So many organizing efforts are focused on containing items out of sight and out of mind.  There are, however, things that we need to make a point of acting on, that should NOT be hidden.  Quite the opposite.  We need things to stick out like a sore thumb to compel us to action.  Those are the compelements.   Here are some examples.

To do list
The old stand by.  Crossing stuff off the list makes us feel like we are getting a lot done, but we tend to cross off the easiest stuff first and the bigger, more important goals keep getting rewritten on subsequent to-do lists. Under the cover of a notebook, however, the to-do list is about as compelling as folded clothes in a drawer.

 
Smart phone
Setting  an alarm on your smart phone can be a great way to alert you to certain fixed events.   If you depend on this for everything, however, it’s hard to get a sense of what’s coming and many alerts may take you by surprise.  It may happen so often that you are not able to act on all the actions you are alerted to.

 
Computer  monitor
It’s all very well to collect your compelements as to-do’s on your computer monitor, but do they still feel compelling when you open another program or that screen saver pops up? Of course not.

 
Bulletin board
A classic compelement collector.  Problem is, if there a large collection of compelements all over the board, then NONE of them may have a compelling effect.  There is no focus with a bulletin board.

 
Post-It’s on monitor.
OK, I often see these compelements in my line of work.  In fact, I see them a lot.  The problem with these is they always take a secondary role to what’s on the monitor and often tend take up residence there for days and weeks, sometimes longer.
Task collector

 
This is my choice, one that I shared last week in The Weekly Round Up.  The task collector stands out, so you MUST notice it.  Tasks can be simply re-prioritized by moving simple Post-It notes around.  Long term projects can be broken up and worked into your weekly schedule so that they are remembered and realistic.  The task collector is a compelement that is as compelling as you need it to be.

What compelements work well for you?

Don’t put things you want to make a point of acting on in your file drawer.  They will be out of sight out of mind. Instead, they need to be out where they are more compelling.

Don’t waste valuable file space on old tax supporting material and statements.  These can be stored in boxes more remotely.

Don’t stuff something into your file drawer unless you are clear on WHY you are keeping it.  If you can’t provide a reason, you probably don’t need it at all.

There’s essentially 3 types of things that you need to find in a file:
1. information
2. records
3. statements
Information is to refer to for FUTURE events.  Records are refer to for PAST events.  Statements are to refer to the PRESENT tax year.

I find it easier to find files when they are kept in just a few simple categories.  I keep information, records, and statements in manila folders, within wider category files.  Some typical categories are utilities, household, insurance, transportation, medical, finances (or credit and banking), investments, and taxes.

Don’t get hung up on files just being for “important” stuff.  If it’s something you want to find reliably it’s worth filing.  For example if you have printed out a joke that made you laugh and you wanted to share it with your sister, create a “smile fille.”  The next time she calls or visits, you will know exactly where to find it.

Of course you could keep digital files, that you want to find reliably, in a file folder on your computer.  It’s the same principle.  The nice thing about digital files, however, is that you can share them immediately through email.

It’s a great time of year to go through your file cabinet and sort out the material that could go to archives, items you may want to make a point of acting on, and junk that you know you’re never going to need.  You’ll free up room in your file cabinet for new incoming files.  Finally, by clearing out the deadwood, you make it easier to FIND the important and more current files.

Remember, if it’s not findable, it should not be file-able.

The most important takeaway I got from David Allen’s Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress Free Productivity is this.  The first step in getting things done is to get all the things that are swimming around in your head OUT and into a system you TRUST.  That last word is the key: “trust.”  We often have multiple systems, in case one fails us, but this can be confusing and unproductive.  What’s best is a single system you TRUST.

My system for managing projects is a sorter full of what I call Project Corrals.  I recently did a post on distinguishing projects from tasks.  In essence, you can’t expect to complete your projects in one shot, in this busy world, but you can complete the tasks that make up the projects.

