One of my big goals for 2012 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now have a new piece of paper on our desk that we need to deal with – a document that we may never even use, or may be outdated by the time we get back to it!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 and ScanSnap 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.

If you’re wondering how to implement these strategies, we’d be happy to chat with you. Contact us for a complimentary strategy session by going to http://www.CustomLivingSolutions.com/Apply

And if you’d like latest tips and advice on productivity and organizing delivered right to your inbox, enter your email address below to subscribe. It’s FREE!

Magazine subscriptions seem like such a great idea at first, but if you don’t keep up with them, they can become overwhelming and end up feeling like homework. In order to keep the clutter down, it helps to give your magazines expiration dates. How many issues do you want to allow to pile up? If you’ve got a year’s worth of unread magazines staring you in the face, that stops being fun and it starts being a hassle. You might make a new rule that says when the new edition of a magazine arrives, last month’s has to go.

If you can’t bear to toss an unread magazine, you can still keep what want without adding to the clutter. Simply cut out the articles you want to read and put them into a binder or folder. Once you’ve read them, you can choose to hang onto them or recycle them. In the meantime, you won’t have months and months’ worth of magazines piling up around you.

A third option, and one that is becoming increasingly popular, is to read electronic versions of magazines. Whether on an iPad, tablet device, or a standard website, you can access all the same information without having the physical magazine in your home.

Personally speaking I used to receive lots of magazines, but there were just too many of them. Now, I only receive one or two magazines every month, which I read from cover to cover. For the other topics I’m interested in, I simply go online and read articles selectively.

You may find a mix that works for you in terms of what you still receive versus what you visit online. But just know that you’re not obligated to read every magazine and every article that comes your way. It’s supposed to be informative; it’s supposed to be enjoyable. Don’t let it become a chore.

If you’re wondering how to implement these strategies, we’d be happy to chat with you. Contact us for a complimentary strategy session by going to http://www.CustomLivingSolutions.com/Apply

And if you’d like latest tips and advice on productivity and organizing delivered right to your inbox, enter your email address below to subscribe. It’s FREE!

Follow these tips for managing your many logins and passwords.

In the age of living your life online—banking, bills, video rentals, social media, work, email, and so on—keeping track of all your passwords is essential. Many people simply put their passwords on a sticky note stuck right on their monitors—something I definitely don’t recommend. Nor would I suggest using a little booklet specifically for passwords, like the ones they sell in the Container Store. Although these methods keep your passwords centralized, they are not at all secure. (If you are keeping your passwords written down on paper somewhere, make sure they are kept in a locked drawer or cabinet.)

Far better than writing your passwords down is to keep them in a locked file or database on your computer. You could make an excel spreadsheet that is password protected, so that only you can open it (of course, you’ll need to memorize the password to get into your password document!).

You could also purchase a password management tool, which is what I use and recommend.
There are two great programs I recommend: KeePass or RoboForm. KeePass is free, but RoboForm adds a few more additional features that might be worthwhile to you. In essence however they work the same. Once you install the program on your computer, you unlock the database with your master password and then you input the websites, user names, passwords, and any notes for the accounts you are keeping track of. All the data that is stored in those databases is encrypted, so if someone tried to hack into it, it would require a lot of effort, so long as they don’t have your master password.

A similar option to KeePass and RoboForm is an online password management tool called LastPass, which essentially works the same way, but it stores your password data online via a secure server, rather than on your home computer. There are pros and cons to doing it this way. The pros are that you have access to your passwords no matter where you are, and you don’t lose all your passwords if your computer bites the dust. The con, however, is that your passwords are stored on someone else’s server, so in theory they could get hacked. If you are considering using something online like LastPass, be sure to look at the company’s security and privacy policies so that you can feel confident about storing your data with them.

All of these tools are available in the Productivity Toolbox: http://www.customlivingsolutions.com/productivity-toolbox

If you’re wondering how to implement these strategies, we’d be happy to chat with you. Contact us for a complimentary strategy session by going to http://www.CustomLivingSolutions.com/Apply

And if you’d like latest tips and advice on productivity and organizing delivered right to your inbox, enter your email address below to subscribe. It’s FREE!

Now that tax season is over, what should you do with your receipts and other financial papers? The answer to this question varies depending on your specific situation or profession, so the first thing you should do is talk to your tax preparer in order to ensure that you are adhering to the proper retention guidelines for your individual needs.

