Category: e-organizing

Five Productivity Tips for Working From Home

Posted on by Denise Caron-Quinn

For many our new normal means we’ll be working remotely for the foreseeable future. Working from home can be a wonderful experience for both employer and employee, but it’s important to be fully prepared for the challenges you might face, such as having your documents e-filed or having all parts of your home, organized for peace of mind.

A major problem is how to remain productive when there are so many distractions at home that can get in the way of your work. Stay on target with these five productivity tips and give yourself grace if you can’t manage them all. They’ll help you stay focused and get the job done.

1. Have a Dedicated Office Space

Whether you have a room set aside to be your office or a section of a room dedicated to work, it’s important to have a place to “go to work.” Be sure to have all the office necessities there: a desk, a comfortable chair, computer and telephone, filing or storage solutions, office supplies, and adequate lighting. This room or space should put you in a work mindset, so when you go there you’re prepared mentally to do your job.

Related: Get Inspired. Here’s How to Create a Home Office Out of a Spare Room

Your custom office space should appeal to your work ethic and mindset. While a TV is generally distracting, some people work better with background noise. You know yourself better than anyone – just be reasonable and practical about the setup.

In other words, don’t just pull out your laptop and work from your bed in your pajamas. That might put you in a state of mind to update Facebook or even drift off to sleep!

2. Set and Enforce Boundaries

When you’re working from home a major productivity-buster can be the people you live with. The child who wants your attention. The pet who wants to hop in your lap or go out for a walk. The friends or family members who call just to talk because you’re home. To combat these distractions, it’s important to set and enforce rules for when you are working from the comfort of home.

If you have a door, close it. If you don’t, try hanging a “Do Not Disturb” sign on the back of your chair or set up some other notice that you are not available. Distractions are the downfall of productivity, and working without some healthy boundaries will cause more harm than good.

Post a schedule so others can see when you’ll be taking a break or are finished. Tell family not to call unless it’s an emergency. Enforce these rules from the get-go so they become a habit for everyone.

3. Set Regular Working Hours

Just because you’re working from home, doesn’t mean you should roll out of bed at 10 a.m. or take a two-hour lunch break. Schedule hours to work, just as you would in an office setting. Set your alarm, take a shower and get dressed, and eat breakfast before you begin work. This will help put you in a mindset for working, not lounging.

No matter your profession, there will still be deadlines to meet. Set reminders that you have responsibilities and stick to a schedule. Do take a lunch break, but keep it to a reasonable time, no longer than an hour. Take this opportunity to eat, spend time with family or make those personal calls. If family is adhering to the second tip, they will know that this is a time you are available.

4. Keep it Clean

It’s tough to be productive when your desk and office area is a cluttered mess. Be sure to keep your desk clean and clear of any clutter. Keep a trash can nearby to toss unwanted items and a filing system to keep your important papers organized. Have an in-bin for items that need your attention. Make sure only work-related items are in your office; no kids’ toys (which could attract the kids) or piles of junk from elsewhere in the house. Your office space should be for your work only!

Related: Filing 101: Organizing Paperwork

At the end of each workday, take a few minutes to put things in their proper places so you have a clean slate the next morning, not a mess from yesterday to deal with.

5. Eliminate Background Noise

Noises and other distractions will kill your productivity. Crying children, noisy lawnmowers and email alerts can all jolt you out of what you need to be doing. Turn off all alerts and vow to check email only at certain times of the day, such as first thing in the morning, before and after lunch, and at the end of your workday. Have your personal cell phone send all messages to voicemail during working hours.

If you live in a noisy household or neighborhood, consider a set of sound-cancelling headphones so you can truly work in peace. You can also invest in a good white-noise machine to replace distracting sounds with soothing ones, or run a small fan for the same effect.

For more tips on  how to make working from home a productive and convenient experience or for help organizing your home-office environment visit In Order to Succeed’s website.

 

How To Organize Your Inbox Like Marie Kondo

Posted on by In Order to Succeed Team

We’ve been big fans of Marie Kondo ever since listening to her book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, on Audible back in 2015, and we’re thrilled to hear so many of our clients and friends love her Netflix show.  We love to see people focusing on whether or not their possessions “spark joy”, but we have to ask: what about your inbox?? Does it spark joy?

Here are some practical suggestions that will help love your inbox a little more or at the very least stop being stressed out by it.

1. Set Aside Time to Go Through Your Emails

Raise your hand if you tend to respond to emails a few at a time whenever you have a spare moment. (We’re guilty too.) That is counter to the Marie Kondo method of simplifying.  Instead, establish an inbox routine so you can get in the inbox zone. Maybe you check and respond to all emails first thing in the morning and then again at the end of the day. Or maybe it’s at Noon. Figure out the best time for you to manage your inbox and then stick to it.

