Super Handy Tool - Evernote Web Clipper

I'm a HUGE fan of Evernote, the note-taking tool that lets you collect and organize all sorts of information. I love it so much that I regularly recommend it to clients for a variety of purposes, from simple note-taking, to organizing medical records, storing collections of information, and more.

Evernote has a very handy add-on tool called the "Evernote Web Clipper" that I'm using more and more to keep track of sites I've visited or information I've found, but may not necessarily want to add as a bookmark or favorite in my web browser. The Web Clipper adds a button to your browser which lets you instantly take an entire web page and save it directly to your (free) Evernote account. One way I use is to prepare for travel. For instance, I can visit a bunch of web pages related to Las Vegas - restaurants, attractions, shows, etc. - and add them to a "Vegas, Baby" notebook in Evernote. That way, when I'm ready for my trip, all the information about my destination is in one place!

Check out the Evernote Web Clipper at http://evernote.com/about/download/#a-webclipper


-- Joshua Zerkel Certified Professional Organizer ®President, National Association of Professional Organizers,San Francisco Bay Area Chapter Custom Living Solutions"...for the way you want to live"


Web: http://www.customlivingsolutions.com/


Email: joshua@customlivingsolutions.com


Tel: (415) 830-6345


Join my Linkedin network at http://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuazerkel


Classes for new and experienced organizers: http://www.essentialsclasses.com/

More Efficient Printing with HP Smart Web Printing

I try not to print things out - usually it's a waste of paper, ink, and time - but when I do, it's irksome when I try to print a web page and it comes out with wonky formatting, prints the entire page background image, or worse - the part of the page I actually want just doesn't print. If you've ever tried to select part of a web page and paste it into your word processing application of choice, you've probably found out that sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. Wouldn't it be great if things just printed how you expected them to?


Well, someone at HP thought this would be great too, and now HP offers the free HP Smart Web Printing application to help ease your internet printing woes. With this little Windows app, you can select just the areas of the page you want to print, can combine multiple pages into one printable page, and remove or resize the graphics on a page to save ink. It's' kind of surprising that HP, who makes a ton of money off of ink sales, would offer a tool that can help save ink, but I'm not complaining.


Check out the HP Smart Web Printing tool at
http://h71036.www7.hp.com/hho/cache/482779-0-0-225-121.html

-- Joshua Zerkel Certified Professional Organizer ®President, National Association of Professional Organizers,San Francisco Bay Area Chapter Custom Living Solutions"...for the way you want to live"

Web: http://www.customlivingsolutions.com/

Email: joshua@customlivingsolutions.com

Tel: (415) 830-6345

Join my Linkedin network at http://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuazerkel

Classes for new and experienced organizers: http://www.essentialsclasses.com/

Keep Your Frequent Flier Miles Organized with MilePort

I travel quite a bit - 10 trips in 2008 alone - and I like to rack up as many frequent flier miles as I can. While each airline and rewards program has its own website for keeping track of how many points you have, if you have more than a few affinity programs it can be tough staying on top of the total picture of all your mileage balances. In the past few years, it's become increasingly important to keep a close eye on your miles, as many airlines have instituted ever-shortening expiration dates for miles unless there is activity on the account.

Managing the task of centralizing all your frequent flier and rewards program information is one of my favorite little programs, MilePort, which is produced for free by FrequentFlier.com and DeskPort Technologies. Essentially, MilePort is like Quicken for your Mileage programs - you enter your account information into its database, and it retrieves all your information at once so you can easily review your balances. It is able to retrieve information about most programs (over 100), so chances are you'll find your airline's program in there.

MilePort is a great program that does one thing and does it well. Get it at http://mileport.com/index.html

Of course, redeeming those frequent flier and reward program points is a post for another day...

