Your best buddy has a perfect office, neat as a pin.

You notice the display at Office Big Box has furniture that look so organized and tidy.

You drool over the latest office feature in Martha’s magazine that looks so adorably perky.

The green-eyed monster has moved into your office and has taken over whatever semblance of  confidence you may have had.

How’d that happen?

It’s natural to look around you for solutions – especially if you’re stuck or dissatisfied with something in your life. And while searching for ideas and inspiration is great, it’s downright depressing to look at how others do it and compare theirs to yours.

“That’s so expensive, I don’t have that kind of money to spend.”
“That looks impossibly neat, I could never keep my office as clean as she does.”
“My office isn’t that big, I don’t have anywhere to put anything!”
“I’ve got so much paper and stuff, I could never get my office to look like that.”

Do these comments sound depressingly familiar?

Or, worst of all, there’s:

Thank God no one sees my office.

Comparison, unveiled.

When you compare, you see differences. And they keep you stuck. Comparison can make you feel badly about how your office looks, your self worth, and even doubt whether you’re an effective business owner. Comparison can become a downward spiral of self-doubt and self-loathing.

If you feel some of those terrible feelings about yourself or your office, you’re not alone.

The answers aren’t out there. They’re in here.

If you’re struggling to put order and beauty in your workspace, I want to let you in on a secret: the key is inside you.

You can look at a million websites for ideas and read dozens of books about organizing, but all that information will not change how your office looks or feels. I’ll bet you already know that.

If you’re looking outside of yourself for answers, you’re missing out on a valuable resource: your own wisdom.

Self-defining vs. comparison

All those people you were comparing yourself to? They all had something in common:

• Your best buddy knew what she wanted.
• The Office Big Box furniture designers knew what they wanted.
• That Martha Stewart – she knew what she wanted (doesn’t she always?).

It’s not like they all had some magic formula that you can’t access. Each of them had a vision – and then they created it in real life.

Find your vision

To banish the green-eyed monster and gain back your workspace mojo, here are 3 practical steps to take:

1. Ask yourself what you want.

What is it you need to work peacefully in your office? No matter how far from it you may feel, write it down or draw a picture of it – and describe it in as much detail as possible.

The purpose of doing this is to forge a clear idea of what your perfect office is like. When you see ideas in magazines, they become tools rather than deterrents to your progress.

2. Figure out what your parameters are.

What’s your budget, space needs, storage needs, etc. This puts your vision into real-life perspective.

3. Start taking small steps toward your vision.

Once you’re clear, the best thing to do is take action. Sitting on your hands will just make you frustrated. What’s one small thing you can accomplish toward your vision? What’s a tiny thing you can do today?

The important thing is to focus on small steps, because they add up. And they’re so much more compassionate.

Care to comment?

Readers are talking about email a lot lately.

My computer is cluttered. I have no idea how to clear it out. What guidelines do I to use to figure out whether to let go of something or keep it?

Another reader sent me this message just yesterday:

I have a backlog of messages, some of which are stored in files, some not, that I need to go through and sort out.

So do you have any suggestions about how I should tackle this? Should I just set aside several hours and go through the whole lot (and try in future not to accumulate!) or should I do a bit of time over a longer period?

A third reader piped up with a book recommendation for The Hamster Revolution: How to Manage your E-mail before it Manages You by Mike Song, Tim Burress, and Vicky Habey. (I haven’t read it, but it sounds great!)

I’m delighted you’re asking for ideas about how the heck to get rid of this stuff. It’s overwhelming, isn’t it?

Your way is the best way

I got started organizing because I was painfully disorganized. I tried to read books about how to “do it right” and you know what? I never finished them. I made stern resolutions, but I couldn’t remember all the tips I’d learned – and things would fall apart and worse.

Because I’ve been there, I love sharing my ideas for you. But remember there’s a Wise Self inside of you. No one knows what’s right for you more than you do.

The magic question

What got me out of overwhelm and disorganization was learning to ask myself: “What do I need?” I’d get stressed or overwhelmed, I’d miss a deadline or forget an appointment. After giving myself some grace, I’d ask, “What is it I need so I can do this better?”

That is the magic question.

