In the article below, Anne McGurty, a Paper Tiger Expert of Strategize and Organize, relays the benefits of getting organized. Think of it as a small investment in the long-term events of your future. Do you think it’s a waste of time to get organized? Read on to see the benefits of being organized. She also recommends implementing Paper Tiger Filing System Software to help you save time and money!
The Benefits of Getting Organized
Are you ready to get organized, but stalling because of a lack of time, money, or motivation? Don’t despair! A professional organizer is just what you need! Make an investment in yourself that will provide amazing advantages for years to come.
Here are some of the benefits you can look forward to once you get organized:
Once you get organized, you’ll know what you already own, eliminating the need to buy duplicate items. You’ll also be able to buy what you need when it’s on sale, rather than buying at the last minute. Your professional organizer can also help you find the perfect organizing products for your space and lifestyle, so you can stop wasting money on containers that just don’t work.
A professional organizer can create order and structure out of chaos. You’ll receive systems that work for your dominant learning style, your lifestyle, your needs, your challenges, and your dreams. Whether at work or at home, you’ll increase productivity once you have an organized and efficient schedule to keep you on track. You’ll be amazed at how much you get done in shorter amounts of time. And by focusing on your priorities and goals, you’ll be able to finally move ahead toward reaching them.
Once your home or office is neat and tidy, you won’t feel embarrassed to have guests visit. The guilt will fade away as you take pride in your surroundings. Your organized office will allow you to present a professional image to co-workers, clients, and superiors. Your organized home and newfound habits to keep it that way will set a great example for your children and/or spouse.
Physical and emotional clutter obscures your surroundings. A clutter-free environment is simply easier to manage. A professional organizer can help you clear out your space so you can see that your surroundings in a better light and easier to maintain.
When you can find what you need, are on top of your to-dos, and arrive on time for meetings or events, you’ll feel calmer and have more peace of mind. No more feeling overwhelmed by life — you’ll be in more control and feel less stressed.
When you’re organized, your days go as planned, and you get a lot done. That leaves more time to indulge in a little “me time.”
Clutter is a mask. A professional organizer can help you take off that mask and let people see your vibrancy! Once the clutter is removed, you can showcase your talents, skills, and personality and have the life you deserve.
About Anne McGurty
Anne McGurty is CEO of Strategize & Organize, a company devoted to training individual’s to be more effective with the tools and resources to be productive in their work environment.
If you like this issue, you’ll love Anne’s transforming productivity training and organizing products to help you organize your business — and yourself — ranging from productivity consulting for individuals and executives to small business coaching programs to keynote speaking and corporate training programs to improve efficiencies in the workplace and improve productivity.
While Anne is best known for her expertise in productivity and expert office organizing, her clients share that her biggest impact comes from her philosophy of “personalizing her programs to fit the needs of her clients so they can streamline more efficiently with existing processes” – ensuring to create a sustainable work environment. This, Anne says, is the most important key to bringing an individual to personal freedom with time and organization.
You can learn more about Anne at www.StrategizeAndOrganize.com. For residential organizing services, please visit www.ResidentialOrganizing.com.
You can contact Anne at amcgurty@strategizeandorganize.com or by phone at 303 881-0174.
During this webinar, Anne discussed the basic concept of Paper Tiger to organize both paper files and other physical items of which you need to keep track so that you can find them when you need them, and the concept of Digital Tiger, powered by Google Docs to organize and find your digital files. She demonstrated how to use Digital Tiger more effectively for digital filing, in addition to the following to show how to use Paper Tiger with Digital Tiger, so you can get organized and be more productive.
Find Anything In Your Office In 5 Seconds or Less…Guaranteed! Watch the webinar to learn more.
As information, Anne is a professional speaker, productivity expert, professional organizer and author. If you want to learn more about Anne and her services, please visit her website at www.StrategizeAndOrganize.com.
She may be in Colorado (and sometimes in Arizona!), but she’s nationally recognized as an expert and works with people throughout the US in person and virtually.
You can contact Anne at amcgurty@strategizeandorganize.com or by phone at 303 881-0174.
See more information here on Paper Tiger Filing System Software for Document Management
Q: What type of scanner does Anne recommend?
A: Fujitsu ScanSnap 1500 and we have more information in our knowledge base which you might find helpful at http://www.thepapertiger.com/support/articles.php?id=20240901&catId=20008411
Q: Is it difficult to add more items to an existing location after it is set up? For example, if I have 20 items in action location, then I need there to be 30, is this difficult to change?
A: No, not difficult at all. You would simply click the Locations box, then click to edit the Location that you need to increase the capacity, and you’ll be able to input 30 in the capacity box and save.
Q: I am a faculty member at a university and have many files that I use for multiple purposes or classes etc. I may have a file that I use for 2 different courses and 2 different writing or research projects. Any suggestions?
Q: Would I or could I keep the folder tab labels as is, in addition to the Paper Tiger labels? For example, my cell phone folder is currently “AT&T cell” – and so I would add whatever label Paper Tiger assigns – such as “Reference 1″?
A: You can keep both labels if you like on each hanging file folder, but yes you would need to match the label that Paper Tiger assigns when you index the file in Paper Tiger’s database. In your example, you would have 2 tab labels on your hanging file folder. One tab would be entitled AT&T cell and the second tab would be Reference 1.
Q: I have a couple of file drawers that “work” – that I want to keep more or less as is. I suppose I would call them reference files – they are mainly files that I file paid bills from our vendors, or keep correspondence from my office landlord, or to access (paper) forms/worksheets that we need every so often. Would I start by clearing this file drawer out, then enter them into Paper Tiger and file them back into the same drawer? Also, as I pay each bill, say my cell phone bill, I don’t want to have to enter that into the system or look anything up on the computer – I just want to file it. Can I do it that way or do I need to enter each bill as I pay it? (Am I over-thinking this?)
A: I think you are over-thinking this. Yes, you can index each file folder that you currently have in your file drawers. Depending on the location of your file drawers, will depend on if you need to take them out to index them. Base that decision on convenience more than anything. For example, if you’re indexing file drawers in your desk, you can just take it 1 folder at a time indexing as you go. For your cell phone bill, simply file it in the hanging file folder that you already have set up for your cell phone bills, and there wouldn’t be any reason to add anything to Paper Tiger at that point for the new bill you’re putting in file, unless you want to add a note about a specific month.
Q: Is there any recommendation for how often we should stop to print file tabs and create new file folders, i.e., as you need them or at the end of the day, etc.?
A: It is recommended that you print file tabs for each Location for as many as you want to have ready to be filed into. For example, you might print file tabs for 50 to begin with, go ahead and insert the file tabs in the plastic file inserts and affix onto the hanging file folders. You now have 50 ready to file into. When you have filed into 40, increase the capacity of this Location to 75 or 100, then print file tabs for 51-75 or 51-100. This way, you won’t have to keep printing and inserting tabs everyday.
Q: Is it recommended that the Paper Tiger filing system can be used for “organizing tasks” that aren’t paper-based and don’t require paper to be put into folders…just organizing “actions”?
