Ok so one thing I am NOT is organized lol .. I think I need a personal assistant that is just a mini me! Someone who thinks like me and knows what i want without telling them - impossible I know but we all have pipe dreams!
So I have been trying to figure out what I can do to help me in the grand scheme of things. I have subscribed to a few different newsletters designed to help me get organized.. but alas i see them and mark them important and find it hard to find time to go back and read them - and thus do not get anymore organized than I was at the end of last year when I decided I needed to overcome this in 2009!
I think one of my biggest problems is that I have several different business' that I am excited about! As most of you know I have my Massage Therapy practice which I run out of my home and have done so for several years. I used to be good about getting all of my client info put into a file on my computer so that it was easily accessible, well as things got busier and I started to add opportunities to my plate I found myself slacking in this area :( I have an associate that has offered to help me get all of my client files updated and all of the e-mail addresses added into my address book online I just have not provided her with everything to do so! I really need to complete this task as i used to mail out a newsletter every month and decided for multiple reasons that going to an online newsletter made so much more sense! the main reason being cost - when my list grew to over 100 just the postage alone was almost $50 - then you figure in paper, envelopes, printer ink and my time well that was an expense I needed to reduce! Unfortunately since deciding this I have not sent out a newsletter - and this goes back almost 6 months now - i know pick up your jaw it is a disgrace to think about - i just missed my greatest opportunity to bump my business (ie: Holiday season) Now don't get me wrong i have my regulars that come every month but I really need to build things up a little more so that we have money to put back into saving (since we had to deplete our savings when Will's pay got messed up) and then we can do more fun things this coming year - especially if Will is to deploy in Nov/ Dec 2009!
So on to the next problem I seem to have .. well i now rep for several different companies along with one product I buy wholesale and sell. I need to get organized with some sort of system that makes it easy to find all of my literature and samples as well as a way to store all of my inventory in order to sell product to people when I am not at my Kiosk or a craft fair. I have probably missed a few opportunities due to this disorganization - which should be motivation enough but I think I am just overwhelmed :(
I guess i would love some ideas and suggestions to help me - I am sure I "know" what to do but actually doing it seems to be a tough project right now - I am thinking I will have a contest .. I want you all to comment with your suggestions (make them easy not super indepth) you can submit more than one suggestion and I will send surprise gifts to those who provide suggestions that I put into place! And since i sell so many different products you never know what you will get :)
I look forward to hearing your suggestions and implementing some new tasks in my day :)
Thanks in advance for participating in my lil contest :)
Debbi
Monday, January 12, 2009
Trying to get organized... Contest included
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
I'm in the same boat Debbi, but I recently heard about a site called qlubb.com , supposedly it helps you manage your daily tasks. Check it out when you have a chance, let me know what you think!
I think you already know exactly what you need to do LOL so I would suggest that you start "time-blocking" into your schedule for getting it all done! Sometimes looking at the BIG picture can be far too intimidating...try focusing one 1 or 2 things at a time and allow for an hour a day to get it done :) Some people prefer to say from 2-3 this afternoon I will work on files, while some work better breaking it into shorter sessions throughout the day like 20 mins in the morning, afternoon, and night!!! List out what needs to be done, work on it consistently, and it will all get done & fall into place :)
I completely agree with making yourself do something.
Pick a task and start on it.
Get a calender or planner and pick out 3 things to get done during one week, then pick 3 days and pick between 1 and 3 hours to work on one task. Not all 3, just 1!
When it comes to managing your stuff, try out http://www.homepartyprofitsoftware.com You can track contacts, sales, inventory, parties and alot of other stuff and you can customize your terms and categories.
I'm for hire girl! Lord knows I need something to do with my days! lol
I would suggest to take one task at a time, or one company at a time! Say you plan to work on organizing one company a week. Do inventory one day, files on day, etc. I have a lot of organizing to do in my own house and this is what I started doing. I decide what I will work on first and when that is completed, I move on to another area. HTH!
Just wanted to suggest this blog, Organizing Queen. Marcia Francois gives great tips and ideas on how to get organized. Her blog today was a lady working on organizing her office, or lack there of! Anyway, thought you might could get some inspiration from Marcia!
http://organisingtips.blogspot.com/
So, there's organizing time which I see you have several good suggestions on, and then there's organizing "stuff". For organizing all the stuff that naturally accumulates when you're running a product based business, I have several shelving units I use. Some from Ikea, some from Home Depot, inexpensive. Used a label maker to mark shelves and containers on the shelves...and voila! Everything has a place! :)
Thank you guys for all of the fabulous suggestions thus far!! Keep them coming I am feeling inspired already!!
Pick one goal, then when it's accomplished move to another. A natural progression might be: 1. take care of email list. 2. create template for newsletter. 3. Send out first newsletter!
I use a template at school. It makes it so easy to create a weekly parent newsletter.
Post a Comment