So often, when we’re working on something, we “save as” without giving a moment’s thought to how we’ll need to retreive it someday. We just give it any old name that makes sense – adding it to an old folder or creating new ones willy-nilly.

I have a client who’s goal is to set up his virtual folders to be so logical that anyone could quickly find the information. I like that.

In order to retrieve files and data easily, what’s needed is some consciousness. You don’t need a yoga pose or deep breathing (although they wouldn’t hurt), but here are 3 steps that can help:

1. Figure out what you’ve got - Most people have no idea what’s in their virtual files unless they’re used regularly. So I recommend taking 30 minutes to go in and actually look. Get friendly with your files.

It’s important to not judge what there, but simply observe and take stock. It was useful to you at some point, and that’s enough for the first step.

2. Figure out what you don’t need - Once you’ve gotten more familiar with the contents of your electronic files, start culling the herd. Chances are good that there are things you don’t use or even recognize. Just delete ‘em. If you’re not sure, create an archives folder that you can visit at a later date when you’re sure.

The benefit of deleting things is that you decrease the sheer volume of decisions you need to make about where things should go (the 3rd step). Plus, it just feels good. So does hitting “Empty Recycle Bin”.

3. Deliberately move “like” things together - When you know what you have and you’ve removed what you don’t need, the next thing is to determine how to put it all together. If you have a lot of sub-folders for classes you’ve offered, for example, create a folder for your classes, and store them all there. This may sound basic, but lots of us just store documents anywhere.

The most important thing is naming the folders with logical titles. Abbreviations and numbers aren’t recommended because they’re hard to visually scan. Just ask yourself, “What do I call this thing in real life?” – and name it that. Note for a few days if they’re working for you – and change them if they’re not.

Lastly, repeat. As your business grows, so do the documents you use. Set aside some time on a 6-12 month basis where you evaluate your file storage. Tweak what’s not working for you – and you’ll find yourself muttering less and enjoying your work even more.

Post from: My Organized Biz

Today’s feature comes from AJ West at Lifehack with an post about how to free yourself from paper clutter.

Want to know which papers to keep – and which ones to throw away? Do you know what the government expect you to have on file if you’re ever audited? Here’s the post you’ve been waiting for. And AJ serves it up.

This is also timely information considering tax season is just barely behind us. Maybe you set an intention for that proverbial new leaf. Check it out here.

When you sort through your papers, how do you know what to keep and what to get rid of? How do you know something is worth keeping?

Post from: My Organized Biz

When Miranda emailed me about her office, she summed it up with this comment: “…it seems like there’s just too much to cram into the six foot area that I like.”

Miranda, when I look at your photo, “cluttered” is not the word that comes to mind. You’re bring super creative with the space you’ve got with all the plastic bins and shelving. However, you do have an issue that makes your space more prone to clutter: insufficient storage.

The basic theory is this: If there’s a place for things to go, they don’t pile up. If there isn’t, they do. So here are 3 suggestions to increase your storage capacity – which, in turn, will make the extra bits you’ve got floating around disappear.

Suggestion 1: Print elsewhere

Even though your desk measures 6′ long, you actually have about 1.5 square feet of work space on your desk. Not a lot.

By moving the printer, you’ll gain a ton of space that you can store current projects that you need to access multiple times during the day. I’m guessing you don’t use the printer quite that often.

Where do you put it? That’s the next point…

Suggestion 2: Get a dog leg

I don’t know how many hours per day you’re at your desk, but since you blog I’m guessing its a lot. Dear Miranda, this desk you’ve got isn’t worthy of your hard work. It’s too high for you (Maggie had this issue last week, too) and it’s also not big enough.

I’d love to see you with a desk that has some drawers within arm’s reach and a file drawer or two. That would give all the little things under your monitor a place to go. You’d also get an actual surface to work on rather than that tiny 8.5×11″ square.

If a shiny new desk isn’t in the budget (I recommend Ikea for great value), at least get another table and put it on the right side along the wall at a 90* angle. An L-shaped (dog leg) workspace will give you more surface area to store lots of things and a place to put the printer off at the end.

