effort, which I don't have. 4. Being organized is boring, no fun. 5. Once I get organized, it will stay that way and life will be wonderful. 6. I should be able to organize my things myself. 7. If I could just find ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2762 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2762 Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:30:00 EST F ile- A ct- T oss Did you know that there are only three things you can do with any piece of paper? The acronym, FAT, which stands for file, act, toss was created by Barbara Hemphill, the Paper Tiger Lady. It is an easy way to remember what options you have when dealing with the large amount of paper in today's world. If you decide to keep the paper, then you need to file it in either reference or an action folder. Reference files are those that you need to keep for a particular ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2703 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2703 Sun, 8 Nov 2009 13:30:00 EST Clutter is postponed decisions. That statement is a trademark of Barbara Hemphill, founder of the Productivity Institute. Every time you pick up a piece of paper and lay it back down without taking some action, you are postponing the decision to take action. Why do we do this and what can be done to stop it? Here are my thoughts. The main reason we don't make a decision about what to do with the paper is that we don't know what action to take. Or better yet, we may know the action, ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2691 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2691 Sun, 1 Nov 2009 13:30:00 EST v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);} Normal 0 false false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2680 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2680 Sun, 25 Oct 2009 13:30:00 EST Can you believe that 2009 is almost over? Just two months left. How did that happen? It happened while I was working on my new branding, taking an intensive, ten-week online course to become a certified productive environment specialist, networking like crazy, going to Canada for a vacation, and having my great nieces and nephew spend the night to watch the movie, ET . But before the last two months fly by, it is important to get a few things for 2010. Many people are ordering their ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2634 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2634 Sun, 11 Oct 2009 13:30:00 EST I have walked into many offices and seen post-it notes all over the place. Granted, they are a wonderful way to capture short pieces of information, but they add to visual clutter. I will admit that I have had a few (that number depends on your perception of a few) post-it notes stuck to my computer monitor, desk shelf, printer, etc. I have vowed to de-clutter my office of all post-it notes hanging around. Here is how I have done that. I bought a small notebook that was divided into ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2632 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2632 Tue, 6 Oct 2009 17:31:37 EST I am sure that you, like me, have created many different kinds of organizing systems throughout your life. But how many of them do you still use today? I know that many of my original ones have been tossed aside for one reason or another. I really am not sure what made me give them up. Since I have become a productive environment specialist, I have learned that there are four questions you need to ask yourself either after you create a system or to evaluate an existing one. Those four ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2610 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2610 Sun, 27 Sep 2009 13:30:00 EST Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2596 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2596 Sun, 20 Sep 2009 13:30:00 EST I am now in week #9 of the training, one more week to go. I have learned a valuable tool for assessing how productive someone is in their work environment. The tool is The Productive Environment Scorecard. It is a series of 15 questions to score from 1 to 10. Once the questions are answered, the scorecard is given to the Productive Environment Specialist (that's me). A free 30-minute phone consultation is available to the prospective client. The answers to the questions will help the ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2574 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2574 Sun, 13 Sep 2009 13:30:00 EST It's like someone turned off the summer switch and turned on the fall switch. It was cooler this morning when I let the dog out. I could turn off the air conditioning and open the windows. Ah! fresh air. As you begin the fall season of work, give yourself a productivity checkup. How productive are you in your work environment? Do you waste time looking for papers you need? Do you have a systematic method for purging papers? Do you waste time looking for phone numbers and other contact ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2508 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2508 Sun, 16 Aug 2009 13:30:00 EST I am in the fourth week of a ten-week training course through the Paper Tiger Institute to be certified as a productive environment specialist. I will be focusing on small companies, helping them to create a productive work environment. I will be licensed to sell products and services developed by Barbara Hemphill with the Paper Tiger Institute. I am now able to offer her seminar, The Art of Wastebasketry , to my clients. Some of the products I will be selling are her books, Taming the Paper ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2486 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2486 Sun, 9 Aug 2009 13:30:00 EST I was working with a client in her home office. We were surveying what we had already accomplished and deciding what to do next when I picked up an object from the top shelf of her bookcase. I said, "What are you going to do with this?" She looked at me and smiled, knowing that her answer was important to our organizing tasks. She said, "I really like the colors, they are so bright and cheery." "But do you use it?" I asked. I knew the answer before she did. That conversation prompted me to show ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2473 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2473 Sun, 2 Aug 2009 13:30:00 EST Have you ever made a new year's resolution to get organized? Have you ever felt that if you just got organized, your life would be better? Well, it would. So why do you procrastinate about something that will make your life easier, more productive, and less stressful? People procrastinate for a variety of reasons. Julie Morgenstern, in her book Organizing From the Inside Out, says that there can be three categories for those reasons: technical errors, external realities, and ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2464 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2464 Sun, 26 Jul 2009 13:30:00 EST The words clutter and de-clutter weren't in my vocabulary six years ago. As with other things in our culture, TV often leads the way in what Americans focus on. The shows, "Mission Organization" and "Clean Sweep" have brought these two words into our living rooms and beyond. It occurred to me recently that my mind was becoming cluttered. Because I am a professional organizer, that bothered me. Even though I have not yet succumbed to the plethora of technology gadgets that are ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2454 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2454 Sun, 19 Jul 2009 13:30:00 EST The average employee today has about thirty-seven hours of unfinished work on his/her desk at any one time. The average American will spend one year searching through desk clutter for misplaced objects. It costs $120 in labor to track down a misplaced document or $250 in labor to recreate it. In a recession it is important to get organized to save time and money. I have seen my clients suffer from the effects of disorganization. Some of those effects are: ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2417 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=2417 Sun, 12 Jul 2009 13:30:00 EST The longer I help clients organize, the more I see that staying organized is not just about setting up a dynamic system, but it is about changing behaviors. I can set up the most wonderful system for a client, but if they don't work it, they will not see the desired results. I often encounter clients who have tried in vain to keep themselves organized. Usually that is when they hire me. My approach, after a few years of organizing, has changed. I now focus on the client's behavior in ...