Once you ask this, trust. Trust what you need. You may hang on to email because you feel afraid of losing its valuable information. You may be ready and want to get rid of some of it. Wherever you are, read through these suggestions and then ask yourself, “Is this what I need?” You’ll find an answer that’s right for you (and if you don’t, let’s talk).

Things to try

1. Purge email when you want to:

If you have a full Inbox right now and you want to downsize it, congratulations. That’s progress! Hampster Revolution recommends choosing an arbitrary number in advance (like 42) and just get rid of that many emails in one sitting.

Set a timer for 20 or so minutes to make it less painful and possibly faster. Then set another time to do it again. Small chunks of time might be more palatable and productive. Personally, I’d rather have a root canal than clear out email for 8 hours solid.

If you want to archive emails that are taking up space on your computer, you can use a backup hard drive, USB thumb drives or archival quality DVDs to store them long term.

You might want to put a date on your archives. If you haven’t opened or accessed the information stored by the date you choose, you can purge them permanently.

2. Give critical information a place to live:

If you don’t know where it is, it’s harder to find.

Point 1: It’s darn-near impossible to sort through email to find what you need. So don’t use email to keep track of time-sensitive information, contact information, or other details. Instead, keep it where you’re going to need it eventually anyway.

I recommend having an electronic or paper calendar handy so you can plop in info you’ll need. When the appointment rolls around, it’s all there for you.

Point 2: Because too much Inbox mail is visually overstimulating, don’t store anything in your Inbox but new emails. No “to-dos” in there. No reminders to follow-up. Nada.

To accomplish this, let it live somewhere you’ll find it. Create a place to store the emails you need but that aren’t urgent.

One way to do this is with filters. They’re amazing! Filters automatically screen incoming emails and send them into folders you design. This feature is available in Microsoft Outlook and several other email programs.

This screen shot shows you the filter categories I’ve assigned in my own account. When an email comes in from b5, Gmail filters it and automatically pops it into the correct folder for me.

Then, when I feel like reading my 13 newsletters, I will. But they don’t clog up my Inbox while they sit waiting.

3. Grant yourself permission to not choose:

I really believe that removing clutter adds freedom and energy to your life.

However, I have a clutter-removing exception for email. If you use a free email program like Google or Yahoo that offers unlimited storage, you can let yourself off the hook.

Why force yourself to purge old stuff if you don’t have to? As long as messages aren’t gumming up your Inbox, you can breathe easy. See that little “Archive” button in the screen shot? It removes the selected email from your Inbox, but stores message forever.

I particularly like Gmail because it has a very powerful search engine so I can easily retrieve old messages by name, content, subject, date and more.

Summing up

If you’re loaded down with emails in your inbox:

– Start whittling away at old Inbox emails a few at a time
– Check out using filters to weed out what’s urgent and what’s not
– See if you have unlimited storage – and decide if it will help you

Care to comment?

An inspired look at reducing your paper-induced stress

Since the ancient Egyptians began writing on papyrus 5000 years ago, humans have been making decisions about where to store these flimsy pieces of plant pulp.

Fortunately for us in the modern era, paper isn’t as fragile, expensive, or prone to rot as those hammered fronds. But it does mean that we can acquire a lot more of it than the ancients ever did. A ton. Even in our technology-rich world, people still rely heavily on print and paper.

Look on your desk right now and you might find things like mail, bank statements, records, books, checks, correspondence, receipts, printed emails, files, and more. All of it paper. Ra help us!

Paper’s like water

The interesting thing about paper is that it’s a lot like water. If there’s a clear direction, it will end up where it needs to go with a minimum of fuss. It will “go with the flow.”

When the direction of the flow of paper isn’t defined, it will pool up in unexpected places and in undesirable volumes. When life gets crazy and when you put off handling mail for a while, it can become a tsunami-like wall of paper.

Today, we’ll hone in on the kind of paper that comes to you unbidden: mail.

What’s in your mail?

Simply put, mail is made up of containers (envelopes, boxes) and contents (everything inside them). But it’s not that simple. It can include postcards, newsletters, coupons, fliers, catalogs, and more. It gets sent to you equally by people you want to hear from and people you don’t.

