This week we bring you a few highlights of items from the bowels of the Direct Donations list. Yes, I’m talking about the items that have been there for a few months, that you might have overlooked because you figured it was a fluke that they were still up. So this week we bring you a Coca-Cola vending machine, art crates, slide projector trays, and a few varieties of filing systems, all of which have been confirmed as available by the donors.

Item #118182 (actual item not pictured)	Item #118182 Coca-Cola Vending Machine This would be a great prop or set dressing. It looks new and the donor was told it works (although he hasn’t tried it). The lock on the front is broken, but it could be replaced. It probably fits in a van and is conveniently located in Union City, NJ, just a short bus ride across the Hudson River.
Item #119418 Art Crates 2 crates each at 55 x 53 x31 inches, very finely constructed. Each crate was built to house (2) related display/storage units. Crates built by Design Dimension, Inc. in North Carolina.		Item 119418 - Art Crate (image not of actual item)
Item #119626 - Slide Projector Trays (actual items not pictured)	Item #119626 Assorted Slide Projector Trays  There have to be some people out there still using slides, and if you are one of those people, you probably need projector trays! Well here’s your chance: Assortment of KODAK Universal 80 KODAK EKTAPRO 80 KODAK TRANSVUE 80 KODAK TRANSVUE 140 KODAK CAROUSEL 140 *some of the trays are missing rings*
Item #123998 Metal Fold N Roll File Cart Is your organization’s paperwork out of control? Get organized with a fold n roll file cart. Also available from this donor is a Crate-A-File system (Item #123999) and Steel Slanted Vertical Organizers (Item #124000).		Item #123998 - Metal Fold N Roll File Cart (actual item not pictured)

Don’t know how to use Direct Donations? Visit the Direct Donations Page for more information.

Someone asked me the other day what is the one thing I couldn’t do without when it came to organizing my writing world. My answer? The ever-versatile accordion file!

I use accordion files for several things:

• For medium to large writing projects with multiple components. I’ll label sections such as “proposal,” “resources,” or “characters” and keep all my project notes in one place so I don’t have to locate all the various elements when it’s time to work on it.

• Strictly research. If I’m working on a research-laden project, I’ll categorize the different aspects of the research (photos, magazine clips, interviews, etc.) and put each into a separate filing compartment.

• Tidbits for book projects. As I come across nuggets here and there, whether it’s an article, a great quote, or a historical piece I need, I’ll toss it in the accordion file, assured that it won’t get lost or fall out of a regular file folder.

• Work in process for one particular client or publisher. Oftentimes, I’ll have several things going at once for a specific client. Having each project separted into an accordion file helps me to keep all the client’s work close at hand and organized for quick reference.

• Writer’s guidelines. I keep one accordion file for magazine guidelines and one for book guidelines. Within each I separate the sections alphabetically, and as I pull guidelines off websites or gather them from writers’ conferences, I’ll tuck them into the accordion for easy reference.

Whether you write for publication or for business, accordion files are great to have around. I guarantee it will increase organization, and therefore, efficiency.

This week…go buy some accordion files!

The end of 2009 meant the expiration of a lot of coupons.  If you, like me, clipped and filed away ones you thought you might use (but couldn’t find a good enough sale price to match up), it’s time to purge your stash.  Take this opportunity to organize your system, or try a new one.

Start by reviewing expiration dates on your coupons (before you clip this week’s inserts).  Set aside your expired coupons, but don’t toss them!  Military families overseas can use them at their BXes and commissaries.  For more information, visit the Overseas Coupon Program, which explains how to send expireds to military facilities for families to access.

For organizing keepable coupons, I like to use a file system.  I’ve been using a black plastic file box that I’ve had for decades — really.  Some time back, the latch stopped holding tight, so I was using a piece of black elastic around the box.  As Life would have it, I needed the black elastic for #2’s Halloween costume this year, and the remaining frugal closure solutions at my disposal failed.  I pulled out an expandable ”check file” that I used years ago ($2 at some discount store), that has an elastic band to keep it shut; the file dividers from the black file fit perfectly, and it’s about the size of an evening clutch ( if you’re old enough to remember what those are).  I keep a big paper clip attached to the inside flap so I can pull and secure coupons while shopping.  In the front pocket I keep a small calculator, scissors and highlighter.

