Posted by Marie on December 7, 2008
Conferences. Meetings. Networking events. Holiday parties.
If you run a small business, you give out and receive business cards all the time. They go in your pocket. They go in your folder. They end up in a messy pile on your desk.
Here’s a quick and effective way to keep track of them all. When someone hands you a business card, write down the event on it. Do it while this contact is speaking to you. You can even tell him or her what you are doing. This action demonstrates that you are taking their information seriously and that you are interested in working with them in the future. Most likely, they will be impressed.
As you put them in your filing system, whether it be in a rolodex, a card file, or something else entirely, you’ll have a much better chance of remembering this meeting. When you need help in the future, a quick flip through your cards will help you brainstorm. (Note: This is one of the reasons I’m still an advocate for keeping certain types of information in hardcopy format.)
Every so often, as your files get larger, give these business cards to your personal assistant. Ask him or her to go through and take out the cards that are no longer current. Usually, a quick internet search is all that’s needed. New information may be written over the old. No-longer-useful cards can be removed entirely.
This is one of the ways that I deal with all my cards. Do you have any tips for me?
Posted by Marie on October 29, 2008
Do you need help switching out your closets? As the weather turns, we all start preparing our families for the colder winter months.
But sometimes, the task is harder than it seems like it should be. Where are those brand new gloves from last year? Perhaps a young one has outgrown those sweaters?
A personal concierge service like Detour Services can help you prepare and get organized. Because of our versatility, we’re able to help in ways that are more complete than other professionals. We can do any or all of the following:
- Rearrange and organize your closets. Detour Services is a proud member of the National Association of Professional Organizers.
- Transport the items you wish to donate and return with a receipt.
- Arrange for the sale of other items online, in a garage sale, or through resale shops.
- Search online for the best new purchase bargains.
- Do the buying for you. Wouldn’t it be great to try out clothing in the comfort of your own home?
- Return unwanted merchandise.
Save yourself the headaches and hassles of this busy time of year. Call Detour Services to see how we can make your life so much easier.
Posted by Marie on October 15, 2008
Restaurant clubs are a lot of fun. You get a regular night out with friends. You get to try new foods. You get to learn more about where you live. I hear about these goals so often from busy people. With a restaurant club, you can achieve all of them in one fell swoop.
How does a restaurant club work?
On a designated night, you and your friends gather at a chosen restaurant. Your table has been reserved. All your special requests have been communicated and taken care of. There’s nothing left to do except talk, enjoy each other’s company, and figure out if you have a new favorite place to eat.
Restaurant clubs are a great way to stay connected with your social circles. It’s all too easy to lose track of friends and back out on invitations because work is too hectic and you’re just too tired. A regular social event like a restaurant club helps you recharge and keeps you connected.
The problem is—someone has to plan all this. Someone has to pick a restaurant and propose it, keep track of who is coming, make the reservation, and send out the final details.
That’s where a personal assistant can come in. Why not let your assistant keep track of restaurant openings and reviews? Let him or her call ahead with questions. Is there parking? Is it BYOB? Are there vegetarian options?
Once a place is decided, your assistant can handle the rest—from invitations to reservations. You and your friends can just show up and enjoy.
Posted by Marie on October 9, 2008
Photographs are meant to be seen. With digital technology these days, we are all free to take as many pictures as our memory cards and camera batteries will allow. This change in how we document our special moments has created a different organizational challenge.
Rather than boxes and boxes of unlabeled and unsorted photos, so many of us are ending up with a computer full of image files with mystery names like Picture 082. Or perhaps you are one step ahead and all these photos are on discs with Summer Vacation 2008 sharpied on them.
This is great! but there is one problem isn’t there? You don’t actually look at anything on the discs ever again.
To deal with this problem, I still get my pictures printed out and placed into albums. I will flip through my albums. I won’t start up a random slide show on my computer.
Instead of wrestling with photo paper, ink, paper cutters, and color printers, I use the online services. You just upload your files, and they mail the set to you when the photos are ready.
I find the online services helpful because:
- I don’t have to buy, maintain, and store all the photography equipment in my home.
- I don’t feel guilty that I’m not printing out pictures because everything I need is right there.
- Since every print costs money, it forces me to really think about which images I want to have represent my experience.
- Once I go through that decision making process, I know the rest are inferior and can be deleted.
Voila! Less clutter on my desk. Less clutter in my computer. I have physical prints that I actually look at and can share with others. I am not keeping things for which I have no need and will never use.
Of course now, you have to get those prints labeled and into an album. :) I think that’s a topic for another day.
In my experience, Snapfish gives me top-notch quality for the lowest price. Are there other recommendations out there?
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.
