TORONTO, October 17, 2011 – For 62 percent of working Canadians, work, was identified as the primary culprit of stress in 2010 according to new numbers from Statistics Canada release last week. A pressure-cooker to begin with, the workplace is made even more stressful by being disorganized.

“Canadians are in a constant time crunch and experience feelings of stress, failure and frustration,” says Clare Kumar, a Toronto-based professional organizer. “Today’s office workers must take stock of both their work habits and their environment, and take necessary action to alleviate the tremendous pressure disorganization has on their productivity and work-life balance.”

To help Canadians make positive changes and take steps towards improving their personal productivity, ACCO Brands Canada Inc., a Canadian manufacturer of office products, is launching its fourth-annual Organize Your Desk Day, October 20th, in tandem with Small Business Week (October 16-22).

Organize Your Desk Day is a national program designed to assist small to medium-sized businesses help their employees organize their work spaces and become more efficient and effective every day.

“By having the right tools in place, Canadian office workers can save at least 15 minutes per day which works out to a week and a half per year,” adds Linda Chu, a professional organizer in Vancouver. “This has a dramatic effect on the health of businesses and their workers.”

Professional organizers say desks in disarray causes a drop of 20 per cent in worker efficiency; costing the economy billions of dollars in lost productivity. Studies show the average worker spends at least 400 hours per year searching for paper documents.

“It costs SMBs $120 in labour costs just to track down a misplaced document or $250 in labour to re-create it,” adds Chu. “This places tremendous stress on the bottom line for many businesses that need to return to profitability, especially coming out of the economic downturn.”

“Knowing where to begin is half the battle of getting organized”, says Chu.  She recommends following the five-step CLEAR method to become more efficient and productive in your workplace.

C – Categorize.  Sort through your possessions and group them into similar categories of information & tasks.  Stay on track by identifying what things are, instead of getting sidetracked by thinking of solutions.

L – Limit.  If space is a premium you may have to choose between what is important – your space or your stuff.  Limit your collections by scheduling regular sessions to review and let go of information and resources collected.

E – Evaluate.  Focusing on what matters most is the key to prioritizing.  Determine what goals are important for you to achieve and choose the tasks and information/tools that will help to get you there.  Continually evaluating your information and tasks as they relate to achieving your goals will help to increase your efficiency and productivity.

A – Allocate.  Finding a home and a method to store your information & possessions is critical to your success in being able to find what you need, when you need it.  Ensure that your workspace is clear for work, not for storage.

R – Remove.  Items that are no longer of value or you no longer need can be removed from your workspace.  Focusing on what is important will get you on track to become more efficient and productive in your workplace.

For more information about Organize Your Desk Day, visit www.organizeyourdeskday.com

About ACCO Brands Canada Inc.
ACCO Brands Canada Inc. is a Trading Company of ACCO Brands Corporation (NYSE: ABD), one of the world’s largest suppliers of branded office products.  Its industry-leading brands include Day-Timer®, Swingline®, Kensington®, Quartet®, GBC® and Wilson Jones®, available from dealers of quality office supplies participating in Organize your Desk Day, such as: Grand & Toy, Staples, Basics Office Supply, Office Plus, Novexco / BuroPLUS, and Lyreco.

The father and sometime coach of four-time Canadian Women’s Hockey Team athlete Jennifer Botterill, Dr Cal Botterill (sports psychologist for Olympic athletes and the NHL) recently helped create a study called “12 Key Questions for Young Athletes”. I thought the conclusions in the study could apply equally to my organizing and productivity clients as to athletes who want to stay focused and on top of their game:

• Be clear about why you do what you do – know what your goals are. “Wanting to perform for others can be a powerful motivator and focus… Perform with a clear mind and an unburdened heart. Don’t let guilt (unintentional or not) develop from privileges you have been provided.”
• Make rivalries positive – don’t compare yourself to others “Wayne Gretzky became Canada’s leader in hockey because he loved playing the best. As a player, captain, and now manager and leader, Wayne loves positive rivalries… He knew playing the best brought out the best in him.”
• Get to know yourself better. “Olympic Diving Gold Medalist Sylvia Bernier believe good psychology can help you develop in all the other areas. Game plans can help you focus and execute strategies. Psychology can help you to get to know yourself better and develop a strong perspective.”

Stay balanced and focused and good things happen. Learn from the people who are going for the gold.

What is your biggest challenge when it comes to staying organized?
Staying in the here and now is a challenge. Also, focusing on one task at a time without being overwhelmed by major projects. You have to train the mind to prevent it from being distracted by worries about the future or regrets about the past.

