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We have launched the new GetConnected website. Please visit the new website at http://www.getconnectmedia.com

Week 10 – Desk Management – Celebrate an Organized Workspace

Clare Kumar — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 23:00:00 +0000

In a study commissioned by Professional Organizers in Canada, 7 in 10 Canadians who work say their workplace is disorganized, and disorganized Canadians report feelings of stress, frustration and failure.

Organize Your Desk Day, a yearly event on the third Thursday of Small Business Week, brings focus to the need for order in the workplace to indeed boost productivity, but also to improve disorganized Canadians’ peace of mind.

If you’ve been reading along over the past 10 weeks as we have journeyed the path to greater order, you’ll be celebrating an organized desk right now or be well on your way. Congratulations! Please feel free to share your story on www.facebook.com/organizeyourdeskday. If not, I invite you to read through the previous posts to begin to create order in your workspace.

A messy desk may be the most obvious sign of disorganization; it is however, not the only indication. If you notice any of the following signs of disorganization, consider sharing what you have learned or passing along this series of articles to encourage others to become more organized and more productive. Disorganization not only affects the individual’s work, it affects others – both colleagues and customers.

In addition to a messy desk, the following are signs of a disorganized approach to work:

Week 10 – Desk Management – Maintaining an Organized Workspace

Clare Kumar — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 23:00:00 +0000

Now that your office is set up for success, is your organizing work done? Well, if nothing changed, maybe, but our lives are always changing – we all know change is the one thing we can count on. So, here are four tips to keep things organized no matter what comes your way.

1. Review regularly

Regular practices like committing junk mail to the recycling bin as soon as it arrives will help you achieve and maintain order. Scheduling daily organizing activities such as clearing your desk at the end of every day and planning your schedule the night before are also critical to sustaining an organized space.

Still, materials accumulate and become outdated, and over time we may relax our commitment to staying organized. Approach your work space with fresh perspective at least once per quarter to make sure systems that were effective previously continue as a foundation for your success. If not, tweak or redesign your organizing systems and storage requirements as necessary.

Go through your files and archived information and determine if you still need to keep them. If you have marked a “keep until” date on your files, this will be an easy exercise.

Certainly, if a storage system or your calendar becomes cluttered, don’t delay in creating time in your schedule to tackle the issue. Create a strategy and tactics to make short work of the organizing dilemma and put you back on the path to maximum productivity.

2. Adapt for new work

Week 10 – Desk Management – 6 Strategies for a Successful Home Office

Clare Kumar — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 23:00:00 +0000

We’ve covered a wealth of material in this series which is applicable to any office, but working from home presents unique challenges. Numerous stats show productivity gains of 15% or more through working from home. Why is it then that some people can work successfully from home but others say they simply can’t? The foundation to work successfully from home comes from planning an effective work space and developing appropriate work practices.

Here are six strategies you can implement to ensure productive work from home:

1. Pay as much attention to creating your home office as you would an office in a traditional work environment

Identify the tasks you need to accomplish and determine the work surfaces, storage and tools you need to support those tasks. Invest in ergonomic equipment to keep you working safely – this includes among other things your chair, keyboard and mouse, keyboard tray, monitor stands and footrests. Be mindful that the least expensive office tools are not necessarily the best value if they don’t function the way you need them to, or you end up replacing them more often.

2. Set boundaries

It is important to create physical boundaries to preserve your ability to work in a focused manner. This may mean repurposing a room with a closed door to create a quiet environment.

This week's prize: LG Loop Android Handset (Rogers Wireless)

admin — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 00:40:51 +0000

The LG Loop combines a great design with functionality. The SNS Manager makes it easy to manage your Facebook and Twitter accounts from one place so you spend less time managing social networks and more time hanging out with friends. On top of that, the Loop comes with an integrated 3.0 MP camera, a gorgeous media gallery, built-in Wi-Fi & GPS.

Want to double your chances to win?

Here's all you have to do:

Follow @GetConnectedNow on Twitter
Tweet the following message (or something similar in your own words):

I entered to win a LG Loop Smartphone! Follow @GetConnectedNow and RT to win! http://ow.ly/2UmI8 #GCContest

Week 9 – Desk Management – 5 Steps On How To Organize Your Desk

Clare Kumar — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 23:00:00 +0000

We’ve covered the theory behind getting organized, but what about the practical side? How do you go from a cluttered to calm desk space? The following 5 steps show you how:

1. Commit

Set aside 30 minutes to tackle the re-organization of your desk top. Once the space has been redefined, it will take much less time to clear at the end of each workday.

