Decluttering...for Entrepreneurs

I spoke with Emilio and Samantha of KW Professional Organizers about decluttering, office spaces and their favourite work apps. Their vision is to create a more organized, sustainable and resilient world. Don't we all need more of that? We met for coffee and our conversation inspired this blog post. They also asked me some question, which will be featured on their blog.

How do you think “decluttering” is different for entrepreneurs?

Emilio: Being an entrepreneur is a lifestyle. Personal and Work time gets mixed up and it is very easy to lose balance. The to-do list becomes endless, too many ideas to manage, too much to take care of. Literally an entrepreneur could work for 24 hours a day and still need more time.

On top of the clutter that you may have at home, now you need to add all the clutter that comes from your business. Clutter could appear in the form of items, paper, ideas and tasks, just to mention some

Samantha: Decluttering is especially important, but not different, for entrepreneurs. When you start speaking to people who have been successful with their business, often you find that one of the keys to their success is their ability to focus on what’s important.

Decluttering forces the individual to go through everything (physical, mental or both!) to find what is important and what adds value. Once this process is completed what remains is a clearer view of what needs to be done.

It is important to know that the process of gaining focus can only be maintained if routine decluttering occurs.

How do you decide on what business areas to focus on when there is so much to do?

Emilio: It’s all about priorities and being realistic. Reflecting, understanding what’s being a challenge, brainstorming about ways to improve and setting smart goals.

By analyzing and breaking down in steps the processes that you already use to accomplish your daily to-dos you will have a better understanding of what you can add, eliminate, change and improve to make your processes more effective. You can then test the new process and keep tweaking them until they work perfectly for you.

This will save you a lot of time, energy and stress in the long run. It will also allow you to have a very concrete documented process that you can share with anyone. Delegating will become very easy. Your business will be process dependent, not people dependent.

Samantha: See the big picture. Business owners need to know what they want and WHY they want it. When you can visualize the big goals: 90 days, 1 year, 5 years; then you can start to write up the road map of how to get there.

I am a firm believer in doodling. Even if you don’t think you can draw, force yourself to visualize on paper the steps that you can take to get to your goal. Then it’s as simple as working little by little on the tasks you have outlined.

What does your office space look like?

Emilio: Our office is very simple. We try to keep most of our files digitally. Our desks are free of clutter and we only have the projects we are working on at that time. The projects on the go are stored on the side. Happy to share some photos :)

Samantha: As well our office space features big windows, plants, access to a kitchen and a music system. It’s important to note that we’ll leave the office to break a road block. When inspiration isn’t coming or frustration is rising we immediately try to change. Either work on something different that is more ‘fun’, try a different environment like a library or cafe, or stop and change to an activity that is purely personal like a walk around the block.

Emilio: We have designed our office to be mobile. We love traveling and we can do 95% of the work on the go just using our computer. We use a lot of cloud-based software. We work in cafes and in our public library a LOT.

We’ve talked about reducing paper… how do you decide what technology to use to keep your business organized? What do you suggest for to do lists?

Emilio: Good question! There are so many options out there that it can be overwhelming! I would suggest to understand your process, what steps are involved and then decide what tools may fit your needs. You need then to test it and tweak it. Don’t be shy to make changes until you find the tools that make your process seamless. It will take some time to create the habit to follow the new system. Be patient. It can take up to 21 days to create a new habit. We have tested a few systems and tools. After testing different options right now we are using:

- Google Drive: Allows us to share all the information and access it from any device.

- Google Keep: We keep shared to-do lists here. We can access them from any device.

- Trello: I use it to keep my ideas organized.

- Physical notebook: I still use a regular notebook that I carry with me. Sometimes is very nice to write things down. I may take a photo of the page and store it on google keep or Trello if I need to have a digital copy and share it with my partner.

- Toggl: We track our time. This allows us to have data to make smarter decisions. Every month we reflect about how we use our time.

Samantha: I only recommend applications when there is a sign that a system is not functioning well or is taking far too much time. It’s easy to think that the more apps you have the better your productivity, but this is false. We’ve had the same 5 apps for 4 years and rarely has there been something better to take their place.

When you find a good system it only gets better with time. So don’t overwhelm yourself and take note of the times when you catch yourself say, “I wish there was a way to make this better.” That is the exact moment when I would seek out an app.

- Google Drive: I never worry about not being able to access our info. This is our online filing system. The files are organized the same way our paper filing system is. We go through our Google Drive once a year to purge files that are no longer important. Also to check that the categories and folders still make sense.

- Google Calendar: by far the most important for time management and bookings. Also memory recall -- using the search to look up a note or a meeting.

- Google Keep: for lists, notes.

- Toggl: time management. Love this app.

- Eventbrite: planning events

- Pocket: amazing tool that I use to read content at a later time, with or without internet connection. This app is great for someone who always has 100’s of tabs open on their browser.

- Camcard: Business directory of cards

- My Notebook: I have only one. I fill it and then I get another one. I love visuals so I draw my notes and often keep ideas and thoughts here. I use post it tabs to mark really important pages. I go through my notebook monthly and pull out anything I haven’t taken action on yet and make sure to either eliminate it because it’s no longer relevant OR put it on the to-do list.

Great Tips- Thanks to you both for sharing all your decluttering insights. Something for us to think about over the holidays and as the new year begins!

Check out my interview with Emilio and Samantha's on their website, kwprofessionalorganizers.com.

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