How do you manage your schedule?
I start early. You have to execute the plan mapped out the night before. Deliver on commitments, but if you are unable to deliver on those commitments, inform everyone who will be affected by the situation and reschedule another delivery date. Break large projects into daily digestible pieces.

How do you define work-life balance?
It’s embracing work and play with equal enthusiasm, inspiration and energy.

Can you think of a time when being organized helped you seize an opportunity?
Meaningful and valued jobs, promotions and relationships have all resulted in some way from being prepared, paying attention and being interested.

Do you have a system for staying organized? If so, what is it?
I make lists and complete them every day. You need to structure a daily routine that includes some form of physical activity and mental meditation. This is a marathon: you have to be in top physical and mental shape to deliver good results.

Aside from that, you have to be candid and open in all your communications. Be clear and concise. Don’t waste people’s time. Be courteous. Be authentic.

Finally, take action. Don’t dither.

How do you manage and organize yourself on your computer or online?
(social networking, calendars, address books, email, etc).
I organize through calendars and e-mail.

Paper or digital organizer (daytime vs blackberry/iPhone) and why?
Paper. No batteries and no moving parts means no system failures.

No Time to Open All Those Emails
Here’s a quick tip to put into practice immediately, to save precious time when managing your emails. EOM — End of Message. Use this in the subject line to signal the recipient of your emails that they don’t have to open up the email. All they need to know is in the subject line of your email.

This works nicely for things like. “See you Friday at 11:00 am. EOM”, “Congratulations on a great job!. EOM”. Forward this email tip and get organized.

When time is limited, every second, or in this case, every click counts.

No Time to Exercise
One of the common comments that clients share with me is not having enough time for all their to-do’s, not to mention carving out time for themselves to exercise and reduce stress. With this challenge in mind, I approached Innergy Corporate Yoga for a solution.

Innergy provides affordable on-site corporate yoga and pilates classes in the workplace, to help employees “innergize” their bodies and reduce stress. They come to you, so how convenient is that?

This month, I signed up for a private class with Innergy, to experience all the benefits of yoga, at my convenience. My instructor is going to come right to my home and teach me for a full 60 minutes. No more excuses that I can’t make it to a class or don’t have the time.

I work with clients who have challenges focusing on their overwhelming priorities. They keep so busy that they forget about themselves. I’m a culprit to this myself. Innergy advises that “Yoga teaches you to reconnect to your breath, tune into what your body needs and just be in the moment. Not to mention yoga makes you strong and flexible!”

Stay tuned in next month’s issue, where I will let you know about my experience.

If finding time in a busy workday to exercise is a challenge for you, sign up for two corporate or private classes, receive your third free. And if you don’t enjoy the first class, it’s free. Contact Innergy Corporate Yoga for more information. Let them know that Out of Chaos sent you.

No More Filling the Landfill with Inkjet Cartridges
I recently toured the new Grand & Toy store downtown on Granville Street. Many of you may still think that they are for big business, but you will be nicely surprised to see their complete solutions for small businesses.

One such solution is their Refill, Recycle, Reuse program for inkjet cartridges.

Did you know?

• 3 ounces of oil goes into manufacturing an ink cartridge, not to mention energy consumption to manufacture, package, and distribute.
• In the US alone, over 350,000,000 cartridges are disposed of annually. If laid end to end, the cartridges would encircle the world 3 times!
• Disposed cartridges represent almost 60,000 tons of landfill plastic, which would take 1000 years to break down.

Stop filling the landfill with your used cartridges. Consider Grand & Toy’s in-store Ink Refill Service. Your efforts could make a dent in the over 1,000,000 inkjet cartridges that are thrown away every day.

Procrastination. For some people, it’s a curse, preventing them from achieving the things they want in life. They put off tasks that they find unpleasant or stressful. But then they feel so guilty about not finishing what needs to be done that they can take no pleasure in the things that they used to enjoy.

It can be a crippling problem, reducing productivity at work and harming relationships at home. Serial procrastinators can lose financially by not filing their taxes on time (and paying late penalties) or avoiding making changes to their investment portfolio. Most dangerous of all, procrastinators tend to avoid visiting the doctor when they need health care.

Out of Chaos has teamed up with bestselling author and clinical hypnotherapist Brian Walsh to produce “Ending Procrastination”, a 23-minute self-hypnosis audio CD. “Procrastination is a pattern, and like all habits, it is held in the subconscious mind,” Walsh says. “To alter your pattern, you must release the old habit and set in a new pattern.”

