Category: Paper Management

Little Pieces: Paper Management to Fix My Dinner Dilemma

To sum up the article you are about to read:Image

  1. Create paper management systems that work for you, and look at them critically once in a while to make sure they are still working;
  2. Regular maintenance is key to the success of any system;
  3. Binders are a great way to store papers that you plan to use again;
  4. Look critically at your practices regularly, and be open and willing to change; and
  5. Imagine different ways that new technology can make your life easier or solve a problem

Some of you may stop there, and that’s fine.  But read on for the rest of the story….

It’s almost 2014.  And my personal resolutions revolve around healthier eating for my family, and getting fit.  So I admit to you, instead of writing my blog, I really want to clean up / clear out my recipe binder. My recipe binder project is a study in good paper management

There are a few motivators working here:

  • I just placed a 3 month order for my awesome nutritional supplements (Reliv, ask me about them!)
  • I also just signed up for a “Figure Friendly Freezer Meal Party” in January
  • I need to menu plan for the next two weeks now that we’re done traveling and hosting parties
    I plowed through my reading pile over the weekend while traveling, and have a pile of new recipes
  • I have a backlog of recipes to try

I read a couple of magazines regularly, pulling out the recipes to use later.  There seems to be so much promise, so much hope and happiness in those shiny pictures in a magazine.  Years ago, I created a binder to keep my favorite recipes close at hand.  My binder is separated into categories that work for me and my family – favorites, appetizers, main dishes, baking, sides and salads.  When I collect recipes from my magazines, I tuck them in the front pocket of the binder.  When I feel like trying something new, I pick one out and we try it.  If my family likes it, I’ll file it in the right category area.  If they don’t, I’ll toss it.  I have purged the occasional cook book, too, when I go back to it for only one recipe repeatedly.  I’ll tear the page out or make a copy in my printer, and purge the cookbook.

So here are the problems I am facing:

  • The front pocket has gotten very full, and I have more to add.
  • There are recipes that have been in the pocket for months and even years, and I have yet to try them.  Which means they no longer appeal to me, and probably never will.
  • I am turning over a new, healthier leaf and many of the backlog recipes don’t fit that vision.
  • I sometimes collect recipes on-line now.

So, this evening or tomorrow, I will spend an hour and

  1. Re-file all the favorites that we’ve pulled out over the holidays (recipes for our favorite holiday cookie recipes, sugared walnuts, and a lovely sauce for our Christmas roast
  2. Grab a sheet protector, put two new soup recipes we’ve tried and loved into it, and add it to the binder.
  3. Look very critically at this weekend’s new pile and the handful of recipes in the front pocket, and ask myself some questions.  Such as:  Is it just too complicated?  Does it contain ingredients I can not pronounce or easily find at my regular grocery stores?  Will my family turn up their collective noses?  Is it healthy?  Do I already have a recipe that is very similar?  Can I find the recipe again on-line?
  4. Start “collecting” more recipes on-line, bookmarking the pages and adding a link to my menu plan spreadsheet so I can find the recipe again when I need it.  An article I read suggested using Evernote (which I love!!) to catalog and organize recipes, too.

What can you spend an hour on this week, a small project, that will reap big rewards?  Imagine, and get to it!  Happy New Year!

Scared of your Late Afternoon? Conquer the Witching Hour!

witch hatAround our house, we call the 3pm to dinner-time span the Witching Hour.  I find that time of day the most challenging.  At work, my energy and focus lag in the late afternoon.  At home, the kids arrive home from school hungry, and tired but wired.

We struggle to strike a balance between: warm, welcoming and relaxing; and the business of our lives, dinner, homework and getting back out the door for evening activities.

So, if you find the late afternoon a challenge, too, here are some ideas to make it a little less evil….

