To set up a paper filing system in your home or office, we recommend FreedomFiler.  Its the best paper organizing system we’ve found and we’ve used it with hundreds of clients. 

For more help Conquering Paper Clutter, attend our next teleclass on February 17th.  As a follow-up to our January call called Helping Clients Manage The Paper Crisis (available to download on our website,) we want to have a more specific class on paper that tends to cover the desktop, the dining table and kitchen counter.  We call this action paper and there are so many different ways to help your clients deal with their action paper.  Join us on our continuing education call, where we will we will take you through a step by step process to create action files that will Conquer Your Clients Paper Clutter forever.

Here are some of the benefits:

• Tax papers are available when needed, year after year.
• Never have to clean and re-organize your files again; eliminate the need to set up new folders and re-label files each year.
• Learn to evaluate your paper and assign a home based on how it’s used.
• Know when to toss paper; no more fear of letting go.
• Keep a centralized place for family and property records.
• Color-coding allows for simple retrieval. 

For more paper organizing solutions, attend our next teleclasss on January 27, 2010, called Helping Clients Manage the Paper Crisis. 

These calls are designed to not only help you run your business and make you a better professional organizer, but also to help you teach and transfer the skills to your clients.   Here is our current schedule:

• Helping Your Clients Manage The Paper Crisis
• Reduce Time Spent On Email

Keep in mind in order to receive Continuing Education Credits (CEU’s) you must attend “live” interactive events and A certificate of attendance will be provided to attendees as well as an audio recording of the live call.  Depending on your scope of work, the calls may apply towards your continuing education. 

Register at http://www.aredbench.com/calendar.php

As we look back at our year, we are thrilled with all we accomplished.  We strive to bring you the best experts we can find on business and organizing-related topics.  Our job is to help you manage your business a little easier.  Here are some of the highlights:

• We kicked off the year as a finalist in the “Most Valuable Educational Resource” category of the 2009 LA Organizing Awards.

• We held more than 25 live teleclass on the topics of organizing, marketing, social media and business development.

• We hosted our first booth at the NAPO Conference.

• We hosted our first Social Media Event where 8 trailblazers from this new phenomenon shared their tips and tricks on how to make the most of this amazing technology.

• We enhanced our Teleclass Membership, adding many new benefits of membership.

• We kicked off our Become An Infopreneur Program and have a class of organizers creating their very own information product.

• Christa presented, “From Organizer to Infopreneur,” at the POC Conference.

• Angela was selected as a panelist for the 2010 NAPO Conference “Ask The Organizers” Panel.

• We were once again nominated in the “Most Valuable Educational Resource” category of the 2010 LA Organizing Awards. Cast your vote here.

We all look forward to being with family for the holidays, but flying at such a busy time of year can turn any of us into a “grinch.” With a little prior planning, you can relax and enjoy your trip. Here is our best advice for hassle-free holiday travel. Share this with your clients and help them this holiday season.

Before you go:

• Tape a large ID to the inside of your luggage. This will insure return of your luggage if your luggage tag comes off and your bag is lost. (Last year, my luggage sat at the airport for four days before it got to me)

• Shop online. Shopping online allows you to purchase gifts in advance and not have to schlep them with you. Most websites offer some kind of free shipping.

• Ship gifts rather than taking them on the plane. Of course now that we have to pay per bag, bringing gifts is even more challenging and expensive. Ship gifts beforehand. In Vancouver, we recommend the Denman UPS Store owned and operatored by Sussan Toub. She is amazing and will get your packages to your destination safe and on time.

Day of Travel:

• Check in as early as possible and online if possible as holiday flights are typically overbooked.

• When getting dropped off for a morning flight, avoid the crowds by going to the arrival level. Just take the escalator upstairs and head for security.

• Bring plenty of snacks and a refillable water bottle.

Traveling with Children:

• Travel light. Go to www.babysaway.com to rent cribs, car seats, strollers, etc. and have them delivered to your destination in cities in 20 states.

• Bring your child’s favorite snacks, as they may not be available at airport food courts.

• Plan entertainment for the kids. I love those movie players; they are awesome!

Be prepared, be patient, and don’t let travel dampen your holiday spirit! Happy travels!

• Let go of homemade gifts. Now, if you love making homemade gifts, then go for it. Skip to the next tip. But for me, and many others, homemade gifts are more expensive and time consuming than anything else. One year, I made basil flavored olive oil for my co-workers. It was a nightmare and would have been much easier to grab one at Granville Island.

• Let guests pitch in. Who said you had to do it all? If you are having a dinner party, let your guests help out. Let them bring the sides, desserts or appetizers. Having just one less thing on your plate can make a huge difference.

• Purchase host gifts now for all your holiday events. When you go to sommeone’s house, you take a little something with you as a thank-you. Plan ahead and purchase host gifts now; chocolates, a bottle of wine, roasted nuts and a fun (and inexpensive) game make great host gifts.

