Posted by Marie on December 8, 2009
The end of the year rapidly approaches.
For us small business runners, it’s time to hold sales, count inventory, reflect, and plan ahead. One of the things that always gets me excited about the impending new year is my ritual of Clean Out.
I find that the fewer things I have, the more I know I can thrive with an even lighter load.
So I go through my personal possessions and see what I no longer need. I go through my business materials and retire, file, and donate the unnecessary extras. The picture on the right shows the first four bags that went to the donation drop site.
As the space around me increases, I find that my spirit and enthusiasm expand to fill it. I make room for the next year.
I hope you are facing 2010 with a similar optimism.
Posted by Marie on July 3, 2009
Have you heard that it takes about 10 minutes a day, 3 times a week to have a successful company blog?
I hear it all the time:
- We should have a blog.
- We should be on Twitter.
In reality, these avenues of communication are time consuming pursuits and shouldn’t be started without a certain amount of thought.
Some of the things to consider are:
- Who will be the primary contributor(s)?
- Do(es) he/she/they have the skills necessary to be a good written communicator?
- What should be the tone, message, and goal of the blog or Twitter stream?
And of course—Do we actually have anything to say?
This is not to mean that plans should not be modified because all plans, business or otherwise, change. But all too often, I see the most enthusiastic of beginnings die out due to lack of will and direction.
If you ask any responsible corporate blogger, he will probably tell you that the blog is always in his mind. She is constantly on the lookout for the next topic and composing passages in her head (if not on the pad of paper that’s always by her side).
As tools, blogging and Tweeting have so many benefits to offer a company that needs to be smart with its resources.
The time and effort, however, that need to go into making them work are usually a lot more than decision-makers may expect.
Posted by Marie on January 11, 2009
As we all get deeper into this new year, don’t forget that organizing your time uses the exact same process as organizing your spaces. To be organized, you cannot treat time as if it is intangible.
Time provides the containers and compartments into which your actions and events must go. For example, you only have so much space on your desk. If you want to put another lamp on it, you’ll have to take something away to make room. The same principle applies to your time. We only have so many hours in our day, and we have to organize accordingly.
Being organized means more than knowing where your possessions are. It also means that you are not late, you are not double-booked, and you are not behind on your responsibilities.
Could you use some help with developing a simplified and and workable system for your life? Why not give Detour Services a call?
Posted by Marie on January 4, 2009
Are you ready to face the next twelve months? Detour Services is ready to help. Just let us know if you need to get your finances in order. Or perhaps you want a filing system that actually works. Are you tired of losing your items?
Drop me a note today!
Posted by Marie on September 27, 2008
My life does not always look like the picture.
You may be surprised that I, as someone who helps organize others, would admit something like this. But to me, organization is not about things or spaces; it’s about procedures.
If my glasses are not on my face, I know they are in one of three places. When I come home, my bags and keys get dropped at the same location each time. My filings tend to sit in one “to file” pile until it gets bothersome enough for me to do it all at once.
I know how my brain categorizes and processes information so I figured out the best ways to store my stuff—which may mean in temporary piles.
My closet used to be subdivided by color. My CDs used to be in alphabetical order. These systems did not work for me. It turns out that I don’t choose clothes by color, and I don’t figure out music via the alphabet.
Trying to work someone else’s system—one that feels foreign to you—will seldom succeed in the long run. As an organizing professional, I try to figure out my clients’ routines and how they process information. Then I can suggest improvements and modifications that feel natural and easy.
If you have trouble staying efficiently organized, please give Detour Services a call. We offer free telephone consultations and a money back guarantee on our services. Try us out and we’ll figure out a system that will work for you.
