My computer was possessed by the letter “h” . . . lessons learned.

A couple of weeks ago, my computer became possessed by the letter “h”.  It started out occasionally typing an “h” randomly while I was working and then began doing it more frequently.  It got to the point where I couldn’t backspace fast enough, log into anything that required a password, and it changed the name of my iphone to “hhh” in my itunes.

So off to the computer shop it went.  At first I thought it was cat hair or something that was jamming the key but no amount of cleaning would help.  Turns out it was an electronic glitch in the keyboard system itself.  Of course, my hot pink laptop needed a special keyboard that no one carries in stock so I had to wait for it to come in.  To my tech guys credit, they had my new keyboard installed within an hour of its arrival.  You know it’s not a good thing when the tech geeks say, “Hmm, haven’t seen this problem before”.

BUT, here’s my lessons learned from being without my laptop for 2 weeks and attempting to work with only an iphone that wasn’t able to be synced for that whole time (or for about a week prior – see above note about itunes):

• be sure that all of your contacts are updated regularly in your smartphone or that you have a printed backup
• be sure that all of your passwords for accessing things like, oh, your bank account or your WORDPRESS BLOG are written down somewhere that you can access if you normally save all your passwords in a (very secret) file on your laptop so when you go on a different computer to try to do something you can actually access your accounts
• be sure to write down all of your appointments from your Outlook calendar BEFORE you take said computer to the shop (or consider using something that is based on the web such as Google Calendar)
• Place all important documents (ones you need to access regularly) in your Dropbox account so you can get to them online when you need them
• be sure that your smartphone can actually send emails as well as receive them

Here’s some things I did right, though:

• My iphone has apps for Facebook, Twitter (I use Tweetdeck), Linked In, Kindle, Evernote and many others that I use on a regular basis
• Most of my client and project research was in my Evernote account
• My paper files have blank copies of contracts, important documents and client notes
• My whole computer is backed up using Carbonite so even if the whole system crashed, I had all of my information that could be restored if need be
• All of my current clients and projects were in project folders or project bins along with all pertinent information & materials
• I had current checks, envelopes and stamps in my mail center

I was also lucky that it was the end of summer, just before school started back up, so I wasn’t as busy with clients.  It’s typically a slow time of year for my business as families are trying to wind down summer and gear up for school.

I felt as if a body part was missing.  It did give me some critical insight that maybe I’m too attached to my computer, or too dependent on it.  I kept walking over to my desk and staring at the pitifully empty spot.  While I was going through the withdrawal pains, I came to the conclusion that at least it gave me something to blog about that others can learn from.  Other than that, it sucked.  Seriously sucked.

Using ‘Notes’, or, “I have a lead on a client but can’t remember their name!”

One of the main issues I run across when working with both business and residential clients is how to keep track of all the people they meet. For residential – it’s often the soccer coach, the new teacher at school, the parent they met at the school play or the plumber their neighbor recommended. For business clients, it’s the lead on a prospective client, a great website designer or the person who promised to put them in touch with someone who could help them land a grant.

This is what I recommend:

First, have one landing spot for all of your contacts. It could be a small basket, a business card holder, a folder – doesn’t really matter as long as all of the business cards/scribbled notes/post-it all goes there.

Second, use a system such as Outlook on your computer to keep all of your contacts. Paper systems can work well, usually, for someone who doesn’t have a lot of contacts but if you are a busy person or have a business – an electronic system is key. The main reason is … searchability.
But here is the key: Use the notes section for key words so you can actually find that contact again. After all, the best thing about being organized is finding what you need – when you need it.

Say you get a business card from a potential client at a networking lunch. The woman you met has red hair, her kids go to the same pre-school yours did and you talked about both having labrador retrievers. She also knows another client of yours who had said good things about you and your business. Definitely a warm lead. You enter in her information in your contacts database. A week later, you want to follow up with her but can’t for the life of you remember her name. No worries. If your notes section said . . .

• met at NAWBO luncheon May 2010
• red hair/kid at Waldorf/chocolate lab named Chuck
• in book club with Sue Smith

. . . then you could simply type in the “search” box … ‘lab’ or ‘red hair’ or ‘Sue Smith’.

Every contact you have that has that key word will pop up so you can find her, and hopefully land her as a client.  She’ll be pretty impressed that you not only followed up but remembered the name of her dog.

Organizing Tools On The Web

Allen from Jibidee did a great presentation at the NAPO 2010 Conference about organizing tools on the web. Thought I’d share his tips here:

Anyone who knows me knows I love me some tech stuff but even I learned some new things at this session – many that I’m going to incorporate into my own business but even better – several that I can use with my clients (yes, you!).

Follow Allen on Twitter @jibidee

Organizing For Entrepreneurs :: Finding Success Begins With Finding Your Stuff

A lot of my clients are small business owners either in a home office or outside location.  Each time I work with one of them, I kept noticing they were having pretty much the same issues over and over again.  And I found myself saying the same solutions over and over again – simply tweaking it for their particular needs.  But mostly it’s paper, business cards from networking, client information, email management, filing, etc.

So I decided to take all of this fabulous information and combine it into a three hour seminar.  I’m going to teach entrepreneurs the basics of managing all of the stuff that comes with being a business owner.

This class is designed for someone who is great at what they do but does not have the organizing principles needed to keep track of their stuff.  This may mean YOU!

The class is called “Organizing For Entrepreneurs” and is designed to give you the skills you need to help save you time and money as you go about your day.  It is being held on Friday, March 26th, 2010 from 8:30-11:30 at CoLab Nashville, and is only $95.  This also includes a 1/2 hour follow up phone consultation.  It’s a great deal – especially since I’m limiting it to 15 people so you can get some individualized attention along with this super important information.

Ask yourself how much time you waste every day looking for things you need or being frustrated with piles of papers or office supplies.  And then ask yourself how much your time is worth.

Register now as space is limited! *Please keep in mind that the class is located in Nashville, TN.

Also, check out Knight Stivender’s blog post about this event “Organizer helps entrepreneurs save time”!

excellent article in NYT: office organizing

Came across a tweet today that posted a great article from the NYT:

An Orderly Office? That’s Personal

Thanks to @declutteryou & @RubbermaidTwo for posting and retweeting. Loved this article – it speaks to the experience of many of my clients and those who have worked with professional organizers. Some good tips in there as well!