The common
denominator that professional organizers come across with clients is too much
stuff and the clutter is because there stuff has no home. This apply to physical things, such as paper,
clothing, books but even in the digital world, emails, voicemail, text. Yet studies have shown that 80% of the time
we use 20% of our favorite things.
So less is
best? Yes! Too much of anything affects us.
When we have a lot and the things have no home, we waste time searching
for things. The average American spends
6 weeks a year looking for things. This
is stressful! And I don’t know about you but, I rather be using that time for
fun things.
Some make
the analogy of disorder to being overweight.
The weight puts stress on our organs the added weight begins to affect
other parts of our body. That is why doctors
want us to be leaner in order to be healthier.
Likewise in
the home or office, we need to start cutting back slowly because living with
less clutter does help us manage our daily stress. Not only that, when we begin to give up
objects or things that are clutter, we really end up gaining something better. Better health, relationships, time for what
we love to do.
How so? Studies have shown that clutter is a
distraction, they say for each piece of paper around us it’s a distraction 10
times. This begins to wear at the brain, constant stimulation produces stress
and zaps us of energy.
I work with
clients that suffer with ADHD. For them even more so, they need to live with a
clutter free environment otherwise, it causes them to lose focus more
frequently, consequently, stress.
Dr. Ari
Tuckman, stated “ADHD involves weaknesses in the “executive functions of the
brain, the is a part of the brain that enables us to navigate in a complex
world.” Clutter, drains us of oomph and
it impairs our thinking process—we cannot think clearly or make good decision .”
Therefore,
by letting go of these things that really are not bringing us joy or pleasure,
not useful or beautiful, we now open up more time and space in our lives for
the things that matter the most. DE
cluttering and simplifying our lives will help reduce stress and help all of us
stay focus!
How do you
start? First, admit you are overwhelmed, that is a start.
· - Take
a piece of paper and write down what is really important to you?
· - How
do you think you would feel if this would get done?
· - When
it’s done, how to celebrate the finish product?
· - Start
small that you could start (say a table full of paper, nightstand, pick a
horizontal space)
I am a firm
believer in simplicity, even when you start; start small but start in an area
that gives you pain, and where you are constantly being reminded that you did
not get it done. But remove from your mind perfection, it’s not
about that but improving the quality of life.”
It’s about doing something, rather than doing nothing. The spot that you
say “someday I am going to organize this table, these paper…” Now it’s time, you made up you mind and schedule
“someday on your calendar” and at a time when you have the most energy (are you
a morning person, or do you kick in gear at 2:00 PM).
The National
Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) did a survey and found out that paper
or office is number one request from Professional Organizers and I so agree
because it is my number one request, paper and office, then second to that is
kitchen and closets, then garages.
Since paper
is my number one call for organizing, let’s work with that:
1. So decide, where you like to do
paperwork, select an area in the home, maybe it’s your office—this is called
zoning
2. Go through the entire home and corral
all paper scattered about the rooms and bring them to this location. Get a box and call it your In Box. Now you will start the P--
3. As you sit at your desk or table, you
will need the following set-up as you go through, a shred area, trash, and
calendar (could be either digital or
paper planner)
4. You begin the S-Sorting
5. Now according to the David Allen
method, as you go through each piece of paper, make a decision (this is the
hard part for people using that executive function of the brain, decision
making) but doing this is a great
exercise for that part of the brain according to Doctor Tuckman.
6. So write on a sticky note, the next
step for that piece of paper, for example:
call, get phone number or schedule appointment.
7. Create 3 piles: Do this week, Do this month, Do in the
future
8. Accessibility—keep papers near you
and your files should be within reach when working with paper
9. Containerize—select folders for your
action For my visual clients, I color code the folders: Red for Now, Orange for
later, Yellow for Future
When I work
one on one with my clients, I let them select the way they want to categorize
their action folders, usually I guide them base on the way they are thinking.
This can be
done in phases, please don’t feel that all this has to be in place before you
start, break things down in small chunks, for example one day just collect the
paper, next day the sorting, the shredding could be a separate project and so
on.
What’s next? Well, one
could stop here and schedule on the calendar the next session and break it down
into manageable steps like:
· -
One
session, have folders ready and write on
the folder some main categories as I mentioned already—try to keep the action
folders at a minimum, like 3 folders for action to take
·
- Maybe
one folder for future projects
·
- Read
folder for things you want to read only then discard
·
-Another
day, go through the paper and start putting them into the action folders but
always when you work with paper, keep your calendar opened. Why?
Because,
it never fails that you come across something that cannot wait any longer, so
you need to write the next action and schedule it on your calendar.
This set-up
will help in making decisions:
David Allen
has the 3 D’s when processing paper: do
it, defer it and delegate it. But if it
is junk mail, dump it! Paper can be boring, so make it fun, put music in the
background, invite a friend over to help you stay focus and then reward
yourself for getting things completed.
Believe me,
once you have a filing system in place that is simple to follow and I highly
recommend color coding, than its fun to do.
People avoid filing because they made it too complicated, they don’t
remember what the file names are and the files are so packed, no one wants to
bother to file in cramped areas.
Now that you
succeeded in organizing your paper, you have one location for your paper
process, and you have file folders with simplified categories, then you can
begin the next project and organize your digital information.
The key when
I work with my clients is to ensure that they understand the system, they are
part of the creative process, and it’s easily accessible—so have the files next
to your desk.
Tip: Set a timer
and in the beginning, try 1 hour clips, after you are caught up, just do 15 to
20 minute twice a week.
Tip: Create an Inbox for just mail and an In-box in your
office for processing paper: this could
reside on your kitchen wall to place all of the incoming mail and then have
different sections for each member of the family. There are sorters out there that hang on a
wall and have 2-6 slots. This could be
the beginning of your sorting process and purging.
Tip: Scan: by scanning you reduce the amount of paper
you need to keep in files: Statistics
show, 80% of the paper you file, you will not see again. It’s also a contribution to the eco system
when you reduce the amount of paper used.
Tip: If you like
technology, scan information that you need and would like to share with someone
else or if you tend to be mobile. Some
apps are like drop box or Evernote then you can synch your devices and can
review the documents from the phone, tablet or at someone elses computer—this
is great if you travel a lot or have more than one office location.
Finally,
control what comes in the home, use services like: 41 pounds.org, to remove junk mail, catalog
choice to stop the influx of catalogs and just keep a few that you like.
If you
organized your bookcase, leave 20% of space, then if you buy a book, take a
book out and donate. This will keep you
clutter free. This rule can apply to any
place in the home once organized: one it, one out.
Tip:
Purchase a plastic bin and keep it in the garage and label Donate, start
putting things you no longer love or need, or use.
Tip: Go to IRS.gov
and get information on how long to keep papers when tax related, otherwise you
may only need to keep certain papers for just a year. Checking with your accountant will also help
in giving you parameters of what to keep and for how long.
When you
feel in control, you feel calm, you are not easily overwhelmed, so start the New
Year with less stress.
Nancy Rivera
– Mission Organizing - has the tools you need to make your home and work area a
place of harmony and efficiency. Call or email me at (813) 514-5696 or
nancy@missionorganizing.com to see how I can help you!
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