I had used the elephant analogy in my post, but here’s another animal analogy for the tasks we need to do: wild horses.  If we jump on every idea that pops into our heads, we find ourselves going nowhere, just as if we had jumped on to a wild horse and then on to the next wild horse that comes along and so on.

Of course there are some wild horses that come along in a day, that we DO need to take care of this week (or now!), but many are just ideas THAT WE DON’T WANT TO FORGET ABOUT.  These wild horses can be corralled and these corrals can be simply organized.

For every project, there may be documents and other loose bits of paper.  I like to collect these in a clear plastic envelope and on the front of it I keep the tasks (or steps) that are necessary to complete this project.  One sheet of paper collects all these tasks on small Post-its, much like the front page of a newspaper collects all the headlines. This is a project corral.  Because we tend to have many project going on at the same time, each gets its own project corral.

I keep a daily task collector on a clipboard.  The fixed events of the day are printed out and the tasks that I must regularly rearrange according to priority are on the small Post-It notes.  This represents the daily to-do list.

It’s no coincidence that these Post-its are used both on the project corrals and the daily to-do list.  Every Sunday I set the timer for 15 minutes and quickly go through the tasks I have collected in my project corrals and see which are the priorities and where I can fit them into the coming week’s schedule.

In this way, I can safely collect all my ideas (or corral all my wild horses) in a system I trust, but still give myself a manageable collection of tasks to do on a daily basis.  Some of those ideas may sit in the project corrals and never get acted on, but ultimately that is OK, because they have been given a fair chance and have not met the vital criteria of being my top priorities.

In essence, this system allows my ongoing projects and long-term goals to be REMEMBERED and REALISTIC.  I would love to hear what systems are working for you.

Let me start by saying I do use paper clips myself.  I believe they have their place.  It’s just that I find they are grossly over-used.  Here’s why.

Paper clips are guilty of doing three things: bulking, concealing, and snagging.

1. Bulking.  Files get fat sometimes.  It happens, but when there are too many paper clips shoved in, these fat files become bulky and misshapen, causing them to be overstuffed OR to slide, even with hanging files.  When the contents of one’s file cabinet are a mess, one is less inclined to use it and that’s a bad thing.
2. Concealing.  Filing needs to be all about FINDING.  Many is the time I have found a tab concealed because a piece of paper has caught on a paperclip in the folder.
3. Snagging.  If the clip is not pushing the paper up to block the tab, then it may be snagging a loose piece of paper behind an unrelated pile.  When you go to look for this piece of paper, you can’t find it even though you KNOW you put it in this file.  It is critical that your file cabinet is a system you can trust.

Alternatives

1. Staples.  I get it.  You probably want to keep your active notes to review, edit, and process in a paper clip.  Me too.  It allows for flexibility.  The more active a file is, the more flexible it needs to be.  When a collection of papers gets filed, however, it’s a good idea to staple wherever possible.
2. Project Envelopes.  I like to collect ongoing projects in large clear plastic envelopes.  You can maintain that flexibility you need for processing and save desk space by storing them vertically in an incline sorter.
3. Weeding.  If you’ve got one of those giant winged paperclips, you’re more inclined to think “I might as well keep these loose papers ALL together with this.” If, however, you give yourself the limit of a file folder, you will be more inclined to ask questions like “Do I really need to keep the advertising that goes with this invoice?” or “Am I EVER going to read this fat prospectus?” Weed them out.  Limitations breed freedom.
4. File Jackets. If you’ve got a stack of handouts, those big clips can damage the paper.  I recommend file jackets instead.  The flat ones can hold about 35 sheets and the one and a half inch ones can hold about 150 sheets.

I have a feeling I am dipping my toe some controversial waters here, so I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the topic.

The easiest way to answer that question is with another question:  How do you eat an elephant? It’s an age old question with an age old answer: One bite at a time.  Simply put, the project is the elephant and the tasks are the bites.

If there are tasks you never seem to cross off your to-do list, it may because they are actually projects in disguise.  A project needs to broken down into steps and there needs to be a plan for those steps, starting with a FIRST step.

