How to be Organized and Rich, Not Rigid – Part II

How much time did you gain back in your day from the last post?  Are you starting to agree that organized people make more money, accomplish more, have more energy and free time, and experience less stress?  In this post I’ll share how to organize space – work space, home space, any space.

I’ll take what may seem complex and make it simple and actionable so you can immediately implement changes in your life and business.  It’s worth repeating – my goal is to help you love being organized in your business – and enjoy all of the benefits that come with it.

A main reason people have disorganized space is because they have not found a permanent home for every item.  When things don’t have a permanent home, it’s like living out of your suitcase in a hotel. This can make you experience temporarily disorganization.  Most people feel less organized in a hotel because 1) you will only be there for a short time so there’s no need to spend time unpacking and 2) if you did unpack, the storage space is different from your house (different dresser, different vanity counter, no medicine cabinet) so it takes some brain power to choose where to store things.  Imagine how ‘living out of your suitcase’ full time could invite stress and disorganization.

Because you do have a regular place of residency and office space, it’s important to find a home for everything – and put it there consistently.  How much is it costing you when you are late for a meeting because you couldn’t easily find your car keys, your business cards, or your marketing material?  What if a potential client calls you and you can’t quickly access the client notes you discussed last time you met?  How does that impact the impression of you and your company?  How much business are you losing due to poor space organization?

This happens in the corporate world, too.  Employees who don’t have a system for staying organized are continually passed over for promotions and better roles. Those that show up late to meetings are also under scrutiny.  Management assumes if people can’t be organized in their current roles, how could they ever manage more responsibility?  How much money and opportunity are you leaving on the table by being disorganized at work?

Fortunately, managing space can be improved with simple systems and habits. In the last blog I shared that systems are just repeatable steps that become a process.  Systems create time and money for you and your business.  Everyone needs systems and many systems are free or low-cost. The system for organizing space is straight-forward:

1. Find a permanent home for everything (client files, business cards, keys, etc.)
2. Store like things together (office supplies, bills, contracts, tax returns, medical)
3. Have a reorder point when items are getting low so you don’t run out (stamps, checks, business cards, forms, books, marketing materials)
4. Keep only what you need (ex: the last email in a trail, not all preceding emails)
5. Schedule a 15 minute cleanup time once a day to put things in their home
6. Purge on a consistent schedule (weekly, monthly, quarterly)

I’m often asked, what should I keep and for how long?  My quick answer is keep what no one else has and then know where to obtain the rest.  For example, I store six months of paper credit card statements and look up anything older online.  I delete old emails that I don’t think I’ll access because I know that ‘one person’ who keeps every note in case I ever need to retrieve something.

Many people hire a professional organizer to structure their space – closets, cars, files, office, etc.  What I do is organize and structure your BUSINESS so that it flows effortlessly.  If you need help with structuring something that seems complex, let’s chat on a complimentary 15 minute call and get that simplified.  I would be happy to help you put a few things in order so that you have more ease and organization in your day.   Just CLICK HERE to schedule your complimentary call.

I challenge you to put these space organization steps in place in your business and then track the impact.  Can you find what you need more quickly?   Are you finding more time in your day to focus on marketing and/or finding new clients?  Do you have less stress in your day and more ease in your business?  Do you have more time to spend with family, friends, or health?

Be sure to catch the next post on organizing your activities and tasks for more productivity and profits.