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Elizabeth Davenport is the master
of disaster.
As owner of Order from Chaos, she uses organizing
techniques and a little bit of psychology to clean the
clutter that plagues desks, office spaces and minds.
Ever since she was a child Davenport said she was an
organizer. Her mother, a former secretary to Gen.
Douglas MacArthur during World War II, attired her in
frilly white dresses that stayed spotless. Her father,
who used to run Post Exchange stores on military bases,
was also an organized person.
"We never knew disorder in my family, my toys were
always put neatly on the shelves," she said. "I learned
early on that if everything has a place, it's easier to
get those things there."
Davenport is also legally blind another reason why
clutter can't rule her life. "I have 20/360 vision," she
said. "If something isn't where it belongs, I can't see
it.
"But everyone knows how to do a certain task well and
mine is that I know how to organize." And that motto has
made a lifelong career for her.
She's run her own organizing businesses since 1989, and
also worked for Intel Corp. as a project scheduler and a
consultant for the computer chip giant.
Under the name Order from Chaos, she has organized small
businesses like Garfield Laundry and Attwell Glass, and
also worked with larger organizations such as the Bureau
of Indian Affairs and the Colorado Springs, Colo., City
Council.
Recently, Davenport brought her expertise to Judie
Framan, a consultant with Framan & Smith Communications.
In Framan's Corrales home/office space, Davenport is
introduced to a closet full of old files in boxes and
stacked on desks.
Framan's working desk, adorned with a stuffed replica of
"Babe" the movie pig is buried under piles of papers.
Cubbyholes are stuffed with office supplies and even
more paperwork.
"I'm trying to bring this business out of bankruptcy,"
Framan said. "The pig is a reminder to me that if Babe
could do it, I can do it."
After a series of consultations with Davenport over a
week, Framan said the experience of working with
Davenport was "very freeing to me."
"I think it's because of her approach " Framan said.
"You understand everything you're doing because it's
taught in a hands-on sort of way.
"Plus, I'm saving time," she said. "There's not a lot of
fumbling for phone numbers or files. Because of that,
I'm able to achieve another goal --being able to take a
walk by the river instead of being frantic at 5
o'clock."
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Davenport straightened out Framan's life by first
purging years-old files. Cross-referencing remaining
files made information easy to find.
Additionally, she taught Framan how to effectively use a
daily calendar and a pending file --a place for things
that don't need immediate attention.
Davenport said she takes advantage of her business
degree and an additional advanced degree in adult
education.
"I'm familiar with the issues that businesspeople face,"
she said.
Every client is told to think of their workspace like
the cockpit of a plane. "Things that are used at least
weekly should be kept within arms' reach," she said.
"Otherwise, it needs to go to a less critical space."
She also tells her clients never to share a desk. Ever.
"I don't care if you're husband or wife, or even if you
have a Siamese twin," she said. "No two people work the
same. If you have to share a desk, take some masking
tape to cut the desk in half and each person gets to do
things the way they need to."
Davenport prefers to work with small businesses up to 10
people who "have a lot of things to keep track of, that
don't have good systems to start out with and then get
overwhelmed."
Elizabeth Davenport's five rules to Organization
1- Write everything down; trust nothing to memory. Keep
one calendar. Keep paper on the front of the fridge to
write down grocery items as they are needed. If someone
asks you to do something, write it down, right then.
2- Have a method to remind yourself when things need to
be done. Your calendar and a pending file are just the
ticket. Make a note on the calendar to remind you of the
thing to do and keep the corresponding paperwork in the
pending file.
3- If items have an assigned home, they will gravitate
toward it. If they have no assigned home, they will
wander into aimless piles on your desk. Decide how you
might use an Item in the future, create a place for it,
and put it there. Extra tip: Group things whenever
possible.
4- Incoming information is the enemy. Don't ignore it or
put it off. Have a station for dealing with all forms of
incoming data mail, e-mail, faxes, phone messages. Have
your calendar handy, your to-do list and a huge trash
can. Write appropriate notes in your calendar and toss
the supporting documentation, unless it will be needed.
5- Ask yourself, "If the house was on fire, would I grab
this?" If not, why save it? Don't keep anything you can
find somewhere else. Clear away as much as possible,
then clear away more. Form the habit of throwing things
out the emotional cost of being surrounded by useless
paper is higher than you realize. |
