Need help selecting organizing products for your office? There are so many products on the market to choose from, but where do you start? Here is a quick list of 4 of our favorites and why we like them:

1) Product: iStand

Why We Like It: Frankly we’ve been kind of surprised how much we’ve used the iStand at our desk. We especially like to use it when we use the TimeTimer app. The iStand props your phone up so you can see at a glance how much time is left when you’re giving a presentation, in a meeting, or completing a task.

2) Product: Magazine Pockets

Why We Like It: These make great use of the vertical space in your cubicle, small office, or home office. You can hang the pockets on the wall to serve as your in and out boxes. They also serve as a magnetic board to post important notes, mini calendars, or hang keys.

3) Product: Cordies

Why We Like It: How many times have you had to crawl under your desk to fetch a stray cord? Cordies help keep cords manageable and within easy reach. They are especially good for phone charges, USB cables, and laptop chargers.

4) Product: Mesh File Crate Solutions

Why We Like It: These crates fit comfortably under your desk or table, so you can tuck them out of the way when they aren’t in use. This product is also great because you can stack multiple bins on top of each other, put them on a dolly, and wheel them wherever you want.

Sign up for our free Organize Small Spaces Webinar on July 25th for more tips!

As a Productivity Consultant with Innovatively Organized, I am constantly on-the-go. Each week I meet with my clients at their various locations throughout the greater Seattle area, which is one of the aspects I enjoy about my job – the variety. However, as a mobile professional I’ve come up with ‘my way’ to be productive on-the-go. I may work from my home office one day, then be on the road and in between appointments the next.  A typical day in my life usually involves…..

Mobile Devices

I often find myself switching between my devices depending on my location and what I need to do. I have a 15” laptop, which is great to work on from the office or when I’m sitting in a coffee shop, but there are times when I’m preparing for an appointment and I’m in my car, so I call in the iPad (see screenshot at left)! I can review client session notes on Dropbox, update documents with Docs To Go, or read and respond to emails (I use a Bluetooth keyboard when I am sending longer emails; for me it’s much quicker than typing on the iPad itself.) My Android phone completes the productivity trifecta. In addition to being able to read and reply to emails from my Droid, I often touch base with the Innovatively Organized team between appointments to check in or debrief about a project. We set up a conference call and get a lot accomplished from the road!

Microsoft Exchange Server

Our company email is on a Microsoft Exchange Server, which allows me to read my email on my phone, iPad, laptop, or via the web and keep it synced. I never have to worry about emails incorrectly showing up as read or unread (and therefore I avoid the time wasted trying to figure out if I’ve read or responded to a message). I’m also confident that when I move an email to a folder, it syncs across devices. Knowing my email is synced no matter where I view it from makes my work life MUCH easier!

Traffic App

I use my WSDOT Traffic App a lot since I travel to meet with clients all around the city.  It saves me a lot of valuable time and helps me avoid traffic by finding alternate routes when needed. There are similar apps available in other cities. If you’re on the road a lot, it’s worth finding a good traffic app. Your time is valuable – if you can find a way to save it, you should!

Want to learn more about Jackie Chapman? Read her bio here or connect with her on LinkedIn.

One of our favorite task management product recommendations is the Action Method Journals since they effortlessly turn your to-do list into actionable tasks.  Their system helps you focus on your priorities and requirements, instead of just making a running list of back-burner ideas. It is especially beneficial for visual people or creative types.

So we were excited to test the new suite of Action Method Online tools—a great opportunity to continue using the Action Method system while going paperless.  Action Method Online even syncs with your mobile devices—allowing you to work more efficiently on-the-go.  Here are a few of our favorite things about Action Method:

• It’s great for project management and task management, especially for visual people
• Tasks are displayed like sticky notes, to help you organize and prioritize them
• You can use 3 colors (blue, orange, and gray), which allows you to color-code your tasks
• Easily delegate tasks and monitor their progress (we also recommend changing the color of the task to denote that it has been delegated)
• You can create your to-do list for the day by adding items to your “Focus Area”
• If you like to use a combination of paper and electronic tools, the Action Method Journals match their color scheme, offering continuity to your task management systems

The Action Method Online is available online, as well as with iPhones, iPads, and Androids.  You can try the introductory system for free; let us know your thoughts!