A: Yes, you can do organize anything that you can put a number onto or just make notes in the database, which will allow you to search for the “action” later. We have used Paper Tiger for ideas, so it would work just as well for organizing tasks or actions.
Q: I love Paper Tiger, but find some of the moves are non-intuitive such as the use of confirmation to get rid of trash or to transfer.
A: You can choose to require a confirmation when using the Transfer function, or you can say No that you do not want to require confirmation. You would check the radio button to require confirmation while transferring the item.
Requiring confirmation will allow you to print out a Transfer Report prior to Confirming so that you can verify the location the item will be moved to or have your assistant physically move the item(s) by checking off the report, then check Confirm in Paper Tiger to affirm the job has been completed.
Q: Did you have to physically move the folder?
A: Yes, when you transfer an item from one Location to another in Paper Tiger’s database, you will need to move the physical item (the paper files or other physical item), to match the item number in Paper Tiger where it has been moved to in the database. So you take papers out of the hanging file folder and leave folder behind and it becomes open. Keep file folder in place. Otherwise what you’re organizing by indexing into Paper Tiger will be compromised, and when you search in Paper Tiger, the item will not be in the correct location.
Q: What if you don’t use hanging files, such as manilla file folders?
A: You would simply use the same concept of applying the labels to your manilla folders instead of the hanging file folder plastic tabs.
Q: What happens when you complete activity and want to move to another location
A: You would conduct a Transfer, Move function. See our knowledge base article at http://thepapertiger.com/support/articles.php?id=141137&catId=230
Q: Do you have anyone on your staff or are you aware of any clients who have successfully interfaced and implemented the concepts introduced in David Allen’s book entitled, GETTING THINGS DONE- The Art of Stress-Free Productivity? He puts forth a system for utilizing files and places to put things, etc.
A: Anne conducts a demonstration in this webinar, but we also have another demonstration by Michelle Panzlaff at Using Paper Tiger as a Getting Things Done (GTD) Task List Manager
Other comment: When I first started using Paper Tiger about ten years ago, I made too many locations and different files. In effect, I made more work for myself. It took awhile to simplify. I am now down to three or four.
You may have already heard of the 100 Thing Challenge. It is the idea that people do not need more than 100 things in their homes and life. The belief is that by cutting down on the amount of things you own, you will bring more joy and simplicity to your life. You may not be ready, willing or able to make this kind of drastic commitment, but you may still be able to have some of this same joy by simplifying to some degree and organizing the rest.
If you feel your home or office conditions are causing you unnecessary stress, it is time to make some changes. If you feel the things you own are beginning to own you, it is time to regain some control. If you feel you have been avoiding going into your garage, attic or offsite storage unit because you can’t bear to see all that stuff, you owe it to yourself to at least consider simplifying and organizing the rest.
The most basic rule of simplifying is taking the time to sort through and evaluate what you have. Separate items into piles such as “Keep,” “Sell” and “Donate.” It isn’t about going off the deep end and getting rid of everything including things you will later come to need. In fact, when in doubt, always keep something if you are hesitant. The next time you go through and do a spring cleaning, you may know for sure if a particular item really can go or if you are glad you kept it.
Once you have narrowed down your personal “inventory”, you can decide what you will keep out, what gets stored in the home, office, basement, or rented storage unit if there is even still a need for one. Ask other family members to get involved. Each person can take care of their own belongings and help decide on the items that are shared by the entire family.
Then decide how you will go about selling the items to be sold, and where to drop off the items to be donated. Then make plans to do it instead of putting it off until another time.
For items that you decide to keep, your best bet is to use Paper Tiger Filing System software. Getting organized means not having to fight clutter, wonder where something is or search for an item or paper file again. You can use Paper Tiger’s indexing system to keep track of anything that can be numbered. This could be paper files in your filing cabinet, your craft supplies, your Xbox game collection or your book collection, whether the items are in your home, office or require storage in an off-site location.
Type into Paper Tiger’s indexing system whatever is going into each file or bin and use as many possible keywords you can think of for the items. This will help at a later time when you need to conduct a search and can’t recall what you may have called the item or if someone else needs to do a search and isn’t sure what you may have called the item in the system. That’s all there is to it really. Your bins or files can be numbered and put away until you need them again without worry that you’ll be able to find them when you need them. Do a regular spring cleaning and be sure to update your indexing system database to reflect the addition, move, or removal of any items.
After all, getting organized is half the battle — being able to easily and quickly retrieve those items and knowing where they should be returned to is the other half of the battle to stay organized.
During this webinar, Anne discussed the basic concept of Paper Tiger to organize both paper files and other physical items of which you need to keep track so that you can find them when you need them. She demonstrated the following to show how to use Paper Tiger more effectively so you can get organized and be more productive.
Find Anything In Your Office In 5 Seconds or Less…Guaranteed! Watch the webinar to learn more.
As information, Anne is a professional speaker, productivity expert, professional organizer and author. If you want to learn more about Anne and her services, please visit her website at www.StrategizeAndOrganize.com.
She may be in Colorado (and sometimes in Arizona!), but she’s nationally recognized as an expert and works with people throughout the US in person and virtually.
See Anne’s SPECIAL, contact her to get on her schedule and you’ll be more productive in no time!
You can contact Anne at amcgurty@strategizeandorganize.com or by phone at 303 881-0174.
See more information here on Paper Tiger Filing System Software for Document Management
Q: Can Paper Tiger be used on a Mac?
A: Paper Tiger Online works on any computer with an Internet access including Mac. Browsers supported:
-Mozilla Firefox 3 and newer
-Safari 3 and newer
-Google Chrome 4 and newer
-Internet Explorer 7 and newer
Our desktop, downloadable version of Paper Tiger is a Windows only software so if you wanted a version that wasn’t web-based, you would need to install Paper Tiger desktop onto a virtual Windows program for the Mac such as Virtual Box which is free or Parallels or Virtual Box.
Q: I missed the first half did we discuss photo storage?
A: No, Anne didn’t cover photo storage, but this blog post might be helpful to you: http://www.thepapertiger.com/blog/organizing-memorabilia-organized-living/
Q: is the “Notes” section a searchable field?
A: No, the Notes section is not searchable. Paper Tiger searches “Item Name” and “Keywords” sections.
Q: What if my clients really want their files named, instead of numbered? I understand the logic of PT numbering system, but many of my clients will also want to be able to look at their folders and find things visually instead of using PT.
A: We have had people to put 2 tabs on each hanging file folder; one with the item name and one with the item number that Paper Tiger assigns to it. Alternatively, you can see our blog post regarding Alphabetic Method for Paper Tiger Online at http://www.thepapertiger.com/blog/alphabetic-method-for-paper-tiger-online/ but it is not as convenient.
Q: I’m a bit confused – is “location” a physical location (i.e., garage), with items in the list (i.e., holiday items)? It seems like “Holiday Items” and “Action” would be items within a location, and not locations themselves.
A: “Locations” in Paper Tiger can be for either physical locations or types of items being organized. In this instance, Action would the Location because you would be filing actionable items/projects as Items within the Action Location.
