What Does “Being Organized” Mean to You? Part I of III

This is part one of a three part series on what being organized means to each of us.  In this series, I’ll help you figure out what that means to you, how to overcome the obstacles that may befall you and how to make your brand of organization happen in your life.

First, let me share that for me being organized means that my surroundings and actions reflect a lifestyle free of self-imposed stress.  By this I mean I have a sense of serenity and relaxation as I look around my home.   I have good control of my possessions and they don’t control me or take up “prime real estate’ in my home (We’ll cover that term in Part II).

My time is my own to explore new ideas, projects and opportunities that may come my way.  My living space is just that, a space for me to live, enjoy life and to prosper and grow. Yet I joyously admit, I am not a neat freak.  My home is a place I look forward to returning at the end of the day.

Now, back to your definition of being organized.

How does your ideal living space look and feel?  How would things be different? Here are some possible criteria.  Select the items that best suit you.

If I were organized I would…

Be punctual

Be able to find things the very moment I need them

Give my children what they need when they need it

Not miss important appointments, activities or events

Pay my bills on time; avoid paying late charges

Be able to entertain at a moment’s notice

Not argue about housework or misplaced items

Be more productive

Have time for my hobbies, vacation, friends

Be able to manage my wardrobe and closets

Be able to put my car in the garage

Have a guest room where guests would feel welcome

Manage everyday paper clutter

Teach my children to keep a tidy room

Have time to help my children with homework

Have time for volunteer activities

Have a better reputation for being reliable and true to my word

If your ideas of what it means to be organized are not listed, I’d like to hear what you think.  If you have real obstacles to overcome that you’d like to see addressed here, now is a good time to ask questions.  Part II:  “Overcoming Your Obstacles to Organization”

The Breaking Point: What Will It Take for You to Get Organized?

What type of loss will be the catalyst for you to finally get organized?

Cheryl Vargas, CPO

Will it be misplacing a $500 gift certificate with a known expiration date? Paying a $150 surcharge to replace a lost airline ticket?  Or perhaps not being able to find theater tickets you’ve paid scalper prices for online.

Yes, there are treasures lost in piles of clutter; things of value hiding in your space that you’ve long since forgotten.  But first, let me tell you about my catalyst for change, my breaking point.

When my three sons were toddlers their grandmother sent savings bonds for their birthdays and holidays.  I’d tuck the bonds away in a drawer, (yes, at one time in my life, I had  junk drawers) because I knew I would never cash or use the bonds until they reached the ripe old age of 18 or 21 and went off to college.

Well, guess what….the day finally rolled around to where I needed to find those savings bonds.  My youngest was going off to New York for college and needed the bonds to help pay for tuition, books and other expenses. Though I dreaded looking through every box and container I’d hauled with me through several moves, the task was inevitable.  And the outcome; to sum it up, I never found all of the savings bonds in time for him to use them for school.  THAT was my breaking point.

From that point on and to this day I can retrieve any family birth certificate, medical record, insurance policy, tax return or product warranty in a mere 5 seconds, ten seconds tops.  When I learned to assign a HOME to something that I clearly value, the purpose of being organized made sense to me.

For the record, my essential family documents are kept in a tab separated binder called, “Family and Identity”.  I store gift certificates in the pocket of my wall calendar and mark the coupon’s expiration date on my calendar.  Being organized acknowledges not only the value of your possessions; it also enhances positive interaction within your family and bolsters self-confidence.

I’m curious,  ”What can’t you find of value that you know is lurking somewhere in the piles?”   Anonymous submissions welcomed.

Pro Organizer Tricks for a Clutter-free Home Office

Cheryl Vargas, CPO

Do you feel swamped by paper, but find it hard to throw things away?  Does the need to locate a file, a roll of tape, or a pencil send you frantically rifling through drawers? If you answered yes, you’re like millions of people who deal with disorganization on a daily basis.

On average, Americans lose one hour a day searching for misplaced objects, which equates to roughly 6 weeks a year.

How to Conquer Paper Clutter Once and For All

“An organized person stops unwanted paper before it enters their home”. You can eliminate unwanted piles of  paper clutter by following a few easy steps.

1. You’ll need some everyday office tools to get started. A file cabinet or porta-file, trash can, file folders, shredder, writing instrument, letter opener. You’ll want to stage these items in an area you feel is a convenient place to deal with everyday mail and paperwork. My ‘paper management station’ is near my front door because that’s the door I enter after retrieving daily mail.   (You probably don’t want your filing cabinet at your front door so I recommend you either use a portable file caddy that you can put out of site when you’re not using it or simply file items appropriately in your office)

• Train yourself to file what needs to be filed immediately, you’ll be one step closer to a clutter free desk/work area. (If you’re a delegator, create a “to file” folder and have your assistant handle this task.)