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?

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!

For almost a year, our team has been waiting for Mad Men to return and now we can officially say it’s back…finally!  Last night marked the start of the sixth season and we were reunited with our favorite characters.  Naturally, since Innovatively Organized is a productivity consulting firm, we were paying close attention to how efficiently Don, Peggy, Pete, and Joan stay productive throughout the day.

Below are the four Mad Men-inspired productivity methods we identified.  Do any of them sound like you?

The Don Draper Productivity Method

Don wastes time by…

Lounging on the couch, indulging in his vices too often (ahem… whiskey… ahem… tobacco… ahem… shall we say more?), coming in late to the office, and waiting for the next big idea to strike.

You might be like Don or relate to his productivity method if…

• You’re known for your innovation and creativity.
• You develop a lot of ideas and they’re good.
• You delegate (AKA bark orders) without a sense of what you’re actually asking the person to accomplish.

If Don was working today, these tools could help him boost productivity and capture ideas…

Action Method, Ideaboard, Penultimate

The Peggy Olson Productivity Method

Peggy wastes time by…

To be perfectly honest, she doesn’t have much time to waste because she always has something to prove.  With that being said, she’s been known to escape to the cinema, crack jokes with Stan, befriend bohemians, and partake in some “joint” ventures (in the name of inspiration, of course).  Oh yeah, and then there was that time she discovered the elderly receptionist, Miss Blankenship, dead at her desk.

You might be like Peggy or relate to her productivity method if…

• You’re a workaholic.  People often find you working on a project and burning the midnight oil.

If Peggy was working today, this suite of tools could help her boost productivity…

Microsoft’s Office 365

The Pete Campbell Productivity Method

Pete wastes time by…

Schmoozing.  From wining and dining prospective clients to charming his in-laws, Pete is constantly trying to sell.  While he has been known to let loose dancing the Charleston on rare occasion, he typically has a motive behind actions such as exchanging a wedding gift (a chip n’ dip tray) for something better, taking Drivers Ed with teenagers, and inviting Don to dinner at his home.

You might be like Pete or relate to his productivity method if…

• You are impulsive and often make quick decisions; sometimes it pans out and sometimes it doesn’t.
• You are goal-oriented and ambitious.  You’ll do whatever it takes to get to the top.

If Pete was working today, these tools could help him track goals efficiently…

GoalsOnTrack, 42goals

The Joan Holloway Productivity Method

Joan wastes time by…

Listening to her coworkers’ problems, sipping cocktails in a midtown bar, giving the secretaries unsolicited beauty advice, and being interrupted often.  From whipping up last minute office parties to displaying her talents such as playing the accordion, Joan somehow manages to let loose while still maintaining her composure.

You might be like Joan or relate to her productivity method if…

• You are the organized one in the office and a list maker.
• You always seem to know what people are doing at any given time.
• You are brutally honest.
• You take initiative and know how to get things done behind the scenes.

If Joan was working today, these tools could help her keep track of her to-do list…

Evernote, Microsoft OneNote, Toodledo

One of the final big tasks in organizing JoAnn’s messy desk was creating a functional filing system. JoAnn was not a huge fan of filing, especially financial documents. Over time, this created a backlog of documents that needed to be filed. This resulted in stacks of papers in drawers (or the floor) without any file folders to organize or contain her documents.

We helped JoAnn sort and purge the paper we found in her office, using some of our favorite Smead products to help us along the way. For her financial documents, we created a system that rotates every other year, so she won’t have to keep creating new labels and files each year. The way that this system rotates, it ensures that JoAnn knows exactly when it is time to archive financial documents.

We installed the filing systems and taught JoAnn how to use and maintain them. JoAnn is excited about her new filing system. She explained, “I was thrilled that after the first day, I could see my desk! It’s great that I can now walk in and be in my space. I don’t have to worry about finding space; it’s a sense of calm that it is so organized and I can instantly get to work.”

