I am powerless over my feelings and actions.  I think I can control the results and pain. 

But the truth is my actions create no feelings that support me with peace or spiritual gain.

I want to know what it feels like

Those people who say they don’t have these issues

I want to know what it feels like

Those people that life live with ambition.

Why my life is so unmanageable and I’m so powerless

the fear pops up and controls

But then I realize it’s only me who needs to let go and trust.

Lack of organization can be the initial stage of realization and the beginning of a road to recovery.  Once you recognize that your own life is unmanageable and that you can no longer maintain the façade, it may be time to get help.   Living in chaos is not a normal state, it’s actually dysfunctional.  I share this poem and experience with you to let you know I’ve seen it, understand it and can help   It’s not easy to ask for help… even though the behavior causes nothing but stress and pain and oftentimes has financial implications.  The final line in the poem of letting go and trust, says it all.  When we let go and trust a better life awaits.  I embrace you.

© Anne McGurty.  Strategize & Organize.

It does not matter what country you live in. Your sex and age are both irrelevant. Religion and race cannot alter the one thing everybody has in common. You only get 24 hours in a day. For businesses to increase profit without increasing expenditure, improve your productivity through better time management.

In every business there are jobs that staff enjoy. Then you have other jobs that are just as important, but staff and management do not particularly like doing. It is a proven fact that if you enjoy doing something, you do it well. Conversely, if you would rather not be doing something, you do it as quickly as possible and not usually in the most efficient manner.

The single biggest time waster in any business is record keeping/filing/document management. This is because most businesses use outdated systems that are no longer efficient. Staff generally hate the mundane tasks associated with record keeping and thousands of hours are wasted every year because everyone is too busy to spend time looking for a solution.

Stop looking! The answer is literally at your fingertips. The Paper Tiger Document Management Software and Filing System can free up hundreds, or even thousands, of hours currently being wasted using archaic filing systems. This is a company’s biggest hidden cost and is often overlooked. The best way for you to improve overall productivity and time management is through the utilization of a standardized indexing system.

No longer will staff make up their own minds about how to file things. Gone are the days of cluttered desks and documents being misplaced because people cannot be bothered taking the time to correctly file your important documents. You will no longer be forced to make uninformed major decisions because you could not locate a particular document at a crucial time.

The Paper Tiger is the right document management system and is easy to learn and implement because it blends in with whatever your current guidelines are. There will be a universal way of storing all documents so that everybody, from the CEO of the largest corporation to the newest girl in administration, can both file and locate any document at any time.

Simply make some decisions as to how you will name your files. They can be names, numbers or whatever combination you choose, then enter keywords and/or additional notes relating to each document.

Current files will be right at your fingertips whenever you need them. They can be kept in a desk drawer or a filing cabinet and the records are input into the software program for everyone to see and add to as required. This saves time if other people need a document from a file from anywhere in the office.

Older, archived files can be stored elsewhere, either on-site or off-site and still indexed in the exact same way. Anything not needed can be deleted or shredded. Gone are the days of cluttered desks, overflowing in-trays and piles of documents sitting wherever there is an empty space. A clean desk gives you more time to focus on the important work.

If you have 100 employees and each one saves one hour a day on filing, that equates to an extra 100 hours every day that can be used more productively. That is the equivalent of having an extra 12 people working for you each day. Productivity will soar without having to increase costs.

Imagine staff coming to work and sitting at clean desks each day. No more sad faces. There will be plenty of extra time to finish important tasks. Some data entry has to be done to manage their record keeping along the way, but not enough to get stressed about. Happier staff means less sick days and higher retention of current staff, which saves countless hours training new people.

An indexing document management software that is easy to learn, simple and quick to operate, and fits in without too much effort, will improve the time management skills of every single person in the company.

Record management is a vital part of any business and has to exist in one form or another. Utilizing the most efficient form of indexing means that you are meeting all the legal requirements of document retention. No more uninformed decisions because you cannot find the document you desperately needed for that last minute meeting. No more chasing receipts at tax time. Everything is fully indexed in your computer.

You can improve your productivity through better time management by changing the way you handle filing and document management. By making a small investment, increased productivity will save you hundreds or thousands of hours and dollars, both now and in the future.

As I am a certified Paper Tiger consultant and have been since 2002, I received this email article written and received directly from The Monticello Company and am sharing this information.  If you would like help regarding the purchase or implementation of this product, I’d love to help you. 

To your productivity, Anne McGurty

The Gracious Host: Danny Meyer of Union Square Hospitality Group.  Savvy New York restaurateur talks about how he stays productive using technology to connect with customers.    

Personally, I agree that we are all so busy and that the manual way of handling our “to do list” from the past, is not as efficient as it used to be. there’s so many more things going on and so many more people.  Danny Meyer has processes in place and thats what’s helping him maintain those relationships and getting things done!

Enjoy reading this article and see if you get any ideas.  If you’re inspired and go forward, kudos!  If you’re inspired and need help, let  me know how I can help.

