How to Save Time – Do It Right the First Time
22 September 2015For the first six months of this year I was housemother/flatmate/grandmother for my oldest grandson Sam, aged eighteen and in his final year of high school. His parents were on an overseas posting. Many times over that period I found myself saying, ‘Don’t put things off. Do it right the first time and you’ll save […]
What conditions do you need in order to work effectively?
29 July 2013I had a call recently from a concerned member of the public. He’d been reading some of my recent NZ Herald articles (and reader comments) about how people struggle to work well in crowded open plan offices. He wanted me to know that the NZ Government is actively working to reduce floor space per person. […]
An office survival tactic I don’t recommend!
28 September 2012Here’s a novel way of managing an overloaded desk – clogged with debris, paperwork, files ….. a town tip, in other words. Last night, as I was speaking to the Canterbury branch of NZ Organisation for Quality, member Ailsa Milner shared this story. ‘I once worked for a man who had terrible paper management habits. […]
More on how to declutter and organize – reduce the space available
10 April 2012I’ve finally completed a declutter task that’s been nagging – and nagging – and nagging! The Easter break was fun, doing lots of fun things with friends and family. And – in the gaps I did something I often help others with. I ruthlessly attacked my most regularly-used office files. They’re now cleaned out, pruned, […]
Are your possessions slowing you down?
5 April 2012Top blogger Leo Babauta of Zen Habits was my interview subject for this month’s GettingAGrip Inner Circle audio programme. He blogs in a really interesting and very practical way about a number of the things I also focus on. Time magazine listed it in their Top 25 blogs for 2009 and it’s now read by […]
Easy Steps To Cleaning Up The Mess!
18 July 2011Does your desk breed paper every time you turn your back on it? Layer upon layer of miscellaneous paper, magazines, newsletters, invitations to this and that, reports, files and vital tasks you mustn’t forget to attend to? Every couple of weeks, with grim determination and fired by a sense of desperation, do you approach this monstrosity supposed […]
Battery People: The Dark Side Of Open Plan Offices
11 July 2011Do you find that interruptions are the constant companion of an open plan office? If you’ve been one of my ‘family’ of readers for a while, you’ll possibly already know my thoughts on unmoderated open plan environments, but in case you’re new, or missed my previous comments, here’s the snippet from‘Getting a Grip on the Paper […]
Stop Unwanted Material At Source
27 June 2011A key question for the problem of space and information storage and management is ‘do I really need it?’ And following that, ‘what can I prevent coming into my space?’ Faxes: Get off fax lists of unwanted information. First port of call is to contact the offending company and politely request removal. If they choose […]
The Time Queen's Little Green Folder
11 April 2011I’ve just had a sort-out of my paperwork. You might be thinking, ‘Robyn, if you practice what you preach, your paperwork would be always tidy. What do you need a sort-out for?’ I’m human too. With our New Zealand summer just past I had a wonderful parade of non-stop visitors; I HAD to go fishing with the neighbours and learn […]
Navigate Tables With Smart Keyboard Shortcuts
21 March 2011Become one of those inspirational people who seem to whizz around their computer without ever touching the mouse. Lets start with some simple tips that make navigating tables so much easier! The most common method for moving around a table is to click the specific cell you want to go to. However, if the table […]
