Archive for the ‘Organizing Skills’ Category

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Year-end Highlights for A Red Bench

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

We hope you and your families had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Now it’s off to the races during December which is often a very busy and stressful month.  It’s hard to believe the year has gone by so quickly, but so much has happened.  We hope you take some time to review your year; what made you happy?  What would you change?

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 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 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.
What a year!  Sure, there are things we would change, but overall we are pleased.  We want to thank you for all your support.  We love working with you and look forward to what may come in the new year.Happy holidays!

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A Seasonal Service: Help Your Clients Prepare For Holiday Travel

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

Flying for the holidays? Get organized and be prepared because anything can happen. Last year, we flew out on the day of the huge snowstorm across much of the US and Canada. We were flying from Vancouver to Cleveland, via Toronto. Long story short, we landed in Toronto in a blizzard and our flight was cancelled. We had to act quickly, fly to a different city, rent a car and drive to Cleveland. Don’t you just love holiday travel?

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!

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Solutions to Simplify Your Holidays, part 3

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

We are full swing into the holiday season; the stores are decorated, the holiday commercials have started and the Christmas music is right around the corner. With so much going on, it can be difficult to enjoy this special time. This is when our clients really stress out and spin out of control. Here are a few solutions to simplify your holidays:

  • 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.

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Solutions to Simplify Your Holidays, part 2

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

November is here and the holiday season has begun. My guess is you are working with any number of clients who have a long list of To Do’s and many parties and events to attend. There’s no question the holidays are a busy time, but many times we create that work for ourselves. Help your clients have a more simplified holiday season which will give them more time to relax and enjoy the season.

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.

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Solutions to Simplify Your Holidays, part 1

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

Wow, can you believe that it is November already? The air is cooler, the leaves are changing and fall has certainly arrived. It is the official start to the holiday season. Are you and your clients ready?

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.

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The New FreedomFiler Is Now Available

Friday, September 25th, 2009

We love the FreedomFiler and have used this product for years.  And one of the best things about the FreedomFiler is the owner Seth Odam who is willing to listen to any suggestions or recommendations we have as professional organizers.  Freedomfiler

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!

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Reduce “Thank You” Emails

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

Yesterday, I gave a workshop called Simplify Your Life and Kick Start Productivity for the staff of Langara College. At the workshop, I shared Five Organizing Tactics to implement to start living a more organized life.  One of them was “Manage Your Email” and the topic turned into a really healthy conversation about email overuse. 

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.computer

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.

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A Saved Email Is Only Helpful If You Can Find It

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009

We had a fantastic teleclass with fellow organizer and email expert, Lauren Halagarda, recently.  It was called Dexox Your Inbox and one of the questions was whether she recommends using email folders for archiving. Now with all of our teleclasses you have to take the expert’s advise as just that – advice.  You can take it or leave it, but do give it some thought.  You have to listen to the teleclass to understand the entire context of her recommendation, but interestingly enough Lauren does not recommend archiving your emails using folders. 

She says “saving email is only helpful if you can find the email and the folders become overwhelming and confusing.”  Lauren recommends after processing your email, and she provides a process to do so on the teleclass, to archive emails in one folder.  Then use search sofware to retrieve information quickly.  She reviewed various search software tools on the call including her preferred software recommendation.   

Now, I know for many of you this may be a big change and seem like and odd recommendation.  I know for myself, I do like having a personal folder, a folder for my organizing company and one for A Red Bench.  I can still use the search tool she recommends making retrieval easy. But as I was listening to her I started thinking about a recent client who is an attorney and has to save every client communication.  Having one folder will help her tremendously, because right now she cannot stay on top of archiving them and the volume does not allow her to find anything. 

Think of your own clients where this one folder recommendation, along with a search tool, could save them time and frustration. To purchase Detox Your Inbox, visit the Audio Recordings page of our website and consider attending a future A Red Bench Teleclass.

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The Best Tool To Manage Clients Files and Paper Clutter

Friday, July 3rd, 2009

Many of you work with your client’s files and paper.  I don’t know about you, but many of my clients have trouble mainintaing their files.  Even in the most organized of systems, if you don’t review the paper annually it builds up quickly. 

