ChaosOver

IS IT A JOB OR A CAREER?

2010-06-16T09:12:00.000-07:00

Webster defines a JOB as ‘Providing a product or service for pay’.
Webster defines a CAREER as ‘A way of measuring one’s progress through life’.
So, do you have a ‘job’ or a ‘career’?

Just imagine getting ready to leave for work in the morning and your mate asks you what you have on tap for the day. You respond with “I’m off to provide a product or service for pay.” Hmmm, not very exciting is it?

On the other hand, with the same scenario, (and as silly as the verbiage sounds), you respond with “I am going to, once more, measure my progress in life.”

We spend a majority of our waking life in our work. With this being the case, it is sad to recognize that for most of humankind, it’s a ‘job’. It is no coincidence that the restaurant chain, ‘T.G.I.F.’ has its popularity not just from the food it serves. The acronym stands for ‘Thank Goodness It’s Friday’. And the new term for Wednesdays is ‘Hump Day’, created to recognize that our work week is half over!

A person could fall madly in love on a Sunday evening, however they would still be depressed and stressed because, after all, work was the next day. On the other hand, we could find that our house had burned down, yet this would not be so bad if the news came on a Friday afternoon!

How many people realize that, with this mentality, 5/7’s of their life is living for the remaining 2/7’s? And, by the way, how many weekends end in exhaustion over the errands, chauffeuring, repairs and chores.

Please note that I am not painting work with the ‘White Hat’ and weekends with the ‘Black Hat’. Balance is essential (although most folks do not have a clue as to how true balance could be a reality in their lives).

In our LIVING CHAOS FREE E-Learning Platform, the Introduction asks the participant to partake in our ‘Envision Statement’. Two of these visions that our program is capable of achieving are the following:

· I envision enjoying all of my Sunday afternoons and evenings, no longer having a panic attack about all of the work I know is awaiting me on Monday morning.

· I envision awakening EVERY weekday morning, actually looking forward to going to work.

So…if you now see yourself in a ‘job’, see how there is now close to 100,000 graduates from our training experiencing, what they do a majority of their waking life, now being…A way of measuring their progress through life.

“READY-FIRE-AIM” versus SELF-DELEGATION

2010-01-10T09:38:00.000-08:00

So you find yourself sitting up at night writing out your infamous ‘To Do’ list. You jotted down twelve items that you want to knock out at work tomorrow. Now tell me, if this new day is a somewhat typical day, how many on your trusty ‘To Do’ list were actually accomplished…two, three, maybe four?

Not only does this lead to stress and frustration, it can be quite demoralizing. The truth be told, after a number of such experiences, it is not surprising that a person just stops making the lists altogether.

In its place we just go to work each day reciting the following mantra: “Dear Lord, please just get me through the day.” Not a very pro-active stance, is it?

The unproductive approach of “Ready-Fire-Aim” is demonstrated by sitting down at your desk and jumping into which brushfire or crisis is seeking you. This is akin to being awakened in the morning with an air raid siren blasted into your ear!

In the CHAOSOVER and LIVING CHAOS FREE programs we train you to begin each workday by employing the ‘First Five Morning Tasks’:

1. Check my calendar for today’s Pending’s (Follow-ups)
2. Invert my Turtle (Stack of prioritized work)
3. Clear my Virtual In-Tray (In-box)
4. Process all of my Voice-mails (Logging return calls)
5. Process all of my E-mails (Responding easily as there was ZERO when you left yesterday)

By completing steps 1 through 4, you have taken what I promise is no more than six minutes before responding to your e-mail.

You have taken a macro look of your new day. You estimate the time of the meetings set (in and out of the office), the phone appointments and follow-up calls scheduled. What this has accomplished is a “reality check” on how much time remaining that you have to work on your stack of prioritized work (Turtle).

NOTE-When you had initially placed each item of work in your Turtle stack, you had taken the sixty seconds (literally) to fill in three spaces:

Estimated Time to Complete ___
Completion Date ___
Start Date ___

By knowing how much time you had remaining in your day, after the meetings, phone calls and e-mails awaiting you, you are able to REALISTICALLY determine the amount of items in your Turtle stack which can, and cannot, be completed today.

This process of “Self-Delegation” truly supports you transforming your life from reactive to pro-active. It removes from your life that “Ready-Fire-Aim” approach that had caused you such frustration and stress.

Lastly, because my programs have, since 1973, been dedicated to the FAMILY, this will have you far more often sitting down at the dinner table, at dinner time, with your family.

Len Merson,
Founder, C.E.O.
Chaos Over, Inc.
1-88-VERY CALM (Toll Free line)
619.980.7372 (Direct line)
Lmerson@chaosover.com

THE 'ELECTRONIC' ASSUMPTION

2009-12-21T15:15:00.000-08:00

I’m sure that you have heard the symbolic definition of the word ‘assumption’. This being-'Ass-u-me’ (deeper explanation hopefully not needed). Be that as it may, we have now moved into the era of the ‘Electronic’ assumption.

It seems that the world has taken on the belief that everyone now utilizes devices such as the “Crackberry”, oops, I mean “Blackberry". Well, that is not the case. I, for one, still use my trusty Franklin book organizer. The last time I checked, it does not have plug-in, synching or battery features.

Case in point: I recently drove out to see a client (not a short distance, I might add), only to find that my client was quite startled to see me. I asked him why he was surprised as we had set the date of this meeting a week ago. He indicated that he had an emergency come up and that he had sent me an e-mail an hour prior asking for a re-schedule. As I was not anywhere near my computer prior to my departure, the message never reached me.

He thought that for sure I should have seen his e-mail on my PDA. (WHAT PDA!!!) I simply pointed to my aged organizer book. He was incredulous that I was still using “such an ancient system”.

First of all, I do believe that I am not the last person on this Earth to use this form of organization (which does, believe it or not, have a calendaring section). Should anyone bother to note the volume of such systems sold at places like Franklin-Covey stores, Staples, Office Depot, etcetera, it would be revealed to them that while I seem to be a member of a decreasing population, there are still millions of us around the world still utilizing such a medium.

Second of all, I see that more and more people have grown a certain disdain for that instrument invented by one, Alexander Graham Bell. This is especially prevalent in the Generation ‘X’ or Generation ‘Y’ (or whatever alphabetical moniker is assigned to those “younger folks”), who text, instant message or, in only the remotest of circumstances use e-mail. But NEVER seem to think of using a tele-phone!

God forbid someone should pick up a phone and actually have a voice-to-voice conversation with another of the same species. NOTE-yes, I have a cell phone, however it is just a cell phone. I did not opt for the features that would have me find my car in a parking lot or know where the closest Proctologist is located in my geographical area.

