Organizing & Productivity Tips
SAVE TIME. CONTROL CLUTTER. SIMPLIFY LIFE.
Find anything in 15 seconds or less  ◊  Laura Ray Organizing, LLC  ◊  November 2010

In this issue
Before & After photos: Catering facility overhaul nets savings
Stop procrastinating reminders
Winning behaviors: Lessons from the Dugout
Save money with coupons
 
If you think you don't have time for coupons, try clipping/saving
them for only the top 10 items on your grocery list. Or, look for those same 10 items on sale.
     For example: Juicy Juice is on my top 10 list. When I see Juicy Juice on sale, I buy eight bottles and store it. I just saved $24.
What people are saying...

"Laura helped sort my papers and establish a home filing solution.  She created an easy and functional system for storing and retrieving my personal documents.
     Laura was very pleasant and professional while in my home. Her customer service definitely exceeded my expectations."
 
Tabitha Marewangepo,
manager, Fortune 50 company
Save
10%
Do-It-
Yourself
Organizing
Assessment

Do you have the motivation and time for your organizing project, but just need direction? Laura will provide you with: a strategy to tackle the project, a plan for organizing the space, and info on the best products for the job.
Expiration: Must be booked
by November 30, 2010.
Hello!

This Fall, don't fall into the same old habits. In this issue you will learn how to stop procrastinating, so you can organize your coupons and your storage space. If you find yourself on a roll, I can help you with a Do-It-Yourself home organizing assessment that will put you on track to save time and relieve stress. Then, you can fall into an easy chair with a good book. 
                                                                 Laura
Ray
 Before & After: Catering facility overhaul nets 10 percent labor savings in Ops Dept



BEFORE Laura Ray Organizing



AFTER Laura Ray Organizing


Here's the situation: This catering company grew fast, adding equipment and decor, but ran out of proper storage. Equipment was difficult to locate, because like items were stored in multiple locations. The layout slowed the staff down.


How solved:

  1. Purged outdated and less used items.
  2. Grouped like items.
  3. Created zones for different types of equipment and put the most used within arm's reach. 
  4. Labeled containers and shelves to ensure staff members could find and retrieve items quickly, which saved the company time.  


Measured success: The owner saw a 10 percent labor savings within the company's operations department.


How to organize your storage space: Create zones for like items.  For example, group home decor items, assemble sports equipment, and put tools together.

 

Fast fact: Storage areas are filled with "postponed decisions" and "things I might need one day." Cleaning out is really making decisions.

 Stop procrastinating reminders

According to the Wall Street Journal, 20 percent of American adults consider themselves procrastinators. And even the do-it-now go-getters occasionally delay. There are many reasons people put things off. Perfectionism, unpleasantness and feeling overwhelmed are common stallers.
     To begin, give yourself a reason to stop procrastinating. Perhaps you want to impress your boss by being more productive and efficient. Or you want to be less stressed when you get control of your to-do list. Then, to get a handle on procrastination:
  • Break tasks down into realistic-sized chunks and jot them down. (Eg. First step in making a call is to look up the number and write it down on your to-do list.)
  • Completion dates are important, so assign specific tasks to specific days and times. 
  • Draft a timeline with deadlines, and attach it to the inside front cover of your project file. Each day's successes will give you the drive to keep going.
  • It will also help to find accountability partners for large projects. Share your goals and ask that they check in with you at each stage. 

Don't forget to reward yourself when you complete a tedious task or a whole project.                                                         
                                                                              

                                                                                 �2010 Articles on Demand™

Winning behaviors for change
Lessons from the Dugout
by Sandy Lawrence, REALinTouch Coaching and Facilitation


Do you feel uncomfortable or threatened when someone seems to be in "your" territory or working on "your" projects? Imagine you're playing baseball. Put your game cap on. You've persevered through fouls and fast balls and now you're on first base. The reality: what you've done up to this point may have gotten you this far, but it isn't enough to get you back to home base. You need another qualified player behind you to bat and hit the ball out of the park. 

     Whether you've hired a service provider to help you with a personal project or cutbacks at work mean more collaborative meetings, see people in "your space" as players -- fresh reinforcements for long innings ahead. You might be surprised at the blessings that come from resisting the urge to be territorial and embracing the possibilities of additional brain power.

 

"Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise." Proverbs 19:20


Laura Ray Photo
   Laura Ray 
   Laura Ray Organizing, LLC
   404-630-7212
   [email protected]
   www.laurarayorganizing.com
   Helping busy people organize their homes and offices

                                                  � 2010 Laura Ray Organizing, LLC
                               Member of the National Association of Professional Organizers