4 Ways to Spend Less Time Processing Paper

Being a Certified Professional Organizer, I actually enjoy working with paper – I know, I’m strange! Even so, I don’t want to spend too much time on it; like you, I have many other tasks on my to-do list. One of my big goals for 2009 is to reduce the amount of paper that I have to process. Here are a few ways to do it:

Don’t print emails. Really, what are you going to do with that email you just printed out? Save it, maybe? Well, it’s already on your computer or on a server, so it’s already saved. If you’re worried about losing it or it being deleted, create a backup archive on your computer or an external disk. Better yet, use an online backup service like Mozy and you won’t have to worry about backups, they’ll happen automatically. If you’re printing out an email to use as a reference for an upcoming trip or event, start a small file for the trip, and when it’s over, shred or recycle the whole thing.

Don’t print web pages. Many of us print web pages for later reference, but even with the best of intentions, we may never review these documents. By printing these out, we’ve used ink and paper, spent time waiting for the page to print, and now have a new piece of paper on our desk that we need to deal with – a document that we may never even use, or may be outdated by the time we get back to it! Instead of printing, try creating folders in your web browser by topic, and bookmark pages that you’d like to revisit at some future point. If you’re worried that the page may no longer be there later, try a web page capture tool like the free Evernote Web Clipper, which lets you capture and save entire web pages for review later – without printing them out.

Don’t print your faxes. And I mean don’t print the one you’re sending OR the one you’re receiving. “But Josh,” you say, “I need to print it out in order to send it, right?” In most cases, no. If you have a printer/scanner/fax multifunction device, or a fax/modem built into your computer, you can usually “print” directly to the fax function (check your owner’s manual). Doing this bypasses the actual printer and sends your document straight to the fax function, without ever using any paper. Additionally, it takes less time since the fax doesn’t have to scan your document, and the quality is better on the recipient’s end. As far as receiving faxes, try using an internet-based service like eFax where you can view incoming faxes on your computer before you decide whether it’s worth printing.

Scan paper documents. Once you’re done working with a document or a file, studies show that once it’s in a file drawer, it’s VERY unlikely that you’re going to use it again. If that’s the case for your documents, instead of filing, you might want to scan them instead. Tools like NeatDesk can scan up to 50 pages via an automatic document feeder, and can convert those documents into searchable PDFs. What I like about this is that so many of us are used to doing searches online, that it feels really natural to search for our own documents – but this can only be done once they’re on our computer in some way, either as an entire document or as an index. I personally think scanning and automatic conversion to PDF is the easiest method.

- Joshua Zerkel

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Joshua Zerkel, Certified Professional Organizer and home office organizing expert, helps busy people save time, space and money by getting organized at home and at work. For more FREE organizing ideas, visit www.customlivingsolutions.com or call 415-830-6345.

© 2009 Joshua Zerkel and Custom Living Solutions. All Rights Reserved.

Teleseminar With Joshua Zerkel of Custom Living Solutions

Clear Your Clutter, Increase Your Revenue: The 5 Essential Systems Every Small Business Needs To Gain More Freedom and More Income
in Less than 30 Days

January 22, 2008, 5:00 PM PST


Lost that contract your client gave you, misplaced that important email for ‘immediate’ review in your overflowing inbox, forgotten meetings and spent days where not one thing is crossed off your ‘to do’ list… you need to an organized work space, but the thought is overwhelming and you don’t know where to even start. Learn the essential small business organizing systems that will gain you more time and money!!!

REGISTER NOW AT

http://www.customlivingsolutions.com/signup.htm

Like most small businesses, you got work and you got started. You didn’t spend a lot of time setting-up your ideal environment. Now the piles are piling up. A usable and effective work setting systematically eases tracking the details and lets you focus on critical business at hand. Joshua Zerkel is going to present the essentials to achieve maximum productiveness and effectiveness in your small business!

If you feel your lack of organization is preventing you from working to your potential, this free teleseminar is for you!

Join SOHO organizing specialist, Joshua Zerkel on January 22, 2008, 5:00 PM PST for a unique teleseminar that will help you identify the right systems to de-clutter your office and optimize your money-making business efforts.