2. Clear

File any papers, folders or reference material. Recycle or shred any unimportant papers.

Set aside – perhaps in a bag or box – items to be returned to others, or taken home.

Use a box – perhaps the one copy paper is delivered in – and place in it all the remaining items from your desk.

3. Cull

As you place items in the box, edit your supplies. Get rid of pens and markers that don’t work or that you simply don’t like using. Throw out dried up glue sticks. Let go of the three jammed staplers that you think might work one day and replace them with one that does.

Keep only one each of basics such as tape or glue at your desk, and place backups in a supply cabinet.

Take a closer look at all the awards and office trinkets you have accumulated. It is alright to let them go if they are taking up valuable desk space.

If you like to keep photos in your office, consider mounting them on the wall, or changing to a digital photo frame to reduce their footprint.

Week 9 – Desk Management – 5 Ways To Control Desk Clutter

Clare Kumar — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 23:00:00 +0000

Even with papers tidied and files put away, desktops can appear busy because of computers and the many peripherals and accessories we use. Here are 5 ways to reduce desktop disarray:

1. Wireless Peripherals

Use wireless computer accessories such as the keyboard and mouse to eliminate cords from the desktop.

Adopt a cordless phone with a headset to reduce the phone’s footprint, increase comfort during use and reduce cord clutter. It also frees both hands to use your keyboard and input notes directly to the computer.

2. USB Hubs

If you connect a number of devices such as a printer, scanner, camera, smartphone, or hard drive to your laptop, simplify the process by using a USB hub. A hub allows you to connect several USB cables into a central connector, and from there provides one connection to the computer. It’s much faster to unhook one connection and it also permits moving multiple cords away from your main workspace.

3. Cord Management

Speaking of cords, there are a number of products designed specifically to tame the tangle of electrical cords and USB cables. A simple way to manage however, is to

a) Label each end of the cord or cable with its function (i.e. printer). The 6mm size label works perfectly on the side of USB connections and plugs.

b) Use twist ties to gather and secure any slack in the cable. Re-use the black twist ties that come with most electronics and you won’t even notice them.

AppTV, Scrabble App for the iPad, Open Line

Christian Montano — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 22:00:00 +0000

This week on the GetConnected Radio Show:

AppTV - New show AppTV will begin airing January 2011
Scrabble iPad App - App Girl, Dee Jones, app developer and CEO of Jones APR, talks about the Scrabble App for the iPad
Open Line - Mike and AJ talk calls from viewers and answer tech questions on the air

Enter this week's contest to win a Pink BlackBerry Pearl 9100 for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Space and Smartphones

Christian Montano — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 17:51:56 +0000

Follow me on Twitter @AJ_Vickery

I am sure someone like James Bond would have a satellite phone that fit in his watch, but the real world is stuck with something that looks like a giant military device with an antenna longer than my forearm. That is until now… AT&T has launched their own James Bond’ish satellite communication phone that looks like an ordinary Blackberry cell phone with QWERTY keyboard small enough to fit inside your jacket pocket.

Week 9 – Desk Management – 5 Items That Really Belong At Your Desk

Clare Kumar — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 23:00:00 +0000

Here we are, 8 weeks after beginning this series on organizing your workspace, finally talking about how to organize your desk. We have covered space planning, ergonomics, time management and information management before getting to the desk – the most used space.

Why? To have an uncluttered desk space that lets you focus on your work task by task, you need to have a place or a strategy to handle everything that might land there. Only then is it possible to clear your desk without causing chaos.

Take a look at your desk - you may see amongst the screens and wires an assortment of office supplies, papers, sticky notes, a snack or drink, files, calendars, a telephone, a lamp, and a planner for example. We have already reviewed how to store items that may accumulate on your desk while you work, but which of these really ought to be there?

The following 5 items are truly worthy of your desk real estate:

1. Task lighting and the telephone

Make space on your desk for task lighting – preferably on the opposite side from the hand you write with to avoid casting shadows across your writing. This is also the ideal place for a telephone, as it facilitates note-taking while you’re talking, and keeps the cord from interfering with your work.

2. Filing supplies