Holiday Items could be a Location itself if you have a lot of different ‘holiday themes’. For example, if you have a “Holiday Items” Location, you could have Items within named Valentines Day, Easter, Spring, Summer, Fall/Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc., for each holiday theme box. Then the Keywords for each Item would be listed as what is in each box. You might find this blog post helpful: Filing System Software to Help Organize Holiday Decorations
If however, you only had 1 box that contained all of your holiday items and you had that box located in the garage, you could name your Location “Garage” and box 11 contained your holiday items. “Garage” would be the name of your Location in Paper Tiger, and “Box 11″ or “Holiday Items” would be your Item #11, your keywords would be the list of contents in that box.
Also, please see our knowledge base at http://thepapertiger.com/support/articles.php?id=205263&catId=230 for a description of what a Location is in Paper Tiger.
Q: How do you use Paper Tiger to organize files on your computer?
A: If you have a Paper Tiger Online Basic or Pro account, you would be able to use the Digital Tiger function. Digital Tiger is a free add-on with a paid Paper Tiger Online Basic or Pro account for now, to connect your Paper Tiger Online account to your Google Docs account. Then you will be able to search from one place to find both your paper/physical items that you’ve indexed into Paper Tiger, and your digital files that you have in Google Docs. The way it works is described on our web page at http://www.thepapertiger.com/digital_tiger. To prepare for Digital Tiger, you can create, scan or upload your digital files to Google Docs.
If you have the desktop version of Paper Tiger instead, the only way to make Paper Tiger work to organize electronic files in it’s current format, is to treat your electronic or scanned documents as if they were paper. You would need to make the decision as to how you want documents filed, including ‘naming system’ (how you want documents named to match the way you organize your files on your hard-drive.)
As you may already know, in the Paper Tiger database, Location is a physical Location for storing Folders, such as a file cabinet or a desk drawer that relates to a Location within the Paper Tiger filing software. Item Name is the descriptive name you give a hanging folder or in your case, an electronic folder.
You would decide how to name your ‘Location’ electronic folders, then have the same Location name in the Paper Tiger database. Once your document is scanned and named according to your decided ‘naming system procedure’ on your hard-drive, then you could input the document name into the Item Name field and as many keywords as possible relating to each document into the Keywords section of the Paper Tiger database.
Whenever you need to find an item then, you would be able to search Paper Tiger, which would direct you back to your electronic file folder location.
Or alternatively, you could use Google Docs separately as a digital file storage location, and possibly a backup system for the files on your computer, and conduct your digital file searches in Google Docs.
Our friend, Stephanie Calahan has pulled together some amazing, giving experts and together they are going to share all!
Visit Fire Up Your Biz – Enrich Your Life! to get signed up for free. You can attend one session or all of them!
As an entrepreneur you need to confidently take your business to the next level… if you’re not, you may be going nowhere fast… In fact if you are like 95% of business owners, you are already there…in the area of a million ideas and nothing getting done. Fire Up Your Biz – Enrich Your Life was created to help you weed through all of that. Say “YES” to getting the right systems and processes in place so that your business can thrive. Say “YES” to getting your message out in a big way and you’re ideal clients say yes to investing in themselves and get great results because they worked with you. Say YES to weeding out all the distractions, fears and other things holding you back so that your business can take root and deliver back to you the benefits that you want from it! The sessions are free and value packed. Sign up today to Fire Up Your Biz – Enrich Your Life!
If you’re like many business owners, you know a ton of stuff about the field you’re in. You’re a hard worker. You have tried a number of things to manage your time, space and information, but systems and processes just don’t stick.
Why is it when it comes to staying focused and getting things done, you feel like a failure? It’s not true, of course, but it can feel that way.
As entrepreneurs, we can be fun, dynamic, creative, inventive, expansive thinkers, out-of-the-box thinkers, quick-think-on-your-feet thinkers, adaptable, sensitive, and frequently have above-average intelligence.
We can also experience what can seem like odd paradoxes in behavior:
- Easily distracted one day and hyper focused the next
- Unaware of details one day and compulsive about details the next
- Assertive and demanding one day and then passive the next
- Amazingly forgetful sometimes and memory for the most minute detail the next
- Very unorganized in some aspects of life but extremely organized with elaborate systems in another aspect.
- Desiring structure but rebelling against it or abandoning structure
- Risk taker that can be stopped by endless “what-if”scenarios
- Even an Outgoing Introvert
“You can’t get there alone. In fact, you can’t get very far at all.”
~ Keith Ferrazzi – author of Never Eat Alone
Does that feel familiar? If so, I invite you to join Stephanie and the expert line-up to Fire Up Your Biz – Enrich Your Life!
Get focused and TAKE ACTION!
Do you wish you had a business consultant right by your side helping you make the hundreds of critical decisions that you are faced with daily? Have you looked at other successful business owners and wondered how they were able to figure it out? Now you can find out!
We’re going to share all of the secrets that you need to get your business — and your life — on track. Get the benefit of advice, brainstorms and business shortcuts from global business consultants/coaches, who are bringing their ‘best game’ to the table.
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Here are the 20 confirmed sessions, but there are more in the works!
NOTE: dates/times subject to change. Please register to receive updates on changes.
Depressing Desks and Psychic Debris: Cleaning up the Work Space by De-cluttering the Head Trash
(Regina Lark – https://www.facebook.com/AClearPath – 01/18 @ 11AM CST)
Cluttered minds and cluttered closets weigh us down, thwart productivity, and make it difficult to move forward with ease and a sense of clarity. Negative thinking blocks the light of positivity, and overwhelmed spaces block us from the simplistic life. The clutter and chaos of this “psychic debris” often reflects the clutter and chaos of our living spaces, but just how do we clear the debris? Join me in listening in to Regina Lark and Stephanie Calahan present Depressing Desks and Psychic Debris: Cleaning up the Work Space by De-cluttering the Head Trash.
Unlock the Secret to Achieving Your Profit Goals
(Nicole Fende http://www.facebook.com/smallbizfinance 01/19 @ 11AM CST)
Join Numbers Whisperer Nicole Fende, and her trusty companion Fluffy the Finance Feline, for a session that is sure to super charge your profits. You will learn a simple exercise that uses only 4 numbers to boost your bottom line. Stephanie Calahan will be talking with Nicole as she shares the same strategies she uses for her profit coaching clients to help them reach multi-platinum profits.
Mindset Matters: Secrets to a Powerful Mindset
(Des Gray http://www.facebook.com/DesGrayMindWorks 01/19 @ 7PM CST)
Behind every achievement, every action, every communication and every stress point – there hides a mindset. If you want to get more, do more and ‘be more’ – you need to know what’s under the hood, and more importantly, how to drive it. Des Gray and Stephanie Calahan will help you discover insights that will open new doors and opportunities.