In this Teleseminar you will:

• Identity the right personal workspace and understand what’s necessary to create it
• Learn how to establish effective file management systems—both paper and electronic—that work for you
• Discover time management tools and tricks to better organize and prioritize your day
• Understand the pitfalls of procrastination and multi-tasking and learn how to successfully avoid them

To sign up now, go to


http://www.customlivingsolutions.com/signup.htm


Joshua Zerkel, Certified Professional Organizer ®, is a SOHO organizing expert who specializes in helping clients maximize their creativity and productivity in their small and home offices. For more FREE organizing ideas, visit www.customlivingsolutions.com/tips or call 415-830-6345.

Change your business in a big way! Sign up today to reserve your spot in this information-rich teleseminar and learn how you can leverage these organizing systems maximize your results. Remember there is no cost to participate! Participation is limited to 200 lines.

Sign up now at:

http://www.customlivingsolutions.com/signup.htm

The Best Free Software - For Productivity, Organizing - Everything!

Computers are not useful without the right programs to do the tasks that you need to do. It used to be that the best software cost a lot of money - for instance, a standard Microsoft Office suite can cost upwards of $400. Times have definitely changed, as a tremendous amount of useful, software is available for the low, low price of FREE. What's really surprising is how polished and professional much of this open-source software is. While I still use commercial software, I'm finding myself drawn more and more to open-source alternatives, which I now am recommending with increasing frequency to my organizing clients.

To get an idea of what's out there, check out PC Magazine's roundup of the best free software of 2008 online at:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2260070,00.asp

Do you have a favorite free software program that's not in the list? Post it in the comments!

4 Top Year-End Organizing Tips

The final month of the year is here, and for many of us, it’s a time of wrapping things up before the new year rolls around. This year, as part of your year-end wrap-up, consider taking a few moments to revisit the systems that serve you every day, and see if you can improve them.

Clean out your paper files. Over the course of a year, most of us accumulate way more paper than we need, and much of it ends up in our file drawers. The end of the year is a great time to free up space in your files to make room for next year’s new documents. Spend some time going through your file drawer and see if the papers in there are still necessary and relevant to you. Look at your files with a cold eye and shred or recycle what you no longer need.

Revisit your filing system. While you’re in your file drawer, take the opportunity to look at how your filing system is set up, and make any changes that will help it serve you better in the future. Do the file names make sense to you? Are the tabs and folders clearly labeled? Are the file folders frayed at the edges? Are you trying to stuff too many documents in a slim hanging file, when a box-bottom file is a better fit? Now’s a great time to change file names, re-label, and get the right supplies to improve the system.

Donate unused supplies and other “stuff.” Look through your supply storage area, and chances are you probably have some supplies hiding in there that have never been (and likely never will) be used. Sure, those t-shirt iron-on transfers seemed like a good idea when you were at the office supply store, but are you ever going to use them? Free up space in your storage by getting rid of those things you either never used or just don’t need. Most non-profits are happy to take office supplies off your hands. Bonus – you may even get a tax-deduction for donating these supplies to a charity.

Delete junk from your computer. Files stored on our computer may not take up room on your desk, but they can fill a hard drive surprisingly fast. Delete drafts and out-of-date versions of files if you no longer need them. Use the search tools on your computer to find duplicate files, and keep just the ones you need. In your email program, if you no longer have use for a large attachment that was sent with an email, delete it. These can take up a surprising amount of space!

―Joshua Zerkel

Joshua Zerkel, Certified Professional Organizer and home office organizing expert, helps busy people save time, space and money by getting organized at home and at work. For more FREE organizing ideas, visit www.customlivingsolutions.com or call 415-830-6345.

Reduce Your Books and Get Paid Doing It

When I work with clients to help them cut their clutter, one area that generally gets weeded through is the bookshelf. It can be filled with books that are useful, not so useful, and maybe not even read! Getting rid of books that you no longer want or need can be difficult - unread books can be a huge source of guilt. That said, I encourage you to let go of books that you're not likely to get to anytime soon - after all, you can always check a book out from the library later!