The world needs to be a bit more respectful to those of us who have elected to not have a ’24-7’ device grafted to our hip. Isn’t a cell phone’s accessibility pervasive enough?

Len Merson,
Founder, C.E.O.
Chaos Over, Inc.
1-88-VERY CALM (Toll Free line)
619.980.7372 (Direct line)
Lmerson@chaosover.com

WHAT DO I DO WITH ALL OF MY FOLLOW-UPS THAT SEEM TO BE FALLING THROUGH THE CRACKS?

2009-11-24T16:56:00.000-08:00

Calendaring your Pendings*
*Waiting for someone to get back to me; Awaiting a deadline to occur; Awaiting an event to take place

Picture this – you have just sent me an e-mail requesting something of me that you require. Now this is work for me to do (what we refer to as a ‘Turtle’), and what is it for you? If you said “Pending”, you got it.

Your having hit the ‘Send’ button (and being a diligent follower of the CHAOSOVER system), you immediately went to your ‘Sent’ file and, lo and behold, there at the top of your ‘Sent’ file (actually, according to our program, this should be the ONLY item in your ‘Sent’ file), is the e-mail requesting information from me.

Now for those of you using Outlook (this will also work with many other systems), you now drag this e-mail down to your ‘Calendar’ bar, let go, and voila, the body of your e-mail appears in your calendar for the day.

Why is this so terrific? Because…ALL PENDINGS HAVE TO BE CALENDARED. Now all that you need to do is the following:
-Change the date from today’s date (unless today is actually the day you intend to follow-up with me).
-Log the of time of day you wish to contact me.
-On ‘Subject’ you log: (PE) Len re: Acme Freight proposal (The symbol ‘PE’ denotes the location being in your
E-mail’s ‘Pending’ file.)
-Lastly, now drag the e-mail sitting in your ‘Sent’ file into your ‘PENDING’ (PE) file.

CONGRATULATIONS, AS YOU NOW HAVE…
"THE PLEASURE TO FORGET"

Len Merson,
Founder, C.E.O.
Chaos Over, Inc.
1-88-VERY CALM (Toll Free line)
619.980.7372 (Direct line)
619.291.1709 (Facsimile line)
Lmerson@chaosover.com

"What if...?"; "If only..."; I wish I had..."; "I shoulda..."; One of these days I'm gonna'..."

2009-09-16T13:37:00.000-07:00

The phrases above are intentionally unfinished because they are many times uttered either in a person’s last breath or certainly many times prior. The justifications are rampant having to do with such excuses as time, energy, time, focus, time, money, lest we forget-time.

The purpose of the ChaosOver Program is not really about being organized! You see, unto itself, organization has no intrinsic value whatsoever. While many consider organization to be an ‘end’, truth be told, organization is solely a ‘means’, a vehicle, to take us where “we say” we want to arrive in our careers; in our family lives; in our personal lives.

The idea of living one’s life with, at our mortal ending, having no regrets…aha, that is a life fulfilled.

This particular Blog is geared to our personal life, however it is an example that equally relates to our careers and our families. While the following, recently published newspaper article, does have to do with my own life, please understand that it is to support the “I say” that we want to accomplish in this lifetime of ours in order to truly experience fulfillment and joy.

How the Big Brother Magic Cuts Both Ways
Philadelphia Daily News
Daily News Opinion Columnist

LEN MERSON paused thoughtfully when I asked what made him decide over forty years ago to become a Big Brother to a boy in need. "I can tell you," piped up Allan Lewin, the self-described ‘Little Brother’. "A little kid is a great chick magnet." "Yeah, it was either him or a puppy," Merson laughingly agreed.

It's a funny routine, one of a thousand things they have done together in a relationship that has lasted over four decades and has had a profound effect on both of their lives.

"Allan and my daughter, Jessica, are the two people that I trust most in the world," Merson said.

"I remember writing a paper my first year in college about the people who influenced me," Lewin said. "Len was one of the three who mattered most".

Lewin and Merson are Exhibit A in the case Big Brothers/Big Sisters likes to make for mentoring. Lewin, who heads the Lee's Hoagie House chain throughout the Philadelphia and surrounding areas,, and Merson, who runs an information-management business, with offices in California and Hawaii, both agree that neither would be who he is today without the other.
"Allan is a significant investor in my business," Merson said.
“I go to him for business advice all the time," Lewin said.

It was more than anyone imagined way back in 1967 when Lewin's mother took him to Big Brothers/Big Sisters to see if they could find a man to hang out with him a couple of times a month.

"My parents were divorced," Lewin recalled. "My mother was wise enough to know that I needed a male role model. "I just figured I'd meet someone who would take me places".

That's about all any young person fortunate enough to meet a mentor through the program expects. If it were nothing more than that, it would still serve a purpose for kids like Allan from single-parent homes.

Big Brothers/Big Sisters released a study last month that reveals a much more tangible benefit of their mentorship matches. According to results of the cross-sectional study by Harris Interactive:

-Adults who were mentored as children were seventy-five percent more likely to have graduated from college.
-Thirty-nine percent more likely to earn at least $75,000 a year than peers who had similar backgrounds.
-More than half the former "littles" who took part in the study grew up in single-parent homes with less than average incomes.
-About two-thirds reported that they had achieved greater success than children they grew up with who had no mentors.
-The study simply lays out in statistical terms what we know intuitively:
A child who has the benefit of a relationship with a responsible adult
is far more likely to succeed than if he didn't have it.

Hundreds of children, particularly minority boys, can't find ‘Big Brothers’. Many chapters had to stop taking applications last year despite a growing need.
NOTE: The ‘Big Sisters’ organization is in need of mentoring skills for many ‘Little Sisters’ in our communities as well.

Matches were easier to make when Len met Allan. Len felt the need as much as Allan did. "I had terrific expectations." Len said. The results were even better. Allan was a great kid, mellow, insightful, interested in everything I showed him."

What really made it work, they agree, was a third party, Len's horse at the time, ‘Navajo’, an Appaloosa Quarter horse. "Allan got involved in everything. He cleaned the stables with me; we didn't just ride”, Len stated.

But Allan didn't realize how close they had become until he fell during a bicycle accident and broke his collar bone. "Len was at the hospital in minutes," Allan said. "That was surprising".

It all should have ended two years later when the company Len worked for transferred him to San Diego and then to Hawaii. But he and Allan spent summers together in San Diego and then Hawaii even after Len became a mentor to another Little Brother from the projects in Honolulu.

"I had this Jewish kid from an East Coast city and a Hawaiian boy from the projects," Len said. "They got along great each summer. Both were great kids and are friends to this day”.

The three of them still get together a few times a year and speak to each other at least once a week.

The magic does indeed cut both ways.

