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5 Organizing Myths Keeping You From Getting Organized

January 11, 2012 By 11 Comments

source: miss.killer!

For years, I’ve worked with clients who’ve tried everything to organize their home offices, but then have finally given up. Either they didn’t know where to start or were overwhelmed by the process. They also started to believe the negative comments their family and friends were telling them about getting organized.

If you’ve tried to organize your home office and have given up, or have started to believe what others have told you for years about getting organized, it’s time to change your thinking. When you stop believing old organizing myths, you can move forward and get your home office organized.

Myth #1 You have to be born organized to be organized

We learn both good and bad habits at an early age and you can change any bad habit, including disorganization. When I was in the corporate world, co-workers who had organized offices told me that their homes were a mess. They focused more on their workspace because that’s where they generated their income. By the time they came home from work every day, they were too exhausted to organize anything. The bottom line is that you can learn to be organized, and it’s easier if you’re motivated to make a few changes.

To read the rest of my guest post on Success Your Way, click here.

 

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Making money from home, Time mgmt./Productivity, Working at home

Take Back Your Time By Saying No More Often Than Yes

December 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

source: Horia Varlan

When my sons were younger, I was at the top of the volunteer list (translation: sucker). Whenever someone called me to help with an event, class project or anything else to do with school, I said yes. I did the same thing with two professional associations I was in.

One day I had a revelation. I was spending more time volunteering my time than growing my business. I’m all for helping others but eventually you have to say no more often than you say yes.

How many times have you said yes when you meant no? There are only so many hours in a day and if at some point you don’t say no, you’ll never get ahead (or get any sleep!).

Before you say yes to everything, consider a few questions.

To read the rest of my guest post on Success Your Way, click here.

 

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Working with clients

Last-Minute Tips for End of the Year Organizing

December 21, 2011 By 11 Comments

This time of year, many businesses slow down and take care of the annoying tasks they haven’t had time to deal with all year. Some people are still wrapping up loose ends, finalizing contracts and planning ahead for next year, but for the most part, businesses are getting ready to enjoy the break between Christmas and New Year’s.

Those few quiet days are the perfect time to clear out your home office and get organized. Start with these tips: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Home office organizing, Working at home

Do’s and Don’ts of Conquering Home Office Chaos

December 5, 2011 By 10 Comments

Source: Betsssssy

Someone who works in a cubicle or a corporate office can leave his or her mess at work. Yet when your business and personal life are under the same roof, it’s more difficult to keep home office chaos to a minimum. By following a few do’s and avoiding the don’ts, you can keep your home office under control.

Do

Set a schedule

When you work for yourself, it’s important to make every minute count.  Each day set a schedule, but make it flexible. If you wait for the right time to work on something, you may never get started.  Your schedule may change based on the appointments you’ve scheduled or the tasks you need to complete, so focus on the top five tasks you need to accomplish each day. Otherwise it’s easy to get sidetracked.

To read the rest of my guest post on Startup Nation, click here.

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Time mgmt./Productivity, Working at home Tagged With: , ,

How to Get Your Family to Respect Your Business, Not Resent It

November 2, 2011 By

Starting a business can be exciting, terrifying and a dream come true, especially when you have a cheering squad — your family — behind you. When your family is on the opposing team, though, your new business venture can be a nightmare.

Before I left my last job, I designed my new business so that when I was ready to have kids, I would be able to work from home and raise a family. I wanted to be able to grow my business and see my kids grow up at the same time.

It hasn’t always been easy to juggle my business and personal life so that my family doesn’t resent my business. Ask anyone who works from home about being pulled in all directions and they’ll admit it’s not easy to give your business and family 100% of your attention, all of the time.

To read the rest of my guest post on Success Your Way, and to learn tips for including your family in your business and making them part of your team, click here.

(I’ve closed comments on this post so you can post a comment on Success Your Way.)

 

 

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Working at home Tagged With: ,

4 Things You Don’t Have To Do

October 20, 2011 By

source: Homini:)

Yesterday while I was waiting in line at a store, a little boy threw a fit. His mom told him to do something and he kept saying, “I don’t have to!” while he stomped his feet. Two candy bars later, the mom convinced him to do what she asked.