2. Turn Off Your Email  Notifications

Does your iPhone dinging every time you receive an email spark joy? Probably not. In fact, if you’re like most people it likely takes your focus away from whatever you were doing and may even create some anxiety. Now that you’ve set aside certain times of each day to go through your emails there’s no reason you need to get notified each time you receive an email. Turn off the notifications. If it’s really urgent someone will call or text you.

3. Don’t Create Too Many Categories

Your inbox needs only three categories.

  • You need to respond to or act on
  • You’re waiting on someone else to respond
  • You don’t need anymore (archive) or delete

4. Learn to Love the Delete Button

Marie Kondo’s entire method revolves around the idea that if you don’t need something anymore and it isn’t giving you any joy to hang onto it it’s time to get rid of it. Go ahead and press delete again, and again, and again.

5. Plan An Unsubscribe Session

One of the problems with email is that we all sign up for mailing lists we’re just not interested in. Maybe it’s to get a coupon, maybe it’s because we enjoyed a few articles on a site.  Whatever the reason, it’s time to kick delete once and for all those emails that don’t routinely spark joy. Pour a cup of your favorite beverage at a time when you can give at least 90 minutes attention to nothing but your inbox. Open it and scan through just for subscriptions.  Do not open anything else, ignore the beeps (see step 2) and leave your other tabs closed. Open each email and immediately scroll to the bottom where you’ll find the teeny font where you can unsubscribe and DO IT. If you haven’t opened and used the information in the subscription you’re not going to.  Only keep subscriptions to the emails you open and actually read.

After your 90-minute unsubscribing marathon, make it a habit to open, read, and delete all of your subscription emails.  Anything from yesterday that is unread tomorrow should be unsubscribed from going forward. If you subscribe to something for a coupon, once it comes IMMEDIATELY go into the email and unsubscribe.

Use these tips to create more joy when dealing with your inbox. Need more tech organization in your life? Contact In Order to Succeed today to help with your digital life organization.

An Organized Hard Disk: The Best Organization Tool For Your Laptop

Posted on by Denise Caron-Quinn

The data wizard within your laptop may appear somewhat skillful, but it won’t reach its full organizational potential without your personal intervention. To prevent your storage from eventually reaching a stage of accumulated chaos, you must take control of data management.

The wizard dumps some documents into the My Documents folder. Others end up in custom storage as designated by the creator application. Newly installed software may store critical program components in the system’s common AppDat folder, or it may dump everything into a custom program group. Icons show up on the desktop and you may not even know how they got there. If you fail to keep track of information destinations, the laptop tools you use to organize your life may end up crashing your wizard.

Information Organization – Plan Before You Walk

The best organization tools for your laptop are tailored to your specific needs. Finding the applications you want is easy. Coordinating their functions on your system can be difficult, but controlling the software installation process is the key to efficient information management.

Warning: Moving data files, program files or renaming directories can make them unable to read or even result in program failure.

The tips focus on tracking and changing program features during the application installation process. To create a simple disk organization program:

  • Integrate your programs by function and work type
  • Install virus protection
  • Install a file compression utility
  • Take control of where specific programs are installed
  • Distinguish data files from program files
  • Follow proper file-naming principles (UNC Charlotte has a quick guide for file naming)
  • Use meaningful file names

Customizing Your Hard Disk Organization

If starting from scratch, go with a laptop vendor that permits factory-installed software customization. For example: The Lenovo ultrabook can be built from scratch, enabling the buyer to make decisions concerning preferred operating system, productivity suits, security software and more before ordering. Follow up by organizing your hard drive in accordance to your work methods. According to the University of California San Diego, synchronization plays a major role in data storage. Nearly every data storage device and application relies on periodic synchronization. The better you organize your hard disk, the more efficiently your laptop will function.

The process is simple:

  • Plan data paths in a way that assist you in data saving, data retrieval and data backup
  • Develop and maintain a precise naming convention for directories and files
  • Layout the hard disk organizational-map and create all directories prior to any new application installations
  • Place data files in folders set aside for data
  • Place program files in folders designated for programs
  • Use multiple subdirectories with limited file content in lieu of massive subdirectories with many files
  • Use short but distinctive and descriptive folder naming conventions.

Take control of your computer’s internal data wizard and organization. But don’t forget that the wizard is there as your helper. Don’t reinvent the Microsoft storage system.

Visit In Order to Succeed on Facebook and on Twitter.

