Organization Puts the O in Productivity



December 2, 2004 -- The recent focus on at-home organizing of personal space extends to the workplace where it will really payoff. Laura Stack, The Productivity PRO, provides a system of good habits to get and stay organized. Even in this age of advanced technology, most workplaces are inundated with paper - memos, reports, email printouts, policies, manuals - all of which land on our desks and create the appearance of disorganization that can be a career detriment.

According to Stack, "Purging is essential. The only alternatives to purging are getting a bigger office space, adding a room to your home, or buying more filing cabinets." Her practical advice to office packrats is to "throw away or recycle any unnecessary duplicates, outdated draft copies, and otherwise unnecessary material before you clutter your life with more filing cabinets. If you have not touched a file in four weeks, move it to your central files instead of keeping it at your desk. Once a year, archive the central files you no longer need except as a record of history. Keep only current information in your central files."

Of course, knowing that staying organized requires ongoing maintenance, Laura Stack has developed "The 6-D Information Management System" to keep us on track. When you touch a piece of information, regardless of the medium, you must do one of six things with it:

Discard. Get rid of it
Delegate. Refer the item to someone else.
Do. Action items that require three minutes or less to review, sign, or reply should be completed immediately and returned to the requestor.
Date. If the item requires action, but you can't work it immediately or it's not due, determine the date you need to see it again, and put it into your tickler file.
Drawer. File project and reference information you need to save that don't require action.
Deter. Stop any reports, memos, letters, minutes, catalogs, magazines, and junk mail from getting to you in the first place.

And finally, for those major "de-clutter" sessions, Stack has devised the "Five-Box Method" where she suggests labeling five sturdy boxes as: Put Away, Give Away, Store, Toss, and Belongs Here. When deciding what to keep, ask yourself:
-Have I used it in a year
-Would I save this if my house were on fire
-Does this item have personal value to me
-When is the last time I held it, remembered I had it, or used it
-Do I keep it stored out of sight
-Might I need this again in the future

Indecision, by its very nature, causes clutter and creates pile-ups. Many of the piles on your desk and old messages in your email in-box represent decisions you've put off. Being organized is a key way to find the time and the self-control to start achieving more of your personal goals.

Laura Stack, MBA, CSP, is a popular professional speaker known as The Productivity PRO. She has been featured on CNN and is the author of the best-selling book Leave the Office Earlier (2004 Broadway Books), which was highly acclaimed by the New York Times as "the best of the bunch." Laura is board Secretary of the National Speakers Association and presents keynotes and seminars on personal productivity, time management, and life balance. To subscribe to her free monthly productivity newsletter, visit her Web site at www.TheProductivityPro.com.





Organization Puts the O in Productivity