Making Clutter Vanish

I'm always working at getting better at being organized (even though I'm already pretty good) and figuring out ways I can reduce clutter in my life. This post from the organize it blog has 3 Golden Rules for having a decluttered life that make a ton of sense. Take a minute to check it out.

New Moleskine Products Available Soon

I love all my online organization, but I like paper as well and one of my favorite things to use is a Moleskine notebook. Hemingway liked them, so who am I to argue. I just read about some new products that will be available from them soon and they sound pretty cool, so check it out.

More Ways To Get Organized

Yesterday I read this article in the Wall Street Journal about various time management systems. If you read this blog at all, you know that I love organization and utilizing anything I can to make myself more efficient. I truly believe that no matter what you do for a living, being on top of your work and managing your time well is really important. The article discusses the system that I'm trying to implement, GTD, but also gives you details on a couple others. Check it out if you have a minute, as I think it will be time well spent.

Organization How I Love Thee Redux

People often ask me about being organized at work and to start them off I often send them this extensive post I did about organization when I started this blog. I thought I would post it again for new readers to the blog and to motivate some current readers. Enjoy!

Boss Dossier

I'm not including a link today, but instead sharing a simple, but really useful tip that I have always had success with as an assistant. From day one on a job, make sure to keep what I call a Boss Dossier. It's so useful to keep little bits of information that you will likely need again in a little password protected document, so that you don't have to ask your boss time and time again for the same information. If your boss always gets the same thing for lunch at a few places, write down the specific order with whatever preferences they may have (dressing on side, etc.) and then you will have an easy shorthand when they want to order or if you have to make a decision to get something for them and can't ask them because they are in a meeting. This is a simple idea and most people I'm sure already do it, but try it if you don't already, as it's an effective and simple tool.

Save A Tree & Clear Your Mind

If you read this blog at all you know I'm pretty obsessed with organization and finding new ways to keep the paperwork and clutter of life that we all face in order somehow. It's impossible to be perfect at it and even as diligent as I am, I still have a pile of things to be filed right now and some items in my inbox. The best thing you can do is chip away at it, so that day to day you are living in a less chaotic and more streamlined environment. This guide from Lifehacker about going paperless is another way to reduce the amount of paper stuff around you and save the environment in the process. If you can implement even a few of the strategies and free your mind from the chaos that surrounds you, it just might help you make the time and gain the focus to create your masterpiece.

These Items Might Help You To File More Often

I'm a bit of an organizational freak, but even I don't really love to file. When I find products I like though, it does help me to get more in the mood. I recently discovered these Pendaflex polyjackets at work and I love them. If you really want to up the ante on your filing, get some of these sophisticated and elegant looking file folders from See Jane Work. It won't make it an exciting event to file, but it might inspire you a tiny bit more and that's a step in the right direction towards getting organized.

Unclutterifc

I seriously have no idea how my obsessed with organization self had no idea about the site Unclutterer. I heard about it yesterday on Twitter (by the way if you are not on already just get on, it's a great source of information). It has tons of tips that will be useful to get the clutter out of your home life and at work. It will surely help you to be more productive on the work front and that can only lead to good things.

Tips For Stress Free Travel For Your Or Your Boss

A few tips how on to make an itinerary and travel for your boss or yourself go from good to great:

1)On the itinerary, BOLD and if there is space, put in ALL CAPS (use this sparingly) key pieces of information that need to be accessed quickly.

2) If you or your boss is picky about seating, use a site like Seat Guru to see what seats are good on various airplanes and which ones you should avoid like the plague. This site is free and it's awesome.

3) Even if you are using a travel agent, call and reconfirm the hotel, car, etc. It can't hurt and it will give you piece of mind and your boss a smooth experience.

4) Even if your boss uses an online calendar or a calendar on a iPhone or Blackberry, give them one paper copy for their trip to take with them, so that if all technology fails they have something. Having something just in case never hurt anyone and often helps.

5) Put all confirmation #'s and Frequent Flyer #'s on to the itinerary. This is CRUCIAL. It makes it easier for your boss if they have an issue and it's proof that you did your job. It takes just a minute or two to add and is useful for resolving problems that arise.

6) Put the itinerary and all other trip related docs in a simple folder with the location and date of the trip. If it's a trip your boss is taking, give him/her one and keep a copy for yourself.

7) Before the person who is traveling leaves (you or your boss) make sure you have gone over the packing/prep list (umm, if you didn't do this you should have) and make sure that whatever needs to be with you or them -- is indeed actually packed.

8) Stay Up-To-Date on whatever online resources can help you. Lots of people use Trip It to do itineraries. It's free and you just e-mail all your reservations to it and it does an itinerary. It might not work for you, but it's always good to investigate stuff like this to see if it can make things more efficient.

If you want to see how I come up with ideas for restaurants and hotels that I recommend to bosses or find for myself, check out this post I wrote in April that has tons of resources in it.

I'm Recycling My Own Post - Is that Eco Friendly?

