How many to-dos do you have floating around in your head right now? Half of the battle with task management is getting to-dos out of your head and capturing them somewhere.  To help you process your to-dos more efficiently we have identified 6 questions to ask yourself. It may take a little getting used to, but don’t give up! It gets easier over time.

6 questions to ask yourself when processing to-dos:

1. Can I do this in 2 minutes or less?  If the task is quick and easy, complete it right away to get it done. This is especially true of tasks that come through your email.
2. If I can’t do this task in 2 minutes, how long will it take me to complete it? Time estimates are one of the keys to good task management because it gives you a more realistic look at what you can accomplish in a day.
3. Where am I tracking the task to ensure it gets completed?  This will vary from person to person. While some people choose to track tasks on their calendar or in Microsoft Outlook, others enjoy the mobility of a to-do list app. If you don’t already have a to-do list app, we recommend either the Toodledo app (if you’re linear and analytical) or the Action Method app (if you prefer a visual layout).
4. Can I batch this task with any other tasks?  Put similar tasks together to help you save time. The possibilities for batching tasks are endless. It can be as simple as scheduling all of your networking meetings on the same day or only reading industry newsletters once a week.
5. What do I need to complete this?  Do you need to talk to someone else before you complete the task? Does it require a phone call?  Do you need your computer? Determine what else is required in order to complete the task. It’s never fun to sit down to complete a task only to realize you’re missing something.
6. Can I delegate this task to someone else?  If so, we recommend you delegate.

Interested in additional task management training? Join us for a hands-on training workshop on June 6th, 2013 called Check It Off! Innovative Task Management for Your Growing To-Do List.

How many pages of apps do you you currently have on your phone? What percentage of those apps do you actually use? If you have more than 3 pages, chances are that you have more apps than you use on a regular basis.

Many of us our guilty of a cluttered phone.  We hear about a trendy new app, decide to test it, but we eventually stop using it.  To help reduce some of the digital clutter on your phone, we suggest deleting five apps that you don’t need.  Not only will it help clear space on your device, it will save you time in the long run because you won’t have to scroll through unused apps that are cluttering your screen.

Got five minutes to spare? Move the apps you use most frequently to your home screen for easy access.

For more tips to organize your phone, try our 8 Tips to Declutter Your Phone and especially this one time management tip you can implement today.

If you’re a lifelong Moleskine fan, you are going to enjoy exploring the new Moleskine Journal App!  Moleskine is helping you take your notes into the digital world, because as they say, “the Moleskine experience doesn’t stop at paper.”

Just like a classic Moleskine Journal, the app allows you to draw right on the pages.  Visually, the journals look the same but they allow you to handwrite or type notes. The app comes with a toolset, including a paintbrush, pencil, pen, highlighter, and eraser.  You can choose from your choice of three paper styles (plain, ruled, squared) or use paper templates (Weekly Planer, Passion Recipe Journal, Storyboard Notebook).  And if you run out of pages, you can simply add more.  It even comes with the back pocket to hold images or text.  You can learn more about their apps here.

And for those of you already using virtual notebooks, Moleskine has also created an “Evernote Smart Notebook,” compatible with your existing Evernote notebooks.  These new notebooks allow you to digitalize your Moleskine notebooks—syncing, tagging, and organizing your notes within Evernote.

What will you use the Moleskine Journal App for?

Though technology is moving business and productivity into a more digital world, we have not yet gone completely paperless.  Paper management is still a very important skill—and something that many busy professionals think they don’t have time for.  Find our what your paper hoarding score is to see if you could use some paper management help!

1. You’re sitting at your desk.  What do you currently see?

A. Lots of clear desk space, with the exception of a few commonly used items (like post-it notes or a stapler).
B. Your most commonly used items, your lunch, a coffee, and a couple stacks of current projects and folders.
C. You can’t see your desk…it’s covered in piles of paper (most of which are overlapping and jumbled together).

2. You just came back from a networking event with a stack of business cards.  What do you do with them?

A. Add them to your contact management system, sync your mobile devices with the new information, and recycle the cards.
B. You follow-up with a few contacts and then set the cards aside to process them later (who knows when that will be).
C. Toss them in an empty drawer or box…out of sight out of mind.

