Get the Playing Field Ready

Last week I was working with a client who is very wise.

Her name is Samantha and she’s a very accomplished lighting designer in Boston. Samantha called me to talk about lots of projects that she needs help with, including marketing, updating her website, and getting her contact database organized.

But she also realized that what she really needed help with was getting her office organized and cleaned out before she did anything else.

Samantha isn’t alone in her mess. This situation happens to many of us, gradually, and usually when businesses are growing by leaps and bounds. We’re all focused on the work and then, all of a sudden, the office is a disaster.

When you’re moving that fast, it can feel like a victory just to know which pile “that important paper” is hidden in. We get so used to tolerating the old way of doing something that it’s easy to become blind to how much better our business would run if we could see it with new eyes.

Having an organized office is important for two very big reasons. The first is that we all have a finite amount of time, and we can maximize that time when we’re able to do our work easily. The second is that if you’re barely getting your work done now, how are you going to handle the next big contract or job that comes your way?

The approach I took with Samantha was simple, but it requires focus:

1. 1. 1. Plan Your Space. Look around the office to see if the way you’re using your floor plan makes sense. Workflow changes over time, so it’s good to take a new look around periodically. Do you have stacks of boxes filled with old files in the hall? Has your conference room become a place to store things?
         
         How easy is it for you to get your work done at your desk? Is there enough room? How could your office function better by moving things around.
      2. Clean the slate. Go through your office one room at a time and remove everything that doesn’t absolutely belong there (like your desk). Remove extra furniture, equipment you’re no longer using, files you don’t need, etc. Find somewhere to stack it all (a conference room or hallway works great).
         
         If there’s something you’re not sure about – move it out.This goes for knick-knacks too.Take a good look at your desk in particular.In my case, I can quickly accumulate stacks of business cards, my daughter’s art projects, photos, and other assorted stuff until I can hardly see the surface of my desk. So just take everything off to start.
      3. Sort Your Stuff. Now that you have removed all but the bare essentials, it’s time to sort. Some suggestions for categories: dead files, equipment to recycle, office supplies, things to toss, things to donate. Those are just mine-make up your own.Danger warning!  This is not the time to read, tell stories about, or get distracted by what’s in your piles. Just sort it quickly and keep going.
      4. Purge! Now is the moment we’ve all been waiting for. It’s time to get ruthless. Your job is to go through each pile and either toss or find a place for every single thing until nothing is left.
         
         It’s much easier to keep your office clutter free if everything has a place. In the case of Samantha’s office, we took the smallest space and turned it into a storage room, filling it with shelves where we stored equipment, files and supplies that are easy to grab. We’re lucky that we live in the electronic age where physical paper is hardly required, so take advantage and recycle.
      5. Get what you need. I can’t overestimate the importance of having the right tools to do your work. For starters, you need a desk with plenty of space to spread out, good lighting, adequate filing cabinets, shelves for supplies and books, comfortable chairs, a fast computer, a printer that works and a cell phone that makes life easier.
         
         Your office is a factory for getting your work done. You’re not saving money when you skimp on having the right tools in place.  As I’m sure you can imagine, it was difficult for Samantha to take the time off from what most people consider “work” to get her office organized.

It was also difficult to stay focused and go through so many pieces of paper, especially when many of them reminded her of other things that she needed to be doing.

But she hung in there, allowing me to help her through every box and pile and, before we knew it, her playing field was once again ready for business!