I'll Do It Tomorrow? Tomorrow Has Come And It's Time To Get Organized!

I frequently hear business professionals say, "One of these days I really need to get organized!" Yet this task seems to be put on the back burner regularly because of more pressing things which need attention. What I've observed is that, until my clients consistently pay attention to non-urgent but important tasks -- tasks such as getting organized, weekly planning, self-care, and other preventive kinds of activities -- the urgent activities seem to multiply…sometimes to a critical state.

Do you need to take time out to get organized? Answer these questions to find out:



- Can you find what you need in 15 seconds or less?

- If you work with others, can they find what they need in your office in 15 seconds or less?

- Does your current system keep you focused on what's most important to you and remind you of important follow-up?

- Does it work, and do you like it?

If you answered NO to any of the above questions, keep reading. This article offers six suggestions to help you get organized.



--- Could This Happen To You? --1 I'll share a story of what disorganization can cost an individual when one neglects it long enough.

Tom (not his real name) called me for professional advice after his wife and kids had left to go on an extended vacation without him. He was in an absolute panic. His wife told him that he better "get organized" during the month they were away, or else! She simply could not go on living with his disorganization.

Tom had his own business, which he operated from a home office. His business came to a grinding halt because he could no longer function with the disorganized mess around him. He had put his unsorted piles of papers into 38 banker's boxes so he did not have to look at them anymore, and he had no idea where anything was. Tom's business was not generating any income, and he had almost depleted his savings. To make matters worse, he had not filed tax returns for several years and was in trouble with the IRS. Now his marriage was on the line, as well. He was at a loss as to where to begin.

Tom turned to me for assistance. Together we set up a tickler file system to remind him of important follow-up, as well as Kiplinger's Taming the Paper Tiger filing system - a software program that guarantees you can find the papers you file in 5 seconds or less through a cross-indexing system. Then we identified action steps to dig him out of the deep hole he was in. Tom has moved forward one step at a time. When his wife and kids returned home from their extended vacation, they were pleasantly surprised to see the progress Tom had made.

Before having a system and a plan, Tom was paralyzed. Since getting a user-friendly filing system in place, he has been able to follow some concrete action steps to move him toward his goals - organizing his papers, filing his tax returns, and generating income to support his family. Although Tom still has a lot of work ahead of him, he can now see light at the end of the tunnel, and he is moving forward rather than remaining paralyzed.

---- What is Disorganization Costing YOU? --- Although your situation may not be as severe as Tom's, there may be some very real professional and personal costs to doing business as usual. The greatest resistance I hear to doing the work is that it's going to take a lot of time to get organized. For most people, time is money. So, whether you have the cost of hiring a Professional Organizer to assist you or not, it's going to cost you something to do the work.

Do you realize that you are already spending that money now in less tangible ways? If you don't believe me, for the next month keep a log of some of the following costs of continuing to do "business as usual":



- Late payment fees because you didn't make payments by the due date - Overtime pay for support staff staying late to do a "rush" job because you gave it to them last minute - Cost of replacing and retraining burned out employees who quit - Cost to reproduce or repurchase something that you already have but cannot find - Fees for overnight expressing something that could have been sent regular mail - Interest on uncollected fees because you do not mail invoices in a timely manner - Interest on checks that sit around for a long time before being deposited - Inability to expand your business or workload -- you can barely handle what you already have!

- Missed opportunities, lack of competitive edge (this one is more difficult to measure in dollars)

- Stress and burnout, leading to illness and reduced productivity - Other: ________________



Once you have kept this log for a month, multiply the costs by 12, and you'll have a rough estimate of the annual cost of continuing to do business as usual.

When you are ready to get organized, I offer six ideas to help you get started.



--- Six Ways to Improve Your Office Organizing Skills --1 1. Create three labeled stacking trays on your desk to help manage paper flow:

INCOMING: This top tray is where the mail goes when it first arrives. It stays here until you have time to sort through it. Once you sort through the pile of incoming mail, it never goes back into this tray. You have three choices as to what to do with incoming mail - File, Act, or Toss. I'll go into more detail about this in suggestion #3.

OUTGOING: This middle tray is where you place outgoing mail -- either US mail or internal mail to others within your office or building.

TO FILE: This is where you place items to be filed away for future reference. Be sure you plan time to do your filing at least weekly so this tray does not overflow!

2. Set up a tickler file system for anything that requires your attention in the future.

The tickler file system I recommend has an accordion file with tabs for each day of the current month, followed by tabs for each month of the year. Behind this accordion file are hanging files with tabs you can tailor to your particular repetitive actions (read, discuss, call, calls expected, data entry, expense reimbursement, etc.)

3. Trim the F.A.T - File, Act, or Toss There are only three things you can do with paper - file it away for future reference, act on it, or toss it.

File: If you choose to file it, the paper goes in the TO FILE (bottom) stacking tray.

Act: If it requires action, you can either act on it immediately or place it in your tickler file to act on at a future time. You can place it in your tickler to do on a specific date, or you can put it with other papers requiring similar action (read, call, discuss, pay, etc.)

Toss: Use your wastebasket/recycling bin frequently. Research shows that 80% of what we file away we never reference again. So how do we determine what 20% to keep? Ask yourself these questions:

* Does it require action from me?

* If it is only an FYI, do I need to keep it now that I have seen it?

* If I threw it away and discovered I needed it later, could I easily replace it?

* By the time I might need it again, will it be obsolete? Is it recent enough to be useful? Will a more current version arrive on my desk soon?

* Are there legal reasons for keeping this?

My definition of clutter:

Anything you own, possess, or do that does not enhance your life on a regular basis If it will not enhance your life and there are no legal reasons to keep it, toss immediately!

4. Create a filing system that works easily and consistently.

If you and others can file and retrieve things quickly and easily from your current filing system, great! No need to change anything. However, if your current system is not working for you or others needing to access your files, I suggest that you create one that does. My clients consistently tell me that the reason they pile instead of file is a fear of never finding it again once it is filed away. I recommend Kiplinger's Taming the Paper Tiger, which comes with a guarantee that you and others can find anything you file in 5 seconds or less.

5. Implement a system for keeping track of important contact information.

I recommend using a good contact management software program, which will store all the important contact information you will need, remind you of important follow-up, and provide a place for notes about each contact. In addition, you can sort your contacts by various criteria - inactive client, active client, prospect, personal, as well as by area code, zip code, city, first name, last name, etc.

The most popular contact management software programs can also be synchronized with Palm Pilots for use when you are away from your computer. I recommend Symantec's ACT! or Microsoft Outlook. I personally use ACT! and I love it!

6. Learn to manage your time and your "to do" list effectively through weekly planning.

Emphasis used to be on efficiency - doing more in less time. Now emphasis has shifted to being more effective - doing what matters most. Here are some questions to ask yourself to improve your effectiveness and manage your time:

* What's most important to me?

* Does this task fit within what is most important?

* If so, am I the most appropriate person to do this or can I delegate it to someone else?

* Is there a way to simplify this task without sacrificing quality in areas of importance?

Once you are clear about your "to do" list, divide the activities into two major categories - those with a deadline and those which do not have a deadline by which they must be done. Create a timeline around the deadline-driven activities, and plug those benchmarks and deadlines into your calendar. Then on a weekly basis, review the list of open-ended tasks and plan time to accomplish some of those each week.

I'll Do It Tomorrow? Tomorrow Has Come And It's Time To Get Organized! - To learn more about this author, visit Kathy Paauw's Website.

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