12 Steps to Better Team Organization with Ron Holohan

Several weeks ago, I was approached by Ron Holohan from pm411.org to do an interview for his Project Management podcast. I was quite giddy by the request and as I read the email I couldn't help but smile ear to ear over the possibility of doing the podcast interview. Then in the third paragraph of the email he said something that just made me say an instant "yes!"

"I think the episode would provide some good insight for my listeners and I am sure that your humor and sassiness (yes, I said sassiness!) would be welcomed by my listeners."

He he he, he said sassisness! How can I refuse an offer from someone who so pinpoints the fact that I am sassy?

Last Thursday, Ron gave me a buzz, I laughed my fanny off, and we recorded the podcast. Tonight, after a Sunday of busting his butt to edit all of the laughter from our call, Ron has posted the podcast.

The podcast reviews different suggestions and techniques for Project Managers and their teams to become more organized and efficient. If you would like to take a listen at some of my quirky sassy antics, be sure to check out Ron's podcast and listen to 12 Steps to Better Team Organization!

Thanks, Ron, for the interview! I had an absolute blast and good luck with Guitar Hero! Oh, and say hi to your mom for me! ;o)

Happy Organizing Everyone!

Suzanne Babb

From Old and Ugly to New and Beautiful

The transformation of my bedroom office continues! Now that I am absolutely ecstatic with the layout of my bedroom and not minding the intrusion of my desk in the room, I figured a little updating was in order.

I have been using a little tiny 4'ft table as my desk. It's short enough to fit inbetween my bed and the window seat, but it is hideously ugly! It had that faux wood finish and it was peeling off everywhere and I just couldn't handle it any more. So today, I ran out to Target and found a beautiful wrapping paper that would look nice with my bed. Then I hopped on over to Staples and grabbed a clear desk protector to place over the wrapping paper. This way it wouldn't get all nasty when I worked at the desk.

A simple cut, some double sided sticky tape and a pretty hat box later I have a beautiful new desk that makes my room look stunning!

Inside of the hat box, which I also picked up at Target, I have my headset for my podcasts, the cord for my camera and iPod and an extra headset for my phone. :o) It is PERFECT! Plus, it is a fantastic extension of my gorgeous bed!

With Organization Comes Reward

Yesterday, I bought myself flowers! Yep, a full dozen of golden roses just for little ol' me! Other than the fact that I deserve to have fresh flowers, the reason behind the glorious beauty is none other than I earned those babies!

This past week and a half has been a busy one! I went out of town with a couple of girlfriends, I bought a new car, I rearranged my bedroom, I organized my new little office space, I cleaned the apartment, the kids had spring break, my son turned 10, we went bowling and to the movies, finalized my trip to Scotland, spoke to an old friend and I still had to find time to help a client out with her Outlook calendar and work! All of that in the last 10 days! I sure as hell deserved the roses!

The main obstacle I set out to complete and one that has been driving me insane, kept me from getting a GREAT nights sleep, and one that nearly disabled my poor organizational empowered brain was my bedroom and the make shift office that has violated my space.

Talk about disabling! My room was no longer a sanctuary instead it was turned into a living nightmare and one that kept me from feeling at peace when I went to bed. I couldn't work at my desk, I couldn't sleep peacefully in my bed, and it was driving me nuts!

So I decided to take a bit of my own advice and reorganize my space. (Hmm, an organizer who organizes? Who would have thunk?) Sunday, the kids were off at their Dad's for Easter and I stayed at home and dug into the mess of my desk.

One of the things that was driving me insane about my bedroom was the fact that instead of looking at the gorgeous bed I have, you saw the nasty desk and computer monitor. Not that it was right in front, it was just dark and depressing and it drew your eye.

I also had an issue with space...I had very little! My bed is ginormous (a word I love to make up and use) and it leaves little for anything else. However, there was a 4 and a half foot space and a window seat that was on the side of the bed in the corner. I decided to squash my desk up against my bed, put the end table lamp on my desk and use the window seat as extra space for my printer.