The other day I noticed similar check files in the $1 bins at the front of Target.  They weren’t as sturdy as my coupon file, but would do to get someone started.  They come in a variety of solid colors, my favorite being pink.

Some folks use coupon binders.  This seems to be helpful to some for taking along sale flyers to PM.  I have not preferred this method (although I’m warming to the idea, perhaps, maybe), and there are so very many various systems and explanations available.  Basically, it’s what it sounds like: keeping your coupons organized in plastic pocket pages in a notebook binder (usually zipped).  There’s a good example at Stretching A Buck.

However you physically keep your coupons, you might want to think about the order in which you keep them.  I prefer to group by category (produce, pantry staples, condiments, soup, cereal, etc.), and within each category, keep like products and brands together.  So, in the cereal pocket, I’ll have all the General Mills coupons together, the Cheerios in particular, and sometimes in a good week, in order by expiration date (ha!).  If I have a matching Target coupon, and I know I’ll be doing a deal, I’ll keep them together.

Some folks keep products alphabetical by brand name and product.  Hunt’s ketchup, Hunt’s spaghetti sauce, Hunt’s tomatoes, for example.  If you think that might work for you, try it.

Here’s to an organized year ahead!  Organization leads to saving money and time, and that’s a Cheap Thrill!

Are you like most people who have stacks of paperwork lying around? Well it is never too late to start organizing your finances! Here are some helpful tips to keep you organized throughout the year.

• Create a filing system. Have a box or filing cabinet to keep important financial paperwork and color code files according to category.
• Make a special place to keep bills that are due. You are more likely to pay them on time if they are all kept in one place that you know to check every month.
• Always ask for receipts, you never know when you may need them! File these away in their proper space too.
• Make sure you stick with your filing system all year as files come in and also remember to check files that have due dates every month and stay organized to pay these things on time!

 Have other tips to avoid the piles and stay on time with bills and paperwork? Post them below!

My attempts at organizing and decluttering my home continue.

For the last several weeks, I have been purging my old file drawers of unnecessary documents (like the manual for the Packard Bell computer I purchased in 1997), and organizing all of my financial documents.  It is coming along very nicely, so I thought I’d give a briefing description of my filing system.

I have one four drawer high filing cabinet from staples.  Nothing too fancy, but not too cheap either.  The four drawers are organized in the following way:

• Drawer 1: Financial Documents (bank statements, insurance, taxes, etc).
• Drawer 2: A to Z Type Documents (gadget manuals, appliance warranties, etc.)
• Drawer 3: Annual Receipts (I’ll explain this in a future post)
• Drawer 4: “Staging” Drawer

In this post, I’ll describe the “Financial Documents” drawer of my filing cabinet.

Financial Documents

My financial documents drawer is a modified version of the David Bach Filing System in Smart Women Finish Rich (and from what I understand, all his other Finish Rich books too).  The following are the hanging folders that I have in my financial drawer:

1. Taxes Folder – Then one manila file folder for each year that contains all my tax documents (W2s, pay stubs, interest statements, etc)
2. Retirement Accounts Folder – Statements and correspondence for my 401ks, IRAs, and Roth IRAs
3. Social Security – Put my Social Security statements in this drawer.  Social Security sends these out every few years, but you can request one any time.
4. Investment Accounts – For my brokerage accounts
5. Savings and Checking Accounts
6. Household Accounts – For things like cable, other utilities, home insurance, etc.
7. Credit Cards
8. Installment Loans – Bach actually calls this the “Other Liabilities” folder, but I call it installment loans.  I put things in here like student loan statements.  I don’t have a car loan, but if I did, I’d put it in here too
9. Insurance and Medical - Things like those huge medical benefit books your employer gives you during open enrollment, insurance card copies, medical receipts, Flexible Spending Account reimbursements, etc.

