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The Paper Tiger Newsletter Archives bring you the best ideas from America's favorite professional organizer and time management professional, Barbara Hemphill. Barbara's newsletters are designed to be an easy read with a quick payoff. Her goal is to provide you with a concept you will be able to put to work the very day you read it!
Choose an article from the list of titles below.
3 Essential Keys to Hiring Someone to Help You Get and Stay Organized
In the past week, I spoke with three business owners across the US who purchased Paper Tiger software. Here are their stories:
Case Study 1:
"John" hired an organizing consultant, but felt the cost was becoming prohibitive, so he hired a clerical person, who didn’t have a clue how to solve his organizational problems, and three years later, he’s feeling more disorganized than ever.
Case Study 2:
"Alice" installed a single user Paper Tiger software several years ago. She spent hours inputing data into Paper Tiger and teaching several members of her staff to use it. Over time employees became frustrated trying to work from the paper file index, there was employee turnover, and the whole system fell apart.
Case Study 3:
"George" hired an organizing consultant to help him organize his office. It worked for several months, but then things began to get disorganized again, and he decided he was just hopeless when it comes to organizing.
Unfortunately, these are common scenarios in the organizing industry. Fortunately, that doesn’t have to be the case!
6 Pitfalls You Can Avoid in Taming your Paper Tiger
Your ability to accomplish any task or goal -- and to enjoy life to its fullest -- is directly related to your ability to find what you want, when you want it.
Back to the Basics: The Mechanics of Your Filing System
You may think it’s strange for me to be writing about the basics of a filing system for people who are primarily Paper Tiger software users, but it occurred to me when I was talking to an “old” Paper Tiger customer that sometimes the “obvious” to one person is not so obvious to another. So I want to review the three basic components of an effective filing system – what I call “The 3 M’s:”
- File Mechanics
- File Management
- File Maintenance
5 Organizing Lessons for Working Less and Accomplishing More
- Do you work late nights and weekends, and feel guilty that you’re not taking care of yourself?
- Are you frequently overwhelmed or discouraged with your progress?
- Do you find “to do’s” in your office when the time to do them is long gone?
- Are you frequently starting new things, but not finishing them?
- Do you spend the majority of your time doing things you dislike?
Do you have “A Perfect Mess?”:
Organizing for the Life You Want to Live
A new book just released by Little, Brown & Company called “A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder: How Crammed Closets, Cluttered Offices, and On-the-Fly Planning Make the World a Better Place” is causing quite a stir! Organizing consultants (at least some of them) are mortified. Neatniks are defensive. Packrats are vindicated. As for me, I have to offer my congratulations to the authors, Eric Abrahamson and David Freedman. Nothing gets media publicity like controversy! Mr. Freedman is a contributing writer to Inc. magazine, so I’m sure they’re thrilled too.
Organizing for the Holidays:
2 Tips for Reducing Your Stress and Keeping the Meaning of the Season
Love it or hate it, December is here once again with all its incumbent opportunities for joy – and stress. If you’re feeling more of the later, don’t despair -- It’s not too late to salvage the season. First, believe that the Holiday Season you dream of is possible! If you’re not willing to accept that premise, stop reading here and go back to what you were doing. It’s hopeless. If you’re willing to consider the possibility, keep reading! Secondly, you have to stop whatever you are doing for 15 minutes. “Impossible!” you say. Then you’re definitely headed down the stress road. You can stop reading here. I offer you my condolences. If you’re unwilling to settle for stress, keep reading.
Choosing Your Calendar: An Organizing Tool for Life
Shortly after Christmas a few years ago, I was sitting on an airplane next to a woman who was browsing through a beautiful red leather planner. She sighed audibly, and I asked her what was wrong. “Oh,” she replied, “I must be hopeless. My husband gave me this beautiful calendar for Christmas to help me get organized, and I don’t even know how to use it!” We spent the next two hours discussing how she could adapt it to meet her needs, and when we parted at the baggage claim she asked, “Did my husband arrange for you, too?” Choosing from the dozens of calendars and planners on the market can be overwhelming experience!