We’ve Got To Stop Meeting Like This: How to Run Meetings that Actually Get Things Done
(Debbie Rosemont http://www.facebook.com/simplyplaced 01/25 @ 11AM CST)
Meetings are a critical activity yet people complain that meeting are boring, unproductive and a waste of time and money. Time, energy and money invested are too valuable to waste. Listen in on this session as Stephanie Calahan talks with Debbie Rosemont to discuss how to eradicate bad meeting habits and replace them with good!
Get the Right Support for Your Business, Inside and Out
(Marcia Hoeck 01/26 @ 11AM CST)
In order to be excellent at the things you and only you can do, you need the right support from people, both inside and outside your company. It’s difficult going out and slaying the dragons every day, and without the right people around you, it will be a lot harder. Join Marcia Hock and Stephanie Calahan as they uncover how to get the right team in place and make them thrilled to thrill you.
Get Time and Tasks Managed Quickly
(Michelle Panzlaff http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tidy-Tiger-Solutions/104767006250472 01/26 @ 7PM CST)
Do you have a pile of to-dos on your desk? Will one more sticky note completely cover your monitor? Mastering how to get things done without guilt and without costly rework is critical to moving your business forward. Join Stephanie Calahan as she talks with Michelle Panzlaff to learn how.
Conquering Your Fear with a Knockout Punch
(Dr. Shannon Reece http://facebook.com/drshannonreecefans 02/1 @ 11AM CST)
To succeed in the competitive world of business you must learn the right skills to combat the enemy within. The truth is that everyone experiences fear. Knowing how to deal with it, and defeat it is the difference between average and excellence in business. Discover how to change your fear from a liability into an asset. Stephanie Calahan will be talking with Dr. Shannon Reece to help you uncover and eliminate the fears that are holding you back.
The 3 Surprising Keys that Open the Door to Small Business Abundance
(Andrea Feinberg http://www.facebook.com/andrea.feinberg 02/02 11AM CST)
A recent survey of 3000 small business owners revealed a shocker: 91% believe the dream life they imagined when they first started in business will never be real. Well, it can be but it takes a massive rejection of the conventional route to business success. In this conversation, long-time business owner and coach to business owners Andrea Feinberg will talk with Stephanie Calahan and share 3 critical mind sets that must be in place if you want a business that runs like a well-oiled machine, whether you’re there or not, and allows you to focus on building all your tomorrows; this is life on your terms.
A Busy Family’s Guide to Getting Organized So You Can Live Your Best Life and Still Enjoy Your Family
(Ellen Delap http://EllenDelapProfessionalOrganizer 02/02 7PM CST)
It’s 5pm… no dinner on the stove but laundry is in the living room and your kids are nowhere to be seen! Join Certified Professional Organizer and Certified Family Manager Coach Ellen Delap as she is interviewed by Stephanie Calahan to learn how to pull it all together: your family, your time and the rest of the stuff too!
From Procrastination to DONE!
(Carrie Greene http://facebook.com/carriethru 02/08 11AM CST)
95% of the population is prone to procrastination AND 25% are chronic procrastinators. Procrastination is more than just annoying. Procrastination leads to loss of money, time and energy. Procrastination leads to overwhelm and stress. It’s time to stop putting off till tomorrow what you can get paid for today! Listen as Stephanie Calahan talks with Carrie Greene on how to go from procrastination to done!
5 Keys to Social Media Success: Do it Right, Stop Wasting Time and Get Results!
(Janet Slack http://facebook.com/solopreneurbiz 02/09 11AM CST)
Social media is the most powerful new marketing tool in decades and you owe it to your business to have a true understanding of how it works. It’s time to get down to the nitty gritty on social media and find out how to use it effectively to grow your business. There are lots of myths and misconceptions about social media marketing and it is time to learn exactly what works and what doesn’t. Learn what you need to do BEFORE you begin and how to maximize your use of your time on the sites. Whether you are using Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or Google+, you’ll want to join Stephanie Calahan and Janet Slack as Janet shares tried and true ideas on how to leverage these hugely powerful tools to benefit your business. You won’t want to miss this session – we are going straight to the heart of the matter – with a focus on specific strategies to make you successful.
How to Overcome your Mental Money Barriers, and Break Free to Success
(Georgina Sweeney 02/09 7PM CST)
Join Stephanie Calahan as she talks with Georgina Sweeney about How to Overcome your Mental Money Barriers, and Break Free to Success. In Georgina’s exciting breakthrough session, not only will you learn new ways of thinking that you can apply immediately in your business to achieve greater success, you’ll also experience mindset shifts right on the call! Georgina will share the strategies and exact same thinking that she used to take her business from nearly standstill to over $100,000 in less than four months – without a website, a list or even business cards! This and more awaits you!
Networking for Success
(Heather Townsend http://www.facebook.com/theefficiencycoach 02/15 11AM CST)
The strength of your network can literally mean the difference between success and failure. Get your networking right and the business will start pouring in. Get it wrong and it just becomes a demoralising time-consuming activity. The rules of the networking game have been changed by the social networking – have you adapted your networking strategy to harness the power of on-line AND offline networking? In this session, Stephanie Calahan will talk with Heather Townsend as she explains how she managed to grow a six figure business (and secure a lucrative book deal in the process), by building a powerful network – without any prior sales or marketing experience.
Top Tech Tools for Busy Business Owners
(Brandie Kajino http://www.facebook.com/bkajino 02/15 7PM CST)
So many choices! If you are like me, you know you need tools in order to get the important things done in your business. Too many choices, not sure how to decide and fearful of choosing the wrong tool? It can be a bit frustrating and overwhelming! Join Stephanie Calahan as she “gets the goods” from Brandie Kajino talking about Top Tech Tools for Busy Business Owners. Feel empowered by the new technology rather than confused & feeling like pulling your hair out! Don’t miss the 10 essential tools you might not be able to live without!
Conquer Email Overload
(Stephanie Shalofsky http://www.facebook.com/organizingzone 02/16 11AM CST)
How often have you started your day by checking email only to find that two hours later you are still checking email? It’s time to take charge of your email so that you’ll have more time in your day. Stephanie Calahan will be talking with Stephanie Shalofsky to uncover the juicy details of email management. By the end of this session you will have a list of email strategies and tips that you can start applying immediately.
Passion Management: How to Juggle/Prioritize all of the Passions We Have
(Lisa Montanaro http://www.facebook.com/LMOrganizingSolutions 02/16 7PM CST)
Do you have more than one passion and get overwhelmed with trying to decide which to do and which to implement? In this session Stephanie Calahan and Lisa Montanaro will take a look at “Passion Management” and how to manage all of the passions that you want to tackle in your business and life.
Five Secrets to Streamline Your Work Flow
(Miriam Ortiz y Pino http://www.facebook.com/morethanorganized 02/22 11AM CST)
Listen in as Stephanie Calahan interviews Miriam Ortiz y Pino about the Five Secrets to Streamline Your Work Flow. Discover how to clear space to create and support for your ideas to flourish, so you feel energized and essential. Learn why workflows increase the appraised value of your business and how to save over 6 weeks a year, so that you can do those things you have been putting off.
