In person! Fun!

Since Inspired Home Office classes are offered by phone, I don’t do a lot of teaching in person… but I love it. Last night, I got to speak to a full house of local artists about creating an inspiring studio space at The Art Department (a really sweet local business in Salem). What a blast!

There were moments of seriousness and laughter as we talked about the challenges of letting go of treasures. We dreamed about the environments that would make our hearts and creativity sing. I hope those who attended had as much fun as I did!

Masquerading projects

The distinction between a task and a project was a revelation for me years ago. When I added a project to my to-do list, I felt really frustrated that even though I had worked on if for a good while, but couldn’t get a “check mark” because it wasn’t done. Taxes are a good example. Write “do your taxes” on your to-do list and just wait — it’ll be on there forever.

Last night I shared that a task takes about 15-20 minutes to complete. If it takes any longer than that, it’s really a project. Projects are a collection of tasks.

The reason why it’s so hard to have a project on your to-do list is that it’s too big. What it really needs is to be broken up into smaller tasks before you begin. Even if you just write down the next 3-5 tasks (under 20 minutes), you now have action steps you can follow. Your brain can wrap itself around the idea of a few tasks, but it boggles at whole projects.

Removing the mask — practical ideas for your projects

One of the women who attended my talk last night followed up with a question by email:

I usually think something is just a task and will only take a short time and lo and behold it is really a project!  Like cleaning my quilting space…I thought oh I can get this done in a day and 8 days later it was done!  What is your method for figuring this out…any ideas are appreciated. 

I’m a big fan of writing things down — it’s visual, it’s kinesthetic, and (if you talk to yourself) it’s also auditory. Your brain revels in having all of these sources of input seeing, touching, and hearing your ideas.

So I suggest grabbing a p0en you like and blank sheet of paper. Write the name of the project (or suspected project) at the top and underline it. Then, underneath, do a 3-minute brainstorm listing all of the steps you’d take to accomplish the project. This is the exact same process that we use in the Office Spa Day class.

Cleaning My Quilting Space

Find the scissors and tape measure
Go through the box of fat quarters
Put cutting mat back
Put quilting frame away
Research containers for projects in process
Pick up dropped pins

With this hypothetical brainstorm list, you’d review it looking for things that would take more or less than 20 minutes.

To aid yourself visually, you could put a T next to tasks (less than 20 minutes) and a P next to projects (more than 20 minutes). “Researching containers” would likely take longer than 20 minutes. “Going through the box of fat quarters” might also (what fun!). When you notice which of these items are actually projects, you can either ignore them for now and just work on the tasks for the main project (clearing the quilting space) or make a new sheet of paper and list the tasks for the projects you discover on your list.

How to make it inspiring

Doing this process helps you prevent being surprised by lurking projects. My favorite part is that as I work through the list of tasks, I get credit for all the small things, not just the finished product. This encourages me along the way. I also delight in adding unexpected small steps to the list as I do them, which just gives more evidence of my progress!

The more you do this process (or any variation on it), the better you get at recognizing projects. You get better at guessing how long a task will take to complete. Within a couple of months, you become the Master/Mistress of Projects and they no longer surprise you. It’s pretty awesome to feel some control over the things you take on!

Have you encountered a recent task that turned out to be a project in disguise? I’m curious! Please feel free to share about it below.

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Sentry Safe Guardian Storage Box

Not to spook ya, but somewhere in the dark recesses of your filing cabinet are documents you know you want to have better protected.

Your office inventory — the one your insurance agent told you to make just in case the whole place burns to cinders — is filed away in a folder marked “Office Inventory.” This inventory lives in a cabinet which will melt to a puddle of blistered beige goo if the unthinkable happened. Ditto your tax returns, your Microsoft Stocks, and your 11th grade yearbook signed (with love and kisses) by Danny Hammond.

You might not need (or have room for) an honest-to-goodness safe, but most of us do have things which ought to be kept in a place slightly more secure than the usual cardboard accordion folder. Here, then, is a dandy answer!

Well, technically, it’s the red thing under the cat.

The Sentry Safe Guardian Storage Box is small enough to fit in my office closet (above), under your desk, light enough to carry, and works incredibly well as a footstool in a pinch. It has the same capacity as a regular storage box, but astonishingly, can withstand up to 1,200 degrees for up to twenty minutes.

I own one because the nice people at Sentry asked me to review it on my blog! How generous!

The downsides:

You can’t use hanging files. I tried. When you put the lid on, no closey.

See?

If you’re crazy about hanging files and their sticky-uppey plastic tabs (like I am), it’s an odd sensation. You mean, organize without tabs? It’s like going out in public in my bathrobe.