3 Essential Keys to Getting and Staying Organized: Part III
Several months ago, we began talking about the formula for getting and staying organized.
Methodology + Tools + Maintenance = A Productive Environment
- Methodology - a way to think about something
- Tools - ones you like and will use
- Maintenance - answering the question “What will you do?”
- A Productive Environment - a setting in which everything around you supports who you are and who you want to be
Organizing Lessons from Alaska:
7 Techniques for Improving the Quality of Your Life
This summer I took an Alaska vacation with my husband, my mother and my best friend. On a scale of 1-10, it was a 12! I can’t resist the opportunity to relate what I learned about getting organized from the experience -- especially as it relates to The Sabbath Principle™ -- a Paper Tiger principle I discussed previously: As a reminder, the Sabbath Principle states that it’s impossible to get your physical life in order if your spiritual life is in disorder. I can’t think of a more appropriate action for getting your spiritual life in order than taking a vacation – especially to Alaska! The vastness and the grandeur of Alaska are a continual encounter with God’s awesome magnificence – and a reminder of how vital it is that we take care of our amazing world.
3 Essential Keys to Getting and Staying Organized: Part II
If you are at all like me, I have a difficult time remembering what I read last week – let alone two months ago -- so before I address Part II of 3 Essential Keys to Getting and Staying Organized, let’s review the premise.
In order to get – and stay – organized, you must address three components:
- Methodology – a way to think about what you are organizing. We talked about that in the June ezine.
- Tools – we are going to address that aspect this month.
- Maintenance – your good habits – or someone else’s.
That will be our topic for next month -- and actually, I think that is the MOST important key, so don’t miss it!
3 Essential Keys to Getting and Staying Organized
Many people assume that, as a professional organizing consultant, I was “born organized” – that organizing comes naturally to me. However, it’s simply not true. I have to focus daily to keep organized. So how did I end up in this profession?
Organizing Lessons for My Garden
What does “Lessons for My Garden” have to do with organizing? One of the things I’ve learned after 27 years in this industry is that organizing has something to do with everything! Regardless of whether you are planning your family vacation, trying to get a new job, running a business, or clearing up the clutter in your office, getting organized is key!
What the Organizing Industry Could Mean for You
Recently I received this e-mail from a reader: I’ve been downsized out of a company for the third time. In every position I’ve had, I’ve helped my supervisors and my colleagues get organized. Is it really possible to make a living using my organizing skills?”
My answer: “Absolutely yes!” (Even if you’re not interested in becoming an organizing consultant, stay tuned – I think you’ll find what I have to say may still be of interest to you!)
National Organize Your Home Office Day
The 2nd Tuesday of March has been declared as “National Organize Your Home Office Day.” A few months ago I wrote in this newsletter about “The Home Office for the Business of Life”. What I said then bears repeating again: whether your home office is for managing your personal life or for making money, or both, having it organized will increase your productivity, your quality of life, and your peace of mind.
How Dangerous Is Your Paper?
As unbelievable as it may sound, in just the past two months, news wires have carried three different stories about authorities discovering people who have died in the midst of their piles of paper! If you’re reading this article, it’s not likely that you’re in danger of dying because of your paper – but statistically, it’s highly likely that paper IS causing you some distress.
Why Bother?
Are you one of the thousands of people who made "get organized" one of your New Year's resolutions? Or are you like one of my clients who said, "I decided that organization was a package I forgot to pick up on my way into this world!?"
Organizing Principles For The Holiday Season
For most of us, this season of the year evokes more emotions than any other time of the year. Words like “joy” and “peace” are displayed everywhere, as though they are the “norm” – but statistics suggest that “stressed” and “depressed” are more likely the reality. It’s easy to understand why. Whether you listen to the news, talk to a friend, or think about all the things you have to do, it is easier to be stressed than peaceful or depressed than joyful. Have computers made the problem in your home even more overwhelming?
Home Office for the Business of Life™
- Are you sick of continuous paper clutter in your home?
- Do you waste time looking for information you or other family members need?
