Work from home? 9 Ways to Minimize Distractions

By Jessica Hoelzel

Getting work DONE from home can be a challenge at times. Especially if you often get distracted by people, pet, outdoor noise or electronic interruptions.

Here are 9 Ways to Minimize those Distractions:

1. Work in a room that has a door you can close. And close it.

2. If you don’t have a door, fashion some separation with a tri-fold screen, bookshelf or other piece of furniture that serves as a divider.

3. Move your desk from facing out the window to facing the entry, the command position.

4. If you can still see out the window when your desk is in the command position, put a buffer in front of it. Sheers or plants still filter in light but minimize the distractions that can pull you away from what you’re meant to be focusing on.

5. Establish work times/boundaries with your family.

6. Kennel pets for short periods of time when you need intense focus.

7. Wear headphones and turn it up loud! Listen to soothing or motivating music – whatever moves you.

8. Disable the email pop-up feature on your computer.

9. Turn your phone on silent and put it in another room.

When you minimize distractions, you honor your time and your work, enabling you to be at your best.

Quote for the Day: Office Feng Shui

“The ideal office is a room of your own with a regular shape (preferably square or rectangle), natural lighting (at least one window), a solid door you can close, and a good position for your desk.”

- David Daniel Kennedy

Where is your home office? Is it working for you?

Paper: Just Pitch It!

By Jessica Hoelzel

Too much paper weighs us down. It is especially burdensome when it overtakes desk or kitchen counter surfaces, and worse, the bedroom. Each piece of paper we receive asks us to make a decision about what to do with it.

Keep your paper burden from being too heavy by pitching it in the recycle bin the first chance you get. Instead of setting a piece paper aside, to figure out what to do with it later, force yourself to make a decision right away. Does it go in the “To Do” or “To File” pile? If you don’t need it, pitch it in the recycle bin.

Work from Home Survey: I Need YOUR Help!

A fact is a fact – if you’re not set up for success in your workspace you’re not going to find it.

As you may have read, I’m working on a brand new program to help people who work from home create a space that helps them meet their career goals. Whether those goals are:

• growing a business
• making more money
• getting more done in less time
• feeling less stressed out

I’m looking for feedback on how I can help.

Do you work from home, or know someone who does?

Click here to participate in my 2-3 minute survey

And I’d be ever-so-grateful if you pass along this link to any work-from-home professionals you know.

Thanks!

Favorite Tip for Office Organizing

By Jessica Hoelzel

One of my favorite products to use to store things in an office is the magazine butler. And one of my favorite tips is to turn them around, so you don’t see what’s inside. You only see the back. Choose a plain design for a streamlined look, or a pattern to get funky.

Some I like

Question to Ponder

Here’s a question to ponder…



How do I feel when I’m in my workspace?



If you feel like sharing, leave a comment below...

Quote for the Day: About Work

“The same principles apply to Feng Shui at work as they do at home except that in the office the most important consideration is the energizing of wealth and harmony luck to ensure that employees work as comfortably as possible.”

- Lillian Too

Work from Home Poll

Do you work from home?

 

If so, what is your biggest challenge?

 

1. Staying motivated
2. Getting distracted
3. Keeping things organized
4. Separating work life and home life

 

Please click “Post a Comment” below to vote. And thanks!

 

Drawer Organizers

By Jessica Hoelzel

Keep desk drawers neat and tidy with modular organizers like these from The Container Store. Once in place, it’ll be hard to cram and jumble junk in there.

21 Quick Clutter Fixes For Your Home

By Jessica Hoelzel

REDUCE the amount of STUFF you have and LIVE GREEN

Keep your eye on Day to Day Feng Shui for each post in my blog series: 21 Quick Clutter Fixes:  ways to lighten your load by cutting out clutter bit-by-bit throughout your home. Plus, solutions that keep the environment top-of-mind, so you keep your waste-impact down.

