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Are You Competent, Capable, and Efficient?

Monday, October 31st, 2011

If I had to name the most important consideration in setting up an organized workspace, or work flow, it would be efficiency.

When a system is efficient, that means the least amount of resources will be used to get the job done.

 

The resources you save can be:

  • Time
  • Money
  • Raw materials
  • Equipment life
  • Energy – physical or fuel
  • Range of motion
  • Manufactured supplies
  • Number of steps to completion

When you work efficiently, you are considered well-organized, good at your job, not wasteful, economical, proficient, competent, capable, professional, and ecologically aware. You sound pretty good, huh?

In the corporate world, efficiency equates to higher profit margins.
At home, efficiency means having more time and money to do the things you love.
Let me give you an example of efficiency from my adolescent years. As the oldest daughter, I was stuck doing dishes by hand for a family of 6. I soon learned there was an art to washing and stacking those dishes into a single dish drainer.

  1. First, scrape and rinse off the worst of the leftover food particles.
  2. Then, wash plates & bowls and stack compactly in drying rack slots.
  3. Next, wash glasses and utensils, finding nooks and crannies to stand them vertically to dry.
  4. Last, wash larger bowls and greasier pots and pans by size from smallest to largest in order to nest in succession. Then pray it all stays on top!

You see, I wanted to be done with dishes as soon as possible, with the least amount of energy expended. That meant no stopping to replenish dish water and no drying by hand to make room for more.

Only a person who never was the sole dishwasher, stacker, and putter-awayer (this person shall remain nameless) would wash greasy pots and pans first, then wonder why the drinking glasses felt greasy to the touch. Contrary to popular opinion, NO, Dawn does not take grease out of the way that well! Needless to say, the glasses have to be rewashed… a waste of time and resources.

I often say that organizing is not an end in itself, but a means of getting something else you want. That may be finding more time to do something fun, saving money to spend on a vacation or shopping spree, or simply eliminating the frustration of always searching for things.

When you develop an organizing system that is efficient, you will be saving precious resources that you can use in another way. Soon you will be rewarding yourself with the very thing you most desire, and looking doggone good at the same time!

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7 Mistakes that Lead to Paper Clutter, Part 2

Tuesday, October 25th, 2011

In the first part, you met 3 personalities who struggle with paper piling issues: The Visualizer who wants to keep everything in sight, The Generous Shopper who is now the best friend of charities and catalog vendors, and The Librarian who feels compelled to gather information.

The ethics of my profession require that I keep all client identities and foibles confidential. If that were not so, I would be able to describe the clients I have worked with who match these descriptions. I am not making this stuff up!

Perhaps you have already said to yourself, “How did Martha know to describe me so well?” The reason I can do that is you are not alone in your struggle with paper, or the underlying causes. If you haven’t recognized yourself, you may be one of the remaining 4 personalities.

  1. The Go Getter has many projects going on simultaneously. He doesn’t want to put away the projects he is working on because he “will just have to drag it all out again anyway!” Supporting documents become lost in the shuffle. Many times work is delayed because a vital piece has gone missing. Duplicated effort is required to get the project back on track.
    Remedy: First, ask the question – are you able to do an excellent job on all the projects, or are some slipping through the cracks? Which projects are you the best at and will generate the most value? Keep those, delegate others to the person who is better suited, and let the rest go entirely.Second, to keep current projects separated [a project is an activity that has a definite beginning, middle, and en end] use colorful, distinctive and roomy file jackets. Scoop all supporting documents for each project into its file each time you take a break for more than 20 minutes. Use an incline sorter on your desktop so you can find any project file at one glance.
  2. Scarlet O’Hara says “Tomorrow is another day.” She puts off deciding what to do with mail offers, when to pay the bills, what to do with important papers. Because she has no system, there are no homes for paper to land, and she can never find what she needs when she needs it.
    Remedy:A paper management system is simply making decisions ahead of time about homes for the three categories of paper that arrive in your mail/inbox:

    • Action – you have to do something with the information.
    • Finished – all action is done and you NEED this info in the future, so is reference material to be filed.
    • Shred/Toss – done, don’t need it, get rid of it.

    3. When you don’t have a system for paper flow in place, you will essentially be asking yourself this same question over and over, “Where should I put this so I will know where it is?

