Small Business Today Magazine JAN 2015 AIM GLOBAL LOGISTICS | Page 26
EDITORIALFEATURE
Getting Organized:
STAY FOCUSED
By Holly Uverity CPO®, Office Organizers
O
rganization may not come naturally to you but that doesn’t mean that you can’t learn. Everyone who truly wants to become better organized can. Use the words STAY FOCUSED as a guideline to start you on your path to organization,
keep you on your path, or validate where you are.
STAY FOCUSED
S Start each day with a plan. Never underestimate the
time you spend planning. Each week you should allot
about 15 minutes to planning your days, weeks, and
months. Plans are what allow you to reach your goals.
T Tweak your systems. Very often, successful people use
the same systems over and over again even if those systems have stopped being effective. As your life, your
business and your priorities change, it’s important that
your methods of staying organized change along with
them.
A Ask for help. No one person can do everything and it’s
a mistake to try. Asking others for help not only gives
you insights into what others can do but it also gives you
the space and time to do what you do best.
Y Yes or no. Learn to make decisions about all the information that comes into your office. Clutter is the
physical manifestation of indecision; decision making is a
skill and it can be learned, practiced, and perfected.
F Fix only what’s broken. Regardless of how disorganized
you are, there are things you’re doing that are working
and systems you’re using that aren’t broken. Spend your
time fixing what doesn’t work for you and not on trying
to change a system that’s doing its job.
O Outsource what you don’t like to do, don’t know how
to do, or what is not the best use of your time. In today’s
business world, it’s more important than ever that you
only spend your time, energy, and talents on high payoff
activities.
C Create time each day, week, and month to work through
your list. Saying “I’ll do it when I have time” is a sure way
to make sure it never gets done. Keep a Master List
which captures everything and a list of daily tasks; stick
to the list and your tasks will get completed.
U Understand your personal style. Work with your own
body rhythms and your work style. Keep track of how
you feel; pay attention to when you feel the most creative, when you feel the most tired, and when you feel
the most energetic. Plan your work around those cycles.
S Start small. Small, incremental changes over time can
have an enormous impact. Begin by keeping one area
of your desk clean or keeping your In Box cleared out.
Continuing to make small changes will keep you from
feeling overwhelmed and paralyzed into inaction.
E Enter into an agreement with yourself as well as with
others. Have a buddy check in with you regularly to
keep you on track and give you support when you need
it. Keep your agreements – with others and with yourself.
D Don’t let distractions pull you off course. If you find
yourself getting distracted, recognize it, regroup, and then
get back on track. Everyone falls down sometimes but
the professionals always get back up. Getting distracted
happens automatically; getting beyond your distractions
is something you need to learn.
Office Organizers is The Entrepreneur’s Organizer. Founded in 1993, they work with business people to create solutions to their organizational challenges.
Contact them at 281.655.5022,
24 SMALL BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE [ JANUARY 2015 ]