Organizing for Success

Today’s newspapers tell of a deepening panic in global financial markets and a possible recession in the United States. If there has been any time in the past decade in which there has been a need for heightened productivity in all industries, it is now.  Productivity increases your profit margin, is directly correlated to efficiency and is enhanced by solid organizational skills.

It is a continuing challenge to organize yourself and your office to meet the responsibilities of your business. Lost papers, forgotten appointments, and wishes for a day that had more than 24 hours, are sure signs that your organizational skills need an overhaul.

Workplace disorganization is a common problem. There are several reasons for this. First, there is more to organize today than ever before. Many entrepreneurs, who in the past were in managerial positions with assistants to organize their work space, now have only themselves, or a small staff, on whom to rely. Second, while computers and technology have enhanced our productivity, they have failed to give us the promised paperless society. Third is the demand for small companies to produce a high-quality product for less money with fewer employees. As the owner of your own business there is no place to hide from disorganization and its consequences; reduced income, lost opportunities, and wasted time.

Organizing is an ongoing process that involves making decisions, changing habits, and maintaining newly acquired skills. A professional organizer will tell you to first look at the big picture, and then establish small goals. We break down a project (in this case, getting organized) into its component tasks. We then prioritize them, and tackle them one at a time rather than focusing on the outcome of the entire project. We know that small successes are motivational, both for ourselves and our clients and that being able to visualize the end of a task may often mean you can accomplish it with relative ease. When all the tasks are complete the project is done.

We live with a constant onslaught of paper. It is the most abundant item in any office. So, the foundation of an organized office must be a system that enables you to process the faxes, memos, letters of complaint, cash-flow reports, subscription renewal notices, bills, invitations, checks, letters, magazines, sales reports, theater tickets, clippings, and junk mail that are a large part of your life.

Processing is the action you take with each single piece of paper that crosses your desk, every day. A daily paper processing system doesn’t replace your filing system, but works with it. The system is for active paperwork that you handle on a routine basis. It is the means by which you control your mail, office paperwork, projects and desk.

Here are some tips to get you started.

1. Schedule daily time on your calendar to accomplish your tasks. The calendar is your most important organizing tool.
   
   
2. Keep a large waste basket and a letter opener handy where you process papers.
   
   
3. Open all your mail as soon as you can, every day.
   
   
4. Put bills together in one place, with stamps, staples, highlighter and  pen. Pay your bills once or twice monthly, no more. Schedule the time to do so on your calendar. Don’t put unpaid bills in a filing cabinet.
   
   
5. Throw away the following: those items that do not require action to be taken by you or an associate; those for which you cannot identify a specific use; those that exists in another location; those that are too old to be useful. Ask yourself, “What is the worst thing that will happen if I throw this paper away?” If you cannot come up with a cogent answer, toss the item.
   
   
6. Act on what remains. Don’t postpone making decisions. If some papers are typically given to a specific associate after you have worked on them, put them into a folder with that person’s name on it and let her retrieve them from your office at a scheduled time each day. If other papers require simple further action by you, take it. This may require you to mark an important event on your calendar, or make an entry on your “To do” list, (you should have only one and it should never get too long), or place a document in a folder labeled “Action”  to attend to later.
   
   
7. Prioritize. To insure that your “Action” file doesn’t turn into a burial ground, start each day by going through the folder and prioritizing what needs to be done. Move these papers to a priority position in the center of your desk and deal with them first. Schedule this sorting process on your calendar.
   
   
8. File your papers. It is, of course, imperative that you have a system that permits easy filing and retrieval. I can’t tell you how many clients I’ve had who’ve kept boots, appliance manuals, and blow dryers in their file cabinets, and papers on their desks, credenzas, chairs and floor.  Economize in what you file. Every paper does not deserve immortality. There is truth in the 80-20 rule: 80 percent of the value of the papers in your files comes from 20 percent of the papers, while 20 percent of the value comes from 80 percent of the papers.
   
   
9. Never keep work that is in progress inside a desk drawer. Keep current projects in boldly and clearly labeled manila folders in a file sorter on your desk or credenza.
   
   
10. Be realistic about your reading.
    
    

I encourage my clients to develop the habit of having a short organizing session at the end of each day. Doing so allows them to close out that day’s work and to identify what the next day’s activities will be. That way they waste less time when they return to their office, and reduce their stress ready to face tomorrow knowing what will need to be accomplished. Being organized is a framework that makes it possible to use time wisely, reach goals sooner and greatly improve efficiency.