That’s one kid who has a strong future in negotiating!

Working for yourself involves having to do things you want to do, have to do and hate to do…even when there’s no candy involved. Fortunately there are a few things you don’t have to do.

To learn what they are, click here to read the rest of my guest blog post on Success…Your Way.


Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Home office organizing, Time mgmt./Productivity Tagged With: ,

Just Published: Organize Your Home Office for Success

October 19, 2011 By 9 Comments

Today I’m excited to announce that after spending way too much time at Starbucks, on planes, and locked in my home office working on Organize Your Home Office for Success, the new and improved 4th edition is now available.

This is the ideal e-book (it’s also available in paperback) for entrepreneurs, home-based corporate employees, telecommuters, and stay-at-home moms and dads who need a space to manage a business or run a busy household.

How it all started

Eighteen years ago, I wrote the first edition of this book because I started getting two types of phone calls: one from business owners who wanted individual home office consultations, and the other from people who wanted suggestions for books they could use to organize their home offices on their own.

When I looked for a home office book to recommend, I couldn’t find one. It didn’t exist. There were plenty of home organizing books, but nothing that focused specifically on home offices and the challenges of working from home. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Books by Lisa, Home office organizing, Home office setup, Home office technology, Time mgmt./Productivity, Working at home, Working with clients Tagged With:

Do The Right Thing But at The Right Time

October 6, 2011 By 2 Comments

source: Ant Smith

Yesterday, I grabbed a sandwich at a deli near my house and the place was packed. While I was waiting in line, one of the employees almost knocked me over. He was busy mopping the floor and putting the rugs back, while customers tried to walk past him to pick up their orders.

The floor needed to be mopped, but did the guy have to mop during the busy lunch rush? He was doing the right thing, but his timing was off.

How is your timing? Consider these questions:

Do you follow up with clients when say you will?

A superstar realtor friend of mine has had a record year. Why? She calls her prospects back on the exact day she promises to call. When she shows that much attention to detail, the prospects are so impressed (and surprised), they hire her to represent them.

One of the few times a prospect she was working with decided to sign with another realtor, was when she responded to the prospect’s text at 3 am. The client had sent the text at dinnertime the night before and didn’t appreciate the text in the middle of the night. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Time mgmt./Productivity, Working with clients Tagged With: ,

To Do or Not To Do…It’s All in the List

October 4, 2011 By 10 Comments

A good friend of mine used to use a paper-based planner to write her to-do lists.

As her business grew, she quit using her planner and switched to sticky notes that she plastered all over her monitor. Her system broke down when she started covering older notes with newer ones. She tried to improve her sticky note system by using different colored notes, but that didn’t help.

Now, instead of using her new smartphone to record tasks, she writes her top to-do’s on her hand. She admits that her “organic” way of tracking tasks is a little unreliable, especially by the middle of the day when she’s washed her hands a few times, but she’s out of ideas.

Whether you’re like my friend and you’ve exhausted all of your options, or you’ve used the same planning system for years, take a close look at how you’re planning your days. There are a few ways you can make your system more effective. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Home office organizing, Time mgmt./Productivity, Working at home Tagged With: ,

Are You Quitting or Are You a Quitter?

September 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment



Have you ever quit a job, quit working with certain clients, or quit a sport or hobby because it took too much time and was no longer fun? If so, does that make you a quitter?

Not necessarily.

There’s a difference between quitting and being a quitter.

What’s quitting?

When you quit, you give up because you’ve exhausted all of your options and you realize it’s time to go in a different direction.

You’ve spent time, money and emotion trying to succeed, yet you keep running up against a brick wall. At some point, enough is enough, and you quit.

What’s a quitter?

When you’re a quitter, you don’t ask for, or listen to, anyone’s advice. You’re stubborn and won’t try to do things any other way. Although friends, colleagues and maybe even clients try to help you, you’ve checked out and moved on to something else. That’s being a quitter.

Click here to read this entire post on Success…Your Way

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Working at home Tagged With:
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