I have to admit that this is SO up for me as well. I have household and work organization projects everywhere pining for my organizational wizardry or lack thereof.

In the past, I have worked with organization consultants and they have helped a lot to a point, but I find most (I’ve worked with 4) tend toward the control-freaky, a personality that I am not drawn to, to say the least.

These days, I write a project on a piece of paper, and put it on a bulletin board on the wall. (I have 2 right now, one for household, one for work.) So, when I finish a project, it’s whoo-hoo! I get to take a piece of paper down! (Is this a bit pre-school? )

I’ve stayed most organized when I am paying someone (a fun person) to support me in keeping up to date.

For me, it has to do with having a system, using the system, allowing myself time to use the system, and either paying someone to keep me on top of things and/or spending those few minutes before I cash out for the day.

Thanks, Jenny, good topic!

I have found that a clutter prevention strategy works best for me. I empty/file my email accounts (yes, two) every other day and try to completely clean off my desk at the end of each day — every other day latest. Otherwise I find stuff gets lost or forgotten. And sometimes it’s important stuff!

I agree with Jenni, one can never have too many file folders. And the file everything in alpha order no matter what tip from the GTD book has changed my life.

I think the mistake a lot of people make is not to factor in time to organize into a project or day. It’s part of the job. Long ago I realized that if I spent 80 percent of my time planning and organizing, I could get my projects done well within the 20 percent of the time left and with a hell of a lot less effort.

Cheers!

I spent so much time organizing, it probably borders on obsessiveness. I keep everything on my desk neat and filed away, as well as on my computer. There are a too many rules I follow to write up here, so I’ll just link to one I implemented recently that I really love. I use a modified version of the kinkless desktop:

http://kinkless.com/article/kinkless_desktop

It’s made for a much cleaner working space. Highly recommended. A+++++++. Would organize again.

The kinkless desktop looks intriguing. Thanks, Sandy. I paid a quick visit. My problem with this is finding the time to watch a 50 min. demo. That’s a toughie for me.

I do have a system for de-cluttering my desktop. All of the files I work on during a given day go into a folder labeled Today’s Work. Makes it more convenient to have it all in one place. Once the folder is backed up at the end of the day, I can take files out and put them into individual client folders on my hard drive.

I also keep color coded folders on the desktop for various categories: To Read, Misc Marketing, Ideas for Articles. This clears up the clutter issues I was having.

My real world desk organization strategy is similar to the online version. Like Jenni, I use lots of folders, color-coded for different clients and projects and clearly labeled.

Any projects that I’m working on sit in two file bins on the table behind me. That allows me to turn in my chair and grab a file without opening a filing cabinet. It also keeps almost all the paper in one place.

Once a project is completed, the file goes into a filing cabinet, organized by client. At the end of every year, I go through and pull out any files I don’t think I’ll need on a regular basis. Those go into clearly marked banker boxes that are beginning to fill up the room we use for storage.

In December, I started filing away 2007 paperwork and creating new file folders for 2008. This includes client projects, AP and AR files, and all the paperwork I’ll need for April. It makes tax prep a whole lot easier than my previous system (throw receipts into folders and start madly organizing the week before the 15th).

I also purged those stacks of magazines and articles that I’ll never get to read. There’s something very soothing about seeing my conference table instead of piles of paper.