Very excited that our March 1 continuing education call will be called Managing Client Expectations. Stay tuned to register for this amazing call withexpert organizer Mindy Godding, of My Space Matters.
Archive for the ‘Teleclasses’ Category
Managing Client Expectations
Monday, February 8th, 2010Keep Paper Organizing Simple
Thursday, February 4th, 2010Paper from bills driving you crazy? What’s most important is to keep paper organizing simple and to be consistent. Here is a simple tip to manage all the paper. Get an accordion file labeled January thru December. Pay your bills and place the bill only (not the envelope or advertising) in the month paid. You are all set come tax time. At the end of the year, if you don’t need it for taxes, toss it!
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.
Knowing What Paper To Toss
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010The only way to keep paper under control is to let go of anything that is not needed or you will not use. If you’re not sure if you’ll use it, think about your habits and if you’ve used something in the past. Like coupons for example, if you have never used a coupon then why are you keeping the ValPak each week? Every situation is different, so confirm with your accountant regarding your vital or tax papers, but here is a general list of paper you can let go of:
- Toss ATM, bank deposit slips and receipts for everyday and minor purchases after you’ve checked them against your bank statement.
- Product solicitations for things you aren’t ready to buy.
- Old magazines, books, and articles you haven’t referred to in the last twelve months.
- Old research materials and literature.
- Duplicates of documents.
- Previous drafts of letters and proposals.
- Information you already know.
- Business stationery you no longer use. (Keep one or two sheets in a history file and toss the rest.)
- Early drafts of creative writing (unless you really do refer back to them).
- Newspapers. If they are more than a week old, they are ancient history.
- Junk mail.
- Expired coupons.
- Coupons you won’t use.
- Outdated schedules or planners.
- Old greeting cards (unless they contain a very special message, select your absolute favorites).
- Invitations to past events.
- Expired warranties and service contracts.
- Instructions for items you no longer own.
- Expired insurance policies.
- Investment and banking brochures that are available online.
- Business cards from people whose names you don’t recognize.
- Old tourist brochures from past vacations.
- Road maps you haven’t referred to in ten years.
- Solicitations from charities you don’t intend to give to.
- Recipes you haven’t tried in three years.
- College notebooks and textbooks. (If you can’t part with them all, keep a box of your best papers and reports and let the rest go.)
* A Red Bench is not responsible to lost, misplaced or discarded information.
Want some additional help managing your client’s paper piles? Attend Helping Clients Manage the Paper Crisis, attend our next teleclass on January 27th. There is still time to Register!
Get Your Clients Actions In Order
Thursday, January 21st, 2010I love paper and love my files!!! As an organizer, I am sure you to do. I am not afraid to say that out loud, but that’s because they are organized and I can find things easily.
Is This Your Desktop
Over the years, I came to recognize two commom issues with paper: it comes into our homes or offices in droves, and we have no idea what to do with it once it arrives. Where do you put it? How long do you keep it? I get these questions daily. And what about the computer, wasn’t that supposed to help with paper clutter? Not really – the computer age has increased paper use by 60% over the last ten years.
We will be tackling many of these common questions on our next teleclass on January 27, 2010, called Helping Clients Manage the Paper Crisis. But from now until then, I want to pose a challenge for you and your clients. Ask them to SORT and TOSS one small pile each night between now and January 27th. The problem with paper is we don’t know where to start and so we never do. Start small. Look at the counter, the dining room table or your desktop. SORT and TOSS one small pile from one location each night and you will be blown away at how much you can get done.
If you want to learn more about how to Helping Clients Manage the Paper Crisis, attend our next teleclass on January 27th. Register now!
Save Your Clients From Paper Overload
Monday, January 18th, 2010Many of your clients are drowning in paper and let’s face it: the paperless office is a myth. Paper continues to be an enormous challenge and it’s our job to help clients understand where all this paper comes from and how to control paper flow in their homes and offices.
A great tool for organizing client paper is theFreedomFiler. We have been using the FreedomFiler for years and love this fabulous product. Many of you have seen FreedomFiler at the NAPO Conference, but I am always surprised at how many organizers still have not checked it out.
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.
Kicking Off Continuing Education in 2010
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010As a Certified Professional Organizer®, you are required to earn 45 organizing-related continuing education hours over a 3-year period. As we are approaching the first re-certification for the inaugural exam, we are getting an overwhelming request for continuing education courses. Therefore, we are tweaking our programming to include Continuing Education in 2010.
