Elements

Elements is a periodic newsletter on topics of interest to promote awareness of issues and sharing of ideas. This edition's primary focus is on Virtual Clutter. Virtual Clutter is similar to yet different from the clutter you might find in your house and office. After a year of coaching, reading and running tele-classes on Virtual Clutter, I've collected some thoughts in a few articles here. The articles address what virtual clutter is for an individual and a list of hints and tips for how to deal with it. What intrigued me about virtual clutter? That nagging feeling of missing something, the lack of order and aesthetics. However I noticed the more clutter I am surrounded by the busier I am. The amount of clutter around me seems to be a natural indicator of when I need to balance being busy versus relaxing and having fun!

In addition, in this issue of Elements there are links to some interesting web sites, a recommendation for an excellent book, thoughts on what coaching is, including some client quotes, and a listing of upcoming events.

I just recently returned from Quebec City, which was host to 1200 coaches for the ninth yearly International Coaching Federation Conference. The next edition of Elements will focus on sharing some information from the coaching conference.

2. Virtual Clutter

If your computer files, email and other information is in a confused or disorganized, state you may be experiencing virtual clutter. Virtual clutter slowly and without limits can creep up take over! It has some unique characteristics and similarities with those piles of stuff called "physical clutter" that you might have in your office or home.

Now imagine virtual clutter (files, data, desktops and other information) scattered not just on your computer, but all over the world, and all through the Internet. It's hard to quantify how much inefficiency virtual clutter causes due to wasted time, bad information or lack of information, lack of focus due to the confusion, and the inevitable need to re-do what has gone missing. Signs of virtual clutter may be: files with unknown content, cryptic directories, unknown applications and file names, spending lots of time searching for items, and a computer desktop with lots of stuff on it.

Virtual clutter can have a positive side, though. "Serendipitous discovery" is that unexpected but fortunate stumbling upon something interesting or useful when you are actually looking for something else. It can simulate new ideas, by connecting seemingly unrelated links. It can also have the effect of allowing someone to create a kind of knowledge power base by being the "go to" person, able to access or possess previously unavailable or unknown resources.

One virtual clutter supporter confirms that allowing for the chaos of clutter and "dancing" with it can become the spark of something new and exciting. The tolerance and allowable limits of virtual clutter varies with each individual and team. While some thrive in it, others feel out of control and repelled by virtual clutter.

Virtual clutter knows no physical boundaries. Storage, disk size, can appear to be unlimited. Huge amounts of information can be dispatched to a file before anyone thinks to make sense of or reason through its purpose or the need for it. A wall in your basement or the size of your bookcase, for example, places a physical limit on how much you can reasonably store there. But there are no such limits in cyberspace. When the time comes to clean up though, it is much easier to organize virtually and can be done by one person. It does not require the purchase of additional bookcases or storage rooms. It only requires some knowledge of the technology used to structure and move information around. Both virtual clutter and physical clutter typically have triggers to signal that it is time to organize. For physical clutter it could be spring cleaning time or an inability to navigate a room. For virtual clutter it could be tax time, expense form time or a friendly reminder from an IT person mentioning a size limit that is being exceeded.

If you are overwhelmed with the virtual clutter that surrounds you, the first thing you want to do is examine your beliefs about what you are saving, and then create a system to deal with it.

To stay clutter free, you need to have a system in place to deal with it on a regular basis. Different things work for different people. Some apply the "touch it only once" method. Others have more complex systems such as labeling each piece of information into categories, like: Action, Information, Future, To-do. Others react to an external stimulus to organize their clutter, like tax time, spring cleaning, or a disk too full message.

In summary, virtual clutter is here to stay. By being aware of your tolerance level for it and knowing that it is a life-long learning experience, especially as new technology, tools and information sources become available for dealing with it, it becomes easier to either eliminate virtual clutter or learn to live with it.

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3. Virtual Clutter: Hints, Tips, Tools

Ask yourself, "What's the worse that will happen if I delete it" --- Karen, www.organizingworks.net - Professional Organizer

Things you use a lot in your pantry are not within the easiest reach. Common folders on the computer are way down the list because of alpha order (I take my high priority ones and stick a "1" or other number in front to pull them to the top. ---Chauncey Wilson, User Experience Engineer

--- I always use folders and Outlook rules for everyone that I correspond with regularly. Examples are clients, friends, and siblings --- anyone I correspond with regularly. If it’s a client, I also create a rule to put my ‘sends’ to them in the same folder so that I can easily see the history of our contact.

--- My downfall is that I am afraid to "archive." However, I have recently learned how to search my archive folders so now I feel a little better about letting the archive run on a regular basis.

--- I used to let promo mail come to me for places that I shopped because I often got coupons. Now I don’t get so many coupons and I try to get off as many mailing lists that I can.

--- I hate "regular joke forwards" from certain individuals. Some people forward them selectively and I usually am curious to read something from a friend who normally doesn’t send them. But I have two relatives who regularly send them and I OFTEN delete them without even looking at them. I have asked one of them not to send them to me.

If I have a file that I use repeatedly and vary it slightly, I put the date in the file name. -----Stefanie Heiter – CEO HeiterConnect, www.heiterconnect.com

Remove yourself from distribution list and newsletters that you don’t read regularly.

Make document names and file folder names explicit and specific for what they are. For example, naming a folder "Chicago Conference Contacts June 2004" gives you enough information that you don't have to open the file in order to figure out what it is.

Remember you can always find it from a search engine. You don't need to keep it locally or in favorites. Use “Find” and “Search”

Make email folder names easy to remember and only have the amount that you can see on one screen, no scrolling.