When Life Interferes: Making it through Life’s Transitions as a Business Owner
(Sue West https://www.facebook.com/SueWestOrganizingCoach 02/23 11AM CST)
Changes interrupt life. Big life changes need our attention, yet so does our business. Join Stephanie Calahan as she and Sue West, Certified Organizer Coach® discuss time strategies, work strategies and home management strategies to get you through the life change.
TiME Strategies for the Busy Entrepreneur
(Allyson Lewis http://www.facebook.com/AllysonLewis.SevenMinutes 02/23 7PM CST)
TiME™ STRATEGIES for the Busy Entrepreneur offers proven concrete steps for prioritizing, organizing and simplifying your work in today’s over stimulated and interrupted life. This interactive session with Stephanie Calahan and Allyson Lewis provides an extensive step-by-step program with strategies for achieving results in today’s work place by offering the fundamentals for radical change.
Solopreneur Motivation Secrets: Create the Work Environment and Results You Want
(Elaine Quinn http://www.facebook.com/pages/No-Place-Like-Working-From-Home/196504717026980? 02/29 11AM CST)
Working from home isn’t for everybody. There are unique challenges that face almost all solopreneurs. Among the most uncomfortable are the lack of structure, systems and support. However, with a little mindset adjustment it’s possible to stay motivated and productive. Join Stephanie Calahan as she talks with Elaine Quin about Soloprener Motivation Secrets: Create the Work Environment and Results You Want.
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Please join us for this FREE one hour webinar hosted by productivity expert, Stephanie Calahan of Calahan Solutions, Inc. Learn how take control of the clutter in your office once and for all.
The average person wastes 150 hours per year just looking for things. To make it worse, the average executive wastes 6 weeks a year looking for things!
Does that sound familiar? We know it does to many.
THIS WEBINAR IS FOR YOU IF:
WHAT WE WILL COVER:
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As many of you know, Stephanie is a dynamic entrepreneur, nationally known speaker, author/publisher and productivity organization consultant, and business coach, and in addition a Paper Tiger Expert. Please visit www.ProductiveAndOrganized.net to learn more about Stephanie and the services she provides.
To learn more about Paper Tiger and Digital Tiger, visit www.thepapertiger.com
Stephanie LH Calahan – Calahan Solutions, Inc.
Unleash Your Profit Potential! Productive & Organized – We’ll help you find your way.™
+1.309.663.1360 | Skype: StephanieCalahan
Blog: www.ProductiveAndOrganized.net
Social Media: www.SocialWithSteph.com
Podcast: www.DailyProductivityTips.com
Facebook: www.StephOnFacebook.com
Media Room: www.CalahanSolutions.net
Site: www.CalahanSolutions.com
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Just because your small business consists of just one CPA, which is you, doesn’t mean you can’t be taken seriously as a professional. Whether you run your own insurance agency, travel agency, medical practice, antique store or any other type of small, independent business, you can get organized in a manner that will have your customers, clients or patients seeing you as professional as any larger, established business. The details are important, and one of the most vital steps is to be organized.
Getting organized is not just about putting things away or cleaning it up, but also to be able to retrieve those items again at the time that you need them. An important office management tool to assist you in retrieval is to use Paper Tiger Filing System software to keep track of what you have, what you are storing and where it is being stored so that the items can be easily and quickly retrieved. Whether you need to find a receipt for tax purposes or that antique plate for a customer, indexing your documents and other items you need to keep track of will cut down on time spent looking for items and cut down on stress because you can’t find something when needed.
Even if you are the owner, operator and entrepreneur behind your own home office based business, you have to keep things organized and make sure to keep your office area decluttered. The main trick to this is keeping your records in order. While many businesses and offices are switching to keep things as paperless as possible, it is not realistic to expect you will not have any physical documents to manage. Not to mention, some physical documentation just can’t be paperless, such as passports, books, binders, CDs, etc. For one reason or another, you are going to have some paper files or other documents, and have to create a filing system.
Thinking like a small business is one way businesses take a wrong turn. If you think like a small business, you will end up acting like one. In return your potential customers, clients or patients will see you the same way. Go ahead and envision your business as growing into the next megastar in the industry. Set yourself up for success this way.
One way you can do this is to make sure your office has the organization required to function like a larger business, agency or practice. It starts with the filing system you have set in place. As an example, if you have a travel agency and a couple comes in and you want to show them brochures for a trip to Italy, but cannot locate the documentation you need, you are going to come across as unprofessional. Not to mention, you will more than likely end up losing out on business each time you struggle to find some sort of document. This is true for any records for any type of business. People have less time than ever to wait while you try to find their health records, tax filing or whatever records they want or need.
Getting Paper Tiger file indexing system software in place is a great way to make the most of your record management system. What this software does is enable you to type into your database not only the names of files but also many other keywords that you could name each file. By using different search terms for each record, you will never have to struggle to recall what you’ve named the file and you’re not confined to the one or two-word name on the hanging file folder tab if you were filing alphabetically. To retrieve the document you will use the filing system software search engine to type in one of the possible keywords and your software will tell you exactly what file number it is and where it is located.
So for paper filing, you would first set up all hanging file folders in your file cabinets at one time using the numbered tabs that you print out from the software and they never change. You input information relating to each document in the database’s digital file location. Paper Tiger assigns the file number to the document or set of relating documents that you want to put in the same hanging file folder. You can give the document any name you want without any worry about finding it later. This is because the system will allow you to tag keywords that describe all documents that you put in your hanging file folders. For documents that you want to add to the same file, simply edit the Item and add additional keywords necessary for the new document(s).
Because the hanging file folders are already setup and waiting for your information, you eliminate the time-consuming hassle of having to find and create a file folder and tab each time you want to file something. Again, the software will assign an index number to each file you add to be put in the first available empty hanging folder.
When you’ve converted your filing system to Paper Tiger, and you need to find a file later, you simply conduct a Google-like search in the database for whatever keyword you’re thinking on that day to find where your file is located.
By indexing your paper files that need to be kept in hard copy, you don’t have to spend hours searching through stacks or boxes or filing cabinets just to find one particular file. It has never been easier to keep track of important company documents, and using Paper Tiger Filing System Software for document management will help you get organized and stay organized! And remember, anything that you can put a number onto, you can index into Paper Tiger for an organized life!
This article by Sherry Borsheim, a Paper Tiger Expert of International Association of Business Organizing (IABO), is a great step by step approach to getting your desk cleared of clutter to ensure a more productive environment. Sherry always recommends Paper Tiger Filing System software for document management to help you find your paper files and other items again after finding a home for them.
It’s that time of year when we begin to move more outdoors, taking in the crisp fresh air and feeling a sense of renewal. Getting your office and home organized helps to bring that wonderful fresh feeling back into your life. It’s also the perfect time to access where you are with the commitments you made to yourself in January. Did you set out to be more active this year, be on-time for meetings and ahead of deadlines, or maybe you set out to be better organized? Take a close look around your office and honestly ask yourself these 3 questions:
1. “Where are the piles accumulating?”
2. “What items don’t have a home?”
3. “Is your Inbox on your computer overflowing with 100’s or 1000’s of emails?”