  3. The Seeker wants to keep on top of the latest breaking news. He has too many subscriptions, no time to read all of the information that pours in, so it piles up. He intends to read each magazines, newspaper, or professional journal, but finds himself 2-4 months behind (or more!)
    Remedy:For non-professional material, decide on a set number of months of magazines, days of newspapers you may keep. I suggest two months per magazine and no more than a week of newspapers. On the first of every month go through your stash and recycle old periodicals. Better yet, if you never get around to reading that magazine, cancel the subscription.Professional material is a must-read, but contains advertising and reiteration. Scan each periodical when it arrives, remove the articles (with small exacto knife) that are key to keeping current. Make a “To Read” folder that you can put in a briefcase, or grab on your way out the door on a slow day.
  4. The Bottom Line Watcher refuses to take the time to deal with paper since there is no money or distinct benefit attached.
    Remedy:Take the time to calculate how much time you waste daily looking for papers you can’t find. (In a survey, executives admitted to wasting 6 weeks per year looking for documents.) Now multiply the time you waste by your hourly rate. Does that make solving your paper clutter problem a higher priority?If you can afford it, hire someone else to set up the system and come in regularly do the filing/follow-up. If you are IT, schedule appointments with yourself to do 30 minutes of filing 3x/week. Start with the current piles – on desk or counter – until they are gone. You can be much more productive on other tasks when that visual clutter no longer effects your concentration!

Paper is ubiquitous – it’s everywhere! You can win, with the right tools and mindset.

Drop me an email to let me know what your paper personality is and how you have cut your piles down to size. I love hearing the success stories!

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7 Mistakes that Lead to Paper Piles, Part 1

Tuesday, September 13th, 2011

7 Mistakes That Lead to Paper Clutter

  • If the entire surface of your desk, kitchen counter, or dining room table is covered…
    you just might be a paper piler!
  • If you have magazines you haven’t read from a year ago…
    you just might be a paper piler.
  • If your filing system consists of “more recent” and “older stuff”…
    you just might be a Paper Piler!
  • If you put the event tickets in plain sight see so you won’t lose them, but now you can’t find them because they are totally covered…
    you just might be a paper piler.

Piles of paper are the symptom, not the underlying cause of this frequent clutter problem.

We can try to blame the information explosion or the 49,060 pieces of mail we will receive in our lifetime.  To find a lasting cure, however, we must look closer to home.

What is your personal relationship with paper?

This is Part I of 7 Mistakes That Lead to Paper Clutter. See which one(s) best describes the way you relate to paper. Use the tips below to find a solution that works for you.

  1. The Visualizer is afraid that out of sight will mean out of mind.
    Bills to pay, party invites are left where you can see them and not forget to take action. Soon the “important” is covered by “everyday” and gets lost.
    Remedy:Visual/tactile people need to find a filing solution that is in plain sight, yet keeps paper contained. Two options are:

  2. The Librarian feels compelled to store valuable information.
    This person prints online research as well as emails to answer later, and has a hard time parting with newspaper articles and magazines.
    Remedy:Save only the information that is imperative to your job or that you think will be hard to replace. Think about scanning hard copies, bookmarking email sites on your browser, or noting the article URL on a resource list.Sally McGhee, author of Take Back Your Life, says we only use 15% of what we file. We never retrieve the other 85% – a waste of filing time and of valuable space.
  3. The Generous Shopper gives to charities and orders gifts from catalogs. Her name has been sold repeatedly so she now receives dozens of gift requests and catalogs.
    Remedy:One of the best ways to reduce paper in your home is to reduce the amount coming in. At home, the #1 paper dropper is the mailman. Always open your mail the day you receive it. Return unsolicited charitable requests to sender. Shred unwanted credit offers.Use these sites to opt out of catalogs and credit offers:

Four more common errors are yet to come in Part 2. Did you see yourself yet? Don’t worry, you will…

“Ask the Expert” Event Tomorrow: Register Now!

Wednesday, September 14, 2011 from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM (ET) in Columbus, OH

Click here to register.