He has a few other folders too that I don’t use (like Children’s Accounts – since I don’t have kids, and Wills and Trusts – since I don’t have much to give away anyway).

He recommends having one subfolder (like a manila folder within the hanging folder) for each account you have.  I skip that part too, mainly because I just have too many accounts.  I just have one manila folder for each year, and put all my credit card statements for each account in a separate envelope, and just put it in that year’s folder.  So for instance, all my 2009 Capital One Statements (and general correspondence) goes into one Capital One envelope, and I just put that in the 2009 manila folder within the Credit Cards hanging folder.  Got it, good?

I’ve been trying to go completely paperless for years now, and I’ve definitely made progress, but that’s a topic for another post.

So, I described how I just put one manila envelope for each year in each hanging folder.  I only keep the three most recent years in the actual file drawer.  For anything older, I take out that year’s folder, and put it in a plastic bankers box (which maintains the same file folder structure as above) and put it in the attic.  I find that my drawers get too full and cramped if I keep documents older than three years in there.  Then comes the age old question.  When do I throw away the files in the bankers boxes?  Seven years or ten years?  I think I’ll stick to ten years.

How do you all organize your financial documents?

Harvest Gold  Avocado Green Burnt Orange- date the items when these colors were the rage!

I thrive when I have a system.  A system that is, that makes sense to me!   

When I moved to the house of many colours, I kept some of the boxes in order to decoupage them.  The idea was to keep my lever arch files containing study notes, account receipts, important things on to be thrown away – in a safe, within arm reach – without it being in my face, kind of place. 

I now however find myself a little disoriented.  Modge-Podge have been bought, patiently waiting for me and some inspiration.  The lever arch files, although in their “boring” boxes, are more out of sight, out of mind than within arm’s reach.  And lastly, my one drawer at work have become my personal drawer, rather than my work drawer.  I.e.  a couple of month’s worth of filing is there rather than at home! 

It really isn’t that I don’t want to do any of this.  It’s a case of me thinking I should prioritize, by studying rather than sorting out the little things.  Yet then I find myself doing even less, because everything is a mess.  Pretty evil, I know!

I have however made up my mind.  Tonight, I will sort out the content of the files.  Slowly, but surely I will decorate the boxes in order to decoupage.  The rest of the time will be spent doing what I should be doing – studying!

I had an epiphany this week.

Last week, I was taking everything I used for lessons and filing them.  They went under, “School, first day;” “School, second day;” “School, third day.”  Then I thought, ok, that’s enough “days.” 

This week, I started making files that have the dates on them.  I keep brief notes about what worked and what didn’t on each of my lesson plan pages and put that in the file with the materials I’ve used.  And I keep a crate under my teaching table and at the end of the day, I put the whole file in there.  At the end of the month, I’ll put the whole shooting match in my file cabinet and start over with another month.

Here’s my epiphany.  When I’m at home, working on my plans, I have five files, labeled “Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.”  At school, in my file holder on my teaching table, I have another five files, labeled the same.  I would get all the things that I needed ready for the week, put them in the files at home and take them to school.  At school, I would transfer the things from my home files to the school files.  This week I went, WHY AM I DOING THAT? 

So, now, at home, I’m just going to make files with the DATES on them and those can go straight into my crate.  This may seem stupid to all you veterans out there, but I LOVED realizing it! 

Make Bill Paying Simple

Do you regularly miss payment due dates?  Are you paying late fees on your bills?  Do you bounce checks because you were trying to pay a bill on time?  Besides creating tension in your household, irregular bill paying habits can ruin your credit, making it hard to buy a car or a house.  The good news is that you can make bill payment a simple, quick chore, and spend your time and your efforts somewhere more effective in your life – like taking the kids to the park for an afternoon.