How long to keep tax-related documents is one question, but how and where to keep them is another. There are number of options. A simple and affordable method is to keep things in an accordion folder or binder. Keeping a tax year’s papers in a self-contained binder or accordion folder also means they can be easily stored in the bottom of the closet or the back of a drawer—someplace safe that you can get to if you need it, but not in the way of the things you are using regularly.

It’s worth noting that receipts tend to fade very quickly—usually within six months to a year. So if you are keeping receipts in hopes of being protected if you are ever audited, you should store them in darkness, or better yet photocopy or scan them. You can get all of your documents scanned by a company like Shoeboxed or self-scan with NeatReceipts or NeatDesk — both of which I refer to in the Productivity Toolbox: http://www.customlivingsolutions.com/productivity-toolbox

Typically, once your documents are scanned you can shred the originals, because the IRS accepts scanned receipts as proof for your taxes. This makes scanning a great option since it saves space and will always be at the ready—and readable!—if you ever need it.

If you’re wondering how to implement these strategies, we’d be happy to chat with you. Contact us for a complimentary strategy session by going to http://www.CustomLivingSolutions.com/Apply

And if you’d like latest tips and advice on productivity and organizing delivered right to your inbox, enter your email address below to subscribe. It’s FREE!

Aside from whipping out the old magic wand, you can’t really create more time in the day. But what you can do is make sure that you’re spending your time effectively. One of the things to do is to start saying NO to things that are not priorities for you, so that you have time left over to say YES to things that are. Typically when I work with clients and we are talking about time management, we take an assessment of how they are spending their day, and all too often I see that they are doing low-priority things that are foisted on them.

Finding “more” time in the day requires you to take a serious look at all the tasks you have in front of you on a given day. Can you delegate any of them to someone else? Can you remove yourself from tasks or projects that you are no longer responsible for? Can you group similar tasks together in order to shave off the amount of time required for each? Until you really look at your calendar and see what is possible to remove, you can’t add anything new without creating a lot of stress.

There is no simple way to create more time, but there are ways to remove or compress some of the things that are on your calendar so that some of your time is freed up for the things you want to do with your time.

If you’re wondering how to implement these strategies, we’d be happy to chat with you. Contact us for a complimentary strategy session by going to http://www.CustomLivingSolutions.com/Apply

And if you’d like latest tips and advice on productivity and organizing delivered right to your inbox, enter your email address below to subscribe. It’s FREE!

As the Queen of Follow Up, some people tend to call me, people are surprised all the time how I manage to be everywhere. They see me in their inbox, mailbox, and in their face on a regular basis. At least that’s what I used to preach to clients about how to follow up and stay ‘top of mind’ with their prospects, clients and referral sources – you’ve got to do email, mail and face-to-face connecting and follow up.

But it’s not just about doing the regular type of follow up anymore; it’s about having a very Interactive Follow Up System that is now the key to your success.

I coined the term Interactive Follow Up and define it as:

A two way approach to connecting and building relationships between business owners and their prospects.

You see, the regular type of follow up most people still do (if they do any at all) is one-way follow up; sending an email or two, mail a note card or brochure or leaving a message.
That’s fine but your messages are getting lost in this crazy online world we live in today; you’ve got to do more to stand out.

Ways to interact more in your follow up (include but are not limited to):

1. Picking up the phone and initiating a meeting

2. Recording a video tip or message so people can ‘see’ and ‘hear’ you instead of just reading you (click here → http://www.youtube.com/katmarketingexpert#p/u/6/WhiMu6fg_Mo to watch a recent video of myself on youtube, you can do this too!)

3. Initiating feedback on something you said or sent

4. Initiating interaction with surveys, quizzes, polls, contests and testimonial requests

5. Giving free gifts of audio recordings, reports or videos to have people get a ‘taste’ of what you do

6. Giving people the opportunity to have an interactive conversation with you to see if or how you can help them (no, not a free consultation!)

You’ve simply got to do MORE than ever these days to follow up and most of you aren’t even doing the ‘regular’ follow up needed much less getting creative with interactive follow up strategies.

If you want to give your business a real jump-start THIS ONE STRATEGY could literally make a difference of $1,000’s of dollars in your bank account every month.

