Tag: Information Management

National Small Business Week: Your Efforts Deserve Respect

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Did you know?  This week is National Small Business Week.

Don’t let the title of “Small” Business denote lack of power or importance, or small successes.  These days, there are more people employed in small businesses than there are in big businesses.

I started my business 8 years ago, working from my home office and from client’s homes and offices, too.  I was ahead of the curve though, because what I have been doing for a long time is becoming commonplace for more and more workers.  Big offices are downsizing, and many people are moving their professional lives to home offices.

The growth in the trend of working-from-home should make doing so more socially acceptable, but sometimes I still struggle with finding the right answer to some tough questions. 

I am a Certified Professional Organizer, a writer, an entrepreneur, an independent contractor.  I am lots of big and great things, but I am also occasionally working from my dining room table.  However, no one needs to know that little detail.

I am not, by any means, suggesting dishonest communications.  What I am suggesting is that the work that you do warrants respect, no matter where you choose to do it, or if you happen to blend aspects of your life, like I do.   

Realize that advertising can help you.  Spin your phrases in new and different ways.  Let me walk you through some of the vocabulary that has helped me along the way.  

“I have a non-traditional work week” explains how I answer emails and write blogs at 6 am, run errands during the week, teach classes in the evenings and see clients on the weekends.  And I often break for field trips or to toss laundry in the dryer.  

“I am not sure if my technology can support xxxx.  I’ll ask the IT department when they get in at 4 pm, and give you the answer tomorrow”.  What this means is that I have to ask my tech consultant (my patient spouse) technological questions.  He is much better at answering them than I am.  And I really will follow-up tomorrow.

“I need a hard stop on this meeting at 2 pm” (per MM) may mean I have a client coaching call at 2:15, or it may mean that I have to be at school by 2:45 to drive the Beginning Band carpool.

“I am working remotely today” may mean I need a change of scenery and I am working from Starbucks.  “Working virtually” is similar to working remotely, but it likely means I am working from home via the internet.  (thanks MM!) 

“I am available after 9 am” either means I have an early morning networking meeting or I drop off my sons at school at 8:30, and won’t be back home until 9.  

“I spent yesterday laying groundwork / creating infrastructure” is what a friend and client refers to as “Sitting on the Couch” (thanks D).  Perhaps you spent your time connecting with clients, building relationships, creating tracking spreadsheets or thinking through your processes.  It just happened to occur from the comfort of your couch.  

“Let me run that past the finance / accounting department, and I will follow-up with you tomorrow”.  Again, my ever patient accountant husband.

“Let me run that past the Board / Focus Group”  means I need to ask a question of my trusted circle of network partners and friends, or perhaps post a question to my Facebook community.  They all rock!

For the record, I don’t use my dad’s idea of “Planning Sessions” (a.k.a. A Nap after he got off shift at the Firehouse).  Though my own Strategic Planning Sessions often occur during my solitary inter-state travels. 

I occasionally have “interns” (my sons) help me with projects, and I tried to call a trip to our favorite local breakfast spot for Chocolate Chip pancakes a “Holiday Office Party”.  My accounting department is known for attention to rules and details, though, so that did not fly…

So, no matter what you call them, or where you complete them, your work and efforts are impressive and deserve respectable titles.  So far today, I attended an on-line Continuing Education Class, confirmed my clients for this week, completed client correspondence, logged my weekly hours in my tracking spreadsheet; wrote my blog and newsletter, and checked-in with my on-line community.  Now I need to get “some work done remotely” (a.k.a. go to the post office, bank and Target).

Are You Drowning in Kid Papers?

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      A friend recently stated she was “Drowning in Kid Papers”, and I know we all feel that way some days.  So let me lend a hand and pull you out of your paper flood!  

     There are 3 kinds of papers:  Archival, Passive and Active.  Most of those Kid Papers bogging you down are Active Papers.  Active Papers require a next action and soon!  They are items such as permission slips to complete; a party invitation that requires a phone call, and then a trip to the store for a gift; coupons to take shopping and redeem;  and bills to mail, etc. 

     How do we get to Act on these Papers?   Decide on One and Only One place for these papers to live.  In our house, the active papers live on the kitchen desk (our Command Center).  They live in Only One Place because that makes acting on them a lot simpler!   And This One and Only One Place is also where all papers land when they come into our house, either via our mail box, backpacks, work briefcases, etc. 