An Organized Hard Disk: The Best Organization Tips For Your Laptop

Posted on by Denise Caron-Quinn

The data wizard within your laptop may appear somewhat skillful, but it won’t reach its full organizational potential without your personal intervention. To prevent your storage from eventually reaching a stage of accumulated chaos, you must take control of data management.

The wizard dumps some documents into the My Documents folder. Others end up in custom storage as designated by the creator application. Newly installed software may store critical program components in the system’s common AppDat folder, or it may dump everything into a custom program group. Icons show up on the desktop and you may not even know how they got there. If you fail to keep track of information destinations, the laptop tools you use to organize your life may end up crashing your wizard.

Information Organization – Plan Before You Walk

The best organization tips for your laptop are tailored to your specific needs. Finding the applications you want is easy. Coordinating their functions on your system can be difficult, but controlling the software installation process is the key to efficient information management.

Warning: Moving data files, program files or renaming directories can make them unable to read or even result in program failure.

The tips focus on tracking and changing program features during the application installation process. To create a simple disk organization program:

  • Integrate your programs by function and work type
  • Install virus protection
  • Install a file compression utility
  • Take control of where specific programs are installed
  • Distinguish data files from program files
  • Follow proper file-naming principles (UNC Charlotte has a quick guide for file naming)
  • Use meaningful file names

Customizing Your Hard Disk Organization

If starting from scratch, go with a laptop vendor that permits factory-installed software customization. For example: The Lenovo ultrabook can be built from scratch, enabling the buyer to make decisions concerning preferred operating system, productivity suits, security software and more before ordering. Follow up by organizing your hard drive in accordance to your work methods. According to the University of California San Diego, synchronization plays a major role in data storage. Nearly every data storage device and application relies on periodic synchronization. The better you organize your hard disk, the more efficiently your laptop will function.

The process is simple:

  • Plan data paths in a way that assist you in data saving, data retrieval and data backup
  • Develop and maintain a precise naming convention for directories and files
  • Layout the hard disk organizational-map and create all directories prior to any new application installations
  • Place data files in folders set aside for data
  • Place program files in folders designated for programs
  • Use multiple subdirectories with limited file content in lieu of massive subdirectories with many files
  • Use short but distinctive and descriptive folder naming conventions.

Take control of your computer’s internal data wizard and organization. But don’t forget that the wizard is there as your helper. Don’t reinvent the Microsoft storage system.

Visit In Order to Succeed on Facebook and on Twitter.

10 Professional Organizers to ‘Like’ on Facebook

Posted on by Denise Caron-Quinn

Quick self-promotion: If you haven’t yet liked In Order to Succeed on Facebook, do it now. You’ll find time management tips, productivity tips and of course organizational tips from In Order to Succeed’s professional organizers and project consultants. Plus, you can ask us all your questions and we’ll do our best to answer them.

O.K., now that the self-promotion is over with, it’s time to talk about some other professional organizers. We love our fellow organizers. They are an inspiration to us and are constantly sharing great advice. Here are 10 professional organizers (in no particular order) we think you should ‘like’ on Facebook.

  1. Julie Morgenstern Enterprises
  2. Blissfully Organized LLC
  3. The Organizing Guru
  4. SoBe Organized
  5. Organizing Goddess, Inc.
  6. IHeart Organizing
  7. Innovatively Organized
  8. Memories Organized LLC
  9. Organized Home
  10. The Organized Mom

In Order to Succeed is a full service Professional Organizing firm providing Home and Business Organizing Solutions, Moving/Relocation Coordination Assistance and Time Management help to people throughout New York (NY) and Connecticut (CT) and across the US.  Our Professional Organizers, Relocation Specialists and Productivity Experts will make your home and office more efficient and attractive.  We can help create a zen-like, less stressful environment giving you the time and calm to focus what you enjoy. For more information visit www.inordertosucceed.com.

In Order to Succeed is a full-service Professional Organizing firm providing Home and Business Organizing Solutions, Moving/Relocation Coordination Assistance, and Time Management help to people throughout New York (NY) and Connecticut (CT) and across the US. Our team of professional organizers in NYC, relocation specialists, and productivity experts will make your home and office more efficient and attractive. We can help create a zen-like, less stressful environment, giving you the time and calm to focus on what you enjoy. For more information, visit www.inordertosucceed.com.

10 Professional Organizers to ‘Like’ on Facebook

Posted on by Denise Caron-Quinn

Quick self-promotion: If you haven’t yet liked In Order to Succeed on Facebook, do it now. You’ll find time management tips, productivity tips, and of course, organizational tips from In Order to Succeed’s professional organizers and project consultants. Plus, you can ask us all your questions and we’ll do our best to answer them.