By using the CD, you can find tips and motivation to kick-start yourself into action.

The benefits are huge. Manage your time effectively. Increase your clarity and focus. Stop feeling overwhelmed.

When you stop procrastinating and become organized, you’ll stop feeling guilty, feel proud of your achievements and be amazed at the time you now have to do the things you enjoy.

Order your copy of “Ending Procrastination” and take control of your life today.

Also try these tips to reduce procrastination.

Procrastination Crisis

• Chronic procrastination affects up to 20 per cent of adults.
• 95 per cent of procrastinators want to make changes in their lives to prevent it.
• Late tax filers tend to lose around $400 due to errors caused by late rushing to submit. This resulted in $473 million in overpayments in the US in 2002.
• Health care professionals report great concern over procrastination by patients in seeking out care and carrying out prescribed behaviors.

- Data compiled from the American Psychological Association Vol. 133, “The Nature of Procrastination: A Meta-Analytic and Theoretical Review of Quintessential Self-Regulatory Failure”

Top 5 Signs Procrastination has Taken Over Your Life

1. You’re tense, sweaty and pulling your hair out after filing your taxes… from 2004.
2. Family members actually start clapping when you call them within a week of their birthday.
3. You actually managed to get all of those five memos out before the end of the day. Unfortunately, the 20-page report you were supposed to file by 2 pm is allegedly sitting in your dog’s belly.
4. The dust bunnies under your bed are definitely planning something.
5. Just the other day, you finally got around to telling your investment manager to sell all of your Enron stock.

I was just in Toronto presenting at a Conference, the theme aptly titled, Conquer the Chaos. As Deborah Conners, the President of Health, Work & Wellness Conference states, “distracted, unfocused and unproductive employees will not provide the creativity, innovation and loyalty organizations will need to get ahead and stay there.”

She mentions how we are more trapped by our ‘electronic leashes’ that technology has given to us initially as a godsend, but has quickly become a nightmare. You know who you are (or someone is), who is connected to their email 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The same people who sit on the bench at their children’s Saturday sports games, doing business on their Blackberry.

According to an Office Deport Organization Study, Nov 2006:

• 53% live in ‘controlled chaos’
• 76% report losing time to disorder
• 51% concerned about missing important deadlines or appointments
• 16% cite fear of diminishing their reputation
• 14% lose business opportunities due to disorganization
• 61% claim the biggest frustration with their disorganized environment is that they can’t find what they need quickly
• 27% find it hard to concentrate with messy files around

Many of you are nodding your head, commiserating with these facts. Yet, only 22% actually spend the time to arrange their desks for maximum productivity every day. Only 49% of you organize on a monthly basis, if not less. More interesting, is that 67% are not sure how to start or maintain their efforts.

The top three things that you can do for yourself to start the shift back to work-life balance is to:

• Take back your time by starting 15 minutes per day
• Ask for assistance. You can not do it all – nor should you. Consider leveraging your routine administrative tasks to a virtual assistant (or student volunteer).
• Do not make yourself available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is up to you to educate your clients and colleagues and set your precedent. Turn off your cell phone & email after hours. If you respect your time, others will as well.

We are often contacted for hands-on tangible results with your physical possessions. In speaking with my Coach Willie Carter, of The Next Step Personal & Professional Coaching, I am reminded that our physical surroundings can be clues that we are ignoring.

What’s the matter with me? I just can’t seem to keep this area organized! Even after hiring a professional organizer who was fantastic and helped me get rid of ten big green garbage bags of paper 5 months ago. And ever since the piles had, once again, gotten bigger and bigger. Then it hit me! My mess is speaking to me!

It was saying: “You don’t need this office anymore”. I had had my home office for several years and had been seeing my coaching clients and doing my coaching calls from home. You know, your environment never lies. It’s always giving you feedback about where you’re at. So, within a week, I had found my new office space downtown. Cleaning up my home office and keeping it so was a piece of cake after that. And I like cake! So, off to the Swiss Pastry Shop to celebrate my new life.

Several months later, the same affliction showed up in my large walk-in closet. The clothes seemed to end up on a pile in the middle of the floor. And the pile got bigger and bigger. I don’t have that many clothes. What was going on? A little slow on the uptake, once again it hit me: my clothes are speaking to me. So, I gave in and listened…… reluctantly.

