Sherry Borsheim

Jul 16

Business Organizing Tip – Sharing Reference Files Increases Morale and Efficiency

By Sherry Borsheim Blog, Business Organizing No Comments

Sometimes filing can seem like an overwhelming job. Many people find it complicated and time consuming to find a home for all their files. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Once you establish a filing system, filing can become nearly automatic, almost effortless.
Did you know that in actuality there are only three types of files you’ll ever need? That’s right, in all effective filing systems there are only three types of files: action, reference and archive.

Action files
Projects that you are currently working on – projects that you access frequently. For many people, the information in these files might be something they would pile on their desk out of a fear of misfiling and misplacing, but once you establish an effective filing system you will not have to worry about misfiling ever again.

Reference Files
These are files that you access less frequently. It is information that you want to have on hand and are not ready to archive or toss at this time.

Archive Files
These are exactly what they sound like – archives! These files include all paper based materials that you are required to keep but do not need on a regular basis. An example of archived files might be previous year’s tax records that you only keep in case of an audit.

Although all three file types play a crucial role in your business, the focus of this article is the often forgotten reference files:

Reference files make up the backbone of your company’s resource library. Imagine how much more information would be available if each individual had easily accessible reference files. Files that they could actually share with the entire office! How much more efficient would your office be if everyone shared access to key reference materials?

Sharing reference files not only increases efficiency, but it also unites offices. Suddenly there are no longer individual “camps” within the office, but rather an interconnected office that shares resources in order to benefit every member of the team.

If you are ready to pool your office reference files, there are several ways to get started. Choose a system that works best with your corporate climate and current workspace needs.

For example, since these files are accessed less frequently than action files, one option may be to create a general reference area within the office. This makes it easy for every member of the office to access files, without interrupting the flow of an individual’s workspace. By keeping everything together and indexed with a filing system, it is a simple job to find much needed files in only a few seconds.

Better yet, take a team approach to the situation and have a business organizing brainstorming session on the best way to access everyone’s reference files within the office. If some people within the group don’t know how to use the filing system you chose, have a brief training session. Once they see how easy it is to use, they’ll use it constantly and finally make use of important reference files.

Jul 08

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Keep Stress at Bay by Learning How to Get Organized at Work

By Sherry Borsheim Business Organizing, Home Office Organization, Organizing Paper Files, Quick Organizing Tips No Comments

Stress is quickly becoming an epidemic in North America. Today, 75 – 90 percent of all doctor visits are stress related! Conditions like high blood pressure, allergies, migraines, ulcers, bowel and skin problems and more have all been related to stress. That’s not to mention the fact that stress has been linked to all the leading causes of death, including heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis and suicide.

In addition to causing all sorts of health problems, stress also affects businesses of all sizes in lost revenue. That’s because over 60 percent of employee absences are due to psychological problems such as stress, resulting in an estimated 1 million workers that are absent on an average workday. With this in mind, job stress is estimated to cost U.S. industry $300 billion annually, as assessed by absenteeism, diminished productivity, employee turnover, direct medical, legal and insurance fees and more.

With all this in mind, now, more than ever, is the time to protect your health and business by dealing with stress effectively. One way to do that is through organization.

Sitting down at a cluttered desk can immediately increase your stress level before the workday has even begun. And we all know that this is not the time of the day to start taking on additional stress. That will happen easily enough throughout the course of your day. The start of each day is the time to feel fresh and confident in your ability to make progress on your daily tasks. This feeling of purpose comes easily with an organized workspace. Clutter, on the other hand, washes all good intentions away in confusion and stress, and sets the tone for the rest of the workday.

How is it that a few stacks of disorganized paper can create a mass of stress in just minutes? It’s because clutter is actually postponed decisions. Each piece of paper on your desk represents something that you haven’t taken care of yet, which adds to your level of stress. Going unchecked, these paper molehills can become mountains of stress, leaving you completely overwhelmed. By this point, you may not even know where to start the organizing process.

Worse yet, the greater the stacks of paper, the greater chance there is for you to miss something important. Perhaps you misplaced a critical document that is needed for a meeting just minutes away, or you forgot about a bill that is past-due, or, you could even lose track of where you are on a significant project with an immediate completion deadline looming.