- Are you hiding papers at the last minute when you are expecting guests?
- Is lack of organization putting a strain on a relationship that is important to you?
- Do you feel overwhelmed deciding what papers you should keep?
- Have computers made the problem in your home even more overwhelming?
- Are you beginning to plan - or even dread - the realization that another Holiday Season is just around the corner?
- Do you read the newspaper or listen to the news - or even talk to someone you know -- and feel guilty that you are so blessed in the midst of all the need and chaos created by war and weather all over the world?
- Have you just lost your home, a job, or someone you care about deeply, or know someone who has?
"Back to School Lessons" - Even If You Don't Have Kids!
5 Steps to Getting and Staying Organized
In a recent Q&A session at the end of a speech, one
audience member asked me, "Do people hate you?" She
went on to describe that people often make fun of
her for her organization skills, yet she found it
difficult to believe that so many people were doing
"back to school" shopping on the night before school
started!
"Powering Off" or "Power On?"
Do you take your laptop on vacation? Do you sometimes "hate" your cell phone or your Blackberry? Harris Interactive recently reported that one-third of vacationers take their laptops on vacation. During a Sunday meal at a restaurant recently, I observed a man sitting with his family talking on his cell phone -- obviously about business. He was not happy - neither was his family!
Taming the E-Mail Tiger:
Proven Tips You Can Use Immediately to Reduce the
Stress of Information Overload
At a recent meeting of CEOs, Microsoft Chairman Bill
Gates told executives "businesses need to do more
to help their employees sort through an ever-growing
flood of information that threatens to become a drain
on productivity." Many people would say we're well
past the "threat" stage! Surveys of my audiences repeatedly
name "too much e-mail" and "too little time" as two
of their biggest frustrations. The two go hand-in-hand,
for sure, but the question is whether you are the
victim or the culprit! In my experience with thousands
of people including corporate executives, home-based
business owners, and busy parents, the answer is usually
both.
NOW FIND YOUR COMPUTER FILES USING THE PAPER
TIGER SOFTWARE!
When was the last time you:
- Wasted valuable time looking for an attachment to an e-mail?
- Questioned whether the electronic document you were using was the latest version?
- Recreated
a document because you couldn't find the one your
colleague wrote?
The Productive Environment Advantage: 18 Tips for an Effective Office Clean-out Day
Ask any group of employees, "How many of you know
there are things in your office you really don't need?"
Most people will raise their hand. But who goes to
work and says, "I don't have anything else to do today
- I guess I'll clean out my files! If they did do
that, co-workers would look at them in disbelief.
After all, there is a major project due next week!
How Many Reasons Do You Need?
With April 15 just around the corner, now is a great
time to think about organizing paper! See Taming
the Paper Tiger for "Uncle Sam".
It is Not Too Late for your New Year's Resolution!
Did you make a New Year's resolution this year? If
not, it is highly possible that you have given up
on the idea that it would make any difference. A recent
survey by health.com and AOL revealed that only 12%
of the people who made New Year's resolutions kept
them, and less than 50% kept them for even two months!
NEW! Paper Tiger Version 3.0
Happy New Year! We hope that January finds our friends and customers in good health and with a renewed energy for the months ahead. We too have been quite busy here the last few months and have some helpful information to share.
Organizing for Love and Money
Are you looking for special ways to say "I love you" to the people you care about this Holiday Season? Does "saving - and even finding -- money" instead of spending it sound attractive? If you answered "Yes" to either of these questions, read on!
The Opportunity and Power of Gratitude
Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday
of the year. Family, friends, and food (not necessarily
in that order!) in the absence of commercialization
provide great personal - and universal - opportunities.
But more important is the reminder that Thanksgiving
brings us the power of gratitude.
Recovering From Disaster: 4 Steps to Success
One of my favorite definitions of organizing is "being organized
is the ability to recover quickly from unexpected events." Lately
we have been reading of weather disasters around the world,
but we often face other situations in our daily lives that feel
disastrous. At no time in history have we been faced with greater
opportunities to practice our ability to recover, or to put
it another way, the ability to cope with constant change. In
the world of business, we face mergers and downsizing, as well
as the unprecedented growth of home-based businesses with little
or no administrative support. An advertisement I saw recently
read: "You think you understand the situation, but what you
don't understand is that the situation has changed."