But I tried it.

Proof that organizing doesn't have to be perfect to be effective.

And it wasn’t awful. What I did was cut a few hanging files in half and removed the metal hangers. So there are still dividers. As long as the box is mostly full, it works pretty well.

The upsides:

I’ve been meaning to do this for years.

Technically, the IRS wants you to keep 3-7 years worth of original tax records and receipts. Not bank statements, not credit card statements — original receipts. If they burned up in a fire (God forbid) and I got audited (God further forbid), well I’m sure I’d find a way. But, ugh.

Someday I’ll scan everything (the IRS likes scans), but in the meantime having everything in there and protected makes me feel much better. I like that feeling a lot.

The really cool thing? Receiving the Guardian also motivated me to downsize two file boxes worth of old papers. It took me a weekend, but wow! I love that kind of motivation!

An inspired organizing tip:

If you leave the lid off this box, it’s useless — at least as far as fire protection is concerned. Unless you think you’ll really replace the lid consistently during regular use, plan to put touch-once-per-year archives only in here. Birth certificates. Passports. That way the lid goes right back on and you don’t have to think about it again.

Once you get the hang of putting all those important documents in here, you won’t ever have to frantically search for your passport ever again before leaving for Europe. (And when you do, will you take me with you?)

My summary

This storage box would be better if it copied its non-fireproof cousins and accommodated hanging files. Other than that, it’s pretty darned great! And I’d say the same thing even if the nice Sentry people hadn’t sent me one!

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 Introducing the amazing, versatile stair step folder holder thingy! Isn’t she a thing of beauty?

Each of us has something like a stacker on our desks which holds work-in-progress folders, as well as the “to be read when I have a minutes and/or want to impress somebody who happens by” folder, and, of course, the “I have no idea what to do with this, but if I wait long enough I might have an epiphany” files. Sadly, these little organizers do little to actually organize us. Generally, they effectively hide the folder labels because they are all on the same level and cannot be easily seen.

 Ahhh, but here we have the perfect office accessory. This is the little black dress in the world of home office-ers. Not only is it inclined upward from front to back, making it possible to actually SEE what you have stored there, but it’s also made of 30% recycled materials! The best ones have high dividers that prevent papers from flopping over.

The only down-side I can find to owning your own amazing, versatile stair-step folder holder thingy is that you might find some nasty surprises when you clean out your old stacker.

“Huh. I thought I’d sent that form to the Internal Revenue Service MONTHS ago.”

Don’t like black? Try these on for size!

 I use this exact one in my own office.

Do you use a graduated file holder? If so, what do you put in it?

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It’s not that I’m a cheapskate, really. I just hate, HATE to throw away a perfectly good file folder because I can’t scrape the old, outdated label neatly and completely off in order that I might re-purpose the thing. Usually, I end up turning the folder inside-out and hoping that I don’t get myself into an unforeseen filing cabinet collision which might reveal my little secret.

The folks at Post-It seem to have heard my pleas. (Or, snarls as the case may be.) Recently, Post-It(R) introduced a new line of heavy-duty, durable and thoroughly peel-off-able file folder tabs. Not only are they extra thick and easy to peel, stick and replace, they come in hot colors – fluorescent pink, yellow, green and orange which will surely speak to me at the end of the day when numbers and words all begin to look like hieroglyphic artifacts.

I love these things! They’re inexpensive, durable and they are pretty. Who knew office supplies could amuse me so completely?

Do you have a trick for reusing old files — or do you toss them and start fresh?

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As someone who’s been forgetful a lot of her life (okay, all), I have a lot of shame about forgetting things. I know people who have steel-trap minds and who can remember details from long ago, verbatim conversations, and the year, date and hour of significant events. I’m not one of those.

Under stress, our brain functions less smoothly. The more I focus on how I’m forgetful, the more stress I feel. I tell myself, “I want to remember! I want to do it right! I don’t want to get caught forgetting something yet again.” Thinking these kinds of thoughts actually increase my stress — making me more likely to forget.

What you focus on gets magnified. When I focus on forgetting — guess what! — I forget details, dates, and other important things. More stress! Ack!

Over time I’ve discovered that focusing on what I do want (rather than what I don’t want) is a better way to make change happen. Specifically, I’m shifting my use of the phrase, “I forgot”.

What I’m saying now is, “I remember.” I’m saying, “I just remembered to ask you…” and “I remembered today that I need to take out the recycling (instead of I forgot last night).” Because, if you think about it, the moment that I discover I forgot something I’ve actually remembered it! Which feels great! I remembered! Yay!