Less Clutter = Healthy Home

Less Waste = Healthy World

In the Office


15. Create an Active Desktop Filing System. In an earlier post I discussed eliminating the clutter of paper we don’t need. In this post, I’ll tell you about a solution for the paper you do need, that’s just lying around, waiting to get piled on top of, forgotten, even lost.

Create an Active Desktop Filing System

Let’s break down exactly what this is…

Active means that it’s for things you need to have easy access to, to take “action” on: To Do, To Pay, To Call, Event Notices or other items pending. (“Pending” meaning not done yet.)This is NOT the place for things that are to be filed for reference (“Inactive” files like bank statements or tax documents).

Desktop means that it sits on top of your desk, kitchen counter, or other workspace. They key idea being that it’s easily accessible – at your fingertips. A container with an open top is the best, but if you want it to be less conspicuous, and blend in with your décor, there are options with lids too. See specific product ideas below.

Filing means that 1) there are file folders involved and 2) you use these file folders to sort things out by category. So you can keep things separated, and keep then straight. (Less overwhelming. Orderly.) You can either just use hanging file folders, or tabbed folders with hanging, if you want to create subcategories within the categories.

System means that there’s a method, not madness. It may take getting used to (20 something days to form a habit) but once it becomes habit, it’s easy – second nature to keep up. It’s what you DO.

Product Ideas to Do It Yourself:

Silver Mesh Desktop File

Acrylic Desktop File

Bristol Desktop File (With Lid)

Environmentally-Friendly Bamboo Desktop File


OR – Get Organized INSTANTLY

With a Ready-Made Active Desktop Filing System

ONLY $36!
(plus shipping/handling)

It comes complete with:

Silver Mesh Desktop File Holder

10 Hanging File Folders
(labeled with: To Do, To Pay, Pending, To File, Activities, Events, Projects, Planning, Resources, Emergency Info)

30 Tabbed File Folders: 3 in each Hanging File Folder
(To Do includes one labeled with Urgent; To Pay includes one labeled with Urgent, one with Due 1st -15th, one with Due 16th-31st)

Order one for you, and one for a friend!


Save $10 when you buy 2 – 2 Active Desktop Filing Systems ONLY $62!!!

Both of you can GET ORGANIZED

Email me to place your order. Custom selections available at additional cost.

Hurry! $10 savings on 2 ends 1/31/12.

21 Quick Clutter Fixes For Your Home

By Jessica Hoelzel

REDUCE the amount of STUFF you have and LIVE GREEN

Blog Series: 21 Quick Clutter Fixes. Keep your eye on Day to Day Feng Shui for 21 ways to lighten your load by cutting out clutter bit-by-bit throughout your home. Plus, solutions that keep the environment top-of-mind, so you keep your waste-impact down.

Less Clutter = Healthy Home

Less Waste = Healthy World


In the Office

14. Round up extra supplies and move ‘em out. When you find you have more than enough, it’s natural to let that overflow to someone who needs it. I’m talking about supplies that accumulate over the years that we keep because we think they might come in handy someday.

Well, sure. Some of them will. But not in excess. Too much stuff is bad for our health.

Top contributors to “Oversupply Syndrome”:

Folders

Notebooks

Pads of paper

Sticky notes

Envelopes

Pens

Paper clips


When you’ve got all the things you want to give away sorted out, google “office supply donation” to research where you can donate them in your area. Often non-profit organizations will take donations because they don’t have a large budget for supplies. Some non-profits also have stores where they can sell the donations and make a profit to do good. Or, many schools are often in need of art and office-type supplies.

Another way to do good, not just for you, but for the world.

21 Quick Clutter Fixes For Your Home

By Jessica Hoelzel

REDUCE the amount of STUFF you have and LIVE GREEN

Blog series: 21 Quick Clutter Fixes. Keep your eye on Day to Day Feng Shui for 21 ways to lighten your load by cutting out clutter bit-by-bit throughout your home. Plus, solutions that keep the environment top-of-mind, so you keep your waste-impact down.

