My Latest Posts
What to Do With Your Old Hard Drives
“I want it gone, but I need the hard drive removed first.” My next question is, “What do you wish to do with the hard drive, once it is removed?” The answer is typically…
Step 1: Hook up your old processor and transfer ALL of the hard drive data onto an external hard drive. If you don’t know how to do this, please call your computer tech person. He/She can walk you through it or do it for you. My tech guy is: david@ourcomputech.com
Step 2: Mail in or Deliver your hard drive(s) to a secure hard-drive shredding company. Simply Google “San Diego County hard drive destruction” for local drop off or onsite destruction options. Some of the companies I am familiar with are:
GigaBiter
ProShred
Total Secure ShreddingDouble-click or Ctrl click on this link to see a video of how ShredEx ensures your hard drives are totally destroyed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrNf2xp-Sfk&feature=player_embedded
Many of these companies will shred your hard drives (and more) as you watch. Having them come to you can be pricey unless you have 50+ hard drives, so most people prefer to bring their hard drives to the shred company’s location.
Now you know what to do. What are you waiting for?
Jana Hartwell, CPO
Sensible Organizing Solutions
A Clean Desk = Better Health = More Productivity
Clean Up Your Desk – Literally
There are a lot of good reasons to clean your desk, but the facts below may just be the most motivating ones ever!
Did you know the average desk has over 400 times more bacteria on it than the average toilet?
Ewwwwwwww… gross, right?
Most of us clean our toilets regularly because we are well aware of all the nasty bacteria that can reside there. But how often do we wipe down all the surfaces and gadgets on our desks?
— whistling while waiting 
Ah… that’s what I thought. Not often enough.
Countless times, we pick things up, drop stuff on the floor, then put it back on the desk. We eat while we work, transferring food to the keyboard, the phone, the stapler, and … ewwwwwwww.
Those nasty little bacterium are lurking everywhere!!!
At this point you may be asking yourself …
So, what does this have to do with productivity?
Such a good question. And here’s the answer:
(deep breath in)
If we’re heading into cold and flu season – which judging by the yellowing trees, drop in temperature outside (finally!) and the sudden appearance of holiday commercials on television leads me to believe we are – Our uncleaned desks are a potential source of germs… making us susceptible to catching colds and/or flus. If we are too sick to be able to work to our potential, this has plenty to do with productivity.
How well do you function when you’re feeling under the weather?
Good health and productivity are very much related. When you feel good, you are more focused and get more done.
Clean up your desk and everything on it. Even down to those pens you’ve got in the container on your desk (they are in their containers, aren’t they?). And don’t forget about your keyboard. Remember to shut down your technology before wiping down all that bacteria with cleaning solution.
Clean up your desk – stay healthy – get more done.
Jana Hartwell, CPO
Sensible Organizing Solutions
Got Old Drugs?
Here is your opportunity to empty your medicine cabinet of any human or pet medications that are unused or expired, and safely dispose of them so they won’t end up in our drinking water or our food!
National Take-Back Initiative
The National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications.
Click to Find a Location in your area of San Diego
Also, find out how to properly dispose of medications by downloading this flyer.
Jana Hartwell, CPO®
Sensible Organizing Solutions, Inc.
www.sensibleorganizing.com
Successfully Managing Your Time
Successfully Managing Your Time
Many of us agree that you can’t really manage time, you can only use it wisely to accomplish the most important things you need to do and want to do. Keeping in mind that most busy professionals have over 200 hours of uncompleted work at any one time, you can’t do it all! So, how do you decide what to do and when?
Here are some techniques I have learned and shared with my clients:
1) Complete your #1 priority item first thing in the morning, every morning. Don’t check e-mail or pick up the phone because you are bound to be distracted and led into conversations / e-mails before getting your #1 task done.
2) Stop work 15 to 30 minutes before your day ends to organize yourself for the next day. Return all paper and other items to their designated homes, plan your priorities, confirm appointments for the next day and list your tasks to be done in order of priority.
3) Every Friday, spend one or two hours developing your plan for the next week. There are several key steps to this process:
- Review your calendar from the past week for any undone action items you need to add to your To-Do list. Schedule appointments with yourself to complete them.
- Look at your calendar for next week. Do you need to prepare anything for upcoming meetings? If so, how long will it take and when will you do it? Schedule time to work on these items.
- Review your To-Do list for any urgent and/or important items and decide when you will work on them. Schedule in these tasks.
- Review any major projects, break them down into small action steps and book time with yourself to ensure you are moving them forward to completion.
- After doing all of this, consider whether your schedule is realistic. In general, you need to keep 20% to 50% of your week open for unexpected interruptions, requests and projects. Make adjustments, if necessary.
As you can see, each one of these steps involves scheduling commitments with yourself by blocking off time in your calendar as you would for any other meeting.
September is back to school and back to work – what a perfect time to plan for success. Remember, the effort put into planning Is far less painful than the consequences of not planning at all!
Jana Hartwell, CPO
Sensible Organizing Solutions
Welcome to Jana’s blog!
The purpose of these one-page articles is to educate and inspire you to become more organized and in control of your time, space and projects.
Your comments are welcomed. And… if there is a topic you would like to hear about, please let me know by submitting an Ask The Organizer question in the section below. This blog is for you!
Jana Hartwell, CPO
Sensible Organizing Solutions