How Decluttering Your Office Can Help You Get More Done

In today’s busy and fast-paced world, it’s important to monitor your habits in order to stay on top of things. Seemingly small behavioral changes can greatly impact your level of productivity. Your work environment plays a huge part in your attitude and efficiency, and one of the ways to make this work in your favor is to keep a clean, clutter-free work space.

Decluttering your office can promote a better sense of self-organization. Each piece of clutter on your desk is attached to some sort of thought or experience, meaning that clutter is distracting. When you see these reminders sitting in your office, they begin to distract you with unrelated thoughts, and ideas. As a result, they pull attention away from your work and put you into a more scattered frame of mind.

The more visual cues you surround yourself with, the more topics will be battling the task at hand for your consideration. The more thinly your attention is spread, the more overwhelmed you’ll feel and the less efficient you'll be. You may find yourself switching between too many tasks, unable to keep focus and finish what you’ve started. Clearing out the clutter from your work space will streamline your focus and direct your energy into your projects far more effectively.

 

Benefits of Decluttering

On top of lessening the number of distractions around you, cleaning clutter out of your office can also help maintain a mindset of efficiency and organization. People use their environment to express themselves, but it can backfire if they’re constantly looking at messy surfaces that exhibit a lack of organization.

The work environment that you put yourself in will tell both others and yourself what your work ethic and efficiency level are. If your desk is covered in clutter and misplaced papers, then it communicates that you don’t know how to handle your items or workload. Making sure to surround yourself with a clean, clutter-free work space each day will remind you that you are already on the road to being more efficient. If your desk is neatly arranged, then your thoughts and work will be more organized as well. Keeping a clean, streamlined work space will help reinforce the knowledge and belief that you are an organized worker, and will motivate you to set the bar higher for yourself.

 

Finding Things Easier

Alongside helping you feel less mentally cluttered, removing excess items from your desk will simply make things easier to find. When items and papers pile up in your office, it becomes far easier to misplace things, mix up assignments, or lose important memos. Missing deadlines or losing assignments and other materials will take a serious toll on your state of mind and your reputation as a worker.

A simple move like removing excess clutter from your desk can do wonders to make you more capable and respectable in the eyes of your peers. When you clear your desk of all but the essentials, far less time will be wasted each day searching for papers, notes, and pens. Instead, you’ll be able to devote this newfound time to making your ambition reach further. Reducing the amount of clutter in your work area will make you more productive simply because you’ll waste less time.

Not only will cleaning up your office reduce the number of items you have to look through to find what you need—it will bring about beneficial changes in your mindset and attitude as well. Streamlined work spaces represent a streamlined thought process, so clearing away excess items will do wonders to help you increase your efficiency and productivity.

Check these related posts:

Organized for Life

Organizational Advice

Get More Done at Work

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Things To Look For In Your Next Business Planner- Goal Setting, Nutrition, Social Calendar, Time Management Functions

Your ability to properly plan out your day in many ways is critical to your ability to lead the most productive and efficient life possible. As a successful professional, you may currently be looking for an exceptional business planner to assist you with keeping track of personal and business tasks and responsibilities. However, with many types of basic and luxury planners available, you may not know which is the right one of you to use to organize your life. These are some of the top features you should look for in your next planner.

 

Time Management Features

The most basic reason why you need to invest in a new planner is to organize and keep track of your different responsibilities, events and tasks. This may include everything from business meetings and seminars to the kids’ sporting events, date nights with your spouse, neighborhood block parties and more. You ideally will be able to manage your personal and business life together in one planner so that you can more easily keep track of everything you need to do in one location and so that there is no unfortunate overlap. After all, the last thing you want is to find yourself double-booked because you have two different planners.

 

Goal Setting and Tracking Features

The most successful individuals are those who create a list of goals they want to accomplish. These may be short-term goals, such as increasing your savings account balance to a certain level or losing ten pounds. They may also be long-term goals, such as earning a certification that is needed to obtain a promotion at work. Luxury planners may give you a great place to create goals as well as to track your progress toward achieving those goals. 

