OrganizedArticles.com

By Janet Barclay, MVA

In a previous article, we looked at some of the challenges you may face when trying to organize your workspace, including paper clutter and interruptions. These are external obstacles which are inherent in your work environment. You may not be able to eliminate them, but you will need to take steps to work around them if you are going to be successful in your attempts to have an organized office. Equally important, if not more so, are the internal obstacles, such as personality traits, that may be holding you back.

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By Vlad Ehrsam

While many offices are trying to go paperless, the fact remains that some paperwork is necessary. Many business transactions require the proper paperwork and the IRS is just one organization that may require hard copies rather than electronic copies. If you have a small office you may find yourself running out of space to put all your paperwork. Organizing and properly filing your papers is essential should you ever need to find anything specific.

Business owners will tend to keep everything in an effort to avoid having to decide what to keep and what to pitch. In time, the storage room door cannot be opened and hope is all but lost for finding any documents that may be needed. It is the responsibility of management to make sure things remain organized to prevent lowered productivity or a complete shutdown of business operations.

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By Jody Gabourie, Maven Solutions

Does the sight of Christmas decorations in stores leave you catching your breath? Not out of excitement but because of the feeling of “overwhelm” that grips you? For some, the holiday season represents stress, pressure, expectations, guilt, disappointment, exhaustion… and the list goes on. And it doesn’t have to be that way! Your holiday season can be as simple or as elaborate as you choose to make it, and it can be a lot of fun if you plan accordingly.

Take some time now to think about what’s most important to you as we enter the holiday season, and then do a little planning. Here are some tips to help you save time and reduce stress at the office:

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By Patty Kreamer

You started your own business because you have a burning passion for what you do. You are also - we hope — good what you do and have a desire to help others. Little do you know that running a business includes, well…running a business. This little bombshell can throw many a new business owner for a loop.

I receive numerous phone calls every week asking me how to start a business as a professional organizer. The first thing I say is that the organizing part is easy because it is a natural gift (sometimes a curse); it’s running the business that can trap you. This is not to scare a potential entrepreneur away, but to help them realize that it’s not all fun and games doing what you do best. You have to:

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By Patty Kreamer

For many, being organized means a place for everything and everything in its place. For others, it means nothing. The true definition of being organized is being able to find things when you need them, not 3 weeks later.

But if you ask me, being organized means saving BIG money…period. Simply put, time is money. If you waste time all day long looking for things, you are wasting money.

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By Jim Estill

Voicemail and Email are two of the most important tools for communication in today’s business world. Are you maximizing your use of these resources?

Using Voicemail

It has been said that you can answer seven times as many emails as you can voicemails. When making your outgoing voicemail message, you can leave your email address on the message, so people know how to get a hold of you electronically. My voicemail message ends with “or better yet, email me at jime@synnex.com”: I then spell my email address so they will be able to reach me.

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By Janet Barclay, MVA

One of the most challenges faced by many of our clients is what to do about their ever-growing collection of business cards. Should they be organized by business name, industry, or by the individual’s first or last name? How can they do make good use of all these contacts they’ve made? And who are all these people, anyway? With today’s technology we can enter all the data into customer relationship management (CRM) software and not have to deal with those issues, and this article offers tips on making the best use of your CRM software.

Contact management software allows you to search on any field, so you don’t have to rely on remembering the person’s name or business name.

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By Suzanne McLoone

“I can’t stand working at a messy desk, it’s cluttered, it’s distracting, and quite frankly, I don’t want to work.” That is a comment I get more frequently than not when I’m organizing offices and who can blame them? Your desk is your domain and since you probably spend at least 9 hours a day living at it you shouldn’t cringe every time you open your eyes. You have already determined you most certainly do not want to continue living with a messy desk, the only thing left to decide on is how you go about cleaning it up.

How much time do you want to spend cleaning your desk?

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By Azlan Irda

Everywhere that there are offices, there is a need for office supplies. Business transactions on a daily basis allow for tons of paper, pens, pencils, staples, and lots more of other office items to be consumed in billions of offices all over the world. Costs from purchasing office supplies could account up to 40% of an office’s operational expenses, on the average. More often than not, companies spend 20% more than they really have to.

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By Sue Brenner, PCC, PMP

Do you have boxes jam-packed with stuff in your office? Is it hard to tell what you need to keep and what you need to pitch? Answer these 7 questions to help you know what needs to go.

1. Do I use it?

Go ahead. Peek inside of one of your storage boxes. What’s inside? Do you use any of the items? Unless an item has special meaning to you, if you don’t use it—and don’t need to store it for seasonal events—it needs to go.

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