Many people find January the time to
plan. However, January is often when business and family life starts
to ramp back up after the holiday season leaving little focus for
planning. For many, December is a great time to focus and plan for your
family and business.
But can you focus in your office space?
Often our "planning" time ends up as an attempt to organize
the space to allow us to focus. Physical or electronic
disorganization are not just distractions, they hinder our ability to
find data or other information that could help with our planning.
You know you need to clean it up. But
how? Likely you've tried before with mixed success. How can you make
your organizational efforts stick?
Try the following approach:
Sort →
Purge → System →
Process
Sort: Know what you have; know
what to keep and for how long.
Purge: Let go! Take a hard look at things you own and decide if they are helping you or hindering you. This is single hardest part but the biggest determinant
of your success.
System: For the items you've
kept, decide on a system for organizing them. Business vs. personal? Paper vs.
electronic? Subject vs. retention expiration date?
Process: You've dealt with the
items already in your office. Now create a process for dealing with new items coming into your home office otherwise your office will soon be in the same state as before you started. What
sort of information flows through your home office? Business?
Personal? Financial? Family? Action items? Items for archiving only?
Be sure to set up a process to deal with information flowing in from
both paper and electronic sources.
One additional option: Outsourcing.
For small business owners, outsourcing can be a life saver. It
allows them to get more done and is especially helpful for those
tasks which are not their strengths. When it comes to organizing your
home office, you may be better served by outsourcing this project to
a professional organizer who can lead you through Sort →
Purge → System →
Process.
Whether you do-it-yourself or with the
help of a professional organizer, getting your home office space
organized is key to focusing on planning for you future. Plan your
space; plan your life.
Happy Holidays and Happy Planning!
To learn more about how a professional
organizer can help you, contact Sabina Gartler at Savvy Home Office
services at sabina@savvyhomeoffice.com
or 832.236.3757.
www.savvyhomeoffice.com
