Organizing and Learning How to Organize Articles

"Your customers are the reason you exist, and your job is to earn their love and loyalty," says Deb Boelkes, author of The WOW Factor Workplace: How to Create a Best Place to Work Culture. "That means you must first love them. And that, in turn, means you must first love your employees." In this blog, I frequently write about getting rid of things, but as covid lingers and our midterm primary elections heat up, I keep thinking of an old song written by Jackie DeShannon: What

Two years ago, The Financial Times and the Wall Street journal each had an article about the death of the traditional office. When I first started organizing offices in the early 2000s, office buildings had private offices — lots of them. Then the trend moved toward "office hoteling," and later, in the name of improving communication, but more truthfully I suspect, to cut costs, "open space" offices became the trend. Recently, among the most popular purchases for offices wer

Everything broken is clutter! At a recent speaking engagement, I asked the question, "When you think of 'clutter,' what comes to your mind?" Several of the answers I expected: "paper," "email," "my garage", but two of the responses truly intrigued me: 1) "head trash" 2) "relationships" The conversations that ensued after the presentation resulted in a new conclusion: Everything broken is clutter. We always encourage our clients to ask the question, "Does this help me acc

Clutter comes in many forms -- physical, paper, digital, mental, etc. In this age of companies merging and reorganizing, clutter in businesses is rampant. Over and over we experience situations in which "the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing!" Today I received a letter from my mortgage company with a check for $657 saying that there was an excess in my escrow account. In the same letter, there was a message that my monthly payment is increasing by $12/mo. S

Change is a permanent condition. It's something that we all have to deal with, whether we like it or not. As individuals, as businesses, and as organizations, we must learn to embrace change and use it to our advantage. If you're struggling to cope with change, or if your business is in decline, then it's time to make some changes of your own. One example of a major change I made several years ago is shown in the accompanying video - https://youtu.be/gyk6yyIDl_4. It was not e

“The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine.” - Mike Murdock What do you think and feel when you hear the word "routine"? For some, it brings thoughts of rigidity and mind-numbing boredom. For others, it evokes calm and a sense of accomplishment. No matter your reaction to the word, I promise you - you have routines. You may not have intentionally crafted them, but you have them. When we allow detrimental habits to play out on auto-pilot, these routines can w

How often do you feel stressed looking at papers piled on your desk, browsing through hundreds (and for many people, thousands!) of emails, or searching for your glasses, a book, a form, or a piece of equipment? Your ability to accomplish any task or goal is directly related to your ability to find what you need when you need it – and that ability is essential to any organization in order to accomplish its mission, serve its customers, minimize legal risks, and reduce overhe

I spoke those words in my 2017 TEDx talk - https://youtu.be/CrsdoIOGCRw encouraging people to make a decision about their clutter, take a small action step, and move forward. I wish I knew where I first heard the quote, but it’s been rattling around in my head for so long that I can’t remember, and an internet search turned up nothing. Another quote about decisions I can properly credit is, “You always do what you want to do. This is true with every act. You may say that you

Every time I tell my husband that I will be giving a speech, he asks, "What are you telling them?" I have to laugh, because I've been saying virtually the same thing for 40+ years. I used to feel guilty about it, but I've discovered that even though a speaker says the same words, I don't always hear the same words! I was cleaning out some files (Yes, I have to do that too!) and I found an unedited list of 31 "Ahas" a meeting planner collected from participants after my presen

Forget Your Filing System! Create a “Finding System” That Works Every Time! Recently I received the following email: Dear Barbara, A colleague just called me to her office and asked, "Do you remember when you first came here and I gave you all of that information on orientation for new salespeople? I can't find my files anywhere, do you still have that info?" Initially, I thought that there was no way I'd ever remember where I put it, but then "aha!" I checked my file index

On 13th September, the ruling party DMK presented legislation to abolish the NEET exam. The state government believes the NEET exam is an unfair means for the students seeking admission to medical colleges. A week later, on 20th September, the government released a 165-page report against entrance tests for professional courses. This report was released by a 9 member committee headed by retired judge of High court Mr. A.K. Rajan. Many reasons backing the abolition of NEET wer

“The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine.” - Mike Murdock What do you think and feel when you hear the word "routine"? For some, it brings thoughts of rigidity and mind-numbing boredom. For others, it evokes calm and a sense of accomplishment. No matter your reaction to the word, I promise you - you have routines. You may not have intentionally crafted them, but you have them. When we allow detrimental habits to play out on auto-pilot, these routines can w

