We all know that the days are winding down fast and the new year is right in front of us. At this point you might be thinking about things that you haven’t accomplished this year, wishing that you had done more and realizing that it’s time to get it together. Time to get organized so that you can focus on your business instead of wasting your time. Speaking of wasting time, did you know that on average, people spend anywhere from 1.5 to 2 hours every day just looking for things? It’s true. That wasted time adds up fast and can cost you money too, but it doesn’t have to.
If you’re in a place where you’re wishing you had done more this year and maybe trying to get just one thing completed before it’s all said and done, you know that you don’t want next year to be an instant replay of this one so it’s time to set yourself up for success. Get rid of the clutter in your office that’s taking up space and blocking the energy in it; get your office organized so that you can find the things that you need without wasting that 1.5 to 2 hours every day looking for them, get rid of the things that don’t work and set up systems that make things work and support you.
To help you get started, let me give you a few steps that will help you get rid of the clutter in your space:
- Visit the spots in your office where things seem to land automatically. Usually it’s your desk, the tops of filing cabinets, tables and other flat surfaces. Flat surfaces are the number one spot for things to automatically land and accumulate.
- At each spot, grab everything that’s out of place and go through it piece by piece and determine where it needs to go and put it away. If it’s a file, put it back in the filing cabinet. If you have business cards from an event that you attended, clip them together and put them aside to enter into your database and put away the books or other items that are just sitting around. If something doesn’t already have an assigned home, set it aside for the next step.
- Go back to the things that you set aside yesterday from your first action item. These are the things that don’t have a home. They don’t have a home because you haven’t designated one for them. Today, create homes for the things that don’t have them. Take some time to think about where each item should go. Make sure that the homes you assign make sense. Most will be obvious, like if it’s info for a new project or client that doesn’t have a home, create a file and get it in the filing cabinet.
- Now that your space is clear, create the habit of putting things away on a regular basis. This means that you start putting things away after they’ve been used or at the end of your work day. If your day ends at 5pm, then stop at 4:45pm and get the books, files and other items you used during the course of your day put away. If there’s something new that you acquired that day, assign it a home and get it put up. This is also a good time to look at your agenda for the next day. Leave your workspace in order, especially your desk. When you return to start your next day, you enter a clear space that is ready both physically and energy-wise for you to work. Keep this up until it becomes a habit for you. If you have to set reminders/an alarm for yourself until you build the habit, do it! Keep your space clutter free at all costs.
Right now (Nov 2012-Jan 2013) I’m having a 28 Day Get It Done Challenge to help you get your office and business in order and get you ready for the new year. Dump the clutter, tame the paper tiger, create business systems that will support you and be ready to take on 2013…all for a VERY minimal cost. Click the following link to get all of the details and sign up! http://doitintimediva.com/28daychallenge.