Your answers to these questions will give you a clue to where you are to begin your spring cleaning project. Most people only use 20 per cent of what they have 80 per cent of the time. So, let’s get moving and clear command central!
Day 1: Start with the Visible Piles First
To clear command central and to see dramatic visible results immediately, start with the top of your desk first. Most people will start with hidden piles in boxes or items in a drawer and after 2 hours they feel like they have not accomplished anything. Grab a couple of boxes and then take every single piece of paper off your desk and put it into box number one. Use the second box for other desk items, such as pens, CDs, paper clips and whatever else you have on your desk. Now pick up the first piece of paper and use the F.A.S.T. Principle ™ – File it, Act on it, Schedule it, Toss it. Handle each piece of paper in less than 60 seconds. Get rid of any nick-knacks that clutter up your desk.
Action Tip: Play your favorite music and set a timer for 1-2 hours.
Day 2: Always Work in One Area at a Time
When you walked into your office today, how did it feel to have a clear desk? Let’s continue the process by tackling the piles on the floor. Once again, use the F.A.S.T. Principle ™ – File it, Act on it, Schedule it, Toss it. Handle each file or piece of paper in less than 60 seconds. There’s no time for evaluating here. The object of the game is to get this done as fast as possible. Getting organized is a clarifying, cleansing way of connecting to what’s really important to you. You should enjoy the process and reward yourself along the way.
Action Tip: Beware of the cost of clutter – it costs time, money, and space to take care of things you don’t use. Play your favorite music and set a timer for 1-2 hours.
Day 3: Create Zones in Your Office
Think of your work area as different activity zones. Consider how you move things across your desk, what items you use most frequently, and what relationship materials have with different desk activities. Command central zones would be:
1. An In Tray for incoming mail;
2. An Out Tray for outgoing mail
3. To File Tray for papers to be filed
4. Project file zone
5. Reference file zone
6. Resources area
Action Tip: Group like activities together and label for quick and easy access.
Day 4: Conquer the Email Traffic Jam
Incoming email, not managed properly, can become a significant drain on productivity. The more email piles up, the less useful it is to the user & company. An empty Inbox is a delight to look at! It reminds users they are fully caught up. The purpose of an Inbox is a temporary resting ground for information and actions temporarily before they are read. Apply the F.A.S.T. Principle ™ from day one.
Action Tip: My definition of clutter is “Anything you HAVE or DO that does not enhance your life on a regular basis.
Day 5: Organizing is a Process Not a Destination
Congratulate yourself for taking action this week and clearing off your desk! Remember, organizing is a continual process of re-evaluating what your goals are, what activities you enjoy, what you don’t enjoy. Continually ask yourself these questions:
1. “Does it work?”
2. “Do I like it?”
3. “Does it work for others?”
Action Tips: Be willing to adjust your systems as your professional and personal life evolves. Don’t worry about mistakes and just keep learning!
Week In Review:
This week we learned that in order to clear command central you start with the visible items first. Also, work in one area at a time and create activity zones in your office to increase efficiency and effectiveness.
About the Author
Sherry Borsheim, owner of International Association of Business Organizing (IABO), has been helping people to work smarter, not harder for years. She specializes in resolving paper, time and information management issues. To learn more about eliminating the paper pile-up and in vastly improving your productively, contact Simply Productive at 604-233-7076.
This article by Denise Landers, founder and CEO of Key Organization Systems Inc. and Paper Tiger Expert, will help encourage and empower you to do something about the piles on your desk and get organized! Denise also recommends Paper Tiger Filing System Software and Document Management to help with your filing system and actually be able to find what you need, when you need it.
“Don’t touch my piles! I know where everything is.”
Do you have someone in your business who is accountable to you and who says that? If you do, you should be concerned. Chances are good this person is not nearly as productive as he or she could be because the piles have to keep shifting to locate information. However, there is another factor impacting business accountability. When the only person in a company who can find something needed is that person whose office it is buried in, there is no accountability within a department.
No one ever likes to foresee emergencies and extended absences. Even short, unplanned absences can be problems. While you probably know the general projects a colleague is working on, would you be able to easily fill in during two weeks of unplanned absences, knowing who they needed to call each day, and where they had left off on the current project? Would you be able to find important contracts and reports within seconds, not minutes?
If you are working with someone who looks disorganized to others, but who guards his or her piles of papers with the explanation that he or she knows where everything is, that person may simply have no knowledge of how to create an effective system for handling daily work flow. On another level, it can represent an effort to retain control and maintain job security because no one could take over amid the disorder.
Almost everyone today is working at full capacity in struggling to manage time effectively and get more done. Having to fill in for an employee who is absent without advance planning adds to the strain on colleagues as they strive to cover for that team member.
The next time you hear someone say that he is not disorganized, but that he can find anything amid the stacks in his office, consider the bottom line for your business’ accountability. That disorganization not only slows down an individual’s personal daily productivity, but can directly impact the company’s production efforts.
To achieve accountability, give your staff the training that will develop company-wide processes for handling work flow. While everyone has different duties, creating effective systems and then tailoring them for the individual job functions will allow you to cover for each other as well as increase personal effectiveness.
If you could use ideas on how to create effective systems for your office, our training CDs, The Productivity Series can guide you in setting up easy-to-implement systems for managing time, paper, and email.
Denise Landers @timetrainer
Key Organization Systems, Inc.
School is a major part of any child’s life. It’s also a huge commitment on the part of parents from both a time and money perspective. Organization is the key when going to school.
You may have children starting school for the very first time, or going back to school at a higher grade level. Overall the same principles should apply. The better organized you are, the better it will be for you and your children.
Purchase School Supplies and Wall Calendar
Most schools provide a list of supplies needed to bring with them, i.e., pens, pencils, folders (can be color-coded), labels, highlighters, etc.
Backpacks are essential for carrying books, papers and other supplies. According to the experts, contents of the backpack should be no more than 10-20% of the child’s weight.
If you live in the U.S., check the Sales Tax Holidays at http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/rate/sales_holiday.html for individual states before shopping.
A wall calendar will be necessary to ensure everyone keeps up with the new schedule, with after-school and/or sports activities. If you can, use an online calendar that both you and children can update with important dates. This will be helpful if you’re a working parent with a busy life, trying to juggle work and school commitments. It can be updated and either of you can access it from anywhere.
Establish a Routine
• Start a few days before school and have your child(ren) go to bed and get up at the normal time to get ready for school.
• Plan your evenings so they will be able to go to bed at a time to get the required amount of sleep for each individual child. According to National Sleep Foundation, “Sleep is especially important for children as it directly impacts mental and physical development.” See http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/sleep-topics/children-and-sleep
- Set a regular time for bed each night and stick to it
- Avoid feeding children big meals close to bedtime
- Avoid giving anything with caffeine less than six hours before bedtime
- Make after-dinner playtime a relaxing time
- Establish a calming bedtime routine
• Plan for a healthy breakfast and healthy snacks for each day, so they will have the energy to handle the day’s activities.
