Can You Live a Good Enough Life?

I am fascinated by how the concept of ‘good enough’ relates to being organized and our many attempts to be what we perceive as ‘well organized’.  What does being organized mean to you?  Most likely not the same as it does to your spouse, your best friend or your children.

What if, instead of constantly striving to be more organized, better organized or even, heaven forbid, perfectly organized we strove for ‘good enough’.  According to Sarah Hampson the author of an article entitled, The Secret to happiness? Live a ‘good enough’ life,  “. . . when you don’t expect much, when you manage the ideas of what you think your life should be, you can be pleasantly surprised – and grateful – for the good fortune that comes your way.”

Somehow this sounds like lowering expectations, reducing the standards of what is acceptable and seems to me like settling for mediocrity.  Not acceptable to someone like me who is a recovering perfectionist and still battling with doing my ‘best’ instead of striving for ‘perfect’.  So, the concept of good enough doesn’t sit well with me but I know for many of you it might be just what you need.

If your kitchen drawers are organized so that you can find what you need but you don’t have those fancy dividers that you saw in a friends kitchen that might just be good enough?  If your clothes are all hanging up but not on matching hangers is that good enough?  If your papers are all off the floor and in tidy piles on your desk where you can put your fingers on what you need that might just be good enough.  If your email inbox is down to 50 messages, instead of 500, maybe that is good enough?

I like the idea of good enough as opposed to perfectly organized as it does allow us to lower our expectations of what organized means and move towards a level of organization that is achievable.  I think this concept is especially important for those who don’t like to spend their time organizing or find it difficult to know when to stop organizing. 

What we see in magazines and on television is often not realistic and perhaps that is where some of our expectations of perfectly organized come from?  Have you ever noticed the desk in the corner of the living room on a makeover show with a computer on it but not a single cord in sight nor a stitch of paper – no matter how organized we are our space will never look like that so perhaps lowering our expectations is exactly what the doctor ordered!

Everything in life seems to come back to deciding what matters most.  As long as your home and office are organized ‘enough’ so that you can function effectively and enjoy your space, forget about what others may think and go with what works for you.  I think the summer is the perfect time to try some ‘good enough’ thinking – at least for you my dear readers even if not for me!

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Time to Look for Something but No Time to Put It Away?

Here are some wise words from my good friend Georgina Forrest from Smartworks Organizing in Calgary, Alberta from one of her recent newsletters. 

Doing Small Things Can Make A Big Difference.  Have you ever taken something out to use it …

• a file from the file cabinet
• the hole punch out of the supply cupboard
• a book off of a shelf
• something – anything – out of a drawer

. . . used it but didn’t put it back? You know, because you just didn’t have time to put it away.

Then you needed to find something – perhaps a file or a hole punch or a book or something – only to SPEND time digging through the piles of stuff that had accumulated because you didn’t have time to put it away in the first place.

It’s a funny paradox of life:

Why is it we always have time to look for something yet we don’t always have time to put it away?

Don’t just put stuff down when you’re done with it, put it away. It really only takes a few additional seconds to do this, but can save you oodles of time wasted looking for it again in the future.

Every little thing you can do to keep order, results in huge benefits for you down the not-too-distant road.

So put that file or hole punch or book or whatever away – right now.

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Another Filing Masterpiece!

This week was very gratifying on many fronts but especially so because I got to help a client who owns a small business revamp her paper filing system.  I’m quite sure I was far more excited about the process than she was.

She admits to being exhausted from all the decisions that had to be made.  Naturally, the filing revamp begins with a good purge.  This is where I have to play bad cop and force my clients to go through every scrap of paper and every existing file and decide what to keep and what to let go of.  Asking yourself questions like, “How long has it been since I last referred to this information?” and the all important, “Do I need to keep this for tax or legal reasons?” is tedious and tiring but must be done.  And it feels good to know exactly what you have and why.

Once the purge is done, then it’s time to make a home for each piece of information that we’re keeping.  In this instance the existing system was confusing because of two things- the files were not alphabetical and there were many file folder colors in use.  Both of these make it very difficult to find what you need quickly.

So, you guessed it, we made all the file folders white and named our files so that they naturally fell into alphabetical order.  We did indulge ourselves a bit and use 3 different colors of hanging folders for the 3 main filing categories – blue for personal files, green for business files and red for tax files. 

I have to thank my client, Gail, because I actually got a new idea from her. She was keeping all of her ‘tax’ files (anything that she can claim for tax purposes as a business expense) in a separate case.  We took the files out of the fan folder case (I always find them difficult to work with) and created a separate category for those files.  I’ve actually never taken the household files like power, water, insurance, etc. and kept them in a separate section – I’m liking that idea going forward.  Hmmm…. must test it in my own office.

