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a personal note from Cairene
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get in gear > start with a container"Start with a container" is one of my favorite organizing principles. Everything goes more smoothly when things have a place to belong before they are generated or acquired. Everything wants a home. In taking care of your business, it's your job to be a gracious host to what you invite into your business and give it a comfortable place to be. [Anthropomorphic? Yes. But it works. Hear me out.] In the same way you would put clean sheets on the guest bed before the out-of-towners arrive for a visit, you probably want to set up some binders or files, maybe some folders on your computer, for that new client before you begin working with her. Of course, there are times when you can't avoid scrambling to make your guests' home away from home after they arrive - but you can only get away with that on rare occasions with the people closest to you. And don't you feel like a little more love comes through when you've prepared? "See? I care about you so much I thought about what you would want and need while you're here, what would make your stay most pleasant, and took the time to get ready for your visit." That's love, baby. So, whether guests or clients - or that new project, or those training materials you just spent a bundle on - it's all about hospitality. Either way, you know something/someone important is coming - so show some love and get ready its arrival. form follows functionThere are all sorts of containers. There are entire stores devoted to containers! Folders, sleeves, pockets, hanging files and cabinets, notebooks, binders, bins, cubbies, baskets, bags, boxes, shelves and cabinets - plus the digital versions of the above. What you choose is largely a matter of style and knowing what works for you (which may require some experimentation). For example, I'm a huge fan of clear containers of all sorts - from binders to bins - so I can see what I have without having to label everything or rely on memory. As a visual person, it's a strategy that works well and solves the whole out-of-sight-out-of-mind problem. It's also a matter of understanding what your stuff needs in order to serve you well. When my husband and I first merged households we were living in a very small one-bedroom apartment. Such limited living quarters required a certain level of order for the space to be at all functional - and magnified our different organizational styles. I'm a "place for everything and everything in its place" kind of gal. My beloved is not. He argues that objects can belong in more than one spot. And I must concede that many times he is right. Shoes, for example, can be in the big red chest by the front door, or in the cubbies by the back door, or in the clothes closet. This works just fine with shoes. But it's not such a great system for, say, bank statements. We've learned from painful experience that financial records are best kept together in one place. If mish-mash inspires you, toss your stuff in a box knowing that in the process of searching for one thing you'll come across other useful things (JK Rowling uses this system for her writing notes and based on her success, I think it's safe to say it can be very effective). If your stuff needs to be chronological or alphabetized to function well, set up files that way instead (see reference to bank statements above). If you need your stuff right next to where you work, choose a container that works in that space (I keep my pens, paper clips, post-its, scissors, tape, etc. in a small clear bin of drawers on the corner of my desk). All I'm saying is consider what kind of container will easily allow your stuff to do what it's supposed to do for you. You know, "form follows function" and all that. Think of it as a design problem - but one that will probably require more than one solution depending on the stuff in question. the antidote to pilingAgain, you know these people, ideas and objects will be coming into your life and business. You invited them, after all! So, be a good host and get ready before they arrive. Get your containers ready before you start something new - before you begin working with that new client, before you start that next project, before you attend that workshop. Give some thought to where you are going to put all the information and other materials that will be generated from those activities. If the preparation is basically the same every time, create a consistent system (a template of sorts) and write it down in your business manual so you don't keep reinventing the wheel. For example, when I was working as a virtual assistant, I created a check list of all the things I needed to set up or do when taking on a new client - from mailing my welcome packet to labeling binders to adding her to my address book to creating folders on my computer. If you don't like piles, starting with a container is the antidote. Piles are much less likely to form if you have easy and accessible containers ready at hand. the added benefit of capacityA side perk of containers is their limits, which remind you when you have Too Much: too much paper, too many books or magazines, too many computer files, too many things to do. Like last week when I couldn't save a new document because my hard drive was full. Yeah, I could have gotten a larger hard drive (aka: a bigger container) and just kept going. But it was much better - on many levels - for me to archive old materials. If it won't fit in its container anymore, it's probably time to purge. the forgotten containerActive working materials (not tools or reference materials) actually need to belong in two places - whatever physical space you've assigned them and a space in your calendar. If it needs action, it needs a designated place in your schedule you can put it into. It doesn't matter how neatly organized those materials are; your brilliant use of physical containers will be pointless without corresponding time containers. Think of it this way: you wouldn't invite those out-of-town friends, make the guest bed and all, and then not spend time with them, would you? Presumably this is something you've been looking forward to and have cleared space in your calendar to enjoy before their arrival. get in gear > evaluate your containersLook around you - what is piled? neglected? difficult to use? Ask yourself if it could use a better container. Ask yourself if it needs a more comfortable home. Ask yourself how you might be a better host to what you have invited into your business.
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subscription infoI encourage you to share this newsletter with people you think may enjoy it. When doing so, please forward it in its entirety, including my contact and copyright information. Thanks! If you received this issue of Get In Gear from a reader and would like your own subscription, please click here. To update your email address or unsubscribe, please click the link at the bottom of the newsletter. An archive of past issues of the Get In Gear newsletter can be browsed here. Unless otherwise attributed, all material is written and edited by Cairene MacDonald. Cairene MacDonald from overwhelmed to ready for anything Third Hand Works | administrative guidance for independent creative professionals |