I'm excited! For decades, Jeremiah 29:11 has been a guiding principle for my entrepreneurial journey. It reads, "I know the thoughts I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." To me, that means the possibilities are endless, even when things don’t look so good on the outside. In fact, with the advent of Covid-19, we are seeing new opportunities for our company, our clients, and the world! One of them is the possibi

“Time spent minimizing possessions is never wasted.” — Joshua Becker Let's listen in on a quick conversation between a man and a woman. As the woman pulls items from their bedroom closet, the man lies on the bed looking at a magazine. Woman - "..., I cannot do this job without you. Most of these things are yours." Man - "Well, honey, why don't you leave all that junk in the closet?" Woman - "Because that's just it. Most of it's junk, and we need the closet space." Man -

The azaleas outside my office window have begun to bloom. Spring has arrived. Spring is my favorite season because it signifies hope, which has become the bedrock theme of my life. Several years ago, I decided that I wanted "She gave others hope" on my tombstone. I mentioned that recently while working with a business coach on a new program I am launching called "Team Building for Dream Building," to help organizations build teams in which everyone can "accomplish their work

Mixed weddings are on a rise in our country thanks to a large number of young people who are leaving their traditional place to go out in search of a suitable job. Recently, I had to organise such a mixed wedding for my daughter. We are from Gujrat and the groom was from Delhi and it was decided that we will go for a destination wedding where the main event would be organised in the tranquil backwaters of Kerala. As the place of wedding was in a far off place, we decided to h

A colleague and I had just left our morning network group and were walking to our cars. As she walked, Ann was digging in her handbag struggling to find the key to her car. “This always happens,” she said, frustration mounting as she continued to dig – ultimately placing the bag on the hood in order to finally succeed. “Really?” I asked. “Unfortunately,” she replied sheepishly. I smiled because a few years ago, I was having the same experience. I had purchased a beautiful br

When I check out of my local grocery store, the clerk asks, "Did you find everything?" Frequently, I reply (and I'm sure the clerks hear this often): "I did. More tha I came for!" I have to admit that I have become a big fan of online shopping, and one of the primary reasons is that I find what I am looking for and check out. However, it's much harder to stop when I find what I'm looking for if I go into the store. One of the principles of a "productive environment" is "You

Is your desk hurting your productivity? Location, location, location. It isn't just about the real estate market. Is your desk intentionally arranged? Or is everything strewn about wherever it landed the last time you used it? Like it or not, your personal productivity is significantly impacted by how you arrange your desk. With studies indicating an hour a day is lost looking for things, time spent thoughtfully organizing your work surface is time well-spent. Not everyone

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” - Confucius I had a Zoom video meeting scheduled on my calendar. These days, who doesn't, right? Shortly before start time, the person messaged me saying their computer had gone into an unexpected update, they couldn't access the Zoom link, and they would have to reschedule. We needed to meet, and our calendars were challenging to coordinate. I started running through options in my head, and it dawned on me. Z

"I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things." – Antoine de Saint-Exupery As we hurtle down the runway toward the most hectic time of year for many of us, both personally and professionally, let's take a moment to keep things in perspective. Recently, as I attempted to set my priorities for the day, I became acutely aware of my sense of overwhelm regarding what the next 8 - 10 weeks would bring. That's right. I felt profoundly overwhelmed even with my

With Hurricane Florence headed toward PEI almost 4 years ago, it was difficult to stay focused, but during my meditation that morning I read Isaiah 54:10: “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed” says the Lord, who has compassion on you. Keeping that in mind, we’re focusing on one of the principles we teach: “Control the things you can control, so you can cope with what you

"You have no idea how much stuff you have until you have to pack your life into boxes." - Carol (Kathy's Mom) A quick Google search of life's top stressors returns arguably positive events such as getting married, starting a new job, retirement, and moving to a new residence. One might expect the positive nature of these events would negate their stressfulness. However, their persistent appearance on stressor lists contradicts this theory. At first glance, one explanation m

In one of my favorite books, First Things First, written by Stephen Covey with Roger and Rebecca Merrill, is a story of the man in front of his class with a pile of rocks and a jar. He puts the rocks in the jar, and then asks the class "Is it full?" "Yes," they answer in unison. "Oh?" he replies and gets out some pebbles, which he adds to the jar. "Is it full?" he asks. Catching on, they reply, "Probably not." And then he added sand. And, finally, some water. "What does that