Stop the paper piles from multiplying with a proven self-purging paper management system, the FREEDOM FILER. Professional Organizer, Martha Clouse, has successfully implemented this system with dozens of clients. YOU bring your banker box full of paper piles to train and begin your personal FF system.

Learn ways to reduce incoming paper and practice your paper tossing technique!!

Materials FEE: $52 paid at time of class – this purchases your Freedom Filer which has a retail value of $99.

Class is also scheduled to be held on 9/29 from 9:30am – 11am. Tickets purchased above will be honored at all event times.

 

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Benefits of Organizing: A Baker’s Dozen

Thursday, August 11th, 2011

Organizing isn’t only about downsizing possessions, developing filing systems, and creating easily-accessible storage.
Getting out from under visual clutter and overwhelm can have a much deeper impact in our lives, both physically and emotionally.

When I started listing the life-changing results I see as an organizer, I couldn’t stop at an even 10 as I had planned, so you get a baker’s dozen.

Clearing the clutter and organizing those things you need/use or love/find beautiful will…

  1. Give you hope for the future; you don’t have to stay stuck in chaos and defeat.
  2. Set you free from the burden of clutter (of things, their past, negative emotions) so you are able to move on.
  3. Let you know you are capable of maintaining order with the system that matches your personal bent.
  4. Give you a safe and healthy environment so you can thrive.
  5. Allow you to pass on a legacy of order to your children.
  6. Affirm your competence on the job when you can find info quickly, get started on today’s projects, and reach for tomorrow’s opportunities.
  7. Empower you to take back control of life and your environment, one area at a time.
  8. Make you feel valued for the unique individual you are, not based on some preconceived notion of what you should be or do.
  9. Boost your self confidence knowing you will remember appointments, be on time, and have what is needed at that moment.
  10. Allow you to experience a calm retreat at the end of a fast-paced day.
  11. Enable you to accept less than perfection, while striving for “good enough.”
  12. Free up time for you to fulfill your dreams.
  13. Underline the truth that we each fail at times, but that each mistake is a new chance to start over.

The great thing about organizing is, when you clear a path in one area of your life, the positive feelings ripple outward and you are energized to repeat the process for even greater success.   That is what my clients see and experience.  Love it!

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Getting That Project from To Do to DONE!

Tuesday, July 26th, 2011

My husband, Jeff,  is a Project Management Professional (PMP).  He oversees Information Technology (IT) projects for the State of Ohio.

You and I are project managers, too. Without thinking about it, we go through certain steps to make sure something gets done on time. Sometimes we miss a step, the project falters, and we are scrambling to catch up. Perhaps we can learn some tips from the experts.

First, let’s make sure we agree on what a project is. This is the short definition in Project Management for Dummies by Stanley E. Portny, PMP:

A project is a temporary undertaking performed to produce a unique product, service, or result.

In plain English, that means:  

  • A project has a beginning, middle and an end with specific start and end dates.
  • The result or product is well-defined and measurable.
  • Resources are necessary to complete the project (ex. people’s time and effort, money).

There are 5 steps that constitute a complete project cycle. Let’s walk through the steps and apply them to a summer project. Say, for example, you want to take a trip to see the Grand Canyon.

  1. Initiating – Starting the project by clarifying needs/desires, expectations, budget, who will be involved.~~ Decide you are actually going to take that trip to Arizona to see the Grand Canyon. Invite
    people to go with you, ask what else they want to see. Estimate how much the trip will cost
    and whether you can afford it.
  2. Planning – Working out details on what is involved (scope), resources available, timing, and what can go wrong. Decide who will do what and when in order to be done on time.~~Check out airfares to see where and when you will fly out west. Plan how long you will stay based on  available resources. Map out what you will see and where you need to book overnight stays. Look at the extended forecast for an idea of what to pack. Think about what could go wrong and plan for contingencies.
  3. Executing – Taking action; work as a team.~~Book flights, rental car, hotel rooms. Have mail and papers held. Pack suitcases, get spending money and meet at the airport at the appropriate date and time. Delegate some tasks to make other traveler(s) feel invested in the process.
  4. Monitoring/Controlling – Tracking performance to stay on time and budget.~~While vacationing according to plan, be flexible to account for unexpected delays or expenses. Adjust your itinerary accordingly to stay within your budget and get to the airport on time to come home.
  5. Closing – Get approval on final results. Do a post-project evaluation to acknowledge what did well, lessons learned on ways to improve.~~Pat yourself on the back for checking that wish off your bucket list! Jot down a few notes on what you will do differently next time.