Less Clutter = Healthy Home

Less Waste = Healthy World

In the Office

13. Recycle a bunch of papers. We all have ‘em. We all get annoyed by ‘em, but we all need to keep a certain amount of paper.

Thing is, we’re also hoarding lots of papers that we really DON’T need to keep.

So grab a paper bag or your recycle bin, a shredder, and hit these three areas:

1. Desktop (or kitchen countertop if you use that for a workspace)
2. Files
3. Any other basket or box you use to store papers

Go through them one-by-one, or eliminate entire stacks. Get rid of anything that is irrelevant, outdated or unnecessary. If you’re pressed for time, set the timer in increments of 9: 9 minutes, 18 minutes, 27 minutes, 36 minutes, etc. Do this each day for 9 days if you need to.

You’ll feel a whole lot better and tons lighter after you’re done. Why? Because each and every piece of paper weighs on us, whether we realize it or not. Get rid of ‘em!

Embarrassed but Proud

By Jessica Hoelzel

I’m embarrassed to say that I’ve been procrastinating (avoiding, ignoring, refusing to acknowledge) my “To File” stack of papers for months now. It grew to approximately 2.5 inches thick, and at one point I did remove it from the file folder it was busting out of and moved it to a more expandable hanging file folder. Denial is an ugly thing, especially for a professional organizer.

When I decided “enough is enough, I must take action” yesterday, I spent the first few minutes of filing in astonishment. Some of the papers, I saw, dated back to April. Can it be true? Can I really have let it go like this?

YES. Factor in career changes, moving, new school, vacations, summer and there you have it. A backlog of papers that had to be dealt with. A big ol’ stack.

When I had all the papers filed, and emerged from my low point, I actually sat back and felt, well, proud. First of all, I had the files created already, so all I had to do was stick the papers in where they belonged. I’ve recently been blogging about simplifying your life, and setting up this system for my papers is one way I simplifed mine. Secondly, the filing had taken me less than an hour. In less than an hour’s time, I was feeling like parts of my life were back in order – finances, insurance, health care; my ducks are now in a row.

Now, the efficiency learning lesson here is that that backlog of papers was from about 6 months. If I had filed those papers monthly, like a good little organizer, it would have only taken me about 10 minutes a month. Instead of having to force myself to sit for one hour. If it’s uncomfortable for me, I know it’s torturous for you.

10 Minutes a Month. That’s all it takes. You can avoid having to sit that long. And avoid procrastination’s avoidance game, which really just keeps you from feeling good and living the life you want.

Feng Shui at Work: The Dangers of Too Much Yang Energy

By Jessica Hoelzel

In my earlier posts, I’ve been writing about balance, and how the basic feng shui guiding principle “use nature as your model” can help you achieve it. The Yin/Yang symbol represents balance, according to the I Ching (an ancient Chinese text used for divination and explaining the order of the universe).

The aim of the I Ching practice is to bring about balance in which celestial consciousness guides earthly awareness to follow the rhythm of nature.

- Roger Green

Its design symbolizes how chi (life force energy) fluctuates between Yin and Yang, which are opposites. When balanced, there are equal amounts of both Yin and Yang energy. Things get challenging if there’s too much of one or the other. (Off-balance.)

In the workplace, balance is often difficult to come by – for many reasons. One reason being that there is often too much Yang energy. Yang energy is masculine, aggressive, willful and active. Too much Yang can overpower. Yin energy is the opposite: feminine, passive, flexible and still. Too much Yin can underpower, but adding some Yin can balance out the occasions of too much Yang.

Too much Yang, according to Kirsten M. Lagatree,
in Feng Shui at Work, can:

Impede decision-making
Cause lost opportunities
Cause bad financial outcomes
Hurt morale
Encourage high turnover

How do you assess what’s going on and fix it?