A few years ago I returned from a 5-day trip to New York City, and then to Greenwich, CT. It was a fabulous trip in so many ways, and one of them was that I was able to do lots of reading and writing in my hotel room during my travels. Many years prior, I had learned that traveling is one of my best sources of inspiration and that my hotel room is my most productive environment for reading and writing because there are fewer distractions. When I wrote my first book in 1987,

If you discovered your career depended on how organized your office was, your reaction could range from complete composure to sheer terror. Even the most successful professionals sometimes utter, "Someday I'm really going to get organized," but purging files, organizing receipts, tackling piles of unread jou als, or learning a new system (even one that will help you be more organized!), usually gets pushed to the bottom of your list of priorities while you handle today's cris

Many years ago, I spent some time with a family with 18 home-schooled children. It was a delightful experience, and I loved learning how they incorporated the children's education into their daily lives. Cooking became math. Dinner table discussion became political science. Going to visit a friend became geography. Years later, I was thrilled to cross paths with the mother of the children who told me what a difference I had made in their lives. I couldn't imagine what she me

Time, Tools, Trust As we learned from Barbara Hemphill, "it is not what SHOULD you do, it is what WILL you do." Having the right tools, trusting in them, and using them at the right time are the keys to a satisfying and productive day! I call them: The Three T’s of Productivity. Tools: The first of the 3 T's is tools. Do you have the correct tools for the job? Will you need your computer? What software or apps do you need? Do you have a writing pad and a pen? Do you need yo

Have you ever felt that something happening in the world just wasn't right, but you weren't brave enough to express your opinion? In the late 1980s, I had a client in New York City who was removing private offices and replacing them with an "open office." Management touted the change as a method of improving communication and collaboration. I was highly skeptical and believed the real reason was an effort to decrease real estate costs, but I was too timid to express my conce

Management is the pillar of any business. It is crucial to have management skills to achieve goals together. Moreover, it helps to get the results in a faster and efficient way. There are several aspects of management in the company. These mainly include the HR department, finance section, and marketing. The perfect combination of these three helps in the overall growth of an industry. A company requires efficient employees for management. The majority of companies look for e

"The pandemic unleashed a flurry of new entrepreneurs. If the economy goes into recession, that trend will increase," according to an interview in Kiplinger's Personal Finance with Lakshmi Balachandra, professor of entrepreneurship and a fellow in the National Science Foundation's Technology Innovation and Partnerships Directorate program. Two familiar phrases came to mind when I read that interview: 1) "Necessity is the mother of invention," and 2) "Make lemonade out of lem

Profit, productivity, and peace of mind… Over a third (36 percent) of Americans took their last vacation more than two years ago, and over half (51 percent) have not vacationed in more than a year, according to the 11th annual Vacation Confidence Index released by Allianz Global Assistance. Allianz defined a vacation as a leisure trip of at least a week to a destinatio 100 miles or more from home. One big reason: FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). Many workers struggle to disconnec

Now rather than later! One of the significant causes of clutter in our society today is the result of my generation collecting and saving items for the next generation – who have no interest. Perhaps it's because they saw how much effort it was for us to pay for it, store it, clean it, insure it, and worry about it. Perhaps it's because they are just more interested in experiences than material things. Whatever the reason, it's a fact in many families. This reality causes a

You arrived on earth without clutter. Your parents and doting relatives started you on a pathway to accumulation. By the time you were a year old, you had mounds of functional clothing, twenty outfits suitable for dress-up, too many stuffed animals, custom-sized furniture, a silver spoon, and a plastic Winnie-the-Pooh bowl. Perhaps there was also your christening gown: an heirloom already packed safely away waiting for the next generation. You had not even become a toddler ye

An experienced HR professional understands that job descriptions have the potential to inspire positive employee engagement and resolve numerous employee problems, even before they arise. They know the value of conducting frequent performance reviews and understand that job description should be the most important part of the whole review process. Without a comprehensive job description, the performance review may not provide an accurate appraisal of the performance. When the

For developers, hybrid mobile app development has come as a breather. These types of mobile apps are designed to streamline hybrid mobile app development. These platforms help mobile app developers to build quality hybrid mobile applications. <img src="https://i.postimg.cc/7LRQczbK/5-Most-Popular-Frameworks-For-Hybrid-App-Development.png" width="100%">

Start by asking yourself these questions: 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? If you answe

