Welcome to the first Professional Organizers Blog Carnival for 2010 – We’ve had a record number of submissions this month! As you read today, I hope you’ll get acquainted with your fellow organizers while picking up some great ideas for your clients or yourself.

Whether you think of it as New Year’s Resolutions or simply making plans for the year ahead, in January most people are focused on making positive changes in their lives, either personally or professionally.

Angela Esnouf describes a great goal-setting method in The most productive afternoon of my life, saying:

This technique has helped me and my clients time and again.  It’s a perfect way to kick off the year.

Ellen Delap identifies that most popular resolution and shares some ways to achieve it successfully in her post, Top New Year Resolution: Spend More Time with Your Family.

For many people, a new year presents a chance to implement new time management strategies, and that was a very popular topic this month.

Ramona Creel helps you to make the best use of your time in Learning To Delegate More Effectively. Ramona says,

Delegation can be a tricky business. You don’t want to simply “dump” distasteful work on someone else — but you need to make sure the job gets done, and it doesn’t need to be done by you. Delegating can become a particularly sensitive issue when it is lateral — asking a fellow colleague, freelance consultant, family member, or friend for help. But by approaching delegation in the right way, you can make the experience enjoyable for both parties.

Next, on one of my favorite topics, technology, Michelle Deo introduces us to a wonderful e-mail marketing service, in Friday Fave : MailChimp. I have just started using this service on behalf of a client and can honestly say it’s one of the best I’ve used (and I’ve used quite a few)!

Also on the subject of marketing, Janet Baker describes Two Great Ways for Professional Organizers and Virtual Assistants to Market their Business.

If you’re looking for new ways to support your clients, check out Stephanie LH Calahan‘s I’ve Had Enough and I’m Doing Something About It!. Stephanie explains,

I’ve had a lot of clients over the years that have waged war on their paper, but a while ago I received a letter in the mail that made me smile and say, “You GO Girl!”

Mary and I had completed a strategy session that included ideas for how she could manage the ever mounting piles of paper in her home office. She had good ideas about what she needed to keep and what to let go of, but over time, the piles had just accumulated and had grown to an overwhelming amount.  We came up with an idea that was fun and managed the situation really well.  I’ll tell you about it today.  See if you have any clients that could use this strategy.

If any of your clients are dealing with hoarding or other serious issues, you should Jeri Dansky’s review of the book, Good Book: Digging Out. Jeri says,

This new book is a great resource for anyone dealing with a friend or family member – or a client – who has hoarding issues. The focus on harm reduction is something I’ve not seen elsewhere, making this one of the few “organizing” books I’ve read that taught me something totally new.

Lelah Baker-Rabe explains why Simplicity is revolutionary, and this month’s carnival closes with a caution from Lisa Montanaro: Don’t Fall Into the Trap of the Shoemaker’s Shoes: Benefit From Your Own Expertise!

Thanks so much to everyone who submitted a post this month! I am just delighted about the growing popularity of the Professional Organizers Blog Carnival, but I’m concerned about the amount of time it’s taking me to compile the rapidly increasing number of submissions, and for you to read them. Therefore, I’m going to try something new next month.

Since February is National Time Management Month, next month’s Carnival will be dedicated to the topic of Time Management, and only submissions related to that subject will be accepted. If you haven’t blogged on that topic recently, you are welcome to submit an older post – or maybe this will inspire you to write something new!