3. You just returned from a meeting.  What do you do with your notes?

A. Scan and save them in your electronic files. Then you add time to your calendar to process actionable items.
B. You complete your to-dos from the meeting, but you save the paper. You never know when you might need it.
C. Keep the papers on your desk and continue working. If it’s really important someone else will have the information.

4. Your boss asks you to find an old file with an important document in it.  How long does it take you to find it?

A. A couple minutes because you know exactly where it is.
B. About 15 minutes. There are 2-3 places it might be.
C. You can’t find it…

5. Your coworker emails you a list of tasks.  What do you do with the email?

A. Pull the tasks and add them to your to-do list, then archive the email in the appropriate folder.
B. Flag it as important but eventually other tasks pop up and take priority.
C. You leave it in your inbox and eventually it gets buried there. The deadline passes and you forgot about the tasks.

6. You just completed a big project.  What do you do with all of your files now?

A. Save the document in your file system for the appropriate amount of time, following proper Paper Retention Guidelines.
B. File all of the documents together in your file system until one day someone decides to purge them.
C. They’ll start as a pile on your desk, then they’ll eventually move to the floor, and once you run out of room you’ll throw them in a box.

Each A is worth 2 points, each B is worth 4 points, and each C is worth 6 points.  Tally your points to find your paper hoarding score:

12-16: Paper Filer

You are awesome at paper management!  You prefer to be as paperless as possible and are efficient at filing your documents when not in use.  You know where all of your files are located and how long you should keep them.  You pull tasks from documents and add them to your task management system to keep you focused and on track.  Keep up the good work by following us on Twitter and LinkedIn for more paper management tips.

18-26: Paper Holder

You are consistent with the average professional—you prefer to be organized and paperless, but you don’t have all the right workflows in place.  You might need to dedicate time each week to filing documents or you may need to create a paper retention policy for your company.  We recommend following our Twitter and LinkedIn for more tips to help you keep organized.  You can also sign up to get productivity tips and events sent directly to your inbox (like our upcoming Paper Management 101: Filing DO’s and DON’Ts webinar on May 23^rd).

28-36: Paper Piler

Looks like paper management is not your greatest strength.  We get it—there aren’t enough hours in the day to spend your time on filing and organizing documents.  But efficient paper management systems and habits will save you so much more time in the long run (not to mention stress)!  We recommend you sign up for our Paper Management 101: Filing DO’s and DON’Ts webinar on May 23^rd to learn how to create an organized file system.  You can also sign up to get productivity tips and events sent directly to your inbox so you can keep improving your paper management.

Odds are you no longer have a Rolodex on your desk.  Or if you do, it’s most likely a little dusty and no longer relevant because we’ve become an increasingly mobile society. If you’re looking for a new contact management system to replace your Rolodex, here are some qualities that a modern day Rolodex should have:

Available on multiple devices

Back in the day, before cell phones and tablets and laptops, you only needed one place to keep all of your contacts.  Today, we have a wider variety of tools and devices to hold this information, meaning we have a different set of needs now.  Your contacts need to be available on all your devices, including your cell phone, tablet, laptop, etc.  It’s important to sync your mobile devices to ensure access to your contacts anytime.

Ability to sort into categories

In an effort to categorize their contacts, people used to put colored stickers on their Rolodex cards.  This type of categorization is still helpful today.  To help you stay organized, categorize your contacts (e.g. clients, vendors, networking contacts, etc.).

Track communications

Remember writing notes on the back of your Rolodex cards to note the last time you contacted someone?  Today’s modern Rolodex should also track when you last contacted someone.  Add a category field to make a note of each time you follow-up with a contact or keep track of it in the notes section.

Capture information

People also used to jot notes on the back of Rolodex cards so they could add a personal touch next time they called (for example, “Ask how their recent vacation was”).  Your modern day Rolodex should be able to capture conversation starters to add a personal touch.

There are so many options for storing your contacts depending on your needs.  For keeping track of personal contacts, iCloud is a great option for Mac users.  For a more robust solution, consider switching to a CRM system.  Check out our Contact Management Consulting to give your company or personal contact management system a facelift.

Have you been searching for functional office supplies that are still fun?  We recently discovered an interesting new site, Quirky, that sells cool gadget accessories, helpful organization products, and well, quirky inventions!