Common Workplace Issues
Too much Yang................Add some Yin

Florescent lights..................Turn some off, use desk lamps/task lighting

Smelly................................Use diffusers* or fans, empty and clean trash regularly

Noisy.................................Designate quiet areas, wear headphones

Hectic................................Put systems in place to create order, create opportunities for breaks

Too warm..........................Add window shades, use a fan, fix heating

Crowded...........................Reorganize/eliminate furniture, encourage off-site work

Male-dominated.................Bring in art/accessories with feminine feel, hire more women

Cluttered............................Purge, organize, streamline things

I'd love to hear from you. What's going on in your workplace? Do you think there's a solution? Click below to leave a comment.

*Curious about diffusers? Check out these options from Young Living. The Travel Diffuser would work perfectly in an office or cube. Contact me by email for more information.

Update: Putting My Life Back Together After Moving

What’s been the toughest part of getting used to my home office is not having the internet there. It’s difficult to get settled in a new workspace when there’s one crucial thing missing - my connection to the outside world. I’m bouncing around from the library to coffee shops, to meetings. And I’ve been getting lost, and stuck (like on the highway for 2 hours the other day because of a flood).


I’ve never really considered the internet from a feng shui standpoint, but I know it’s about connection. For a lot of people it can be grounding too. Getting on facebook or checking twitter can be like touching base. Right now I have limited access to touch base and feel connected, plus I’m changing up my access because I don’t have internet at my home base.

So with all that craziness going on it’s no wonder the getting lost and the getting stuck – disconnected. That’s just how the energy is manifesting in my life.

Help! I wonder if there’s a feng shui adjustment I can do to get the internet faster? I’ll have to think about that…

Update: Putting My Life Back Together After Moving

By Jessica Hoelzel

I gave myself until Sunday for completion of this list, and I got most of it done, plus more. Put an organizing and feng shui consultant/perfectionist in a space and what do you get? Obsession with getting things in their places!

There is still much to do, but I feel more settled as each thing gets done, and the rooms come together. Every little bit helps me feel like I’m able to focus better while I'm working, and not have my energy scattered around. When things are settled, I can be settled, because I know, according to feng shui, my space is a reflection of me and vice/versa.

My office space is set up, and I’m pretty pleased with it. At our previous place, I had a huge closet to keep all office necessities. Not so here. Before I found my solution I had stuff, stuff, stuff that was partly out in the open, and partly in makeshift storage in a plastic dresser.

That was not going to work for me. I needed to pull it together and keep it enclosed – partly to minimize the visual distraction of having lots of things set around – and partly because my office space is in an open loft shared with a playroom.

My talented woodworker brother-in-law offered me the solution of the armoire, which was previously designed and used for a TV and electronics. I repurposed it; it’s got room for all the office things I need and good accessibility. Plus, it helps to define the boundaries of the shared space. I absolutely love it!

Chic & Easy Organizing - On the Cheap

By Jessica Hoelzel

Introducing a new series about bringing order and positive chi to your space, at low or no cost! Getting organized does not have to mean that you walk out of Target® or The Container Store® with a cartload of things you think “might” work to tame the chaos (after dropping $150 smackers). Avoid the temptation to grab things on a whim or a hope. Oftentimes, the last thing we need is to bring more “things” into our spaces. You do not have to spend a lot of money to create that sane sanctuary that you so crave, a place that reflects who you are and makes you feel at peace. Plus, less consumption is an environmentally-friendly way to be.
Check in regularly for the latest ideas. And if you have some of your own, please pass them along!

Idea #4

Small Items That Make a BIG Difference

Do you ever get overwhelmed when you go shopping for things to help you get organized? With all the products out there, which ones will give you the most bang for your buck? Here are a few pretty inexpensive little things that can go a long way to create order. Put your own fun, personalized spin on them.

1. File Folders

Sort out your papers, label and keep them at your fingertips in a tray, basket or desktop file holder. Choose designs that complement your décor and your personality.