• Have a wrapping night. This is one of my favorite family traditions. Our wrapping night would be during the Children’s Hospital Telethon. We would watch it, listen to the stories about the inspiring children and be so excited when a donation came in. (Of course, we made one too)

• Delegate to the family. There is so much to do. Cooking, cleaning, decorating, dishes, chopping, shopping, taking out the garbage, etc. The holidays are like any other times of year; get the family involved. Delegate to your family and ask for everyone to contribute to a more simplified season.

This year, instead of wishing December away, help your clients with a few of our suggestions and make this the most simplified and festive holiday season ever.

For tips on how to achieve more with less, purchase our Do More in Less Time audio recording with guest expert Jay Kimball. View more of our teleclasses here.

Here are a few solutions to simplify your holidays:

• Get help where you need it. Hire a house cleaning, a personal chef, an organizer, a travel agent, etc. Think about the time associated with cleaning your home. Would it be worth the investment to hire a house cleaner which would free up your time for something else?

• Have a progressive dinner with friends. Holiday dinner parties are so much fun, but they are a lot of work for the host. Progressive dinner allows everyone to contribute and you get to see holiday decorations at your friend’s homes.

• Order holiday photo cards from Shutterfly.com. Every year I pick 2 or 3 of John and my adventures and put them on our Christmas card. The quality is fantastic and I can get about 60 in the mail in 15 minutes. Saves a ton of time!

• Shop online. We travel during the holidays so shopping online allows me to purchase gifts in advance and not have to schlep them across the country. Most websites offer some kind of free shipping.

• Schedule a cooking day. Think about menu items you can prepare in advance, like cookies, cakes and sauces. Pick a weekend, turn on the holiday music and cook away.

The holidays are meant to be merry and bright. Give your clients few of our suggestions and make this the most simplified and festive holiday season ever.

For more on achieving work-life balance, listen to our Growth & Development audio recordings here.

The holidays are such a busy time. There are so many parties and there is so much to do to prepare for Thanksgiving and Christmas. There’s no question it’s a lot of work, but many times we create this work for ourselves. Take this time to help your clients have a more simplified holiday season which will give you more time holiday season.

Here are a few solutions to simplify your holidays:

• Get the rocks on the calendar. Look at your party schedule and decide what you can really commit to. Only attend events you really want to and will enjoy.

• Stick to recipes you are comfortable with. If you’re a pretty confident cook, sure it’s okay to try something new. But for most people holiday meal planning is stressful. Stick to your favorite holiday recipes and plan ahead. We recommend using our Meal Planning Made Easy system to make meal planning and shopping easier.

• Instead of buying gifts for everyone in your family or all your friends, do a grab bag exchange.

There is no reason you and your clients should have to stress out this holiday season. Help your clients get organized by embracing a few of our suggestions and make this the most simplified and festive holiday season ever.

To learn more about focusing on important top-tier objectives, purchase our Time Management is Broken audio recording featuring guest speaking Bill Zipp. View more of our audio recordings here.

Seth has been working on a new and improved FreedomFiler that is better than ever.  Here are some of the changes. 

• Improved Colors
• More Write-In Labels
• More Pre-Printed Label Choices
• New EVEN/ODD YEAR Labels
• New Tax Labels
• New Archive Labels
• New Permanent Labels
• New Remove/Replace Labels
• New Resource Labels
• New Active/Supplies Labels
• Section Headers (Premium Set Only)
• All-In-One Instruction Booklet
• Four Key Questions Are Back!
• Updated Package Cover
• Premium Set With Extra 1/5 And 1/3 Size Labels
• Better Pricing Means More Value

If you’re not currently using the FreedomFiler with your clients, we recommend you check it out.  We both have used the product for years and find it really works to manage paper piles.   Happy filing!

Nearly every attendee was complaining about how much email they had; they said it wasted their time and bogged them down from getting the more important tasks accomplished.  This is all true, which is why we must learn to manage our email to more effectively.

A question that came up was what to do with all the “Thank You” emails you receive.  You know the situation, it happens many times each day, when you send something to someone and they respond just to say “Thank You.”   Or even worse, when you send a group email (which should be avoided at all costs) and everyone responds to say “Thank You.”  These are very common after an event of some kind, like a holiday party.  Everyone agreed the emails were polite, but completely unnecessary and just adds to their already full inbox. 

I shared with them two tools you can use to reduce the amount of “Thank You” emails you receive.  You can implement this yourself and with your clients.  Of course, this may take some training and you will want to let your recipients know how these tools work so you all can use them properly. 

• NRN = No Response Necessary:  Place these words or this acronym at the bottom of your email, near your name or closing.  It implies, the person only has to read the email, but does not have to respond. 
• NTN = No Thanks Necessary:  Place these words or this acronym at the bottom of your email, near your name or closing.  It lets the recipient know you do not expect a return or thank you email. 

Email has the potential to be a great tool, but with its overuse and abuse, its more of an annoyance than anything else.  We need to train each other how to use email effectively so we can start to use this tool in a more productive manner.

If you would like more information on Email Management listen and learn how to manage you inbox.  Purchase our A Red Bench Teleclass called Detox Your Inbox.   A Red Bench provides training to professional organizers.