Take for example, the task of cleaning out the garage.  Face it.  That’s a project.  If you treat it like a task, it not only becomes something you avoid (because in the back of your mind you know it’s an ‘elephant’), but there’s a good chance the job will be done inadequately, when you finally get to it.  It’s possible that some efforts may even make the mess in the garage worse, because you aren’t giving it the full project status it requires.

When you recognize that you’ve got a project on your hands, you will take the necessary steps to get your to-do to done.  You recognize, for example, that IF you are going to open up some space, the contents of that space have got to go SOMEWHERE.  Your first step, then, may be to confirm how late your local dump is open or rent a dumpster.  You may generate a lot to donate, in which case you would want to reserve a clear area for donates and schedule a pick-up service.  Clearing a garage usually involves opening a lot of boxes.  A clear work surface and good lighting will make this much easier and save your energy.  So have those set up.

When all of these steps are in place, you will actually find this “task” a lot easier to do, because you are treating it like a project. It is a clearly defined process, not just a wish.

Some other examples of tasks that should be treated like projects might include filing papers and updating a website.   If your file drawers are packed already and you have a pile of papers that need to be filed, your filing system probably needs an overhaul.  That’s a project, not a task.  Updating a website is important, but it is made up of a lot of steps, so that’s a project too.

When you get stuck with your tasks, don’t focus on your central action, but on the FIRST step.  If the journey of a thousand miles does indeed start with the first step, then that first step is where your attention needs to be.

Projects are not always easy to recognize.  In fact, I still sometimes struggle with the distinction myself.  For example, one of the to-do’s I have had for sometime is “assemble packets.” I have been seeing this as a task, but it is a project.  It requires a series of steps and the first one is to collect all the documents I need to print, in one folder on my computer. Now THAT’S a task and I am giving it a time limit of 10 minutes.  I may even set a timer.

No kidding!  Tasks are things that you need to take care of quickly, so give yourself a limitation and, if it helps, give yourself a “task-master” in the form of a kitchen timer.  It makes you conscious of your limitation and allows you to focus.

Sometimes, the difficulty in doing a task just comes down to the fact that you really don’t want to do it.  I can’t help you with that, except to say you might be surprised how often being unwilling is just being unprepared.

The next time you find yourself delaying a follow up call, for example, just grab the phone and it will suddenly hit you, why you’ve been putting it off.  Maybe you’ll find yourself saying “well I can’t call yet, because I don’t have the information I need.”  Bingo!  There’s your first step: collect information.  Put down the phone and either collect the information you need or make a note to do so.  Either way, you have made progress on this task because you have correctly identified the first step.

One reason I often delay making a follow up call is because I worry it may eat up a lot of time.  In that case I grab my trusty kitchen timer.  When that loud beeping goes off after ten minutes, even the most animated conversation on the other end screeches to a halt with “Ooh, do you need to go?” I’m back in control!

One of the reasons I became a professional organizer is that I hate waste.  Whether it’s waste of time, waste of money, waste of resources, waste of energy, waste of food, waste of stress, or waste of a life—waste really gets under my skin.  What I’ve discovered in my war on waste is that waste is a very relative thing.

I work with people who struggle with throwing things out.  This is what I commonly hear.  “That’s still perfectly good.”  “That needs to be recycled.”  “I need to get that repaired.”  “I could probably use that for something.” There may no personal value in these items for the individual, but because there is a theoretical value, there is a concern about waste.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about reduce, reuse, recycle, but there comes a time when you have to step back and look at the larger waste issues.  If you have a limit to how much stuff you can fit in your home, then you also probably have a limit to how much time, energy, and money you can devote to controlling it.  It’s all too easy to waste the precious resources of time, energy, and money on less vital waste issues, like recycle and repair.

