Croll Organizing Blog

Reduce Clutter - Go Digital

June 28, 2008, at 12:00 AM

One significant way to reduce the paper clutter around your office and in your life is through digital channels. Converting as much paper into digital format not only reduces clutter it also helps the environment. The epitome of efficiency – accomplishing two goals at the same time.

One of the cheapest, probably free, and easiest ways to get started is paying bills online. Contact your bank to find out how to get access to their online banking system. So you feel comfortable, verify the banks data security measures when setting up access to the online banking system. Once you add a payee into the database you have a history of payments and do not have to reenter the data every time you pay a bill. In fact, you only have to put the amount and due date of the payment. Great if you are on vacation or out of town. What are the savings from this method: supplies, checks, postage, gas and time. Wow! Just by paying your bills online.

The second component is using a scanner. There are numerous options and price points to choose from. I would recommend a scanner that can process business cards, receipts and documents. That way you are only purchasing one item. Scan the business cards you collect that end up in piles on your desk or in a drawer. These individuals are untapped resources, referrals and potential clients. Scan the business cards into your computer and verify the accuracy of the information. Now the contacts can be imported into your database. Either pass the person’s card onto someone who you know could use their services or recycle the paper.

Receipts are a real challenge to organize during the fiscal year. By scanning the receipts you can organize them into deduction categories. Some scanners also give you the ability to export the data into your bookkeeping program. Verify with your accountant f the original paper receipt can be destroyed. You will have a digital list that can be run as a report for tax purposes and you reduced the paper you need to organize. In fact, you can keep your shoebox of receipts because they are organized on the computer.

Documents can be scanned, and depending on your contact manager, attached to the client or contact on the database. Thus reducing your paper records considerably.

The key to going digital being successful is treating the digital records like you would paper in terms of organization and ease of use. It must be organized in a logical manner and easy to find if you need to reference the document. Scanning without organizing the records results in electronic “piles” and clutter.

Vitally important is backing up electronic records. These should be done frequently if not daily. There are many options for backing up records from external hard drives to a web based backup service. When considering backup options also take into account the possibility of a disaster and how to protect those records.

For any questions or comments please email us at cmc@crollorganizing.com.

Micro Management Costs Money

May 21, 2008, at 12:00 AM

One of the fastest ways to sabotage effective delegation and employee moral is micro management. Some of the clients I work with are uncomfortable about passing over work because they feel they can do it better or quicker themselves. If that is the case then the manager is missing the point. Managers should “manage” the workflow of their employees not do the work of the employees. There is a great article that Jim Sandler of The Alternative Board gave me called “Who’s got the Monkey“ by William Oncken, Jr. and Donald L. Wass. This article is a discussion about not taking responsibility for your employee’s “monkey”. If you are interested in a copy of this article send me an email at cmc@crollorganizing.com.

How can you avoid this trap? By having the following:

• The right person for the job
• The proper training and resources for the employee

If you do not have a human resources person then it would be worth your while to use an outside service to help screen candidates. Using a service helps reduce the expense of hiring and turnover. Make sure you provide a list of duties and responsibilities for the strafing services so they can send you qualified candidates. Having a list will also help you with training the person and give you a measure to track performance.

Invest the training time upfront. Good training allows you to hand over the reigns with confidence. After all you are the manager and are costing the business valuable time and money if you do not utilize your employees correctly. If you feel the urge to micro manager ask yourself why. Below are some questions to help you get to the root of your apprehension:

• Is the employee the right person for this job?
• If not, do they need additional training to be able to perform the job?
• Would this person be more effective in a different capacity in the company?
• Do I need a different person for this job?
• Have I given the employee the proper tools and resources to complete the job successfully?

Answering these questions will enable you to address the issue and get you on the right track to utilizing your employees. For more information about delegation visit http://crollorganizing.com/Blog/Blog.

Please email your questions to cmc@crollorganizing.com.

Prioritize To Maximize

May 01, 2008, at 12:00 AM

With the all the demands on everyone’s time and energy it is increasingly important to prioritize your work. You can be very efficient at doing or accomplishing nothing. Prioritize your work so you can make the most of the time you are spending.

There is a rule called the 80/20 principal. This dictates that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts. Wow! The first 90 minutes of your workday encompasses this 20%. As a result, the most important task/job/responsibilities need to be processed during the first 90 minutes of your day.

Spend the last 15 minutes of your day prioritizing the next day’s work. This would include what you need to get done during those first 90 minutes. This is “sacred” time and should NOT include answering email, the phone or multitasking. Just a laser focus on those duties at hand. You will be amazed at what you accomplish.

Lastly, spend the last 15 to 30 minutes at the end of your week prioritizing the next week’s work. Schedule the most important tasks for the beginning of the week. That will give you wiggle room if you have any unexpected problems or an emergency.

What will you be doing the first 90 minutes of the day?

Effective Delegation

March 27, 2008, at 12:00 AM

Most business owners are resistant to delegating their work to an assistant or bookkeeper. Part of this is a control issue and the other a time issue. As a professional organizer I hear” I can do it quicker myself”. What is not accounted for in this equation is the time taken away from generating income. The easiest tasks to delegate are those that are either non client facing or you dislike the most.

Bookkeeping and administrative tasks are the easiest to get off your plate. Pay the money for a qualified bookkeeper. This will free up a considerable amount of time. Check with your accountant who would be a good fit for your business and needs. If they do not have someone to recommend Certified Public Accountant Paul Rafanello, at (845) 651-3316 or at http://www.prcpa.biz, is an excellent referral source.