 

Health and Fitness Planning Features

You can also find life style planners that incorporate features for health and nutrition, workouts, water intake and more. As busy as you are in your personal and business life, you need to take time to care for yourself properly. You can use the time management feature of your planner to schedule ample time to exercise throughout the week, but you also need to pay attention to your caloric and sugar intake, if you took your medications or vitamins and more.

Financial Management Features

Regardless of the field that you work in, your personal finances likely occupy a fair amount of your time and attention each day. This may include paying bills, monitoring your investment account balances and more. Luxury planners include spaces for your budget, expense tracking, meetings with your financial adviser and more. You must devote ample time to your finances each week if you want to succeed in this area of your life. After all, your bills and accounts will simply not take care of themselves. Look for a planner that incorporates financial management features in it if you want to enjoy the best overall results from your scheduling and planning efforts. 

While you may have initially been looking for a business planner to assist with keeping track of your professional activities and plans, you can see that it is best to purchase comprehensive life style planners that allow you to fully organize all aspects of your life in one neat, concise way. The Fancy Pants Daily Planner System is a high-end planner that incorporates all of these features as well as several others to give you the most comprehensive scheduler available. You understandably want to improve the management of your life, and this planner helps you to accomplish this goal. Available in several stylish colors, this six-ring binder has multiple inserts and add-ons available to help you customize it as desired. This is truly the ultimate organizational system that is ideal for busy professionals.

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What Kind of A Leader Are You? Defining Your Leadership Style.

In the business world, leaders are extremely difficult to find and even harder to replace. Leaders help set the tone of the organization and play a vital role in setting an example for other employees. While leaders share some common qualities, not all leaders act in the same manner. There are a few different types of leadership and all of them can be effective when applied correctly. What type of leader are you?

Delegating Leader

One of the most common types of leadership is delegation. With this type of leader, the individual delegates most tasks to subordinates. The level of delegation can vary significantly from one leader to the next. For example, one leader might delegate tasks to a higher level like putting someone in charge of a department and letting them handle it. Then another leader delegates even low level tasks like replying to emails or taking phone calls.

How you delegate tasks as a leader can have an impact on how your employees see you. For instance, if you angrily demand that someone does a task for you immediately, it can cause resentment and problems down the road. By comparison, if you present the facts to someone and then ask them what they think should be done, you may gain their respect and they will volunteer to complete a task without having to be told to do it. Many great leaders don't have to demand things to be done because they are great communicators and give their employees respect.

Do it All Leader

On the other end of the spectrum is the leader that wants to do everything himself. This type of leader essentially wants control of every detail that they are responsible for. They often have the attitude that "if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." They may have reached this conclusion after trying the delegation approach and being let down time and again by subordinates. In some cases, they are just private individuals that like to do their work and not get tied up in "office politics." Regardless of the reason they like to do it all themselves, they often work long hours, and never feel like they have everything done.

A Healthy Mix

While both of the types of management listed above can work in the right environment, it's typically best to have a healthy mixture of both types of leader. Instead of always delegating everything or always doing everything by yourself, try mixing it up. As a manager, it's typically a good idea to delegate lower level items that someone else in your organization can do effectively while keeping the higher level tasks for yourself. Usually, you made it to a leading role because you're a good decision maker. Because of this, it's in the company's best interest if you are the one making the important and critical decisions while your team is doing the tasks that have to be completed. Many leaders keep the mindset that got them promoted initially. They think that they have complete a certain amount of work in a day to be valuable. In reality, it may be much more valuable for them to spend time planning and thinking about the proper course of action.

Regardless of where you find yourself as a leader, it's important to find the leadership style that fits you best. If you are constantly going against the grain and trying to be someone you're not, it will cause conflict. When a leader identifies that perfect fit in management methods, it can be an extremely powerful thing for the organization. Some leaders lead startups, some lead non-profits. If you want to build a brand that impresses the world, you need to elevate your leadership abilities to draw in top level talent.