Some mail requires action: urgent, moderately urgent, not urgent at all. Mail comes from someone who wants you to respond in some way. As if you don’t have enough to do.

This may be obvious, but because there are so many choices to make about all this mail it’s often easier to deposit it in one location and close the door.

Where does it come from?

Come rain or snow or storm of night, the stuff I get in my mailbox arrives every day at about 10am. When we first moved into our house a year ago, we had no system. So the mail piled up. Our personal mail, business mail, stuff for the previous tenants. Everything. It was a mess.

At a spot in the kitchen where everything was landing already anyway, I set up a mini-mailbox. There, we divided the mail by who it was addressed to.

Now, it’s my daily routine to pick up my mail and sort it at the mini-box. I open everything immediately and discard of all the things I don’t want: envelopes, inserts, credit card offers, etc. I have plans to put a recycle bin and a shredder nearby, so all that’s left over will be the items that need action.

Where does it go?

Deciding where to put things once they come into your life is a personal decision that is unique to you.

To discover what works best for you, watch how you obtain your mail and observe the path it travels from the mailbox to your desk. Over time, you will begin to notice where it pools up and stagnates.

Where do you put it?

Where things accumulate, you need a way to remind yourself to take the next action step.

If, for example, that piece of mail is a bill, where would you like to put it so that you remember to pay it? If it’s a conference registration form, where will it live so you remember to take the next step (like filling it out or checking your budget)?

Everyone does it differently according to their own preferences. I have one client who uses a vertical file folder system with a file for bills and a file for receipts to enter into her bookkeeping software. I like to file it out of sight after putting a task in my organizing software.

What would work for you? Follow these steps to find out.

Things to try

1. Notice where your paper comes from

For a few days, bring a heightened awareness to the myriad sources of mail and paper in your workspace. You don’t need to fix or change anything, just notice with curiosity the places it all comes from.

2. Stem the tide

You may see after a few days that there are ways to reduce the volume of mail and paper.

When I noticed the number of catalogs we were getting, I called each business and requested to be removed from their mailing list. This may sound tedious, but the volume of mail decreased dramatically within a month – so there was less to sort.

When you start reducing the volume you have to deal with, it’s a profound way to care for yourself and nurture your business.

3. Think about where you want the things you need.

Look carefully at what kinds of things accumulate and notice what you need and trust the answers that come up for you. Often simple solutions are the most effective.

4 comments

Creating calm after the storm

A few weeks ago, I asked readers to send in questions about their home office struggles and anything they’ve been wondering about. I made this request partly because I just like to hear from you.

And also, of course, because I want to help.

I received an email from my buddy, Karen, who is a parent coach (and a darned good one!) in Portland, Oregon. Here is what she said:

Well, [my issue is] not at all wacky, but actually fairly boring. MAIL! It’s taking over! UGH!

Okay, taking a deep breath now. . . I got behind on a bunch of stuff and I’m a bit overwhelmed getting caught up again, so my desk looks like a typhoon hit it. Not sure when I will have time to clean it either. Thank god it’s a roll top!

Anyway, some strategies for handling mail and maybe for handling a back log without the overwhelm would be great!

The thing I love about Karen’s email is that it’s so honest. We all have times in life like this and maybe you laughed in self-recognition reading it – I know I did! So when you read this, Karen, just know that you’re in good company.

From the backlog – into flow

You probably know what a backlog looks like. If you say the word “backlog” out loud, it just feels depressing. And trying to “get through” a backlog pile can feel like a daunting, overwhelming, sloggy task.

Breaking it down

The most important thing to know about a pile of accumulated anything is that it’s made up of individual parts. It may look like one thing – a big pile – but if you look really closely, it has many separate pieces.

If you’re in the place that Karen describes, there’s just one way forward: pick up a single piece. Open it.

Then get rid of what you don’t want (envelopes, “don’t miss out” offers, credit card checks, etc.). Keep the bits that you really do want or need.

Then pick up the next piece. If you focus on one at a time, really focus on it, it helps keep the overwhelm at bay.

Tracking the important bits

If you do this for 20 minutes or so, what you’ll end up with is a pile of to-do’s. Things to file, things to follow up on, bills to pay, etc.

