If you’re like most busy professionals, your office has projects that need work: piles of papers, clutter on desk surfaces, perhaps even piles of items waiting for time where you can address them. This can be at odds with what most of us want: a clutter-free, calendar-clear, easily managed task list and space.

Below are ideas to help you decide whether you need to hire a professional to help get you from where you are to where you want to be.

• Schedule: Most of us have way more to do than time to do it. It can be challenging to carve out time to work on your space when there are so many other obligations on the calendar. How can a large project be incorporated successfully into a very full schedule? Ask yourself how much time you can devote to organizing. Is it possible to designate a day each week, or two afternoons a week, to tackling these projects?  If not, perhaps it’s time to hire a pro.

• Difficulty: Many of us don’t know where to start, or get overwhelmed part way through, or run out of time part way through and are unable to find the time to continue the organizing project, and there it sits, partly finished, sometimes for months or even years. Ask yourself how difficult it is going to be to continue the project on your own and whether hiring a pro will help get you to your goals for the space.

• Urgency: Consider whether the project has a deadline. Perhaps you’re moving from one office space to another, and need to downsize before the move. Perhaps an important event is looming and the project needs to be completed prior to this.  Ask yourself how urgent the project is and whether hiring a pro will help you meet these deadlines.

Here’s the golden rule of organizing: Keeping spaces organized is easier once the organizing project is finished. Once you finish the project, the space becomes much easier to maintain. Everything needs its own designated spot – if you stop organizing before you get to that point, the disorganization will return time and again. Hiring a pro can help you get to this point.

Lisa Mark, C.P.O. ® knows how to guide you through the process, help you make decisions and provide options for flow and productivity. Have a large project? She will bring in team members to ensure it is completed as quickly as possible.

Contact Lisa today to schedule a complimentary phone consultation. The call should take no more than 15-20 minutes of your time.