Want to be a great leader? You must be willing to sacrifice and grind.

Check out our related posts:

Work Life Balance

Network Life A Boss

Get More Done At Work

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https://startplanner.com/blogs/news/what-kind-of-a-leader-are-you-defining-your-leadership-style

What Does It Mean To Hustle In Your Business?

Hustle.

You hear the term thrown around online all the time, especially on social media outlets. There's a lot of hype out there – a lot of people talking about it, sharing memes and making YouTube videos.

Take Gary Vaynerchuk, for instance. The guy is known as a hustler, a go-getter and a social media mentor to millions. You see D-Rock following him around all day with a video camera and documenting his daily business activities, and you see and hear tons of great motivational soundbites in Gary's videos, social posts and keynote speeches.

So you have an idea of what it looks like for Gary Vee, but how does that apply to you in your line of work? Are you supposed to send out tweets and make selfie videos all day? Should you drop everything and spend all of next week trying to figure out how the hell Snapchat works?

What Does Hustle Look Like In Your Business?

You are not Gary Vee.

You are a different person in a different industry with a different type of business. Don't just jump on the bandwagon and try to be another Gary Vee wannabe, trying to mentor people and throw around the F-word all day to get some likes and retweets. The world has enough of those already.

Instead, you need take a broader look at how people like Gary succeed and then adapt those same principles to your own business. What can you learn from them that you can apply to your own work and life right now?

Here are three solid ideas that you need to put into practice immediately to squeeze the most juice out of your own day and to reach the levels of success that you've been dreaming about.

1. Do The Work

 

What is your business all about? What are you selling? What valuable product, information or service are you offering people that makes them want to throw money at you? What really matters in your day-to-day business? What is the most valuable use of your time?

If you're struggling to get your business off the ground – and if you're trying to do it on a shoestring budget – then you need to get really focused about what is necessary to the success of your business and what is not necessary. A lot of people waste their time on things that don't really contribute to their bottom line.

You need to single out the thing that matters most in your business, and then you need to do that for 40-80 hours per week or more for months and even years on end without quitting.

Do you think Gary Vee became a success overnight? He only recently became popular in the media, but he was grinding for 18 hours a day for several years before anyone had ever heard of him. If you're not willing to put in the hours – and the years – then you've already failed.

2. Fail More

 

Speaking of failure, you need more of that. You need to fail more. If you're not failing at anything, then you must not be trying anything new. If you want to achieve a higher level of success than where you're at right now, then you need to push out of your comfort zone and start trying some new things that can take your business to the next level.

But again, you need to do this in a way that is authentic for you and that fits your business.

3. Cut Toxic People Out Of Your Life

There's an old saying that goes, "If you want to soar with the eagles, then you've got to stop scratching around in the dirt with the chickens."

 

This might sound a little bit harsh, but there's a good chance that you've got some friends and family members with a loser mentality. They're always complaining about how hard life is and about how they never get a break. They're always making excuses for their lack of success in life, and they're always pointing fingers at somebody else.

If you have an idea for a business or a new product, they'll be the first ones to tell you that it won't work.

You need to spend less time with people like that and more time with people who are already successful and who can teach you and inspire you to push for greatness.

So there you have it – three tips to help you build your business and rise to the top of your field. But don't try to be somebody else. Embrace your uniqueness and hustle in ways that make sense for you.

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https://startplanner.com/blogs/news/what-does-it-mean-to-hustle-in-your-business

Learn to delegate In order to grow your business (benefits of leveraging other peoples talents)

Building a business requires a very different skill set than growing a business. When building a business, people often have to do a wide range of things themselves that they can later hire someone else to do - if they choose to. Building a business requires mastering a wide variety of skills to a certain degree.