One of the best products I have found to manage paper is the FreedomFiler; its a fantastic filing system we use with nearly every single client. We encourage you to look into this product and use it with your clients to help them magage their paper and tell them how long to keep it.  What I love the product is that how you file your paper tells you how long you keep it.  FreedomFiler

Recently, I was talking to my good friend, Debbie Rosemont of Simply Placed, based in Sammamish, WA.  We were talking about the FreedomFiler and how we can best use this tool with our clients.  We both have been using the product for years and many people want us to help them implement the system, but others have different needs.  Here are some ways you can use the FreedomFiler with your clients.

A la Carte:  Your clients purchase a FreedomFiler ala carte at www.freedomfiler.com.  I would encourage you to become a FreedomFiler affiliate.  Email us at info@aredbench.com if you would like more information on this.

Pre-Made kit:  You can put together the FreedomFiler for your client.  I know you don’t what to see this product become another product that sits on the counter.   Put it together and your client will have functioning files with minimal investment.

FreedomFiler Workshop:  You can offer workshops where attendees build their Freedomfiler in a group setting.

FreedomFiler Consultation:  In just a few hours, you can show your client how to use the product, how to implement it and build their  system.  In my experience, your clients can have files they will never have to re-organize again in less than 3 hours.FreedomFiler

Both Angela and I love the FreedomFiler and you will too!  It’s a great tool for your clients and can also provide you with some passive income by becoming an affiliate.  If I had one wish for every home, it would be to have a FreedomFiler.  You will be a lifesaver to your clients as you can save them from their paper pain.

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Steps To Reduce Sloppy Emailing

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

In a recent blog post called Do Your Client Have Bad Work Habits, we learned one of the top ten worst work habits is being a sloppy emailer.  As a follow-up, I wanted to share what I think that means and how you can avoid it.   Email is not something we were taught how to do, it just entered our world and we started using it.  Now we use it every single day and abuse it in many cases.  computerEmail is also one of the most common reasons our clients are getting very little completed in a day.   By leaving email open all day we are constantly reacting rather than proactively planning our days.  That’s an another post altogether. 

Anyway, in my opinion sloppy emailing is more than sloppy grammar.  If you are texting with a close friend, or even emailing a close friend, sure you can skip the grammar check.  But if you are in the work environment, be sure to spell and grammar check prior to sending.   I think that goes without saying so I am not going to even bother including that in my email rules to avoid sloppy emailing:

Use Descriptive Subject Line:  Your subject line can tell your reader how important the email is and the the context of the email. 

  • Be clear and concise
  • Be to the point
  • Be descriptive
  • Be informative
  • Be specific
  • Foreshadow the content to follow
  • Avoid clever or cute headings

A great subject line is “Action:  Please submit your marketing plan to be my 5pm 5/15.

Skip The Long Paragraph Of Text:  I don’t know about you, but if an email is over a few lines I stop reading and therefore I am missing a lot of information.  Instead of a lot of text use short bullet points and indicate where actions are necessary with bold words like “Your action required.”

Limit Use Of Reply All:  I personally just wish this button would go away altogether, but since that is not likely we have to work together on this.  Before you hit that reply all button ask yourself if everyone really needs to know your thoughts, ideas or opinons.  For every email we send, we receive three in return.  If you send off an email to 20 people, think about how many emails that is in your inbox.   If you do have to send an email to a group, blind copy (BCC) everyone so reply all is not an option, or consider including verbiage: To save time, please reply only to me rather than hitting “Reply All”.

Use Email Lingo:   Again, no one has taught us to use email; we are doing the best we can.  Like I said at a seminar last week, we need to learn to manage email because right now its managing us.   Consider using email lingo like ‘No Reply Needed’ – added this to subject line – shorten to NRN
‘No Thanks Needed’ – same as above (NTN).   Using this lingo let’s people know you do not expect a response and will have less in your inbox. 

Email can be a great tool, but we have to learn to use it effectively and this is an opportunity for organizers – to teach our clients how to use email effectively.  Don’t be a sloppy emailer; use my suggestions and spend less time in front of that computer screen.

Email abuse has become a bit of a focus for me.  You may also consider reading One Step To Reducing Email Overload or consider attending our upcoming business business teleclass called Detox Your Inbox.  

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