Is Your Day Planner Friend or Foe? 10 Quick & Simple Tips to Effective Productivity

Last week I received my 2014 planner in the mail.  I do not know about you but one of my favourite things to do is crack open my new planner each year and begin mapping out all the important dates and events.   

In 2014 my eldest daughter Jasmine will be getting married, I need to block the week before her wedding of to help with last minute details, and I need to block the week after off for what I anticipate will be much needed “me” time.

 

A couple of years ago I gave a talk at a woman’s retreat and was asked to come up with one word that spoke to where I was at in my journey.  The word I chose was “Content" my life was in a state of peace and I was completely content.    Having to come up with one word was a challenge but it something I have adopted each year since.  

 Last year it was "Adventure" and my word for 2014 my word is: "Create".    

The word goes at the very beginning of my planner to remind me over my overall goal.

 Here are a few tips for was to maximize your planner usage and ensure that if is being used effectively

1.     Take it everywhere, put everything it and refer to it multiple times per day.   It will not work if you do not open it, read it and use it.

2.     When mail comes in the door, write bill payment dates, write appointments, and invitations dates into your planner

3.    Don’t stop there!  Put addresses, contact names and phone numbers into the planner as well.

4.    Stop the “sticky note insanity”.    Gather all your “sticky notes” and put the details into your planner. 

5.   Keep all your notes, phone details and comments in your planner – if you need to call someone back in a week, write in your planner.    If you are just too in love with your post it’s, use them in your planner.   Eg…if “call John on Tues 27 555-5555 “is the post it not and John was not in, make a note on the 27^th that you called and move the post it to the 29^th in your planner to try again.

6.    Add your grocery and shopping lists to your planner.

7.    Contact information – keep client numbers in your planner.   If you are stuck in traffic and running late, you want to be able to let them know.

8.    Use colour to chunk out and separate activities.   I always highlight my categories in colour.   An example would be…client bookings in “green”, family in “orange”, social media activities in “purple”, and networking events in “pink” and bills to pay in “red”.       At a glance I can see what is happening in my week and the ratio of family to work time.   It helps me keep my priorities in line.

9.    Have a way for your family to know what is happening with your calendar.   Online calendars can be shared.  I use a paper calendar for all of my appointments, and transfer the details to a family wall calendar at home.    I have an online calendar my clients and family can take a peek at to see what time slots remain open.   The kids have actually booked me through my client booking system on occasion to make a point if I have been working too much.

10.                     Let’s go back to #1!   If you do not use it, it will not work for you.   Develop the habit of checking, re-checking and adding to your calendar.

If you would like assistance ensuring you are making the most of your time, space and information, please contact us today for a complimentary phone conversation to see how we can help.    I look forward to hearing from you.    Bless others with your abundance, Jennifer

3 Simple Ways to Increase Your Productivity

An increasing number of our clientele are solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, and those with network marketing businesses.     

These clients have unique challenges.  The bulk of their time is spent managing the day-to-day reality of building their client lists, serving their client needs and managing their case loads.  These small business owners often have little or no office support, as a result, the paperwork often backs up and over time things often become unmanageable.   The age-old organizing question arises “where do I start”?       

Here are 3 simple strategies to help you manage your information your time.

1.    Start by dealing with today’s mail.

Get a handle on the plethora of papers by dealing with the incoming of today.  As Barbara Hemphill of, Taming The Paper Tiger, fame often states “Today’s mail is tomorrow’s pile”

A simple way to begin to get your paperwork a.k.a. “Today’s Mail” under control is to start with a 3 folder system, 

• Mark Folder One:    “To File”,

• Mark Folder Two:    “To Pay”,

• Mark Folder Three:  “To Do”

There is very little that would fall outside these three categories and if they do, the recycle bin would likely be the appropriate file folder for them.     

2.   Stay off your email and social media sites for the first hour of your day.   

Set your agenda for the day and control your time.   By responding to email and Facebook posts as soon as you start the day, you are allowing other people’s agendas to run and control your day and you will get side-tracked.   

  

Consider setting your email auto responder to read something like “emails are checked at 11 and 3 each day and we give you our full attention at that time”.

