It's About Time I Got Organized, What About You?

Don’t let the picture fool you, it has been a productive and interesting week here. Every day was spent working on a client project, while also attending networking events, a professional development webinar, and a Toastmasters Officer meeting/training session. The highlights for me were meeting with a CPA who trained me on QuickBooks Pro 2010 , meeting with the President, Sales Director and Marketing Director of an exciting start-up company needing online marketing services, and hearing an Efficiency Expert present at a local networking event and talk about the how-to of creating a sustainable process for organizing the office that results in increased revenue and an environment of increased energy. Whew! I believe I got the message that now is a good time to get organized. Now look at the picture and that’s how it sometimes feels to be in my workspace!

First, the CPA is a woman I met at a NAWBO monthly meeting on January 19th. Lisa Jessie, CPA in Louisville, KY, sat to my right during lunch and provided some enjoyable conversation. We traded business cards and listened to a terrific presenter, and enjoyed a good lunch.  Lisa gave me a call later that week and I agreed to meet her at a local coffee shop in Louisville the following week. What a great educational opportunity this was for me. I’d been putting off organizing my QuickBooks Pro 2010 because I didn’t want to take the time to teach myself how to use it – okay, I was a bit intimidated. Okay, I was a lot intimidated. Lisa made the process very easy for me to follow and now I feel much more confident in my ability to set up and maintain good records for the businesses. Thank goodness I kept good records!

Second, the President of a start-up company was at the same NAWBO meeting and sitting to my left. We had networked a bit before lunch and spent most of our time huddling together and talking about her product and the mechanics of it, and what she has done so far to get it launched. Very exciting stuff, and honestly, I wasn’t thinking about selling her my services. I was truly excited about what she was talking about and anxious to learn more. After the NAWBO meeting we emailed each other a few times and she asked that I meet with her, the Sales Director and the Marketing Director of her company to talk about online marketing. A week later I met with them, proposed an online marketing plan that I believe will work for them, and just got word that she wants to move forward with my proposal. More information about her, her product and the company will appear soon.

Third, I attended my weekly GLBA (Greater Louisville Business Alliance) meeting. Gwen Griggs-Croucher is a fellow Toastmaster and efficiency expert. I’ve gotten to know her through my Toastmasters Club and after looking at her LinkedIn profile I realized that she could be a great presenter for our GLBA group. And she was. We all received a Tips and Tricks sheet that gave terrific ideas on how to start organizing our offices and homes, and we learned about a system she uses called 5S – Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain. A system for developing a process that will continue beyond the initial ‘clearing of the desk’. Gwen can be contacted via email at ggc3317@insightbb.com and is available to consult with businesses and individuals about their efficiency and organization needs.

So, three great things happened in one week – all three of which pointed me in the direction of being more organized. The next question I had was this – what if there is no room on the calendar to make time to get organized?!? Just kidding! Really.

What about you? Are you organized? How was your work week? Were you as productive as you wanted to be? Or maybe you got lost in the busyness and didn’t get much done? I’d love to hear what you think.