O.K., now that the self-promotion is over with, it’s time to talk about some other professional organizers. We love our fellow organizers. They are an inspiration to us and are constantly sharing great advice. Here are 10 professional organizers (in no particular order) we think you should like on Facebook.

  1. Julie Morgenstern Enterprises
  2. Blissfully Organized LLC
  3. The Organizing Guru
  4. SoBe Organized
  5. Organizing Goddess, Inc.
  6. IHeart Organizing
  7. Innovatively Organized
  8. Memories Organized LLC
  9. Organized Home
  10. The Organized Mom

In Order to Succeed is a full service Professional Organizing firm providing Home and Business Organizing Solutions, Moving/Relocation Coordination Assistance and Time Management help to people throughout New York (NY) and Connecticut (CT) and across the US.  Our Professional Organizers, Relocation Specialists and Productivity Experts will make your home and office more efficient and attractive.  We can help create a zen-like, less stressful environment giving you the time and calm to focus what you enjoy. For more information visit www.inordertosucceed.com.

10 iPhone Apps That Make Organizing Photos Easier

Posted on by Denise Caron-Quinn

By Guest Blogger: Debbie Denard of Nanny.net. 

The built-in camera on your iPhone is powerful enough to replace a small handheld digital camera, granting you the ability to take high-quality snapshots at a moment’s notice. Having this power at your fingertips usually results in a flood of photographs, which can be difficult to navigate and put in some semblance of order after a while. For the organization buffs among iPhone owners, here are 10 offerings that can be found in the App Store that will make the task of straightening those photos a snap.

  1. PhotoBook: Photos Organizer – For $0.99, PhotoBook will allow you to organize your photos either by the date they were taken or in a system of user-created albums. Intuitive and easy to navigate, this app is a great offering for photo organization on a relatively small budget. Because PhotoBook only organizes the existing snapshots in “Photos,” it won’t take up more storage space or present the risk of data loss in the event of an app bug.
  2. PhotoFolders – When you have photographs stored on your iPhone that you’d rather keep private from accidental viewing, this $1.99 app is a great choice. You can password protect separate albums to lock or hide them, sharing only the pictures you want.
  3. TravelPad: Travel Photo Album – Traveling presents a surfeit of photo-snapping opportunities, which can leave your Photos folder filled to the brim with scattered snapshots. This $1.99 app finds the location where photographs were taken and allows you to create a mapped route of pictures to retrace at your leisure. You also can share your journey with others by using the built-in slideshow feature.
  4. Stash – Keeping your photographs and other media downloads private is easy and secure with the $3.99 Stash app, which includes the ability to transfer your files to Dropbox, your computer or other mobile devices. The app also allows you to create an unlimited number of separate accounts with password or PIN protection, including hack attempt actions.
  5. Pics – Called “the essential photo management app for iOS” by AppAdvice.com, this $1.99 app allows you to view your photos in all of their full-resolution glory, never sacrificing quality for the sake of compression. You can also edit individual albums, moving and deleting as you see fit to best suit your organizational methods.
  6. Photo-Sort – Manage your albums by folder and sub-folder, maintain the original image quality, and share your photos easily within the $1.00 Photo-Sort app, which allows for Twitter and Facebook sharing as well as email. Exporting and importing is also simple and intuitive, making for an easy-to-use and functional app.
  7. Photo Org – Share images on Flickr, Twitter, Facebook and even MySpace, or keep them securely password protected for only $2.99 with Photo Org, which also has a built-in photo editing option that includes several different effects, cropping and retouching. Create your own organizational system and maintain it easily, including video diary entries and YouTube support.
  8. Sort Shots – Find specific photos by rating, category, type, favorites or date with this $2.99 app that also allows you to search images with custom terms. Share your photos to social networking sites and through email, or create a slideshow set to music from your library!
  9. PhotoTag – Tagging your pictures with this $1.99 makes searching for specific items based on those tags the work of a moment. You can even snap your photos from within the app for instant tagging, eliminating the need to run the app after taking a picture, searching and then tagging.
  10. Photo Manager Pro – Transfer via FTP or HTTP, as well as Peer-to-Peer or USB. Create, move and delete custom folders for sorting, then reorder by dragging and dropping. You can even customize the colors of folders and the background style with this $2.99 feature-packed app.

In addition to these great organizational apps, there are a wide variety of high-quality photo editing applications available in the App Store that will allow you to turn out artist-quality pictures right from your handheld device. Snapping, editing and organizing photographs that capture all the memorable moments of your life has never been so easy!