The final session, my favourite part of the process,  involved putting all the new labels (merged from an Excel spreadsheet for printing) on the nice new white file folders in the new colored hangers and ‘voila’ a masterpiece once again.  It never ceases to amaze how much easier it is to find a file amongst dozens of others when all the file names are visible and all the folders are the same color so you can see what you’ve got. 

Can’t wait to do another one!  Yes, I know, just a little sad that I love doing this stuff so much.

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I’m Suffering from ‘Paper Calendar Withdrawal’!

I think I’m in ‘like’ with my new Blackberry Style but not yet in ‘love’ with it.  Wow, do I have a whole new understanding for what many of my clients have gone through over the last few years as we switch from a paper planner to these wonderful electronic devices.  I am suffering from ‘paper calendar withdrawal’ symptoms – who knew it would be so difficult.

I suppose I should lay blame with the Tony at Priority Management who taught me oh so well to be totally reliant on my paper system back in 1993 – eeks, that’s a long time ago, no wonder I’m having such a hard time. Now I understand why so many people have an electronic and a paper calendar system – it’s hard to teach yourself not to automatically go for the paper planner and open it up to glance at that big monthly calendar and the weekly To Do’s all nicely organized by day.

So, the first two weeks I had my Blackberry, you guessed it, I kept the paper planner too and spent an inordinate amount of time entering all my appointments and tasks in both places.  Oh boy, that did not make me a happy girl.  There is nothing I hate more than wasting time getting myself organized. I’m all about quick and simple when it comes to keeping track of where I have to be and what I have to do when. So I tried entering everything in my computer (which syncs beautifully with my BB by the way) and then printing out my calendar and tasks. 

Suddenly I realized what I was doing – why on earth was I wasting trees printing all the information that was already in two places – my computer calendar and my Blackberry?  It was difficult to explain the compulsion that drove me to keep looking for these things in my planner.  I suppose it has been almost like an extension of my body for over 15 years. I never went anywhere without it, ever. Well, maybe on the weekends when I wasn’t working I left it in my office.

I am pleased to report that I am gradually weaning myself off my paper planner but I’m telling you it certainly isn’t easy.  I still have to carry around client files and reference information during the week so my plan is to purchase a new binder to carry those items in so I can finally free myself once and for all from a paper-based organizing system.  Fingers crossed that it all works more efficiently and effectively in the end.

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Finding a Theme for the New Year with Yoga!

What’s that, you say, someone found a theme for 2011 in yoga class? You’ve got to be kidding me. Shouldn’t that happen at a party with a few glasses of champagne?

Not necessarily.  This year I tried something totally new and went to a yoga class on New Years Day to celebrate the beginning of a new year and leave the old year behind.  I have to give big kudos to Sherry Zak of Halifax Yoga  for leading an amazing class for 50 dedicated souls and helping us speak our theme for the new year in public and then let go of the past year with a tough flow class involving lots of sweat and more than a few sore muscles!

What’s all this got to do with organizing?  A lot.  Without a theme for the year it’s hard to set goals and without goals it’s hard to achieve anything important and even more difficult to decide how to use your time to fulfill your destiny in the way you truly desire.

Each year at this time, in preparation for a new beginning,  I spend a day with my  Mastermind Group setting goals and making commitments for the next year.  This year we’ll be doing it online since we can’t get together in person.  We’re spread from Calgary to Winnipeg to Sudbury to Toronto to Halifax and we’re so greatful for the technology which allows us to meet and to ‘see ‘ each other even though we’re not all in the same city.

In preparation for our planning session, I spent the rest of New Years day going through and getting rid of a huge pile of paper in my office (more to do tomorrow), giving away some odds and ends from the storage closet (while I was putting away the Christmas decorations), and clearing extra books from my bookcase. 

Whew, that feels good . . . it really does!  Now I’m truly ready to rock and roll into 2011 and can’t wait to come up with the plan for how I’m going to achieve my goals and fulfill my dreams for ‘freedom’ in the coming year.  You should try it – go ahead . . . get organized!   For the record, ‘getting organized’ was listed as the #4 new year’s resolution for 2011.

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Preparing Your Business for 2011

At this time of year I always start to get into what I like to call ‘Clean Up and Get Organized for the New Year’ mode in my business.  Somehow, I always look forward to this process. For me it involves several steps which many of you may find it helpful to consider.

