Remember when you charged into office that first day, all primed to make new year best ever. You made a New Year's Resolution that you would definitely get organised to start coming year with a bang! So what did you do? You cleaned out all clutter that had accumulated throughout 2002 and in some instances, since 1992!

And once you had completed this mammoth task, you felt fantastic. The office never looked so good. No more buckling bookcases, overflowing filing cabinets, wall to wall and desk to door piles of paper. In fact, your colleagues couldn't believe what they saw. The CEO walked in and thought he was in wrong office!

Six months later…

Let's have a look at your office now … six months later. What does it look like? Is it still in pristine condition or does it look like a teenager's bedroom again?

A quick test…

Is your desktop hidden under a mountain of paper? Do your fingers bleed each time you access your filing cabinet? Do you risk an avalanche when you open cupboard doors? The Solution for Clutterers

If you answered yes to any of those questions, here's what you need to do.

Clean out Clutter…

If you are fortunate to have a personal assistant whom you heavily rely on to assist you, in most instances you would find yourself run ragged if they were absent for longer than a day.

This week I spoke with two clients who were in situation where their p.a.'s had been on holiday and these clients' lives were super-stressed as a result. Although they had other people in their organisation helping out, it wasn't same as having an assistant who knows you very well and can get things done without you having to even ask.

If you are fortunate to have a great p.a. then I hope you appreciate and look after them. Often they are undervalued, yet are key people who keep wheels turning in your organisation.

I know there are many p.a.'s out there who love what they do and have great bosses, however there are heaps of others who don't.

These women (and there is odd male p.a.) do their utmost best , start early, stay in at lunchtime, work late and yet are undervalued, unappreciated and underpaid.

Marion's Story

Marion is a hardworking, reliable and competent p.a. She had worked for same company for 8 years. That's a long time in today's work environment. I bumped into Marion this week, when she attended a presentation I gave for Victorian Office Professionals, a network for p.a.'s.

I asked her if she was still at same company and this is what she said…"I was beginning to tire of my job. My recent boss was not easy to get on with. He was quite uncommunicative and did not fill me in on issues that affected my work for him. Information was only forthcoming if I prompted for it. Then I had to guess right questions to ask. He never made me feel accepted or supported. It made it really difficult to come to work. I arrived at work one morning recently, and he informed me that my services were no longer required. Within two hours I had packed up my belongings, said goodbye to several close associates and drove home in a state of shock…and that's what I got for all hard work, extra hours and loyalty."