Organize Your Life - It's More Than Stuff!

This week, I talked to a business owners who shared her story about her "crisis" situation.  If I had talked to most business owners, their crisis would have actually been critical.  However, the great news is that there was no crisis because this business owner was prepared and organized. 

This business owner's computer crashed.  But a crisis was averted because she had she thought ahead to Organize Your Life.  She said that it was kinda cool....it flashed pretty colors and blinked really fast before it "died".  I watched it just fade away!  The great news - she had everything backed up and didn't lose anything.  No worries!

Would you be saying the same thing if your computer crashed?  Or would you go into a severe panic attack, because there is a good possibility that you would lose:

• Valuable Information
• Client Contacts
• All of your forms and documents that you use to run your business
• Your email contact list
• Your Life!

Organize Your Life - It's more than just your stuff.  It's not just about how many material things that you have in your home or office.  It is about thinking ahead about what needs to be taken care of ahead of time; planning and preparing for the unknown and if your items are stored in a place that is safe and secure. 

For my friend who lost her computer her comment was, "Of course, I wasn't worried.  I had it backed up with an offsite back-up system, so even if my home office burned down, I would still be able to recover my information."  The eye-opener behind all of this we both have a friend, another business owner, who did lose his entire office and apartment to a fire.  We are just hoping that he had insurance and a back-up system.   Organize Your Life - Be Prepared.

So what are some of the things that you should think about with regard to protecting your "valuables," and why should they you possibly consider an alternative to your current storage and/or organizing situation?

• Life Insurance Policies
• Bank Account Information
• Birth Certificates
• Social Security Numbers
• Copy of all credit card information
• Home Inventory
• Will and other important documents
• These are just a few

The other conversation that I had this week was with a young entrepreneur who lives with her father and grandmother.  She knows, first hand, the stress and anxiety of having to justify and identify all of the necessary documentation when someone dies.  She shared an amazing story.  If something were to happen, she has a "pink" folder for her grandmother's important items and a "blue" folder for her father's information.   She can grab them and go and have everything that she needs without worrying about a thing.  Now that is being prepared!

It only takessomeone sharing their experience their experience of hardship, worry and stress before you quickly realize how Organized Your Life should be.

Here are my tips to organize your important documents:

• Store a copy of important information offsite
• Make sure that a responsible family member or friend knows where everything is kept
• Identify your valuables by doing a business and household inventory - with serial numbers
•  Keep all of your electronics backed-up on a scheduled basis
• Identify what you would (and should) consider your important list - items that you can grab and go, in case of an emergency.
• Click here to find a list of "25 Important Documents that You Will Need Before You Die".  This will help you determine what should be on your list.

Does this all seem like overkill?  Maybe so, but I guarantee that spending time now to get things organized will save you stress, anxiety, time, money and chaos later.

Don't Agonize - Organize

Linda Clevenger, Professional Organizer
www.organizationdirect.com