#11 CREATING A CENTRAL HEADQUARTERS: YOUR WORK AREA WHILE GETTING ORGANIZED.

Jun 28, 2023

In this article we'll select the supplies you'll need to get — and stay — organized. Believe it or not, the right supplies can help make the difference between temporarily organized, and organizing that sticks!

(Gentle reminder: These articles are about organizing stuff. They address paper, office supplies, household items, tools, and other stuff. They are not primarily about tech.)

Premise One:

All containers are too small. In fact, it's a pretty good bet your work surface is too small. Ditto for storage space. So get ready to consider size as well as supplies.

You need room to work, and it's impossible to get organized when nothing fits.

Premise Two:

Purging is highly overrated, especially at this stage. If throwing things away feels natural and appropriate, go for it. The danger lies in following the lead of people who've never met you, don't know anything about you, and have never assessed your work area.

Emotional purging is even worse, so slow down, follow these steps, and you'll see how things will start to fall in to place.

NOW GET READY TO GO SHOPPING. HERE'S YOUR LIST:

A. CONTAINERS:

You’ve been trained your whole life to accommodate your special self to fit into limited spaces, awkward work areas, poor layouts, etc. Part of the reason that you've been feeling disorganized is that almost all of your containers are too small — and that includes your work surface.

Here's what you can do instead:

1. Start by going to your local dollar store(s,) or order online if you don't mind waiting for delivery. The old stuff won’t work: it's too small and will flip you back into your old, unworkable habits.

2. Find containers you really like: Do you prefer plastic bins, decorative boxes, folders or binders? Or maybe you have another idea! Example: Maybe those color swatches you've gathered for the remodel need an old cookie tin. Maybe any business cards you've collected would be better stored in a clear glass box. Have fun with this! Then if you lose something, thinking about whether changing the container, the color or style, or even the location of the container, might help!

3. Get containers in various sizes, and order bigger sizes than you think you'll need. Don't buy containers that are being discontinued, because if you go back to buy more, they may be impossible to find..

4. How many containers should you get? You might need as few as a dozen, but most people use 20, 30, or even more (for each Cross-Dominant in your office.) Get more than you need.

5. Keep the receipts; you can always return them, or use them for something else (Spare sweaters? Snacks? Your enormous collection of felt pens?) Think about stuff you have a lot of that needs organizing or storage: Color samples? Architectural plans? Reading material? Magazines? Files?

6. How to get the right size containers: Take one empty file folder (or one color key, or one magazine, etc.) and try out various containers by putting your stuff in it. If the container is so big your item gets lost, or so small that just one or two items will make it overflow, or if the stuff flops over flat, choose a better size.

7. When you find a style you like, try standing your stuff up in it: File vertically, not flat. it falls down, choose a smaller container. If you have to squish it to fit, choose a larger one. Reason: we’re going to store some of your stuff like books on a shelf, because that way it’s easier to see how much you have, to browse through it, and therefore less likely to get you stuck again. Part of being organized is easy access; if you have to keep re-setting your stuff in the new container, you're not organized; you're accommodating the container instead of it working for you, and you're wasting time.

8. Certain containers don't work under any circumstances. Don't buy anything anything that will restrict your new system, such as…

·      in-and-out baskets (they're too restrictive; too small)
·      bags, whether plastic, paper, or cloth (they flop over, you can't see into them, and it's too hard to move stuff in and out of them)
·      cubbies of any kind (they limit hand movement and can stifle growth, or even engender guilt.)
·      Bottom line: If you don’t love — or at least, really like — a certain container, don’t buy it.

B. OFFICE SUPPLIES:

Remember:

· If you're primarily Visual, look for color coding, large labels, pretty stickies and various kinds of bling for your tools and reminders. Good-looking containers, colorful desk sets, and coordinated wall decor are pretty much for you!

· If you're primarily Spatial, reach for bins, binders, boxes, file folders and other containers. Leave off the lids if it feels right (think containment.)

· If you're primarily Chronological, buy calendars, numbered systems, and sort by when: when something needs to happen, or when you will use things; e.g. Month-end, Tax Time, Holiday, etc.)

