De-cluttering my home office made me productive

by: Stan Washington

Date: October 14, 2013

Working from a home office has its rewards but can be distracting at times. The availability of "home" stuff like television, neighbors and errands used to find their way on my daily to do list and distract me from executing my daily business plan, but not anymore.  The main distraction seems to be organization. 

I don't know what has happened over the past year but I seem to be getting more paper than ever before!  Here are a few tips:

Clean my house in the morning - The first thing I do is clean my kitchen. I wipe down every surface and put away everything in its place. I do this before I grab my morning coffee!

Online Banking - I have switched over to on-line banking and I receive my monthly statements on-line. I can download my statement and e-mail the information to my accountant. I pay for business related items online and I don't remember the last time I wrote a check.

Handle a piece of paper twice - I was actually taught that I was only supposed to handle a piece of paper once, but who am I fooling?  I still get mail, paper invoices, articles, doctors' instructions, periodicals and statements from companies who haven't moved their processes on-line.  I look at the information to make sure nothing is pressing.  I then file the documents in their proper place on Friday. 

Create a directory structure that makes sense - I know this is tiny but many don't do it.  I have folders for everything on e-mail and I have the same folder structure on my computer.  I also back up my information in the cloud or on an external hard-drive. (I just bought a 1 TB drive for $60 and backed up all my files.

Company Name

           Accounting

           Marketing

           Projects / Workshops

           Client Documents

Delete or trash old files - Ask yourself... "Do I really need the file from 1997?" If you haven't looked at it this year, then the idea or thought is probably old. (I'm giving you a lot of leeway here)!  I finally got rid of an award certificate from one of my first companies in the 80's. I chose one or two memory items and chunked the rest.

Time box decluttering efforts - I only give my decluttering efforts 2 hours. I usually wind up making phone calls and doing other administrative tasks during this time but I can definitely benefit from scheduling this effort.  I can think better when I'm not cluttered!

Visit http://www.careercoachoffice.com and organize yourself today!

Career Coaches Top 10 list of website fears to address immediately

Use one word this year “Simplify!” 

“Where are your services?” and “How do I contact you?” were the questions “Rodger’s” customers asked him.  His reply “My prices and contact information are on my website.”

By the way, we are using “Rodger” as his name to protect the innocent and the information is not from a real website, but the situation is very real for many!

I visited his website and here is what I found:

Working Stiffs  |  Free Stuff  |  Career Mapping  |  Blog

I clicked around this website for about 15 minutes and I finally found his contact information buried on some obscure page. However, I never found his pricing nor could I discern what I was going to get from him.

I asked him why he didn’t include his pricing or have a services page and his reply was “When I talk to my potential clients I can win them over. I don’t rely on my website!”

My reply to Rodger is “Why own a website if the information is not reliable?”

Rodger read my Top 10 list of website fears to address immediately:

     1.  FEAR OF OVERPRICING

In my opinion, hiding your pricing makes me think you have something to hide. Place pricing for your products and services in a quick to access location and let me (the customer) decide if what you are selling is worth it.

     2. FEAR OF COMPETITION

Competitive edge should be “protected” not “invisible!” Give me enough information about your product or service to entice me to ask more about you without giving away your secrets. 

     3.  FEAR OF “THEM NOT GETTING IT”

Please, oh please do not ramble on your website! The “more” you tell me, the “less interested” in you I become! Tell me enough. Give me a short bio, tell me a little about your product, give me a snippet of a testimony and trust the process.

     4.  FEAR OF WASTING TIME UPDATING A WEBSITE

Your workshop you put on was great, but it was in 2007 and it’s still on your web page. Please keep your information relevant. Take a moment each week to add some fresh content to your website. Your old information will run enough customers away and then you will have plenty of time!

     5.  FEAR OF NOT TRYING HARD ENOUGH

Complicated websites look like you’re trying too hard. I need quick and easy access to your information. Does the “flash” add anything? Can I get to your information in two clicks? One word… “Simplify!”

                               

     6.  FEAR OF BLANDNESS

I visited one website and thought I was watching NASCAR. Too many colors along with ads along with multiple messages confuse me. Try to tone it down a bit. Use neutral tones with only a splash of color for emphasis. Minimize ad space if possible.

 

     7.  FEAR OF BEING DIFFERENT

Did you design your website just like everyone else’s site? If I see that same woman everyone uses on their site again I will scream. What do you want to tell me? Can a photo or illustration enhance your message or are you mimicking everyone else?

     8.  FEAR OF TAKING YOUR OWN ADVICE

When you consult on resumes you talk about “white space,” fonts and keywords for emphasis. I have seen websites with a lonesome picture, a huge gap and some unreadable tiny font. Do you have misspellings or poor grammar?

9.  FEAR OF USING TOO MUCH TECHNOLOGY

I visited one website that only had one page, no pictures, minimal words and a phone number. Visiting this site made me feel like I was in a room with a single light bulb dangling from a pull-chain. Which brings me to my next point…

10.   FEAR OF MOVING BUSINESS PROCESSES OUT OF THE 70’S

With social media, databases and cloud tools available, I still see coaches clutching onto day planners from the 70’s. They use websites like answering machines of yesteryear. Your clients expect a different level of interaction that your notebook can’t provide. Simplify your business processes today!