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8. Your Home Office Is Working Against You · Simple Enough: Organizing, Productivity, and Mindset for Entrepreneurs

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: You sit down to work, and before you can even begin, you've had to shift some things around.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: You are hunting for cables,
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: you are looking for that information, you've lost your train of thought.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: Your home office is working against you, and this episode's gonna help you fix that.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: If you're smart and capable,
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: but overwhelmed by too many decisions,
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: half-built systems,
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: and things you keep meaning to get to, you're in the right place.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Simple Enough.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: So what happens?
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: You have that tendency to get to your office and feel like you have to get organized
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: before you can even do the work.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: And that's frustrating.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: And it can take up to 20 minutes to get started once that happens.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: And after a while,
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: you realize this is happening every day and it's not fun and it's not pleasant to go
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: to work.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: So how did you get here?
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: Probably things changed.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: Not everyone figures out how to adapt quickly to changes in your work,
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: especially when we start our own business and it's the first time we've done it.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: You have this idea of what it's going to be like to work for yourself
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: and how you might work, and it changes.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: As soon as you get busy,
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: there's more clients,
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: there's more moving parts,
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: there's more people,
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: there's more headaches, and there's more money, but there's not more time.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: So it gets hectic and you buy solutions that then end up in your way as well.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: So how do we fix this?
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: Ah, it's easy.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: We just have to reset your office.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's not neglect.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's that you didn't change with the changes in your business.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: When we think about it differently, it's really a sign of growth, not failure.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: And it can cost you a lot until you fix it.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: I just mentioned that it can take up to 20 minutes to regain your focus after
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: an interruption,
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: whether that's kids running through,
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: whether that is notifications or having to hunt something up that you need to do
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: the next step of your work.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: All of that breaks focus.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: And every minute you get interrupted, Add 20 minutes to it.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: It can feel like a balance battle you just can't win.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why the tendency to overwork is so high.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: If we start with the actual work we do and not the furniture and accessories,
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: we're able to create enough space to do deep work.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: And it doesn't take that much to figure out what you need to do each step of your work.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: You need to think about what makes the work happen well,
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: not what makes it fun and pretty or what someone else uses.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: Think about how you work and what things you need to do that work.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: To be a writer,
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: you don't need some fancy word processor and three apps and you really need
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: a journal and a pencil or a computer.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: And that's it.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: You can work either way, but which way is better for you?
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: What's your first step in the process?
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: And then your next step, right?
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's the workflow, the repeatable steps to how you do your work that get you accomplished.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: We want to think about the steps.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: We want to think about how you like to work.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: And we want to think about how you want to feel while you do the work.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: We reverse engineer the setup from that.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: It's really about the function of the things,
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: the frequency of use and where you keep them,
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: the holding places,
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  SPEAKER_00: the work zones,
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: and what demands to be in arm's reach versus what you can swivel your chair
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: or get up and walk two steps to get because you don't do it very often.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: These are the things that are often overlooked when we set up a workspace.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: It all works together.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: And when you organize by function rather than space and shape,
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: you end up creating the space you need to do the deep work.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: And it's a fine line between the inspiration and clutter.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: And that's where organizing becomes productivity.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's about reducing the friction and using the way our brains work
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: to help us be more effective and efficient.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to re-decide each time where something goes
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: because you've already given it a home.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: You know where things are right when you need them to do the work you need to do.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: The next step of the work.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: You become more effective when you have the muscle memory gained from repeating those workflows.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: And that's the beauty of routines.
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  SPEAKER_00: It frees up the mental energy to do deep work.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: When we waste it on remaking decisions and looking for things,
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  SPEAKER_00: it's harder to get to the creative part of our work.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: And our environments reflect who we are and want to be in our business.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's easier to achieve great things when we're striving to be better all the time.
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  SPEAKER_00: Not optimal, but better.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's not about perfection.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: It's about making one new step forward with new intention and understanding.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: So let me tell you about one of my clients.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: She worked from home,
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: ran a company with her business partner, and they both worked from their homes.
