Get Your (home or work) Office In Order!

Getting your office in order can be the difference between a holiday that has your harried and hurried and a holiday season that you can enjoy. If you have gotten severely off TRACK (hence, the picture of a train) in maintaining order to your desk area, try a few (or all!) of the following tips to help put you back in control.

First - Clear out your desk and files.

This will be the longest task of this whole project, but is necessary and will make a huge difference. Think of it more like you are making room for those exciting new projects that you have been putting off. Oh!, for this I would recommend checking out your local resources to see if there are any shredding trucks coming to various events in your neighborhood. A good friend of mine recently told me about a truck that was up at the farmers market a few blocks from her house for about 3 hours on Saturday. Once you have thrown out what you can, you will be surprised at how motivated you become to start working on all those projects. It is also usually quite interesting to see what else you come across too – that missing CD, your passport, your child’s kindergarten picture. Fun times!

Second – Create “Homes for your Resource information.

Paper is a problem for many. Keeping track of the bills or receipts isn’t usually the challenge (hint: file it). Keeping track of the junk mail isn’t a challenge (hint: throw it out!) Still, this is one are that I constantly get questioned about. So what “papers” have people confused? I think it most likely that it is information. You know, those important pieces of information that you come across daily. So, how do keep that kind of information in order? Simply put - create a Resource “home” using a 3-ring binder file. You can print out articles that you come across while surfing or any emails that you may need to refer to again; you can cut out useful magazine articles; you can store newsletters, circulars or magazines. In fact use your resource binder to store anything that you will want to keep and refer to again! Use divider cards so that you can easily access resources on a particular topic.

It would be neglectful of me not to address the clutter that can accumulate on your computer at this point as well, so here is my “home” for resource information on your PC: Store all those downloaded documents and create folders within your folder (also known as subfolders) with each relating to a specific topic. Additionally, take advantage of the bookmark feature on your web browser. You can also create folders and subfolders in your favorites folder. Email me if you would like me to send you specific instructions on how to create folders and subfolders online or offline, I’d be happy to assist you!!

Third - Get back in touch with your contacts

Now's a good time to update your client and contact database. It's easy to let things slip, and again, I’m going to state that we have all been guilty of this type of thing at one time or another, so cut yourself a break – but still resolve to make a change. Drop your friends, family, clients, customers, team members, whatever the case is for you . . . send them a personal note or email and make sure that the information you currently have for them is up-to-date -- and this will ensure that your information is accurate when you come to send those all-important Christmas greetings!

Fourth – Have a website? Get it listed in as many places as possible!

Update your directory listings; get entered on new industry directories; check backlinks -- set up a spreadsheet to keep track of all of this.

Fifth - Get your finances organized

I know, you'd probably prefer to do anything but organizing your receipts, however, this is time well spent! Now's the time to drag out all those business receipts and get your bookkeeping system back on track! The more accurate and organized your finances are laid out all throughout the year, the more painfree your tax filing time will be. . . in fact for many, this critical discipline can be the difference between having to pay the government or having the government sending you a check!

Follow these simple tips and you'll soon have your (home or work) office back on track!

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