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Newsletter - Winter 2007

Greetings!

Welcome to the winter edition of the Pea Organizing Services Newsletter! This information will be helpful as you organize your home, office and life.

If you have an organizing question that is not answered in this newsletter, please feel free to contact us.

Thanks for subscribing and have a peaceful and organized New Year!

Kristin White del Rosso

Tips for Getting Your New Year’s Resolution to Stick

Have you ever been disappointed in not following through on a past New Year’s resolution? Before you get started in setting this year’s resolution, it is important to understand why New Year’s resolutions rarely stick. So, if this is the year you really want to get organized, be more productive at work or just clean out a room, then you will know how to be successful in your endeavor.

You haven’t made space in you life for the new resolution. If you really want to make a change, you have to make room for that change in your life. Often that means something else has to go. Treat your resolution as the top priority in your life and let the lesser ones go, at least until you have resolved this issue to your satisfaction.
You aren’t consistent with your actions and progress. Making a resolution stick means committing to working at it every day. You cannot be successful with irregular activity. Commit to doing something toward your goal everyday, no matter how small. That way you are always moving forward to success and not staying stagnant or falling behind, which eventually causes you to drop the goal entirely.
You don’t really want to make the change. People do not successfully change because they think they “should”; they change when it is what they “want.” To be successful, look within yourself to see what you want to accomplish and then commit yourself to that goal.
You don’t have an ally in the process. It’s much easier to maintain your drive and focus when you have someone to hold you accountable. Find a friend, relative, counselor, or coach who will be you ally as you take on this new priority in your life. Tell them how they can best support you in the process.
Your resolution is too broad. If your goal is too large, you set yourself up for defeat. Avoid this by breaking your resolution down into small steps, which you can track and more importantly, accomplish. Reward yourself and move on to the next step.
You haven’t created a true atmosphere for change. In order to be successful, you need a system in place that supports your goal and gives you the structure you need to accomplish it. Make sure your daily plan and schedule includes and supports your resolution in order to achieve it.
You haven’t said no to outside distractions. Part of being successful often means saying “no” to people and projects that are not part of your current focus. You can only do so much at one time. Keep your priority No. 1 and where possible, avoid or eliminate distractions to the priority. Remember, things that are “urgent” to someone else may not be important to you.

Understanding which traps to avoid will help you look confidently ahead at setting your resolution and knowing you can achieve it. And remember to celebrate each small success you make toward your goal. It may take a while to get from where you are to where you want to be, so make every success count!

How to Get Started Organizing Your Workspace - “Where do I even begin?”

In honor of it being Get Organized Month and January 12 being National Clean Off Your Desk Day, now is the time to get your workspace in tip-top shape. Does the thought of organizing your workspace make you want to hide under your desk? It’s easy to look at the big picture – at how much stuff there is to sort through – and to become overwhelmed. Instead focus on the most current incoming information, papers and items.

Start with Your Desk
It can be tempting to tackle other piles and boxes that you have not gone through for months or years. But if you do not deal with what is coming in today and most recently, it will become another pile or box. Therefore, you need a system in place for handling your current papers.

First gather all of the papers on your desk into one pile or into your in box. Then filter through the papers or files one at a time. Give your full attention to each item and make one of five decisions for the item (in this order):

Discard

This is the decision you want to make most often to get organized.
Ask yourself: What is the worst possible thing that could happen if I get rid of this? If you can live with the answer, let it go.
Do not try to organize things that you should not be keeping in the first place.

Delegate

Don’t work on things that others could do.
Work on things that only you, with your skills, knowledge and training can do.
If you can delegate it – do it. (And think of creative delegation options like having your older children do the filing.)

Take Immediate Action

If it is something that can be done in three to five minutes or less (sign and mail a form, reply with a quick e-mail, etc.), just do it now.
Be careful not to start working on things that take longer than a few minutes, as you will lose momentum in clearing off your desk and creating a system for current papers and items.

File for Follow-Up

These are items that require some sort of action on your part; however they cannot be done in a few minutes or you may be waiting on something from someone else to start. Therefore, file these items for follow-up.
You can use a tickler file with the dates 1-31 and months January – December and file them when you plan to do the next action or schedule them on your planner/calendar and make an action file for these current “Action Items.”
These items are filed in a system on or near your desk.
Open hanging filing boxes work well to keep up with follow-up action files

File for Reference

These are items you want to keep because you may need them in the future. But they do not require any action or follow up.
These would normally go in a file drawer in your desk or office, but not on your desk or work surfaces.
If you use the Paper Tiger system, you simply add the new item to the database and file it in the next empty file in the system. (For more information on Paper Tiger, go to www.thepea.com or call us at 704-344-0210).
If you are creating your own manual filing system, name the file, file it and add it to your file index.

