There are two types of people in the world.  First, there are those who have been organized since the day they were born…then there are those who have not.  Do you fall in the second group?  Fear not!  You can still keep your small business organized. 

The advantages are great.  A person who can organized their business will find the work gets done in much less time.  The remember key meetings and events more often.  They don’t have anxious moments or feel as though they have lost control as often as someone who is disorganized.  So here are some practical tips for those of us who don’t have the organizational gene built in:

Don’t Leave a Messy Workplace at Night

Don’t head out the door in the evening without taking a short amount of time to straighten your desk.  Gather  your pens, stapler, and other tools together so you can find them in the morning.  Check the trash can and empty it if necessary, and remove any empty cups or other dishes that are cluttering your desk. 

A key component to this step is to “organize” your paperwork generally into the order you want to handle it in the morning.  At the same time, you can quickly prepare an action plan (also known as “to-do list”) for the next day, and rank each task in order of importance. 

By taking 5-10 minutes to complete these simple tasks each evening, you will find renewed motivation in the morning to tackle the day ahead. 

Use the Rule of 3 to Group Work Product

There are those people with organization stamped on their forehead who never waste time looking for what they need to complete a task.  The rest of us make up the bigger population.  One trick I have found helpful in organizing work papers so I can actually find them is to group them according to the rule of 3. 

It is a simple concept.  Never have more than three piles of paperwork going at any given time.  The first stack contains the most pressing items you hope to accomplish within the day.  The second stack should hold those that need to be handled within the week, and finally those within the month.  You may need to dedicate some time up front to get these three stacks organized, but the time will be ultimately saved as you are able to find needed paperwork much more quickly without digging through everything on your desk. 

Just Do It

The reality is that each day you avoid creating an organization system that you can live with you miss opportunities for your small business.  Being organized allows you to spend more of your day focused on your small business and making it a success.  And keep in mind, what works for one person is a disaster for another.  So take the time to find what works for you so that you can commit to it every day.     

Get more small business success strategies and claim your free white paper: “7 Ways Your Stone-Age Accounting System is Stealing Money From You Every Day … And, How to Get it Back This Year”  to learn about an online accounting program that makes it simple to organize your accounting and finance.

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