Consultant Tells How To Conquer Clutter
Are you a phone-o-phobe or suffering from paperosis misplacea? No worries. A remedy is near said Harriet Schechter, a San Diego-based workplace consultant and author of a new book titled “Conquering Chaos at Work: Strategies for Managing Disorganization and the People Who Cause It.”
And she ought to know.
Schechter describes her own husband, a free-lance photographer, as the “most disorganized man in the world.”
The trick to remedy a problem is not to “change the person,” but develop strategies, Schechter said. In Schechter’s personal life the solution is a “pit,” one closed room devoted entirely to her husband’s chaos.
Company managers and executives frustrated by the workplace chaos created by others can develop similar strategies, she said.
For instance, for people who never return phone calls , “phone-o-phobes” , Schechter prescribes: Organize your thoughts before calling, leave precise messages, be stern and persistent, but never lose your cool.
People who can’t meet their deadlines usually have various reasons for being late, Schechter said. But that doesn’t mean you can’t work things out. In some cases, managers just need to move up a deadline without employees knowing it to leave more time for getting things done.
Schechter, who founded a local consulting firm in 1986 called the Miracle Worker Organizing Service, regularly advises local companies on correcting paper flow problems and setting up filing systems.
Among her clients are the San Diego Zoo and the Old Globe Theatre. Her book is available at local bookstores and priced at $12 each. For information, consult the Internet at (www.MiracleOrganizing.com).