On the wall that used to house my nightmare of destruction, I put a tall skinny table with my beautiful roses on it!

Sunday night I slept like a dream!

The best part is, now when you walk into my room, my desk is hidden behind all of the big poofy pillows that are on my bed and you don't even notice the computer monitor because your eye is following the nose and the warm scent of roses in bloom!

If you are finding that you are completely overwhelmed, unmotivated, not sleeping, not wanting to even look into the laundry room, take a few hours to yourself and really clean out, rearrange and organize your space. It is amazing what a few hours can do for your emotional well being. Besides, it's a great excuse to buy yourself something nice!

Happy Organizing!

Suzanne Babb

What in the World is Chronic Disorganization?

Now, my friends and family will gladly tell you that I am notorious for pulling wacky off the wall b.s. from my ample keister. Quite frankly, it's a gift. However, every now and again I humbly tip my hat to someone with actual knowledge on the subject and send people on their merry way to find the truth that lies at the end of a question. (It doesn't happen often, but I have done it!)


As a matter of fact, I am going to make my one Hat Tip for the year today!

Ariane Benefit over at Neat & Simple is having her very first tele-class tonight and it's all about Chronic Disorganization! The woman is amazing PLUS she's the expert!

Here's the little blip about what she will be discussing on tonights call.

We'll be discussing what chronic disorganization is, why it affects so many creative people, and we'll also discuss some ultra-simple strategies and principles to help creative professionals become more organized using systems that are super easy and don't take a lot of time to maintain.
This class is for anyone who:

• believes their creativity contributes greatly to their disorganization
• believes that disorganization is a "side affect" of creativity that can't be helped or improved
• believes that to become more organized would be too difficult, too rigid, too time consuming or too expensive.

There will be a handout and participants will receive a discount code to purchase my e-books for 5$ off!

The call does take place tonight, March 27 at 8:45pm EST and if you would like to sign up, please go to Ariane's blog and click your way to organizational bliss!!

Happy Organizing!

Suzanne Babb

10 Weird Things About Me

My latest traveling buddy, Marcia, tagged me in her blog and challenged me to only come up with 10 weird things about me. Talk about tough! Only 10? So I have been wracking my poor little brain to come up with my top 10 weirdo quirks.

1. I get quite cranky if I don't have my morning Coke in a 16 ounce styrophome cup with Reddy Ice so I can crunch it throughout the morning.
2. I don't sweat...not that I don't I just don't do anything that requires me to sweat.
3. I eat the same things at every restaurant. i.e. When I go out for Mexican, I always have a bean and cheese burrito enchilda style with no garnish. I do not EVER change. If I go out for a traditional American meal, I always get a naked hamburger cooked medium with ketchup and mustard ONLY. Nothing else.
4. I park in the same parking spots at all of my local places.
5. When I crawl into bed at night, I slide under the blankets, take a deep breath and just let it all out. I need to have at least 2 minutes of quiet "me" time to enjoy the feel of my bed. (I LOVE my bed!)
6. I do NOT camp, pee in the woods, or swim. Not going to happen and if you try and make me I will make your life a miserable existence. Needless to say, this has only happened once.
7. This is a new recent weirdness, my dad and I now compare miles per gallon we are getting with our new cars. The bastard is beating me! Grrrrrrrr.
8. I swear like a sailor...even at church. (I know I'm going to get struck down one of these days)
9. When I am flying in a plane, I am SILENT. I don't talk. I barely ask for a water or a Coke. Of course, that is the only time I am quiet.
10. Pizza, Movie, Popcorn night is SACRED!

There are a ton more weirdo quirks about me, but these are some of the wackier and more audience friendly quirkinesses. :) (I also like to make up words!)

To find out more about some of my little friends and their wackiness, I am going to tag Allison, Vicki, and Kelly.

Organizing Scholarship

The school year is fast coming to an end and the kids are beyond ecstatic! They just finished up with Spring Break and although they are excited about going back to school to see their friends, they also know that it is one week closer to SUMMER! As exciting as summer tends to be, my daughter is looking even a bit further beyond the blistering heat of Arizona...High School!