My Request to You

Take a piece of paper. Identify one project you are thinking of starting or are in the middle of.

Write the 5 steps on your paper. Next to each one, brainstorm what tasks/actions will be needed.
Assign a start and an end date to your project. Then work backward asking yourself, “When will I have to get this particular task done in order to finish my project on time?”

You will be amazed at the solid plan you end up with! Call this your “skeleton” and flesh it out as you walk through each stage. Don’t you love having a plan on paper so you don’t have to waste brain cells rethinking all the time? Now, just do it!

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Analyze Systems with 3 E’s

Tuesday, July 5th, 2011

At least once every other month, I try to visit my 3 grandchildren in Virginia. Oh yeah, I also go to see my daughter and her husband at the same time.

One of the things I admire about my daughter is that she has timing down to a science on meals, naps and TV viewing. I am having fun analyzing what systems are working for her.

The three measuring points of a system are:

  1. Easy – does it make the action simpler or more complicated/hard to remember?
  2. Effective – does it get the job done?
  3. Efficient – are resources used wisely?

Don’t we all want to get things done quickly, simply, and without using too much money or energy? That is even more appealing during the summer months when we want to go in, get it done, and get back outside for fun in the sun!

So pick one task that you perform on a daily or weekly basis. Evaluate by asking yourself the 3 E’s. If your way of doing that task fails in one area, ask yourself how you can tweak the process to get it done more quickly or easily.

Making one small change – relocating supplies closer to where used for example – can make a big difference.

I’m with you. Let’s conserve energy and enjoy easy!

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Time Management Principles for Moms

Wednesday, June 8th, 2011

Since our condo has two bathrooms, Jeff and I split the maintenance. He cleans one and I clean the other.

Yesterday, my husband was cleaning his bathroom. He called out to me, “Martha, I don’t think I have said ‘Thank You!’ for all those years you kept our bathrooms clean. I didn’t know how much work that was.”

My reply – “That means a lot to me, Jeff. Thank you for saying so.”

Many times the majority of the work to maintain a home and a healthy family falls to women. We are nurturers, men are hunters. These are the main areas we see to:

Physical – Life Sustaining, The Big 3: food, clothing, shelter

  • Meal planning, food purchase
  • Laundry, Clothing purchase and repair
  • Housekeeping

Relational – The People Factor

  • Adult partners
  • Children to adults
  • Adult children to Adult parents

Scheduling and Communication – Taking Care of Business

  • Work
  • School
  • Extra-curricular (optional!!)

When you read through that list, do you get tired and wonder where you find the time to actually do all of those things? I do!

Is this helping you to see how valuable your time is? You have to guard against spending it too quickly or without thought.

I’d like to offer three time management principles that can help us wives, moms, and homemakers be more effective and efficient every day.

PRINCIPLE #1 – LEARN TO SAY “NO!”

Stall if you have to when you are asked to do something. Say, “Let me check my schedule.” Then call back and say “Thank you for asking
me to _______________. I’m sorry, but I have already made a commitment that will not allow me to do that.” No further explanation is necessary.

PRINCIPLE #2: FOCUS

Focus on one person or task when you can. To focus is to think about the same thing we are doing.

Management and mothering have a lot in common. These are two of the most interruption-rich jobs! Multitasking is sometimes necessary, but should not be our preferred operating tactic.

Looking at our child when he/she is talking is one of the most loving things we can do!

PRINCIPLE #3: ASK FOR HELP

Don’t try to go it alone or be a martyr. Get the kids involved.
Ask your husband, or sister, or mother for some help. Let the person who is doing the job do it their way. Praise even small efforts.

How are you doing on the front lines? Ready to delegate instead of being the Lone Ranger?

Our Mom’s Summer Series is a place to start. Thursday, July 16th we will zero in on how to get children to help around the house. To succeed at using chores at home, moms must start early, train, have enthusiasm, and lavishly praise.

“All you can do is all you can do, but all you can do is enough.”

A.L. Williams

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