But this will only work if you set up your Interactive Follow Up System the right way from the start AND you make sure you have a plan on HOW it will be implemented consistently.

For more information on how to JumpStart your small business with creative ideas and a clear plan to reach your unique target market find out how to talk with me in a complimentary Strategy Session, go fill out the questionnaire at www.AskKat.biz.

About the Author

Katrina Sawa is known as The JumpStart Your Biz Coach because she literally kicks her clients and their businesses into high gear. She works with highly motivated women entrepreneurs that want to maximize their business to make more money, enjoy more free time and fully embrace your happiest life ever. Katrina uses online and offline strategies to leverage your resources, contacts and your expertise; plus she kicks you in
the butt to implement it all too! Katrina is an author, speaker and coach and she has been featured on the Oprah and Friends XMRadioNetwork and is a regular Business Expert on News 10 in Sacramento. Get her Free Entrepreneur’s Success Kit online at www.JumpStartYourMarketing.com!

And if you’d like latest tips and advice on productivity and organizing delivered right to your inbox, enter your email address below to subscribe. It’s FREE!

For many of us, the myriad bills, receipts, and statements that enter our homes are quickly overwhelming us. It’s hard to keep track of all that information if you don’t have a good system in place to manage it. Here are four simple steps to help you get your personal financial papers organized:

Gather it up. The first step to organizing your finances is to get all financial-related information in one place. If your personal financial papers are currently piled into paper bags, stuffed in shoeboxes, and dominating your desk, start by putting all the various bills, receipts, and statements in a box or pile. It’s much easier to organize when all your information is in one spot!

Sort and separate. Now that your papers are all together, it’s time to sort them into categories. The simplest way to organize personal finances is to separate tax-related items from ones that you won’t be claiming (ask your tax preparer for more information about your specific situation). From those two main financial types – tax/non-tax, your papers will start giving you clues to some broad categories – utilities, electronics, auto, home, etc. Create piles for each of those categories.

Find homes. Now it’s time to create dedicated spaces where your financial papers can live. Purchase an accordion folder and some hanging files. Into the accordion goes your tax-related info – one tab for each sub-category. The benefit of the accordion folder is that it can be easily stored for safekeeping when the tax year is over. Your non-tax-related financial information goes into the hanging files – one file for each of non-tax-related category. Continue filing receipts, statements and bills into their new homes as they come in.

Track it. Once you have all your financial information sorted, separated, and filed, it’s easy to take the next step and track where your hard-earned cash is going. Easy-to-use computer programs like Quicken to take your previously-organized financial information and let you generate budgets, reports, and projections – letting you stay in control of your financial life.

If it’s been awhile since you last organized your finances, or if it’s your first time doing so, I know the process can seem daunting – but it can be simple if you take it step-by-step. Getting your finances organized can be incredibly empowering – and the process can be easy if you follow the guidelines above.

If you’re wondering how to implement these strategies, we’d be happy to chat with you. Contact us for a complimentary strategy session by going to http://www.CustomLivingSolutions.com/Apply

And if you’d like latest tips and advice on productivity and organizing delivered right to your inbox, enter your email address below to subscribe. It’s FREE!

Does the thought of preparing for tax time fill you with dread? Tax time can make anyone stressed out – but there’s hope! By using a few easy organizing techniques, you can sail through your taxes come April.

Plan in advance. Don’t wait until the tax deadline looms near if you know that your receipts need organizing and that you haven’t kept track of your expenses. Spend one or two hours a week (or just 15 minutes a day) sorting your documentation. This will save you lots of time and stress when you or a professional are actually preparing your taxes.

Who’s preparing your taxes? Think about who will be preparing your taxes, and what sort of information they’ll need. Preparing your own taxes is a lot easier if you make a checklist of what documents (W2s, bank statements, etc.) are needed. With a checklist, you’ll know if any important information is missing when you sit down to prepare your taxes. If you’re going to be giving your information to a tax preparer or CPA, ask them how they would like to receive your information. Some tax preparers want a list of expenses, while others are happy to take receipts and do the totaling for you.

Record your expenses. If you don’t have an organized way of keeping track of your deductible expenses, you may be missing out on big savings come tax time. Create a list of your expense categories using a simple list, a ledger, or a computer-based system. As your expenses accumulate, add to your category totals so you can see where your money is going.