You may find it handy to write a list of these actions as you go so you don’t have to keep the whole pile on your desk to remind you.

Get support

If you’re overwhelmed by the pile you’re facing, that is totally okay (not to mention normal)!

You might want to do some self-nourishment before, during, and after the time that you work on it. Maybe you’d like a nice cup of tea or cocoa to sip on. Or some of your favorite music at a rousing volume. You could even include a trusted friend to assist you in person or maybe check in with someone by phone when you’re done to get a dose of encouragement.

It can also help to set a timer or otherwise restrict the amount of time you work on this project. A specific amount of time helps you make decisions faster and can give you some relief knowing an end is in sight.

Things to try

An overwhelm reframe

It’s common to have all kinds of fearful or judgmental thoughts about a backlog of stuff. If you notice these thoughts coming up, make space for them – and then remind yourself of how important your work is to you, your clients, to the world.

Instead of a “beat-self-up” session, choose to make your downsizing process an act of love and service to your business. Bring your heart into it.

Separate the wheat from the chaff

After establishing a time limit, pick up once piece at a time and decide what you’d like to do with it. Be kind to yourself by stopping when you agreed to (unless you’re really having fun).

Think sustainably

Next week, we’ll explore ways to stem the tide before it crashes in. Tune in then and find easy and encouraging ways to increase your peace and decrease mail-related stress before it happens.

Care to comment?

Bringing consciousness to the things you own

How’s your holiday wish list coming along? Maybe you’re pining for a new digital camera or a cozy cashmere sweater… Or something practical like a vacuum cleaner that actually works.

Whatever it is you’ve been dreaming of, you may find yourself thinking about how much it would add to your life and how much you’d enjoy possessing and using it.

Yet, unlike items on this wish list, many things come into your home and your office that arrive with less intention or forethought.

Things that own you

Prime culprits fall into these categories:

• That which is sent to you by others: mail, catalogues, opportunities
• Things that other householders bring in: miscellaneous items, laundry, the pet’s toy
• Things you thought you might need someday: an odd business card, a brochure for a class, a CD you never listened to
• Unwanted bits that arrived with things you do/did want: packaging, storage cases, twist ties
• Broken stuff: Empty printer ink cartridges, outdated equipment, batteries you’re not sure have totally expired
• Invisible stuff: Things that used to support your and your business but no longer do

Technically these items belong to you, you probably don’t consider them your possessions.

A definition of irony

The Oxford Dictionary of English states that the root of the word possession is “able” and “to sit”.

That’s right. Unwanted possessions are able to sit – and sometimes quite persistently.

Surrounding yourself with possessions you’ve chosen

One of the biggest blocks I see with home-based businesses are quantities of things from the categories above – that have accumulated over time. When I ask, my clients tell me that they feel dead walking into their office. Repelled. Dread. Exhausted. Unmotivated.

That’s because they’ve accidentally surrounded themselves with belongings they’ve not chosen consciously.

Things to try

If you accumulate possessions unconsciously, there is a remedy.

1. Begin simply by picking something up and asking a simple question: “Does this support my business?”

2. If it doesn’t support your business, it doesn’t belong in your office. Chances are good that someone else can benefit from its use – whether directly or through recycling. Moving it along frees up space and energy.

3. If the item does support your business, the next step is to give it a home where you’ll remember to access it… if it doesn’t have one already.

Invite in what you want – on purpose

Give yourself permission to invite in your office only what will support your work, effectiveness, and joy. Doing this will give you more energy and momentum to do the work you love.

Care to comment?

You keep your desk pretty orderly most of the time. That is, you know where to find what you need when you need it – even if you have to dig a little.

And if you spend some time straightening up, you can whittle down what’s on your desk to just about nothing.

But it always seems like there are a few random things things just stick around. You don’t have time for them right now. So they stay put and spoil the success of cleaning your desk.

Kinda.

Red Herrings

Remember that Sesame Street tune “one of these kids is not like the others?” A red herring masquerades as a piece of manageable clutter, but it’s different from the rest.