  1. Take a moment or two when your energy starts to lag, and refocus your brain and energy.  Assess what you still need to accomplish today, clear out brain clutter, and recommit to getting your tasks done.
  2. If you need a break, take a walk, grab an ice-cold glass of water, and take a few moments of calm.  At work and at home, everyone around you will benefit from a calmer, more-focused you.
  3. Lay out tasty treats.  I was inspired by this after a party, when the kids re-plated on a serving dish veggies and dip, and crackers and cheese after school.  It takes no time to chop some fruit and add a couple of sliced hardboiled eggs and crackers.  I have been trying to reach those recommended 5-9 servings of fruits / veggies a day, and this could help!
  4. Banish the TV and any other screens unless they’re used for homework. For example, computers and IPads for homework purposes are fine, but not for play until the homework is done.  And if the homework is done quickly, send them outside for some exercise or to the family room for some Wii action!
  5. Put your family to work.  Kids of every age can help make dinner, set and clear the table, take out the trash or put laundry away.
  6. Encourage independence and organized habits.  Have hooks available for everyone (kids and adults, too!!) to hang jackets, accessories and backpacks, and make it a habit.
  7. Remember the homework basket (http://colleencpo.wordpress.com/2012/08/14/an-organized-work-space-for-student-success/)?  Keep a basket at hand with the supplies your children need for completing their homework.
  8. Collect papers and process all at once.  Pile today’s mail, the contents of my briefcase, any papers that came home from school, etc.  Then open the mail, recycle/ shred / purge anything you don’t need, file papers you want to keep, and act on the papers that need completion.

A word here…. As I wrote up these ideas, it occurs to me that all of these ideas are good for all of us, adults and children alike.  Take a breather, refocus, eat a healthy snack, banish the TV, help each other, encourage independent and organized habits. Good for all of us, all the time!

I hope these ideas help you with your Witching Hour, too.  Try one or two this week, and let me know how it goes!

Ways to Find Ideas, Keep Them and Act on Them!

Ideas are everywhere, wherever inspiration strikes! But, how do we save them?  And then use them?

What is an idea?  Dictionary.com says “a thought, conception, or notion.”  To me, ideas are more than just random thoughts, they’re sparks of inspiration.  A thought can become a task on your to-do list (ooh, remember to buy milk, order that gift, or make that phone call), but an idea seems bigger than that, like the term the “big idea”.  So bigger than a thought, grander than a task.  An IDEA.

Ideas for what, you ask? 

Anything!  Everything!  That is the great part!  We just have to be open, aware and seeking those sparks of inspiration.   What are you looking for?  Vacation ideas?  New business ventures?  Adventures?  Hobbies?   Better and different ways to deal with challenges or people?

Where are these ideas? 

I have come to realize that big ideas are rarely in my office, or waiting on my laptop.  To generate new ideas, I require new stimuli and information, or a different way of viewing things.  You can’t force creative ideas to come, but you can invite them.  For me, Ideas come to me when my mind is relaxed:  In the shower; as I drift to off to sleep; very typically in the car; or in my reading pile.  A few months ago, they were at the Museum with me and my kids.  My six year-old niece says they’re under the table.

So, if you are looking for ideas or solutions, go where the ideas are.  And if you are looking for new insight, go some place new, read something new or hang out with different people or in different places.

I have plenty of ideas.  For me the challenge is not finding them, it’s keeping them and then acting on them.  So, first things first –

