Its that time of the year again when people start escaping winter by heading south for tropical weather. Whether you’re heading out for a long vacation or just taking a business trip for a couple of days, its essential that you pack the right things in an effective way so you don’t have to deal with wrinkled clothes or an overstuffed bag. Here’s how we suggest packing your bag for your next trip:

Tips for packing:

1. Color Scheme. Pack clothes in color schemes that all match each other so that you can take less (think packing light) and mix-and-match throughout your trip

2. Roll your clothes. Rolling your clothes will reduce wrinkles and give you an easier visual view of your wardrobe choices quickly

3. Buy extra travel toiletries. Keeping an extra travel sized toiletries set on hand in your carry on bag allows you to not have to worry about not having toiletries if your bag gets lost for a day or two

4. Don’t forget the essentials. This includes your chargers for electronics, sunglasses, or anything else that you’d have to buy there if you forgot it

© 2014 DamselsInSuccess.com

The person that focuses for hours in a loud coffee shop, the individual who works from their home in the middle of the night, or the friend who is able to set their own work hours.  We all know these people (or are them), but what is it really like to have the life of a remote worker, and how can you effectively be a remote worker yourself? Here are our four tips on how to be a successful if you don’t work in a traditional office:

1. Balance time zones- Usually remote workers are individuals who communicate with people that are in different areas of the country or world. Because of this, as a remote worker you should communicate effectively with your clients and coworkers so if you’re holding a virtual meeting with someone that is in another time zone, no one will get confused on when the meeting is

2. Have your tools ready- Your tools include the things you need each day to be productive.  This usually includes your chargers, mobile devices, syncing software (the cloud), and your laptop

3. Discipline to focus on-the-go- Since you don’t work in an office environment, you may have trouble dealing with distractions. Learn to discipline yourself by focusing for an hour then giving yourself a quick coffee break or walk as a reward. Eventually, focusing won’t be an issue at all no matter where you are

4. Get good earphones (or a good playlist)- You’ll need music that gets you back in work mode when you are struggling with other distractions (especially in coffee shops!)

Want additional tips on how to be a successful remote worker? Check out The Productivity School’s blog for daily tips!

When your entire team feels overwhelmed by the flood of emails each day and their to-do lists that just keep growing and growing, it may not be a coincidence. Many offices leave it to each individual to decide on their own email plans, but if your team comes together and decides on a company-wide plan, then team members can be freed up to spend less time on emails and more time on their job responsibilities.  Refocusing attention and priorities in the workday as a team effort also provides a good boost to those that aren’t naturally as organized as others.  Here are 3 reasons why an email management plan could work for your team:

1. Improves Efficient Communication - If you compose each email properly with a specific subject and include your email signature, hopefully you won’t receive as many emails looking for your contact information.  Recipients will also be more inclined to call you instead of type out another email to you if your phone number is right in front of them.
2. Reduces Digital Clutter - When you create a system that works for how to handle your incoming emails, you’ll be able to eliminate the clutter in your inbox quicker.
3. Saves Time for Your Team - If you can manage email effectively, especially as a team, you can reduce the amount of time you spend in meetings. Instead of making all the decisions face-to-face, your team can make those decisions through email.

Want additional tips on how to manage your email effectively? Follow The Productivity School’s blog for daily tips on email management and other productivity topics!

2013 was a great year here at Innovatively Organized and to celebrate we are sharing our ‘best of 2013′ blogs. From useful downloadable checklists to step-by-step processes for increasing productivity, here are our top blogs from the past year:

1. Must Haves On-the-Go: Mobile Professionals Checklist- In February, we shared our Mobile Professionals Checklist to all our readers so that they could be more productive no matter where they work.

2. How to Efficiently Delegate to Your Assistant- Whether you need help from your assistant or a coworker, this article will help you delegate efficiently so you can save yourself time.

3. Essential Productivity Apps Checklist to Keep You Efficient- As a celebration of Small Business Week in June, we compiled a list of our top productivity apps that we recommend to our clients and shared them in this article.

4. 7 Ways Our Team Has Efficient Meetings- We described our step-by-step process of how we at Innovatively Organized hold efficient and productive meetings.

5. 5 Common Bottlenecks in Your Office- Whether it’s the chatty coworker in the cubicle next to you or duplicate documents that make finding the most recent version a headache, most offices deal with numerous productivity killers on a daily basis (sometimes unknowingly). This article helps bring awareness to some of those common bottlenecks.

6. App Recommendation: EchoSign- When a client signs a contract with you, the process of faxing or scanning documents is tedious and makes the negotiation process longer and more stressful for everyone involved. Fortunately, EchoSign allows users to send, sign, track, manage and access documents digitally. Read why we love EchoSign with this post.

7. Staying Productive When Your Self-Employed- When you are your own boss or work from home, there isn’t always someone pressuring you to complete that tedious report and while this can be refreshing for some people, it can also lead to procrastination or added stress because you are fully responsible for your own work load. In this article we provided a few tips we have come up with to help you stay motivated and productive when you’re self-employed.

8. Decide & Delegate During the Holidays- As more and more people in the office start disappearing during the holiday season, it can be stressful for those still left working. We provided a list of questions to go over with your team or coworkers so that everything is handled accordingly.

When December hits it seems as though half of the office disappears, which can be stressful for those still working. Even though its the holiday season and many businesses slow down, it’s still vital to think ahead during this time. Make sure everyone in your office knows when you and your co-workers (or your team if you’re the boss) are taking holiday vacations near the end of the year and plan ahead for how their absences should be handled.

As a team, you’ll typically need to plan ahead for questions such as:

• Who will answer the phones?
• Will you shut down operations to give everyone the days off or will you keep a skeleton crew running?
• Who will get the mail?
• How will people work from home? Will they have access to the correct files and software?
• If there is a “lighter” day, then what will the staff do - organize and file documents to get ahead, perhaps?