Take Sam’s membership magazine. It sits on his office desk to remind himself to write a letter. But it wasn’t any ordinary letter.

He was angry about the organization’s policies and intended to give them a piece of his mind – by explaining the ethical grounds upon which he was canceling his subscription.

But he just hadn’t gotten around to it yet.

They’re hard to get rid of.

The most common feature of a red herring is that there’s no logical place to put it or file it. So the magazine just sits on Sam’s desk… getting him steamed every time he looks at it.

Okay. So, you’re getting the point here. Besides the fact that red herrings are distracting and messing up your desk, they also tend to accumulate.

“I’ll get to this later.” (plop on desk)
“Oh! I need to remind myself to do this!” (plop on desk)
“Well, I’ll just put this little pile on top of this little pile…” (PLOP on desk)

And before you know it, you’ve got a fine kettle of fish (a.k.a. an unmanageable mess).

What’s a busy business owner to do?

Things to try

Get a net

If you’re hauling in all these herrings, you might as well get something in which you can capture them so they don’t flop all over and make a mess of your workspace.

Take it easy on yourself

If you’re like a lot of people, you look at your accumulated incomplete tasks and say something disparaging about yourself.

Stop right there. Take a deep breath and remember that you’re busy. You have a lot going on. And you choose get to the urgent stuff first. That’s just how it is.

You are totally and completely normal. In fact, you’re also ambitious, creative, and optimistic thinking you can get all this extra stuff done.

Personally, I think you’re pretty cool. So make peace with the “undone stuff” and use your energy for something more enjoyable.

Then, once you’ve made some peace with yourself…

Break it down

Pick up one of those red herrings and figure out what you want to do with it…

What steps do you need to take to complete it?

Write it down

It doesn’t have to be fancy. Scribbling in a spiral notebook with a running to-do list is a great place to start. Or maybe you’re addicted to stickies.

You could write these tasks on your current calendar (if it’s big enough). Or you can use a program on your computer that catalogs all of your tasks and projects.

Whatever works for you!

The trick is to write your self a note to do the task, and then put the related materials (like Sam’s magazine) somewhere other than the surface of your workspace.

Always include the place that you’ve stored the related material in your note. And nothing gets lost – except some clutter from your desk.

Now, doesn’t that sound nice?

2 comments

Like you, Paul is pretty cool.

If you met Paul, you’d have at least an hour-long conversation about a variety of interesting subjects.

He is an accomplished organizational development consultant. In fact, now that he’s retired, he is earning more in his part-time freelance career than he did as a full-time employee of a large organization.

In his spare time, he is a soccer referee, a voracious reader, an avid oenophile, and just completed his master’s degree. Paul and his wife travel regularly to visit their daughters in Philadelphia and Italy. Paul’s life is full and delightful. And, like a lot of people I work with, Paul’s office is a complete wreck. He’d be the first person to tell you so.

Although he’s about to move his office into a new room (that’s significantly smaller than the current one), the tower of retirement statements, soccer schedules, and who-knows-what will not fit into the new space.

And Paul has a problem.

If you can relate, here are some…

Ideas to try

If you’ve got some piles to downsize, there are a few ways to keep it from feeling like drudgery. Thank goodness!

1. Make a date

Yup, that’s right. Schedule a little quality time with your office space. Put it on your calendar, dab on some cologne, and show up with flowers.  This really helps you take your workspace seriously and acknowledge its value in your life.

Plus, when you schedule a date, it means there’s an end time on the horizon. You get to stop when the time’s up.  

2. Make it fun

Some of my clients find it really helpful to put on their favorite music and play it very loudly. Maybe something fun and cheezy from your high school days.

Having this auditory distraction helps you make speedier decisions about what to keep or purge. This is great as long as you don’t throw out important tax documents.  

3. Make a list

Speaking of decisions: to keep or recycle, that is the question. Some people have a hard time deciding what to get rid of and what’s really important.

I created this little list of questions when I cleaned out my clothes closet last month. When I tried everything on, I read each question out loud and it was a lot easier to get rid of that scratchy sweater.

What kind of questions would help you? When you’ve given it some thought, write them down, make a date, and turn on the tunes. Your office will love you for it!

Care to comment?