With great respect,
Len

Len Merson,
Founder, C.E.O.
Chaos Over, Inc.

1-88-VERY CALM (Toll Free line)
619.980.7372 (Direct line)
619.291.1709 (Facsimile line)
Lmerson@chaosover.com

DEALING WITH THE SECOND AND THIRD GENERATIONS OF STRESS

2009-08-08T13:02:00.000-07:00

Let’s face it, there has always been stress associated with our lives. Yet, it is important to acknowledge that there are basically two forms of stress. We are all too familiar with the negative kind, however let us acknowledge that there is the positive variety as well. For example, remember the moment that you fell in love (interesting how we use the term “fell” to describe this feeling). Anyway, that was a stressful experience, albeit a positive one.

The very derivation of the word ‘disease’ is understood by simply placing a hyphen between the first ‘s’ and ‘e’, thus creating the term: ‘Dis-Ease’.

Insurance companies, health benefit consultants, major corporations, the medical community have now recognized that stress (negative) is the leading cause of illnesses and the astronomical cost of health care in our nation today.

Cardiologists, emergency room physicians and nurses will tell you that most heart attacks take place late Sunday night/the early morning hours of Monday. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure this one out. The worry, concern and stress begin building up for most by Sunday afternoon.

Stress in our family life and our personal life notwithstanding, we spend a majority of our waking life at our workplace. This has within it, the 'First Generation of Stress'. Couple this with the fact that our incomes, which support our personal and family lives, are derived from our work. I refer to this as the ‘First Generation of Stress’.

Due to our country’s current economic condition there is, what I describe as, the ‘Second and Third Generations of Stress’.

This ‘Second Generation’ emanates from those many businesses that have had to downsize. One of my clients recently told me that, due to the slowing of his construction company’s business, he had to lay off two tenured staff members.

Even with business at this slower pace, the staff still had to pick up the responsibilities, duties…and knowledge…from these two ex-staff members. In my interviewing the remaining staff, each one told me how this has increased their stress levels greatly.

As if this wasn’t enough, the ‘Third Generation of Stress’ is the most damning. This is due to our nation’s employed getting up to go to work each day with their very first thought, “Is today the day that I am going to lose my job?”

In dealing with the ‘Second and Third Generations of Stress’, pep talks, platitudes and affirmations such as “This too shall pass”, “Worry is an insult to God”, while not to be discounted, do in fact require a great deal of faith and trust. It would be foolish to forget, especially at this particular time, that we do control our thoughts.

NOTE-This would be a good time to read (or re-read) my blog entitled ‘THE POWER OF INTENTION’.

It is essential to remember just how many times, in each of our lives, we have looked into the face of impending doom only to discover that we did, in fact, make it through.

I fervently believe that this current economic situation we are all facing will ebb. Yet, we will still be left with the ‘First Generation of Stress’.

The ChaosOver “Live” Program, as well as the LIVING CHAOS FREE E-Learning Platform, are each dedicated to PRODUCTIVITY ENHANCEMENT (measurable) and STRESS REDUCTION (affecting our personal and family lives as well). Ironically these two results- the heightening of productivity and the lessening of stress- have been, for the past thirty-six years, my personal mission with well over 77,000 people around the world.

Len Merson,
Founder, C.E.O.
Chaos Over, Inc. & Productivity Concepts, Inc.

1-88-VERY CALM (Toll Free line)
619.980.7372 (Direct line)
Lmerson@chaosover.com

LIFE'S FULL CIRCLE

2009-07-24T00:36:00.000-07:00

How often have how we heard the expressions of “What comes around goes around”; You reap what you sow”; “One good turn deserves another”? Yet, what meaning that does truly hold for any of us on a day-to-day basis?

While most people believe in coincidence, happenstance and such, I believe in the Karmic aspect of life. A goodly number of people believe that to mean, for example, by making a contribution to a worthy cause or individual, I expect to be somehow personally rewarded in some fashion. Does this really make it an unconditional gesture?

In other words, many people believe that we are rewarded BECAUSE we did a goodly deed. However, contrary to popular belief, that is not the way it appears to work. Perhaps the accurate, and karmic, perspective is that we do a goodly deed AND IT JUST SO HAPPENS that we are rewarded. (Please do not misinterpret this as simply semantics.)

Do you see the difference? A majority of the “good” that people do has within it the ulterior motive of a reward forthcoming. There are, however, those who do goodly deeds without any true expectation or anticipation of some form of reward coming their way. This is the truest form of contribution.

The ancient Hebrew philosophy describes the act of “Tzedakah”. Tzedakah is based on a root meaning justice. Tzedakah refers to performing charity, and philanthropic acts, which Judaism emphasizes are important parts of living a spiritual life; Jewish tradition points out that the highest form of tzedakah is to anonymously give donations to unknown recipients. In other words, neither the giver nor the recipient knows of one another. Unlike philanthropy, which is where the giver, much of the time, has an underlying, albeit sub-conscious, ego-driven motive and the recipient is made humbled by the gift…true tzedakah, on the other hand, is seen as a deed, which should be performed regardless of financial standing or acknowledgment, and the sole reward is between the giver and his/her Maker.

This creates a situation where in the deed is not conceived with the ulterior motive of doing this BECAUSE you expect to be rewarded; the deed is made AND IT JUST SO HAPPENS that you are rewarded.

In the latter 1970’s, I was conducting a seminar with over 300 attendees. At the two-thirds point in the program I offered to the participants the opportunity to ask, and receive, a full refund of their monies if the experience of my program appeared to offer no lasting benefits.

A gentleman did indeed ask for his refund. End of story…or so I thought.

Fast forward to the year 2009. More than thirty years have passed. I receive a phone call from this same individual. His name is Don. He found me via ‘Google’. Don tells me that it took years for him to recognize that he did indeed find great and lasting value in my work with him. He goes on to ask if he can do something for me as an act of Tzedakah to compensate for the refund he received. It so happens that Don has vast experience in an arena that I have been seeking help in launching a program that would enable hundreds of thousands of folks, world-wide, to benefit from my life’s work.

Don appeared in my life as an Angel, a miracle, at the precise moment that I was in futility in making my vision a reality. Suffice it to say that, with the expertise offered to me by this man, my vision, my mission, my dream, is about to be launched.

What goes around does, in fact, come around. In ways that I would never, in my wildest dreams, have expected. I fervently believe that I did a goodly and ethical deed, expecting nothing in return...AND IT JUST SO HAPPENED that I was incredibly rewarded.

This, to me, is how life’s full circle operates for all of us.

With great respect,
Len

Len Merson,
Founder, C.E.O.
Chaos Over, Inc.