Would it take the edge off if you made some money from the books that you're getting rid of? Well, a site sent to me by a client called Cash for Books can help you do just that. You tell them what books you have, and they pay you for them. Cash for Books will even pay for the shipping! Check them out at:

Cash For Books - We Buy Books & We Pay The Shipping! www.cash4books.com

The Best On-the-Go Productivity Applications for your BlackBerry Smartphone

A few days ago, I posted the best on-the-go applications for the iPhone. BlackBerry users, I haven’t forgotten about you – here’s a list of top apps for your smartphones.



http://blogs.tech-recipes.com/shamanstears/2008/10/15/10-must-have-and-free-apps-for-the-blackberry/



http://www.bbgeeks.com/blackberry-applications/the-best-in-free-blackberry-software-8897/



Do you have a favorite BlackBerry application? Post it in the comments.

The Best On-the-Go Productivity Applications for your iPhone Smartphone

If you have a smartphone like an iPhone or a BlackBerry, you’ve probably realized that these handy gizmos can do so much more than just keep track of your schedule and make calls. With add-on applications, you can turn your phone into a database of maps, a direct link to FaceBook and other social networking sites, and a handy restaurant finder. Other programs can help you prepare expense reports or find the lowest price on office supplies. Here are some reviews of the best iPhone applications. Later this week, I’ll post some reviews for the best BlackBerry applications.



http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2331274,00.asp

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2333964,00.asp



If you have any applications that you particularly find useful for your iPhone, please post them in the comments.

Great New Tool for Reducing Distractions

If you’re addicted to email, you probably know that not every message is truly urgent. What if there was a way for those truly urgent messages to get to you, even when you are not checking your email?



I just found out about AwayFind, which is a free (for now) service that lets people send you urgent text messages via an online web form. Instead of giving out your cell number to everyone, you can set an autoresponder in your email that says “Sorry, I’m out with clients right now, and won’t be checking my email until the end of the day. If your message is truly urgent and requires immediate attention, please fill out the form below which will send me a text message.” People can still reach you, but at least this way they won’t be interrupting you via email or a phone call.



There are lots of uses for AwayFind. I think it’s a great tool for helping get out from the deluge of email.



http://www.awayfind.com

Don't Multitask!

Great NPR Series on Multitasking



People often ask me about multitasking – how to do more at once, how to get more done, etc. I’m a firm believer that multitasking just doesn’t work, at least on the tasks that are a priority for us. We need to focus in order to do our best work, and when we multitask, by definition we are splitting our focus.



NPR recently had a great series about multitasking. Check it out at:



http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95256794

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95530256

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95524385

Organizing for Holiday Gift Giving

Where has the year gone? Believe it or not, the holidays will soon be with us. Along with the turkey and the trimmings, another holiday tradition – gift giving – is something most of us include in our annual to-do’s. Before things get crazy as they always seem to near the end of the year, now is a great time to plan ahead and get a jump on this year’s gift-a-palooza.


Determine your gift-giving budget. To prevent overspending, it’s always a good idea to know what your limit is. We are in a tough time economically, and splurges that you may have done in the past may not be possible right now. Instead of going into debt during the holidays, take a few minutes and look at your overall financial picture. How much can you afford to spend this year without busting your budget? I think most people will understand if this year’s gift isn’t as costly as in years past, and I doubt your loved ones would feel great about you incurring debt to buy them a gift. Make a budget and stick to it.


Make the list. Now that you have an idea of your overall budget for the holidays, it’s time to create your gift-giving list. Make a list with multiple columns – the person’s name, a few gift ideas, and the cost of each gift. Fill in each column, and at the bottom of the sheet, total up the amount that you’re projected to spend. If it’s on target with your budget, great! If not, see which gifts can be cut from the list. Keep changing items until you are within your gift-giving budget. What you’re left with is your final gifting list.


Look for the deals. With your final list in hand, it’s time to search out bargains wherever possible. Deal-finding sites like fatwallet.com, slickdeals.net, and comparison shopping sites like Google Shopping and Frucall.com can help you stretch your gift-giving dollars. Of course, not everything you’re looking for will have a discount, but it’s definitely worth spending some time looking – you might be surprised at how much you can save!


