How to Better Organize Your Home Business
10 Tips for Organizing Your Home Based Business that Will Save You
Time
Here are ten tips on how to better organize your home business. Getting and staying organized is the key to
success and a home business is totally dependent on you and your ability to keep it all organized.
If you take hours trying to find that bill, or that interesting article, or that customer enquiry you were
supposed to reply to a week ago, then you are wasting both time and money. In any small business, your margins
are tight, and every minute you spend in unproductive activities eats away at your profits.
In today's cut throat business
environment, you have to be lean and mean. Get systems in place which help you cut time from all your core
activities. Make sure that every precious minute is spent adding value to either your customer's
experience or your bottom line.
Getting and staying organized allows you to reduce the time you spend on administrative tasks and increases
the time you have for direct customer-related tasks. So check out these ten vital tips and get started today.
You don't have a minute to lose.
1. Create the perfect filing system
If you don't already have a good system, build one right now. You must be able to lay your hands on just the
right piece of paper in less than 1 minute - every time. You can learn more about filing rules by visiting the
authors web site.
2. Clear the clutter
Your desk top should be clean at the end of every day. If you aren't going to work on a specific document
today, then it should not be on your desk. Take a couple of hours to go through your desk right now, and if you
don't need it, haven't used it recently, can't remember what it's for or don't want it - then get rid of it
now!
3. Group like activities
Make all your calls once a day. Check your emails twice a day. Reply straight away if you can. Do all your
customer follow-ups together. Save activities till there are a few of them you can work on at the same time.
Studies show this can save you up to 75% of time.
4. Use a messaging service
If you get interrupted often by pesky phone calls, use a message service and return the calls when it suits
you. The same applies to when you need a block of time to concentrate on a project or activity. Don't allow the
phone to master you.
5. Never open junk mail
It may be tempting, but it wastes enormous amounts of time. If your email software filters out your junk
mail, all the better. If you do it manually, then just hit delete - never be tempted into opening it. There are
better ways to use your time.
6. Always use a to-do list
It the end of every day, take five minutes to plan the next day's activities and write them in priority
order on your to-do list. Make sure you allocate reasonable amounts of time to each item. Group like items
together. Do the hard stuff first. If there is anything left undone at the end of your day, ask whether it
still needs to be completed. If yes,then put it at the top of the next day's list.
7. Always use just one diary
To schedule appointments, make sure you use only one diary - either electronic or hard copy. Never rely on
your memory to make appointments. If you don't have your diary with you, call them back when you do. If you use
an electronic diary, make sure it synchronises with your PC and always transfer the data daily.
8. Confirm appointments
Always confirm your appointments before you head out. A quick phone call displays courtesy and care and
earns many brownie points. More importantly it ensures the other party has remembered the appointment and is
still available.
9. Take breaks
No one is a robot. You must take breaks to ensure you function at peak condition at all times. It may seem
efficient to just keep going, but your efficiency drops significantly when you are tired or stressed. It is
better to do a task once properly, then having to redo it to fix the mistakes and oversights you made because
of fatigue.
10. Reward yourself
You may wander how this makes you organized. The simple answer is that rewarding yourself (and your staff)
ensures that success breeds success. By reinforcing the good behaviours, you ensure they are repeated. So give
yourself a verbal pat on the back, take an early lunch and buy a box of chocolates. It doesn't take much, but
it is important.
I hope you make some time in your day to try out a couple of these tips. Remember, each one will take you
that small step closer to being better organized. All of them together will ensure one giant leap. Don't just
sit here reading - get out there and do it!
Jo Gibney is seminar leader, group facilitator, professional speaker, writer and HR Consultant. Her
commitment to adult learning is a life long passion, and much of Jo’s work focuses on developing not just work
skills but also personal competencies and strengths. Check out Jo's websites at http://www.organisenow.com and http://www.dragonslayers.com.au
