By invitation

RochesterWorks! will be hosting Stephen for a presentation next week on Organizing For The Job Search. This will be done as part of their Career Navigator course, a 5-day training program for job seekers.

We would like to thank RochesterWorks! for this opportunity to serve the Rochester community.

   

Two Evil Words

We've all done it. Eagerly anticipating the evening's movie, we stand in front of the TV and open up the DVD tray, only to find a disc already nestled inside. With another disc in our hand, it's decision time. Placing the unwanted DVD on top of the player to get it out of the way, we say those two evil words, the bane of all organizational processes:

"I'll just put this here... for now."

The problem is that when we say, "I'll just put this here for now," often what we really mean is, "I don't want to deal with this. I'll do it later." It's just the big P word split into two little ones. "For now" really means "for later."

But that urge that prompted us to place the caseless DVD on top of the player won't disappear with time. It will reoccur every time we run into those small decision moments. What about when the mail comes? When there's a phone call to make? An email to send? A bill to pay? Our response to each of these decision moments will one by one, layer by layer, solidify our pattern of behavior. Things we're willing to put off once often become neglected.

"For later" really becomes "forever.”

So how do we fix this? The solution is quite simple. The secret lies in reclaiming those little decision moments that require action, reframing behavioral habits. Don’t look at that huge pile of clutter or the insanely long to-do list, but at your current task, the one right in front of you. If you’re taking laundry out of the dryer, fold it. If you’re reading emails, delete what you don’t want, file what you do, and reply quickly to all that require it. If you must leave a task undone, address it as soon as you can. Your goal is to handle each task, each piece of paper as few times as possible.

The key here is to start small. Not everything can or should be done instantly. But by mastering the tasks which can be done quickly and easily, you will begin to see results. You'll start feeling better about how you function and more quickly identify which tasks take priority, becoming more effective on a larger scale. Change done in this way usually lasts longer and has greater results than grandscale behavioral reframing.

Challenge: For 7 days, monitor your use of the phrase “for now” in speech and thought. Determine to address each of these decision moments, no matter how small.

managing Holiday cards

'Tis the season of holiday mail! As Christmas approaches, you’ve probably gotten a lot of cards from family and friends. They are often beautifully designed and contain memories of loved ones, but, left unmanaged, can clutter your desk and result in anything but Christmas cheer.

Here are some ideas for managing your growing collection of holiday cards:

Quick and easy:

Fill a decorative basket on your mantle or coffee table. This only works if you’ve already got a clean surface. Otherwise, it’s just more “stuff” lying around.

• Line a doorframe, beginning at one end and watching it spread as they arrive. It’s quite fun and makes for wonderful holiday decoration. Using Blu-Tack or painter’s tape is recommended to prevent tearing or marking your paint.
• If you have a large opening between rooms, stretch a string across it and clip cards to it with pins. This is another great holiday decoration.
• When packing up your holiday decorations in January (or February or March, depending on your die-hard Christmas spirit), put all your cards into a large envelope and use them as next year’s card mailing list.
• Use them as postcards. Cut them in half, place an address label on the top half, write a note, and put them right back in the mailbox. It saves not only on new cards, but on postage as well. Of course, this only works if the top half has not been written on.
• The easiest thing to do with cards is to read them and throw them in the recycle bin. There’s nothing wrong with this! The next holiday season is only 12 months away, at which time you’re bound to receive more. Just be careful not to recycle any personal information (names, phone numbers, addresses, etc.)!

More involved:

If you’re handy with crafts, cards can make great Christmas tree ornaments. Fold them into boxes with ribbons, cut them into tree or star shapes and hang them up for all to see.

• Create gift tags. Google Image search “gift tag templates” and print out your favorites, then use them to cut your cards up into holiday labels.
• Scan them into your computer and tag them for future reference with photo management software, such as Picasa or Windows Live Photo Gallery. It may take some time, but you’ll have them forever and always. This also makes searching by name extremely easy.
• You can also use your scanned cards as a screensaver.

The trick to these tips is to have a plan in place before the cards arrive in the mail. The moment you’ve read the card, put your plan into action, whether a “to be done” box, wall decorations, or the recycle bin. Leaving them lying about detracts from your peaceful holiday atmosphere.

Charity Work with NAPO

The Upstate NY organizers of NAPO joined forces this week to ship almost 4000 donated shoes to Soles 4 Souls! Click below to see the news report:
Soles 4 Souls with the National Association of Professional Organizers

So... what do you do again?

Professional organization is a rather unique industry. The work itself is a wonderfully detail-oriented process, while its concept is often vague and hard to understand until you see it done. (Hense, our pictures page.) Perhaps the best way of answering that well-worn get-to-know-you question, "So, what do you do?", would be to write a description of the whole process from an organizer's perspective, start to finish. Keep in mind that each of these steps is done with the client. Here we go.

1) Observation. When an organizer enters a space, he or she looks at the immediate problem (usually clutter in some form), and sees both its potential and its impedements. Working closely with the client, we discover the ultimate function of the space and what is preventing it from functioning that way.

2) Strategy. The mind of an organizer tackles this step with fervor. We are designers. We like to seize problems and create solutions. What actions must be performed to transform this malfunctioning space into a working system? To achieve its purpose and make it run like clockwork?

3) Implementation. The physical work begins as the steps are put to action. Boxes are opened and organized; papers are put into categories; computers are stripped of unused and memory-hogging software. Usually, both the client and the organizer find great satisfaction in watching the plan become a reality.

4) Modification. Never judge a mess by what lies on top of the stack. Discoveries may be made along the way that do not fit the plan. Theory doesn't always work in real life. A vital part of an organizer's job is to ensure that the system being created actually does what it is designed to do and to alter the plan when it doesn't.

Professional organization is not about cleaning up a mess. It's about transforming a malfunctioning design into a whirring, ticking system that delivers maximum performance with minimum energy waste. We organizers are, in essence, efficiency engineers.