This is the first and only time that I will recycle a post, but since I did the post long ago and I think it's something that's useful for everyone (especially those people new to the blog), I'm doing it this one time. The old post about organization was featured on a website other than my own called Brazen Careerist (which is a great resource for career knowledge, ideas, trends and more). Here are both posts:

My Post About Organization On Brazen Careerist

The Original Post On This Blog Called Organization How Do I Love Thee, Let Me Count The Ways

If you didn't see the post long ago, please check it out. It's so important to be organized and it can really help you to thrive creatively if you can get yourself more on track, even just a little bit.

A Peek at the Office of the Guru of Getting Things Done

I ramble on here all the time about how being organized is crucial. I truly believe it to be true. There are creative geniuses that can be messy and still come up with amazing work product, but I think if you can improve your ability to be organized by even a small amount, it will allow you to focus more on being creative and help you to do a great job at work. I have mentioned David Allen before on this blog, he's the author of the famous book Getting Things Done. This weekend I saw a brief video interview of him that features a look at his desk. It's worth checking out for some insight on smart ways to keep your desk in order.

Organization How I Love Thee, Let Me Count the Ways

You would think I would not be so busy these days. I'm looking for a job and not at one -- but somehow between my job search, this blog and finishing up a tv spec, I don't seem to have that much extra time on my hands. The key thing to utilizing your time wisely is being organized. I'm a bit mental in that department, but in a good way. I LOVE organization and I use a ton of tools to keep things from slipping through the cracks. Below are some ideas and tools you can use to make yourself into an organizational superstar.

1) Keep some kind of To Do List. You would be amazed at how many people don't do this! I literally don't know how I could sleep at night if I didn't. There are so many options you can utilize, here are just a few:

A) Go old school (especially if you are short on time) and use a pen and paper. I often do this if I am not right by my computer or my iPhone (honestly the thing is pretty much attached to my hand, but that isn't the point). I sometimes will do this just to get the thought out of my head and put it into another format later.

B) Use some sort of online or computer related To Do List manager like Vitalist (this is the one I prefer) or Remember The Milk (both have a free and paid version). Gmail now has a tasks function that you can use, read about it here. If you want to use something more simple, take advantage of the functionality of your online calendar from Google (I prefer this one), Yahoo or whatever one you use. On most online calendars you can set it to send you reminders via text or email. People are always astonished that I never forget birthdays, but the online calendar is what makes this possible! All you have to do is set the date for yearly and a reminder 2 weeks before (to get a gift or card) and then the day of and you are all set. If you use Outlook often and like it, I'm pretty sure it has a To Do List or To Do Bar, so try that.

C) If you spend all day out and about on your Blackberry, iPhone or some other device, the majority of them have some sort of to do list on them. Also a few of the to do list online programs like Vitalist have apps for the iPhone and other devices.

2) REMINDERS, REMINDERS, REMINDERS!!!!! I could not be as efficient and on top of stuff as I am, if I didn't utilize the idea of reminders. I constantly leave myself post-it notes, set reminders in my to do list or calendar to email me or even intentionally leave things in my line of sight, so I won't forget (this is shockingly effective). One great inexpensive item to buy that can help you remember things just before you walk out the door is this Don't Forget Door Hanger that you can put things in. I don't have this, but I might need to buy it.

3) Study others who are productive. I'm enough of a dork that I actually read blogs about productivity and well, I'm, uhhhh - PROUD of that. Two productivity blogs that I find interesting are Zen Habits and 43 Folders. The Guru behind 43 Folders has a great video presentation he gave at Google about how to get your email Inbox to ZERO, so you aren't constantly behind AND yes, I said ZERO. I swear it's worth watching. There are many great books about being organized, but one of my favorites is Getting Things Done by David Allen.

4) Make your resources searchable. I have TONS of resources about travel, gifts, restaurants and all kinds of other stuff. I'm always looking for new ways to access this information more easily. One thing I started doing last year was using a new site called Evernote. I love bookmarks and I have tons of them broken down into so many folders and subfolders it would make your head spin, but I was finding at times that I needed a solution that was more visual and that is where Evernote comes in. The best way to explain it is that it is sort of like keeping a collection of visual bookmarks, but you can also incorporate pictures and text and other items into it. Also the entire thing is searchable - even the text on a label in a picture of a bottle wine you take, for instance. It's amazing and I'm not doing it justice, so read a review of it here or listen to the CEO explain the product in this video that is under a minute.

5) Set up some kind of a filing system and as much as you hate it, FILE sometimes. To be honest, I like setting up systems more than I really love to file, but it's necessary. If you have a system set up and at least a basket to put items that need to be filed in - that's a start. Try to get yourself on a schedule if you can (maybe add a calendar reminder :), but don't beat yourself up if you get behind. Face up to it and do it and you will be so much happier when it's done.

The bottom line is that all of these ideas work when they are put into practice. If you aren't organized now it might take a bit of time, but I promise it will be worth the effort. The thing you need to figure out is what kind of system works best with your job, life and the way you think and then build it around that.