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WORKROOM OPERATIONS
Streamline Your Office
Part 2: Efficiency tools for organized filing and retrieval are
a wise investment.
by Kitty Stein, CWP, WCAA
If you took heed to
last month’s column, you are well on your way to enhancing
your office environment. As some wise sage said, “Beginning
is half done!”
This month I am introducing you to some tools and systems that have
been a great help to me as I evolved from the retail and workroom
businesses into a myriad of other mini-careers in our industry.
SURFACE ORGANIZATION
It is important to find tools that will make you more organized
and efficient, but you also must have the real estate to handle
these tools. Consider tools for storing, filing and a tickler system.
1. Planning software, planner or PDA: I use a Palm Pilot
and the supported software on my computer. They talk to each other
so I can enter anything in one and it will automatically be entered
into the other when I HotSync the two. This has been invaluable
in keeping me from forgetting appointments and tasks on my lists.
The small Palm Pilot is much easier to carry than the planning notebook
I used to have. The only real estate required is for the HotSync
cradle, about three-by-4 1/2 inches.
2. StationMate Desk File: This is a five-section standup
file from Ultimate Office (see photograph 1). I discovered
this amazing tool when I lost my computer to a virus and could not
buy a new computer immediately for technical reasons. This file
comes with 25 five-cut colored see-through folders. I started by
labeling the first five the days of the week. Then I put what I
needed to do each day into each folder. I also had a running list
for each day.
Photograph 1: StationMate filing system by Ultimate Office can
sit on yur desk or nearby. |
This standup file can sit on your desk or on a shelf 10 inches
deep. It is 13 inches wide. This is more costly than the average
standup file holders, but it has more narrow dividers as well. This
keeps fewer, less packed files standing up nicely instead of slumping
in too-wide holders, i.e. making retrieval much easier. This little
jewel quickly paid for itself in my office.
3. Standup files for wholesale business: When I had a workroom,
I had standup files on my desk for my wholesale clients. Each client
had a folder. When I had a larger business, I had a set of holders
on one side of my desk to hold all incoming-but-not-checked activity
for my clients. When I had checked over the information, e.g. work
orders, fabric, etc., I put the folders in file holders on the other
side of my desk. This kept them in easy reach in case I needed to
reference them at any time from receipt of work until the orders
were filled.
As a one-person business with fewer clients, I also had two smaller
sets of standup file holders. After I had prepared the incoming
work orders for cutting, I placed them in a “To Cut” folder.
After cutting, they went into the “Cut” folder and then
into the “To Bill” folder.
4. Retail organization: When we had decorators working for
us to handle the retail business, we used three boxes to keep us
on top of each job’s activity. Box one was for work orders
of jobs that had not yet been accepted. This enabled me to keep
up on what might be coming through the workroom and when.
Box two was for worksheets of contracted jobs that were waiting
on materials. Any updates to the due dates of receiving materials
were noted on these orders.
Box three was for the “ready orders,” meaning we had all
the material to go to the workroom. As a one-person operation, you
could put whole folders into your containers.
I do recommend either standup files on your desk for this or the
handy three-pocket holders than can be mounted on the wall. Ultimate
Office even has one of these to sit on your desk that does not take
up the normal amount of real estate.
EXTERNAL COMPUTER
ORGANIZATION
1. Use the top of your monitor: I have an organizing unit
on top of my monitor that holds my sticky note pads, scrap paper,
computer glasses, etc. You can buy all kinds of storage units to
affix to your monitor. If you can use off-surface storage of frequently
used materials, you have a better chance of keeping your work surface
clear.
2. Use your monitor’s frame: I have a white board that
is adhered to the frame of my monitor. I have all kinds of prompts
on that board, e.g. shortcut symbols for math signs and bullets,
frequently used phone numbers, correct spelling of words, etc. I
have not seen these for many years, but I have seen self-adhering
white board paper. I have tried using sticky notes but they fall
off very quickly. Double sticky tape works very well to hold notes.
INDIVIDUAL FILE ORGANIZATION
There are tools that can help you organize the lowly manila folder.
In photograph 2 the folder in back is a self-adhesive divider
with pockets on both sides (Smead No. SFP11SA). I think I got the
original pack of these from a one-company office products show locally.
I have since had office products companies order them for me. This
tool saved me so much time in helping me find things quickly in
my seminar folders.
Photograph 2: Self-stick pocketed folder divider, expense envelope
and self-stick
folder pocket will help organize manila folders. |
Also in the photograph, at the bottom front, is a self-adhering pocket
for folders. The newer ones I have are clear plastic. This is a wonderful
way to keep fabric swatches together or for storing CDs.