Yep, my baby girl is going to be a freshman next year and although I am still in shock that my fat little Charlie Brown baby is one year away from being able to drive and 4 months away from high school, she is actually thinking ahead on this one. Jordyn has a horrible time in math and always has. She struggles to keep a D and if she does manage a C we throw a party! The poor kid hasn't had her cell phone all year and when she dipped to an F, the laptop was snagged as well. So, when she came home with her selected electives for high school and showed them to me, I just about had heart failures! She is taking French and Forensics as her two electives.

Internally I am screaming to myself, "Are you frikken kidding me?! You don't study for tests now, what makes you think you are going to be able to pass French and FORENSICS!" (Internally I was saying that!) Externally, it was what is motivating you to take Forensics and French? (We live 2 hours from Mexico so I was thinking Spanish.)

Then Jordyn did something that shocked the hell out of me. She explained that she would like to be an Egyptologist. She did some searching on the computer and she needs 12 years of college, she needs to know 5 different languages, the forensics will help her enhance her knowledge of research and public speaking, and she would like to get a jump start on it in high school and not wait for college. Apparently, only a few people are selected for the Egyptologist program and you need to be the best of the best. Her dream goal is to be in the position of if someone has a question regarding Egypt and its history, they come to her first. (Did I mention she is 14 and doesn't clean her room?)

As I was wondering who this child was in front of me and trying to figure out who to call to explain that my daughter was abducted by aliens, she spit out a small request. Can I buy her something to help her learn French before school starts? She knows she is going to struggle with the language and she wants to be prepared and know a bit more than the other kids and build up her confidence.

Talk about me being speechless! When I finally recovered from the shock, I uttered two statements. "Yes, I will buy you a computer program to help you with French." The second of the two statements..."You had better get a ton of scholarships, because I am not paying for 12 years of college!" :o)

Although this is a nice little ditty about the practicality of a teenager, what in the world does this have to do with organizing? A lot actually!

Not being organized is a lot like having an 'F' in Math. Things are in disarray, you are stressed beyond all belief, you don't want to have company over because your house is a wreck, your office looks like a war zone, and if your mom saw in your closets you would be grounded for life!

However, you can pull it up to a 'D' by hiding clutter under the beds, in the closets, out in the garage, etc. Depending on how motivated you are, you may even be able to get that bad boy up to a C with a little more effort and concentrating on completing the projects you start out on.

To get a 'B' or an 'A' when you are coming from an 'F' is the hardest of all! It's not about getting it one time, it's about maintaining that 'B' or an 'A'. For that, you are probably going to need some help! Like in Jordyn's case, she wants to start out before French with some software to help her learn the language. In an organizing sense, you will probably need to do some surfing around the internet and find sites to read about organizing specific projects, there are also some nifty books out there that will probably help you as well. Although these tools are helpful in a way, is it specifically assisting you with the areas that are unique to your situation?

That is where the "tutor" comes in at. You are going to need to adjust habits, create routines, have someone hold you accountable but also encourage you to keep on going. Constantly reminding you of the end goal! That is what an Organizing Coach is for. Your Organizing Coach is going to be the one to show you HOW, keep you motivated, give you the Cliff Notes, and help inspire you to keep on going!

Once you have achieved and maintained your 'A', the reward is the scholarship! A clean and organized home or office!!! Of course, just like a scholarship, you are still going to need to maintain your grade point average and you will definitely need to maintain your organizational routines. The best part is, you will always a back up and the reinforcements to help assist you! A study buddy aka Professional Organizer! No matter where you are in life, a Professional Organizer can come in and help you get through the chaos and show you a little bit of the light at the end of the tunnel. They can clear away what is bothering you most so that the task doesn't seem as daunting.

And after "12 years" you too can be the expert in your field where when they have a question they will come to you first! (She had better get those scholarships is all I have to say!)

Happy Organizing!

Suzanne Babb

Creating Work Instructions

I met a wonderful woman today who has overcome a ton of obstacles, she is raising three beautiful girls and she has started her own business as well as expanding it to other moms throughout the country. These sorts of stories are beyond inspiring and I can't help but smile from ear-to-ear in favor of a little independence and a lot of dreaming!

