Lately I’ve been taking notes on the back of my tear-off calendar sheets. It’s a way for me to recycle those little bits of paper before tossing them into the shredder. They are handy for jotting down an idea that I need to follow up on later.

As I’m working, I tend to think of something else that I need to do. If I don’t do it right then, it’s easy to forget. But by doing that task right then I lose the momentum on the current task.

Enter the notes. I jot down the idea I had or the to-do item for later. It keeps me from veering off in another direction, suddenly realizing I’m ten minutes into a completely different task. Because then I’ve lost track of what I was originally doing. So the notes actually help keep me focused. That’s a good thing!

Unfortunately, I’m starting to get a stack of little papers in front of my monitor. And with a child who is almost tall enough to reach them and who has a penchant for ripping and shredding paper, I risk losing track of those ideas.

I need to bring back my notebook. I have plenty of blank notebooks, so it’s time to return to a better system. I can capture all of my ideas, notes and lists all in one place, refer back to it when needed, and even take it with me. As long as I don’t lose the notebook (or let the child get ahold of it) I’ll have my ideas with me. And it beats searching my desk for that ‘one’ piece of paper I just know I have there somewhere. Or leaving said piece of paper in the office when I really needed it on the road.

I’ll still keep the tear-off calendar. I like having the day’s date right in front of me. And the pieces of paper are great for quick calculations on something that I won’t need to save for later. But if it’s anything I think I’ll need later, it’s best to capture it somewhere else.

Do you need to grab an idea before it disappears? Do you find yourself getting distracted by those ideas, losing momentum on what you should be doing? What’s working for you?

[Image: Newscom]

So many of us suffer from the clutter affliction. We have too much paper, too many gadgets, and basically just too much stuff crammed into our offices. What are we to do?

Some people live with the clutter, never quite able to find what they need. Others upgrade their space, thinking that just a little more room will help. And many of us buy more containers to better organize all that stuff.

It’s all too much! That’s precisely the point of Walsh’s book. We have too much stuff. We don’t need all of it. We’re too attached to things.

While the book is geared toward homeowners, there are good points for business owners as well.

Take a look at your office. Define the purpose of the space. Everything that does not fit that space needs to go. It does not belong there. Create zones in the office to help increase your efficiency. Try to keep your horizontal spaces as clear as possible. And notice how a clean desk does wonders for making your office feel calmer and more efficient.

File regularly and get rid of paper clutter. We keep way more paper than we’ll ever need. Be ruthless. If you haven’t looked at something in a year, you probably don’t need it. (Tax returns and other important documents excluded.)

All in all, I found Walsh’s book easy to read and packed with a lot of great information. I was immediately inspired to start purging things I know I don’t need, but had been putting off getting rid of. It’s still a work in progress, but it was just the push I needed.

I still tend to keep too many books and notebooks. But I’m learning what paper to throw away and will hopefully be able to start scanning more receipts for taxes and getting rid of even more paper.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? Did it help you?

Image: Amazon.com

(For a link to this book, please see the Author Links page.)

As I work on some new information to pass along to you, I thought it’d be great to have an open discussion.

Tell me, what are you working on right now to get yourself organized? What are your trouble areas? And what do you think you are doing well?

I’m struggling with time management and trying to get everything done that I think needs doing. That can be tough when you have a small child around. So I’m working on prioritizing and learning what little things are okay to let go of – so I can work on bigger things.

Your turn – what seems to be your struggle right now? Maybe our collective wisdom can help you out a bit.