  1. As an idea comes to you, Filter It.  You may come up with a great idea, but is it really something YOU need to act on?  The construction idea that comes to someone who is not a builder.  The song lyrics that occur to someone who is not a musician.   The hot and tropical vacation idea that looks beautiful in pictures, but then I remember I really hate to be hot. (!!)   I am not suggesting you abandon your big ideas, just determine if they are ideas You need to act on, or perhaps you can stick with your strengths, and Pass on the ideas to someone else.
  2. Make a Habit:  Write it down.  I get very frustrated when an idea disappears Aqua Notesbecause I didn’t write it down.  In positive terms, Writing down an idea makes that idea more likely to become an action.  Give your self opportunities everywhere and anywhere to capture your ideas.  I have pen and paper in the car, beside my bed, and even in the shower (thanks again, Steph and Lauren, for my Aqua Notes, seen here).
  3. Make a habit: Capture ideas technologically.  If you find inspiration on-line, there are all sorts of ways to capture those ideas, too: I have a “Pin It” button in my toolbar for posting images to Pinterest. and I can add gift ideas to my Amazon universal shopping list via another toolbar button on my Toolbar.  You can also save ideas to your Facebook timeline, or bookmark a website page for later.  Just set up your bookmarks with categories, to file the ideas for later.
  4. Make a Habit: Keep Lists, files or bookmark categories for different types JKs post it Ideasof ideas. Then make sure the new ideas get there.  These lists or categories could be “home improvements”, “recipes”, “restaurants”, “self-improvement”, “cub scout craft ideas”, etc.  Corral your ideas (like the colorful pile of post-its used by my friend Jan, seen here), and then disseminate them to their most useful list / destination.  And if the idea is a really great idea, or perhaps a time specific one (a seasonal weekend destination that’s available for only a few more weeks), add the action steps to your to-do list.   If it is a new restaurant to try, make a Date and go!
  5. Make a habit:  Review your Ideas periodically.  Once a week / month / year?  Make a habit of reviewing and prioritizing your ideas.  Pick an idea or two that is most important to you right now, and add the next action steps for that idea to your to-do list for today or this week.  It is October now, and the holidays are on the horizon, with all the Big Ideas that go along, so “Look at November and December Travel schedule” just went on my to-do list.

So, what are your Big Ideas?!  Make habits now to Find, Keep and Act On Your Ideas!

“Cleanse Your Power Center”: I organized my office, not my chakras.

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work shelf photoI received an email last week entitled “Cleanse Your Power Center”.

I thought “Great idea!  My ‘power center’ sounds like my office, and it does need cleansing.”  Upon actually reading the article, I realized the writer had a more spiritual intention, and I was supposed to be cleansing my chakras.  I organized my office instead. My chakras will have to wait.  And for the record, I did the deep breathing recommended while reviewing papers!

A few years ago, I had a work space custom-built, including a flat work space, a shelf above my work space and closed cabinets above the shelf, and 3 drawers for supplies and things.  I also have a file cabinet, though after this weekend only ¾ of one drawer contains files.

So how to get started?  Set aside a few hours and focus on your space.  As with any project, focus your efforts on small spaces to start.  Attacking the office all at once can feel overwhelming!  And imagine if I tear apart my office and then have to stop organizing to go somewhere or do Work – I’m left with a torn-up mess and no place to work.

1.  Start with the Easy Stuff.  I removed a small table because it just collects stuff.  I took out the trash and recycling, emptied the shredder and took some old electronics to the car to be recycled this week.  Whew, better already!

2.  Organize Your Horizontal Work Space.  Your office will look better immediately!  I intentionally built a not-too-big work space.  I don’t store papers on it, and I am dedicated to putting stuff away at the end of every day.  The work space is  comfortable, well-lit, welcoming (to me), and typically clear.  This is actually the easiest place for me to start, requiring 5 minutes to clean out pens, clear off my bulletin board, and wipe everything down.  My Power Center is looking cleansed!

3.  Tackle Valuable and Visible Storage Space.  This is where you should store really important, active papers.  Perhaps this is on your desk top.  In my office, it’s the shelf above my desk.  The items on it are physical reminders of projects and responsibilities I need to tend to.  It is literally and figuratively Work hanging over my work space and head.  If it starts to look overcrowded, I start to feel stress!  So maintaining a clean and streamlined appearance on the shelf helps me feel positive and motivated about work!  In addition, this shelf is visible to everyone walking by, so it’s important that it looks nice.  This shelf, too, needed just a little work.  I cleared out my reading pile, re-labeled some items, and set aside a few binders that hold in-active materials.

4.  Tackle Valuable but Closed Storage Space next, like the cabinets above my desk. I cleared out old books (donate pile), obsolete organizing and tech products and manuals (recycle!), and Cub Scout resources that I can store in our scout storage room at our program location.  Clearing out just these three types of materials opened up space for the binders of in-active materials from the open shelf.

5. Drawers:  I took a quick glance through my drawers next, but they, too, are pretty tidy.  Mostly, I dumped some old marketing materials and more dead electronics, and cleared some space.   It’s easy to waste lots of energy organizing these little spaces, so don’t fall into that trap.  Spend just a little time on the desk drawers and supplies, then move on.

