Beached By Your Organizing Efforts? Use Effective Systems To Manage Your Workflow
Last spring I watched as crews of college students patrolled the beaches on Bolivar Peninsula in Galveston, doing the spring clean-up to rid the shore of accumulated debris.
Two months later I returned to the beach and found very little evidence of their earlier efforts. Cans, bottles, and paper were scattered across the sands. More clean-up days needed to be scheduled.
It struck me that this is the way many people approach their offices in their attempts to gain control of the overwhelming demands on their time. They decide to get organized and designate a time to get it all in order. Old papers are dumped, materials added to existing files, and often some new baskets and containers are purchased to handle all of the materials. Everything looks great. Then, in a couple of weeks, when they enter their offices it is as if that day had never occurred.
What happened in both of these scenarios?
1) There is no new procedure established that would eliminate future clutter.
2) Cleaning up and getting organized are not the same.
Getting organized...