Find the time-savers. If you order online, look for stores that can gift-wrap for you and ship directly to the recipient – saving you time and a trip to the post office. Many retail stores offer gift-wrapping services as well. If you have a number of gifts that need to be shipped, gather them all together and ship them at one time, rather than in multiple trips to the post office. Finally, if you’re buying an item that’s likely to be in short supply, like a Nintendo Wii or a Teddy Ruxpin (yes, they’re back!), start your shopping right away so you don’t have to scramble at the last minute.


Remember, the act of gift giving should make you feel great – not overwhelmed – and your recipient should feel happy with the affection you’ve show in the form of a tangible item. Act now to organize your gifting, and you’ll have a lot less stress when the holidays come around!


Joshua Zerkel, Certified Professional Organizer®
Custom Living Solutions

www.customlivingsolutions.com
joshua@customlivingsolutions.com
Tel. 415-830-6345

3 Things Every Home Office Worker Needs

When you spend as much time as I have working with different folks in their various at-home workspaces, you start to notice some of the things that consistently are important to being a successful work-at-homer. Of course, some of the things that help people do their best work are big, obvious things, like staying organized, managing one’s time well, and the like. But I’d like to shine a light on some of the things that are smaller and more easily overlooked – but are also, in my experience, very helpful. In fact, these are things I recommend to every person I work with in a home office:

- Everybody needs a label maker. Labeling files, containers, and drawers helps to define where your stuff and your paper live, and makes their homes more official. When things are clearly labeled, it’s easier to put things away and to stay organized. Label makers aren’t too expensive – some of my favorite Brother models can be found on sale at many office supply stores for under $30. Keep your label maker and extra label cassettes handy, and as soon as you create a new file folder or put stuff in a container, create a label immediately.

- Ensure the safety and security of the data in your business. Every person who uses a computer needs a system for regularly backing up their data. Imagine what would happen if your hard drive crashed or your laptop was stolen. How long would it take you to reconstruct your client database, your calendar, and your financial information – if you could even do it at all? If you’ve taken the time to create anything on your computer, it’s worth spending the time to back it up. Now, I realize that adding one more task to your already busy day isn’t the advice you were hoping for – but there is a solution. More and more, I recommend automatic online backup services, like Mozy, that work while your computer is idle and upload your data to a secure offsite server. Also consider keeping hard copies of key documents in a safe location offsite.

- Invest in insurance. This is probably the least fun thing in the world to spend your hard-earned cash on, but I believe having the right insurance is key to any business owner sleeping well at night. I’m consistently surprised how many of my clients just don’t have insurance – most just haven’t thought of it – and why should they? After all, if you already have homeowners or renters insurance, your home office is covered by your existing policy, right? In most cases, wrong. Many insurance policies require a special rider or provision for home offices and home-based businesses to cover the material owned by the business, such as inventory, computers and other equipment, and supplies. Additionally, you might want to consider general business liability insurance and/or specialized insurance for your profession. It’s a good idea to check with your insurance agent to see what can be added or modified on your existing policy to cover both you personally as well as your business.


Probably not the three things you were thinking of… but all are important to your home office. Of course, there are a great many other things that are important to creating successful home office, and they are all important to different degrees. These three are easy to take care of and can really help you create a strong foundation for your business.

Switching from Laundry Mode to Work Mode

My friends get pretty jealous about me having an office in my home, saying it must be cool to be able to sit around in my sweats and do all sorts of errands during the day. Well, while there are definite perks to working from home - spending nothing on gas (a big benefit in $4/gallon San Francisco) and eating a healthy lunch that I prepare – it’s important to remember the work part in the work-from-home equation. For most of us with home offices, it’s key to our success to find ways to put the “office” back in “home office.”


Reduce distractions. Here’s a scenario: even though you hate doing laundry, as soon as you sit down to start your workday, suddenly your laundry jumps to the top of your must-do list. You get out of your chair, collect your laundry, sort it, put it in the machine, and before you know it, you’ve lost 20 minutes that was supposed to be spent on an important project. Sound familiar? Most of us have distractions in our homes that can divert our attention from the work that we have in front of us. For us work-at-homers, it’s super-important to combat these distractions. True, we can’t make them go away, but look for ways to shift your focus back to your work. For instance, putting all non-work-related items out view of your desk, closing the door to your office, and turning off the ringer on your home phone during the day have all proven helpful to people I’ve worked with.