Getting back to coupons.  I once had a client tell me he felt like he was throwing two dollars in the garbage.  He was actually contemplating a coupon for free ice cream cone in a town in Massachusetts that he had only passed through once and had no plan of returning to.  He was actually trying to adjust his plans so that he MIGHT go to that town again.  Finally, when he listed a dozen “ifs” he realized it was ridiculous.  It wasn’t two dollars.  It was a piece of paper he could never use.

So I realize that I am kind of doing the same thing with the Starbucks coupon.  I’m beating myself up because I have kept my coupon in a prominent place for four weeks, thinking I had until mid December to cash it in. Seemed like all the time in the world at Thanksgiving!  I have been in the habit of coming to Starbucks to focus on these blogs, so I really expected that I would use this coupon soon.  Other priorities have risen to the top of my to do list lately.  I realize now it would have been foolish to shift those priorities just so I can get a free Venti Caramel Macchiato.   I had been lamenting a wasted opportunity that I never had.  So on balance, it’s not a waste at all.

Furthermore I am resolved to not waste time stressing and replace it with a timely blog!

A dedicated zone is an area, as small as a drawer or as large as a room, that one reserves exclusively for one category.  The dedicated zone should be determined at the END of a purging process.  Unless you are clear on the quantity of a category you want to keep, in relation to the other categories you want to keep, it doesn’t make sense to choose the size of a dedicated zone.  Your choice will probably too big or too small.

Let’s take crafts for example.  Unless you look at all your craft materials all at once and make some choices about what should stay and what should go, it’s hard to know how much space to dedicate to them.

Perhaps you’ve started a home-based business and you need more space for an office and have less time for doing crafts.  After evaluating the balance, you may determine that you can dedicate only one shelf to keep your crafts.

If, on the other hand, your last child has left the nest and you’ve been looking forward to spending your newly-liberated time on your crafts, then it may make sense to dedicate an entire room to them.

Whether your dedicated zone is large or small, it is important to confine your category to it (until your lifestyle changes significantly.)   Always make a generous allowance for room to grow, but when you hit that limit, tell yourself, “OK that’s it.  Something’s got to go.”  The reason that this limitation is so important is that the overflow will start to encroach on OTHER dedicated zones.

In the home business scenario, if you find yourself taking on more crafts than you can fit on your craft shelf, they may start to take up valuable space in your new home office.

In the craft room scenario, if you store boxes of junk that doesn’t fit in your garage in your new craft room, then you start to lose something that is important to you.

The reason I chose the truck image for this blog is because it is one of the world’s largest land transports and someone has STILL found a way to push its limits.  Give yourself reasonable limits, then stay within them.  Limitations breed freedom.  That’s what dedicated zones are all about.

For starters, I think it rarely makes sense for a small room to contain more than two purposes, but two purposes is quite doable with the right adjustments.  Perhaps most common is the home office/guest room.  Here is how I make mine work.

Start with percentages. When planning my space I considered just how much I use my home office versus how often we have overnight guests.  Since I need my office seven days a week and we only need a guest room on average of once every two months, I only dedicated 5% of the floor to purely guest room needs, namely the Ikea closet in the corner.

Dual purposes.  The couch unfolds into a bed for guests, but mostly I use the folded couch for business meetings.

Clear surfaces.  Perhaps the best thing to serve as dual purposes is a cleared surface.  There is also a second cleared table to the left of the bamboo table.  I mostly use this space for processing work, but guests can use it for opening a suitcase.  Also, the little sections on top of the office supply drawers are perfect for keys and other pocket contents.

No Excess.  You can see from my shelves in the closet that I am well stocked with office supplies and reference, but I don’t have unidentified boxes and sporting equipment that don’t belong there.  You can see this because I removed the sliding doors.  I found them to be excessive too.  On the guest room side, you can see there is no mountain of decorative pillows.  They aren’t missed

Plan for overlap.  Of course there will be occasions when the guest will be occupying my work room and I still need to get work done.  For these occasions I have made arrangements.  I simply grab my laptop and the clear box you see under the bamboo table and head to the dining table or, weather permitting, the balcony.  In this box I always keep essential office supplies and I add to it the files I am actively working on.  Obviously, this arrangement is not as ideal as working in my office but it’s not bad.