6. Files:  My last stop was my File Cabinet.  I am slowly moving towards a paperless      office, but I am not there yet!  And my challenge, just like everyone else, is finding the time for maintenance.  I file papers in my files, expecting to refer back to them some day.  But I rarely do go back to them, and there they sit.  I cleared out almost every paper that was more than 2 years old, and re-titled files to find important stuff more quickly.  I even went the extra step, grabbed my label maker and made all the tabs consistent and snazzy.

For a couple of hours of work, my “Power Center” is “cleansed”, my office runs more smoothly and feels better, and the ideas are flowing freely.  I feel better, and I’m pretty sure the “power center” article writer would approve.  What one or two ideas can you take from this article to work on your office this week? Let me know!

Boost Summer Productivity with Tech and Routines

my portable office

my portable office

My sons are home with me this week since school has ended for the summer and activities are just starting up.  And while I really like my family, they are quite fabulous, the schedule changes and having them home with me in my office threaten my professional and personal productivity.

The lure is strong, to ditch my computer and take everyone out to lunch, or go on an adventure, or curl up on the couch and watch movies with them.  Also, the interruptions increase, which is a small price to pay for being with my family, but again, those interruptions damage my focus and make simple tasks take way too long, or not get done at all.

So….. what is a working parent to do? A dear client last week suggested that I get a desk that folds out of my van, so I can work anywhere.  I like the image of folding out a desk, but I already can work from anywhere, thanks to cool technological tools.  Here are some of my ideas, maybe they will work for you, too!

  1. Know what is in your in-box.  I have been making a conscious decision to check my work email on my smart phone while I am leaving a client appointment or meeting, instead of waiting to get home.  This may seem like another distraction, but I actually find it beneficial to my focus, deleting unneeded messages right away and spending some of my commute time mentally preparing for the work waiting for me when I get home.
  2. Make your office portable.  I take my IPad everywhere.  I can write up client notes and send them right away, instead of having to wait to get home to compose, edit and send the notes. I also added duplicate apps to my IPhone and IPad, like WordPress for managing my blog, Paypal for invoicing clients, and Evernote for sharing documents among all my devices.  We traveled this past weekend and I took just the IPad instead of my laptop.  I had everything I needed for work and for fun (downloaded movies and my Kindle App) right at my fingertips.
  3. Make it easy to manage and receive your money.  I have been using Paypal a lot lately for my client billing, which shortens the wait between completing client hours and payment – awesome!
  4. Go Paperless.  I cancelled my PO box in May, which may seem trivial to you, but for me it is huge!  I’ve had that PO box since I started my business!  However, steadily over the last 12 months, I have moved my correspondence to strictly on-line so that I could let go of the PO box, with its added expense and maintenance.  In addition, I receive some monthly publications on my IPad now, instead of in print.  My office is not yet Paperless, a goal for 2013, but I am one step closer.
  5. Share the calendar.  I am slowly warming up to the idea of sharing our family calendar online, through google calendars or a similar platform.  I figure summer is the time to decide, before the school schedules start up again in August.

Routines:

  1. Get up early.  I am still getting up before 6 am.  I heard a quote recently, something about how you never hear about the hero of the story sleeping in and taking it easy!  So, I get up and enjoy a very productive 60-90 minutes before my boys get up.
  2. Shave your head (or not!!).  I shaved my head back in March for a fundraiser, and it has taught me a lot (a blog for another day).  It seems extreme, I know, and I am NOT recommending that anyone should shave their head just to save time in the morning, but it is remarkable how much time this change has opened up!  Are there parts of your daily routines that you can streamline for summer?
  3. Maintain your focus.  I am so grateful for my accountability partner, especially right now.  Most summers, I struggle to get even the basics done some day.  With the focus that comes from accountability, I feel I am still moving forward on professional goals despite the summer urge to slack!.

So, what will you try this week to streamline your work and increase your productivity this summer?  Give one of these ideas a try, or share one of your own, I would love to hear it!