Set the scene. Is your home office set up to help you do your best work? If it isn’t, take some time to get the space organized, comfortable, and conducive for how you like to work. For instance, if you have trouble getting started each day because you can’t find your papers, take an afternoon and set up a paper management system. Are your frequently-used supplies all the way on the other side of the room? Move them closer so you spend less time getting up and interrupting your workflow. Does the space itself reflect your personal aesthetic? How things look and feel can play a big part in how much (or how little) we like our workspace, and when we like our space, we do better work. Spend some time “dressing up” your work area or desk with items that reflect who you are and the things you like.


Dress for work, not for home. Even though it might seem working in your home office in pajamas or sweats is a good idea (you’re already wearing them, right?), doing so doesn’t lend itself to enhancing your productivity or helping you do your best work. Your pajamas may be silk and your sweats designer, but chances are you’d never see a client or go to an office wearing these decidedly not-work garments. Dressing up helps us shift our mind into another state – in this case, dressing for work helps make the mental shift into work mode. I’ve seen people work much better when they dress as if they may be called off to a client site at any moment. For example, a client says when she puts on her shoes, she knows it’s time for her to go to work (even though her office is just down the hall from her bedroom). What outfit can you change into to signal work time?


Find the things that you can do, whether it’s putting on a dress shirt or closing your office door, to create a physical or mental “workspace” that is distinct from your home. When you do, you’ll find yourself being much more productive and enjoy your work more.
-



Joshua Zerkel, Certified Professional Organizer®
Custom Living Solutions

www.customlivingsolutions.com
joshua@customlivingsolutions.com
Tel. 415-830-6345

3 Top Tips for Dealing with Noise Pollution in Your Home Office

“If I do my invoicing, I’ll be able to reach my monthly cash flow goals, but I can’t concentrate with all the traffic noise!”

“I’d love to work on that proposal, but my neighbor’s dog just won’t stop barking!”

“Is that baby STILL screaming? I need to get this project off my desk!”

If any of these sound familiar, then you’ve run into one of the unique challenges of working from home – dealing with residential noise pollution.

Home office workers face a variety of challenges related to distraction, but noise is one that is typically overlooked. Most large offices and workspaces have a symphony of office chatter, the hum of copiers and other office machines, and even the low rumble of the A/C, all of which generally become a type of “white noise” – which we can usually tune out and stop hearing. At home, however, there typically isn’t any background noise – it’s usually just you and your trusty computer – and any outside noise can be especially jarring and make it challenging for us to focus.

In order to get our work done, we home office types need to find strategies to help us manage the noise pollution that can encroach on our productivity. Here’s a few tactics that I’ve found successful with my organizing clients:

The hills are alive… Well, maybe not the hills, but your home office can be alive with the sound of music. For many people, having the right music as background noise can help to get us “into a groove” and make our tasks go faster and seem more enjoyable. I emphasize having the right music, because background music while working is not a one-genre-fits-all affair. Some people find music with lyrics can be distracting while doing verbally-related tasks such as writing, reading, and editing. For these task types, you might want to choose instrumental or electronic music, or even nature sounds. Other tasks, such as organizing your office, might be perfect for that Top 40 song you just can’t seem to get out of your head. Match the music to the task at hand, and you’ll focus less on outside-world noise distractions.

The tech. As with most things, technology is there to help us deal with noise pollution. Noise-cancelling headphones can silence all but the most piercing of outside noises, and can create a quiet zone for us to work in. Sometimes, just having “white noise” can help us ignore the more unpleasant background noises. White noise generators, which create a static-like tone, have been used in therapy offices for many years, and help to drown out or mask things we don’t want to hear. You can find both noise-cancelling headphones and white noise generators online.

Shift your space. Recognize when it might be helpful to just get out of your chair, leave your office, and go someplace else to work. A change of scenery can shift our energy and allow us to focus in a different way than when we’re at our usual workspace. This can be an especially helpful tactic when you need or want to work on a specific task. Let’s say that you need to write an article for your newsletter, but it’s simply too noisy at your home office. Try taking a trip to your local coffee shop, library or park and do your writing from there – you might just find that you write a lot better in that environment. Sometimes, tying a specific type of task to a physical location can help reduce our distraction level and help us focus on the task at hand.

