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Clutter Creates Chaos by Lorraine Pirihi

Hi,

I attended a seminar this week where the speaker told the story about one of his clients who was a financial planner. The speaker specialised in sales and marketing and said that on the first day when he met with his new client Harry, he was shown into his office.

The office looked like a demolition site. There were files and paperwork piled up on Harry's desk, floor and filing cabinets. In fact the speaker said he had to remove another mountain of files from the visitor's seat before he could sit down. He then went on to say that he told Harry that there was no way they could even consider doing further work until Harry tidied up and got organised.

A messy environment gives the impression that you are out of control, even if you believe you've got a handle on things. Did you know that The Wall Street Journal did a survey of white collar workers and found that the average white collar worker wastes 6 weeks a year looking for things? If you run your own business that's a huge waste of time and money.

The challenge for most people who are surrounded by clutter is that they are overwhelmed and don't know where to start first. In the first week of my new group telecoaching program The Productivity Accelerator we will cover this subject in great depth so that you are clear on what action steps you need to take to destroy the clutter in your life.

You'll save time because you will be able to easily locate what you want , you'll save money by not purchasing more of what you already have but can't find. By cleaning out the clutter you'll be able to stay where you are and avoid moving to bigger premises to store your clutter. Your chances of losing or mislaying important information also drops dramatically. You'll be able to focus much better on what you really need to be doing, you'll be less stressed and feel more confident. You'll also portray an image of professionalism and trust to your clients and prospects.

You see whether you like it or not, people will judge you on your clutter.

A friend of mine used to have a business with 5 salespeople on the road so their car was their office. Every week he would check their cars to see how tidy they were. 99% of the time he would find that there was a direct link to the tidiness of their cars to the amount of sales they made. If the car was a mess he knew their sales would be down.

The Final Word

Don't let another day go by where you are drowning in clutter. Take action today to rid yourself of the mess so you can make way for more success.

Lorraine Pirihi is Australia's No. 1 Productivity Coach. She specialises in showing small business owners, managers and entrepreneurs on how they can have more time, make more money and have a life. Lorraine is a dynamic speaker and has produced a wide range of products to help anyone in business get organised, get focussed and on track. To subscribe to her free ezine and received powerful productivity tips to enhance your life visit http://www.office-organiser.com.au


Other articles by Lorraine Pirihi

The Wrap Up of 2006 - by Lorraine Pirihi
So how do you feel about 2006? Were you more effective? Have you been spending time with your family? Are you fit and healthy? Has your business provided the income and lifestyle you wanted? Are you now enjoying life more? Have you made the time to invest in yourself both personally and professionally?

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This week I was doing some research for a conference I'll be speaking at shortly. One of the people I rang from the industry I was researching answered the phone with "How can we help you change your life today?"

10 Costly Mistakes To Avoid In Running Your Own Business - by Lorraine Pirihi
Increasing workloads are forcing people to spend more time in the office, even when the office is at home. This means that many parents are unable to stay involved in their children's lives as they develop, and are becoming mere spectators instead of loving role models. The result is an undermining of their relationships, higher stress levels, a lack of balance and a generally unfulfilled life.

11 Ways to Simplify Your Life and Be One Less Body in the Graveyard - by Lorraine Pirihi
Do you find that there's so much to do and not enough time? People are so caught up in the busy-ness of life, yet often lose sight of what their true purpose is... why they are in business in the first place. Although they say their family and friends or their health are their no. 1 priority often their schedules reflect something totally different. Does that sound like you?

Costly Mistakes To Avoid In Running Your Own Business - by Lorraine Pirihi
Are you a small business owner who is involved in every aspect of your business from being the bookkeeper, marketer, human resources manager, mediator, customer liaison officer and cleaner? The smaller your business is, the harder it can be for you to delegate some or all of these functions because chances are you dislike spending any money and, in fairness, the dollars can be tight. However, what you may fail to understand is that if you invest your dollars wisely in accessing the right type of goods and services to grow your business and be more effective, you will see positive changes occur over time. You can become more productive and profitable.

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