Do you “have it together?” – The Importance of organization during tough times. To be A best CXO, May 2010 Here is a guest post from Regina Leeds, author of One Year to an Organized Life: From Your Desk to Your Deadlines, the Week-by-Week Guide to Eliminating Office Stress for Good. I think her point that being organized is even more important now is very true. For both our mental confidence and our practical productivity. If getting and staying organized is a challenge for you, check out her work and book. It's always important to have an organized work space. But now with downsizing and job loss spreading throughout the work sector like a fever, being organized is a great insurance policy. You can use your organizing skills to demonstrate to your employer how invaluable you are to the day to day operation of the business. And, if you are the owner of the establishment, you can just as easily show your employees by example the kind of office space and productivity you hope to find throughout the organization. Are you looking for a job? Being organized will not only help you organize your job search, it will be a skill you can present to your employer. You see? There isn’t a single down side to being organized! If the world of organization has been an area of challenge for you, consider this: getting organized is just a skill. If you wanted to play a musical instrument like the piano, master a sport like tennis or learn how to dance, what would you do? You’d read some good books, find a qualified teacher, practice and hope to reach your individual potential. Getting organized requires the same steps. It isn’t solely for those who seem to have been born with a natural proclivity for order. Learning a new skill is one of the best ways to keep our brains active and stay youthful. There’s no time like the present to begin the journey. And "One Year to an Organized Work Life" is the ideal companion. Regina Leeds, author One Year to an Organized Life 'The Zen Organizer' The Sacrament of Making Your Bed By Reverend Keith on January 21, 2010 I was starting to read Regina Leed’s book One Year to an Organized Work Life (which I hope to review soon) and happened on this wonderful little tidbit on why you should make your bed. Now I don’t really have a problem with making the bed. I’m used to it now and it bother’s me if it isn’t done. But I have to admit that some days I wonder just what the point it. After all, I’m going to mess it up again the next night. No one but me is going to see it. Why bother. If I were a bachelor, it probably wouldn’t get made very often. But Regina had this to say: “An unmade bed signals that there is no end to your day; you are dragging the activities, emotions, and energy of one day into the next without ever giving yourself the experience of a fresh start. When you make your bed, you will feel energized every time you walk into your bedroom.” I hadn’t looked at it from quite that perspective – organization as a spiritual symbol to your mind. And why not? As a priest, I believe in the power of physical symbols to effectively represent spiritual realities – often much better than words ever could. A spiritual symbol such as a cross or communion can impact the spirit on a powerful and unconscious level. Making your bed can be a sort of sacrament. It communicates hope for a new day and a fresh beginning to a spirit that needs refreshing. I suppose this is something of the appeal of Feng Shui, which I have to admit I haven’t taken all that seriously. Not that I don’t enjoy a well-organized and beautiful room. But the Taoist details – such as which direction things have to be arranged in, I have to admit that I really didn’t have much use for. But to people who are steeped in Taoist tradition, I can see how these details in a room’s organization would resonate on a subconscious level with years of previous associations. I’m still not sure it resonates all that well with Americans ignorant of Taoist symbology. Organize Your Work in 2009 Lifehack January 8, 2009 Regina Leeds, the best-selling author of One Year to an Organized Life: From Your Desk to Your Deadlines, the Week-by-Week Guide to Eliminating Office Stress for Good, has a brand new book out that might come in handy as you work on getting your work organized for 2009. It’s called One Year to An Organized Work Life — and it’s different from a lot of the self-help, get-yourself-organized books that are out there. There are two factors in this book that convinced me it would be useful to just about anyone. Most important is Regina’s approach: she’s known as the Zen Organizer, and her books are all about getting organized with a Zen approach. Don’t worry — that doesn’t mean that she expects readers to get touchy-feely about which drawer their paperclips go into. Instead, Regina’s references to Zen are a matter of focusing on eliminating stress. The philosophy of Zen is about creating calm — an impossibility when you’re stressed out over a messy desk or a disorganized calendar. To reach a more Zen-like state, Regina walks readers through getting rid of some of that stress. The second factor that makes Regina’s book stand out is the fact that while the book has the word ‘work’ in the title, it takes a holistic approach. Regina makes it clear that a person can’t get his or her work life organized but still be unproductive at home. She quotes a Zen proverb: …the way a man does one thing is the way he does everything. Throughout the book, Regina makes a point of giving readers the tools to organize their entire lives, even if their current focus is work. After all, you can’t just stop being organized when you leave the office each evening. The Twelve Month Guide One Year to an Organized Work Life is organized in twelve chapters, one for each month. Each chapter is broken down even further into individual weeks. For each month, Regina sets out a work habit and a home habit for readers to work on developing. For