  1. Use the Steps from Julie Morgenstern, Organizing From the Inside Out:
  • Sort and Purge – Make purging easy:  What can go now?  Trash?  Shred? Recycle?
  •      Complete forms and put right back in the backpack (we keep envelopes and small $$ in the desk drawer)
  •      File school papers right away. 
  • Sort the rest into Active, Passive and Archival papers
  •       Put away passive and archival immediately
  •       These are Active papers, so sort them by action:  Calls to make, Forms to complete.  Or, Sort them by when you want to Act on them, By Day:  I have a file for each day, so if I have calls to make, I’ll tuck all those reminders in this week’s Thursday file, when I know I will have an hour at home to make the calls.  Or, The Best idea:  Act on them RIGHT NOW, if you can, and move them along.
  • Assign a Home / Containerize:  Have a work space the whole family knows about, and if it tends to be a kitchen counter, so be it.
  • Equalize (Means Maintenance):  Regular maintenance is vital to any paper management system, so plan to act on your Active Papers every day or two, and to look at your Passive Papers every month or two.  Purge the information that is no longer important to you or that is about events and seasons now over.  Every Friday we clean out backpacks and folders, with my sons standing next to me.  We use four categories: Papers for Mom to Act On, Recycle/Toss, File (keep) and Homework to Complete. 

       Here are some examples of files on my kitchen desk, use them as inspiration to create and name your own files:

  1. “To File – Child’s Name” files, one for each child. I fill this file during the week as backpacks come home with papers, then file the items in a bin on each child’s closet shelf when I clean house (every week or 2)
  2. “Academics – Child’s Name” file, one for each child, for quarterly assessments, certificates, awards, etc. throughout the year.  These become part of their Archival records in their binder.
  3. Kids Activities: Current team rosters and contact lists, receipts for paid fees, raffle tickets, etc.
  4. Kids (Possible) Activities (for ideas when they come in the back packs or mail)
  5. Kids Extra Pix (pictures people give us through the year, extra school photos)
  6. Kids Religious Education (handbooks, general information)
  7. Kids Music (handbook, repair information, copies of completed sign ups)
  8. Kids Gifted Program (handbooks, overviews, resources)
  9. Kids Boy Scouts (contact information, handbook and yearly info)
  10. Kids Service (ideas for service projects, things to do)
  11. Kids School (handbooks, schedules, Principal notes and newsletters, sick child policies)

I also have a file holder on the desk, for general Family files.  All of these are accessible to all family members.

  1. Family: Adventures (ideas for places to do and things to do, parking passes, free day passes, etc.)
  2. Family: Events (guest lists for RSVPs; info or permission slips from venues, menu and party ideas for upcoming events)
  3. Family:  Home Improvements (ideas like paint colors or new front door brochures; active bids for projects, info on a new couch)
  4. Family:  Memberships (membership cards and literature for aquarium, zoo, museums, etc.)
  5. Family: Menus and coupons (take out and catering menus, along with coupons and such)
  6. Family:  Recipes (finally, some place to toss all the recipes I grab out of magazines, in a place where I can actually flip through and try them out!)
  7. Family:  Travel (travel info and packing lists for upcoming trips, accessible to me and my hubby, file goes on vacation with us)
  8. On a clip above the desk, we have upcoming event information, in reverse chronological order.  These are just for information purposes, Actions have already taken place:
    1. Invitations I have already responded to
    2. Newsletters from the library, with events I have signed up for circled or initialed
    3. forms to be turned in, like registration, with the due date noted on top
    4. Look ahead to tomorrow’s schedule

      Archival Papers are those items worthy of Long Term Storage, For example: mortgage papers, wills, passports, birth certificates, etc., and annual tax papers (for 4-7 years).  We store archival papers in small and movable labeled bins (not too big), file cabinets, or bankers boxes.   Archival Kid papers could be Keepsakes and treasures from each school year.  A great way to store those are Binders (a separate blog published 2/20/2011)

     Passive papers will most likely not be needed or retrieved except for disposal.  We keep them for a pre-determined amount of time and then discard.  Passive Kid Papers include: Completed everyday assignments and art projects; Yearly school handbook; contact lists for teams, or schedules and calendars (after we input the information into our date book / PDA of choice).   Here are a couple of ideas for How to take care of Kid Passive Papers:

  1. Short term – Open file holders on the desk or counter top, see above for suggestions 
  2. Monthly “Reminder”  files – a file for every month, for upcoming events, reminders, deadlines, etc. more than a month away (birthday party ideas and gift ideas are great to pop into monthly Reminder files).
  3. Also, if your young Picasso’s artwork and projects are gumming up the works, keep a few from year to year, or save them all to review in June, after school is over, and have your child pick their top 10.  Or, take a photo of the artwork or project, and print up and keep the photo as a memory (then you can toss the big cumbersome original)

     So, friends, if you, too, feel like you are “drowning in Kid Papers”, consider this your Life Preserver!  Spend a little time setting up your space to manage the deluge, and then spend a little time every day maintaining, or “staying a-float”.   Peace to you – Colleen

Bind Up That Paper Monster!