But people who build businesses can often fool themselves into thinking they've mastered something that they are actually only adequate at in comparison to someone who actually specializes in that skillset. Here are 4 reasons why business owners often don't delegate and why delegation is important if you genuinely want to grow your business.

1. Saving the best for themselves

Very often there are certain plum jobs that the boss gets to decide who does, which they often reserve for themselves. Bosses who do this are losing out on several important opportunities. Employees will go above and beyond for bosses that go above and beyond for them, but by reserving plum assignments for themselves, bosses are setting the example of looking out for #1 and that is the example employees will also follow. Instead of reserving the best jobs for themselves, they can delegate the best jobs as a reward for a job well done in other areas.

2. Getting out of the "master" mindset

When you were building your business, you probably had to spend a great deal of time learning, researching and to some degree mastering certain skillsets that didn't come naturally to you. Because of the time, energy and effort you put into mastering that skillset, it can be natural to want to get the most "bang for your buck" so to speak, by continuing to do those tasks or set of responsibilities long after there is someone else available to do them that you could easily delegate them to. Delegation, however, frees you up to focus on the thing that you actually do much better, which will go far further towards building your business than continuing to do the things you are not naturally gifted at.

3. Lack of trust that tasks will be performed effectively

Too many times we can fall into the trap of believing that if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. This may be true of many things, but a boss literally can't do everything themselves - that's what they have employees for. While it is important to have a certain number of things done up to a certain standard, bosses also have to learn that not everything has to be done their way to be done effectively. Because of how hugely important the ability to delegate is, it's also important to have well-trained employees that can take on important tasks and do them well. One of the best things you can do for yourself is to train your employees well so you can delegate almost any assignment in a crisis and know it will be handled effectively and efficiently.

4. Fear of someone taking over your business

No matter what position you are in, there is always someone younger and hungrier coming up behind you. Long is the list of founders of companies that have eventually been squeezed out of their own company by a former subordinate. However, no matter where you are, there is always room for advancement, whether it's expanding to another location, moving into a higher position or even building another business entirely.

While it might not be your ideal plan, if you built one company, chances are good you can always build another. When you train your employees thoroughly and are capable of delegating any of your own tasks to them, you free yourself up to move forward knowing there will be someone well-qualified to take your place.

Want to delegate more effectively? Pick up one of our planners built for entrepreneurs just like you.

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https://startplanner.com/blogs/news/learn-to-delegate-in-order-to-grow-your-business-benefits-of-leveraging-other-peoples-talents

Wantrepreneur. How To Go From Being A Wanter To A Doer, simply by writing down your goals

Many people have wonderful business ideas floating around in their head, but very few people actually act on those ideas. Entrepreneurs are individuals who take risks, and they work hard to turn their dream of a great business concept into a profitable reality. Wantrepreneurs, on the other hand, are not doers.

These are individuals who fail to act on their ideas and who often miss out on a great opportunity in life as a result. If you are a wantrepreneur, you may be wondering what steps you need to take to move beyond your current state and to become a successful entrepreneur. The solution is as simple as writing down your goals. A closer look will reveal how writing down your goals can help you to get out of your stuck position and to achieve those goals.

You Are Compelled to Take Action

An idea is something that may float in and out of your head from time to time. It is not something you focus on, and it may not even seem real to you. A written goal is printed in black and white. By simply writing down a goal on paper, you make it real. You bring your thought into reality. You may look at your written goal several times per day or more, and it may become more real to you with each passing day. You may eventually write down an even more detailed plan, and you may revise your goal numerous times until it seems perfectly thought out. Eventually, your written goal compels you to create a full business plan.

It Creates a Path for You to Follow

When an idea is floating in your head, you understandably do not know the next step to take to bring your goal to life. Should you get a business license, find financing, develop a product or do something else? By writing down your goal formally, you can then list the steps that you need to take to bring your goal to life. You are essentially creating a startup business plan that can guide you through the entire entrepreneurial process. You do not have to feel lost or confused because you have a clear-cut and well-researched planning sitting right in front of you.