The other important component of this equation is the administrative functions. Some of these include:

• Receptionist
• Email Screening
• Mailer prep and send
• Shipping
• Composing correspondence
• Filing
• Prep for bookkeeper
• Scheduling appointments
• Maintain customer database

The tasks vary depending on your business and needs. Having a list of tasks gives you the skeleton for a job description and a measure for what the person is expected to accomplish. The key is to properly train the person on the front end thus saving time on the back end. Also, work with a staff agency to review what you expect and what skills a qualified candidate would need. Another route would be a virtual assistant. This may be more cost effective than hiring staff. If you consider using a virtual assistant conduct a thorough interview of the company. Personal information about you, your company, employees and customers will be communicated to this assistant if utilized for administrative functions. As a result, make sure that confidentiality, identity theft and data protection are part of their services.

The goal is to get off your plate as many non client facing and administrative duties as possible so you can do what you are good at – making money.

Delegation | Planning | Time Management

Having An Effective Meeting

February 09, 2008, at 12:00 AM

I am involved with a couple of organizations that need to have meetings to make things happen and move an event or goal along. One thing that my experience has taught me is communication is key when working with multiple people. Without communication each department or person involved can not help each other or the business succeed. Staff meetings are very useful if run properly. If not they can become a black hole of poor time management. So what are some of the guidelines for an effective meeting?

• A start time
• An end time and keep to it
• A concise agenda
• A meeting “manager” that makes sure everyone stays on topic and on time
• Goals to be reached
• Deadlines for those goals
• Actionable items that the staff can begin right after the meeting
• Questions about topics or goals
• Date and time of next meeting

Everyone who attends should come with a list of items or questions that they need answered at the staff meeting. This also helps people stay on track. If possible email the agenda prior to the meeting so everyone is aware of what topics will be covered. These simple guidelines can make the difference between a productive meeting or a complete waste of everyone’s time. Let me know what has worked for you and your organization.

Reducing piles of resources on your desk

January 07, 2008, at 12:00 AM

I was just holding a training seminar this morning and the issue of too much paper came up. They have a limited amount of space and certain resource materials they need to hold on to that piles on their desks. I suggested a bookshelf above the desk and have this information in binders on the shelf.

You would arrange the binders by type or subject. This would be your own library. Most importantly, the name of your subjects should be something that comes to your mind immediately. That will be what pops in your head when you look for the information.

For example, I tear out newspaper and magazine articles that I may use as reference material for me or my clients. There is no need to keep the whole magazine or newspaper if all I am interested in is the article. Now I have to organize them. I use a 3 ring binder, sheet protectors and tab dividers. I arrange the articles by subject each in their own sheet protector. Then I label the tab divider with the corresponding subject. Now I have a system that only takes up a couple inches but holds multiple subjects.

Keep resources that you use frequently. Also have your most frequently used resources together. This eliminates having to look in more than one place. They should also be placed somewhere that is easy to reach from your seat.

One way to determine if you should hold onto a resource is how recent or up to date is the information? If it something that is dynamic and changing, you may want to put the site in your favorites to get the most up to date information when you need it. Just be careful not to create an electronic pile and use the folders to organize your sites just like the binder.

Another question to ask - What is the worse thing that will happen if I throw this out? If an item is difficult to replace or find again, keep it. If not, then you probably do not need to hold onto it. You need to weigh the amount of time and effort maintaining this information with the time replacing the information. Most likely the later would be less time consuming. Again, this does not apply to frequently used resources. This would be for the just in case stuff.

How do you organize your resource materials?

Habits | Resource Organization | Staying Organized

Staying Organized

December 13, 2007, at 12:00 AM

With the New Year upon us we all make those New Year resolutions. Well as you can imagine, getting organized is one of the top 5. Most of the clients I work with, the challenge isn’t “getting” organized its “staying” organized. Just cleaning an area up does not solve the underlying issues. It is just a band aid on a wound that left untreated will fester.

How do you stay organized? Simple, changing habits. This can take up to 3 months so do not get discouraged if you backslide during those 3 months. Just start the next day with your new habits and move forward.

Two important factors in everyday life are routines and preparation. These used together are powerful habit busters. Your job is to replace an unproductive routine with a productive routine. Everyone should have a morning and evening routine. Why? The morning and evening routines will help you get yourself and your children out the door on time.

Your morning routine should be as simple as possible. Most people are not with it first thing in the morning. Recognize this and work with it not against it. Start with getting up 15 minutes earlier than you do right now. Get into the habit of doing the tasks you need to get ready in the same order every day. After a while you will not even have to think about what you are doing, you will just do it. Ahh, save that brain power for something important.

How do you make your morning routine simple, by having a good evening routine and a central location for the stuff you need the next day. Your evening routine needs to include preparing for the next day. Things like laying out your clothes, having your purse, keys, a charging cell phone and items you need to take with you in a central location near the doorway. A hutch or small table in your entrance way would be a good home for these types of items. Another good piece of furniture to have by your door is a coat tree. This allows you to have your coat right by the door on your way out. If you have kids, they should have their shoes, book bags, coat, etc. in the central location by the door. If you have multiple kids, you can use a basket tree for housing book bags, lunch bags, etc. The baskets can be labeled so there are no fights as to whose basket is who’s. This evening routine is a good habit to teach your children. They can take it into adulthood.

Bottom line, at night get everything together for the next day so when you get up in the morning all you have to do is get yourself and your family out the door. Just doing this will save a multitude of headaches and stress. Give it a try for 3 months and keep me updated on your progress.

Cynthia Marsh-Croll
Croll Organizing