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  SPEAKER_00: She had a pretty small office,
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: and it was a little bit of an open concept and attached to the side
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  SPEAKER_00: of her kids' playrooms.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: She had been a crafter and had a lot of like inspiration decor in her office
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  SPEAKER_00: that was supposed to motivate her to do her work.
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  SPEAKER_00: The desk itself was a small armoire that had,
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: you know, doors that opened and just enough room for a little computer.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: And it was actually covered in so many crafty decor items,
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  SPEAKER_00: little framed images,
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  SPEAKER_00: inspirational words,
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  SPEAKER_00: little tiny lamps,
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  SPEAKER_00: little boxes to hide her Post-its in,
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  SPEAKER_00: all those kinds of things, that she had very little room to actually do her work.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: She was overwhelmed by interruptions and things that got left as the kids ran
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: through her office on the way to the kitchen.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: So it became apparent pretty quickly.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: We needed to think through workflows and get rid of all the excess stuff in the way.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I got to tell you,
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: the whole vibe came off as not quite serious and not quite finished about being
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: at work.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: And the interesting thing is, her business was on the verge of failing.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: So when I worked with her and we set up the workflows and moved the inspiration
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: to just the best things and put them on the walls and up and to the side
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: and left more room for the actual work,
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: none of her workflows were particularly hard or difficult or time consuming.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: Once she had the place where she could grab the form she needed,
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: do the documentation,
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  SPEAKER_00: move it over here for the next steps,
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  SPEAKER_00: You know,
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  SPEAKER_00: take the phone calls and have the information she needed and a place to jot down
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: the notes.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: All those things became super easy once we considered the flow of her work.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: That was 15 years ago.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: This business is still thriving today.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I'd like to think I had a little part in that.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe.
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  SPEAKER_00: I think I did.
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  SPEAKER_00: I've spoken to her since.
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  SPEAKER_00: And she says it changed her life.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: So there's that.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: I know some of you too work in shared spaces that are even more shared,
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: like the dining room table or the kitchen counter.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: And you can do the same thing there, the same thought processes.
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  SPEAKER_00: The only difference is you have to create like little kits.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: Think of it like if you were working in a coffee shop.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: You take your bag of work,
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  SPEAKER_00: you work at the coffee shop,
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  SPEAKER_00: you spread out,
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  SPEAKER_00: you have just what you need,
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  SPEAKER_00: you sip your coffee, and then you pack up and you go home.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: What if you packed up your work area from the dining room table and then you set
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: the table for dinner so you could all enjoy the dining table and it wasn't like,
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: ah, all of mom's stuff is in the way, right?
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's kind of a similar concept.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: Think about the storage of your office out of the way,
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  SPEAKER_00: the place that you have your work service so that you're bringing it to the place,
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  SPEAKER_00: putting it back in the bin or basket and taking it back to the storage space,
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  SPEAKER_00: whether it's a closet or a bookshelf or a cabinet.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: That's a lot.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like we've covered quite a bit.
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  SPEAKER_00: And it's all very customizable to how you think and what you want your life to be,
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: your work to be.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: And it doesn't have to be so hard because you are the one that's creating it.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: And you can create an environment that supports and nurtures your work and creativity.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: So let's give it a try.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: One small thing this week is let's clear your desk.
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  SPEAKER_00: And it's an easy, easy steps.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's going to make you a little nervous,
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  SPEAKER_00: but the joy is on the other side of the discomfort, right?
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: It's all about solving the problems.
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  SPEAKER_00: So what I want you to do is just take everything off your desk.
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  SPEAKER_00: As you take it off, I want you to sort them into five different kinds of piles.
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  SPEAKER_00: You can use laundry hampers.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: You can use piles on the floor.
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  SPEAKER_00: You can use boxes.
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  SPEAKER_00: You could use paper bags, whatever you want to create these five different areas.
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  SPEAKER_00: We have the work you need to do.
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  SPEAKER_00: So there's paper with information.
