September 2013
Organizing's a-ha! moment
FR OM TH E E D I TOR
Joyce Grant
Do you organize your cubicle, or
does your cubicle organize you?
That's the a-ha! moment one organizing expert had on the website
Small Notebook.org.
It wasn't about cubicles, it was
about her bathroom—but it's the
same idea.
She was always picking up her
son's clothes from the bathroom
floor and carrying them into his
bedroom to put into the hamper.
After a few years of this (a few
years) she discovered the very
simple solution that had been staring her right in the face.
Why not put the hamper in the
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bathroom, where the offending
clothes were?
D'uh, right?
But don't we all do that? Hampers go in the bedroom. That's
fine, if that's where the mess is.
Put the mess together with the
solution and—voila, no more headaches. Simple, but would you have
thought of it?
Think outside the hamper
How often do we do this at work?
The recycling bin goes beside
the garbage—that makes sense.
Except, where does most of the
recycled paper come from? The
photocopier.
So instead of garbage
bin+recycling box, think
photocopier+recycling box. The
garbage can and should stay where
it is, assuming it's working well
there.
Think outside the
cubicle
What about your cubicle? Do
you put your Post-Its in your top
drawer or beside your phone,
where you use them the most? Or
do you have two stacks of PostIts—one beside the phone and one
in your top drawer?
Look around your office and
think outside the cubicle. Instead
of linking like with like, link things
that are used together. Double up
on supplies that should really be in
two places.
Thinking about organization in
a new way may give you your own
a-ha! moment that will save you
time and headaches every day for
the rest of the year.
Read the whole article here:
http://bit.ly/14X4ifD
Communication's
"rule of threes"
The business
blog Thought
Leaders says
that in order
to communicate an idea well you should
consider the rule of threes.
1) Stick to three things
It's easier for listeners to digest
three things, or three groups of
things, rather than a long list.
Three is a good number because,
as author Mike Figliuolo explains,
"If you're only sharing one concept, you likely haven't broken it
down into understandable component parts. If you're sharing five
or more concepts, they're hard to
follow and remember. When you
chunk your ideas into groups of
three it's manageable, understandable and memorable."
2) Say it three times
Most people have to hear a concept three times before they understand what you're saying and can
support it.
The first time gives them a
basic understanding. The second
time they hear it, they're relating
it to how it solves the problem.
And the third time they hear it,
they are "getting their residual
questions answered and concerns
addressed."
3) After three emails, switch to a
face-to-face discussion
If you haven't resolved an issue
after three emails, it's time to go
and talk to the person.
For more articles from this
excellent business blog, visit www.
thoughtleadersllc.com.
