Of the importance of Organizing
By Karin Vibe-Rheymer-Stewart

Published in Green Magazine, December 2004

As an amateur golfer, I am sure that you know exactly where is your equipment at all times, in what state it is in and the next time you will use it. Can you say the same of all the pieces of information that live in your office?

Today, the typical businessperson sees 190 pieces of information crossing his or her desk every day; and executives spend about an hour each day looking for things they need – on top of the time spent by their assistant. This translates into 4 to 6 weeks out of the year spent just looking for something.

A generation ago, this kind of wasted time did not overly matter. Our parents received in one week the amount of mail we now receive in one day; we were not expected to make near-instant decisions; we were not expected to answer every query immediately. At the time, a little bit of disorganization did not drastically impact the bottom line. Today, we live in the era of permanent information and instant communication and those little bits of time saved with proper paper and time management can make a huge difference.

For instance, the owner of a small business estimated the time wasted looking for things at 6 man-hours a day; a retailer who hired me to set up a filing system for the back office of her store – she had none – found information that she needed to give to her accountant, which resulted in the store P&L having to be redone.

The art of organizing is unfortunately not taught in school or in college, but is a necessary skill to have in today’s workplace – or at home. Some early trend-setters recognized that need about 30 years ago and started consulting in the area of physical organization and time management. In 1985, a new professional association – and a new profession – were created when 16 individuals founded the National Association of Professional Organizers (www.napo.net). In the last 10 years, the need for more advanced organizing tools has become more widely recognized NAPO membership, as well as publications on the subject, have exploded.

All sources start with the same organizing principles:

1. Get rid of the clutter: We tend to accumulate over the years and not get rid of things that have outlasted their use, or never had one to begin with. On a desk, that can mean reducing a stack of 200 pens to a more manageable 20. In a filing system, it can be tossing all the outdated files. In a kitchen, it’s getting rid of those specialty pots and pans that never get used.
2. Organize your workspace so that everything relating to an activity is grouped together: On a desk, this can translate in having your phone, your address book, a notebook and a pen all close to each other; in a filing system, this putting all clients files in the same drawer; in a kitchen, keeping the pots and pans together and close to the stove, where you will use them.
3. Place things according to how often you access them, keeping the most used items within easy range, and least-used ones farther away: Again, on a desk that can mean having the computer and the phone on the main surface within hand’s reach, while the office supplies can be relegated to a shelf in a closet. In a filing system, it translates into having a “hot files” system on or in your desk, while your historical files are stored in a filing cabinet in the company filing area. In the kitchen, items you use often are between hip and shoulder level, those used only rarely on the highest and lowest cabinet shelves.
4. Organize your time too: The rules above also apply to time organization: Time clutter is all the tasks on your To Do lists that could be done by someone else or that are not really worth our time; organizing your day is just as important as organizing your space; grouping similar tasks together saves time as well.

There are a number of books that offer detailed solutions to organizing issues. Among my favorites are: Organizing Your Home Business Made E-Z, by Lisa Kanarek, a good starting point for a home office or a self-employed professional; Order from Chaos, by Liz Davenport, is another very good resource for individuals and proposes a very simple system; very useful for corporate offices - and a classic - is Kiplinger’s Taming the Paper Tiger at Work, by Barbara Hemphill. If you are a creative person who hates files, Organizing for the Creative Person, by Dorothy Lehmkuhl and Dolores Cotter Lamping is the book for you. If you have tried several systems and none worked, It’s Hard to Make a Difference when You Can’t Find Your Keys, by Marilyn Paul, is a possible starting point.

The downside of a book is that the author usually presents one organizing system only. If this system does not follow the way you think and work, as far as you are concerned it is a dysfunctional system that will not serve its purpose. A way to sidestep a trial-and-error process is to hire a professional organizer. He or she will assist you in finding the system that works for you and your specific needs. An organizer can also find your true need – I had the case of a client who called me for a paper issue, but her paper clutter was the result of a time management problem and, when we solved this one, the paper management issue disappeared on its own.

Whichever method you choose to get organized, your office can be just as organized as - or even better organized than – your golf equipment.