How to steps:

 Depending in when you are paid, either designate one day a week, every other week or once a month to pay bills.  I usually pick Saturday morning for the upcoming week.    Mark that day on your calendar as you would any meeting.  If you have several large bills that are due all around the same time of the month, try to get them changed so you pay them when you get paid.  I have a large mortgage, so I pay that every two weeks – half and half.  

Check your bank balance before you start to pay bills.  Sounds like a no brainer, but you could be surprised, especially if you have any autopays on your bills.

Have one place for your bills – a desk, the kitchen table, whatever works for you.  Keep all your bills in one place.  If you do not have a desk or a filing system, a numbered  accordion file works well to hold your bills until you are ready to pay them.  

I highlight my bills as soon as I open them – the due date, the amount due and the total due for such items as credit cards, car payments and my mortgage.   Once you have highlighted them, put them into the accordion file under the due date.  I also stamp my bills with the date received on the upper left corner. 

Once you have paid your bills, stamp the date in the upper right corner – if you do not have a stamp, just write the date paid and the check number used along with the amount paid. 

Make sure your checkbook is clear and concise.  It makes it easier to find mistakes or to research bills.

My bills are in QuickBooks, but you can use Quicken (quicken.com) or Microsoft Money (Microsoft.com/money) as well.  You can even use an excel spreadsheet – read below on my blog for free excel spreadsheets. 

You can set up bill pay with your bank or with vendors.   The majority of my bills are set up to be automatically paid – my car payments, credit cards, electric, my mortgage, cable and phone/internet are all set up either through my bank or through our  payees.  I made the decision to pay through the bank when it would have cost me more to make payments through the internet….. wonder why they charge me extra when they are assured of getting their money and no one has to open another piece of mail if I mailed in my check????

When I set up my automatic payments:

I set my credit cards to be paid $25 per week on each one, that way I can make extra payments if I want, but I know that more than just the basic payment is made each month. 

 I also set up my mortgage to be paid bimonthly – half and half, that way I make one extra whole month’s payment per year, and I get that put solely towards my principal.   I am going to cut an extra 8 years off my loan, and that means less interest, plus I own the house that much sooner.  

Automatic payments also allow me to dictate when I will pay – I realize that the company has that much more time to play with my money, but I also figure that I will not miss a payment and mess up my credit and I have peace of mind that my bills are on time.  My cable payment and my internet/phone payments are both due at the end of the month, but I also have my two car payments due around the 25^th of each month.  So, I saved and doubled up and paid one car payment on time and then I made a payment for the next month three weeks early.   I pay my phone/internet and cable bills in the middle of the month. 

Keeping bill paying simple and streamlined is the best way to keep your life more simple and streamlined.  If you get paid every Friday and pay your bills every Saturday morning, then you know what you have left over for the savings account and for fun.

Przedstawiam wam dziś naprawdę fajny, szybki i skuteczny archiwizator dla Windows. Jest oparty na licencji Open Source więc jest całkowicie darmowy

Download

Zapraszam do sprawdzenia

Spalding

From high-density storage for large documents to a wide range of flipper door cabinets and everything in between, Anderson Interiors can satisfy all of your file storage requirements. We feature free-standing units as well as full system components, ensuring a perfect fit for your work space and decor. Whatever your filing needs, we have a stylish and functional solution that will keep your office neat, tidy and organized!

I have a new filing system that seems to be working wonders for me, so I thought I would share it with you.  (I’m like that – a sharer.)

Take all important-seeming papers and even some junk mail you don’t have the desire to open and place it in a big box.  (I personally am fond of the jumbo size diaper box from Costco and for backup have found the jumbo wipe box from Costco to be very handy.)

I suggest you leave any bills or random pieces of time sensitive materials in a separate small pile that you can attend to in a timely manner.

The rest goes in the big old box and you move it somewhere out of the way.

Get it back out in two weeks or so and take 20 minutes to go through it.  Ninety percent will be able to go straight to the shredder/recycling bin.

The other ten percent will be things you forgot to do/are late for/realize you don’t have the time for/or regret that you missed.  These days – 10% is something I can live with.

