Articles by Janet Barclay
Tips for Effective Time Management
by Janet Barclay, MVA
One of the greatest challenges many people face in business and in their personal lives is that there never seems to be enough time to accomplish everything they need to do, let alone finding time for things they want to do! They look with envy at those who are able to [...]
Organizing Paperwork for Your Bookkeeper
by Janet Barclay and Jennifer Kubilis
When starting out, it’s not uncommon to personally handle all the work involved with running your business, but if all goes well, you’ll reach a point where it makes more sense to pay someone else to perform some of the administrative functions, so you can devote more time to serving [...]
The Year-End Wrap-Up
by Janet Barclay, MVA
It’s no secret that December is the busiest month in the retail industry, as people shop for Christmas presents as well as other products and services for the festive season. If you’re in a different industry, you may find that business is slow at this time of year. In this case, you’re [...]
How to Write an Effective Email
by Janet Barclay, MVA
It’s a scenario we’ve probably all been in at one time or another. You’re working on a project when you realize you don’t have everything you need to complete it, so you fire off a quick email to request the required information. You watch for the reply, and when it arrives, you [...]
Backup Basics
by Janet Barclay, MVA
If you’ve ever lost data due to equipment malfunction, human error, or some other cause, you may have experienced dizziness, a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach, and other panic symptoms.
In business, data loss means at the very least a reduction in productivity, as valuable time must be spent recreating [...]
If I Can’t See It, I’ll Forget About It!
by Janet Barclay, MVA
One of the most common reasons people invite me to their office for an organizing consultation is to help them deal with the piles of paperwork that are encroaching on their workspace.
It is generally understood that part of the problem is the lack of an efficient filing system and by efficient, I [...]
Book Review: Organizing for Your Brain Type by Lanna Nakone
by Janet Barclay, MVA
There are thousands of organizing books on the market. In fact, a search for books on Amazon.com using the keyword “organizing” yields over 160,000 results, which tells us, if nothing else, that there are thousands of people out there who consider themselves experts in this area.
The problem is that many of these [...]
Perfectionism and Productivity
by Janet Barclay, MVA
Some people refer to themselves as “perfectionists” as if it were something to brag about. Although there is much benefit in the pursuit of excellence, striving for perfection often leads to procrastination, missed deadlines, and low productivity.
For one thing, when you set unrealistically high goals for yourself, you may delay starting a [...]
Getting Ready to Delegate
By Janet Barclay, MVA
Regardless of their area of expertise, new business owners often find themselves filling the roles of salesperson, customer service rep, webmaster, office manager, and many others. This can be a practical solution, as it’s difficult to justify paying someone else to perform these functions when you have time, but not money, to [...]
Your First Electronic Calendar
By Janet Barclay, MVA
For decades, there have been a multitude of options when it comes to paper calendars, from the full year on a wallet-size card to a zippered binder with two pages for each day and additional sections for other important information. You have probably found a format that suits your needs and lifestyle, [...]