Productivity Where Ever You Work

Over the weekend, I found myself out of the house and half an hour early for an event.  Luckily, there was a nearby coffee house with wi-fi, nice music and a quiet place for writing, so I got some work done.  Which proves:

a. you should always check the time on your invitations; but more importantly for today,

b. we can work from anywhere these days.  Let’s call any hours worked outside of a traditional office setting “working virtually”.

Having the capacity to work from anywhere presents challenges.  How to focus on work amid the distractions of home, family, the people at Starbuck’s or in someone else’s home?   What should the workday look like in an un-traditional setting?  Working from everywhere, all the time?  Productivity is the same, no matter where we work.  We want to be able to get down to business, accomplish today’s necessary tasks, do them well and confidently, then move on to something else.

Regardless of where we work, we can reap benefits from structure and routines, just like a traditional work environment.  Keep these ideas in mind:

  • Regardless of where you work, clearly begin your day.  Shower and get dressed, check in with your co-workers or community, grab a cup a coffee, turn on the music that helps you work, check your email.  Set a timer for 15 minutes of transition time, then get to work.
  • Take a lunch and take breaks (but not too many!).  I read a suggestion recently of “Work For 50 minutes, break for 10”.  This works well for me, and helps me take advantage of working from home to take care of home tasks like laundry.
  • Give yourself many opportunities during the day for a Re-Set.  I read an article from the blog the Daily Om that suggested an “Inner Sunrise”.  The idea was that any time during your day is a good time to re-focus energy to what we are supposed to be doing.  This keeps us from working hard all day, but having nothing to show for it at the end!  I try to do this every few hours.
  • No one  needs to know that you are working virtually, or that your conference call requires a hard stop by 3 so you can pick up your kids.  In all likelihood, the others on the call are working virtually, too.

We are on the move, right?  So create a work environment that travels, too.

  • Bring along the laptop or IPad, and Communications and Information (IPhone, in      my case).
  • This could also be a phone and Your reliable planner with your schedule and      contacts, as a decision making tool
  • Also, use the same naming conventions for your paper management system and your computer hard drive.  For example, “Client – last name, first initial and date of appointment” is the same title I would use to name a file on my laptop, in my paper files and in Evernote.
  • Make your work, planner and information portable and consistent.  I do this by synchronizing all my devices all the time, at least a couple of times a day.

Increase focus by cutting mental clutter. This also heads off the tendency to procrastinate!

  • Choose your three top tasks for the day, and keep them in mind throughout your work sessions.
  • When  you start your work, you can either prime the motivation pump with a few easy and quick tasks, or tackle that big icky one first.
  • Know your self and your prime work hours.  I respond to email at 5:30 am, and get a lot of my writing done before 7 am.  I was a night owl until I had kids, now I love to work in the quiet early morning.
  • Avoid interruptions.  Turn off the phone, or be selective about what you answer. Not everyone understands the idea of “working from home”.  Set boundaries.  I don’t respond to work emails on weekends, unless pre-arranged.

Where do you do your work?  And how can we make it work better?  To quote a productivity article I recently read, “More than ever, work isn’t where you go, it’s what you do.” (Rob Keenan, head of UK portfolio management and deployment readiness management at Siemens Enterprise Communications)  So, Go Do It!

Conquer School Papers! (from finish to start?!)

Last week, my friend Julie mentioned “the back to school paperwork is out of control”.  Since she mentioned this on her birthday, this week I am offering tools for conquering school papers, for Julie, and Nancy who shared her paper management questions and Hershey Pumpkin Spice Kisses at the soccer game.

School papers.  Ugh.  I get it, trust me.  Three boys, 3 schools, 3 team schedules, Religious Education, Boy and Cub Scouts (did I mention I am a den leader and Cubmaster this year?!), 3 choirs, 2 bands, blah, blah, blah…

But be strong, friends, you can clean up those school papers, and here’s how!  (I’m starting with the end, in case you’re in a hurry!)