Next, I’m moving on to closets.  (which if you think about it, are pretty much the big old box for all things clothes/shoes/random accessories.)  I’ll let you know if I come away with any great tips.

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to Staying Organized! A blog to help you through the clutter and get to the piece of mind that you know is somewhere in that mess. I have created this blog for many reason primarily to help others understand that being organized is more about saving your sanity than it is about “making time”.

In today’s day there is more information and “STUFF” thrown at us in an hour than we can handle in a week. Between the emails, the phone calls, the txt mgs, all your social media, family, work, friends, responsibilities… Where does the list end?  Not to mention that hobby that you never have time for.

Well  I will be able to help guide you though some of this chaos in my posts and on my website. Mommy-Pages I created Mommy-Pages for young mothers to help with their new lives. So often we get caught up in all that happens in our lives we forget to stay focused on what is important. What is important is us and our family. Staying organized and getting things accomplished in a timely fashion leaves more time for the important things. Like enjoying the sunny days to come or the surprise of a visiting friend! No one wants to be caught with their pants down in a mess. Staying Organized can help you accomplish simple every day tasks to keep you on track and in order!

Please leave comments of issues you are trying to resolve that you need help with. I would love to help out a friend and topics are always welcome.

I heart Dorland’s. In an unhealthy way. I’ve never really felt, or even considered that I may one day feel, a strong emotional connection to a dictionary. If something were to happen to my copy I might would cry. 

A different dictionary was ‘recommended’ but I was drawn to the dark red pleather, the gold thumbprint indents + the way it made me feel like I was in Sherlock Holmes’ study. How could I not buy the only medical related text with quality stylish design? Rationally, this book has been the best value medical related purchase I have made all year. Irrationally, I’d like to sleep with it under my pillow, or entwined in my arms. 

I don’t know what’s up but lately I could write pages on the genius behind my multi-coloured-clicky-top-pen, or my pastel divider tabs, or the beauty of a well organised filing system. Stationary, books + printing paraphernalia have become more than study aids. I’m manically clinging to them in such a way that recently I plunged into a depressive state for a few weeks when my chocolate smelling black texta disappeared. I blamed friends. Pointed fingers. Sulked. My thoughts wandered frequently during lectures to the whereabouts of said pen*. I was genuinely upset. 

What. The. Frick? 

This study regime has turned me into the kind of person whose day is ruined if their black, smooth gliding, clicky top pen with the thick rubber finger grip is missing. Having to use a substandard pen, or misplacing my dictionary is not the kind of thing that used to put me in a tail spin. 

But I’ve noticed other med students are equally as neurotic.

So…at least I’m not alone. 

*it was under my sofa. 

There are several different types of filing systems that can be used in your business to keep things organized and easy to find.  Of course, the more paper you use, the more filing cabinets you will need  I recommend that you choose a different colour for each filing system.  This provides you with a visual reminder of where the file belongs..

Following are some of the systems which I have found are helpful in my private practice:

Client Filing System – We have tried a number of different ways of keeping these but have found that the best is to use letter sized folders with self-sticking fasteners on each side.  The file label has three rows.  The top row has the client’s surname followed by a comma and the first name(s).  The second row has a coding system we use that is formed by using the year and month that the client file was opened as well as the number that indicates how many referrals have been received in the year to date.

We use legal-sized vertical files with hanging file folders but file all of the client files alphabetically.  The most important thing to remember is that you will receive a number of files over time and therefore need a system that will accommodate and hold them according to professional standards.

Financial Files – As my business has grown significantly I have had to divide the various aspects of the financial accounting into smaller systems.  Initially, however, you will need files for Income, Expenses, Assets, Liabilities, Banking, Income Tax and Reports.  Again I recommend different coloured folders for each and, if possible, a separate filing drawer to hold them.  We also use banker’s boxes with the year clearly marked on the outside  to hold information from previous years that need to be kept.