1-88-VERY CALM (Toll Free line)
619.980.7372 (Direct line)
619.291.1709 (Facsimile line)
Lmerson@chaosover.com

ELIMINATE PROCRASTINATION FOREVER

2009-07-01T12:34:00.000-07:00

Are you one of those people who continually shift your tasks around doing the things you enjoy most first and putting off the ones you don’t enjoy until later…much later?

Do you avoid completing certain projects until the last minute when your back is up against the wall? Do you keep seeing the same items turning up on your “To Do List” day after day after day?

Are you one of those people who insists you work better under pressure? Then you are probably one of the millions of people in this country who suffer from procrastination and I do mean “suffer”.

Procrastination has many negative side effects:

* It eats up valuable time
* It reduces productivity
* It sabotages others
* It lowers self-esteem
* It causes an enormous amount of stress…just to name a few.

Now you may be asking yourself, “If procrastination is so bad, why do so many people do it?”

Some of the reasons are:

* I don’t like doing that particular task
* I don’t know how to complete the task
* I don’t like the person who assigned me the task
* I don’t feel confident in my skill level at that particular task
* The task appears too large to tackle.
* There’s too much work involved
* ETC.etc.etc

Regardless of the reasons for procrastinating, the results are still the same. The task does not get completed in a timely fashion.

Our Information Management program at ChaosOver, Inc. is designed to facilitate you in eliminating FOREVER the habits and patterns that have not served you. Procrastination is one of those behaviors. So how do you eliminate it?

You do it by processing the tasks or projects you have been avoiding, one at a time. Let’s use an example to illustrate the process:

Let’s say you have to write a report on a topic that doesn’t particularly excite you and is going to involve a lot of research and a lot of your time. The report was assigned to you on March 1st and is to be completed by March 15th. Today is March 6th and you still haven’t started it. You know you are procrastinating.

First step in the process is to go through a series of questions:

* Do I still need to complete this task? If the answer is yes go to question 2. If it is no, toss it.
* Can this task be delegated to someone else? If the answer is yes, delegate it. If the answer is no, go to question 3.
* What are the benefits of completing this task? In our example above the benefits may be :
o My boss will be happy with me
o The client will be happy and we may get more business from them
o Our company will make money on this
o I may get a raise, promotion, accolades
o I will get it off of my plate and stop stressing over it.
* What are the consequences of not doing it? Again using our example:

o My boss will be very unhappy with me
o I could get fired or, at least, reprimanded
o I could miss out on a promotion
o I could be sabotaging a co-worker
o We could lose a client
o Our company could lose money
o I will continue to stress over it and feel badly

Now that you have answered these questions, the task has taken on some life, some emotion, and has the ability to motivate you to action. So what do you do next?

You break the task down into its various parts. In our example above that may look like:

* I do an outline of what the report is to cover
* I identify whether I have all the information needed
* I identify resources for obtaining the information I am missing
* I do my research
* I create a first draft with completed information
* I re-write until I am happy with the end report

Now determine how long it will take to complete the first step ONLY. Let’s say you decide it will take an hour. Go to your calendar, whether it be a paper organizer or a computer program such as Outlook, and book yourself an hour to complete this first step.

NOTE- You must treat this appointment as a sacred commitment the same as you would if it was an appointment with a client. (Knowing that you have a deadline for this project and it is going to take several hours to complete, be sure to book that hour as soon as you can into your schedule.)

When you have completed step one, do the same with the next step and so on until the task/project is completed.

If you use this process with ALL of the things where you would normally procrastinate over, whether they are business or personal, you will find yourself eliminating the problem of procrastination FOREVER as you create the new habit of getting things done in a timely fashion.

The result… you will be happy, productive, effective, self-confident, and far less stressed. So go get started….NOW!

Len Merson,
Founder, C.E.O.
Chaos Over, Inc.

1-88-VERY CALM (Toll Free line)
619.980.7372 (Direct line)
Lmerson@chaosover.com

E-mails to ZERO...and on a daily basis!

2009-06-25T21:58:00.000-07:00

Does the idea of having E-mails, of both the ‘Read’ and ‘Unread’ categories, being zero at the end of each and every day seem beyond belief to you? And I am neither speaking about a mass delete nor about having such a massive accumulation that one simply makes still another archival folder and “dumps” them all in, regardless of their status.

In order to reduce the massive amounts of e-mail, the following procedure has worked miracles for many thousands of folks, allowing them to get to that magical number of ‘ZERO’ each and every day this way.

I am speaking about a time-tested and result-oriented formula to make this real for you. However, we need to begin at the beginning. The beginning for most of us is just how to deal with the hundreds, if not thousands, of accumulated e-mail that has created this loss of control and inability to manage it all.

You are being asked to do this in steps, steps that will work for you…if…you will subscribe, and commit, to the process. So, here goes:

NOTE- The format will be via Microsoft Outlook, however this can be done the same way with other e-mail providers.

Step #1- Be sure that your e-mails are in chronological order (this should be the way you find them). Scroll down to the oldest date. Now begin scrolling up from this oldest date and, WITHOUT LOOKING AT THE ‘SUBJECT’ COLUMN OR THE ‘FROM’ COLUMN, JUST BY DATE ALONE, and determine how many of these oldest e-mails on up you are willing to simply ‘DELETE’. The criterion should be based on your ability to sleep soundly having gone as far as you are willing.

NOTE- Let’s say that you began with 1,800 e-mails in your In-box. After step #1 you now have 1,440 e-mails remaining.

Step #2- At the top of your e-mail screen you will find the ‘FROM’ icon. Click on this and that will place your e-mails in alphabetical order. Scroll to the top. Now begin scrolling down looking only at this ‘FROM’ column. Look for groupings from the senders of three or more. (The ‘ones’ and ‘twos’ will be dealt with shortly.) By just looking at the names, see which groups you are willing to delete. There are 22 sent to me by Harvey Shmed. Harvey is not someone we do business with any longer and there is no need to file away his e-mails. Good-bye 22 e-mails. Again, the criterion should be based on your ability to sleep soundly having gone as far as you are willing.

NOTE- From this step you have deleted another 500 e-mails, leaving you with a remaining 940 e-mails.

Step #3- Scroll back up to the top. Keep your eyes once more on the ‘FROM’ column and begin scrolling down, however this time see what groupings (remember-three or more per name), can be simply placed into one of your e-mail folders. You come across 14 from Bob Bennett. Bob is our website designer. I have a folder entitled ‘Website’ therefore I can safely drag and drop Bob’s e-mails into my Website folder.

NOTE- From this step you have dragged and dropped 436 more e-mails, leaving you with 504 e-mails remaining.

NOTE A- I have seen countless times where e-mail folders are either few and far between or as disorganized as could possibly be imagined. However, for you, now embracing this training, e-mail folders are becoming terrific to work with.