The vitally important final steps to successful School Paper Management are:

  • Put everything away.  AWAY.  File what needs filed, purge what needs purged, put the bills-to-pay with the other bills-to-pay,put academic papers in each child’s binder (past blog on binders). AWAY.       You’ll have a small pile of papers that represent actions to take or information to add to your calendar. That’s it.  Everything else goes away.
  • Make and keep a daily appointment to add info to your planner and to fully complete the action papers and send them on their way.  Complete forms and return to school; follow up on memos; send the emails, place the orders.  No, really.  Get things all the way done, and file what is left.  And then give the nice clean counter or desk a pat, turn off the light and go to bed.

Now, back to the beginning:

Pick a location to collect and process your papers.  Outfit that location with a garbage can, recycling bin and shredder.  Consider them all pets that need regular feeding, and make sure to toss, recycle and shred often!  In addition, assemble the following:

  • Your papers and mail (obviously) in Mom’s InBox (I just have a spot on the counter, but you can get a real in-box if you would like);
  • Your mom-file (Are you drowning in Kid Papers?  http://colleencpo.wordpress.com/2011/02/22/210/)
  • Stapler, paper clips, pen;
  • Calendar or planner;
  • Check book, and an envelope of small bills.  During the school year, I always seem to send in $4 here for one little thing or $7 there for another.  We keep an envelope with $20 worth of small bills in the desk drawer to keep our tasks / sign-up sheets / permission slips / raffle tickets / etc., moving along.

Process your papers once and only once a day.  Save time and hassle, and wait until ALL the papers have arrived for the day, in the mail and backpacks.

Dedicate 10 minutes a day to process your papers, maybe 15 to start.  Sort through everything, and make decisions today, right away.  There are only a few options for your school papers:

  • Recycle, toss or shred what you can.  Ads, unsolicited mail, catalogs, notices for activities your family does not participate in (father daughter dance?  Not this house.  Martial arts classes? Been there, tried that.)
  • Actions to Take / Stuff for Mom or Dad:  permission slips, forms to complete and send back, order forms, checks to write, memos to read, etc.
  • Dates and contact information to add to your calendar / planner.  Make a habit to commit everything to your calendar / planner, so you can trust the planner when you need to make decisions.  This is the best time-saving organizing tool you can use. Keep paper schedules or memos as back up, if you feel you need to, but file them – do not put them back in your pile.
  • Homework to complete – hand this right back to your children, unless they are 6 and under!
  • Completed and graded daily assignments / homework. For goodness sake, get this out of your in-box or to-do pile.  Look at it, commend or comment with your student, and then file it for a predetermined amount of time (we purge all but the treasures after the end of every quarter).  Put one a week on the fridge if your student reallllly wants to see it.
  • Important documents (certificates, records or report cards).  File until the end of the year or longer.  We have binders for each student, with pockets in the binder for papers from each school year. (“Bind Up That Paper Monster!”  http://colleencpo.wordpress.com/2011/02/20/bind-up-that-paper-monster/)

     And the two most important final steps to successful School Paper Management are.. oh, right, you already know those.  Now, no more dawdling, take courage and go tackle that paper.  Let some go, get some done, and put all away!

Ready or Not, Here Comes Tax Time!

      Whether you prepare your taxes or take them to an accountant or professional preparer, there are steps you can take to make the process easy and painless, or at least easier, for all involved.  I am a truly lucky woman.  The really great man I married is a CPA, so I have not had to worry about the paperwork of filing taxes since we got married.  That same great guy also agreed to answer my questions this week about organizing tax papers for my blog (he is a giver like that!).

     If you’ve filed your 2011 taxes already, pat yourself on the back, then skip to #4 and #5 to see how completing your tax return next year can be even easier.

1.  Start with last year’s return.  Look at the order of last year’s return, then collect and organize your information in the same order. This is not a complete list, but it should get you started.