The third item in photograph 2 is an organized pre-printed envelope
for tracking all travel expenses. This is from my past days of having
a Franklin Covey notebook planner. I no longer put it in a notebook,
but I take one on every trip so I can keep all receipts together and
record my daily expenses.
DRAWER ORGANIZATION
If you have been in business for even a short time, you likely have
at least one file cabinet for storing your files/folders. A filing
cabinet is not just to hold files; it is for organizing them for easy
retrieval.
1. Hanging files: For way too many years, I refused to invest
in hanging files. Manila folders work but they are cumbersome and
waste much time. Photograph 3 shows hanging files. There are standard
hanging files with fold lines for depth and there are boxed hanging
files of various depths. Do not use the latter unless you can pretty
much keep them filled. Otherwise, the paper will slide down and become
distorted.
These are great for storage of inactive files, but you can also use
them to hold a group of manila folders, e.g. to keep many parts/rooms
of one customer’s job separate. Don’t forget to use manila
folders to hold all paper within hanging folders. You remove the manila
folder while leaving the hanging file in the drawer. This makes re-filing
a breeze.
2. Use color! It has been proven that color-coding reduces
filing and retrieving by 50 percent! Photograph 3 shows six different
colors of tabs, including transparent, for labeling hanging files.
I use all these colors and always keep them in stock. This is how
I use them:
• Transparent tabs for the alphabet. I put the “A”
tab in the left front of the first file. Each successive letter
is done the same way.
• Each color designates a type of file. I use blue for general
information, e.g. taxes, receipts, business, etc. I use red to denote
a vendor company, e.g. Rowley, Kirsch, döfix (the shortcut
for “ö” is on my white board!), etc. You choose how
you want to categorize your files and what you want the colors to
represent.
3. Organize your files and tabs: Look at photograph 4.
See the clear tab on the far left for the letter of the alphabet?
It is on the inside front of the file while all other colors are
on the inside back of the file. All the blue tabs are always on
the far right. Another color is lined up consistently just left
of blue tag. And then another color just left of the second color.
Before you open a file drawer, you know the letter of the alphabet,
the color of the type of file you are looking for, and you know
how far in from the side of the drawer to look.
Photograph 3: Standard and boxed hanging folders are best for
sorting inactive files. |
This system works for me. I always, without thinking, find the
tab and push the back of the hanging folder back to access the folder
inside it. If this is uncomfortable for you, it may work better
to put the tab on the front half of the file. I also do not like
my tabs to be staggered across the cabinet according to alphabetization.
No matter how perfect you may start with your folders, they will
soon get displaced, which leads to chaos in your organization and
visual disorganization. I also always file the most recent information
to the back of the folder because it is faster to access when filing.
All of these are simple and not costly to implement. They do take
time to put into operation, but the payback is worth it. There are
more sophisticated and more costly tools to label your files. Look
at them when you are shopping. They may work better for you.
OLD AND NEW TOOLS
1. Sticky notes: How did we ever get along without sticky
notes? They are inexpensive and they come in all sizes, shapes and
colors. Try them all and use them. Photograph 3 shows the
two sizes I most often use. By the way, if you need to temporarily
label a manila folder, use a sticky note!
2. Sticky note pen and highlighter: These are new toys (I
mean tools!) that I recently bought. The pen and the highlighter
have sticky notes in them. This appears to be a neat convenience,
but only you can determine if the much smaller sticky notes will
work for your needs.
Photograph 4: Organizing hanging
folders by color and placement of tabs makes filing and retrieving
a breeze. |
“Order is Heaven’s first law” is inscribed on the
ceiling of the Library of Congress. If you think about it, everything
in nature is orderly and organized. Because it is necessary for
nature, then organization in your office certainly can have a tremendous
impact. There are many tools available today that can help you.
Ultimate Office has some very unique tools other than what I have
mentioned. Research the Internet and always keep your eyes open
for new tools.
All these tools that work for me may not work as well for you,
but I hope you are spurred to look for what can help you. Your goal
is to have a clear
work surface, only frequently used materials at
your fingertips, a good reminder system, and an efficient filing/
retrieval system. You are the only one who can turn more of that
unbillable time in the office into income. So what are you waiting
for? Get out that office products catalog and make it happen!
Kitty Stein, CWP, WCAA past board member, is a 29-year veteran
of the drapery workroom industry. She has owned both retail and
wholesale drapery workrooms as one person and as a company of nine,
and she is the founder and past owner of Workroom Concepts, a consulting
firm offering educational resources to the industry. Her experience
includes professional speaking and writing for two industry trade
magazines. She currently owns Kitty Stein & Co., which supplies
industry vendors with the industry-specific products she has authored
including Order in the Workroom, The Price List, Workroom Specifications,
and Price Your Work with Confidence, available through D&WC.
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