It Helps You to Decide What to Do Next

Some people get started on their business without a written plan, but they often get stuck with bumps in the road. They may lose track of what they are doing, or they may miss an important step that can smooth the way. When your goal is written down clearly, you can easily determine what you need to do next. You can even read ahead in your written plan so that you are fully prepared to take the next steps without delay. More than that, because your goals are in writing, you can cross off the various steps on your to-do list as you complete them. This can give you a sense of accomplishment that motivates you throughout the process. The startup process can be long and daunting, and your written plan gives you the ability to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

If you are stuck in the mode of being a wantrepreneur, you can easily sit down today and write down your goals. Your initial goal may be fairly limited, but you can expand upon your goal by writing down more details in the days and weeks to come. Eventually, your plan will be so complete that you feel compelled to act on it. Now is the perfect time to take the first step toward becoming an entrepreneur.

Ready to take action? Great. Now order one of our planners that can assist you in sticking to your goals and achieving them!

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https://startplanner.com/blogs/news/wantrepreneur-how-to-go-from-being-a-wanter-to-a-doer-simply-by-writing-down-your-goals

Should You Hire Remote Staff or In Person Employees? Pros and Cons

Congratulations! You have finally accomplished what each and every small business hopes to aspire to, and hire staff to guide daily operations. However, there is still a big question to answer before you start hiring. Do you hire remote freelancers or in-person employees? Lucky for you, this guide of the top pros and cons for each can help solve that question once and for all.

Hiring Remote Staff

Pros:

- You have more flexibility to rehire. Firing or replacing a self-employed freelancer is much easier than an in-person employee. Plus, they’ll be more understanding since that’s what they signed up for in the person. Say goodbye to filling out complicated paperwork and the awkward last days that come with it.
- You can save money since you don’t need to offer them high-quality benefits or a commuted salary.
- They are in charge of getting their own licenses and permits so you don’t have to.
- You won’t need to train them since the one you hire should have plenty of experience beforehand.

Cons:

- Since their work is done under their own business name, there is less of a chance they will promote your business or brand.
- Unless you have already drafted an agreement between your contractor, all the work they do will not be owned by you.
- A self-employed remote staff is usually hired short term, so there is less of a chance this is a worker you will spend a long time with.
- Since you can’t exactly monitor what they do from their location, you may lose some sort of control on the way you operate.

Hiring In Person Employees

Pros:

- Your employees will feel like they are part of the team, which will boost morale and job satisfaction.
- Hourly wages are often less than freelancers because an in person employee has more job security.
- Your business will always be fully staffed, even when your workload grows. If you depend on remote staff and freelancers, they may not be available every time you need them.
- You can delegate a lot of tasks that you do not have time to complete yourself.
- You will spend less time training staff since there will be fewer new faces coming in and out of your business. Your in person employees know how you like things to be completed.
- If you choose to go on vacation, you can relax knowing your business is safe in the hands of a trusted few.

Cons:

- With full-time employees, you may be required to provide benefits like health insurance or paid vacation time.
- You are required to pay their salaries on a regular schedule, even if your business is having a downturn. This will mean that you need to have a savings account to cover their salaries, should this occur.
- In person employees require more paperwork to be done.
- Depending on where you live, you may be responsible for any training or licensing requirements needed by your employees.

So Which Is Better?

There is no clear answer to this question as it all depends on your situation and the job you need to be completed. Check out our post on why outsourcing is a better value than in house, in most circumstances. If you have a short-term position open that you do not see yourself needing in the future, a remote worker or independent contractor would be best. If you need someone for the long term or someone to handle face to face communications, an in person employee would be better. It all depends on your and your business’s needs.

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https://startplanner.com/blogs/news/should-you-hire-remote-staff-or-in-person-employees-pros-and-cons