Costco’s Connection magazine this month contains the article, “Is Being Neat and Organized Overratted?”  (Once linked, click  “Pages” on the top bar and then scroll down to the 4th or 5th row, depending on your browser.)  It features contrasting opinions by David Freedman, author of “A Perfect Mess:  The Hidden Benefits of Disorder” and Standolyn Robertson, [...]

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Many companies periodically conduct an inventory which allows them to maintain an accurate count of materials, detail a valuation of assets, and a provide a catalog for replacement needs in the event of natural disaster. Although inventories take time up front, they are great time management tools in the long term. Just compare [...]

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Continuing my response to the reader who requested advice for those who were on the “front lines” and didn’t have a project-driven day (see the original crisis management post), I’m going to address customer-driven jobs.
If you were hired to answer telephones, such as in a call center, then obviously you cannot decide that [...]

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Disorganization is a major cause of job dissatisfaction.
If the disorganization is your own, then you can choose to make changes. However, whether you are the disorganized one or the organized one working with a disorganized colleague, that lack of organization has an impact on you.

Who does the disorganized person interrupt when they need something? Who [...]

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“Where did I put that document?” is often a common plaint when desks are stacked with piles of paper. However the same thing may happen with our electronic files even though, being out of sight, they don’t scream for organization.
The best way of handling electronic documents would be to have obviously labeled folders, and [...]

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Junk Drawers: Spaces that contain numerous unrelated items tossed loosely inside, usually in an effort to clean up.
I’ve just spent this week helping someone move their family of five to another house close by that had more options for them. The problem was not packing things up. After all, the movers are [...]

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“How did consumption–the willingness to buy food, clothes, cars, electronics, appliances and homes–become Americans’ defense against economic collapse?”
This was a question posed by Katherine Reynolds Lewis in the Houston Chronicle’s article of 1/28/2008, “It is a U.S. duty to spend?” The reality is that the average American is surrounded by more clothes, electronics, and [...]

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Getting organized has become a $6 billion industry. The concept is not new, but the tools to make it happen keep evolving. No longer are you faced with the choice of storage containers in blue or clear plastic. You can now choose your materials, from bamboo to sea grass.
Do you want [...]

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It is part of the thrills of Christmas Day: stacks of boxes under the tress, a morning ripping open packages, and piles of new stuff. After a day of fun and sharing, you start to put things away; or you start wondering where you are going to fit in these newest additions when your current [...]

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How easy is it for you to adapt to a sudden change of plans? I had to find out this week when my daughter had an emergency appendectomy in Phoenix. They told her it was a “simple” operation, and she went in thinking there would be no problem. But simple to a [...]

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