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  SPEAKER_00: Some of it is work you actually are working on and need those papers for that work right now.
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  SPEAKER_00: And then there are things you need,
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  SPEAKER_00: there are papers you know you need to keep,
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  SPEAKER_00: and there's papers you need,
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  SPEAKER_00: you aren't quite sure what they are,
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  SPEAKER_00: but the next step on them would be to review them.
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  SPEAKER_00: So we're just going to keep those for now.
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  SPEAKER_00: So separate those two kinds,
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  SPEAKER_00: the things that are actually action items you need to do,
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  SPEAKER_00: and the things you know you need to keep or review can be commingled.
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  SPEAKER_00: Then I want you to have a spot for the equipment,
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  SPEAKER_00: the extra cables,
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  SPEAKER_00: the extra calculators and speakers and phones and lighting
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  SPEAKER_00: and little dictation devices and extra things,
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  SPEAKER_00: you know, equipment and one for supplies.
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  SPEAKER_00: And then I want you to have one for decor slash things that belong elsewhere.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: None of this is going anywhere.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's all going to be here the whole time.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: Don't panic.
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  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, if you have some trash or recyclables, you can go ahead and put those in the trash.
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  SPEAKER_00: But we want to have the clearest desk possible.
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  SPEAKER_00: You can leave the monitor and the keyboard if you need to,
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: because I want you to dust it and wipe it down next.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: And then I want you to manage your cords.
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  SPEAKER_00: I can't tell you how many people have their computer cords coming off the front
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: of their desk and it's in the way of doing actual work.
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  SPEAKER_00: So I want you to go ahead and take the time right now to go ahead
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: and reroute those cords so they go off the back of your desk and are not
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: in your way anymore.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, you got your cords managed.
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  SPEAKER_00: You got a clean desk.
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  SPEAKER_00: You have the computer set up.
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  SPEAKER_00: What if you just brought back the things you use every single day?
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  SPEAKER_00: A little pile of office supplies that would include something like pens,
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  SPEAKER_00: highlighters,
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  SPEAKER_00: pencils, stapler, staple remover, letter opener, you know, a few basics.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: A few pieces of paper, like a Post-it pad, one, and one notebook, and your calendar planner.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: And you want to think about your desk as actual zones.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: So I like to do six zones on my desk.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: There's the back half, the front half, and then there's left, right, and center on my desk.
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  SPEAKER_00: And each of those is a zone.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: Doesn't matter where those zones are for you, you set it up as you like.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: I happen to like my action stack on the left and my notepad on the right and
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: the space for whatever I'm working with right in front of me.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: The back end is the stuff I reference daily, my trackers, and the right back is the supplies.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: My pencil cup and my little stack of daily day map cards that I use all the time
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: and one little tub of lotion and lip balm and things like that.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: That's it.
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  SPEAKER_00: That's the only things on my desk.
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  SPEAKER_00: Got it.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: Now, there is going to be some things in the boxes that you'll need over the next week.
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  SPEAKER_00: And as you need them,
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: go ahead and bring them out of the box and use it and then decide if it deserves
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: a place on the desk or if it's something that you use less frequently.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: And you will need to find another home for it.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: Right now, you can put it back in the box or bin that you are storing it in for now.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: And the next step might be to figure out where those would actually go.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: We're focusing on the things you use daily being on the desk and the things weekly
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: within arm's reach and the things less frequently than
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: that can be slightly farther away.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_00: I hope this helps.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I really hope that...
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: As you go through this and you experience how working with
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: a little clear space changes your feelings about your work.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: Visit morethanorganized.net slash podcast launch for step-by-step instructions
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: on how to follow, rate, and review.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for spending this time with me today.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: Before you go,
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: choose one thing from this episode that could make life just
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: a little simpler this week.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: Not perfect, just simple enough.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: Come join me on Substack at morethanorganized.substack.com and remember,
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: organizing doesn't have to be so hard.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: I'll see you soon.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: In the meantime, have a delightful day.