Here are a few tips for reducing stress by learning how to get organized at work:

1. Reduce clutter using the FAST System (There are only 4 options when it comes to paper – File, Act, Schedule, Toss).
2. Delegate tasks when appropriate – you don’t have to do everything
3. Don’t over schedule. Leave time free in your calendar for the unexpected and perhaps for a break now and then.

When you learn how to get organized at work, you can put an end to the stress caused by clutter and lack of organization. Each piece of paper is dealt with once and then filed, scheduled or acted on accordingly. You are left with more free time, because you’re able to get things done in less time. You are also able to focus on your goals and priorities, delegate projects clearly and effectively, and generally be on top of your game. This will relieve a great deal of stress, while creating a real feeling of empowerment and pride in your accomplishments.

If you are interested in learning more ways we can help you get organized at work, click here now.!

Jul 05

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The Secrets to Organizing Microsoft Outlook – Contact Categories

By Sherry Borsheim Blog, Business Organizing, Home Office Organization, Organizing Microsoft Outlook No Comments

Microsoft Outlook is a powerful productivity tool, when used correctly. When you aren’t sure how or why to use Outlook, it can be a source of frustration and anxiety! This article is part of a series of articles that will help you on your journey to organizing your Microsoft Outlook.

Categories are a way to group certain contacts together. Using categories makes it easier to find, sort and filter your contacts. For example, you receive a new email from someone you want to add to your contact List. Typically, you would add all their contact information. I suggest that you take it a step further and select a category for the contact, like Vendor, Client, Prospect, Advertising, Resource, Family, Personal, etc. Microsoft Outlook already has a list of categories in the Master Category List. You can add, change or delete any of these categories to suit your unique situation.

Why you should organize Microsoft Outlook Contacts

There are a several reasons for categorizing your contacts. Firstly, you can drag and drop an entire category or several categories over to your Inbox and all the email addresses will automatically appear in the To: field of your message. Make sure you cut and paste these email addresses into the BCC field before you send the email (this is to comply with privacy laws, as well as common courtesy). Secondly, it groups and organizes your contacts for easy retrieval. A group of contacts can easily be selected for a mail merge. Categories are also useful for those times when you export your Contacts into other programs.

The most important reason to categorize your contacts is to help you stay on top of your follow-up. In any business, the fortune is in the follow-up! Categorizing your contacts streamlines your marketing and follow-up efforts. You will also be able to easily sort, filter and print contacts by one or more categories.

For example, create a category called “Prospect” and flag it for follow-up on a specific day, or create an appointment from within the contact and select the date you want to follow up on that valuable lead. You could also create a category for different events that you have (a product launch, fundraisers, Christmas party, grand openings, products customers purchase, etc.). After the event you could sort your contacts by the category and show your appreciation by following-up with a thank you card to each person who attended the event.

How to use Microsoft Outlook Contact Categories:

My three step process when creating your initial categories

1. Plan your categories on paper first

2. Create the new categories in the Master Category List

3. Assign Contacts to the appropriate category or categories

Creating categories:

1. Select Categories from the Edit menu

2. Click Master Category List

3. Type a category name in the New category box

4. Click Add

5. Follow steps 3 and 4 to create additional categories

6. Click OK twice

Assigning a category when creating an item:

1. With the item open, click Categories (in an email click Options, Categories)

2. In the Available categories list, click on the boxes next to the applicable category or categories

3. Click OK

Assigning a category to an existing item:

1. Select the item

2. Click Categories on the Edit menu

3. In the Available categories list, click on the boxes next to the applicable category or categories

4. Click OK

A few quick Time-Saving Tips

1. You can assign several categories to one contact. For example, you may have a client who is in your Client category, as well as you Christmas Card List category.

2. When you export your contacts to other database programs, make sure you export the Category field. The category will map over into the new database and save you data entry time.

3. When you receive emails that are new leads it is important that you create a system to follow-up. Whatever your situation, categories and follow-up is critical to an effective contact list.

Taking the time to organize Microsoft Outlook by planning and creating your categories today will save you time and money tomorrow!