Topical Files – Over the years I have collected a great number of wonderful articles and handouts.  We have developed a written list of the various file names and sorted these into subject groupings that are filed alphabetically.

Correspondence and General Information – There always seem to be things that you want to keep which don’t seem to fit into the above systems.  We have one drawer that houses these again in alphabetical order.

Do not get too sophisticated when it comes to a filing system.  The idea is to ensure that the things you keep really need to be kept and then can be found easily when needed.

Filing systems can either waste time or save time depending on how they are set up.  It is therefore a good idea to plan well before you even begin.  That’s all part of the adventure of having a business.

And now I would like to invite you to claim your Free Instant Access to a complimentary list of 10 Steps to Making Your Life an Adventure when you visit lindahancockspeaks.com

One of the biggest challenges of small business owners that I work with is managing the multiplicity of duties that are necessary for running a small business.  With all that is required of a small business owner- it is no wonder that many business owners work 12-16 hour days, 7 days a week.

With all this activity, it is essential for the small business owner to create a system for organizing their life and work. Many articles have been written about creating filing systems that help track information and documents; however, in my experience, unless filing systems are individually tailored to the lifestyle and habits of the worker-they simply do not work.

In this article-I would like to offer an alternative to traditional filing systems to a model that complements the personality and lifestyle of the individual worker. The ultimate goal in this article is to illustrate how putting into place some structure will help increase efficiency and hence productivity.

One such case example is a recent client of mine, Tony, a manufacturer of home improvement products who came to me requesting help with organizing his office. Tony’s main complaint was not being able to find information he needed in a timely manner and wasting a lot of time looking for information.

One of the first things we did was to set up a filing system based on categories that made sense to Tony. The first file was a “To Do” or “Action needed” file to capture that information that needed action.  We created a “To do” list form that itemized the tasks, completion/due dates, and parties involved so that Tony more consistently met deadlines. This “To do “ file also stored his daily phone log, and printed email request for proposals/quotes that required a detailed response.

Second, was a “Project” file, grouped by project, oftentimes listed by customer name which included his current project plans, goals, important emails, estimates, and any pertinent reference information for the project.

Third was his own “Personal” file that included information about his health, disability and other insurance and benefits, as well as his current certifications.
Fourth, was a “Travel/Expenses” file which included bills/receipts (to help him keep track of all work related expenses) in addition to meeting notes, and travel directions.

Fifth was a “Vendor” account file that had detailed information on his vendors including rates, contacts, product manuals, and merchant agreements.

Although Tony had a software program that tracked customer order information he reported that he needed their contact information more accessible while traveling. To that end-we were able to transfer his customer information from his software program to his handheld PDA device so he could better communicate with his customers. In addition to the information stored in his software program, we were able to consolidate information stuffed in Tony’s desk, his wallet, written on calendars, or on the back of business cards.

We also helped Tony manage information from all of the online accounts that he had established.

I cannot tell you how many of my customers do not have a system for organizing their online account information. It is not uncommon to have different passwords and account names for various online service providers, and much time is wasted trying to find the correct username and password for each.

For Tony and others- I have created a simple Excel form which is to be used each time an account is established to reduce the stress and wasted time involved in trying to find information related to these online accounts. You can create this form on your own, or contact me for a copy. The form has the following headers:  Provider, Account Type, Domain, Username, Email, Password, Created Date, Expired Date and Cost.  This form can be kept in one of the above mentioned files (preferably in a locked drawer).  It can also be stored as a digital, password protected file on your computer. In Tony’s case, because he prefers not to use the computer-he opted for a printed, hard copy of the form that he could fill in by hand each time he establishes an account.

By taking the time to set up an individually tailored system for organizing himself- Tony has reported feeling much more productive, less stressed out, and more in control of his projects.

If you found this article helpful, and would like to set up a free initial consultation-just email me at wayne@waynekessler.com or call (781) 956-9999 to set up an appointment.