What do you do to make your multi-purpose rooms work? I’d like to hear your ideas and I’d LOVE to see some photos.

In the town of Amity there was a lot of politics and complications involved in fully assessing the scale of the local “shark problem.”  When you declutter, you don’t have those complications.  There should be no rush to choose a vessel for each category before you are clear on how big that category is going to be.

One of the questions I am most frequently asked when I start working with a new client is, “what containers can I buy?”  My answer is always to wait and see the quantity we are keeping before choosing the appropriate container.   The rule is QUANTITY DICTATES SYSTEMS.

It’s most helpful to be governed by your organizing needs, not by your organizing containers.  I’m amazed at how often a client will empty an old container and ask “Now what am I going do with this?” It’s quite possible you won’t have a need for an emptied container.  Many decorative little bins and baskets just tend to be clutter traps.  Do yourself a favor and scuttle these vessels.

In the sorting process, we use just cardboard boxes to contain the keepers in categories, then we are able to get clear on their appropriate amounts to keep and the appropriate containers to hold them.  We may find, for example, that we need a much smaller bin than we had originally thought.  We may find that we want certain items out on a shelf, we may find that some items should be in drawers, OR we may determine WE’RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER BIN!

Typically, when one resolves to organize a cluttered basement or home office, there is a tendency to throw out not enough of what needs to go, too much of what shouldn’t go, and put the keepers into systems that won’t last.  All of this can be solved by good sorting practices.

The right tools.
Don’t rush out and buy plastic bins that may be too small or too big for your needs.  A ten-pack of banker boxes, however, can be used and reused many times during the sorting and because they are lidded, they can be stacked to open up work space during the sort.  Some gallon and quart size Ziploc bags are great for smaller categories and subcategories.  Finally, make temporary labels with Post-It’s and markers to keep it all straight.

General to specific.
Start by sorting with very general categories—office supplies, décor, keepsakes, clothes, loose paper—and sort very quickly.  You will address each category one at a time later, so don’t over-think it at this stage, just sort fast and generally. When you’ve got a lot of stuff to process, momentum is important to get you through it all.  So don’t dawdle on details!

Room to work.
As you sort, focus on carving out enough room to work.  Start by clearing off one wall to collect all the items you have sorted.  Then move toward the opposite wall to collect all the items you review and keep.  Clear room near the door to collect the trash, sell, and donates that are headed out.  Also, keep an “elsewhere” box by the door too collect items that need to go to other parts of your house.  If you don’t establish these clear zones, you’ll be surprised how quickly you can get confused about what’s already been decided and what hasn’t been decided.

Context drives decisions.
The reason it is always makes sense to start large organizing projects with the right sort is because it makes purging much easier.  With your stuff sorted, you are able to see it in context, which makes decisions significantly easier.  When you focus on just office supplies, for example, you are not distracted by other categories and you can see just how many empty binders you have, and will be easier to assign some to the donate bin.

Big categories last.
As you are sorting, the largest category will become obvious.  The biggest category, typically paper or clothes, will seem most urgent but resist and save it for last.  Clearing off the smaller categories first will give you the focus AND space you need for the biggest category.  Big categories require room for several subcategories.  If it’s clothes, for example, these might include donate, give to, keep-summer, keep-winter, laundry, dry clean, and tailor.

Quantity dictates systems.
Only after you have sorted and purged all the items in your room, will you be clear on the quantity you are keeping and NOW is the time to determine what plastic bins and other organizing systems you need to STAY organized.

During the sorting process, you will undoubtedly come across items that you will find very easy to assign or purge, but unless it is something you can do faster than dropping them in the sorting boxes, hold off.  If it easy to assign or purge now, it will be even easier to do so when you are reviewing sorted categories.