Got Chaos Organizing Time, Space

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Got Chaos? Organizing Time, Space Information
in the Information Age

• A Talk for the Western Massachusetts Regional
  Library System

by Liz Farrell
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Albert Einsteins 3 Rules of Work

• Out of clutter find simplicity
• From discord find harmony
• In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity

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About Liz

• Helped over 100 clients as a Professional
  Organizer
• Certificate of Study with National Study Group
  on Chronic Disorganization
• Director of Professional Development with
  National Association of Professional Organizers,
  Connecticut

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About Professional Organizers

• Professional Organizers enhance the lives of
  clients by designing systems and processes using
  organizing principles and by transferring
  organizing skills.
• National Association founded in 1985.

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Got Chaos?

• This seminar will address
• the information age and how it affects us
• time management concepts
• handling the paper deluge
• arranging space for maximum results

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The Information Age

• Began in late 1960s
• convergence of telephony and computing
• invention of the microchip
• DARPA
• info becomes a commodity unto itself
• pace of change increases

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What Impact?

• More info than we can handle
• 1900 1,000 pieces of information every month
• 1960 1,000 pieces of information every week
• 2000 1,000 pieces of information every hour

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What Cost?

• 120 for every lost piece of paper (Delphi
  Group)
• 15,600 per worker per year sifting through
  documents

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What Frustrations?

• 30-40 of time spent on document-related
  non-value-added tasks (Gartner Group)
• 2.1 hours every day on unimportant
  interruptions and distractions (Basex, Inc.)

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Ramifications

• Multitasking makes us stupid
• human brain cannot multitask (National Institute
  of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
• forgetfulness
• addicted to an overstimulated state
• lose ability to consolidate thoughts, focus, and
  think bigger (Time Magazine)

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How Time Management Can Help

• Technically, we cannot manage time
• we can manage what we do within a given period
  of time

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Macro and Micro

• Concept developed by Harold Taylor, Harold Taylor
  Time Consultants
• Macro time management looks at your use of time
  as a whole
• Micro time management is concerned with what you
  do in the time available

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Macro Time Management

• Addresses why you are running around faster and
  being more efficient
• Tools are long-term goals, mission statements,
  and life/organizational objectives
• Ensures that you wont be running around faster
  and be more efficient at the wrong things

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Helps You Say No

• Reduces frustration because it will help you
  reach your goals and objectives in a pro-active
  manner
• Helps you say no to projects, requests, and
  interruptions that dont fit your macro plans.

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Systems for Macro

• Stephen Covey
• 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
• First Things First
• Franklin Covey
• Harold Taylor
• Sunny Schlenger
• (see bibliography)

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Micro Time Management

• Addresses how to run around faster and get more
  done in a limited time period
• Tools are day planners, to-do lists and
  efficient filing systems

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Systems for Micro

• Planners Calendars
• Task Lists and making appointments with yourself
• Filing and tickler systems (see next)
• Routinizing repetitive tasks
• Rules and protocols
• touch everything only once
• clear up desk every evening
• if you havent used it/worn it in
• 12 months, you dont need it

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Keep the Two Together

• More comfortable thinking about micro rather
  than macro
• yield faster results in short term
• easier to implement
• Will open up more time in your day, but without
  a plan, the time will be taken up with other
  peoples demands

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80/20 Principle

• Another tool to reduce current workload and
  demands on your time and energy
• Vilfredo Pareto, 1897
• Distribution of wealth in England was governed
  by mathematical principles it was predictably
  unbalanced.
• This applied across time periods and regions of
  Europe

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80/20 Principle

• Further developed in early Quality Control
  movement
• IBM used it in 1960s and 1970s
• Book by Richard Koch, 80/20 Principle The
  Secret To Achieving More with Less

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80/20 Principle

• 80 of your efforts lead to 20 of your results
• 20 of your efforts lead to 80 of your results

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Summary

• Information Age Information overload
• Learning to prioritize and ignore becomes
  critical
• Understanding difference between macro and micro
  time management will lead you to the right
  choices of how to spend your time
• Using the 80/20 principle can help you say no
  and focus on the best use of your time

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Setting Up Efficient Files

• Filing isnt about putting things away its
  about finding things when you need them
• Vertical versus horizontal files
• Why horizontal is better
• others can find things
• free up brain space for value-add projects and
  tasks
• free up desk and other space to create visual
  priorities

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Vertical Filing Products
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3 Types of Files

• Active
• current projects
• paper/files you need once/day
• keep these close by on top of desk in a rack
  or in a nearby drawer
• Reference
• paper/files you need once/month
• keep these in the office area but not cluttering
  up working space
• Archive
• paper/files you probably will never need but
  shouldnt toss
• valuable records youll use less than once/year
• keep these out of your office area

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Whats In Your Filing Cabinet?

• niggly irritations add up to a difficult filing
  system
• hard to read labels
• drawers too full
• drawers not in convenient place
• no place to set down papers while you file
• open multiple drawers til you find the right one
• out of sight-out of mind?
• distrust of previous systems

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Its All About the Categories

• where would I look for this?
• getting the BROAD categories right is 1
• start on left and work to the right
• use color as a short cut
• label the outside of the filing cabinet

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Other Helpful Hints

• leave 4 space in each drawer
• use largest tabs you can find
• minimize hanging folders by using box-bottoms

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Tickler Systems

• For dead-line oriented action items
• bills due
• RSVPs for conferences, meetings, and events
• recurring tasks such as tax bills to be filed,
  reports to be compiled
• birthday cards
• 1-31 file each section is day of month
• file tasks on the day on which they need to be
  accomplished pencil date on upper corner
• check your file every day
• okay to mix up months just put back tasks due
  in upcoming months

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Summary

• Set up your files so that others can use them
  too
• Dont overlook value of large labeling color
  coding
• Ask where would I look for this? when coming
  up with your categories
• Stay on top of filing daily
• Remove all impediments to easy filing
• Start with today going forward

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Making Use of Space

• 3 Main Principles
• Waist Up
• Off the Floor
• Vertical, not horizontal

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Waist-Up Space

• my 1 observed mis-use of space
• literally, the space in a room from the waist up
• 80-90 of items are stored from the waist down

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Good Examples
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Waist Up Space Figuratively

• figuratively, waist-up space can be applied to
  shelves, cabinets, and even drawers
• this is the space in the top 50-60 of the space
• maximizing space means making use of the top 50

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Tools for Waist Up Space

• risers
• adjustable shelving
• under cabinet drawers
• www.stacksandstacks.com

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Vertical Instead of Horizontal
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Albert Einsteins 3 Rules of Work

• Out of clutter find simplicity
• From discord find harmony
• In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity

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Got Chaos? Organizing Time, Space Information
in the Information Ageby Liz Farrell, Gone By
Noon LLC

• Thank You to the Western Massachusetts Regional
  Library System!