Crap baskets and business card confetti

Posted April 9th, 2013 in Business Systems & Processes, Clutter Control & Office Organization | 0 Comments

Getting organized is really fun, I swear! I mean, sure, it’s fun partly because I love it and partly because I carefully choose the clients I work with.

One of my criteria is my clients must have a “fun” mindset, too!

Case in point: a couple weeks ago, one of clients marched into a closet and pulled out an overloaded basket. “It’s a crap basket,” she exclaimed with exasperation. “HIS crap basket [see her pointing at her business partner?] I keep having to buy him new ones because he fills them up so fast with junk!” I laughed and laughed at her description. She did, too. Her business partner stood there looking a tiny bit sheepish.

And then last week, as my client and I were purging her office of too much stuff, she dug into her work bag. I said, “Pull everything out of there. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

As she did, out tumbled an incredible number of business cards. I exclaimed, “Look at the pretty business card confetti!”

In amongst the jumble of stuff were a good number of her business cards and some prospects’ business cards. And as we began to make order out of the businesscard confetti, she said the usual thing, “Oh! I was looking for that!”

Getting organized is fun, and it’s also serious business.

You learn about the flow of information in your business:

  • to understand it
  • to wrangle it into submission
  • to use it to better be of service to your clients and customers
  • and you use it to make more money (*yay*)

Whatever flavor of “getting organized” you need (clutter control, email help, or the Five Essential Business Systems TM), there’s a larger purpose behind doing it.

I want to make sure you and your business understand each other. That you’re working together. No one part is ignored.

And I’m perfectly serious about this. If your business doesn’t support your creativity, you ignore parts of your business in order to get the outlet for creativity that you need.

If YOU ignore the structure and systems that make your business thrive, your business will turn on you, suck your time and energy, and stop giving you money.

If that sounds wacky, I’m ok with that.

A business – YOUR business – is a living organism.

Pay attention to it and it will support you.

No more struggling with crap baskets, business card confetti, and a lack of systems, ok?

Let’s end the loss of time, energy, and money. I’m ready to help.

Sincerely,

Angie

P.S. Honestly, there’s very little difference between organizing your office, organizing your thoughts, and organizing your systems. Bring on the confetti! And soon – I leave in 51 days! (not that I’m counting)

Your basal ganglia is large and in charge

Posted March 28th, 2013 in Business Systems & Processes, Clutter Control & Office Organization, Mindset & Energy Awareness | 0 Comments

It’s true. This one very small but important part of your brain is large and in charge of nearly everything you do each day.

This one little area of your brain called the basal ganglia regulates your habits and routines. How your day goes. How much you get done. Why you do what you do. Over and over and over.

And it goes something like this:

Cue
Routine
Reward
And frankly, you’re no smarter than the research monkeys they studied to discover this information. (Sorry, it’s true).

You’ve created habits of made up of cues, routines and rewards in all areas of your life. Your entire life.

The thing is, I’m intensely interested in those habits which cause you angst. I want to know why you check email every four seconds. Or continue to make piles around your office. Or procrastinate online at places like Facebook, Nordstrom’s or MSN.

Frankly, I want to know why I do some of those same things.

And I finally figured it out.

Our basal ganglias are to blame.

And the awesome news is – the basal ganglia can be tricked. Manipulated. Distracted.

And I know how to do it.

In fact, I do it with my clients each time I work with them – I just never realized what I was doing.

Genius, I am.

So, what does that mean for you?

It means those things you do that drive you nuts, waste your time, create clutter, chaos, confusion and overwhelm? I can trick your basal ganglia into creating something new.

New like better, easier, more efficient, more effective. More pleasurable. Even more profitable.

And it all starts with belief. I have it in spades in case you don’t.

However, I can’t do anything until YOU do one thing.

Reach out to me. Say you’re ready. Let me know you’re tired of letting your basal ganglia run amok in your life.

It’s the first step. And I guarantee it will lead to changes in every area of your life. Changes in productivity, focus, and calm. In ways you will never expect.

Sincerely,

Angie

P.S. Seriously. It’s as easy as reaching out.

A question…and a request

Posted March 12th, 2013 in Clutter Control & Office Organization, Mindset & Energy Awareness, Time Management & Productivity | 0 Comments

Over the weekend, I tried to do something radical. I mostly succeeded, and I also learned a lot.

What did I do?

I tried to get rid of HALF of my stuff. Seriously. Half of it.

  • Clothes
  • Shoes
  • Papers
  • “Friends” on Facebook (who are some of these people??)
  • Office Supplies
  • Decorations and other random tchotchkes
  • Books
  • Magazines
  • Keepsakes
  • Outdoor Gear
  • Kitchen items
  • more

I did a great job with clothes, office supplies, books and magazines. I have several BIG bags for our upcoming garage sale.

With other things, I realized I’m already pretty lean. I don’t have a lot of random decorations. All the shoes I have, I wear. Often. The outdoor gear that’s left is put to good use regularly.

It’s worth noting here that I didn’t start this purge randomly, out of frustration or to just “do” it.

Nelson and I are actively making plans to live lighter – keeping a small house (we’re in about 1,000 sq. ft. now), lots of land, and having the ability to pack up and travel around this beautiful country unencumbered.

We are becoming more conscious of what we do, what we own, what we watch, and what we listen to. It’s our goal to continue consuming less. We want to collect great experiences – not stuff.

That drove me in this weekend’s quest to get rid of STUFF.

And I also realized I’ve been doing this for several years now. Each year I whittle down what I have. I ask harder questions before I buy or accumulate more. It’s become a bit of ritual. One that serves me in my home AND with my office stuff and with my work.

(And sometimes this is HARD when I’m working with a client purging their office and they want to share cute office supplies with me. I go all gaga over office supplies!)

I ask myself, “Is this absolutely essential? Is it useful? Does it bring me joy?” If I can’t answer yes, then the “thing” must go.

Here’s tip: you can ask the same questions about tasks, appointments, and other activities in your business. “Is this absolutely essential? Is it useful? Does it bring me joy?”

When I think about my clients, I see their progress over the days, weeks, months and years we work together. It’s my greatest joy when a client says, “I was about to do X, and then I heard your voice in my head asking if I really wanted to accumulate more, do more, keep more, etc.”

It’s awesome. And it’s so exciting to see that I how I “think” about things naturally helps you!

And since how I naturally think about stuff helps you, I thought I would reach out and see if you would answer a few questions for me? Instead of making up some new videos or recordings or books, I want to know what YOU need help with.

  • What are you struggling with?
  • What skills do you wish you had that would help you get organized, systematized and more in control of your life and time?
  • What changes in how you think would most help you get what you want (more free time? less aggravation? more energy? more money?

Click here to answer just a few questions. I’ll add you to a super top secret list of folks who will get my “Five Angie-ism’s” video series, which aims to get your radically organized and productive so you can go and do what you love without feeling overwhelmed.

Just a few questions and answers for a fun and impactful series of videos to get you what you want.

Will you play along?  Thanks.

 

 

 

Page 3 of 5912345...102030...Last »