January, for example, readers are asked to leave their desks every day for at least five minutes and to make their beds at home. At first glance, these habits may seem to have little to do with getting yourself organized. Even the work habit is counter-intuitive: you’d think that doing something at your desk is more likely to get your stuff organized faster. But there is a reason behind Regina’s approach. Moving around for five minutes refreshes both your mind and body after hours of staring at paperwork — and knowing that you can step away from your desk for even a few minutes can reduce your stress over trying to deal with everything that has built up. But why a home habit? The book is about work, right? Regina includes home habits as a part of that holistic approach I mentioned. If your home is more organized and less stressful, making the transition between home and work is that much easier. In both cases, Regina sets forth relatively simple habits. She also provides some simple advice on developing a new habit, including the advice to repeat the same action every day for 21 days to make it habitual. The Weekly Tasks In addition to monthly habits, Regina offers small tasks for readers to complete each week. These tasks range from something you can knock out in thirty minutes to something you may need to dedicate two hours to. The tasks vary: some involve setting goals, others cover reviewing your filing system. Regina devotes several pages to each task, making sure to provide readers with all the tools necessary to complete each task as well as explaining why the task will be useful. We are talking about 52 individual tasks here, as well as 24 habits. It seems like a lot of work. I bet some prospective readers are already wondering whether it’s worth their while to spend the next year with One Year to an Organized Life. I think it can be worth the effort, though: setting out to get organized is very difficult without any kind of roadmap. You have to organize your organizational plans and it’s easy to get discouraged in the process. But Regina’s book lays out a clear approach. It might not be the approach you would have planned for yourself, but eliminating the planning phase can get you on the road to organization a lot faster. I think Regina’s background has allowed her to create a logical approach to organizing work: she started working as a professional organizer in 1988. While Regina has done a lot of organizing homes, she’s also helped a long list of business professionals get their work under control. While organizing might not be an exact science, Regina has had the opportunity to see what actually works in the real world — and to find out where the pitfalls are. Her book acts as a roadmap around those problems. Finding the Book You can find One Year to an Organized Work Life on Amazon, as well as at many brick-and-mortar book stores. It is published by Da Capo Press and weighs in at 304 pages. You can find more information about Regina at her personal website. While I might not recommend Regina’s book for every reader, I do think it’s a good basic route to getting your work organized. If that’s one of your goals for 2009, One Year to an Organized Work Life will get you going. Five Ways to Find “Lost Minutes” in Your Day Smartman Daily Every guy has been there: You're on deadline and every time you look up, it seems that the hands of the clock have moved to a position that can't possibly be true. Alas, you're facing a late night. Again. I have good news for you. Every day contains "hidden minutes." We tend to waste them-but there are ways to "find" them and put them to productive use. Let's look at five common time stealers. There is an antidote to every single one. • Lack of organization. If you can't find important papers, a stapler or the lunch you made last night, chances are your workspace is chaotic. There's a wonderful Zen proverb: ‘The way a man does one thing is how he does everything.' I'm going to guess your home is in turmoil as well. In life the accomplishments worth achieving come at a price. Or as they say: ‘There are no free lunches.' Let's take a positive step toward making your space more efficient. For starters, try this: set a timer for 15 minutes. Now start at one corner of your office or desk and work as fast as you can. Your goal is to eliminate as much as possible. Don't stop to mull things over or have a discussion with someone. Your gut will tell you what can go. What sorts of things am I talking about? Ancient phone books you no longer need because the yellow pages are now online; magazines older than two months (the articles are probably online anyway); newspapers older than two days; invitations to events that have passed; coupons that have expired; junk mail and projects that are completed. In addition to the trash/recycle piles, you can of course have an archive section (for those completed projects if you need to save them) and a place for items that belong elsewhere. Now is the time to return cups and plates to the kitchen or return to the office supply closet the folders you aren't using. (Make these returns after the timer goes off.) Doesn't the space feel better? I call this process a "speed elimination," and consider it analogous to a diet. Congratulations. Your workspace is now five pounds lighter. • The over-scheduled worker. You know who you are! Take out your calendar and have an honest look. Are you balanced in terms of your time allotment? Or has it been so long since you were home for dinner you've heard your youngest ask your wife: "Who is that?" There are many techniques for getting control of your time. Let's consider two. The first is learning how to delegate. No, you don't have to do it all yourself. Your task is to find qualified people to help you even if it means you have to stop to instruct them carefully. Take 15 minutes now to explain how a task is to be done and you might save several hours over the course of the next