Organizing Your Home Office:
Keep Your Business In Full View

To some, visual reminders are as vital to business as a Teleprompter is to a news anchor. Visuals tell you what to do (or say), and when to do it. If a visual person resorts to other types of reminders, for example a daily planner or desk calendar, he or she may run the risk of dropping the ball on major projects.  If you live your life by the proverbial "handwriting on the wall," you need to see the big picture and feel uncomfortable if your visual reminder is not accessible by a mere glance upward. To you, putting everything away could mean the difference between closing the sale or forgetting to follow up. There is often an internal struggle in those who like to put everything away to give their office a "neat" appearance, yet fear "out of sight, out of mind." There's a way to compromise the two by keeping information neatly organized on your walls using one of these options. 

Bulletin Boards

Bulletin boards are ideal for holding memorabilia, for example, a comic strip or a postcard from a friend. People who are visually oriented can use a bulletin board for an additional purpose, to keep track of long-term projects at a glance. Some people would find this approach too stress-inducing, feeling that every time they looked up at the board, they realized how much remained to be done. At the point that the board was too overwhelming, they would stop looking at the board altogether. If a bulletin board will only add to your stress level, don't use it. If you do use a bulletin board for work-related information, make sure you don't use it for to-do reminders or important papers that need action. If you use your bulletin board as a to-do list, tasks will start to fall through the cracks. The longer notes to yourself stay posted on your bulletin board, the more likely it is that you'll just stop seeing them. Your brain will tune them out because they have been there so long they become meaningless. To use a bulletin board effectively, consider the following:

• Hang the board on the wall, rather than keeping it propped up against the wall.

• If you use a bulletin board to track projects, divide it vertically into columns and label each column.

• At the end of each month, review the entire board and remove information that is no longer valid.

• When you no longer refer to something on the board, take the item down and throw or file it away.

An alternative to a bulletin board is a white board. White boards come in a wide range of sizes, with a special marker that easily wipes off with a cloth. Some come with a preprinted, permanent monthly calendar, a weekly calendar, or blanks in which to fill in tasks to do. These work well for people who plan multiple events or who need to track several projects at the same time.

Another alternative is a magnetic board. You type or write the tasks or projects you want to track on cards (the cards are available in various sizes), then insert the cards into magnetic holders that stick to the board. This option gives you the flexibility of moving tasks forward as you work on a project. Other boards have pockets that hold index cards; all you have to do is move cards from pocket to pocket. Whatever type of board you choose, make sure it is improving your productivity instead of distracting you or providing a dumping ground for miscellaneous papers.