Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Housekeeping Issues For Success
I am finding that there are some housekeeping issues I need to take care of for my success. Time and time again I read or hear in time management course that an organized work area with increase productivity. Searching for lost papers or other materials is time consuming and a drain on mental energy.
Yes, I believe that is true. Yesterday I started organizing some of my work materials and getting places set up to do jobs I need to accomplish.
Behind my computer desk is a sturdy folding, adjustable height table. I keep notebooks and paper on it so I can write things that come to mind. Also so I can write my 30 minutes of “thinking” down on paper.
My computer desk is a large 3’ x 5’ desk, but it is full of computer, monitor, laser printer, phone and coffee cup. I can write notes at this desk, but is is very handy to have that folding table to read at or write at.
Have you printed a number of ebooks for ease of reading. I have a bunch of them in small to large 3 ring binders. Some are the same color and not marked. Yesterday I took some self adhesive labels and labeled each binder with the title of the ebook or course inside. I was getting frustrated looking into six or seven binders to find the one I wanted.
Some tasks are simple and make sense to have done from the beginning, but I just don’t think of them until the problem becomes overwhelming to one degree or another.
Organization pays off in money too. Well, indirectly. If you spend 15 minutes searching for a folder of material you need to continue with a project, that is 15 minutes of income you will not receive. If your time is valued at a modest $20 an hour, that is $5. How many times a month do you lose that “$5” or whatever figure you value you time at? I have lost a lot of money searching for things.
This is another of those cases where a small thing adds up to a huge thing over time. $5 lost only three times a week is $15 a week. That is $780 in the course of a year. OK, you didn’t actually lose that money, BUT you never made it either.
Organization pays offs. Think about it.