  • W-2s, 1099s  and K-1s
  • Cost basis information for investments sold
  • Student loan info
  • Real Estate Taxes
  • Mortgage Interest
  • Charitable Contributions
  • Union Dues
  • Unreimbursed Work Expenses
  • Childcare Expenses
  • Last pay stub of the year
  • Receipts for items if you plan to itemize
  • Also, bring information for any new life situation, like birth certificates and social security numbers for children born in the tax year. 
  • If you have made any major purchases or sales this year, like buying or selling a home, major investment or business, collect the pertinent paper work for your use or to take to your accountant appointment. 
  • You are responsible for this process.  If your taxes are professionally prepared, your preparer is responsible for asking thorough questions, but you supply the answers and the information.
  1. Get ready, Get set, Go!  You can start your forms even if you are still missing one or two pieces of information.  Start with the information you have, even if you are waiting for a final number or detail, and then complete your return when you receive that last detail.  This avoids panic mode at April 15th looms closer, and it also gives you at least an estimate of what your taxes may be, and if you will owe money or receive a refund.  An incomplete picture is better than no picture at all.  
  2. Don’t delay, period.  Perfectionism and Procrastination are not your friends.  Do yourself and your preparer (and their family) a favor.  Delaying the process makes it more difficult, just Do It. 
  3. Give your papers a home, to make next year even easier:
    1. Have a hanging folder called “Relevant Tax Info, 2011” or 2012, etc).  Keep it close at hand.  I prefer hanging folders because they are easy to drop information into.  
    2. Within the larger hanging folder, have 3 or more manila file folders.  Title them something like:
      1. Items I Know Are for Taxes for charitable donation receipts, sale and purchase information, taxable transaction information, etc.
      2. Items I Need to Ask About for items you want to ask your accountant or preparer about that may impact your taxes
      3. Receipts for Purchases you can claim, like business expenses.
    3. Add relevant tax information to this holder throughout the year, as it occurs. 
  4. Buy A Shredder.  Once your taxes are filed for 2011, you can go back (with your preparer’s blessing) and shred tax returns that are more than 4-7 years old (again, ask your professional for suggestions).  Shredding is the only safe way to dispose of those old, unnecessary tax returns.

You can do this, friends, and you’ll feel great when your taxes are filed!  A big breath of relief, then move on to something else!

Workflow: “Initiation to Completion”

     Last week, I offered suggestions for cleaning off and setting up your workspace for National Clean Off Your Desk Day.  The next logical step is to look at your workflow, and make it work better for you.  Wikipedia defines “Workflow” as “The sequence of industrial, administrative, or other processes through which a piece of work passes from initiation to completion.”

      “Workflow” sounds rather business-y, but refers to anything any of us need to complete, professional, personal or other.  The term “workflow” suggests water to me.  Sometimes water pools and sometimes it moves along, just like work.  Water is necessary to survival, plentiful and refreshing, but can also overflow and escape.  Just like work.  Our work needs to flow into our life, through our processes, reaching completion and leaving our workspace.  The whole point of workflow is movement and action. Here are 4 tips to keep your work flowing!

  1. National Clean off Your Desk Day reminded us that a clean desk can enhance workflow. 
    • Your workspace is sacred, only today’s active work should be there.
    • To decrease interruptions, keep your work and necessary resources to do complete it close at hand.  If you repeatedly have to get up to retrieve a resource, move it closer. 
    • Get non-work stuff out of your workflow, with recycling / shredding / trash close at hand.
  2. Consider your work, and know the path your work should take, from start to finish. 
    • Large companies industries define workflows for different types of jobs, like “idea for article / writer / editor / production”.    
    • Molly’s Example:  I set up a work space for a new bookkeeper last week for a client.  The first thing we did was discuss Molly’s responsibilities and workflow.  Her workflow demands efficient use of her office time, since she’ll be there only a few hours a week.  It includes, in order, reviewing all mail and sorting it into three piles, per the three different business entities she will manage.  From there, the bookkeeping process is the same, regardless of which entity she is working on.  Open mail; sort into Payables, Receivables, Other work, Paper to go to someone else, shred, recycle, etc; do actual bookkeeping; write checks; send those to the manager for clearance and signatures; then mail payments and file the rest.  Done!
    • Kate’s example:  Another client needed to pay her January bills.  First she needed to balance her check book, though, and before she could do that, she needed a print-out from her bank.  For her, the workflow was: call the bank; pick up the printout; balance the check book; pay the bills; and mail the bills.  Until she really thought about the process, she couldn’t see the logical steps to take.
  3. Eliminate or delegate what you can. 
    • What is waiting for someone else’s input?  Send that work on its’ way right away, so that other person can get on with their work, too. 
    • What work can flow to someone else, or be deleted from the stream all together? 
    • Eliminate repetitive and redundant steps.  Years ago, I paid our personal bills and then my husband the CPA would take all the information and enter it into Quicken.  He now does it all, cutting the work in half (and he is really good at it!). 
    • Most definitions of workflow look at processes, not actual work items, but let’s face it – paper and work are usually synonymous.  In my paper management classes, my first suggestion is to get rid of as much new paper as possible.  Cancel catalogs, take your name off of mailing lists, receive bank statements, subscriptions and newsletters electronically or via email.
  4. The definition ends with “Completion.”.  Roll that word around your brain and really think about what it means.  Completion (satisfied sigh).  The work is done.  Now stand up, put away what needs put away, and for a moment, appreciate that feeling of satisfaction that comes from Completion.  Then get back to work!

