Harmonious Organizing with a Partner

It can be difficult to organize with a partner or spouse who shares the same office / business with you.  Oftentimes what I find is that one person wants to keep everything and the other wants to get rid of everything.  There is rarely a meeting of the minds and because the two (or more) people know each other very well they tend to criticize and judge each other assuming their WAY is the best.

I have worked with many, many couples and partners over the years and the trick to working with another person and finding harmonious ways to organize is to look for the strengths and non-negotiables within each of you. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Choose which tasks you will be responsible for based on those.

I'm sure there are parts of the office / business you each feel passionate about. If those parts are different make the choice to have the person who is most interested in that area decide the best way to organize or systematize it. All the while making sure the other person understands the system.

If there are areas that you both feel you are the best person to make the decision you will have to find a compromise.  Talk it out with open minds and realize you are on the same team, with the same objective. It is not a contest. When your office is a well run, efficient place to be you both win. There is often a way to split the project or task that will make you both happy.

I would suggest discussing and making the decisions that are the easiest or most obvious first. Don't start with the issues that will be the battles.  As you work through all of the areas and challenges you both face in your office / business you will begin to find your way through it and the battles might not loom so large as they would if that was the starting point.

You can do this! You will find your way!

If you have a sticking point feel free to schedule a Strategy Session with me. I am happy to help you both talk through any issues you can't get to the bottom of on your own.

4 Steps to Getting Unstuck

Today's blog post is courtesy of the Harvard Business Review Management Tip of the Day from an article by Peter Bregman. There are times of the year — or the week, or the day — when you simply have too much to do. You may buckle down and focus, or like many people, you may get overwhelmed and freeze up. Next time you are stressed out by how much you need to accomplish, take these four steps: Make a list. Write down everything you need to do on a piece of paper. Do the quick hits. Take 15 minutes, no more, to do the fastest things on your list: a quick email response, the 2-minute phone call. Use a timer to keep you focused. Turn off distractions. Now spend 35 minutes focused on the tougher things on the list with your phone and email alerts switched off. Take a break and repeat. Take a 10-minute break and start again. Before long, you'll have crossed enough off your list to restore your calm. I love this idea because it's simple and it can easily be applied to whatever tasks you may have on your list.

3 Tips for Your Daily To Do List

I always say that being productive and organized are never one size fits all. No matter how hard you try or want it to happen, the square peg will never fit correctly in the round hole. And that's okay. It only has to work for you!

I love it when someone finds a system that works for them!

Check out this video by my friend Elizabeth Potts Weinstein and then take a look at her site for more great tips about Living Your Truth.

If you have a great tip or system for being productive / organized that works for you I'd love to hear about it. Thanks Elizabeth for letting me share yours.

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS

The TOP 10 New Year's Resolutions (in order) are as follows:

1. Lose Weight
2. Stop Smoking
3. Stick to a Budget
4. Save More Money
5. Find a Better Job

6. BECOME MORE ORGANIZED
7. Exercise More
8. Be More Patient
9. Eat Healthier Foods
10. Become a Better Person

One of my resolutions this year is to blog consistently. To get me started on the right path I have joined a 31-day blogging challenge.

If you are looking to get more organized this year sign up for a free consultation on my website.  I promise, my consultations are informative and painless.

When Can I Stop Organizing?

I get this question A LOT. Someone writes to me and wonders when they are done organizing? When are they finally considered organized?

The truth is that organizing is like a lot of other things in life. For example, once you work out several times a week are you considered healthy and in shape? Possibly. But does that mean that you can stop working out. Probably not.

The trick, if you want to call it that, to getting organized for life is to do it 'right' the first time.  Now, by 'right,' I mean in a way that works for you and the life you live.  It is really important to organize to your own style (as I mentioned last week).

I'm sure you will always be adding new things to your life and hopefully removing things you no longer need as well.  That being said, the actual act of organizing can come to an end, but the process never does.

Things may get messy and out of control from time to time. But when everything has a place where it belongs, clean up is quick and easy. You just need to put it away, not decide where it goes. The deciding is the time consuming part. If you do that right the first time then the hard part has been done.

The systems you put in place when you organize will also need to be maintained.  This maintenance and the addition of new items is the never-ending part of organizing.

You can have the most incredible filing system in the world.  You can always find what you're looking for.  It is easy to put things away.  It is absolutely perfect for you in every way.  However, if you keep using it and filing into it, eventually the drawers will become stuffed.  That's when the piling begins!  That's when it feels like it's not working.