Tangled…

Our team was setting up a new desk in our office and we had cords all over the place—we weren’t tripping on them, but they certainly didn’t look organized and neat.  We thought our cord chaos would make the perfect opportunity to test Quirky out, so we ordered the Plug Hub.  It was really easy to install and helped contain the cable mess, concealing all those tangles.

Quirky!

After installing, we do have one more tip – get some additional Velcro ties to tame cords that are closer to the top of your desk.  We found that cords near the ground were tidy, but closer to our computer and monitor still needed some help.

An added bonus about Quirky (besides our newly untangled desk space!) is that you can invent the next new fun product!  Quirky allows you to submit your invention idea, so if you have a solution for an everyday product, you can see it come to life.

Check out their organizing gadgets and let us know which ones you try!

With the rise of telecommuting in business, web meetings and virtual conferences are becoming more common tools for team communication.  At Innovatively Organized, we use web meetings on a regular basis to stay in communication with one another from different locations.

While virtual meetings have the advantage of allowing teams to communicate from various locations, it’s important to remember that they are still meetings. And like any meeting, they can quickly turn unproductive if you’re not careful.  Here are some of the tips we recommend to help yours run smoothly:

Make sure you have a good microphone

Few things are worse than repeating yourself over and over (or listening to it).  A good microphone will help you reduce background noise and improve the clarity of your voice. We recommend the Snowball microphone for it’s intuitiveness and it’s ability to pick-up sounds in a variety of environments (individuals speaking vs. a group of people sitting at a conference table).

Arrive early

Think of logging into your web meeting similar to parking your car to go to an in-person meeting.  You never know what bumps you’ll come across when you’re logging in, so better to leave buffer time to ensure promptness.

Be prepared

The same rules apply to web meetings as they do with in-person meetings.  In order to stay productive, you still need an agenda, a timekeeper, and all the right people in attendance. Don’t forget to add time to your calendar to complete follow-up tasks from the meeting.

Don’t forget the “little things”

Make sure your laptop is charged, have a strong internet connection, and look presentable if you will be using a web cam!

For more help conducting business in the cloud, we offer business productivity solutions, including process improvement and project management.

There are countless ways to waste small pockets of time throughout your day. A few minutes here and a few minutes there can add up quickly! However, for actions you repeat frequently, there are some easy fixes to help you save time. Here is a list of ten ways you may be wasting time and how you can fix the problem:

1. Not having enough chargers: If you’re constantly moving a cell phone or laptop charger from one location to another and searching for new outlets, we suggest purchasing multiple chargers.  You can keep one at home, in the office, in your car, or anywhere else you frequently use them.
2. Driving and parking: Rather than lose chunks of time every day driving to clients or sites, schedule meetings on the same day.  You can also download a traffic app to help your commute run smoothly, like Seattle Traffic Mobile or Beat the Traffic.
3. Searching through your phone: It’s a waste of time to constantly dig through your phone in order to find frequent contacts or apps. Help yourself out by adding specific contacts into your “Favorites” screen and moving your most-used apps to your home screen.
4. Reacting to each phone notification: Yes, we all love to see a text message or social media notification come through.  However, this distraction slows productivity and focus.  We suggest putting it on silent or tucking it away in a desk drawer to help you focus on the task at hand.
5. Trying to remember the genius idea you know you came up with but didn’t have a place to capture it: Ideas come to us while we’re in the car, while we’re getting ready, or while we’re commuting on the bus.  Try solutions like the Dragon Dictation app, a waterproof notepad for your shower, or a virtual notebook for your mobile devices.  Maybe even get a virtual assistant and call them when you have an idea; just make sure to schedule time to process theses ideas later.
6. Holding onto tasks because it’s too much effort to explain and delegate: Delegating tasks is a great way to save time.  We can’t always do everything ourselves and sometimes we become a bottleneck to the team by holding tasks up. Here are a few additional tips to help you delegate.
7. Not protecting your time: Letting everyone else have your time between 9 am to 5 pm means your to-do list doesn’t get touched until after hours.  Block off times that you can specifically work on your tasks. Think of it as scheduling an appointment with yourself and think twice before you reschedule the appointment.
8. Meetings, meetings, meetings: Meetings that drag on, get off topic, or have no agenda take everyone’s time.  Make sure your meetings have a schedule and a timekeeper to keep it on track.  You can also try cutting down to just 45-minute meetings.
9. Responding to each email that comes in: It’s almost impossible to divert your eyes from the bottom of the screen when an Outlook email notification pops up.  Try turning these notifications off and then establish consistent times in your day to respond to emails in batches.
10. Deleting the same spam emails you never read: If you signed up for an email newsletter but never read it, then take the time to unsubscribe.  It may take a minute, but it saves the time spent deleting them each day.