Six Essential Steps to An Organized Desk

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Spend an hour on your desk for National Clean off your Desk Day!   

     Focus on visual results, and save acting on ideas for another day. Corral your papers into meaningful places, so you can see what you have and start getting things done.

     Most folks are capable of sorting and piling papers into categories of their own choosing. But mid-sort, they find they need to reclaim their work space, and the papers get piled together again and set aside, instead of finding a new home. So the desk stays a mess, and they never feel “done”.

     Another challenge with papers is that they typically represent something else, like a memory, an event, a task to complete or an idea we want to keep. Acknowledging that, you need a physical storage system for your papers and ideas, and the motivation and perseverance to finish and maintain your system.  Here is what you need to do: 

    1. Remove non work related items from your desk (see last year’s blog for a list).
    2. Set up a physical system for Passive Papers (Idea from Freedom Filer, and tweaked for my clients!).
      1. Passive Papers have been acted upon, and now wait for a pre-determined time until they are no longer needed for reference (e.g., receipts, paid bills, balanced bank statements, etc.).
      2. The storage system consists of 24 hanging folders in an open top vertical holder on your desktop
        (preferred) or a very near desk drawer.  Label the folders 2 for each month, with a  “- Even Year” or  “- Odd Year” tacked on the end.  You will end up with two full years of folders, one set for last year (2011, ending in “- Odd Year”), and one for this year (“ –  Even Year”).  The Odd Year folders will hold last year’s papers from your desktop, and the Even Year folders are for adding to during 2012.  Few papers need to be kept longer than one calendar year. 
    3. Set up a physical system for Active Papers, also in an open vertical folder holder on your desk top, with folder names based on What Actions To Take or By Project, or sometimes, both!  For Example:
      1. What Actions To Take:  Receipts for Reimbursement; Calls to Make; Bills to Pay; Forms to complete and return; or Coupons, gift cards and shopping ideas.
      2. By Project (examples from my desk):  Past clients to check in with; Proposal for Home Office and Productivity Class Series; LLC Research and Paperwork; Event Folder, May Communion Party.
      3. Strategic Management, product development ideas
    4. Set up a box for Archival Papers / Treasures.  Archival Papers are long-term record keeping papers, like home purchase papers, filed taxes, appliance manuals and warranties, wills, etc.  Treasures are school project, travel papers, received greeting cards, photos, etc.  These are all projects for another day, get them off your desk.
    5. Grab two bags, one each for papers to shred later and recycling, and start distributing your desk papers to their new homes.  Grab a notebook and jot ideas down as they occur to you, do not get distracted and lose focus.
    6. Now, Get Up and Put Your Stuff Away.  You have distributed your papers to your new folders, but you may have other items that need to go elsewhere in your home or office.  Get up and Put Them Away in their final homes.  Even if this 10 minutes is in the middle of your project, Get Up and Put them away.  Then bask in the glow of your clean desk top, and keep going.  A fellow organizer calls this the Stand And Deliver step, but I can’t find out who that was, and I would happily give her credit.  The point is…. Embrace “Done”!  And feel good about your efforts!

Next Week I will offer some insight on work-flow and productivity, to get things done now that your desk is looking better!