3.    Have a planner and use it! 

The number one absolute to having an organized business life, home life, student life, is having and using a good planner.   It does not matter if you use a paper planner or a digital planner but whatever the choice, use it to it’s fullest function.   Hundreds of Post-It it notes all over the monitor get forgotten and become part of the background noise – put those notes into your planner or use programs like Evernote,  or Workflowy and keep all your information in one place.  

For more productivity strategies or information on how we can help with your paperwork management strategies,  please contact Jennifer at Adventures In Organizing.

An Organized Desk for 2013

In December, I mentioned on our Facebook Group that I had received a gorgeous new desk from my wonderful husband and daughter this Christmas.    

While my “Before” desk was not bad, it was not at all spacious all and it had no drawers.    The photo below was taken during our Fall 12 hour Facebook Organizing Event.

So, with the arrival of the new desk,  it gave me the opportunity to reorganize my business files and "stuff", as well as document the progress on the blog.   I just love it when I can kill more than one bird with each stone.   

Where is this office you might ask, well, currently my office space is part of my kitchen. I will do a kitchen tour another day so you can see the whole room but for this blog, I'll  just show the "office" portion.

Below begins the process from the unpack to completion.  Three huge boxes, one husband, one boyfriend of our 20 year old (thank you Jake) and a finished project - don't you just love it when a gift comes with manpower!

According to my husband Roy, the pieces combined weigh approximately 300 pounds - yikes.   Good thing he has been lifting weights for the past 40 years!

On the top of the Desk is my printer/scanner/copier on the left.   The center holds my keyboard and monitor and on the right if a clear napkin holder that contains the files that I am working on that day.    For a mouse pad, I use an inspirational book that a friend gave me years ago - mouse and motivation all rolled into one!  

I thought I would show you my new “office” and how it is set it up for what looks to be a very busy 2013 at Adventures In Organizing.  So first, here is a look at the office as a "whole" - sorry for the lighting, it was a cloudy, snowy day when I took the photos.  Over the red chair are my favourite "Chicken Paintings".   They were always in my Grandmother's Dining Room and I totally love them.

Inside the desk drawers I keep all my day-to-day files and tools.   Long term storage for the household and business are stored in the basement filing cabinet.

Okay, you have seen the room , you have seen the desk, let's take a tour of the drawers.

My Sony eReader is definitely one of my favourite items.    It has saved me a ton of money on books because I can download books directly from my local library, and as an organizing tool, hundreds of books can be stored in one tiny tool!   The headset is used all the time for when I take online courses, have cyber meetings, record Webinars, use Google Phone, and listen to audiobooks. 

The center left drawer (can't decide whether Canadian or American spelling on Centre/Center so I thought I would confuse everyone just for fun)

All my receipts get stored in the green box and then once a month, they are scanned with my Neat Receipts scanner and then filed away.

In the center drawer I keep all my notebooks.   I keep one for each project so I can grab it and go - I take one with me to Doctor appointments, car appointment, Dentist etc... so I can brain storm while sitting around.

There is a notebook for each of the following:

• Blog ideas, drafts and notes

• Take 5 (I try and post one-a-day on all week days)

• Newsletter ideas and articles

• I keep another for Social Media to keep any marketing ideas and strategies

In the Top Right I keep my pens, highlighters (love, love, love, highlighters), Post-It Notes, Address Books, Church Directory, a cheque book and a pad for Daily To-Do's.   The pad is from the dollar store and has plenty of lines with a check box on each to keep your list organized.

 

The middle drawer (gave up on the Centre/Center thing) does not get a ton of use yet and will likely change over time.   Right now it just holds business cards, thank you notes, brochures, and index cards that I keep my "Take 5" ideas on once they have been posted...they may one day become something more (an eBook perhaps - oh yay!)

And finally..... the bottom right.   This is the drawer that gets the biggest work-out.   All my daily files are contained in this drawer. 

• Client files, (they were removed to protect names just a binder of previous clients is shown - I move them from file folder to binder once a project is completed)
• Program files for our Minute-By-Minute Program and others that are in the works, 
• Adventures In Organizing Gift Certificates
• To Pay, To Do, To File, To Read files
• On-Going Course Materials from ICD and POC (I love learning and am a forever student!)
• Business Bank Account
• Basically anything that I need to access on a daily/weekly basis goes in this drawer

Well, there you have it!