One of the things Julie was wondering and fretting about was how to duplicate her processes so that she can encourage other women to use what she has essentially perfected. The simplest answer is, Work Instructions!

If are even remotely thinking about branching out, selling, hiring managers, selling franchises, etc. start creating your work instructions now. What works out best for your business with each process? What are the best steps to take in order to get from spot A to spot B? What marketing initiatives did you determine make the most sense for your industry?

All of these things have a value. Not only in the business and organizing respect, but in the monetary role as well.

When creating your Work Instructions, keep them simple and in bullet point format.
No need to go into such detail as to overwhelm the person who is ready them.
Make them so simple that even someone who has no idea about your business or industry can follow and understand them.

Once completed, finding the right binding system is going to be key.

• Binder
• Flip File
• Comb binding
• Book bound
• Electronic vs Paper

What makes the most sense?

Do you need illustrations, diagrams, graphs to help get your point across?

As long as you remember to keep it simple and get started before things get out of hand, it won't be as overwhelming once you get into the rhythm of things. Besides, you can always go back and tweak it once you are all set!

Remember, keeping it simple, keeping it together, and keeping it organized is key to your organizational perfection and to your sanity!

Happy Organizing!

Suzann Babb

Have you sent an email to Ariane lately?

Have you met Ariane over at Neat and Simple Living? She is an amazing organizer who works wonders on people who have ADHD and want to become more organized. Of course, it is no wonder that she works miracles since she also has ADHD. Do think it stopped her from becoming a Professional Organizer, author, friend, wife, and a truly amazing woman? Not on your life! This lady is truly an inspiration and do you know why?

It's very simple. She recognized her weaknesses, she applied her strengths, and she is ON FIRE! One of my favorite steps that she has taken is to actually have an auto responder on her email. When you send Ariane an email you get a very nice auto response telling you all about her email timeline and how to reach her if it's an emergency.

What we can learn from someone like Ariane is figure out your own weaknesses, realize your strengths and then merge the two together in order to make you successful, sane and a super woman! (or man)

Keep up the wonderful work, Ariane!!!!

Obtaining Goals to Achieve Others

Lisa, one of my blog readers, made a dead on accurate statement today regarding motivation and I just had to share it! I have been putting together a blog post on the topic and her comment today inspired me to get it out!

"I find that I'm most motivated when I have a deadline.. ie. people coming over to my house. My son is having major surgery this week and he will have tutors coming to our house for the school that he will miss while at home for the next 6 weeks. That will motivate me to clean up the living room, family room and kitchen, since they are all connected.... UGH!!!! I will be happy when it is all clean, but getting to that point will be a major chore!" - Lisa, Michigan

How true is that?! What major goals do you have right now that you possibly have accomplished that set in motion a dominoe effect to achieve other goals?

I actually am noticing a few for myself. I wanted to go to Scotland for the last 5 years and now I am going. Achieving that goal has set into motion a few other goals that I was unmotivated to accomplish.

• Losing weight - One of the hikes I am going on is 10 miles round trip....hello, I am 30 pounds over weight, drink way too many Cokes in a day, and I haven't walked farther than around Target a few times looking for my wayward children! I need to get my fat ass in gear if I am going to go to Sweetheart Abbey!
• Saving money - I am HORRIBLE at saving money. If I have it I spend it. Mostly on stuff for the house and the kids, but I still spend it. But I have two months to save up for and budget for my trip to Scotland so this is going to force me to do that.
• Taking some time for myself - As a parent, have you ever noticed that the extra time you do have you are spending the energy catching up with laundry, cleaning the house, finishing up some forgotten projects? I haven't been on a relaxing vacation in 6 years and I am ready to just take some time just. for. me.

The best part about all of the goals is my main achieved goals is FORCING me to accomplish them. Lisa likes deadlines and they motivate and push her to accomplish hers. I am very similar, especially with the things I don't want to do. Not only do I have deadlines, but I also have an incentive. Get into shape and go to Sweetheart Abbey or be a lazy fat slob and sit in town at the pub for two days. :o) I can do THAT at home!