year as that person repeatedly takes this item off your workload. Be sure to set false due dates so that you have some wiggle room should the person fail to deliver the goods on time. After all, they just might have fallen victim to over-scheduling themselves. The next tool is an "inside job." Ask yourself if on some level you enjoy being harried, driven and exhausted. Some of us were taught as children that struggle breeds the most valuable success. Did you have a parent who said that in so many words? Or did they demonstrate it with their actions? If you drive yourself to exhaustion, you'll likely wind up sick-or worse. You want to be around to share the benefits you've earned with family and friends, right? Take a few minutes to examine your schedule and see if there are some items you could eliminate or at least postpone. • Social media. Do you lose yourself on Twitter or Facebook? Until there's an official 12-step program for social media junkies, you'll have to police yourself. Try using the timer on your cell phone or watch. Give yourself 10 minutes, max, twice a day to stay connected. Ask yourself "What am I avoiding by wasting this time on nonsense when I have real work to do?" Be honest, but remember: you don't have to Twitter your response! • Multitasking. I don't like multi tasking because it's rarely used appropriately. Let's say you have a doctor's appointment, a long commute on public transportation or time in the car waiting to pick up your child after school. Why not make your down time more productive? Read a report for work or that novel you've longed to get into; call a friend or family member; or take a quick catnap! But if you are simultaneously on the phone, on the computer, sending text messages and writing a report, you inevitably are doing less-than-stellar work in all those arenas. And you're wearing yourself out. • The technology junkie. We all know guys who are addicted to the latest technological toy, don't we? Is that you? Just be careful the time you're spending is actually making you more productive. There's always a learning curve with a new "toy," and you might be spending time learning about something new instead of using some "old" tool that gets the job done. In conclusion... It might take some time to diagnose the problem and find the solution that suits your personality. The bottom line is that all of us have free time hidden in our day that could become part of our productivity program. Right now it's being frittered away. If there's one consolation, it happens to all of us. But not everyone wakes up and makes the change. Congratulations: you just took the first step. Do you "have it together?" - The Importance of organization during tough times. Management Craft January 20, 2009 Here is a guest post from Regina Leeds, author of One Year to an Organized Life: From Your Desk to Your Deadlines, the Week-by-Week Guide to Eliminating Office Stress for Good. I think her point that being organized is even more important now is very true. For both our mental confidence and our practical productivity. If getting and staying organized is a challenge for you, check out her work and book. It's always important to have an organized work space. But now with downsizing and job loss spreading throughout the work sector like a fever, being organized is a great insurance policy. You can use your organizing skills to demonstrate to your employer how invaluable you are to the day to day operation of the business. And, if you are the owner of the establishment, you can just as easily show your employees by example the kind of office space and productivity you hope to find throughout the organization. Are you looking for a job? Being organized will not only help you organize your job search, it will be a skill you can present to your employer. You see? There isn’t a single down side to being organized! If the world of organization has been an area of challenge for you, consider this: getting organized is just a skill. If you wanted to play a musical instrument like the piano, master a sport like tennis or learn how to dance, what would you do? You’d read some good books, find a qualified teacher, practice and hope to reach your individual potential. Getting organized requires the same steps. It isn’t solely for those who seem to have been born with a natural proclivity for order. Learning a new skill is one of the best ways to keep our brains active and stay youthful. There’s no time like the present to begin the journey. And "One Year to an Organized Work Life" is the ideal companion. Regina Leeds, author One Year to an Organized Life 'The Zen Organizer' Organized Living: “One Year to an Organized Work Life” Posted by Lylah on 20th March 2009 This book should be required reading for anyone who works in an office, whether that office is across town or across the kitchen. In her new book, One Year to an Organized Work Life, Regina Leeds, a professional organizer and the founder of Get Organized! by Regina, offers up a practical, step-by-step system to help you streamline your workspace and free up your time. Weekly and monthly guides help you set realistic and achievable goals and, using her unique “Zen organizing” approach, Leeds keeps the tasks from becoming overwhelming. 10 Best Productivity Books of 2009 ..... 6. One Year to an Organized Work Life by Regina Leeds I interviewed Leeds back in 2008 for Lifehack Live about her then-current book, One Year to an Organized Life. This year, she returned with a follow-up, applying the same principles of self-discovery and limited, focused organizing projects to the office. Divided into 12 sections, one per month, this book walks readers though a series of easy-on-their-own steps that, taken together, create a system for workplace organization and a mindset to match it. Plus, there are rubber ducks on the cover, which are awesome. Thursday Bram wrote a review of Organized Work Life when it came out in January. Blogs