Tell us a little about the woman behind kAos Group

A little bit about me: Professionally speaking - I am:

• a Silver Leaf Member of Professional Organizers in Canada,
• a Certified Trainer in Personality Profiling with Personality Resources International
• a Facilitator of my own programs and the Business Builders Program for Your Planning Partners,
• the creator of The Core Four System™
• and author of kAos Survival Essentials and the monthly Organized Lifestyle Magazine

A little more about me: Personally speaking - I am:

• the mother of two awesome people
• the youngest of 7 children and the second youngest of 11 children (two marriages)
• a childhood organizer (it's a bit of a family joke that I was rearranging the kitchen cupboards at 9 years old)
• deeply grateful to have been raised by a village
• sharing my life with a wonderful partner
• learning something every day - like it or not
• a big softie and love inspirational quotes

You have a strong corporate background do you miss it?

Periodically, I miss bits and pieces of the corporate world - the projects, the teams, the structure, and let's not forget benefits:. But then I'm quickly reminded of how many of those characteristics I have incorporated into my own company plus more. I truly feel like I have best of both worlds.

What led to you start kAos Group?

kAos Group was born on the heels of my departure from the corporate world of Estee Lauder and at the onset of my career with successful entrepreneurs.

I was working with a wonderful entrepreneur who said I needed to have a company name - so, that weekend my brother in-law sister and I named my company and I was at the Business Registration office that Monday.

It was a little later on, while working on a major GST Audit with a not-for-profit organization, that the bookkeeper said she knew others like me... I thought she means 'quirky' like me. She meant 'organized' like me. I joined the Professional Organizers Association in Canada and am now a Silver Leaf member.

How do you keep track of your busy schedule? High tech or day timer?

I wouldn't call it high-tech but works - as long as I follow it.

Everything goes into Outlook and is then synced with my Blackberry. Appointments, tasks, reminders, notes and all contact information.

I also carry around a ½ binder with notes pages and project forms inside. This allows me the freedom I need to write, take notes, jot things down and mind map while I'm on the road or in meetings.

When I get back to the office I simply follow through on the systems that I have established by entering the notes, contacts, tasks and activities into my Outlook without missing a beat.

Let's be honest some people are intimidated by the process and cost of hiring a Professional Organizer what would you say to them?

It's normal to be intimidated by the process and the cost.

I've felt the same way when hiring a trainer, business coach or anyone else that I have to be expose my 'true' self to and I'm not absolutely clear what they are going to do for me in return. Everyone wants to know what they are going to get for the money they pay out.

But it goes even deeper in the instance of hiring a Professional Organizer because many people don't want to say they are disorganized or overwhelmed or feeling like they are drowning in paperwork or they can't find a happy balance between work and life. We all 'think' we are suppose to know how to do this 'organizing' thing because people who are naturally this way make it sound so simple. So, we sit there and wonder 'what's wrong with me' and then we find that we are behind on last years taxes and we can't tell our friends or partners because it becomes embarrassing because we think people are judging us.

Jill, this is often a painful part for our clients because when they actually pick up the phone and call us they are usually at the end of their rope.

Getting organized isn't as easy as the books or the shows make it out to be. A Professional Organizer will consider a persons individual reality, their physical ability, immediate needs, their colour preferences, and long term objectives.

At kAos Group we created an Environmental Insight a tool that serves two purposes. Firstly, it gives the individual the opportunity to get to know me and our team. Secondly, it graphs out the eight core areas of a persons personal or professional life to provide a clear picture of where they are doing well and where they can start to improve.

The Environmental Insight allows us to communicate about the core areas that are causing the most grief in a person's life. We can clearly show them at the end of a one hour conversation the root of the overall problem(s).

If you want a short answer to your question (I say laughing) my suggestion to anyone wondering about hiring a professional organizer would be to call a few and ask them questions about their processes and procedures with new clients.

Here are a few more tips for hiring a Professional Organizer:

1. Interview 2 Professional Organizers
2. Ask specific questions about the services they offer and their experience in areas that you are looking for help with
3. Ask about their pricing - do they offer discounts for purchasing time in bulk
4. Find out if they offer an initial interview - remember the kAos Group Environmental Insight.
5. Ask for referrals - you may to speak with other people like you who have worked with them.
You can find a Professional Organizer in your area by visiting the Associations website

September is a busy month. How do you as a mother and business woman gear up?

My Calendar, Tasks and Notes are my survival tools - these help sustain the pace throughout the year.

