Free Me From This Chaos!

More than ever before, we see products (tools) to help us become "more organized," but once we purchase them, who will teach us the "right" way to use them? Newspapers and magazine articles and a new Yellow Pages advertisement on television have introduced an innovative, relatively new service -- the Professional Organizer.

During my 20 years in the corporate world, it became apparent that my organizational skills were beneficial to others. Co-workers and the companies, as well, often needed assistance with filing systems, procedures, space and time management.

Since 1984, as a Professional Organizing Consultant, I have applied intuitive and learned skills to perform hands-on organizing and coach clients in residences, small businesses and corporate offices. With a passion to make a difference and a goal to empower clients, I guide those who are over-whelmed or say they weren't "taught" precise methods to become and stay organized, even though parents, teachers and friends tried.

Each of us is unique, with distinctive talents, styles and learning abilities. We need to discover exactly what works -- and doesn't work -- for us. It is vital to change habits that are not effective and productive.

My clients range from the artistic, creative type (right-brain thinkers) to those who are more linear (left-brain thinkers). Most people are a little of both, yet lean to one type or the other. Some tend toward extremes. If all of us were the same, it'd be a unimaginative world, right?

Everyone can benefit from being more orderly -- from the fairly-organized (in some/most areas) to the organizationally-impaired, or from the corporate executive to the entrepreneur, who must wear many "hats" in their own business.

Now you may ask, "What can a Professional Organizer do for me?" My objective is to show you how "getting organized" can be fun. Learning goals and obstacles is my first step, then I provide personalized assistance with informative tips, suggestions, procedures, and precise "systems."

Increasing productivity and reducing stress lead to more control and better management of your time, space and information, whether it's paperwork or computerized documents. My theory is, "If you can't find something in 30 seconds, it's in the wrong place." Therefore, I will help you give everything a "home." When you're finished with it, you'll take it back home. (Sounds like something mother used to say!)

For more productive information management, I developed "The 4-D's Principle" -- Do It, Delay It, Delegate It or Dump It. Quite often clients say they don't know where to start, so I encourage them to first sort paperwork into "Hot Action Files," including Active Projects, To Be Filed, To Be Paid, To Read and To Answer (phone calls/correspondence). Applying assorted color-coded labels onto folders speeds up the filing process and efficiency.

In space planning, functional furniture is critical. Feng Shui experts teach us that our desks and beds should face the door (power position) for maximum control, concentration and authority. Also, my "Near-Far Rule" defines the space within arm's length as being reserved for items used daily and weekly. Files and supplies accessed monthly or less frequently are stored further away.

Whether you use a calendar, daily planner or electronic organizer, block off time to keep appointments, perform tasks, and play, too. Your priorities must always be in the timetable and, in project management, tasks should be divided into stages or milestones. By working backward from the due dates, you can schedule time to complete these smaller stages of a large project.

To quote Barbara Hemphill, Professional Organizer and author of Taming the Paper Tiger, "The key to organization is accessibility. We all need an environment that suits our individual personality and habits." This is a fact! So, who are you going to call?


This article was published in New Woman Spirit Magazine --  Fall 1996

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