Useful Links: Pocket Memory

Ten Strategies For Taming Your Email Inbox

Posted on by Denise Caron-Quinn

If you are like most people, your email inbox is always overflowing. Sorting through your email can be a time-consuming and frustrating task. But you can remedy this by following these ten strategies for taming your email inbox.

1. Spam filters

Every email program has spam filters. It is up to you to make them work for you. Check your email settings and play around with the spam filters until you get it set to the level of privacy you desire. Less spam will mean fewer emails you have to wade through.

2. Unsubscribe

Unsubscribe to those newsletters that you no longer need. Get rid of the ones that just don’t provide useful information. There should be an unsubscribe button or link at the bottom of the email or newsletter.

3. Organize

You organize your paper files at home so why not organize your email? You can create files for your emails such as work mail, personal mail, receipts, etc. Place the appropriate emails in the appropriate files. A lot of email programs will even allow you to label emails from specific addresses according to their purpose. For example, emails coming from your work address will be labeled as work in your inbox. You can even color code your emails for higher efficiency.

4. Dedicated Email Time

Set aside a specific time each day in which you will check your email. It could be the first thing in the morning, or it may be the last thing you do in the evening. If you want to remain productive you have got to stop checking your email periodically throughout the day.

5. Short Responses

When you answer your emails, keep your replies short and to the point. This saves time for you and the person receiving your emails.

6. Spring Cleaning

Once a month or even once a week, set aside time for a little email spring cleaning.  Go through all your saved emails and purge what you don’t need. You want to try to get your email inbox down to 0. This may not be possible every day, but you can significantly reduce the number of items in your inbox and your outbox.

7. Establish Alternate Email Addresses

To cut down on the email clutter it is a good idea to set up several email addresses. You can use one for emails between family members, another for personal emails between friends and yet another address for business-related emails.

8. Learn More About Your System

Did you know that most individuals use less than 20% of the programs found on their system? Take some time to learn more about your system and what it can do. You may be missing out on some program features that could save you a lot of time.

9. Determine Your Next Action

Every time you open an email, make a decision on what your next action will be. Are you going to file it, answer it, or delete it? Make a decision and commit to it. This will reduce the amount of emails found in your email folder.

10. Don’t Forget Sent Mail

It is true email can really clog up your inbox, but you should not neglect your sent mail. Organize your sent messages in folders for each client or job. This makes it easy for you to find the email again if you should need it for reference.

Tipping Etiquette Recommendations for the Holidays

Posted on by Denise Caron-Quinn

Holiday tipping is a way to show others how much you appreciate their services. In this tough economy, many individuals are struggling to make ends meet. If you have been blessed this past year, share it with others by giving them a proper tip.

Here are the details on tipping etiquette and recommends for holiday tipping:

1. Housekeeper

If you have a housekeeper who works hard to keep your home clean it is customary to show your appreciation for their hard work around the holidays. The suggested tip amount would be one week’s pay.

2. Newspaper Carrier

These individuals work hard to get your newspapers to you. They brave the dark and the cold to deliver your paper in the wee hours of the morning. The suggested amount to tip your newspaper carrier is $20. However, if you can afford to give more, it would be a great way to show your appreciation.

3. Child’s Teacher

Your child’s teacher has the immense responsibility of educating your child. There are very few jobs that are this important. Many individuals feel that gift cards are more appropriate for the teacher than money. One or two gift cards in the amount of $25 to the local bookstore or office supply store is a great tip for that special teacher.

4. Hairstylist

It is customary to tip your hairstylist with each session. So a random holiday tip may not be necessary. However, if you call your hairstylist and beg her to fit you in for that last minute holiday party, you should expect to tip her at least 50% over the amount you normally would.

5. Dog Walker

If you have a good dog walker who always shows up on time and never complains about walking your dog during the rain and snow, you should reward them handsomely for their dedication.  A good tip amount for a dedicated dog walker would be the equivalent of what you would normally pay for three dog walking sessions.

6. Trash Collectors.

These guys have a rough job. Imagine getting up before dawn to collect other people’s stinky trash. The customary tip amount for trash collectors is $10 to $30.

7. Personal Trainer

If you have a good rapport with your personal trainer and have been thrilled with his or her services over the past year then a holiday tip is necessary. The normal tip would be $50 or the cost of one session.

8. Letter Carrier

Keep in mind, the U.S. Post Office forbids mail carriers from accepting cash. Any gifts that are given must be worth less than $20. But you can still your letter carrier how much you appreciate him or her by giving them a basket of fruit or a box of chocolates.

When you are out and about this holiday, spread a little holiday cheer by tipping your waiters and waitresses a little extra. You have the power to make someone else’s life a little easier through the simple act of tipping.

Useful Links: The Sweet Team