Its also important to ensure that your role gets filled when you are gone if the company isn’t on a holiday itself. This means that you should delegate the tasks that need to get done before you leave.

Have you ever been at the airport or mid-flight and realized that you forgot something important at home, such as tickets to an event or your suit jacket? Those moments of panic can be avoided by preparing for your trip effectively. To have a stress-free travel experience this holiday season, follow these 3 tips:

1. Plan ahead for what you will pack

Create a packing checklist of everything you will need for the trip a couple of days before your trip so that you can add to it as you remember certain items. Then when it is time to pack, you can check items off of your list when you have put them in your suitcase. When you write everything down you have less of a chance of forgetting something.

2. Bring chargers in your carry on

Ensure you have your chargers with you in your carry on bag just in case you get stuck in the airport for an extended period of time due to a delay - you wouldn’t want to be without your computer or phone when you are stuck for an extra 3 hours at the gate!

3. Pack emergency clothes

Most people have experienced their bag getting lost by the airport at some point in their lives. Avoid being stuck wearing the same clothes for multiple days on your holiday vacation by bringing a set of fresh clothes with you in your carry on. This is especially important if you want to wear comfortable clothes to the airport but have a dinner or event with a dress code that you are planning on attending.

Want access to more tips for the holiday season? Check out The Productivity School on Facebook and Twitter!

Look around at your desk. If you have papers sitting next to you that you aren’t using for the task you are working on, then consider creating a file flow for all of your paperwork. An effective file flow solves the question of how you deal with incoming paperwork and where you store it all. First of all, you’ll want to schedule time for yourself for filing on a regular basis. This will ensure you’ll spend less time filing and looking for paperwork and more time being productive. You’ll also want to ensure that you and whoever else shares your filing system creates a file structure that everyone follows. If you still aren’t sure how a file flow could increase your productivity, take a look at our 3 reasons for developing a file flow in our office:

3 reasons why a file flow is important:

1. You won’t set papers down once you’re done with them, which creates piles of clutter around your desk or office

2. You can find what you’re looking for later - and so can your co-workers

3. You are saving time by batching tasks that the files represent into blocks of time. Don’t forget to put on your calendar though!

Need help creating an effective file flow for your office? Check out our file management consulting to see how we can help!

Have you ever felt a sense of accomplishment after responding to all your emails, only to be brought down minutes later by the tasks that are left unchecked on your to-do list for that day? According to Mashable, a 2012 study found that “11.2 hours is the average time spent reading and answering emails each week.  That’s 28% of a 40-hour workweek.” That is a lot of time in your day!

To avoid feeling a false sense of productivity, take a moment to evaluate if the emails you’re processing are actually helping you complete tasks or if they are just creating more work. Perhaps there is another communication channel (instant message, phone, in person, etc.) that would be more efficient or effective?

Need additional help with your productivity? Check out how our Individual Productivity Consulting could help you!

When you are your own boss, there isn’t always someone pressuring you to complete that tedious report or telling you to hurry up with that daunting project. While this can be refreshing for some people, it can also lead to procrastination or added stress because you are fully responsible for your own work load. Here are a few tips we have come up with to help you stay motivated and productive when you’re self-employed:

Establish a routine

Get up and get dressed as if you were going to the office. Make this a habit so you are mentally prepared every morning to work.

Take breaks

Have lunch, get up and walk around the block, etc. Reinvigorate yourself so you are able to maintain your productivity instead of sitting in your space all day long.

Create a work environment

Designate a specific room or desk as your “office” or consider joining a coworking space. Read our past blog posts, “5 Tips to Organize Your Cubicle or Small Desk” and “10 Organizing Tips for a Small Home Office” for additional tips and tricks for creating an effective home office space.

Batch tasks

If you’re self-employed, you’re likely wearing a lot of different hats and therefore doing a variety of tasks. Set aside recurring blocks of time to work on accounting tasks, marketing tasks, or anything else that is needed to maintain your business. The idea is that you want to spend as little time as possible transitioning between tasks because that ultimately wastes time.

Outsource when necessary

Consider outsourcing some tasks to a bookkeeper, human resources professional, virtual assistant, web developer, etc. Identify what you’re wasting time on or dislike doing so you can concentrate on growing your business.

Performance review

Make goals for yourself and evaluate if you’ve achieved them or not. You may want to consider having a standing meeting every 6 months with a fellow entrepreneur to help hold you accountable.

Need additional help staying productive while you’re self-employed? We offer individual productivity consulting!

It seems like open space work environments are popping up all over the place! While there are certainly advantages to a collaborative workspace, increased distractions can sometimes lead to a decline in productivity. Here are a few tips that we’ve found helpful as we work with our clients in open spaces:

Set Your Desk Up for Success

Make sure your space is organized and all of your supplies have a home. For more tips about organizing your small desk, check out our past blog post here.

Volume Control

This goes for phones, candy wrappers, and individual voices. An open space certainly doesn’t have to be as quiet as a library, but try to be aware of the noises you’re creating and how they’re affecting the people around you.

Do Not Disturb Sign

If you’re frequently interrupted by coworkers, consider creating a friendly “do not disturb” sign for your desk that informs coworkers when you’re “in the zone” and need to get things done.

What’s that smell?

We all have our favorite foods, but let’s be honest, some are pretty smelly. Think twice before eating something at your desk. You never know who might have an aversion to the smell.

Be Prepared

Think ahead and try to anticipate when you might need to reserve a conference room for a private meeting or phone call. Don’t forget to end your meetings on time and clean the room when you’re finished!

Golden Rule

Treat your desk neighbor as you would like to be treated.

What are some of your favorite tips for working in a open work environment?