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Published originally in July, 2010 via  my website.   Copyright © 2010 M. Colleen Klimczak

 

I hear paper management questions all the time:

  • “What do I do with my kids’ school papers?”
  • “I cut out lots of recipes, how can I remember to use them?”
  • “How do I store my papers so that I can find things easier?”
  • “Maintenance is a pain – how can I make it go easier?”

            The answer to all these questions can be “Binders!”  Early on in my business, a friend and client helped me embrace the idea of Binders, so thanks to DCD!

 When to use a Binder system:

  • When you work with categories, like Children’s School / PTA or Medical Papers, 2009;
  • If you are a visual person or prefer to see your papers instead of filing them in file cabinets;
  • When you want or need your papers to be portable;
  • You have space limitations, binders work well instead of large file cabinets;
  • When you don’t have a system that works, or are ready to try something different to get a handle on your paper management (WHICH MEANS ALL OF US!).

Why use a Binder system:

  • You can read your information like a book;
  • You can organize your information how it makes sense to you;
  • Binders are Portable, to work on when you are on vacation, when you travel, when you are out and have some time while waiting, etc., or to take with you to doctor’s appointments;
  • Binders are Flexible, you can add or subtract folders as life evolves;
  • Binders are Duplicate-able, meaning if they work for one family member’s medical issues, perhaps you can use them for other areas of your life.

Situations that might benefit from a Binder System:  I use them for:

  • Working with categories, like
    • Children’s School / PTA or Medical Papers, 2009
    • Class topics / presentation notes, organized by topic
    • Recipes, like Main Dishes, Appetizers, Desserts, Beverages, Family Favorites
    • Children’s academic papers, organized chronologically and by child (see below for example)
    • For Bills, organized in pockets in the Binder…
  •  
    •      Chronologically by year, then by vendor
    •      Chronologically by year, then by month
    •      Use pockets for pen, calculator, check book, stamps / address labels

How to set up a Binder system:

  • If you don’t have Binders and accessories at home, take a trip to the office supply store.
  • Pick up a few 1”-3” 3-ring binders, a 3-hole punch, a stapler, 2 or 3 sets of binder pocket folders with tabs, plus pens and notepapers.
  • Sort your papers into categories, if you have not done so already, and pick a category like “Your Name – Medical” to try out the Binder idea.
  • Within my Colleen- Medical binder, I have clear binder pocket folders labeled:
  • An example of a non-medical Binder is a Binder for each student in your home.
  • As my kids get older and involved in more academic and leadership opportunities, it is so easy to access their report card history, special achievements and activities, since all the information is already grouped together.
  •  
    • Insurance Statements from my insurance company
    • Bills or statements from my physician appointments
    • Completed / Paid bills for those insurance statements and paid bills, once they are matched up and paid in full
    • Notes or articles I want to ask my doctor about
    • Articles about things I want to learn more about, like Heart health or weight loss
    • Other items might include pre or Post-operative instructions, prescriptions to fill, information about prescription meds I am taking, etc.
    • You can also keep your lab results or similar items in a binder, to make it easier to flip through them and review your progress over time.
  • We have 3 sons, therefore 3 Binders on the shelf in the kitchen.
  • Each child has a Binder, and in that Binder is a pocket for each school year.
  • We 3-hole punch the various papers or use sheet protectors (also available at your office supply store) to store awards received, newspapers articles, school pictures in photo pages, grade reports, team pictures from sports, notes, etc.

     Imagine the Binder system is like the main drive and folders in your computer.  The Binder is the main drive, and the binder pocket folders are the sub-directories for different areas of your life.  Think about the different areas, the “categories” of your life, and give paper management and a Binder system a try! 

Published originally in July, 2010 via  my website.   Copyright © 2010 M. Colleen Klimczak