My wonderful new desk - I totally love all the surface space on top.   It is enormous and it works - happy me.

Need help getting your desk in order?   Contact us for an in-home assessment or better yet, subscribe to Minute-By-Minute Organizing and hire your own Virtual Organizer!

The Organizing Olympics, Day 7: Junk Mail Javelin

Today's event will be.....Junk Mail Javelin.

This individual event comprises training agility and skill to keep your competitors, junk mailers and paper marketers at bay.

The goal of this event is to:

Stop the junk mail from entering the sector (entering the house).     

What is your strategy to win at this game? 

1. Throw The Javelin - Sort your mail as soon as you pick it up. 
2. Use Javelin competitor’s techniques and with an “overhand” throw to toss all non-addressed junk mail directly in the recycle bin.
3. Addressed junk mail can either be shredded or recycled based upon your comfort level 

(I shred anything with our names on it)

4. Throw for Distance - Contact catalogue companies and get off their mailing lists – you can get everything on line if you are looking for an item.
5. Get as many of your other mail pieces sent to you online.   Most bill companies will send you eBills to cut down on the paperwork

The competitor with the longest single legal throw is the winner, so grab that Javelin and throw that junk mail as far from your home as possible.

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Organizing By The Letter: E is for Email - Dealing with Email Clutter and Time Management

E is for EMAIL!                      

Dealing with Email Clutter 

& 

Time Management 

Email creates vast quantities of clutter in most our day in what seems like an endless stream.   Managing email accounts becomes an important part of maintaining order and time management throughout the day.  Controlling email ensures that the agenda days agenda is set by us rather the having email control and manage us.

Here are a few tips to help keep on top of the email barrage.

• Stay away from the email for the first hour in your day and begin the day on your terms.  Have the day’s agenda set by you, not the demands and needs of others via email. Make your action plan for hours ahead, take care of loose ends from the previous day and begin working on any projects that are in the pipeline; like writing a Blog article perhaps.

Think about how often is necessary to check the email in a day.   My personal goal is to only check it twice during the day but I also admit that it is tough for me to be so disciplined.    Setting the email program’s auto responder to let others know that emails are checked at 10 and 2 each day will let them know that their correspondence will have full attention at those times.

When opening the email program, take a look at the inbox… Is the “Inbox” full of hundreds, perhaps thousands of emails?  Take a look at the delete or trash folder, when was the last time it was emptied? 

• Begin with the emails from the previous day and then move on to today's. 

• Read and then act. Each email requires an action, leaving it in the inbox in not a clutter reducing option.

Reply if the email requires and then either:

•          delete it,

•          or file it

(BTW, the inbox is not a filing system)

The Draft Folder in any email Email program is a good place to store emails that require further attention or response.   Items can be dragged and dropped into the folder making them easily accessible and you know that everything in that folder needs action.  Once completed, they can then be filed or deleted.

Keep emails short, sweet and to the point!   Everyone has the same problem – to many incoming messages so be respectful of that when sending emails.

• Use the subject line each and every time and make it count!  Putting a deadline date there if applicable immediately lets the recipient know it is important and time sensitive.
• Make your opening paragraph short, clear and concise.
• Put the details in bullet format if possible – it helps people focus on the important stuff!
• Finalize the Email with a call to auction outlining the recipient’s role and the expectation.  An example would be, “please send the details by 4 today so the statistics can compiled into the report for tomorrow mornings meeting.”

If after having replied to all the previous and current day’s email by

• Acting
• Filing
• Deleting
• Or moving to the drafts folder,

If there is still have some allotted email time available in your day planner, move to the next oldest emails and do the same, keep going until your chosen “email time” is up. 

 

Now take 2 more minutes and click “empty” on the deleted folder – make a note in your planner to empty this folder every Friday at a minimum.

Pssst… How is the “Sent” folder looking?   Don’t forget about that one.

 

For further information or for some simple tips visit the Adventures In Organizing website or see us on facebook