Keep everything together. Scattered receipts and expenses can lead to lost deductions. Instead of losing your receipts or keeping them in a shoebox, purchase an inexpensive accordion folder. Label the folder with your expense categories, and as you get a receipt, drop it into the corresponding slot. Totaling your expenses for each category at tax time will be a breeze!

What about next year? Don’t wait until next year’s tax time rolls around to start thinking about your 2013 taxes. Create an accordion folder for next year, along with your category list. Keeping track of receipts and expenses throughout the year can eliminate tax-prep related stress.

Paying taxes is a fact of life, but the stress surrounding tax preparation doesn’t have to be! By using some of the simple strategies I’ve described, preparing this year’s taxes can be quick and painless.

If you’re wondering how to implement these strategies, we’d be happy to chat with you. Contact us for a complimentary strategy session by going to http://www.CustomLivingSolutions.com/Apply

And if you’d like latest tips and advice on productivity and organizing delivered right to your inbox, enter your email address below to subscribe. It’s FREE!

During the course of daily life, many of us are faced with a deluge of paper, all of which needs to be dealt with in some way. Many people I’ve worked with are drowning in stacks, piles, and desks full of paper, and want to gain control over the paper in their lives. If this rings true with you, read on for some tips on how to begin to turn off the “paper faucet.”

Many people get far more paper coming in than they want or know what to do with, so the first step in managing paper is to reduce the amount that comes in. Start with your mail. Junk mail, which is still filling up many mailboxes and creating tons of waste and clutter, can be stopped, or at least reduced. Get your name off of junk mailing lists by going to the Direct Marketing Association’s web site at http://www.dmaconsumers.org/consumerassistance.html. Call your credit card company and tell them not to share your name or your information with third parties. Do the same with your magazine subscriptions, utilities, and other organizations that send you mail. Try to refrain from signing up for contests and other freebies, as these types of promotions frequently share names with junk mailers. The goal is to try and have your name and information in as few databases as possible – the fewer companies that have your name, the less junk mail you’ll find in your mailbox.

Computers were supposed to solve the “paper problem” – or so we were led to believe. In reality, computers tend to generate far more paper than they conserve – the article you printed out, the emails you decided to make hard copies of, etc. I’ve found that many people that print out information from the internet and email do not really have a clear idea of why they are printing it out, other than that they are saving it “for later.” Nor do they have a specific place to put this printed information, so it tends to end up buried under a pile or hidden in a drawer “somewhere.” Here’s a handy guideline: print web pages or emails ONLY when you know exactly where and to who they are going – if you can’t answer those questions, then there’s no need to have a hard copy. Instead, create a system of bookmarks in your web browser, which will help you find the articles that you’d like to read or refer to later. You can create bookmarks by topic, by site, by date…whatever makes the most sense for your purposes. Likewise, as an alternative to printing out emails, create folders in your email program to store your old email messages, or offload them onto a CD or removable disk.

Trying just a couple of these simple ideas can dramatically reduce the amount of paper that you have to wrestle with. In time, your freely flowing “paper faucet” will be reduced to a trickle.

If you’re wondering how to implement these strategies, we’d be happy to chat with you. Contact us for a complimentary strategy session by going to http://www.CustomLivingSolutions.com/Apply

And if you’d like latest tips and advice on productivity and organizing delivered right to your inbox, enter your email address below to subscribe. It’s FREE!

I’m just getting back from the 2012 National Conference of the National Association of Professional Organizers in Baltimore. Conference this year was really great. In addition to attending workshops on topics like understanding how to help clients with adult ADHD, overcoming procrastination, project management, and more, I spoke two times – once at my Evernote meetup, and again on the topic of keeping mobile workers organized and productive. I also spent time tooling around Baltimore (a great city), devouring burgers and sandwiches all over town. It was a busy week!

Joshua Zerkel at the Neat Company booth

Joshua Zerkel at the FileThis Fetch Booth

Joshua Zerkel at the Getting Organized Magazine Booth

And for the organization-obsessed, my friend Clare Kumar recently launched the Pliio. Now available with wide availability from HSN.com, Pliio helps you make the most of your drawer space by letting you “file” your clothes away using a specialized folding and storage method. Pretty!

All in all, I had a great time, learned a TON of strategies that I can use to help you stay organized and productive, met new friends and reconnected with ones I hadn’t seen in awhile. Now I just have to put everything I’ve learned to use!