Ask SCORE – Eliminate Office Clutter for Better Results.
Small business owners—particularly those who work from home—are justifiably proud of what they’ve accomplished as entrepreneurs, but they’ll rarely invite visitors into their offices. Those who are granted access to that all-important sanctum usually receive an up-front apology for the mess they’re about to encounter.
Messy offices have been around since there have been offices to mess up. Even with vast volumes of data being exchanged electronically, there’s still a lot of paper lying around.
A mess may not be such a bad thing for entrepreneurs who have their own systems for arranging and retrieving information. But for most people, clutter takes a toll on efficiency. Important items can easily be misplaced; the time cost for tracking them down can be compounded if you’re sidetracked by something else. And if you mistakenly tossed something with no electronic counterpart—say, hand-written notes or a phone message—it could well be gone forever.
And it’s not just clutter; distractions, equipment positioning, and office layouts can also clutter your work activities, further diminishing your efficiency.
There’s no single solution to getting organized according to the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), a group of 4,200 organizing consultants, trainers, authors and product manufacturers. With so many different personality types, work styles, and environmental influences, each person must find his/her own “ideal” system.
NAPO’s online Professional Organizer Directory (www.napo.net/referral/) can help you identify a professional to handle general organizing issues, as well as those unique to specific business types (e.g., home offices, repair shops, medical clinics, etc.).
Also consider some tips from author and professional organizing consultant Carol Halsey:
- Don’t let paper pile up. Allowing a few minutes each day to process your paperwork pays off in time saved.
- Control how others affect your productivity. If the constant intrusions cut your productivity, decide when you will answer your phone and when you will let others (staff, voice mail or a message recorder) answer it for you.
- For home-based businesses, establish clear rules for how and when you may be distracted by family members. Let them know a closed door always means “do not disturb,” or “knock first.” Explain that by working uninterrupted, tasks are accomplished expeditiously, and in the long run you will have more time to spend with them.
Another great source for small business expertise is SCORE “For the Life of Your Business.” SCORE is a non-profit organization of more than 12,000 volunteers who provide free, confidential business mentoring and training workshops to small business owners.
To learn more about the local chapters of SCORE, visit www.thevillagesocala.score.org or www.lakesumter.score.org
