Organize + Energize: Are You Too Busy To Get Organized?
Tuesday, April 01, 2014
At least once a week, I will hear somebody say, “I’m too busy to get organized. Are you crazy? I can’t stop what I’m doing to get organized!”
If you think getting organized is a waste of time, you are wasting time by not being organized. If you continue to say these words, you will continue to be stressed out, frazzled, paralyzed and stuck due to your disorganization. How long have you been operating this way? Has it been weeks, months, years? It’s time to carve out some time in your day and make a plan to get organized.
The people that say they are too busy to get organized are usually the same people who are doing the following:
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTWasting time and energy searching for files
If you filed it when you initially received it or finished working on it, you will have no problem grabbing it when you need it. It would take you seconds to put your finger on it. How much time have you wasted searching for a file in a stack of papers?
Not billing clients in a timely manner
Do you have a process to bill your clients? Are you consistent with following through with that process? Your clients will take notice, especially if they are organized themselves.
Paying bills late
Are the bills you need to pay underneath a mound of paper on your desk? Do you forget to pay them? If you pay these bills late, you are going to be paying late fees, your interest rates will increase, your credit score will drop, and collection agencies will be hounding you. Also, the company that you owe money to may drop you as a customer. I have seen this happen many times.
Don’t return calls in a timely manner and show up late to appointments
Do you always sound frazzled and distracted when speaking to customers? They will notice, and because you are distracted, they are going to question if you will handle their business in an efficient and productive manner.
Mounds of papers are taking over the desk
There may be checks, cash, and other important information mixed in them. Have a process and system for everything you do in your office. These piles won’t form if you create routines from those systems
Time management skills need some tweaking
Are you running around telling people there aren’t enough hours in the day? Are you disorganized? If the answer is yes, you need to re-evaluate how you function on a day-to-day basis. If you want to work on your time management, you have to de-clutter, get organized, and streamline processes. Your time management skills will improve once you do this. Are you the type that completes a task in 10 steps when it only really has to take 5? Streamlining processes and procedures will help get you back on track.
Bottom line: If this is you, you are losing time, money, and clients due to your disorganization. The majority of people don’t have working systems in place. There aren’t any processes and procedures in place. Maybe you need help because you are lacking the organizational skill set to get you where you need to be.
If you are disorganized, stop saying you don’t have time to get organized. Carve out a few hours in your day and make that change. Does your business have a slow time of year when you could tackle this project? Can you take one Saturday or evening to tackle this? Are you giving the excuse that you don’t have enough time when you really don’t want to tackle this project because it’s going to be too overwhelming? Break this project down into small tasks. After you finish reading this, make a plan and tackle it. You won’t believe the amount of free time you will have once you get organized. You can thank me later.
Kristin Carcieri-MacRae, the founder and owner of Organizing in RI, has always enjoyed finding creative ways to streamline the environment around her. She has appeared on air on Patricia Raskin's Positive Business Radio and her articles have been published in the Rhode Island Small Business Journal and New England Home Life. Kristin's CD, Organizing Basics, is a 1-hour guide for the person who wants to get organized but doesn't know where to start. She is also available for organizing workshops. Tune into her weekly radio show, Organize, Energize! on Mondays at 8:30am on www.talkstreamradio.com.
Related Slideshow: 5 Organizing Blunders
Avoid these mistakes and your project will take less time than you expected. You won’t be as stressed or as overwhelmed as you anticipated. You will be amazed at what you have accomplished. You will be motivated and energized to tackle another project.
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