Suggestion 3: Oh, give them a home…

You’ve got some great projects (article ideas) and short-term storage needs (bills) – and you said they’re piling up. So let’s give them a place to live so they won’t.

I’d love to see you hang some shelves over your desk so that you can put some books up and add some project boxes. These provide loose storage (but organized enough) and give assorted papers a place that’s easy to access. Best of all, it gets them off your desk.

For your article ideas, you could also assign a folder as your “article garden” and just drop idea in there when you get. Whatever you do, vertical is better than horizontal when it comes to storage. So be on the lookout for ways you’d want to store things short-term.

Summary: Give yourself more space and start thinking creatively about how you want to store your projects. I know I’ve evaded your question about clutter, but I think this is more on target for what you need.

Thnaks for playing, Miranda!

If you’d like a Wednesday Makeover with 3 suggestions for your office, read how.

What do you think?

Post from: My Organized Biz

Creating an organized business means that you can lovingly care for your financial health – including what’s owed to the government.

Today, I’m happy to be featuring an interview with Jessica Reagan Salzman, owner of Behind the Scenes LLC which does virtual business bookkeeping for people who are tired of being in the dark when it comes to money matters.

Jessica has also been called “the marriage saver” because of the assistance she has provided to husband/wife owned companies and the amazing difference it has made in their lives. As a home-based business owner herself, Jessica understands the unique advantages and challenges of running a business from home.

Jen: Welcome, Jessica! This has got to be the Season O’Stress for business owners. Let’s start by talking about why do you think people get so overwhelmed during tax season.

Jessica: I think most people end up overwhelmed during tax season because most people put off things that aren’t fun or enjoyable. And last time I checked, most people don’t find the process of filing taxes to be fun or enjoyable!

It’s easy to end up overwhelmed when you have a huge project hanging over your head. Especially when you are not even sure what first step to take in order to get that project done and off your plate.

Jen: That’s a really great point – something as big as taxes needs to be broken down into small, sane steps.

So, what would you say are some things that small business owners can be doing right now to get ready for April 15?

Jessica: The first thing any small business owner should do right now, if they haven’t already, is pull together all of their business’s bank and credit card statements for 2007, along with any other business financial paperwork (loan statements, unpaid bills, invoices issued to customers/clients, etc.).

Many small business owners try to tackle their business’s money matters on their own, but unless they are in the bookkeeping or accounting business, it’s usually much easier (not to mention less stressful) to have outside help!

Once they have their paperwork together in one place, they can then contact a professional for assistance. If they are using financial software like QuickBooks, it’s still very important to have the assistance of a professional to ensure that the software is producing accurate reports.

Jen: Speaking of money, what things can small business owners do to help them reduce tax preparer costs?

Jessica: The best way to reduce your tax preparation expense is to have your business’s books in the best possible shape before passing them off to the tax preparer. This is where the cost of professional bookkeeping assistance immediately pays off as a return on your investment. I’ve had some clients tell me that their tax prep bill was more than cut in half and the only change they had made was having a bookkeeper!

Jen: Great tip! Now, you run a business – how are you doing on your own tax preparation?

Jessica: That’s a great question! Because I stay on top of my own business’s books on a monthly basis, I’ve had my books pretty much ready for tax prep since my December bank statement was generated and available via online banking. Other than a few 1099s that are still trickling in, I’m almost set to pass my books off to my favorite CPA!

One of the beauties of doing my books throughout the year is that I’m always “in the know” regarding how much I should be paying in estimated taxes. It’s a great planning tool to help me grow my business each month.

Jen: Great – I guess it would pay off to copy what you do! In the big picture, what can people do to prevent their Jan-April 15th stress?

To reduce pre-tax stress, it’s helpful to have a system (customized so that it works for you!) in place throughout the course of the year. That way you do not end up with a huge project after January 1st.

If tax season causes you a great deal of overwhelm, it’s time to partner up with someone who can show you a better way so that you don’t end up repeating this pattern year after year. Most business owners are surprised to learn that there are some simple and low investment steps you can take to get a handle on your business’s money matters, quickly and easily!

Jen: Thanks so much for stopping by, Jessica! I feel ready to get my taxes ready (one small step at a time)!

Post from: My Organized Biz