More stuff to buy:

1.       Stickies, of the Super Sticky nature: Nothing else works as well for temporary labeling (and if you’re a Visual, they are great for alerting yourself — more on this next time.)
2.       Sharpies in whatever colors you like (I'm looking at you, Visuals!) Sharpies in various colors are also good for assigning different people to different tasks, for each to indicate their input on a chart on the wall, or even to sign birthday cards.
3.       Felt pens: Use thicker felt pens if you are "hard of seeing," or for labeling bankers boxes (coming up.)
4.       Large garbage can with liner (not wastebasket size; it'll be too small)
5.       Large rolls of clear tape (like packing tape, but without the threads)
6.       Colored file folders and colored paper (again, if color coding is your thing.)
7.       Notepads or notepaper, or even index cards if you're a Spatial. Or choose your preferred reminder system (smartphone app, audio message, setting an alarm, etc.)
8.       Calendar, whichever form you like best. Remember, this is for you.

I had one client, a Spatial, who wanted suggestions about which paper calendar to buy. I told her to take along her favorite purse and buy a calendar that would fit in it. Instead she bought a wall-sized calendar, so of course she kept leaving it at home, which caused her to miss many appointments. Size matters.

9. Bankers boxes, because they:

· have handles, so they are easy to rearrange as needed

· have blank sides that are good for writing on

· are perfectly sized for most paperwork

· stack well without crumbling

· fit all kinds of stuff, from computer cables to framed pictures, to files

· don’t have flaps that you have to keep opening and closing

· have lids that also make good sorting trays

Banker’s boxes also . . .

· are easy to get stuff into and out of

· aren’t too heavy to lift, even when they’re full of books

· don’t fall apart

· are reusable

· look organized when stacked

Get at least a dozen, maybe three dozen or more, depending on the size of the room you're organizing and how many people use it. If you don't use them for this project, you can always use them for something else later.

Leave them out in the hall, leave them flat, and assemble them as needed (if you don’t know how, have somebody in the store show you, or look it up online. Don't preassemble a bunch, because they'll just get in the way.

C. BREAK TIME!

Now go get a sandwich, walk around the block, or take a nap. Don’t try to do this all at once. Just because you have supplies doesn't mean you have to jump right in: think in modes. If you're out and about and still in shopping mode, hit the grocery store or run an errand on the way back. If you're in hungry mode, stop and eat. Throughout your work day, ask yourself, "what mode am I in?" and try to stay there until you're ready to change. Making phone calls? Try grouping them. Filing paper? Stack up the old stuff and put it in the recycle area while you're at it. But once you're ready to change modes, respect that too.

D. WHEN YOU'RE READY FOR MORE…

Let's set up your Central Headquarters! Don't skip this step, because once you have it, you…

· won't have to stop and re-start projects as often

· won't have to hunt for things while you're trying to get organized

· won't get frustrated (understandable!)

1. You need a work table, so commandeer a rectangular folding table, or pile up some boxes and throw a cloth over them. Or put a board over the tops of two short file cabinets, clear off a bed to use as a table, or rig up a temporary table top such as an ironing board. Can't fit this table in the room? Put it outside in the hallway.

2. Don't move any furniture yet, because you probably don't have the room, and your probably haven't measured yet (including measuring direction of flow, arm's reach from the door, and more. We'll get to that in a later column.)

3. Don't start putting things away yet: We'll get to that too. First you need to assess bulk and space. Let things pile up temporarily by use: Monday reports, ink cartridges, reading material, Quarter End stuff, input to mailing list, website ideas, etc. It won't be until you have the various piles in front of you that you can see what size container you need for each one.

4. Once you have these piles, select an appropriate container. Put stuff in according to bulk (I call this, "matching bulk and space.") Label the container (if you use clear containers, put a stickie label on the inside so it can't fall off or get lost.) Let the labels match the "use" categories you developed in the paragraph above.

SUMMARY:

· Most containers are too small.

· Your work space is probably too small and restrictive

· You need a staging area ("Central Headquarters") to work on

· Paper and stuff that took decades to become disorganized will not become organized in a weekend, so pace yourself.

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