Which of these time-wasters are you going to fix?  Let us know in the comments!

Administrative professionals can be an enormous help around the office, but it’s important to identify how and what to delegate to your assistant so you can both be more productive and efficient. Too often bosses don’t delegate tasks because they think explaining the task will take longer than doing it themselves. However, when you invest the time to implement efficient delegation techniques with your assistant, you’ll ultimately save time in the long run (for both of you!).

Here are a few quick tips to help you delegate more efficiently to your assistant:

1. Daily Checkpoint Meeting

Start your day with a brief 5 to 10 minute checkpoint meeting so you can quickly review the top priorities for the day. This will also help your assistant batch questions together so they don’t have to interrupt you as many times throughout the day.

2. Implement Task Management Software

It’s easy to forget what you have and have not delegated, so shared task management software can help keep you both on the same page. The key to implementing task management software is ensuring that the solution you choose allows you to share tasks. If you’re having problems selecting one (there are many to choose from), just give us a call.

3. Share Email Access

Enlist your assistant’s help with responding to certain types of emails (scheduling, follow-up, etc.) by adding them as a “delegate” to specific email folders. This will help cut down on the number of times you have to forward emails to your assistant; instead, they can respond for you! Remember to clearly define how and what types of emails you would like their help with. It will take some getting used to, but it’s worth it in the long run.

4. Establish Inbox Trays

When you’re constantly on-the-go and returning from appointments with business cards, meeting notes, and marketing collateral, it’s important to create inbox trays that are clearly labeled to reflect the follow-up tasks associated with the items in that tray. For example, you may want to create inbox trays for To File, To Scan, To Enter in CRM, or Receipts to Process depending on your specific set of needs.

Do you have any tips for delegating tasks more efficiently to your assistant? We’d love to hear about them in the comments!

Are you still scrambling to find a gift for your office manager or executive assistant on Administrative Professionals Day? Every April the International Association of Administrative Professionals, devotes a week to honoring the people who help you schedule meetings, plan office parties, and keep everything in order. Perhaps they even let you raid their secret candy stash to satisfy your sweet tooth?

Deciding on a gift can be tough, so we’ve compiled a list of five ideas to help you express your gratitude (and hopefully save your administrative professional time in their day).

1. Personalized Leather Circa Folio

This is an excellent option for an administrative professional that enjoys keeping track of to-do lists on paper. The Circa notebook system is completely customizable and you can rearrange pages quickly and easily. For a more personalized gift, you can add the recipient’s full name or initials to the leather cover. Learn more about the Circa Folio here.

2. New Desk Accessories

When you spend a lot of time at your desk, it’s nice to give your accessories a facelift every once in a while. Put together a gift basket of stylish and functional gift accessories for your administrative professional. You may want to include a desk caddy, letter trays, sticky note holders, or cord management supplies. One of our favorite sites for desk accessories is See Jane Work.

3. Tote Bag (with good pockets)

Many administrative professionals appreciate the value of organization and their laptop bag is no exception. There are lots of bags to choose from, but try to find one that has functional pockets. FranklinPlanner carries a number of good options that help you stay organized while maintaining a certain amount of style.

4. Ergonomic Desk Chair

You know that feeling when you’ve been sitting down too long and your desk chair isn’t exactly helping the situation? Administrative professionals are often sitting for lengthy periods of times, so why not relieve them with an ergonomic desk chair? Our friends at Turnstone have a great option called the cobi Select. Now the only question is how you’re going to wrap such a large gift?

5. Gift Certificate to Swap Roles for the Day

If you’re looking for a more creative gift idea, look no further than this gift certificate you can download! When you give this certificate to your administrative professional, you’re agreeing to be their assistant for a day. The simple fact that you’re willing to see what their job entails says a lot about how much you appreciate their help.

In honor of Administrative Professionals Week, stay tuned for another blog post about tips for delegating between you and your administrative professional.