One of the biggest challenges of small business owners that I work with is managing the multiplicity of duties that are necessary for running a small business.  With all that is required of a small business owner- it is no wonder that many business owners work 12-16 hour days, 7 days a week.

With all this activity, it is essential for the small business owner to create a system for organizing their life and work. Many articles have been written about creating filing systems that help track information and documents; however, in my experience, unless filing systems are individually tailored to the lifestyle and habits of the worker-they simply do not work.

In this article-I would like to offer an alternative to traditional filing systems to a model that complements the personality and lifestyle of the individual worker. The ultimate goal in this article is to illustrate how putting into place some structure will help increase efficiency and hence productivity.

One such case example is a recent client of mine, Tony, a manufacturer of home improvement products who came to me requesting help with organizing his office. Tony’s main complaint was not being able to find information he needed in a timely manner and wasting a lot of time looking for information.

One of the first things we did was to set up a filing system based on categories that made sense to Tony. The first file was a “To Do” or “Action needed” file to capture that information that needed action.  We created a “To do” list form that itemized the tasks, completion/due dates, and parties involved so that Tony more consistently met deadlines. This “To do “ file also stored his daily phone log, and printed email request for proposals/quotes that required a detailed response.

Second, was a “Project” file, grouped by project, oftentimes listed by customer name which included his current project plans, goals, important emails, estimates, and any pertinent reference information for the project.

Third was his own “Personal” file that included information about his health, disability and other insurance and benefits, as well as his current certifications.
Fourth, was a “Travel/Expenses” file which included bills/receipts (to help him keep track of all work related expenses) in addition to meeting notes, and travel directions.

Fifth was a “Vendor” account file that had detailed information on his vendors including rates, contacts, product manuals, and merchant agreements.

Although Tony had a software program that tracked customer order information he reported that he needed their contact information more accessible while traveling. To that end-we were able to transfer his customer information from his software program to his handheld PDA device so he could better communicate with his customers. In addition to the information stored in his software program, we were able to consolidate information stuffed in Tony’s desk, his wallet, written on calendars, or on the back of business cards.

We also helped Tony manage information from all of the online accounts that he had established.

I cannot tell you how many of my customers do not have a system for organizing their online account information. It is not uncommon to have different passwords and account names for various online service providers, and much time is wasted trying to find the correct username and password for each.

For Tony and others- I have created a simple Excel form which is to be used each time an account is established to reduce the stress and wasted time involved in trying to find information related to these online accounts. You can create this form on your own, or contact me for a copy. The form has the following headers:  Provider, Account Type, Domain, Username, Email, Password, Created Date, Expired Date and Cost.  This form can be kept in one of the above mentioned files (preferably in a locked drawer).  It can also be stored as a digital, password protected file on your computer. In Tony’s case, because he prefers not to use the computer-he opted for a printed, hard copy of the form that he could fill in by hand each time he establishes an account.

By taking the time to set up an individually tailored system for organizing himself- Tony has reported feeling much more productive, less stressed out, and more in control of his projects.

If you found this article helpful, and would like to set up a free initial consultation-just email me at wayne@waynekessler.com or call (781) 956-9999 to set up an appointment.

Do you have a filing cabinet, a file drawer, or even a portable filing system?  If so, how do you organize it so you can find things quickly?  For years I would file things away in random folders (there was some organizational system intended, but it was vague at best) and then scramble when I needed to find an important document–or even something as simple as a particular take-out menu.  That all changed after I read David Allen’s Getting Things Done.  Allen is a productivity “expert” and offers some very useful suggestions for getting on track with one’s workflow.  The biggest take-away for me was his filing method, which advocates a simple A-Z organizational system.  Basically, an item is filed under its corresponding title letter (e.g. computer documentation is filed under “C”, passports under “P”) which limits the number of possibilities when looking for something.  For example, a take-out menu might be filed under “T” or “M” (I go with the latter), but if it is filed in the folder system, one isn’t searching through random drawers, etc. looking for it–there are only a couple of folder possibilities.  For me, it has been one more way to streamline and simplify. -Amy