OfficeMax® has some neat designer sets: http://www.officemax.com/catalog/search.jsp?freeText=designer+file+folders

2. Magazine Butlers

Not just for magazines – also perfect for keeping pocket folders with important papers handy. Also great for notebooks, or any reference guides printed in a magazine size. Choose a set of three in a design that makes you happy. Or mix it up with a set made up of different graphics or coverings. The less expensive ones are printed cardboard, a little more spendy are the heavy-duty cardboard ones covered in linen or faux leather. Label the outside. My favorite thing about them? They can either face front, making it easy to grab things, or turn them around and you hide what’s inside. Place on countertops, shelves or your desk.

The Container Store® has a variety: http://www.containerstore.com/shop/office/literatureOrganizers/magazines


3. Photo Boxes

Not just for photos either! These can be used in virtually every room of the house, for a multitude of small “things”. Think craft and art supplies, office supplies, random electronic components, greeting cards or sentimental items, makeup, whatever you can get to fit. And most come with a place to label. Separate your things out by category. Easily store and access what you need. Stack them in cupboards, in closets or on shelves.

Find a style that suits you at Michaels®: http://www.michaels.com/Recollections-Photo-Craft-Storage-Boxes/sb1441,default,pd.html?cgid=products-scrapbooking-storage&start=5

Making Feng Shui Work for Your Work Life: Enhancing Wealth

By Jessica Hoelzel
 

Ten Ways to Enhance the Wealth Area of Your Office

#1 Just Add Water

In Feng Shui, water is recognized as a symbol of flow and movement – bringing things to us. Incorporating the element of water into your space, especially in the Wealth area, can bring you good fortune. Imagine a river winding through the land, a waterfall’s cascade, waves gently lapping or crashing on shore. These images represent water as active chi. You can use water in your space to cultivate the flow and movement of chi there as well. Water can get things moving. Water can help abundance flow in your direction.

The element of water also supports the element of wood, which resides in Wealth. Wood (trees, plants) need water to grow, so adding water will nurture the wood energy, symbolically.

Specific Ways to Boost the Element of Water:
Add a fountain. Make sure it is a sound pleasing to you, and that you take good care of it. A broken or neglected fountain will have a negative effect on your wealth.
Add something black or navy blue. These colors represent water, their dark tones associated with the depth of water.
Add art depicting water. Choose a lake, the ocean, a river, stream or waterfall, whatever speaks to you.
Add items associated with water, like fish or shells.
Create an aquarium, or have a simple fish bowl with live fish.
Add items with wavy or spiraling shapes. These shapes also represent flow and movement.

Office Feng Shui - Making Feng Shui Work for Your Work Life

By Jessica Hoelzel

Now that you’ve had the chance to dream, let’s put some of those exciting ideas into action. What’s the best way to set action in motion? To plan! You don’t have to create a spreadsheet or anything (although if you want to no one’s going to shame your for it!) but at least put some form to your ideas, so you can have a logical sequence to how to bring your dreams for you space to life.

I recommend placing the feng shui bagua, or “map” over your space before you launch in, so that you have an idea of what you will need for what area. For example, once you locate the Wealth or Career areas, you can choose colors and decorative accents appropriately, knowing the special elements and colors that support them. It will be especially helpful so you can discover if there are any missing pieces of the bagua, and correct for them.

Click https://www.fengshuishopper.com/product_cat_list.php?cid=28 for some books that show that bagua and discuss the details of it.

Here are some things to sketch out in your plan:

1. Are you doing it yourself or hiring professionals?
Feng Shui Consultant
Interior Designer
Painter
Handyperson
Cabinet Maker
Professional Organizer

2. What is your timeline?
3. Do you need to (get to!) go shopping?
Storage containers
Decorative accents
Feng Shui cures
(Jot some notes about ideas you have, of what you think you might want and need.)

Stay tuned – more to come on specific ways to enhance different areas of the bagua.