We chose to use Smead Viewables products for JoAnn’s filing system because:

• The software makes it simple to format and print labels
• The 3-dimensional tabs make it easy to see the categories you create
• The software allows you to color-code labels

Other Smead products that we used in JoAnn’s office:

• Viewables Color Labeling System
• TUFF Hanging Folder with Easy Slide Tab
• SuperTab Oversized Tab File Folders

Stay up-to-date with our blog for our big reveal of JoAnn’s completed new office transformation! You may not even recognize her new office!

Photo courtesy of Leo V. Santiago.

Special thanks to Smead for their filing system products.

The next step in transforming JoAnn’s overcrowded space into a functional office was scanning.  JoAnn has been saving paper copies of her past work, as well as other reference materials, in large binders in her office.  They were taking up valuable space and creating clutter, so we suggested that she scan the documents she no longer needed physical copies of.

While JoAnn had considered this option before, she never followed through because the task of scanning that many documents is fairly time consuming and overwhelming.  Thankfully, we were able to partner with Scan-Doc to help us tackle the project.  Scan-Doc was able to convert five entire bankers boxes worth of JoAnn’s binders into electronic files stored safely on a flash drive and organized into convenient sub folders.

Many of JoAnn’s reference materials are now paperless, stored in electronic files to save space.  She told us the scanning “was one of the most exciting parts of this whole experience.  I was over the moon to receive five bankers boxes worth of scanning; it cleared out so much space and now that they’re electronic, I can use them so much more efficiently.”  JoAnn can now reference what she needs from the comforts of her computer, rather than sifting through piles of paper.

Continue following our blog for the final steps we took in JoAnn’s office transformation, as well as the big reveal of her new functional office!

Photo courtesy of Leo V. Santiago.

Special thanks to Scan-Doc for their scanning services.

In January, we announced the winner of our second Messiest Desk Contest and the big reveal is right around the corner!  JoAnn is an educator with an overcrowded office and extremely busy schedule. She expressed her desire for a functional office that would allow her to be more productive in her roles and responsibilities. In order to make her office more functional, one of the items we needed to address was storage.

We began working with JoAnn in February to assess her space, identify her challenges and goals, learn how she would prefer to work in her space, and take steps towards creating an efficient office.  With her office currently being utilized more for storage, she had been using her guest bed as a makeshift desk!

JoAnn’s office was cluttered with piles of papers, boxes of books, and a wide variety of office supplies.  She needed a storage system that gave everything a proper “home” within her office.  We started by sorting and purging JoAnn’s paper and office supplies, then designated where everything should be stored based on how often JoAnn needed access to them.  She already had some great containers that we were able to reuse, but there were some items that needed better storage solutions. We turned to Turnstone and found products with the perfect mix of functionality and aesthetics that fit her needs and space.

Often times, people choose containers before they start their organizing project.  Instead, begin by sorting and purging.  Then take into account what is actually left and measure the areas where your containers will live to ensure you are maximizing your available space.

Based on the needs of JoAnn’s space and supplies, we installed the following products from Turnstone into her new office:

• For storing her office supplies: Bankers Boxes
• For her in and out boxes: SOTO Letter Boxes
• For storing desk supplies: SOTO Pile Boxes
• For storing her active projects: SOTO File Boxes

Be sure to follow our blog for the next steps we took in JoAnn’s office transformation, as well as the final reveal of her new functional office!

Photo courtesy of Leo V. Santiago.

Special thanks to Turnstone for contributing modern storage bins.

At Innovatively Organized, we are big fans of label makers.  One of the keys to staying productive at work is not just organizing your space, but maintaining your space.

Once all of your file folders, incoming documents, supplies, and mail have a “home” in your office, make it official with a label.  Adding consistent labels to your workspace allows you to save time retrieving documents and maintain organization. It also helps others find (and return) items quickly and easily.

Without further ado…here is our favorite label maker, the Brother PT1290 Home and Office Labeler (don’t forget the label maker tape).  Happy labeling!