As I’m writing this, two sirens went off outside my window, a dog started barking, and a plane is flying overhead. I know what I’m going to do to get my focus back – what will you do the next time you’re distracted by your noisy environment?

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Joshua Zerkel, Certified Professional Organizer®
Custom Living Solutions
www.customlivingsolutions.com
joshua@customlivingsolutions.com
Tel. 415-830-6345

Evernote - so handy!

On a recent quest for note-taking tools, I've come across Evernote, a multi-platform (Mac, Windows, Web, and mobile) tool for taking and syncing notes. I loved using Microsoft OneNote, but Evernote is like OneNote on steroids - it syncs everything across your devices, and makes your notebooks accessible anywhere you have an internet connection.

Note-taking tools such as EverNote or OneNote are great for collecting random thoughts that might otherwise be in an unorganized notepad, on a napkin, the back of an envelope, or the dreaded sticky note. One person even uses Evernote to organize their medical information.

Check it out at www.evernote.com.

-- Joshua Zerkel, www.customlivingsolutions.com

New Year’s Organizing Tips

Make 2009 your year to get organized!

Set up new systems. This is a great time of year to look at what’s working and what isn’t, and to develop new strategies to serve you better. Are you frustrated with your current piles of paper? Make some time to set up a paper management system. Is your closet overflowing with clothes? Set aside a few hours to edit through your stuff and put things back in a way that makes sense for you. If you haven’t yet figured out a strategy for processing your email, look up a few ideas on how to get through your inbox, and try a few on for size. Take an honest look at where frustration arises in your life, and create ways to combat it.

Tweak current processes. If you’ve already developed some strategies to help you manage life’s details – great! The New Year is the perfect time review what you’ve put in place, and make adjustments to ensure that everything is working as well as it can. For instance, in your filing system, do all the category names still make sense? Are the tabs legible? Are the folders still in good condition? Take a few minutes to review your categories, print out new labels, and replace frayed folders with fresh ones. Review all the systems you currently have in place, and see where small changes can be made. Making these small tweaks can help your systems continue to serve you well.

Give yourself some time. We all could benefit from more “me” time, and this is a good opportunity to build some into our lives. Make a personal “wish list” of projects or interests you’d like to pursue if you had a little bit of extra time. Look at your calendar or agenda and see where you can carve out some extra time for yourself – even just a few minutes a day or an hour or two a week. Set it as an appointment on your calendar – writing it down helps make it real. Use your wish list as a guide for what to do with that newfound extra time.



Joshua Zerkel, Certified Professional Organizer ®, specializes in helping clients maximize their creativity and productivity in their small and home offices. For more FREE organizing ideas, visit www.customlivingsolutions.com/tips or call 415-830-8297.

© 2007 Joshua Zerkel and Custom Living Solutions. All Rights Reserved.

Joshua Zerkel, Certified Professional Organizer ®
Custom Living Solutions
www.customlivingsolutions.com
joshua@customlivingsolutions.com Tel. 415-830-6345

Top Organizing Tips for Graphic Designers

As someone whose previous career was in the design industry, I know how much of a challenge it can be for busy, creative people to get and stay organized. When you’re faced with meeting client deadlines and marketing yourself to find your next gig, it can seem like getting organized is just “one more thing” on the ever-growing to-do list. But taking the time to get organized can help you – and your business – in a variety of ways:

Recognize the benefits of getting organized. When I work with creative professionals of any stripe, one of the concerns they raise is that getting organized could stifle their creativity. In fact, what I’ve seen with my clients is that getting organized can enhance creativity by letting you focus on what’s important to you – rather than the details of “where’s that important client file” or “under which pile of stuff is my extra printer ink.” Getting organized takes a little time and focus up front, but can save you lots of time and stress down the road.