(c) Strategize and Organize. Anne McGurty

Last night I went to an event to support a fellow colleague.  He is an investment advisor rep with a national financial services company.   (Due to compliance issues, I can’t promote or publish his info, so if you want a referral, please email me.)  I can refer to him as  Chris.  Chris and I are partners in a Mastermind Group.  For those of you who don’t have a mastermind group, I highly recommend it…  it’s a group of trusted colleagues who support you in the development of your personal success. 

I learned a lot from him as we all can learn something as we support others.  As a presenter educating the audience of his services… he talked about a phrase that many prospective clients say.. they’re wo’ busy.  You ask someone, how are you and they say.. wo busy… We are all so busy that we’re not taking the time to think about our future.. he was talking about the financial story of our lives.. I’m thinking about how that also relates to the efficiency in our life.  We get so busy we’re not thinking about where we’re going.  To plug Chris, he had an extremely compelling intro to why you should start getting less busy and think about your financial future. 

His story got me thinking about my clients who are also.. wo busy.  I hear that so often that people are so busy with running their business, putting out fires, trying to make money and satisfy clients, that they are not being efficient… losing time and money.  Why not just stop, take the time to get organized, set up a system, document your processes and be prepared for the freedom of time due to you for working so hard.

Last night Chris also referred to a Forbes magazine quote, where highly successful people shared that the reason for their success was the common answer “someone showed me”.  I wonder why so many of us think we have to do it ourselves.  We are not the masters of everything, so trusting an expert, whether it’s a financial expert or a productivity expert, it’s not a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of following successful leaders.  I thought it was very humbling and realistic.  I know I’m not running my life on all my brilliance and skill, people have been showing me every step of the way!  Thank you friends and mentors!

I’m grateful for my mastermind group for meeting people like Chris.  It also gives me a safe place to ask how to do something or to run a new idea by a diversified group. What are you doing today to improve the quality of your business decisions, are you making all the decisions or are you thinking outside the box seeking people who have gone before you.   Go ahead call someone and ask them how they are getting it all done, ask them to “Show You”!

(C) Strategize and Organize.  Anne McGurty

Stop!  I’m busy.  I couldn’t’ believe it, those were the words that were said to me by the receptionist at my optometrist office when I went up to the counter after waiting now thirty minutes to see my doctor.

Let me tell you what led up to this moment.  I arrived at my optometrist’s office at 8:20 for an 8:30 am appointment. Ok, I was early.  The receptionist and another gentlemen physician’s assistant were sitting behind the desk, no one looked up, but since I had been there once before I knew to sign the clipboard with my information.  I signed in, no word or look up of acknowledgement.  I sat patiently and quietly in my seat and it was now 9:00, still no word from anyone, other patients had come and gone, so I went up to the receptionist and had my words and thoughts gathered..  “Can you please tell me how much longer Dr. M… will be as I had an appointment at 8:30?”  it was now 9:00.. the receptionist put her hand up like a stop sign, and said,” I’m busy!  Have a seat and I’ll call you when the doctor is ready. ”

Are you friggin kidding me?  What on earth kind of customer service is that!  I was so distraught and taken aback,  I responded, I just need to know whether I should consider rescheduling as I had another appointment in an hour elsewhere.  She told me again she was too busy and to have a seat.  Well here I am showing up for an appointment to learn how to put in my new contact lenses, I’m completely shaking and thinking how am I going to relax enough to put those in my eyes.   A few minutes later the physician’s assistant came to take me to the area to help with my new lenses and I told him, I needed to speak to the doctor first.  He got my doctor I told her of this situation and how disturbing it was.  She was sorry.. as we all are when we her that our staff is not performing; however she asked me to relax to try out my new lenses.. of course, I couldn’t’.   I left and asked to reschedule.

 An hour or so later, the receptionist calls me later to say that she apologized the new process for taking clients with contacts lenses was a little disorganized and that it affected my appointment.  I couldn’t believe she thought the scheduling was the problem!  The problem was her behavior.  How rude and unprofessional to treat a patient and not be aware of it.  I told her that her behavior was the issue and that anyone can understand blips to new processes.    She didn’t apologize, she just asked if I’d like to reschedule. 

 Why I’m sharing this story is that the excuse for the bad behavior was because they introduced a new product and were not prepared for the work involved in the execution.  The poor customer service is a whole other issue, however, one that also needs to be addressed.  So before you think about rolling out a new product, spend a little bit of time planning out the processes, document them, maybe even inform your clients of the change, and refer to a process check list to help you through the process.  Also, spend a little time and money on your employees for customer service training. If you can’t take the time internally, hire a professional.  I know I could provide an inexpensive, value based program for this small office.  It would cost them less than they lost.  Their billing revenue with me is gone for good.  Lifetime value to them — maybe $2500.  And I’m just one patient!

 There’s more to this story and I’m not going to bore you with the details, but let’s say, I’m looking for a new optometrist as the receptionist is still there and behaving poorly and unprofessionally.  I cringed every time I called to schedule a follow up.  It’s been a couple of months and each morning as I put in my contacts, I think of this issue, so I needed to move on so I can see more clearly and work with people and professionals who eye-dentify with my values.    So I’m thinking, “Stop, I’m busy too and I deserve better customer service!”

(C) Strategize & Organize. Anne McGurty