NOTE B- I happen to champion the creation of as many folders are as necessary. This is to include 'Sub' folders and even 'Sub-Sub' folders. Why? Because this creates the shortest and most expedient artery to take you immediately to the specific information you are seeking. (Sounds like ‘INSTANT RETRIEVABILITY’ to me!)

NOTE C- Leslie has made her ‘CLIENT’ folder, yet she currently has 52 active clients. So, guess what? Leslie spent 30 minutes setting up 52 sub-folders.

Step #4- At the top of your e-mail screen you will find the ‘SUBJECT’ icon. Click on this and that will place your e-mails in alphabetical order via the names of the subjects. Scroll to the top. Now begin scrolling down looking only at this ‘SUBJECT’ column. Look for groupings of three or more. (The ‘ones’ and ‘twos’ will be dealt with shortly.) By just looking at the subject titles, see which groups you are willing to delete.

NOTE- You have deleted another 210 e-mails in this manner, leaving you with 294 e-mails remaining.

Step #5- Scroll back up to the top. Keep your eyes once more on the ‘SUBJECT’ column and begin scrolling down, however this time see what groupings (remember-three or more per name), can be simply placed into one of your e-mail folders. You come across 19 from Sallie. Sallie is our payroll clerk. I do not have a folder entitled ‘Payroll’, yet I do have an ‘Accounting’ folder. There is nothing to prevent me from making a sub-folder entitled ‘Payroll’ and dropping the 19 e-mails from Sallie into my new sub-folder.

NOTE- You have delivered another 180 e-mails out of your In box by dropping them into current folders and sub-folders (or making them newly), leaving you with just 114 e-mails remaining.

Step #6 (Final Step)- It would seem obvious that the remainder of your e-mails in your In-box are either ‘Turtles’, ‘Pendings’, ‘Library/Reference’, ‘Clients’ or ‘Projects’, ‘Archives’, ‘Personal’ or 'ChaosOver Info'.

NOTE- Due to COMPLETION being a foreign entity to a vast majority of Humankind, bite the bullet and go through these 114 remaining e-mails, placing them each into either ‘Trash’ or the proper folders that are intended to be their ‘Home’.

CONGRATULATION AS YOU HAVE ZERO E-MAILS IN YOUR IN-BOX.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water…Now you will want to do the same with your 'SENT’ e-mails. The ‘Sent’ file is the place that many folks use as a ‘subterranean archival area’. The objective is getting this file to ‘ZERO’ as well:

Step #1- Click on the ‘Sent’ enabling all of your Outgoing e-mails to be in chronological order. Scroll down to the oldest date, asking yourself- “Without looking at the ‘Sent To’ or ‘Subject’ columns, just based simply on age of the Outgoing e-mails, what date am I willing to delete up to and still be able to sleep peacefully at night?” Then do that. (Of course, if your answer is “No, I won’t be able to sleep doing this”, then simply move on to Step Two.

Step #2- Click on ‘To’ and scroll to the very top. You now have the remainder of your e-mails in alphabetical order. Begin to scroll down searching for groupings of three or more sent to the same person. Without looking at ‘SUBJECT’ or ‘DATE’, simply by name, see how many may be deleted in this fashion.

Step #3- Click on ‘SUBJECT’ and scroll once more to the very top. Now begin scrolling down and looking only at the ‘SUBJECT’ column, seek out groupings and determine which ones can be deleted.

Step #4- It would seem obvious that the remainder of your e-mails in your ‘Sent-box’ are either ‘Pendings’ (in fact, quite likely), ‘Turtles’, ‘Client’ or ‘Project’, ‘Library/Reference’, ‘Archives’ or ‘Personal’.

CONGRATULATION AS YOU HAVE ZERO E-MAILS IN YOUR SENT-BOX.

And, last but surely not least, for that feeling of overwhelming joy…delete all of the deletes in your ‘DELETED’ file.

Welcome to the beginning of a whole, new way of life in dealing with your E-mail.
You will never again have to reside in “E-mail Hell”.

With great respect,
Len

Len Merson,
Founder, C.E.O.
Chaos Over, Inc.

1-88-VERY CALM (Toll Free line)
619.980.7372 (Direct line)
619.291.1709 (Facsimile line)
Lmerson@chaosover.com

The Power of Intention

2009-06-13T17:05:00.001-07:00

In the ebb and flow of our lives, most people fervently believe that circumstance, happenstance, coincidence, and luck control our outcomes. However, I recognize that our own subconscious mind provides us with the empowerment to directly affect this ebb and flow for ourselves, to an extraordinary degree.

The ‘Power of Intention’ has been the most significant realization of my adult life. Since 1973 I have spoken in my presentations around the world of the conscious and the subconscious, and how far more powerful our subconscious is in each one of us. Yet, we spend the majority of our lives rarely tapping into the strength and resolve of our subconscious. We are basically unattached to our subconscious mind, let alone believing that it has significant power.

I believe that our intentions come in two “flavors”; the Intention “I say” (conscious) and the Intention “Actual” (subconscious). I know how many times my words, which can come so easily, speak of what I intend, however that outcome is not always the result. Take for example the all too frequent commitment to stop smoking ("I say"), or lose undesired weight ("I say"). More often than not, the battle is lost before it has begun. Why do you think this is? Not only have the circumstances leading up to these 'failures' been set up, they have most likely been planned this way (in our subconscious mind) from the very beginning.

On the day you have decided to stop smoking (forever this time, right?) you decide to clean out your closet. While going through your jackets, you discover an old cigarette left there. You have a quick conversation with yourself and ultimately give yourself permission to smoke that cigarette. OK, so you blew it for today. You’ll start again tomorrow. And what happens when tomorrow comes?

You actually overslept on the day of an important interview for a new job. One that you "said" that you really wanted to have. Now think about it. You really didn't want that job did you?

Jack has just lost his job due to downsizing. He is devastated. Now let's flash forward two months and we see that Jack has a new position that has been his life-long wish for a career. He readily acknowledges that if his job not been downsized, he most likely never would have left the job he had.

Do these examples sound familiar? In each of our lives there are experiences similar to these.

This is not to state that our 'Intentions’ can never be aligned. In fact, if you notice the title of this Blog is the ‘POWER’ of Intention. We truly do have the POWER. The more open, introspective and honest we are with ourselves, the more we become capable of seeing just why, so many times, we would have intended a result that is so different from what we have said we wanted.

If our Intention equals our Result, then this would mean that our Result reveals our true Intention. I know that this may be hard to accept, however, if one would care to know their Intention-Actual, one would simply need view their result. Of course if the result is a positive one, hey, this meant that my Intention-“Actual” was aligned with my Intention-“I say”. However, if the result is one that is less than desired, then few would own up to the idea that this must have been their true intention.