There were so many other things I’d rather be spending my time on. So, I rolled my eyes and got on with the job. After a short while, 80% of the pile ended up in the middle of my bedroom floor. My closet looked great. What was left were my favourite clothes and they all matched and were interchangeable. I thanked the pile of clothes for having taken care of me and happily passed them on to the Sally Ann. Getting dressed in the morning was now a piece of cake! Once again, off to the Swiss Pastry Shop for a little celebration.

I digress. So, WHAT’S YOUR NEXT STEP?

• Identify an area that’s bugging you.
• What mess-age does your mess have for you?
• Hire a professional organizer.
• When you’re done, go celebrate!

3 Part Recipe to a Clear Mind:

If your space around you is a complete jumble and rather out of control, that may not be the only thing out of line. Our minds can certainly become cluttered, too. In fact this can paralyze some people from functioning at work, or home. When I am coaching clients I often ask them to describe what the space they work in looks like. For those who say “it’s a horrible mess, I can’t find a thing…!” I offer this approach. I have them use a simple three part recipe to clearing your mind, so you can get on with clearing your physical space, too.

First, be aware of your thoughts. Slow down and Think about what you need to do first, what is important, not what appears to be urgent.

Secondly, tell others what your plans are, and ask for help. So Speak about what you are about to do.

Lastly, take the action, even if it is baby steps. So, Act on it.

That’s the simple recipe, Think it, Speak it, Act on it. Remember nothing happens, until something happens.

How successful are you in actually doing something about your list?

While speaking to a colleague of mine, Michelle Dunn, who is a Professional Coach, she tells me that the Top 10 New Years Resolutions are:

1. Lose weight and get in better shape
2. Stick to a budget
3. Reduce debt
4. Enjoy more quality time with family and friends
5. Find a soul mate
6. Quit smoking
7. Find better work
8. Learn something new
9. Volunteer and help others
10. Get Organized

I am not surprised Getting Organized is on the Top 10 List. At the beginning of each year, the phones ring off the hook, with overwhelmed people trying to kick the Clutter Habit once and for all.

According to research from Polivy and Herman:

• 25% of New Year Resolutions are abandoned in the first 15 weeks (that’s the week of April 9, for those who are keeping track)
• The average number of resolutions made is 10
• Those managing to make a resolution last for 6 months or more, have already tried 5 or 7 other times, before finally succeeding

Michelle often works with her clients to help them to get a better kick-start in achieving their goals, helping them to deal with some potential barriers to their success. We both agree that you must adopt a different attitude. What will you do differently this year to make your resolutions work?

Here are some tips that we both agree on:

1. Don’t expect to be perfect (you home or office does not need to be on the pages of Metropolitan Home, it just has to work for you)
2. Setbacks and mistakes are great learning opportunities (there is never one solution for everyone)
3. Keep goals realistic and attainable, with measurable goals (remember my 15-minute-sort?)
4. Write your goals down, revisit them often, tell someone, ask for help
5. Goals must mean something to you (it’s not about what the magazines, TV, your family or friends tell you)
6. Start immediately — don’t wait for inspiration — take action now and inspiration will follow

Change is not easy. In fact it can be down right scary. Take the time, be kind to yourself, stay committed, and persevere. The rewards are huge. Just image…Walking into a room and finding anything in 15 seconds or less…Being able to have anyone drop by any time, without notice…Not feeling overwhelmed when you have to complete a project.

What are you waiting for? Make 2007 the year you get Out of Chaos.

Here are 3 things to think about as you are trying to create that balance for yourself:

1. By saying NO, you are saying YES to something else.

• How often do you catch yourself saying yes to every hopeful opportunity that comes your way and then berate yourself after the fact for not leaving enough time for yourself?
• Think of saying NO as your way of protecting your time for something else of better value to you.

2. It’s a Good Start.

• We are so task driven that we concentrate on our accomplishments in terms of completion.
• Our work is never complete; there is often the next task, the next goal.
• Stop in your tracks and think about what you actually have achieved along the way.
• The fact that you have started a task is worth noting. It is not always about completion.

3. Daily Celebrations and Appreciations

• Taking a few minutes at the end of your day to reflect on what you have accomplished will set your mind free from discouraging thoughts about what you still have to do.
• You will be amazed at how keeping a daily journal or log of your celebrations and your appreciations, will help to enforce a routine of rewarding yourself mentally.
• By keeping this task consistent in your day, you will find yourself in the habit of looking for the nuggets hidden at every turn in your day.

Be kind to yourself. In a world where your work is never done, take charge by stopping to celebrate what you have accomplished to date and the people and events who have brightened your day.