• Plan for homework and exercise/play time.
• Every night before going to bed, have children get in the habit of picking out their clothes for the next day and packing their backpacks. This will ensure that you don’t have to iron something in the morning or a last minute search for that paper that needs to be signed and turned in.
• Get together periodically (daily or weekly) to talk about what projects are due, when they are due, and what supplies are needed so that you won’t have a last minute run to the store the night before a project is due.
• Once school starts, the calendar will quickly fill up with activities. Study will be a major component. Teach children to schedule their homework times so they don’t become overwhelmed, and don’t wait till the last minute to complete assignments.
Learn Productivity and Organizational Skills
Try this great resource of activities to help your child succeed in school and learn productivity and organizational skills, as well: http://www2.ed.gov/parents/academic/help/succeed/index.html
To keep all the school papers and instructions organized, create a filing system where you can keep all records in one place. Receipts for everything associated with school can be included, in addition to information such as school reports, excursions and any extra curricular activities. These files can be indexed in Paper Tiger Document Management Software and Filing System so that when you need something, you can quickly conduct a search for the keyword relating to the item and find it quickly.
Organization is the key when going to school. If you can instill that fact in your children and follow the same plan yourself, then you won’t feel completely overwhelmed. This will also teach your children how to better manage stress and life balance.
Our public works office has been using the Paper Tiger software for several years. We use the software to keep our filing system in order, up to date, and user friendly. Currently, we use it to keep track of our general public works and archive files. This system has been so helpful in organizing our files.
When I first started working in our office, the filing system was very small, but over the years the amount of paper files grew substantially. With the growth our filing system, came the need for a better way to organize our files. I began the task of researching online for different types of filing programs that were both user friendly and would assist in getting our office and filing system back on track.
I ran across the Paper Tiger system online and after reading what it was all about, was convinced this is what we needed to organize our filing system. We purchased and installed the Paper Tiger Network version on a few of our computers, which has allowed not only me, but my coworkers to create, edit, and access files they are looking for. Saving everyone time and not leaving them reliant on only one person knowing where a specific file is located. Since implementing the Paper Tiger software, we have had so much success in organizing our filing system. Locating files is very easy and rarely is anything found misplaced.
In the last couple of years, our office has started using Paper Tiger to organize our paper maps. We have maps from subdivisions, maps of water and sewer lines, etc. These maps go back many years and were never really organized and it was always difficult to find the map you were looking for. By adding a “Maps” location to our filing system, we’ve been able to organize our paper maps and make them easily accessible to everyone in the office.
Earlier this year I saw that Paper Tiger was going online and that we would have the chance to beta-test it. We currently utilize an online system for work orders which has been very successful and eliminated the need for software on everyone’s computers. Knowing this, when I saw that Paper Tiger was doing the same I knew I had to try it out. Everyone in our office was very excited because this was something we had hoped for because we knew how great it was with our online work order system. We’ve beta-tested the Paper Tiger online version and can’t wait to sign up for the small business version. It will be so nice to not have to worry about updating software on each computer. Also, we won’t have to worry about the server where our database is stored crashing (which has happened to us a few times).
I saw today that the small business version will be available as of August 22, 2010 and we are counting the days until we can make the transition over to the online version. No longer will our office be reliant on a server that could crash at any moment in our office and lose all our filing information. Now we all will have easy access via the Paper Tiger online website, where everything is easily accessible, stored, and backed-up. Plus we can access it from anywhere if needed.
Our office has really enjoyed using the Paper Tiger software and look forward to continuing being a customer of Paper Tiger and utilizing their online program. Thanks for keeping our office organize!
Alissa Angelo
City of Stayton
Use Paper Tiger Document Management Software and Filing System to Help You Move!
Moving to a new home is categorized as one of the top five stressors in life. There’s no magic blueprint to follow because everyone is different. Organize as you pack and avoid the risk of overwhelming stress.
I recently moved to a new house and used Paper Tiger Online to help me get everything packed in a methodical way. As I packed each box, I listed the items in the Paper Tiger database.
• I first created a Location name in the Paper Tiger database for each room in the new house. (kitchen, dining room, living room, den, laundry room, basement, etc.)
• Printed several labels for each room to be placed on the boxes. (labels for kitchen, dining room, living room, den, laundry room, basement, etc.)
• When I filled a box, I would list each item in the Keywords section in the ‘location’ where it would go in the new house, placed the label onto the box and wrote the corresponding Item number on the label to match the Item number in Paper Tiger.
• After all boxes were packed and everything listed in Paper Tiger, I printed out a complete Item List Report, and then an Item List Report for each room. (Location)
I used the packing time as the perfect opportunity to do some spring cleaning and get rid of things we no longer needed.
• Shredded old files that needed to be tossed.
• Bagged clothing and other items no longer needed and dropped off to Goodwill.
You’re probably thinking this was quite a hassle while packing up, but actually it didn’t take that much more time. Unpacking was so much easier than any other move I’ve made, because everyone knew where the boxes should be placed. And with the Item List Report in each room, we didn’t have to search through every box to find something before it was unpacked. We just searched Paper Tiger!
Note (things to remember):
If you have help when packing, (whether it be professional movers or family members):
• Set up your Locations (room names) into Paper Tiger Online with a capacity of 20 in each Location,
• Give each member of the family a notepad and pen with instructions to write down everything as they pack and label each box correctly. You decide how the labeling will work so everyone understands and uses the same method. If this doesn’t happen, your system will fail miserably.
• Once everyone is finished, you can enter all of the information into your filing system so that you have a complete list of everything that’s being moved.
• One of the last things to do before packing up your computer and printer is to print off copies of your list for each Location (room name). This will be especially helpful if you don’t have Internet access on moving day.
I was so glad I used Paper Tiger Online! When we needed something that wasn’t unpacked yet, I just searched Paper Tiger and knew exactly what room and box number to find it. I avoided the chaos of having a mountain of boxes and no idea where anything was.
In today’s workplace environment, it’s frowned upon to discriminate against anyone for any reason whatsoever. It also suggests that everyone should have the same ability to find suitable work. Employers must be seen to treat everyone fairly.
ADD/ADHD Presents Specific Challenges
People who suffer from Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit & Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often have difficulty in workplaces for many reasons. If tasks are too mundane or take too long to complete, they can become difficult for the employee to handle.
This can create feelings of low self-esteem and may trigger the desire to quit work rather than cope with it. This challenge often proves to be a large obstacle to people who suffer from ADD/ADHD successfully finding and keeping jobs, especially if they’ve had a bad experience in the past.
Having ADD/ADHD means you have a chronic illness that can’t be cured. It doesn’t turn you into a “monster with 2 heads.” You’re still a human being who deserves the same opportunities everyone else has. Having a chronic illness that isn’t obviously visible doesn’t make it any less real. Add disorganization to the specific challenges of ADD/ADHD and you get more stress than normal, lack of concentration, confusion and a sense of panic.
