With constant proclamations that “print media is dead” I’m still not sure how critics are missing the racks of magazines everywhere you look – and that more are being launched all the time. In fact, according to Crain’s NY Business, 2012 saw 195 new print titles launched, compared to 181 in 2011. And only 74 titles folded in 2012, compared to 142 the year prior. Personally, I love the feel of a glossy print magazine in my hands, even if though I’m also a Kindle user. Sometimes it’s nice to read and still be disconnected.
Stacey Anderson, publisher of Getting Organized Magazine felt the same way. A professional organizer for years, she took her experience in working with clients and expanded that into the magazine to allow readers from around the world to get and stay organized. Stacey says, “We are the real life magazine for real life people offering to help you regain your sanity by offering concentrated content so as not to further overwhelm your already jam packed life.”
I’ve been a fan of Stacey’s for a while and today, she’s sharing how busy people like you can get more organized and why she listened to her audience’s needs and took this gutsy gamble – which seems to be paying off in spades. (Tweet and Share!)
RS: Stacey, what is your overall philosophy on staying organized? Any high-level tips?
SA: That is the million dollar question isn’t it?! The real key to getting and staying organized is to keep it simple. We tend to think organizing is a very complex, hard, overwhelming, time consuming task. When, really, if you follow a few simple concepts you can stay on track. Here are a few:
- Do it now, not later: Later never comes. Put it away, do the task, but do it now.
- Don’t over complicate things: Organize one small spot at a time, or time yourself for 15-30 minutes each day to stay on top of things.
- Just start! Do something, anything, one thing but start the process. The fear, procrastination and stress make organizing much harder than it really is.
RS: OK, I’m pretty tidy, but if I don’t have something right in front of me, I forget about it – so you can imagine what my desk looks like! Drives me nuts. Any tips for keeping your workspace uncluttered if your memory is not so good?
SA: It really isn’t your memory that it is bad, it is your system. You don’t trust your system or it has failed you in the past so you think leaving things out will avoid the problem- when actually it makes it worse! The real key is to clean out your old stuff- be tough, and create a good, labeled, specific system in which you know you will be able to find things. The real goal of organizing is not to make things look pretty but to be able to find things when you need them.
RS: You’ve launched this new magazine, Getting Organized, as part of your marketing efforts. What’s the scoop and how does this augment your consulting and speaking?
SA: There used to be an organizing magazine on the market several years ago and when it went out of business I kept hearing people say how much they missed it and wanted one. I thought, well who better to tackle that challenge than me? I had been successfully running my organizing business for about 5 years, had self-published a book, been booked at several great events as a speaker and been interviewed in the media. I took all of that business experience, along with my organizing knowledge, and parlayed it into the magazine. It is a huge challenge to shift gears like that but I like a challenge and I have always wanted to be able to reach more people with my organizing tips.
For more organizational tips and advice to save your sanity, follow Stacey on Twitter or like her on Facebook.