When You Get to an Organizing Roadblock

I am sure that we have all hit a giant wall at some point in time where we are not motivated to do a dang gone thing, even though we know we have a ton of things to do! Cleaning out the garage, doing spring cleaning, taking things out to storage, cleaning out the closet, yuck! All of these things involve CLEANING! No wonder we aren't motivated to do it! I am not even going to go to the whole "excercise" routine! Makes me shudder to even go there!

However, when I am totally and completely unmotivated and when I need to get my butt in gear I do a couple of things.

1. I check out some great organizing websites that help to inspire me and give me some great ideas!
2. I throw on some great up beat music! Van Morrison, CCR, Bon Jovi, my Irish Jiggies!
3. Trip over my sons scooter that he left in the middle of the floor! - Nothing like a little pain to motivate you to clean!

Music is pretty self-explanatory. If you have some fun up-beat music that you absolutely love it can't help but put you in a wonderful mood.

As far as websites go, I have a couple that REALLY inspire me to clean and organize!

See Jane Work

Organized Living

Levenger

Fly Lady

Undiscovered Scotland - You need to have something fun and personal in the ol' motivational bucket!

Whether it's cleaning, organizing, working out, yard work, etc., try finding some favorite sites that you enjoy looking through, that help get your mind relaxed, and motivate you to get the show on the road! Save them all in your Favorites and create a special Motivational folder and store them all there. This way, when you need a boost you are all ready to go!

Happy Organizing!

Using Lists to Communicate with Co-Workers

I am definitely a list freak and a notebook freak. For whatever reason, they both calm, ground, and get me back into focus; which is a good thing! But when you think of making a list, what comes into your mind first?

• Grocery list
• To Do list
• Christmas present list
• Chore list

Notice how all of these lists pertain to what YOU must do. Or maybe it's a list FOR your kids or spouse. But how about a list that helps you communicate to those you may not see every day? Perhaps a co-worker?

I have been working on a nifty little project for a business development team and we have come up with some great tools to help keep everyone on track, in the know, and keep the VP of Business Development in the groove without having all of those annoying and time wasting meetings.

First, we designed Command Central or our Communications Board. Which has been working out great with keeping the department up to date on a lot of the marketing projects. However, what we ran into was the actual steps for the projects.

Take for example the Tradeshow one of the gals was working on for the President and Vice President. There was a ton of marketing materials, booth designs, product to be shipped, etc. etc. etc. It was absolutely crazy and the Communications Board was quickly filling up and looking rather cluttered. (Yikes!)

So, we came up with a check list! We created the check list in Word using those great little boxes, listed everything that needed to be accomplished and she pinned it up on the board. As she finished a task, she crossed it off in the check box and it was easily readable and everyone knew her status. It was PERFECT!

Next, we looked at some of the other projects that were going on to see if a list could help those processes and sure enough, they did! Now every project has a To Do List that each marketing manager is in charge of. They get posted on the board and when Nick needs to get a quick update he just walks into the office and checks it out.

There are a couple of reasons why I am falling in love with this system.

1. You get to make a list!
2. It eliminates meeting overkill.
3. You get the information you need, when you need it.
4. Keeps everyone in focus.
5. It is extremely simple AND streamlined!

Don't just think of a list as something that is only for you. A list can be a powerful communication tool to help save your sanity!

Happy Organizing!

Suzanne Babb

A Time to Organize the Planning!

Very shortly, I am going to be walking through the picturesque beauty of Dumfries and Sweetheart Abbey in Scotland! That's right, I am going to Scotland! Not only am I going to the very place I LOVE being in, I get to finally meet a very dear and close organizing friend! Ms. Marcia!

Over the last couple of months, we have been hemming and hawing on when we are going to go, if I can be there the same time as her planned trip, will we have time to meet up, and when in the world are we doing it?!

Well, this weekend, I finally got my butt in gear and we have dates, we have locations, we have a plan! The only thing left for me to do was to go out and get a special notebook to plan out my trip!