Bring Sanity Back With Document Management Software
The great news is that document management software, like The Paper Tiger Document Management and Filing System Software brings sanity back into people’s lives. The Paper Tiger is very user friendly for anyone needing such a system. However, people who have ADD/ADHD have an added bonus in knowing that it’s so easy to use and is very logical, which means it doesn’t require an excessive amount of effort. This means files can be saved, archived, retrieved or discarded without the stress that traditional style systems have.
To better understand how filing system software can help you, just picture life without it. Desks piled high with overflowing folders full of documents. In and out trays full to capacity with more documents waiting to be added to the files. Everyone running around scratching their heads and trying to retrieve specific files so they can get back to the more demanding work. An unwieldy alphabetical filing system that forces people to waste hours of valuable time is something that makes no sense.
This picture can be summed up in just 3 words –
COSTLY, INEFFICIENT and FRUSTRATING!
Get Organized to Increase Office Efficiency and Moral
Imagine the possibilities if your new filing system software was able to help people facing these extra challenges to better cope. Just think how much more efficiently your whole company would run.
Now close your eyes and picture a row of desks with in trays and out trays containing just a few documents. The desktops have a few files here and there, and staff members are smiling as they carry out their daily tasks. That’s an example of how much impact the implementation of the right document management system can have on your staff and the company’s bottom line.
Naturally this software isn’t just for people with health problems. It’s designed to make life easier for everyone using it. Employers will have greater confidence in implementing such a user-friendly filing system. Employees will be able to better manage their time in order to focus on the more demanding tasks.
In any workplace, teamwork is a vital component of success. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. In a workplace, as in life, it’s up to everyone to cope with the cards they’ve been dealt. So if you can add the right document management system and increase efficiency for all, then that’s fantastic.
The one thing that people in all working environments agree on is that work should be manageable. The more user-friendly your filing system is, the better it will be for everyone.
Your IQ or mental capacity should make no difference. Knowing that user-friendly document management software brings sanity back into people’s lives, will enable you to create a better working atmosphere without breaking the bank.
The Paper Tiger Document Management Software and Filing System will get you on the right track and bring sanity to your life!
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The Many uses of The Paper Tiger
This article by Denise Landers, founder and CEO of Key Organization Systems Inc. and a Paper Tiger Expert, will help you save time and money, simply by taking steps to get organized. Denise also recommends The Paper Tiger Document Management and Filing System software to help keep track of all your paper files throughout the year.
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Are you interested in cutting costs and saving money?
Saving money in both business and personal spheres is not only a wise discretionary move during this economic turmoil, but for many it is a necessity. These past months have caused us all to reevaluate our spending and seek ways to limit cash outflow.
There is an easy solution that will produce many benefits, not just financially but in many tangent areas – become more organized.
Improving organization helps with the bottom line in a multitude of ways:
1. Image.
a. 73% of managers and associates say they form impressions of co-workers by the way their desks are organized. Disorganized desks do not indicate you are ready for additional responsibilities. There is a lot of competition now, so do not handicap your chances of securing more business.
b. Nearly 70% of workers believe that colleagues with messy desks are less career driven than their counterparts. Can you afford to allow that perception in this climate of downsizing and forced sabbaticals?
2. Productivity
a. Office distractions eat up 2.1 hours per day for the average worker. How much more could you produce if you had 2 extra focused hours of work each day?
b. Once interrupted, it takes 25 minutes to get back into the flow of the original task. Although many think you will get more done by multitasking, you are actually less effective than when concentrating on one thing before switching to another.
3. Time
If distractions eat up an average of 2.1 hours per day, that adds up to over 12 weeks per year. If you were organized, not only would you produce more, but you have extra time to pursue your personal goals and meet family commitments.
4. Health
a. Distracted drivers who are multitasking cause 80% of crashes and 65% of near-crashes.
b. Stress builds up with disorganization. 80% of our medical expenditures are now stress-related.
5. Money
a. 2.1 hours of distractions per day translates to $28 billion a year in the U.S. Add to that the loss of money due to employee absenteeism, illness, and health claims.
b. Estimate how much time is being wasted by each employee within an organization, multiply that by number of employees, and do that for year after year that this continues to occur.
Bringing the cost of disorganization closer to home, here are common situations where eliminating disorganization can quickly put more dollars in your pocket:
• Late payments (misplaced bills leading to interest and penalties)
• Pending rebates (not collecting the necessary information)
• Duplicate purchases (unable to find what you already had)
• Unused gift cards (not with you while shopping)
• Overdraft fees (failing to reconcile)
• Multiple trips to store (shopping without a list)
• Repairs (neglecting maintenance)
• Tax Deductions (not tracking mileage and business expenses)
• Late fees (overdue items)
It is always worth the time to be better organized, but with the economic stresses we are facing now, it becomes more of a necessity. The short-term investment in time produces long-term dividends.
Denise Landers @timetrainer
Contact Key Organization Systems, Inc. for written permission to reproduce an article: http://www.keyorganization.com/contact-us.php
If you would like to jumpstart your organizing efforts and add to your time management skills, we can help!
Corporate Training: workshops and consulting to increase daily work flow and reduce stress
Individual Assistance: our onsite and virtual office organizing to bring about changes quickly
On Your Own: books and CDs to work at your own pace
This article by Denise Landers, founder and CEO of Key Organization Systems Inc. and a Paper Tiger Expert, will help you…. Denise also recommends The Paper Tiger Document Management Software and Filing System to help keep track of all your paper files throughout the year.
Are you struggling to get more done every day and yet running into obstacles that keep you from being as productive as possible? Where is the clutter in your life? It could be:
* a mental overload
* a surfeit of activities
* stacks of papers
* a barrage of email
* the corner of your garage
Whether you are facing piles of paper or the overload is hidden in your email inbox, you know it is something that needs to be tackled, and it nags at you. Those little guilt feelings at not getting around to clearing things out end up sapping your energy. If this describes you, follow these seven steps to gain control:
1. Break the task into manageable pieces. If it took ten years to accumulate, do not expect to deal with it all in one day. Schedule small blocks of time on your calendar.
2. Make sure everything has a home. You have to make a decision on each item. Having a specific place for everything gives you structure.
3. Store like items with like items. When you keep all of one type of item together, you know how many you have and where to find them.
4. Store things where you will use them. You need to select a logical home. Otherwise the clutter will accumulate again because you will leave an item where you use it.
5. Contain it. A container can be as small as a paper clip holder or as large as a room. Only keep what will fit. This helps you set boundaries.
6. Get rid of excess. Options include selling, donating, recycling, giving away, tossing. Keep a donation box handy all the time.
7. Create systems. The real key to getting organized and staying organized is to create a system that works for you and stick to it.
These strategies apply whether it is an organized office you seek or cleared spaces at home. Your mental outlook will improve, and your daily productivity will soar!
Copyright © Key Organization Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
If you would like to jumpstart your organizing efforts and add to your time management skills, Denise can help! and Twitter @timetrainer
Corporate Training: workshops and consulting to increase daily work flow and reduce stress
Individual Assistance: our onsite and virtual office organizing to bring about changes quickly
On Your Own: books and CDs to work at your own pace
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