If your email inbox is too big and you don't want to go back and organize create a folder called something like: Winter2003/2004 and move it there.

If you don't have an IT department to backup your system, once a week winzip your "My Documents" File and burn it on a CD-ROM

Get high speed Internet service. It's worth it for the time you save waiting for downloads, and for your increased speed in accessing sites.

4. Links: Linked in, Consumer, Games

Network virtually at this site. See how many people you are connected to already. From being linked in virtually networking, I've gotten one speaking job and one interview being linked in.

Consumer World is a public service, non-commercial guide with over 2000 of the most useful consumer resources. This site was helpful when I was looking for a specific electronic product and to find some travel sites

Take a short quiz and discover which science fiction character you most resemble.

Free games. My favorite (because I impress my kids that I can type fast and unscramble words fast) is fowl words 2. Beware this site maybe too violent and offensive to some.

5. Coaching Notes - Quotes - Star Dargin, CPCC

I was having coffee with a friend recently and he told me that whenever he asked coaches "what they do" the answer is this, and he then proceeded to extend his arms and flap like a bird to indicate the lightness, fluffiness and flurry of different answers. After a good laugh, I attempted to answer his question on what coaching was. So I offer several answers, from the "Virtual Leadership" course I teach:

"Coaching is a conscious and structured relationship that is focused on learning, improving and delivering specific results. These results can be skills, behaviors or goals. It is about change."

Another question I hear frequently is what is the difference between coaching and consulting? One answer is that consulting is more about being an expert and giving advice. Coaching takes the position that the client him or herself is the natural expert on what they may need or want, and the coach's job is to help draw the answers out. There is an overlap between the two sometimes. In coaching I will share similar experiences and resources when appropriate. For example, coaching a manager who has never had the experience of combining two teams into one, I would create a list of possible actions and tell stories of what worked and what didn't based on my experiences and other clients. In consulting, some coaching some overlap may happen as I help a person get clarity and develop specifics about what the larger goals and vision of their work is and a plan for how to achieve it.

The reality is that coaching even in business and professional situations is very personal and means something different to everyone. So I asked my clients what coaching meant to them, and about their experience of it with me. Here are some of their answers:

"Star is masterful at helping people look deep within themselves to examine problems; find solutions and take the steps needed to overcome challenges. Star's approach helps to build competence, and perhaps more importantly, confidence. This is the essence of coaching." --- Brian Logue, VP HR Concerto Software, Inc.

Coaching helped me to focus, calm down, understand my values and not give them up, and create steps to get where I wanted. Coaching helped me to understand that to get answers to some of these questions in my life, I needed to research, analyze, talk and talk some more with my husband/family/friends. Getting the facts was important. I needed to take a step back and look at what was really important – prioritize. ---Independent Marketing Consultant

"I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Star over the last several months. Star combines great facilitation and great listening, and is clearly an accomplished coach. She has helped me effectively think through some complex areas of my life. Overall, Star has helped me understand myself better. Specifically Star has helped me cultivate the courage to pursue my passions as a professional. I feel a lot more confident and in control of my future since I started working with Star. I highly recommend Star as a life/professional coach." ---Stan Ward -software products entrepreneur

Coaching as a process is impossible to separate out from you as a person, Star. Your work with me has felt incredibly supportive, stimulating, fun and challenging. It’s been some of the hardest work I’ve done in quite a while. This is no small compliment, because I feel I have worked hard on my sense of self and on the acquisition of wisdom for most of my years. ---Mark Shelford Manager, psychiatric services

Talking with Star helped me to get my ideas out of my head and in front of me so that I could allow them to take form and put them to work to help me with my business. ---Lyle Webster, Owner of Building Momentum, Inc.

6. Books: Girl in Hyacinth Blue

This book follows the story of a painting that claims a space in the hearts and lives of each of its owners. It is beautifully written and starts in the present with a math teacher secretly coveting a painting, and then gently leads the reader back to the painting's creation in the Netherlands in the 1600. What I appreciated about this book, as a coach, is how the same artwork meant different things to different people and the different impact of it on their lives. What it said about "values and value" opened a door wider for me in my ongoing investigation of what people find important, and why. The question it raises is what art do you have in your environment and how does it speak to you?

7. Events - Virtual Clutter Tele-Class and Virtual Leader Workshop

Virtual Clutter Mini-Connect: Spend an hour exploring virtual clutter. Learn what it is and how it is similar to and different from physical clutter. Everyone has unique ways of creating virtual clutter and a different tolerance for it. Organizing virtual clutter is not black and white like the technology it resides on. It's gray and waiting to be organized in a way that works for you. We will discuss steps to help you become more efficient, and your virtual information more accessible.

Wednesday, January 12, noon - EST OR Thursday January 27, 4pm EST, To register, contact me at stars@stardar.com or at www.heiterconnect.com

Virtual Leader: Motivating Across Boundaries Miscommunication can be costly in terms of lost time and broken trust. Learn concrete strategies for distance management and virtual team leadership. Come away with an action plan that can be immediately applied to your company's unique challenges. Includes two follow-up virtual roundtables.

8. Newsletter Notes

Personal submissions will only be published with permission from the submitter, who is responsible for ensuring rights to the material. Based on your preference, submissions can be published anonymously.

The opinions expressed in Elements are the author's viewpoint. While every effort has been taken to verify the accuracy of the content, such information is subject to change without notice. Elements is not responsible for inadvertent errors.

Star Dargin is an executive and leadership coach, and consultant. She collaborates with individuals and teams to provide focus and balance in achieving results. top

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Welcome to Elements!