The thing you have to realize is when you set up systems in your office or anywhere else you need to maintain them.

More on maintenance later... 

Happy Organizing!

Way Too Many Business Cards

I’ll bet you do a lot of networking and have piles and piles of business cards. Rubberbanded stacks in every drawer and on every surface in your office. Yet when you need one you can never find it, right?

How do you get them under control and keep them that way?

The first thing to do is to decide is if you really need to keep the cards.  There are only three reasons to keep a card:

1.        You want to use their services.

2.        You want to refer them business.

3.        You want to call on them for some reason or other.

Once you have decided which cards you will keep the next step is to sort them.

In order to sort the cards you need to figure out what criteria you use when you go looking for a card.  Do you remember people by their name, their business type, their business name, what color they wore or perhaps where you met them?  Whatever method it is you use to remember them is how you need to sort them.

Once they are all sorted the next step is to store them.  There are several ways that you can store the cards:

• You can store them in the box you received your business cards.
• You can store them in the box top from your personal sized checks.
• You can use a Rolodex or other card file.
• You can type them into a database on your computer.  Note: if you use a database you really can throw the cards away. (Unless you need them to give away when you refer).
• You can scan them into your computer with one of the many business card scanners on the market.
• If you need to carry them with you, you can put them in a business card book or a three-ring binder with business card pages in it.
• The Container Store has a business card box with dividers. (see below)

You will need to make dividers or categories for whichever method you choose.  Use the criteria you decided upon in the previous step to come up with the names for the dividers or categories.  This is very important because that is how you will know where to look for them when you need them!  Usually it is most efficient to alphabetize them behind their dividers.

If you use one of the box methods for storage you can use Post-Its to divide the sections.  Use them upside down and leave a part sticking out to write your category name on it.  You could also cut an index card to fit the box so it sticks up a little for a divider.

Once you have your system set up be sure to schedule time periodically to file your new cards and purge the old ones.

Happy Organizing!

WANT TO USE THIS IN YOUR EMAIL NEWSLETTER, WEBSITE OR BLOG?  

You can, as long as you use it in its entirety and include this info: Beth Sharkey Flarida is the owner of Get It Together. She is a Productivity Consultant, Efficiency Expert and Professional Organizer for business. Being productive is not one size fits all! Beth has helped 1000s businesses find the systems that work for them and she can do the same for you! Visit http://www.GetBeth.com. 

MEGA Secrets Revealed!

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This week, I want you to know there is more, beyond the gift bag
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WANT TO USE THIS IN YOUR EMAIL NEWSLETTER, WEBSITE OR BLOG?  

You can, as long as you use it in its entirety and include this info: Beth Sharkey Flarida is the owner of Get It Together. She is a Productivity Consultant, Efficiency Expert and Professional Organizer for business. Being productive is not one size fits all! Beth has helped 1000s businesses find the systems that work for them and she can do the same for you! Visit http://www.GetBeth.com. 

The Number One Organizing Mistake

Without fail the absolute biggest organizing mistake I see is people not organizing and using systems that reflect who they are and how they work. The way you organize your office / business has to work for YOU! (Not anyone else).

Often times they see something that works for someone else, read something in a book or find a great piece of furniture or organizing product. Then they feel like they failed if it doesn't work for them or fix them.

However, what they have forgotten to consider is who they are, how they like to work, what works for them now, how the system will be used and what it will be used for. They did not fail - it just didn't fit. The trick is to find the style, products and systems that fit.

You usually have at least an inkling when you are presented with an idea whether by a friend, colleague or a book or magazine how it FEELS to you. It needs to resonate with YOU. Only use the ideas that really feel right (and even those might need to be tweaked a little).

It's like trying to fit the square peg in the round hole, it really is.

Organizing is NOT one size fits all. Find your style though and it's MAGIC!

Happy Organizing!

WANT TO USE THIS IN YOUR EMAIL NEWSLETTER, WEBSITE OR BLOG?  

You can, as long as you use it in its entirety and include this info: Beth Sharkey Flarida is the owner of Get It Together. She is a Productivity Consultant, Efficiency Expert and Professional Organizer for business. Being productive is not one size fits all! Beth has helped 1000s businesses find the systems that work for them and she can do the same for you! Visit http://www.GetBeth.com.