Organized Lifestyle Magazine - header
Issue: 76  
March 2012 
Greetings!

Welcome to the March 2012 edition of the Organized Lifestyle Magazine.

In this edition, I'm going against the grain and I'm confident I'll get flack for saying Don't Purge. But I urge you to read my theory below. Also inside are tips to tweak your space layout for increased productivity, a strategy to start changing your life in 180 minutes, a plan for filing your taxes (sooner rather than later) and tips for your spirit - your overall sense of well being.

Thinking of tidying up your home or office and refreshing your decor? kAos Group would be happy to help - give us a call today to explore your options.


Deanne Kelleher

kAos Group  

Organize.Optimize.Profit 

 

416.347.9002

[email protected] 

 

 
Home 
Don't purge....yet.  

How can you purge when you don't know what you have? This is a common question we hear from our clients and our answer is always the same. Don't purge....yet.   

A successful purge comes when you have grouped like items together and can confidently determine what you need to keep and what can go.
 

Use the following steps as a guide to your purging success:
 
  1. Define a Target Area: Choose ONE area that will be your first project. You could choose a clothing closet, a linen closet, the kitchen, kids rooms, toys, the tool shed, the garage or the office. Choose a Target Area that will impact your life in the most positive way.
  2. Assess: Assess each room in your home to identify where all of the target items are. Maybe you have clothes in a basement closet or office papers in your kitchen.
  3. Group Like Items: Bring all target area items into one or two clearly defined areas.  
  4. Inventory: Take stock of what you have and what you want to keep.
  5. Prep for departure: Sort your inventory into 'keep' or 'go' piles. Bag or box the 'go' items and get them out of your house.  

If you've been thinking you're a procrastinator about purging, you may have just realized that you aren't really procrastinating. It's just a big job that you haven't mapped out yet!  

 

 

 

For the book lovers out there, check out these awesome floating bookshelves

- found on the IKEA Hacker website.
 
See how a Toronto bookstore took organizing their books to a whole new level -take a look.  
 
Office  
Space layout and productivity collide

Do you feel really unproductive some days? Do you avoid doing certain tasks because you don't want to get up from your chair? Don't be so quick to label this as laziness. This can be the mind's way of trying to stay on task. Because it may be that when you get up out of your chair to go over to the printer you have just changed the entire energy and work flow in your brain. Think about it, just as kitchens have a specific layout to cater to cooking so should your office cater to what you do for a living.

Since kAos Group is about practical solutions, we've included tips to increase productivity and work flow for a few common office productivity thieves.   

The Layout  
Desk: A desk must be functional for your needs with enough space to address your working style.
  1. Desk top: think pens, pencils, markers and scissors  
  2. Essential supplies: sticky notes, stapler and tape  
  3. Other supplies: paper clips, clamps, business cards, elastics, staples and jump drives   
  4. Bigger Supplies: printer ink, paper, letterhead, envelopes, file folders, presentation folders, etc.

It's no surprise to us that many people have difficulty with culling these 'things' together to organize them in an easy-to-access manner.

 

Printer: Easy accessibility is imperative to retrieve what you've printed and for reloading paper, scanning docs, sending faxes (many still do this), changing ink cartridge or dealing with photo cards, etc.  

  1. Accessible: Be sure you can you reload paper easily and you have good lighting to see the printer screen  
  2. Directions: Keep the manual nearby as reference for directions  
  3. Supplies: Define where you will keep the 81/2 x 11 plus legal-sized paper and envelopes  

Lighting: This critical feature is often missed. Overhead lighting, task lighting in specific work areas (personally, I love my two work lights for when I read and review paper work), natural light and mood lighting.   

