Transition from a traditional office setting to a home office
Carving out a space specific to work in a home setting
Setting up a new system of information retrieval
Determining the right planning system (electronic or paper)
Goal Setting
How idealORDER helped:
The very first thing we did with this client is what we do with all our clients – we thoroughly interviewed her to determine HER goals. Through this process, we discovered things that were working in her traditional office setting that we could replicate in her home office setting. We made space and furniture changes that allowed her to clearly distinguish between home and work activities, and we mapped out zones in her work area that supported her different activities. Through consultation, we determined appropriate filing categories and then set up her filing system. This client was equally comfortable with using both electronic and paper planning and management systems, but we determined that she was inconsistent with where she placed information for later retrieval. We fixed that by working with her to determine which type of information she would place in either electronic format or paper format. Finally, we worked with her in focusing (and writing down) her goals for her new home-based business. In this way, she was able to use her goals to support time management and prioritize the many activities calling for her attention.
2. SMALL BUSINESS EXECUTIVE
Organizing Challenges:
Delegation difficulties
Inefficient information retrieval
How idealORDER helped:
This is an example of a business which has experienced quick growth and addition of multiple employees in a short period of time. The business owner, however was still operating in a mode of hands-on “doing” instead of managing. We helped him analyze the strengths and talents of his employees and create delegation options. Additionally, we helped him create a system for monitoring delegated tasks. The company’s information retrieval system was improved by employing various containers (e.g., files, binders, electronic documents), separating information into action, reference, and archival categories, and informing all employees of information “homes” that required access to a number of people within the company.