Getting Fit - Getting Organized!
In a speech I gave entitled "Organized Living in
a Disorganized World" I made the statement "Getting
organized is like exercise and healthy eating. It
is something you incorporate into your daily living."
Immediately one attendee blurted out, "I'm doomed!"
Many people feel the same way, but based on my own
experience incorporating exercise into my daily life
style, I can offer new hope.
Here
is What Irritates You!
You may recall last month I asked you "What irritates you?" WOW,
did I get responses! One of my favorite quotations comes from Mark
Twain: "Progress starts with the truth." I am all about progress,
so let me say "thank you" if you made the extra effort to respond.
What
Irritates You?
I just finished reading a powerful book The Profitable
Power of Purpose in which the author Ian Percy
(www.IanPercy.com)
states "If your customers were not irritated, they
would not even be your customers." How true it is!
In 1978, I ran an ad in a New York City newspaper,
"Organizing consultant can help you make better use
of time and space" and launched a 25+ year business
which is still going strong. Obviously there were,
and still are lots of people irritated about their
lack of time and space, because now there is an entire
industry devoted to helping people solve that irritation.
A recent TV show said home storage alone is a $3+
billion industry.
Vacationing
with Children: A Parent's Guide for Creating Memories You'll Cherish
Traveling with children will be a memorable event - the question
is "What kind?" Your chances of a lifetime memory you will cherish
increase significantly with some advance communication and preparation.
Four
Strategies to Succeed in the Business of Life!
Last month's topic "Everything Old is New Again" generated more
responses than any I have ever written - thank you to those of you
who let us know you're interested to know when a GO seminar is coming
to your area! We've already scheduled a seminar in McLean, VA on
June 2, and there’s more to come - so stay tuned!
Everything
Old is New Again!
April 21 is Administrative Professionals Day. One of the best administrative
professionals, and most productive people I know, is my mother.
Do You Have a Home Office – If Not, Why Not?
Is your home drowning in paper? You may think of a “home office” as only for
people who run businesses out of their homes. But if you are one of the millions
of people in the world who is continually frustrated by all the paper clutter in
your home, you can make significant progress in taming the paper tiger by
establishing a “home office for the business of life!”
A Valentine for you...
My passion for the past 25 years has been helping people to create and sustain a productive environment, so you can accomplish your work and enjoy your life. So, this Valentine’s Day, my wish for you is a “productive environment.”
How to Make Money Cleaning Out Your Clutter: 3 Principles for a Less Stressful Life in 2004
Research shows that 80% of what we keep we never use. Off-site storage facilities and garage organizing systems business are hot business opportunities in the franchise world. The National Association of Professional Organizers membership has grown to over 2000 members!
Barbara’s Tips for Travel Disaster Preparedness: Lessons Learned from the Power Blackout
With the Thanksgiving holiday week around the corner, I am reminded that this is the most heavily traveled weekend of the year. Highways and airports will be filled with families trying to get to visit relatives, and business travelers trying to get home.
Facing the Truth
What you probably suspected, but hate to admit!®
Losing a piece of paper can cost you peace of mind, a harmonious relationship, valuable time, an account, a promotion, or even your job!
6 Powerful Practices for Effective Information Management
Today's high-tech world is deluged with more information than ever imaginable. In spite of all the promises of the paperless office, statistics show that exactly the opposite is happening. It is projected that by 2005 there will be 50% more paper than there was in 1995!
10 tips for Making Your Life Less Stressful and More Productive
I'm excited to be able to tell you that Taming the Paper Tiger 2.0 for the single user and network version has arrived! With over 30 new features, enhancements, reports and fixes, it's a big step to improving your "finding system."
Do You Know Where I Can Find...?
Your ability to accomplish any task or reach any goal is directly related to your ability to find the right thing at the right time. Yet, consider these statistics from a report by IDC...
