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Below are my top 3 conference takeaways:

3. The importance of an accountability partner/coach was reiterated to me. No matter what your goal, be it personal, spiritual, career-related or other, an accountability partner or coach can provide the extra push you need to reach your vision. I was lucky enough to reconnect with another organizing consultant at Conference that has similar ideals and goals as I. We have decided to check in with each other at least once per month to share goals, action steps and progress. Our first step is to determine, "What are 10 things we are doing that we would rather NOT be doing?" (i.e. remove the clutter) and "What are 10 things we'd like to do?" (i.e. focus on what matters most). As we work together to meet our business and personal goals, there is no doubt that we will grow stronger as professionals and friends.

2.  While I often work with people to manage their paper clutter, an even larger source of clutter for many people is email. Do you know how many email messages should be in your inbox? Zero! For those of you still reading, this may seem like an impossible goal. But by using the same theories and systems that we use for paper management, email inboxes can be cleared. Close your eyes for a minute and picture an empty email inbox....how much stress would be lifted for you?  I plan to cover this organizational challenge in much more detail in the future, but in the meantime start with the following steps:

• Going forward, make a decision on every email that comes in using the same File Act Toss system that I teach for paper management: the email should be sent to trash, acted on (or delegated), or filed either in your electronic file management system or within folders in your email program. 
• Be sure to coordinate your email with your calendar by adding meetings, events and tasks immediately. Then, delete or file the message.
• Once you are comfortable with your system for incoming email, being working to deal with your overloaded inbox.  Work 10-15 minutes at a time or plan to tackle 10-20 messages at a time.  While determine what to keep and what to toss, remember that on average 80% of what we keep, we never refer to again.
• Keep in mind that with most email programs, you will be able to search for and find emails based on names and keywords. So try to get over the "out of site, out of mind" obstacle, knowing that if you follow the steps above the important tasks will not be forgotten and you will be able to find what you need, when you need it.

1.  By far the most important take-away from the conference was the importance of connecting with others. The benefits of making connections on a professional and personal level cannot be overlooked. As my mentor and friend, Barbara Hemphill, coined when she was the President of NAPO several years ago, "Together we are better."  I challenge each of you to make at least 5 new connections over the next 30 days. Or perhaps reconnect with someone you have lost touch with. While you may not see results immediately, the impact on your life will be positive.