  1. Computer Lighting: The lighting on your computer is the first place to start. Is this bright enough for you and the amount of time you're reading/working at your computer
  2. Light up the Dark: Ensure the lighting you have is bright enough once it's dark outside. We have reduced daylight hours during the winter months here in Canada
  3. Reduce the Glare: If you suffer from that beautiful beam of light consider having UV protection put on your windows - same great view with less glare and less UV damage. Check out Evolution Window Films 
  4. Reading Light: No matter how tech savvy you are, give yourself the luxury of being able to read the receipts that you are filing, not to mention all the other papers you look at every day, 

Chair: We could write an entire article about chairs alone. A few things to think about are:  

  • Does it support you ergonomically?  
  • Can you sit in your chair in a natural position with your shoulders relaxed and your back firmly against the back of the chair? Your arms should fit at a 90 degree angle  
  • Do you have a foot rest? Your knees should also rest at a 90 degree angle when on the foot rest.

Paper Flow: This is the silent killer of a happy mind.    

  • Where do the receipts from your bank and credit card go? What about the cash receipts?  
  • Are they entered by a bookkeeper (or you) before they are filed? If so, where do they live until that process occurs?  
  • Where do the unpaid bills go?  
  • What about the documents that need to be worked on (let's call them projects) or the receivables until they are processed.  

This is often addressed by using the kAos Group Core Four System (TM) but you still need to create a system that supports you.  

 

Everything above and more can impact your productivity - just as your health and your emotional state of mind can do to. If you'd like to explore how to improve your situation, book an Insight Session with a kAos Group expert by email at [email protected] or call: 416.347.9002.  
 
Time  
Take Control in 180 minutes
 
Do you feel that there is never enough time to get to the "less important" things but you're consistently bothered that they are still lingering?
 
 
Did you have great intentions to organize something in January then February but you still haven't gotten around to it?

You have two options:
  1. Continue doing what you have always done and you will continue to get the same results - even if they aren't the results you want    OR 
  2. Make a change and approach your situation differently by scheduling 180 minutes with a kAos Group expert and truly feel the difference 3 hours of tackling a specific task can make to a project and in your life.
If you choose 180 minutes to start making changes call us at 416.347.9002 or send us an email to [email protected]. 
 
Spirit  
Organizing for Tax Time

Preparing tax documents isn't easy for everyone. First you have to pull last year's documents out of your filing cabinet, then prep your tax information, and then figure out where to put all those papers until your accountant has completed your taxes.  

 

This can be a tough activity for those who are behind in their taxes (which is more common than many would think) because there are emotional attachments to why disorganization happens in the first place. No wonder all those receipts end up ....well, everywhere.    

 

For over 10 years we have helped people like you, personally and with their  businesses, prepare what they need to get their taxes done AND set up systems to support them (which means reducing the accounting bill) for years to come.

 

Take control of your money and your taxes by booking your Personal or Business consultation today.  

Call us at 416.347.9002 or email us at [email protected].  

 
Are you looking for: 
  • an engaging speaker/educator on productivity and professional organizing  
  • seasoned experts in work flow management   
  • increase effectiveness with your office systems
  • clarity on email and time management  
  • a process to easily manage your calendar, your tasks and your contacts 
  • support with your tax preparation 
  • professional organizers for your personal life or  
  • information about how we may assist you......Then give us a call  
Sincerely,
 
Signature
Deanne Kelleher
kAos Group
Organize. Optimize. And Profit

416.347.9002

Cool Connections 

Tax Deductions Canadians Often Miss 
Kelleher 2012 - Head Shot

Deanne Kelleher,

Founder of kAos Group

What is kAos Group?  

 kAos Group is a Professional Organizing company. We work closely with clients to help identify inefficiencies - the clutter and disorganization that prevent professional and personal growth - and help clients streamline their business and personal lives to reduce stress, increase profits and save money.   

 

Contact Us 

416.347.9002

[email protected] 

www.kaosgroup.com 

 
 
kAos Group - videoBIO 
About kAos Group 

Would you like to get organized but aren't sure how it all happens? 

    

Deanne and the kAos team work closely with clients to help identify inefficiencies �- the clutter and disorganization that prevent professional and personal growth - and help clients uncover new sources of time and streamline their business and personal lives to reduce stress and increase productivity.  

  

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