Here are a couple of tips about using these tools:

1. Schedule everything into your calendar that takes more than two minutes
2. Schedule activities realistically - give buffer time
3. Make sure all Tasks and To Do's are accounted for
4. Keep one To-Do list
5. Create shopping list - school supplies, clothing needed, and take them to the store with you (I use my Notes in Outlook for this - because they sync with my phone)
6. Know what is mandatory and what is optional
7. Account for your energy level - I learnt years ago that clothing shopping at dinner time with my children is NOT a good idea!
8. Eat well and sleep as much as you need
9. Share with your partner and the child(ren) if a busy time is ahead - let them know what you need from them and what will be happening with your time
10. Plan time to reenergize (take breaks) - personally and professionally
11. Honour your schedule - stick to the plan
12. Have clearly defined goals

Tell us about some of the mistakes that entrepreneurs make when it comes to time management.

The biggest mistake (and I live to tell the tale) is truthful time allocation.

If I'm scheduling a meeting I must account for the time it takes to get there, find parking, conduct the meeting then wrap it up and travel back to my office or the next appointment. This is usually where a quick errand is done and that time is rarely accounted for.

Following the meeting there is the administrative time required to send an email with any details that I promised to send them plus schedule a follow up phone call or suggested time for next steps or the next meeting. This all takes time and we often neglect to account for any of this.

Did you know? It takes an average of 7-15 minutes to enter someone's contact information into Outlook Contacts then compile the email and schedule the next action for that person. This is the time that needs to be accounted for in our days as business owners. If you have two meetings in one day that is an extra 30 minutes you need to 'get your job done'.

These are the things though that pile up and overwhelm us because lots of little things generally take up a substantial amount of time when left to accumulate.

I am now compelled to discuss fatigue because fatigue prevents us from working efficiently. Small but detailed tasks are incredibly difficult to execute when we are tired. Sleep is imperative to our success as business owners, parents, partners, caregivers, our friends and to our own health and wellness.

People often seemed blocked from being organized in their homes. What would you say is the root cause?

In my experience the root cause is one of two things: 1) the individual has minimal organized personality characteristics and if this is the case they are not usually bothered that their home appears disorganized or 2) the individual has experienced an unexpected change or trauma (caring for elders, loss of a loved one, divorce and loss of income are a few examples).

This unexpected change or trauma can cause the most organized individual to lose the ability to 'stay on top of things'. This happens because the body goes into fight or flight mode and staying organized isn't on the list of things required for survival.

If you have solid organizational systems in place, that system can support you until a more normal pace resumes. However, if you don't have a system it can go downhill very quickly. We often aren't even aware when we are in this 'survival state' and we may completely miss the fact that someone we are close to (a loved one or business partner) is struggling or just getting by. Remember, this is an incredibly personal and for some an embarrassing situation where even those who appear to 'have it together' suffer silently.

Here are key words that you may hear from someone who is struggling:

1. "I just can't keep up"
2. "It's too much for me to do right now"
3. "I've stopped returning calls"
4. "I'm sleeping all the time"
5. "I just don't have the energy"
6. "I'm barely hanging on"

Our experience has also shown time and time again that when someone is experiencing such difficulties it's ok to privately acknowledge their struggle and it would be the perfect time to recommend them to speak with a Professional Organizer.

Describe what goes into making an efficient home office?

Using the Core Four™ System - download the Core Four™ PDF

A Filing System - this is the most important of all. Papers need to be filed away. A clear working space needs to be created

A Paper Flow System - a clear process for handling incoming mail, bills, and all the other paper work that comes into our homes each day

A Defined Work Space - here is a great article about kAos Group that was in the Toronto Star a few years back

A Daytimer - electronic or not

The bonus factor (that will reduce the feeling of overwhelm substantially) includes Operational Systems - for every aspect of the business. There needs to be systems that support the business and the individual processes that occur each day.

• Email,
• contact management,
• money,
• paper flow,
• naming conventions for documents,
• files and folders,
• business development,
• networking

What is Deanne listening to in her car? What book is on your bedside table?

In the car - Leonard Cohen, Serena Ryder, White Stripes, Johnny Cash, David Allen (books on audio), the CBC

Bedside table - Kids are worth it by Barbara Coloroso and The Millionaire Mind by Harv Ecker

Here is a link to the archives of the Organized Lifestyle Magazine. You will find tips and tools that can help individuals organize, optimize and profit.