Sign Up Today! 2007 Charlotte Office Productivity Makeover Contest: Deadline Jan. 8

Are you a small business, non-profit organization or home based and in need of an office makeover? Have we got the opportunity for you!

In celebration of January being National Get Organized Month, Pea Organizing Services, Inc. (www.thepea.com) is partnering with Charlotte Weekly and Union County Weekly to offer an opportunity to win one free office organizing session in the 2007 Charlotte Office Productivity Makeover contest. To be eligible, individuals may nominate themselves or friends (office must be located in or near the Charlotte area) through Pea Organizing Services’ Web site at www.thepea.com.

The contest winner will receive an office productivity makeover the week of Jan. 22-26, 2007, which will include an assessment questionnaire, a consultation and The 8-Hour Miracle service developed by Hemphill Productivity Institute that guarantees three results: (1) you will know what to do with every piece of information from that day forward, (2) you will be able to find anything you file in five seconds, and (3) you will have a game plan for integrating whatever you didn’t handle during the eight hours into the new system.

The winner must also be interested in participating in a “post-makeover” interview with Charlotte Weekly and Union County Weekly and other media outlets that might be interested in covering the contest.

A digital or regular photo of your disorganized office is required. Nomination deadline is Monday, January 8, 2007. Call 704-344-0210 for more information.

Winter Dates to Remember

January: Get Organized Month
January 8: 2007 Office Productivity Makeover Contest Deadline
January 12: National Clean Off Your Desk Day
February: National Archive Your Files Month
February 10: National Clean Out Your Computer Day
February: National Archive Your Files Month
February 21: Owner Kristin White del Rosso is presenting a 60-minute teleclass from 8- 9 p.m. EST for ADD Resources. Go to www.addresources.com to sign up or call us for more information.
March 10: National Clean Out Your Home Office Day
Week of March 19: Clutter Awareness Week

Dealing with ADD and Disorganization?

“With the right attitude, life is very simple and very easy.” – Paramabansa Yogananda

“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.” – Hans Hofmann, Introduction to the Bootstrap, 1993

“We don't need to increase our goods nearly as much as we need to scale down our wants. Not wanting something is as good as possessing it.” – Donald Horban

"Have nothing in your house you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." – William Morris

Recommended Reading

“The Best Year of Your Life” by Debbie Ford

“One Thing at a Time: 100 Simple Ways to Live Clutter-Free Every Day” by Cindy Glovinsky

“The Productivity Handbook: New ways of leveraging your time, information, and communications” by Donald Wetmore

POS News and Notes

[September 18, 2006] CHARLOTTE - Frances D’Amato, Organizing Consultant with Pea Organizing Services Inc. (www.thepea.com) was the featured speaker at the monthly meeting for Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD) of Mecklenburg County.

[November 6, 2006] CHARLOTTE – In celebration of National Get Organized Month in January 2007, Pea Organizing Services, Inc. (www.thepea.com) is partnering with Charlotte Weekly and Union County Weekly to offer an opportunity to win one free office organizing session in the 2007 Charlotte Office Productivity Makeover contest.

[November 13, 2006] CHARLOTTE - Kristin White del Rosso, president of Charlotte-based Pea Organizing Services Inc. (www.thepea.com), was featured on 1110 WBT’s “Charlotte Morning News Sunday Edition” with Don Russell where she provided organizing tips and shared information about the 2007 Charlotte Office Productivity Makeover Contest that her company is hosting in honor of Get Organized Month in January.

[November 27, 2006] CHARLOTTE – With the busy and eventful holiday season underway, Kristin White del Rosso, president of Charlotte-based Pea Organizing Services Inc. (www.thepea.com) offers time management tips to help make the holiday season more enjoyable and relaxing.

[December 11, 2006] CHARLOTTE - Kristin White del Rosso, president of Charlotte-based Pea Organizing Services Inc. (www.thepea.com), was the featured speaker at a monthly luncheon program for the Carolinas Professional Saleswomen and Entrepreneurs (CPSE) where she presented “Paper and Time Management: You Are the Boss.”

[December 18, 2006] CHARLOTTE - Kristin White del Rosso, president of Charlotte-based Pea Organizing Services Inc. (www.thepea.com) was selected to serve on the Board of Directors for the Carnivore Preservation Trust in Pittsboro, North Carolina.