DEFINE WHAT YOU WANT YOUR SETTING TO BE, EXACTLY This is a valuable exercise and one many people imagine they can easily skip. You may be thinking, “I just want it cleaned up, cleared off, and efficient.” That may be “good enough for now,” but it isn’t the best that is possible. This is the time for total and complete luxurious honesty. Ask yourself, “What setting would encourage me to operate to my highest and best purpose on earth?” What colors, textures, tools, light, a

Jewelry is really a popular option for gifting on occasion like birthdays, Valentine's Evening, weddings, anniversaries as well as the like. A great deal of attention is paid out to how a present appears to be like within the outdoors. It should be these types of that it brings an exclamation of joy to your receiver's lips. Exquisite parts of jewellery is usually complemented by beautiful jewelry bins. Retailers carry care to provide effectively created jewellery bins to thei

Suppose you wake up tomorrow with a kindly presence whispering gently in your ear. “You are such a great person, we have decided to give you your heart’s desire of the most ideal setting in which to live and work.” You float halfawake with welcome visions of a sun-drenched easy chair, a penthouse office, a water view, an inviting golf course just outside, cloud-soft carpets, luxurious furniture, relaxing aromas, fragrant flowers, harmonious sounds, peace, calm, and order ever

Recently I wrote about 7 ways you could eliminate paper from your workspace, but many people like to keep some papers. When the concept of “paperless” began to surface, I decided that as an organizing and productivity consultant, I certainly should embrace it. Well, I tried! But like many other clients we’ve had through the years, I find some paper can truly be more productive. Having said that, it’s important to remember Hemphill’s Principle: If you don’t know you have it,

In a blog entitled "Everything Broken is Clutter" https://youtu.be/qorpCQTKC6c, I mentioned that in a speech when I asked the questio "What comes to mind when I say the word 'clutter?'” one participant replied "Relationships!" She was referring to relationships in her life that weren't productive for her -- or them! Last night I had dinner with a dear friend Dr. Paula Berardinelli, who refers to herself as an "edupreneur," with whom I collaborated to create the event "Less C

Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. -William Morris What you love, you preserve. There are so many tools available to support your Clutter Campaign. And what works best for someone you know may not work for you at all. This is the time to discover exactly the right items and equipment to match your style of thinking and operating. Once you have the perfect match of tool for each task you are more likely to continue your Ca

Are you embarrassed when you walk into your home or office? Do you frequently run out of space? Is your desk piled high with UPO's (unidentified piled objects)? Are you frustrated by the amount of time you spend looking for things? If so, you're not alone! Research shows the average person spends 150 hours per year looking for misplaced information, while eight out of ten people have at least one area of their home or office they would prefer that no one ever sees! The word

Live Clutter-Free Forever. Have you noticed how clutter is like a boomerang--it seems to come back quickly? The best way to prevent the "boomerang effect" is to commit to a way of life that supports your new resolve to stay clutter-free forever. The five-step Clutter Campaign is not a step-by-step linear process. Instead, it is like a circle continuing in an unbroken line. You continue to design your vision, eliminate your excuses, commit your time, select your tools and main

One of the guiding principles of Productive Environment Institute is "Together We Are Better." Indeed, in today's quarantine environment, that statement has new meaning. While we cannot be together physically, technology enables us to share in new ways, and lifting each other up is essential. Ecclesiastes 4:12 (NIV) says, "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." When it comes to surviving -- and even thriving

Here is the one simple principle that can help you escape the clutter trap and remain clutter-free forever: LOVE IT OR LOSE IT If there is anything around you that you do not know to be useful, believe to be beautiful, or treasure for reasons of your own, get rid of it. Love it or lose it. Things you do not love have no place in your heart, and should have no place in your home or workspace. That’s the LOVE IT OR LOSE IT Principle. This book helps you put that principle to

Remember that one basic idea—CLUTTER IS POSTPONED DECISIONS®. Now ask yourself if you’ve ever really decided what you want your setting to be. Chances are you have not thought much about this. One client described her frustration at “visiting the banquet of life and feeling stuck in the mashed potatoes — all the stuff holding me down.” Only later did she define an entirely different place on life’s banquet table. She wanted to feel as bright as a bowl of fresh raspberries - r

In the digitized business space, countless business people are slanted in introducing their ticket booking applications. Customers appreciate the consistent experience, holding their tickets from any place, and at some random time. <img src="https://i.postimg.cc/Bb8tVvnr/How-Much-Does-It-Cost-To-Develop-Ticket-Booking-App.png" width="100%"> With powerful versatile applications at the fingertips, booking tickets for any event like a music fest, sports event, and favorite movie require a couple of moments now.