Set aside time to organize. I know you’re busy with design projects for your clients, but remember, taking care of the administrative end of your business, including managing paperwork, billing, and email, is critical to the success of any endeavor. Unfortunately, your admin and organizing-related work won’t do itself, so schedule time to work on your organizing projects. Once they’re completed, build a regular appointment with yourself into your calendar to maintain your systems. One rule of thumb – it takes about 15-30 minutes each day to deal with that day’s worth of new paper. Make sure you have enough time set aside to process your paper – especially client billing!

Get creative with your organizing tools. When I’m working with designers and other creative folks, I frequently hear this refrain: “but the organizing tools are so ugly!” Unfortunately, it’s mostly true – many of the containers and other organizing gizmos out there are pretty bare-bones and focus on functionality over form. That said, there are ways to make sure that your organizing tools match your aesthetic sense. One technique I like to use is to get clear containers, and then line them with decorative paper from a high-end paper store. By doing this, you can completely customize the look of your storage, rather than trying to find an off-the shelf solution that fits. Look for organizing tools that you can customize in various ways – either by decorating, painting, or using in new and unexpected ways.

Give things a home. One of the most important concepts when you’re organizing is to recognize when your supplies, files, and other stuff don’t have assigned homes, they simply can’t be put away – they have no homes to go back to, and they become clutter (or “homeless stuff,” as I like to think of them). Make sure to take the time to assign homes for each of the things that are around your design studio or office. That way, when it’s time to find things, it’s easy to do so – and it’s equally easy to put things away when you’re done with them.


Joshua Zerkel, Certified Professional Organizer ®, specializes in helping clients maximize their creativity and productivity in their small and home offices. For more FREE organizing ideas, visit www.customlivingsolutions.com/tips or call 415-830-6345.

© 2007 Joshua Zerkel and Custom Living Solutions. All Rights Reserved.

Joshua Zerkel, Certified Professional Organizer ®
Custom Living Solutions

What to Do with Your Unwanted Stuff

A frequent by-product of the organizing process is usually a bunch of stuff you’ve decided you no longer want, love, or use. Getting rid of all this stuff can sometimes be a challenge – but don’t let that stymie your progress! Here are three ideas of what to do with your castoffs:

Sell them. If your belongings still have financial value – for instance, electronics in good condition, designer clothes, or antiques – you might be able to recoup some of their cost by selling them. While having a garage sale might seem like the easiest way to sell your stuff, I generally don’t recommend it. Garage sales take a lot of prep work and planning, not to mention the time you have to spend staffing the sale. Unless you live in a densely populated area and expect most of the stuff you’re putting out will sell, skip the garage sale. Instead, try posting your most valuable items on eBay or Craigslist. You can do some research online to see how much you can expect your goods to sell for – helping you decide whether it’s worth your time to sell them or not.

Give them away. For stuff that isn’t saleable but is still in perfectly good condition – clothes that no longer fit, the extra microwave that’s been sitting in the garage, etc. – it’s best to donate them so someone else can use them. Your local Salvation Army or Goodwill are great places to start, as they generally accept a variety of items – call them before driving over to see what they’re currently accepting. For things they won’t accept, get creative – other places may still value your stuff. For instance, if you’re getting rid of stacks of magazines, why not drop a few off at the gym or at a hospital waiting room? Have extra TVs or VCRs? See if a local shelter could use them. Many things that you think aren’t valuable may in fact be desired by someone else – try posting on Craigslist in the “free” section or on Freecycle – the results may surprise you! With clients, I’ve found that when we match their donations to places which will actually use them, they feel much better about letting those things go.

Recycle them. Some of your stuff may not have any more useful life left and should be discarded in an environmentally-friendly manner. In many communities, recycling options abound for items like paper, plastic and aluminum, but what can you do with the rest of the stuff you want to recycle? This is where you have to get creative and do a little legwork. For electronics, some Goodwill locations and places like GreenCitizen will recycle your goods (sometimes for a small fee). See if old clothes can be used as art scraps at a local sewing center or school. Try calling your garbage company and see if they offer any resources or referrals for recycling beyond what they regularly pickup. Your local NAPO-affiliated Professional Organizer can also be a great resource for recycling and reuse ideas.