By saying remember instead of forget, I feel more confident, less anxious and better about myself. I’m discovering that I’m not as forgetful as I thought. It’s an upward spiral — by shifting my language and focus is I’m remembering more.

Do you struggle with forgetting? What helps you remember better?

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Our friend, the humble book

Happy September! Can you feel all the back-to-school energy in the air? Maybe it’s even taking place in your own household. This season, that energy has me thinking about books. Several of my clients are working on long-untouched collections of books lately too. Do you have books?

Books are like friends. They carry memories with them. They are a tangible reminder of who we’ve been, where we’ve been, and what we’ve learned. They are sentinels of what we value. With all these strong associations, it’s very common to hang on to books long past their useful life, even when we don’t want them or run out of room to store them. We have an undeniable emotional relationship with these lovely, bound collections of ideas.

How I collected books I dread

Way back, Inspired Home Office was a little glimmer of an idea I gently tossed around with trusted friends. I had no idea what IHO would be, but I loved it. I also felt pretty insecure about my expertise as an organizer because, for someone who’d been as disorganized as I was, I felt nervous that I deserved any credibility or authority.

So I bought books. I loaded up on the Big Names in organizing: Covey, Allen, Morgenstern, Kingston, Gillingham-Ryan and others. I got books about organizing, time management, feng shui, money, decorating and others. My thinking was that if I read the experts that I would feel more confident and knowledgeable.

In case you hadn’t noticed, I was attempting to solve something from a place of fear. Reading the words of all these polished, accomplished authors just made me feel more insecure and fearful. I found myself comparing myself to them. I felt smaller and smaller. My little internal committee was scoffing at the very idea that I had something to contribute. Yuck.

Two big lessons learned

Although many of these authors had fantastic ideas, I was insulted by the very idea that there was One Right Way to do anything. It bothered me that so few left room for interpretation or personal experience. I felt insulted by the tone used in some of the books, “It’s simple, anyone can do this!” because this was not my experience. I couldn’t do it. Many of the people I’d met couldn’t follow their simple advice.

In hindsight, reading these authors also helped me realize that there are many ways to get organized and none of them are perfect. These authors write about methods that work for them. And in the end, there’s only one way — the way that works for you. So, in some ways I’m indebted to them, even if I didn’t agree with all of their strategies.

And a true confession

The surprising thing is, after feeling all this resistance and negativity associated with some of these books, I still own them. Today. They’re sitting in a pile, half-read on my shelf.

Even if I’d once loved these books, I know they don’t fit me anymore. What’s a sentimental bibliophile to do?

One way to clear out old, unhelpful books

To honor and possibly release your books, here are the 8 steps to try:

• Take your time with your old friends. Go one book at a time.
• Hold the book in your hands. Notice the title, the cover, the author.
• Reflect on what you wanted to learn from owning this book. What hopes did you have?
• How do you feel when you hold/look at this book?
• Be curious: Does it align with your the vision you have for your life?
• If you released it, could you find it again if you needed to?
• Where could it go next? Back on the shelf? To an organization in your community that buys books? To a charity that sells them to fund their work?
• What’s your next step? Allow yourself to decide.

Trust your intuition with these questions. If you want to keep the book, don’t force yourself to release it. Often there’s a lot more going on emotionally than practically (as in, where to donate it), so take your time. Make space for the feelings and memories to come up. Cherish them. Make room for them.

Choose and act

As I looked over my own pile of organizing books and did this process, I discovered that there are two that have a real ick feeling to them. I’m going to release these — in fact they’re now by the back door so that I’ll remember to put them in the car. The rest I still look at occasionally and like to have them when my clients refer to them. So the remainder will stay.

Is it time to spend a little quality time with your books? You never know what friendships you’ll rekindle in the process!

Feel free share your experiences with books by commenting below!

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This is the chair I didn’t want anymore… at the end of my driveway.

With a “FREE” sign attached.

Yes, it’s my old cat-scratched chair on a Sunday evening, on our not-too-busy street.

Can you guess how long it took for a grateful someone to snatch it up? 64 minutes. No Craigslist ad, no Freecycle post, not even a trip to Goodwill, and it’s gone.

This is just a friendly reminder about how easy it can be to release what you no longer need.

The best part? The grins, waves, and shouted “thank yous” from the folks who carted it away. B’bye old chair!

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Do you have a Pottery-Barn-perfect office?

Yeah, me neither. But I suuuuure did want one.

To be 100% honest, I yearned for an office like that.