2. Sort and read your mail over the trash can/shredder. Dealing with mail immediately and sorting it appropriately helps to eliminate procrastination and unidentifiable stacks.

• Gift certificates and offers – file them and note the expiration date on your calendar. Place “soon to expire” coupons and certificates in your wallet or coupon caddy.

3. Create a folder and a box labeled “Delegate/Distribute”. Use the distribute/delegate box for things that don’t belong in your office and that you’re not ready to return to its proper location just now.  Then when you leave your office, pick up the box and start dropping off things where they belong.  As an action folder, the delegate/distribute folder alleviates the need for creating piles on your desk.  Check this folder when leaving your desk or the office.

4. Think ‘green’ and cancel magazines that sell you stuff. Think of the garbage bags you’ll save and the clutter you’ll eliminate if you are not stacking and saving department store catalogues; not to mention doing your part to reduce your carbon footprint.  Just phone the number on the magazine and ask that they stop sending you a hard copy, it usually takes only 4-6 weeks.  Nowadays companies have an online store for shopping and browsing which eliminates a need for their magazines (but they still send them anyway).  If you’re not comfortable paying for things online you can still use the online store to browse and then phone in your order.

5. Read and clip articles from magazines and trade publications as they arrive and throw away the rest.  Pick a time of day, lunch time perhaps, for reading.  Hint:  Don’t let 1 or more years of any ONE publication take up valuable living space.  Consider donating excess publications to a local hospital or senior home.

• Clip articles of interest for routing to staff, or for filing in retrievable categories, for example: marketing ideas, vendors, client retention, etc.   Don’t keep publications that are more than two years old because chances are that newer information is available, so feel free to purge them.
• Furthermore, back issues and current e-zines are probably available online. If they are, consider contacting the subscription department to sign up.  If you must go through your old publications to make sure you’re not missing something, take a small stack at a time to read during your commute or keep a small stack in your car for when you’re stuck in traffic or in your briefcase for those times you’re waiting in long lines.

6. When you need more space, think vertical! Shelving above and around your desk area can help you clear up valuable floor, desk and credenza space.  Consider the following items for wall office organization:  your hand-held device and cradle, cell phone charger, speakers, reference books, photographs, office supplies, collectibles, CD’s, your business cards, etc. can be easily accessible on a nearby shelf.

7. Use stackable, see-through containers for storing everyday office supplies. Pens, pencils, markers, stamps, batteries, push pins, labels, etc. are much easier to locate when you have a designated station and can see through the drawer you store them in.  Additionally, if you don’t have see-through containers, simply label the containers appropriately.

8. Think ” zones”  when organizing your supplies and work spaces. Store related equipment and supplies where you perform related tasks. For instance:  Keep paper, ink cartridge refills and a trash can near your printer.  Electric equipment, power cords, cables, etc., are neatly coiled, placed in zip-lock bags and labeled for easy retrieval.

Cheryl Vargas empowers the work-at-home entrepreneur to be more organized, productive and in control. She is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers, the Oak Park-River Forest Chamber of Commerce; and owner of Oak Park, IL based OrganizeChicago, LLC.  She’s passionate about getting her clients” organized, prioritized and strategied” and can be contacted at cv@organizechicago.com or visit the website http://organizechicago.com

5 Tips to Get to Work On Time

Why is time management important?  Perhaps because we have a limited amount of hours in every day and when we waste time,  it’s gone forever.  The good news is that a little advance planning can put you in control of time instead of the other way around.  Follow these steps to be perceived as punctual and dependable:

1.        Always put your keys, sunglasses, umbrella and bus/train pass in the exact same place. For your keys, a bowl will do or you can buy a key box or sink a nail to hang them. If you place your keys in the same place consistently for 30 days it becomes a habit.

If you observe one day that you’ve thrown your keys on the table, pick them up immediately and put them in the key box or bowl; you will soon learn to always look in this one place for your keys.  For the rest of the aforementioned items store them near your exit door in a container or on a hook.

2.       Purge your closet of clothing you never wear. If everything in your closet fits you, is in season and you feel great wearing it; you should never have to struggle with what to wear.  Pack away clothing that is too big or small and label accordingly.  Donate clothing you know you’ll never wear to a friend or organization.  Use your main closet for clothing you love.

3.       Realistically evaluate how long it takes you to complete your morning routine. For years you’ve risen at 7:30 a.m. in order to arrive on time for a 9:00 a.m. meeting; but you’re always 10-25 minutes late.  Isn’t it really 7:45 am and not 7:30 am by the time you move from the bed to the shower?  Are you checking email first?  Feeding/walking the dog?