Why are we so willing to accept responsibility for actualities in our lives aligning with what we “say”, yet not taking responsibility when they don't align? Wouldn’t this be just two different sides of the same coin?

In the workshop portion of the ChaosOver program, I make the following statement: ”We actually set ourselves up to not only allow chaos to exist in our lives, we go out of our way to MAINTAIN the chaos”. As the participants in my program first hear this, I know all too well that their first reaction is “He’s nuts, why would I ever intend to have chaos in my life?” NOTE-The answer will be provided in a further Blog, however for now, see if you can be open to think of at least three reasons why you, and I, would seek chaos as such a result.

The moral to this is to trust that your subconscious mind only becomes a conscious partner when we acknowledge, heed, and trust, the POWER of our intentions.

With great respect,
Len

Len Merson,
Founder, C.E.O.
Chaos Over, Inc.

1-88-VERY CALM (Toll Free line)
619.980.7372 (Direct line)
619.291.1709 (Facsimile line)
Lmerson@chaosover.com

The Courage to Change

2009-06-13T10:29:00.000-07:00

One of the most powerful characteristics about humankind is the fear and unwillingness to allow change in our lives. This is even where the person sees quite clearly that this change is for only the most positive of reasons. It actually takes courage to permit ourselves, or allow others, to contribute to us in order to enact any change.

Our minds are far more powerful than most of us give it credit. Now couple this with a mindset of “I’ll do it my way. After all, I’ve been doing it my way for most, if not all, of my life”. This mantra (we can actually call it that), becomes the rationale to justify our position, hence sabotage any degree of support from those who attempt to offer this support to us. The excuses, rationalizations and stories we tell ourselves seem to be adequate justification to the mind in the avoidance of change.

Raising the necessary courage is coupled with the lowering of our ego. (Remember the “I’ll do it my way. After all, I’ve been doing it my way for most, if not all, of my life”.) I know that many of us pride ourselves on getting things done when the odd-makers tell us “nay”. Yet, I also believe that considerable ego is attached to sabotage the contribution from others.

What I am afraid we have left out in our pursuit, is the understanding of the other party's intention. This would be what is referred to as ‘empathy’, defined as ‘the capacity for participating in another's feelings, ideas or point of view’.

I had met a man, unlike most others on this planet, whom I believed I could both learn from and teach. This learning and teaching reciprocity could have gone far beyond each of our individual career endeavors. Sadly,this opportunity never took place. We met years later and as we spoke over a fine bottle of wine, we each recognized that it was our fear of change, and our own egos, that had prevented this opportunity from taking place at that time.

I view the courage to change, and the support from others, to enact opportunities for personal and career growth in our lives, as a most powerful point of view.

With great respect,
Len

Len Merson,
Founder, C.E.O.
Chaos Over, Inc.

1-88-VERY CALM (Toll Free line)
619.980.7372 (Direct line)
619.291.1709 (Facsimile line)
Lmerson@chaosover.com

E-MAIL ETIQUETTE

2009-03-07T14:55:00.000-08:00

Let’s say I send Bob an e-mail with four questions I need answered. I find it both exasperating and discourteous when Bob answers my questions by hitting ‘New’ rather than ‘Reply’.

By sending the response to me via ‘New’ I am not in touch with my questions (which Bob may not have responded to for days). Receiving something like this:

Hi Len,
Here are the answers to your questions:
- Friday
- No
- Yes
- 18
Bob

I have no idea what the questions were! Had Bob hit ‘Reply’, the questions would be in the same e-mail I originally sent for me to easily relate to.

Had Bob hit ‘Reply’ and gone directly to the end of each line of my questions and responded in a manner as I would have (in red and bold), I would find the most expedient, efficient and courteous manner to retrieve the information I am seeking. I would receive something like this-

Bob,

When would you like the proposal delivered to your client? Friday (in red)
Will we need to include the budget? No (in red)
Will you be accompanying me on the presentation? Yes (in red)
How many copies of the presentation should we prepare? 18 (in red)

With great respect,
Len

In today’s fast paced world that we live in, every time saving courtesy that we can extend to our business associates, family and friends is greatly appreciated. This allows them to recapture lost time and thereby reducing stress. Isn’t this what we all want? So be respectful to all the people you contact via e-mail, using your best e-mail etiquette.

Len Merson,
Founder, C.E.O.
Chaos Over, Inc.
1-88-VERY CALM (Toll Free line)
619.980.7372 (Direct line)
619.291.1709 (Facsimile line)
Lmerson@chaosover.com

Productivity and Our Current Economy

2008-10-07T15:01:00.000-07:00

By Len Merson, Founder & C.E.O. Chaos Over, Inc.

Anytime is a good time so long as you know what to do with it.”

In the current, and I fervently believe, the temporary, state of our nation’s economy, it is somewhat intuitive to see only the short term and its effects. The result is anxiety, stress and, worst of all, hopelessness. This economic situation is an enormous opportunity to evoke still higher levels of our intelligence and wisdom. Our country is made up of businesses that have thrived on challenges. And this current challenge is forcing us to look to the smartest, most resourceful ways to maintain, and I daresay grow, our productivity. This is the long term approach. My company’s business growth over the past thirty-five years, has been a result of training people in basically two ways- productivity enhancement and stress reduction.

If the reduction of a business’s workforce is the only tenable option, then this means that those remaining have added to their already burgeoning workload, the work that is still needed to be performed from those who are no longer there. This almost always results in increases in mistakes, errors and omissions, a sizeable reduction in productivity and quality, and even more significantly, a very damaging increase in stress to all of those involved. While the idea of companies expending monies at this time for “non-technical” training, such as the ChaosOver Program, may seem unwise, training people in this current situation will accomplish an even more immediate R.O.I. as productivity grows and the mental and emotional health of those employed grows along with it.

This is the long term approach to our temporary, albeit current, economic situation.

“Anytime is a good time so long as we know what to do with it”

Worthy of Heeding

2008-10-06T08:26:00.000-07:00

VISUALIZATION WITHOUT ACTION = HALLUCINATION

ACTION WITHOUT VISUALIZATION = CHAOS

(as in- Ready...Fire…Aim)

VOICE-MAIL EXASPERATION

2008-05-07T12:11:00.000-07:00

I have come to realize that in this world of cyberspace, there is a need for 'cyber-etiquette. You make a call and end up in the person's voice-mail. You take the time to leave a brief, yet detailed, message seeking information that you need.

The person calls you back, saying "Hi, I see that you called me," And then there is silence. You break the silence by asking "Do you have the answers to my questions?" Their response many times is "Oh, I didn't bother to listen to your message. I'm just returning your call." Now it's up to you to remember what questions you originally asked.