I sighed over the high-end woods and metals…pined for the sassy classy textiles tossed just-so on the lounging sofa…longed for the vast empty desk space to whistle while I worked…and whined for an upholstered wall with lots of inspiration and very few work reminders.

And I did all that sighing, pining, longing, and whining while slumped at an undersized, overwhelmed particleboard IKEA desk—in a small bedroom with barely enough room for rolling back my chair, forget an extra piece of furniture just for lying around and throwing blankets on.

If there was a square inch of empty space on my desk, I would’ve had to move the 8-inch stacks of paper and a rainbow snowbank of Post-Its to find it.

And if I wanted to find inspiration, my four blank beige walls with a few wilted postcards pinned to them were not the place to look.

This was my reality.

Reality? Check!

But the fantasy…oooooh, the fantasy!

I daydreamed of Pottery Barn’s pictured perfect spaces, full of bright windows and matching folders and furniture not made of dust and glue. In my sleeping dreams I walked among tall cabinets with tiny drawers full of treasures and sat at a gleaming empty desk.

And whether asleep or awake, I thought: “If I had an office like that, I would have a real business. And until I have that, I’m not a real business person. Because this mess of mine ain’t what a real business looks like.”

And then I found the first flaw.

I was flipping through yet another catalog and deep into the sighing, pining, and whining when I realized that none of the computer monitors had cords. Or the CPUs. Or the laptops either.

But then, what would be the point of cords when there were no outlets to plug them into?

Sometimes this was absurdly obvious, like the desk that was coyly positioned in the middle of a room. It was a shining steel-and-glass island floating in a sea of polished wood floor…

…that I’d have to abandon for the kitchen counter in four hours when the laptop battery died.

And good thing their office had those big windows for general lighting, because there were only two task lamps for the entire room. And, hey, how can someone pick the right folder when they’re the same color and alllll the way on the other side of the room?

It went downhill from there.

I’d finally seen those dream offices for what they were: Dreams. And someone else’s dreams, to boot.

Because my ideal office would need all kinds of lighting to shine me through the wee morning hours when I do my best work. And why have furniture to hold folders when I could organize my files digitally and get rid of paper altogether?

And it’d be pretty important to have cords to plug in and outlets to plug them into, wouldn’t ya think?

Sheesh…how was anyone supposed to get any real work done in there?

In the end….

As you’d guess, my real office looks nothing like those dreams. In fact, it looks like nothing…period.

I have a laptop, a portable wireless connection, a notepad, and a pouch of pens. And when I want to travel really light, I exchange the laptop for an iPad.

And that’s all.

No desk, no chair…no office.

Instead, my office is where I make it. Sometimes it’s in a noisy plaza across town and sometimes in a cafe downtown. Sometimes it’s a quiet corner of my local sandwich shop and sometimes it’s the soft sunny corner of my couch.

The world is my office.

I never pictured that. And those catalogs didn’t either.

So.

Please don’t compare and despair. The pictured perfect probably isn’t perfect for you! You’ll need more or less space, more or less light, more or less storage, more or less stuff.

Maybe you’ll discover you need a whole lot more. Maybe, like me, you’ll discover you need a whole lot less.

You’ll definitely need a way to plug stuff in

Don’t get me wrong, magazines and catalogs are great for ideas and inspiration, but only those. If you catch yourself sighing and longing and pining and whining, remember my opposite-of-office, chew on what would work best for you…

…and get real.

Crys Williams writes about ideas and tools for tiny online businesses over at Big Bright Bulb. Her office moves around, but you can always find her in the same place on Twitter: @bigbrightbulb.

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Two monitors?

I always thought that one computer monitor was sufficient until I worked in an office that had all the computers set up with two, side-by-side.

image source: computershopper.com

Just like the picture — except without the creepy staring eyes. You get the idea, right?

Why it’s useful

One of the limitations of a single monitor is that switching between documents or programs is challenging without getting the tabs all confoozled. In the real world of paper we hold documents side by side to compare them, to switch between them easily. Imagine trying to balance your checkbook with the bank statement directly underneath it. It’s confining. It’s not efficient.

Spreading stuff out, especially for visual creative types, makes information easier to process. Having two monitors allows you to duplicate this spaciousness in your computing.

In case you’d like to do this weekend project, this great how-to video from cnet walks you through the process step-by-step and tells you want equipment you’d need to make the switch.

Have you tried this? What do you think?

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On a recent post, I mentioned how difficult it is to keep kitty litter off the keyboard A cat-savvy reader suggested this desk attachment called the Kitt-In Box.

Adorable, isn’t it? I’d be willing to bet that if I added a warming bed, it would be kitty bliss!

Hat tip to Nita for the resource!

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