1. Purging Paper & Electronic Information - like many of you I accumulate a lot of paper and electronic information throughout the year, some of which I never use. There’s no better feeling than going through all the paper files and shredding a bunch, going through my ‘My Documents’ folder and either archiving or deleting a bunch of files and finally going through all my email folders from this year and either archiving or deleting a bunch of that information.  Somehow this process always seems to shift the energy around a bit and make room for new and exciting projects each new year.
2. Getting Ready for Canada Revenue - I have to say that all of us small business owners certainly do have to be well organized on the financial records side of our business in case our friends at CRA come calling.  I firmly believe that if I’m well organized and keep good records there is less likelihood that will happen but if it does I’ll be well prepared. I can pull any piece of   information they may require on a moment’s notice including invoices, expense receipts, HST returns, my calendar with all appointments,  monthly financial statements and the all important Automobile Mileage Log (to purchase yours go to http://www.janetheorganizer.com/productsforsale_automileagelog.html)  for the past 7 years.  The two things that they love to audit us home-based businesses for are ‘office-use-of-home’ expenses and ‘vehicle expenses’, so be sure to have those records in tip top shape and easily accessible.  In addition, HST audits are quite common so being able to produce your records in a timely fashion can make this process almost painless.
3. Creating A New Budget - I always like to challenge myself to ‘stretch goals’ on the revenue side and then see how little I can get away with spending on the expense side while still growing the business.  This year I’m thinking about a few new budget items such as a Smartphone (yeah, yeah, I know I’m so behind on that one), a part-time Personal Assistant (too exciting), and maybe even my dream of a Training Video.  Having a monthly budget and reviewing it twice per month is one of the key success factors to any business, large or small.
4. Annual Planning - in addition to creating a new budget, I schedule a yearly annual planning session for 1 or 2 days with my mastermind group(s) to brainstorm ideas for the next year or so.  This will involve both my personal and professional life and is a chance for some free thinking with no limitations.  A chance to review outstanding projects and think of new ones.  A chance to dream big and share those dreams with others.  And finally the time to put it all in writing, decide my priorities for the next year, and make a committment to others in my mastermind group to work on those priorities or, if I don’t, to have a good reason for changing them.

Whew, aren’t you exhausted just thinking about all this? Now we all have to go and book time in our calendar over the holiday season to get working on #1 to #3.  In my business #4 will be happening in two phases, one in January and the other in March.  However, you may decide to do something completely different like attend a workshop or hire someone to help you through the process.  Remember the adage, “Poor Prior Planning leads to P… Poor Performance”.

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Declutter Before the New Year!

I’m starting to think about the projects I will be working on over the holiday season to get myself ready for the new year.  As I unwind (with a treatment at the spa on December 23rd), and enjoy the company of friends and family, my thoughts turn to plans for 2010.

Every year between Christmas and the New Year, I go through all the paper files in my office, throw away what I don’t need and remind myself of the information I do have that I had forgotten about.  I also take a look through each of the main folders in My Documents and in my e-mail folders again looking for files I can delete and those that need to be moved to the appropriate folder.

During the holiday season try taking the time to dig through all the drawers and cabinets in your office, clear you computer files, clean house,  and take control of your environment.  Have fun and you’ll be well prepared for 2010.

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Home Office Design and Organizing Part 1

This if the first of a three-part series on designing and organizing your home office.

Let’s talk about everyone’s worst nightmare – paper, paper, paper – where does it all come from and what to do with it?  For most of the busy professionals I work with this is the most challenging part of keeping their home organized.  Can you relate?

Piles of paper going up the stairs and down the stairs . . . information on vacation plans still piled high on the dining room table along with unopened mail, bills waiting to be paid . . . and then there are the magazines.  Let me count the ways that I love my decorating magazines!  How difficult it is when the pile gets so high that it starts to fall over and I have to purge.

Aaah yes, purge, that nasty word.  Call it as you will – edit, cull, delete – it all means the same thing – before you can design and set up a functional home office, you’re best to get rid of all the excess. 

Keep your long-term vision in mind as you slog through the piles of paper, the mounds of old discs and stacks of newsletters that you mean to read one day.

Where do I begin, you ask?  Well, that depends, I answer.  If you are looking for instant gratification to keep you motivated, the best place to begin is with the visible surfaces. If you are not as worried about keeping motivated, you may decide to start with your filing cabinet if it is stuffed to the brim and can’t possibly hold another piece of paper.

Take one box, file or pile at a time and start with each piece of paper or item and ask yourself the following questions:

1. How old is this – is it recent enough to be useful?
2. Does this require action?
3. Can I really identify a specific use for it?
4. Is it difficult to obtain this again if ‘someday I might need it’
5. When was the last time I used this?
6. Are there tax or legal reasons why I must keep this?
7. If you still feel that knot in your stomach – ask yourself: What is the worst possible thing that will happen if I toss this?

 As you set aside your daily organizing time also be aware that you will need 10 or 15 minutes every day to deal with incoming.  Follow a system by separating items into ‘Action’ or ‘File’ or send them straight to the file known as the recycling bin!

 As you open mail, discard the envelope immediately and place the item either in an action folder or file away in your new filing system.  Designate a place for unread magazines and newsletters such as an attractive basket or magazine box. 

 I wish you good luck and much purging and look forward to the next phase, which is designing and setting up your home office space.

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