Lessons from My Garden
What does "Lessons from My Garden" have to do with "Taming the Paper Tiger"? One of the things I've learned after 20+ years as an organizing consultant is that organizing has something to do with everything!
Lessons Learned from the Dot Com Crash and the Attack on America
Many Americans didn't have time to recover from the "Dot Com Crash" before they were hit with the "Attack on America." Forced to take a long, hard look at life, several bitter truths became evident...
Organizing Lessons for Back to School
As a mother of five grown children (and soon to be grandmother!), I can attest to the fact that organizing skills are a major factor in the success of our children in school and the quality of our life at home...
Out of Site, Out of Mind? Paper Tiger Software to the Rescue!
Do you loan books or CDs to colleagues and forget who has them? Have you spent money buying something you already own - but forgot you had it, or couldn't find?
Tame Those Memories! 5 Steps to Organizing Your Photographs
Family vacations, summer weddings and family reunions are in full swing, and the warm memories and envelopes of photographs are ever growing!
On the Road Again... Techniques for Increasing Productivity when You're Traveling for Business
In spite of all the talk about the romance of travel, if you're frequently on the road for business, you know the story is often quite different!
10 TIPS FOR A MORE SUCCESSFUL OFFICE MOVE
Several years ago I worked with a moving company to promote a program called "Smooth Move."
Turning Clutter Into Cash: Tips For Managing Your Network
Would you like to turn your clutter into relationships that lead to money in your bank account? If so, read on!
15 Ways to Tame Your E-Mail
Love it or hate it - or both! - e-mail is increasingly the primary method for communicating in today's digital world - at work and at home...
The Art of Wastebasketry
Are your filing cabinets stuffed so full that it’s difficult to retrieve and file papers? If you’re like 80% of the people in the audiences to whom I speak, your answer is “Yes.”
Managing Information for Increasing Productivity, Profit and Peace of Mind
Research shows the average person spends 150 hours per year looking for misplaced information. Your ability to accomplish any task or reach any desired goal is directly related to your ability to find the right thing at the right time!
CAN YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS WEATHER A FIRE?
Organization is the key to survival. Imagine arriving at your home or business only to find it burned to the ground. For too many people, that scenario is a frightening reality.
10 TIPS FOR MORE FUN AND FEWER HOLIDAY HASSLES
The Holiday Season is the ultimate challenge in organizing. At no time throughout the year are expectations higher, lists longer, or emotions stronger.
HOW TO GAIN 150 HOURS A YEAR IN PRODUCTIVITY
If you're having difficulty managing your paper, you're not alone. Research shows the average person spends 150 hours per year - almost one month - looking for information...
A Place for Everything - Yes! Everything in it's Place? - Sometimes!
You know that old adage "A place for everything and everything in its place!" In my experience, that's ridiculous. The truth is, life just gets messy sometimes - particularly if you're a creative person.
TAMING THE PAPER TIGER FOR "UNCLE SAM"
You might hate to pay taxes, think the system is unfair, dislike the forms, and even stage a mini-tax rebellion, but in the end the tax man cometh - with penalty if you're not careful!
10 Tips for Planning Fun-Filled Vacations
The yearly family vacation is typically a time of fun and frolic. If you don't plan well however, it could also be a time of disaster and disappointment.
Capturing the Memories and Avoiding the Guilt:
Techniques for Organizing Your Photographs
Summer vacations and family reunions are in full swing, and the warm memories and envelopes of photographs are ever-growing!
Organizing for Disaster Preparation and Preparedness
One of my favorite definitions of organizing is "the ability to recover."
WEEDING OUT THE OLD; MAKING WAY FOR THE NEW
The annual panic about what to buy for Aunt Sarah is over for another year, or maybe it's at an all-time high...
A Teacher's Guide for Minimizing the Paper Shuffle
Today's students must learn ten times the information their parents were taught. Many teachers would argue that they must manage ten times the amount of paper!
Y2K and You - The Papers You Can Find May Make a Difference!
