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What's your time worth?

February 26, 2009 By

Who couldn’t use more hours in the day? I remember an old Cathy cartoon where Cathy refuses to hire someone to handle a major project at her home. After hours of struggling, she screams, “I’ll pay you double!” I know because I’ve been there. Usually it involves planting or painting. I do both equally bad. Before you give away one more minute of your time, consider a few things: clock

• Have you ever figured out what your time is worth? I mean really worth, not what you wish it was worth or what you tell people it’s worth. Calculate your hourly rate and then decide if you should handle a project or pay someone to do it.

• In business, before you agree to lower your fee for one project, determine if this project will lead to other projects from your client or your clients’ friends at your regular fee. If not, recommend someone else for the assignment. Keep in mind that clients talk and if you give one client a good price and his friend a higher price, your client will be offended and probably will fire you.

• If you drive from place to place looking for what you need (you’ll save time buying online), call ahead and ask for directions, get them on the Internet or get a GPS. My iphone gets me where I need to go but I’ve figured out I can’t talk on the phone AND look at the directions. Design flaw!

Filed Under: Time mgmt./Productivity Tagged With: , , , , ,

A case for more space

February 23, 2009 By
When space is limited, think vertically

When space is limited, think vertically

A typical office rarely has space for anything more than a desk, credenza, bookcase and file cabinet. I find with my clients that often, they forget about the vertical space in their office. It’s important when setting up or reevaluating your current office space, to think vertically and put your walls and corners to work.

  • A good place to start is with shelves. Add shelves above or next to your desk to gain more storage space and to reduce desktop clutter. You can use open shelves or a hutch that sits on your desk to increase your storage space. (You will need to put your desk against a wall if you use a hutch.) A tall, four-shelf bookcase – ideally with adjustable shelves – can hold dozens of books and reference materials.
  • I prefer an L-shaped arrangement because of the two work surfaces. And don’t waste the corner: It’s the ideal place for a copier or printer. It’s out of the way but within reach. I just bought a desk and the extra surface is perfect for spreading out papers.
  • Several years ago, I set up my home office in a spare bedroom. Most of my furniture was from CF-Direct.com – still one of my favorite furniture sites. I used an antique dresser to hold my printer, fax (it’s long been retired) and reference books. Inside, I stored office supplies. Look at the furniture you have in your house. Could you move something to your home office that is both functional and fits the style of your home office?
Filed Under: Home office design Tagged With: , , , ,

After-hours application

February 18, 2009 By

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My sons, who are 12 and 14, continue to come up with new reasons why I should buy them an iPhone. The “everyone at school has one” approach has failed, as has the “I could help you remember to do things” argument. After reading about Ethan Nicholas, however, I may give in.

According to an article by Anthony Castellano from NBC New York, when Nicholas wasn’t working as an engineer at Sun Microsystems, he was spending his evenings watching his one-year-old son … working to develop a little game for the iPhone that he called “iShoot.” When his game was perfected, he began selling it in Apple’s App Store.

Nicholas doesn’t sell the game for much. (In fact, you can download the app for $2.99 right now.) But because his game is one of the top 20 games selling in the App Store, he’s earned already earned a whopping $600,000 in sales … and counting.

Sadly, most of the time when I was watching my babies, I was wiping dried milk off the counter, trying to sleep when my boys slept, or letting our annoying dog in and out of the house. I didn’t have much energy to do anything else. I much prefer the Nicholas model: he’s the perfect example of someone who can make money at home, even with the family around.

It sure makes you think twice about long commutes, obnoxious co-workers and a boss looming over your shoulder.

Maybe I will buy my sons iPhones after all. Just as long as they promise to apply themselves..

Filed Under: Making money from home Tagged With: , , ,

Home office on a budget

February 18, 2009 By

You don’t have to spend a fortune to take up residence in a well-designed, functional home office. Buy what works–and more importantly–buy what fits the way you work. You don’t have to sacrifice style and design to achieve function. The two can work hand in hand.

Create a compact, yet not-too-confined work area with your desk, credenza, file cabinet, supplies and information within reach. Then you won’t waste time jumping from area to area to grab what you need.

Several years ago, when I worked with the winner of the “Most Disorganized Home Office” contest, we turned her enormous attic home office into a cozy, workable space. The end result was a home office set up in the back part of the attic, near windows, and the rest of the space left open.

Limit the number of accessories–especially on your desk. Keep in mind that design magazines “stage” their photos. They add more accessories than normal, place furniture in awkward places because it photographs better, and–in some cases–create a room that no one could comfortably live in.

Your home office should be comfortable, yet functional, stylish yet not overstuffed with excess accessories. The rule of thumb is that less is more. Buy what you need for your office, but make sure you can find what you need when you need it.

Filed Under: Home office design Tagged With: , , ,

When is a home office not a home office?

February 18, 2009 By

For more than 18 years, I’ve had a home office. I worked from home when it was considered uncool … or just unusual … to do so. Fortunately, armed with my Mailboxes, Etc. (now the UPS Store) address, no one knew I worked from home.

That was until I published my first book, Organizing Your Home Office For Success. When the truth about my workplace came out, I was often asked when I was going to get a “real office.” How could I possibly get anything done from home? (That was before the world began its great adventure on the “Information Superhighway” … and before I owned a computer with a hard drive that was smaller than a two-drawer file cabinet.)

A working home office in disguise

A working home office in disguise

Over the years, I’ve worked from home for years in home office spaces that included a spare bedroom, a small den, a dining room, a guest room, and finally a dedicated home office. Then, a few years ago, I finally came to the conclusion that I didn’t want my home office to look like an office. Instead I wanted it to look like a den or a library.

So when our family built a home, I designed the perfect home office. I did everything I could to make it comfy, functional … and a departure from the typical home office. As you can see by the photo, I incorporated a window seat and a built-in desk and bookcase with doors to hide my workspace, printer and files. I also had a cabinet for office supplies.

We’ve recently moved to a new, smaller home, and now I’m in another new home office. This one is actually half the size of my old one, but as I always tell my clients, it’s not the size of your office. It’s how you use it.

Filed Under: Home office design Tagged With: , , , ,
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