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
Continuing Education Series
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009As a Certified Professional Organizer®, you are required to earn 45 organizing-related continuing education hours over a 3-year period. It has come to our attention that in order to receive Continuing Education Credits (CEU’s) from the BCPO you must attend “live” interactive events. Therefore, if you attend our teleclasses “live” you may use them for your CEU’s.
As we are approaching the first recertification for the innagual exam, we are getting an overwhelming request for continuing education courses. We are in the process of developing a Continuing Education Series, that will kick off in January, and would like to to know what you need?
Email us at info@aredbench.com and let us know what organizing related classes would be helfpul to your business. We look forward to working with you.
A Red Bench offers continuing education for professional organizers and small business owners.
Surround Yourself With Successful People
Friday, December 4th, 2009I read somewhere along the way, (probably in The Success Principles) that we are the average of the five people we hang out with the most. If you think about that, it makes sense. You probably cook or clean the way your Mom does. You make decisions like your Dad. You talk like your friends, etc. Heck, I am now saying “eh” after living in Canada for just two years. So if you want to be more successful, you have to start hanging out with more successful people.
On our next teleclass, Unleash the Power of Goal Setting, we will wrap up the year evaluating this past year and planning for the next. We will help you clarify your and focus your goals and give you the motivation to make next year the best year ever One of the questions we will ask is who do want to spend your time with next year? Who excites you, motivates you, juices you? Often times we spend too much time with people who bring us down or don’t motivate us to achieve our goals.
In 2010 we want you to lose the “anchors” and start hanging out with those who will bring you more success. Register and attend Unleash the Power of Goal Setting to ensure a successful and balanced year.
A Red Bench offers continuing education for professional organizers and small business owners.
Focus Is The Name Of The Game
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009I’ve named this post “Focus Is the Name of the Game” because a few weeks ago I returned from the POC (Professional Organizers of Canada) Conferencein Calgary and I feel more focused than ever. Now I know what you’re thinking; that I am pretty focused already. Well, even organizers can get a little lost with so many tasks, activities and To Do’s.
At the conference I listened to keynote speaker, Les Hewitt, author of The Power of Focus. He was amazing and he said, “Sustained motivation is when you have something thing good that goes along with what you you do well.” That really resonated with me. I am good at organizing and that’s why I created Savvy Solutions more than five years ago. Of course, I will continue to work with people in their homes and offices on paper, time and email management. But what I am really good at is speaking in front of a group. Not many people feel that way, but I love it. So in the future, you will see more focus on speaking engagements, Lunch & Learns, Workshops and Seminars.
On our next teleclass, called Unleash the Power of Goal Setting, we are going to talk about what you really want and why you really want it, so you can go out and get it. Setting and achieving goals is one the best ways to measure your life’s progress. Without goals life just passes by hoping we get lucky and fortune comes our way. The secret to peak performance is knowing what you want and why and getting down on paper.
Join us on December 7th for Unleash the Power of Goal Setting and create a plan for 2010 that will ensure a successful and well balanced year.
Date: Monday, December 7th
Time: 4:00pm EST (3:00pm CST, 2:00pm MST, and 1:00pm PST)
Investment: $29 or included with your Teleclass Membership. Attend Live or Download the MP3 Audio Recording
A Red Bench offer continuing education for professional organizers and small business owners.
The Holidays are Here … Put Your Networking In Gear!
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009Its that time of year again and we wanted to revisit a great article from our newsletter last year. By Marny Lifshen, Author of Some Assembly Required: A Networking Guide for Women:
No sooner is the Thanksgiving turkey digested when the Holiday Party Season begins. Many dread the often hectic schedule of December, as seemingly every company and organization hosts a lunch or cocktail party for their customers, clients, employees, suppliers, members and friends.
It’s true that this annual ritual of party hopping can add inches to your waist-line while stealing precious hours of down-time. But it can also be a great time to meet new people and solidify your existing business relationships. While part of you may wish to hide behind the craziness of your own year-end work and personal schedule and avoid this revelry altogether, staying away from holiday soirees is a networking mistake.
People do business with people they know and like; you need to take advantage of holiday get-togethers to build closer relationships with others in your business community or industry. Think of it this way; when someone invites you to a holiday gathering they are announcing that they like you. When you make the effort to attend their event you are returning the gesture. And try to remeber that most of these parties are a lot of fun!
Marny was our guest expert speaking on the topic of Turning Networking Into Actual Business. If you missed the call, click here to purchase the audio.
A Red Bench offer continuing education for professional organizers and small business owners.