I recently performed an office organizing consultation for a local realtor who suffered from an odd malady: she was
TOO organized!
Of course, the client was not aware that this was the problem when she first called us in. In fact, she assumed that a
lack of organization was to blame for poor correspondence, misplaced items and poor time-management. The assessment however, proved otherwise.
Several factors were to blame for their results. Here is what we found:
The Problem: An overburdened email organizing system. This client had a highly complex system of folders for archiving email. Within each folder were a number of sub-categories, meticulously worded. The idea was to file all email into folders to keep them organized, but there were so many that she simply wasn't using the system and emails would sit in her inbox, causing clutter and disorganization.
The Fix: The archive button. A folder system is great for important emails that you will reference often. You should never need a scroll bar on your email folders list however. Use these sparingly and stick to the "archive" button instead: emails will still remain available to you with a keyword search, but they will no longer be in your inbox. Plus, archiving is much faster than filing emails into folders.
The Problem: Too many systems in place for the client pipeline.
When organizing client prospects, this person had multiple systems in place to put the client through the pipeline. For instance, she had a system with business cards involving putting them into a basket, then "touching" the client three times. Each time she made contact with that prospect, she moved them to a different basket. She likewise had folders in multiple places with a color-coded system that worked well, but she also had prospects in her email and phone. The result was that she frequently dropped the ball on potential client prospects because she was unable to keep up with multiple systems for processing them.
The Fix: Stick to one client management system. The obvious solution was to pick one system and stick to it. An appropriate customer relation management (CRM) system can work wonders for processing potential clients, and eliminate the need to use anything else.
Check out Business News Daily's top CRM picks for 2016.
The Problem: To-Do lists everywhere! Another common issue is having too many to-do lists. In the notes app on her phone, on sticky-notes, in notebooks and on a whiteboard, this client had them everywhere. Though it's very organized to have to-do lists, too many will drive you mad!
The Fix: Keep your to-do list handy and visible. Restricting herself to only ONE to-do list fixed the problem. This meant having a list that was easy to take to meetings, throw in her purse and keep out on her desk. The white board was kept for large projects, but the sticky notes were put away and the to-do notebook was given a place of prominence on the desktop.
The final word? Too many organizing systems can be just as detrimental as not having any. The key is simplification. What systems can you simplify today to bring better organization to your work life?
Happy Organizing!