Now that's VOICE-MAIL EXASPERATION. I'm aware that we live in an age wherein speed and multi-tasking is the norm, yet I consider this to be duly lacking in respect.

Maybe the new age announcement on our voice-mail should state: "Hi, I'm out right now and because I'm such a very busy person, only leave your name and number as I will not likely bother to listen to why you called in the first place."

Oh yes, there is also what I call VOICE-MAIL SUICIDE. This is when the individual you are calling has their voice-mail announcement stating, "The person to whom you are calling has their mailbox filled to capacity, therefore you will not be able to leave a message at this time...CLICK". Why not have it simply state-"My great aunt just died leaving me a small fortune, therefore I do not need your business any longer."

Then there is my absolute favorite. The person leaves a long, rambling message that you are forced to listen to in order to gather an iota of the purpose for their call. It is not until the very end of their monologue that they grace you with the reason for the call. The topper is they then leave their phone number at a verbal light speed that no human ear could discern and promptly hang up.

In this age of bragging about how much we can accomplish in a given day, perhaps it would be a pretty good idea to see that by slowing down we, many times, get much farther down the road en route to our goal.

Len Merson, Founder & C.E.O.
Chaos Over, Inc.
1.88.VERY CALM (Toll free)
www.chaosover.com
619.980.7372 (Direct line)
Lmerson@chaosover.com

SOFTWARE ALONE WILL NEVER BE THE E-MAIL ‘MAGIC BULLET’

2008-02-28T16:35:00.000-08:00

Most people believe that it is the next piece of software that will be the panacea for taking them out of the chaos of information overload.

While, in this day and age, we cannot live without software, software alone as the sole solution is a fairy tale approach to an overwhelming condition.

What has been incredibly overlooked is, what I refer to as, the ‘Human’ side of information management. Whether it be paper-based or electronically-held, teaching people how to regain control of all that falls upon them in this myriad of ever-flowing channels has to be coupled with tools that transcend software.

The ever-growing arena of e-mail is the place that I have come to see as the greatest bottleneck in the wastage of time and productivity. It is not at all uncommon to find hundreds and, in many cases, thousands of e-mails in one’s ‘In-box’. This doesn’t even account for the amount lodged in ‘Sent’ and ‘Deleted’. These compartments really act as archival storage facilities.

Mr. Gates has missed the mark to the degree that there are only two categories in Outlook’s In-box-‘Read’ and ‘Unread’. I believe that there is a far more populated third category I refer to as ‘Glanced at’. It is in this latter category that need-to-know information, appointments, time-critical input is missed with, many times, dire consequences.

In this arena our program begins with the creation eight new folders for gaining control of one’s e-mail dilemma. This, along with establishing sub-folders (and sub-sub-folders where needed), creates a pathway in allowing a person to place, and obtain, their e-mails with INSTANT RETRIEVEABILITY.

Suffice it to say that thousands of our clients who had previously been in an uncontrollable state with their e-mail, will tell you that they have virtually ZERO E-MAILS in their e-mail ‘In-box’ as well as in their ‘Sent’ and ‘Deleted’ categories at the end of each and every day…Just imagine!

LOSING INFORMATION EQUALS LOST PROFIT

2008-01-30T09:13:00.000-08:00

Business across the country have no idea how much money is being lost on a daily basis as a result of information being lost or misplaced, hence losing control of your work.
Independent studies over the past fifteen years have been conducted in the arena of information management, all of which were independent of one another. However, each study happened to ask one question in common---how much time does an employee spend per day looking for information that they cannot locate? Each study arrived at 60 to 90 minutes per employee per day. Take the low end of the study-60 minutes-now multiply this by the number of employees you have; now multiply this by 22 (working days per month); now multiply this by 12 (months).
While this annual number of hours is staggering, multiply this by the average amount your employees are paid, or better yet, multiply this by the amount of revenue that could be created for your company in this period of time once it is made fully productive.
Our clients will tell you that, as a result of our program, their employees are averaging LESS THAN TWO MINUTES PER DAY seeking information. We are told again and again just how the ROI expensed for our program has been returned in 60 to 90 days.

SABOTAGEUR AND/OR SABOTAGEE

2007-07-01T06:50:00.000-07:00

I contend that, virtually, each and every day in your work you are either a sabotageur or sabotagee. While you most likely find this accusation to be startling, you are about to understand its relevance and reality.

Imagine that you have been working for a week on a proposal to present to a prospective client. If accepted, this would be the largest contract ever brought into your firm. You have made the final touches on it this evening. Prior to leaving the office you place the proposal in your boss’s in-tray with a note attached asking for her review and blessing.

You clearly state that you need this proposal back in your hands no later than 9:30 the next morning as you will need to make copies to distribute to your prospective client’s management team in your meeting with them. You point out that your presentation is the next morning at 11:00 A.M. in their offices across town.

At 9:30 the following morning you come into your boss’s office to get the proposal, make your copies, and be off to your appointment. You ask your boss for the proposal only to hear her ask quizzically, “what proposal?” Looking at her in-tray, you are shocked to see that your proposal is still sitting in her in-box…with your note attached.

Upon walking into her office that morning, she had been hit with a barrage of crisis’s and brushfires, all seeking her immediate attention. Because of this she chose to deal with the contents of her in-box…later.

Now the crisis is yours. There is no way that you can get your proposal reviewed, copied and be out the door to keep the appointment across town by 11:00 A.M. In this scenario you have just been sabotaged…and your boss happened to be the sabotageur.

While you know quite clearly that your boss would have never done this to you intentionally, it is important to remember the answer to this question…What the difference is between voluntary and involuntary manslaughter? Answer-NOTHING TO THE PERSON WHO’S DEAD!!!

Let’s look at the other side of this-
You have been asked to review a document that needs to be sent to Bob. Once Bob gets this from you he needs to devote about four hours on this before day’s end as he will then need to give this to the C.E.O. of your company for a presentation to the board of directors the following morning.

It has only taken you a few minutes to review this and, once completed, you have placed it in your out-box at 8:45 this morning. However, you are swamped with work, phone calls, e-mails and meetings. Your out-box has been piling up and it is now 3:30 in the afternoon before you decide to disseminate the contents of your out-box.

Bob has finally received this from you. However, it is 3:45 and he has four hours of work to do in order to prepare this for the C.E.O. Bob will be working into the night. He calls his wife saying that “something has come up.” He won’t make it home for dinner in time or to help their son with his school project as he had promised. You have not only just sabotaged Bob, you have sabotaged his family. Did you do this intentionally? Of course not. However, of what difference is that to Bob (and his family)?

