As an image consultant, JoJami Tyler makes a living helping people straighten out facets of their lives — their closets, image and clothing.

Despite her expertise, Tyler was having difficulty keeping things in her own life in order — namely her home office.

Her Hockessin, Del., office's design caused poor posture and shoulder pain.

Her file system began to overflow and her propensity to multitask left her to-do list in a similar unruly state.

"Running a business is totally different than organizing a closet," said Tyler, who launched Mode Image three years ago and has 15 years of experience in the fashion industry.

About a year ago, Tyler hired a professional organizer. Jocelyn Coverdale, president of Newark, Del.-based Ballantrae Solutions, came in, picked out trouble spots and found ways to make Tyler's business more efficient.

Faced with slim profit margins, tight budgets and strict time constraints, small-business owners increasingly are seeking out consultants like Coverdale to help get better organized.

About 48 percent of executives admit to having messy desks but claim to know where everything is, according to the Glenview, Ill.-based National Association of Professional Organizers.

Roughly 12 percent say their desk appears organized, but that they have no idea where anything is.

This lack of organization leads to lost time, said Coverdale, the association's chairwoman of course development. Of the total eight hours per week spent on document management, executives and employees spend one hour finding documents, one hour sharing documents and about 30 minutes on document retrieval.

Coverdale pointed out simple but effective solutions to help Tyler make her business more efficient.

To cure the shoulder pains, Tyler replaced her traditional computer monitor with a flat-screen, and moved it from the right side of the desk to the center.

To untangle Tyler's file system, Coverdale suggested a tickler file — which organizes items by date — to separate documents that pertained to upcoming events.

Tyler put into practice Coverdale's Power Hour — a 60-minute chunk of the day without e-mail, phone calls or interruptions.

During that time, Tyler focuses on one current project and nothing else.

"It was just life-changing to me," Tyler said. "It's always ongoing. I think you always have to continue and keep getting refreshed and stick with it."

Coverdale instructs her clients to jump right in using the FAT system — file, act or toss. If a document seems relevant, file it. If it requires immediate action, do so and discard it. If the document is deemed outdated or irrelevant, toss it immediately.

Without a system to file and trash incoming documents, papers pile up and people become overwhelmed.

"It doesn't file by itself," Coverdale said. "And it doesn't purge by itself."