List your morning tasks and estimate the time for every task from showering, shaving, brushing teeth, travel time, etc.; total the entire list and add 20 minutes.  Set a time for leaving (and stick to it!) that includes travel time, plus 15 minutes minimum.  You’ll have a far more realistic view of how much time is required.  Being late does not reflect well on anyone.  Resolve to be on time!

4.       Prepare the night before. If you take your lunch and breakfast to work, why not prepare it the night before?  Or better yet, if there’s a refrigerator at work, buy bagels and sandwich fixings once a week and store them there.  While you’re at it, check to make sure your favorite suit is free of fuzz and/or your hosiery is free of runs.

5.       Know where you’re going. If you don’t have a portable navigation system be sure to search online for directions to your appointment well in advance.   Don’t forget the floor, suite number and your contact’s phone number in case you get lost.

I’d love to hear how you made out after trying these tips.  If they don’t work exactly maybe you could tell me your particular challenge and we could tackle it together.

Cheryl Vargas empowers the work-at-home entrepreneur to be more organized, productive and in control. She is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers, the Oak Park-River Forest Chamber of Commerce; and owner of Oak Park, IL based OrganizeChicago, LLC.  She’s passionate about getting her clients” organized, prioritized and strategied” and can be contacted at cv@organizechicago.com or visit the website http://organizechicago.com

10 Questions to Help Uncover Your Life’s Passion

Cheryl Vargas, CPO

1) What is “passion”?

As it relates to your career, we need to understand this elusive thing.  Does everyone have one?  Perhaps it would help for you to realize that you’re not alone if you don’t have a passion for your work.

According to a survey conducted with 7,718 career professionals only about 20% of that population was passionate about their career or business.   What some of us find frustrating is that we don’t have a clue as to what ‘passion’ feels like or how to identify if we have it or not.

As Webster dictionary cites, passion is “an intense, driving or overmastering feeling or conviction”.  The definition I like lies in one of its synonyms, “zeal”, meaning ‘intense emotion compelling one into action”, it rings true to me.   Look up the various definitions; see which rings true for you.

2) Why don’t I have one?

You do.  You just don’t know what it is.  This series of questions is designed to draw you to a conclusion about how you define your passion.  Keep reading to find it!

3) What things do people say you do well?   What things do you think you do well?

(These things may not be your passion, but some component may be.  For instance, you’re great at fixing things.  Doesn’t mean you have a passion for doing that particular thing, but you may have a passion for some component of the act…teaching, analyzing or building).

4) What gets you so excited that you get chills talking about it or recounting the experience?

You may not be able to recall the exact time this happened to you, but be sure to pay close attention in the future.

5) What do you find yourself doing over and over again even though you don’t have to do it?

I have a friend who will go out of his way for mere acquaintances, running errands, moving furniture and fixing things.  His passion is simply doing things for people; he gets a charge out of it.  I’ve read that the best thing to do when you’re feeling down about yourself, your life, your situation is to do something for someone else.  In his case, it’s a passion and you can tell because he always does it with a smile.

6) What comes easy to you?

This could be something as simple as cooking, sewing, managing money, being good with kids or having a way with animals.  Whatever that may be, explore it.

7) What is it that you can practically do with your eyes closed?

Some of us have skills that are so innate to our being that we take them for granted.  Don’t.  Take a second look at those talents and realize that this may in fact be your life’s calling.

8) What topic do you start talking about and people are ‘wowed’ at how much conviction comes through in your words?

You know what this topic is for you.  In fact, you find that you’re often asked for advice on the subject but you preface the advice with, ‘you should really seek the advice of a professional’ or ‘I’m no expert, but’.   Don’t sell yourself short, you are or could very easily be identified as an expert if you nurture the talent.

9) If you could afford it, would you do it for free?

In discovering my own passion, this question sealed it for me because for many years I had been doing what I love, what I could do with my eyes closed and what gave me those little chills down the back of my neck, for free!  And here’s the kicker, I didn’t know at the time it was my passion because it came so easy to me.  What are you giving away that has a real intrinsic value to others?

10) How do you know when you have it?

When you find your passion it’ll be something you look forward to doing each day.  You’ll be excited just thinking about it.  You’ll know you’ve found your passion (the thing that compels you to action) when you can’t stop talking about it, doing it or sharing it with other people.   When you find your passion you can parlay it into the business of your dreams.

Identifying your life passion is worth the time it takes to figure it out; an hour, a day, a lifetime; the time you invest will pay you back tenfold.