So, off to the store I went and I picked up this cute, short, fat spiral bound notebook from uCreate. It has two dividers which I am using one for my pre-planning notes and the other section will be for my firmed up plans.

Essentially, to any vacation or holiday, you have several steps you need to go through before the final "take off".

• Pre-Planning
• Final Itinerary
• What to Pack
• Packing
• Jumping on that plane!

In my pre-planning section, I made headers on each page of my notebook for different aspects of my trip:

• Where I want to go
• Things I want to do
• To Do List
• Budget - broken out by airfare, B&B's, trains, food, fun stuff
• Where to stay
• Important websites
• May calendar
• Tentative itinerary

I filled in the blanks outside on the patio since it's absolutely gorgeous outside and then I came in for a few more brainstorming ideas and to get some ideas on how much this little excursion was going to cost me!

Other than British Airways, my favorite website to check out before I go to Scotland is The Train Line! Not only am I going to find out how much it is going to cost me to travel all over Scotland, it's going to give me times of when they depart, how long it will take me to get there, is there even train access to where I am going, it is WONDERFUL!

So, out of the 10 "To Do's" I had on my list today, I have 7 of them knocked out and I am just giddy with excitement!

I still have to figure out which B&B's I am going to stay in and then it will be onto the next step of planning and organizing my little vacation.

Quick Steps To Get Started on the Pre-Planning Phase

If you are planning a vacation, definitely get a notebook to help you collect your thoughts. It will amaze you where and when your little epiphanies pop up and you don't want to be left empty handed.

Check around with your friends and family and see if they have some great suggestions for where you are going. If you blog, ask your blogging buddies!

Create a folder in your Online Favorites for your vacation and save any and all links you need in the folder. Just be sure and delete any obsolete sites you don't need any more. You don't need to confuse yourself!

Know the exchange rate! That part is KILLING me with going over to the UK. Lucky me gets to double everything. YUCK!

Think about the physical exertion you may need to endure. One of the places I want to go is a 5 mile walk! Ya, right! My legs haven't seen a one mile walk in years, let alone a five mile excursion! Looks like I had better invest in some tennies now and start getting these legs made for walking!

I just love planning these little trips!

Once I have all of my pre-planning done, I will start on the actual Final Itinerary. Of course, I am a ways off on that one. But it is why I love having the two separate tabs in my notebook. On the actual trip, I will take the notebook with me so I know where in the world I am going, but it will also be handy to have on hand just in case I need an emergency Plan B! No sense in letting good research go down the tubes!

Let me know if you are planning a nice little holiday and what steps you take to get you where you need to be!

Happy Organizing!

Suzanne "to Scotland" Babb

Taking Organizing Out of the House

(Marcia, this is Brigadoon in Scotland!!!!!)

I am not sure about the rest of the world, but during the last week in Arizona we have had some of the most gorgeous weather! High 70's with a slight breeze and it is just calling out everyone's name to come and enjoy the wonderful weather before it turns into the bowels of Hell aka Summer.

The most wonderful part about this time of year is most of the restaraunts, coffee shops and even the bars have wondeful patios that you can spend your day enjoying the climate.

Seeing that I am up to my eyeballs and so far behind on a ton of projects, I have made a simple little list of the things I can take with me to new favorite patio and work on there.

For example:

1. Read through Ariane's "Neat & Simple Guide to Organizing Your Office"
2. Write some new blog posts for Online Organizing
3. Complete the binder of all of my favorite ezine articles, magazine columns, podcasts, and blog posts
4. Write up a couple of podcasts
5. Do bills...YUCK!!!!!!!
6. Figure out vacation times
7. Organize marketing projects

Now, I may not get through all of these things today, but the ones that I do finish will be done outside in the fresh air with wonderful handsome young men bringing everything my heart desires (that is on the menu) at my beck and call! It can't get much better than that when it comes to paying the bills!!!!

What are some of the things you can accomplish outside of the home or office today?

Happy Organizing!

Suzanne Babb