The reasons for either form of this sabotage are directly related to the mismanagement of information. This has little to do with software or systems. It has everything to do with, what I refer to as, the human side of information management.

Len Merson, Founder, C.E.O. Chaos Over, Inc.
1-88-VERY CALM (Toll Free line)
619.980.7372 (Direct line)
Lmerson@chaosover.com
www.ChaosOver.com

NEXT STEP MENTALITY

2007-06-16T09:03:00.000-07:00

I contend that the biggest disputes taking place in relationships, both in our business and our personal lives, emanate from the failure to convey information. The most commonly used mea culpa of “I forgot” does not lend itself to forgiveness very often.

One of the world’s greatest pool players of all time is Willie Mosconi. What made Mosconi so adept at the game was not simply that he could shoot a ball into any pocket on the pool table, rather his uncanny ability, as a result of shooting his last shot, to have that little white cue ball in the perfect position for his next shot. In other words, Mosconi was a master of what I call ‘Next Step Mentality’.

How often do we find ourselves driving up to the home of a friend and suddenly realizing that we forgot to bring that special bottle of wine? Or being invited, with weeks of notice, to your boss’s home for a Sunday barbecue and failing to tell your spouse until the morning of the party.

Imagine the salesperson for a large and reputable hotel chain closing the biggest convention contract in the history of the hotel. As a result of this contract the hotel will be completely sold out for five days, eighteen months from today. However, in the exuberance and celebration in the sales department he neglected to inform the reservation department of the new contract.

The consequence…a catastrophe just waiting to happen and “I’m sorry, I forgot” just isn’t going to cut it. Here’s how ‘Next Step Mentality’ comes to your rescue:At the moment you’re logging the dinner at your friend’s home onto your electronic or paper calendar, for let’s say, 7:00 P.M., directly prior to that time, log the reminder 'Bring that 2004 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir'.
At the very second that your boss is inviting you and your spouse to that Sunday barbecue, log on the evening section of today’s calendar “Talk to Mary regarding our availability for barbecue at Bob’s on the 24th”.

The hotel convention contract pending disaster could have been easily averted by the salesperson. As the client was signing the contract, the salesperson needed only to log on today’s calendar “notify reservations of Acme Freight convention”. Just another example of ‘Next Step Mentality’.

The rule of thumb is in asking yourself the following questions:

Who would need to know what I have just learned?
Who could benefit from this information?
Who could be of help to me with this information?
Who will appreciate the respect by my providing them with this communication?

You will come to find that this Next Step Mentality will soon become habitual.

You will see yourself thinking in such a way that your cue ball will always be in the perfect position for your next shot.

Len Merson, Founder, C.E.O. Chaos Over, Inc.
1-88-VERY CALM (Toll Free line)
619.980.7372 (Direct line)
Lmerson@chaosover.com
www.ChaosOver.com

THE HOME OFFICE

2007-06-06T15:39:00.000-07:00

Because we spend the majority of our waking life at work we need a place of respite, a place where we can feel at peace, what some may refer to as a ‘sanctuary’.

Whether we have a home office as the primary venue to conduct our business or simply as the area to pay bills, sort the mail, etc., it needs to adhere to some very important guidelines.

Keeping in mind that in many homes there are space limitations, nevertheless your home office should be in a location that is as private as possible. In other words, a living room where you entertain or may have family members talking or watching t.v. is not a good place. The very last choice for your home office is your bedroom. The visual connection as well as the energy runs in great contradiction to the purpose of this room.

When you picture yourself entering a sanctuary or a temple, what would you bring as an offering? You would most likely bring fruit, incense and flowers. I am sure that you will agree that it certainly would not be trash or materials emanating from chaos.

Most home offices have the desk, the file drawer and equipment located in one area. Yet the files, the paperwork, the mail, the bills seem to take on a life of their own as they spread themselves beyond the ‘office’ area. They have journeyed to the dining room table, the kitchen counter, the top of the dresser and nightstand even into the garage (which is why the car is parked in the driveway).

What has happened is that the sanctuary has been desecrated. That place designed and intended as a place of respite has been trashed.

Our program deals with the handling of every bit of information you come in contact with, be it paper-based, electronically-held, verbal requests, etc, so as to have instant retrieveability of this information. Your commitment needs to ensure that all (as in 100%) of the paperwork and materials remain within the physical confines of your work environment. In my own home there is not so much as a paperclip (quite literally), that ever trespasses beyond the physical space of my office area.

In this way your home becomes that temple to experience peace, to commune with family and friends and to re-energize you for the following day.

Len Merson, Founder, C.E.O. Chaos Over, Inc.
1-88-VERY CALM (Toll Free line)
619.980.7372 (Direct line)
Lmerson@chaosover.com
www.ChaosOver.com

THE ADVANTAGES OF BEING DIS-ORGANIZED

2007-05-24T12:28:00.001-07:00

Huh? The advantages of being disorganized? How can there be any advantages to disorganization?

I’ve worked in the field of information management for over thirty-four years and I’ve heard every excuse imaginable for being disorganized. Some people actually believe it is better to be disorganized, and even to work amid chaos. Here are a few of their reasons:

I’ve made myself an indispensable part of this company. If they ever fired me, they’d never find anything. Nobody would want to sort through my chaos in order to complete my tasks.
I look busy. Nobody’s likely going to give me more work because they believe I’m drowning in the work I’ve got.
The piles of paperwork on my desk tell people that I’m important.
My manager won’t cut my position because it’s obvious that I work hard.
I know where everything is in those stacks. If I rearranged them I wouldn’t know where anything is.

It doesn’t take great insight to see through these arguments. They are all about image and illusion: the image that the person wants to project to his or her manager and workmates, and the illusion that this person is working productively. In fact, what we’re seeing are lack of order and the sure signs of low productivity.

If you hear yourself making excuses for your mess, take heed. Tell yourself the truth: There is no good reason for being disorganized, no positive benefit to be derived from chaos, no advantage to sloppy work habits. There is every reason for being organized. There are unlimited benefits to clearing the chaos and developing efficient work habits.

The discipline and energy a person intentionally employs to MAINTAIN a state of chaos is a much harder and harsher discipline and energy that the discipline and energy required to live in a managed state.

Let me leave you with this thought: Don’t do this simply for the image or for your boss or your company. Do this for you personally. The benefits you will derive will be in the form of vastly reduced stress and an immense increase in creativity. Future topics will inform you of ways to making your work (the place you spend a majority of your waking life), still more exciting, productive and enjoyable for you.

May the Turtle be with You,

Len Merson, Founder, C.E.O. Chaos Over, Inc.
1-88-VERY CALM (Toll Free line)
619.980.7372 (Direct line)
Lmerson@chaosover.com
www.ChaosOver.com