Office Organising Tips [Part 4]

Conquer Your Filing
In an idea office environment we should be able to find anything that we need the instant we need it. So why is it that we can not always do this? The answer is in whether we have invested the time to establish a filing system that we understand. It is easy to file items however the objective of filing is to find the filed items quickly.

By creating a filing system where we can retrieve documents when we need to find them we can save ourselves hours a day.

Steps to conquer your filing.

Purge what you do not need!

Put like items together in broad categories such as a main category, then a sub-category. For example, the main category is financial, sub-categories include bank accounts, shares, cash flow, profit and loss etc.

Keep a file index [a master list of file names].

Always check your file index prior to creating a new file or when deciding where to put new documents.

Keep the most recent papers in the front of the file. When you open the file the most current information will be on top.

Set up new files when you need then, this way the paper is dealt with and you have completed your task. It only takes a couple of minutes to keep everything in its place!

Create a filing system for your electronic documents that mirrors the system you have for your paper documents.

Remember . . .
Throw out papers you do not need. The 80/20 principle applies to filing as well. We only refer to approx 20% of the documents that we keep filed. So next time before you spend the time filing a document ask yourself whether you really need to keep it. If the answer is yes, ask yourself whether you are placing it in the most logical spot to find it when you do need it.

About Us

LifeStyle Refocus is a Melbourne based personal assistant, corporate concierge and lifestyle management consultancy. They are all about saving you TIME. By taking care of your “to do” or “wish list” so you can spend time doing the things that are truly important to you. For more information go to

www.lifestylerefocus.com.au or contact Silvana on 0417 595 744 or Michele on 0437 311 802.

Office Organising Tips [Part 3]

Tips to Save You Time when you Communicate
Everyday at work we communicate too many people such as colleagues, clients and suppliers. We communicate in many different ways such as email, letter, quotation, telephone, verbal and non-verbal. Just as taming your desk saves you time so does clear communication.

Phone call
Before making a phone call take the time to write down the points you wish to discuss. Ensure the person you are talking to has the time to speak to you before you even commence your discussion, this way they will be fully focused on the conversation and you will both save time by not having to cut the conversation short and then have to repeat the conversation later on.

Follow up
If you need to follow up on something after your discussion make a note into your diary immediately so you know when you have to follow up by. This serves three purposes, firstly it will not be forgotten, secondly, it frees your head space to focus on other work and thirdly, your colleagues, clients, suppliers etc know that you are a person of your word and always follow up on what was agreed. This in turn, ensures that they will follow up with you as they know you have made a note of the discussion outcome.

Leaving a message
When leaving a message whether it is voicemail or with another staff member or even sending an email, be clear about what you are expecting from the other person including when, where and how. This way a full response can be provided back to you, even if they can not reach you directly.

Just a few small improvements every week will add up to a great deal of time saving over a year which allows you to be more productive.

About Us
LifeStyle Refocus is a Melbourne based personal assistant, corporate concierge and lifestyle management consultancy. They are all about saving you TIME. By taking care of your “to do” or “wish list” so you can spend time doing the things that are truly important to you. For more information go to www.lifestylerefocus.com.au or contact Silvana on 0417 595 744 or Michele on 0437 311 802.

Are You Really Saving By Cutting Back?

Recession, tighten our belts, cut backs, retrenchment and ‘batten down the hatches’. This is what we constantly hear and read in the media about businesses and the year ahead.

Does this mean we should all live in fear of loosing our jobs, expect prices to sky rocket and escape somewhere else? Does it mean we need to stop living the great Australian way of life and start sacrificing our leisure activities, cut back on the kids after school activities and save every spare cent? All this, whilst we work extra hours so our employer sees us as dedicated and for no extra remuneration.

Hang on a minute – we all deserve more respect than this in our jobs. Remember good people are hard to come by in any economic time. Isn’t the company’s best asset its employees? If businesses start loosing key people in their business where are we really heading?

Have we forgotten the investment that has already been made into the staff - recruiting, training, empowering and nurturing them? Our employees have years of knowledge and understanding of the business that can’t be documented and passed onto the next person. Now that the times are getting tougher is it not always the right decision to retrench or cut back on company benefits?

What should we be doing?
Michele and Silvana are the directors from LifeStyle Refocus; a Melbourne based Lifestyle Management Company. They recommend that we should still be looking after our employees so they don’t become disgruntled due to company cut backs. Investing in staff and looking after them is crucial in any economic time.

LifeStyle Refocus works with businesses in Melbourne helping give employees real work/life balance while still getting maximum productivity from staff. Silvana quotes “it is usually the small things we do for an employee that keeps them happy and content in their jobs – it is not always about monitory rewards”

We all appreciate being acknowledged and thanked for our efforts. Whilst at Christmas time our tradition is to do this on an individual basis, it is important to thank staff for their contributions on an on-going basis and as a team. Although economic times are tougher, employees still need to be acknowledged in some way so they don’t feel the need to move on once the market eases up.

LifeStyle Refocus can help businesses look after their staff by offering incentives and rewards. They also offer team building activities which brings employees together for a shared experience which is not only fun, but builds morale and team spirit. All the rewards and incentives are tailored to your business structure and culture.

Michele and Silvana from LifeStyle Refocus are proud of their business which offers staff incentives and rewards. Find out more about Lifestyle Refocus at www.lifestylerefocus.com.au or contact Michele on 0437 311 802 or Silvana 0417 595 744.