Staying Organized

Staying organized in my personal life and in my work-at-home, self-employed life is vitally important in helping me manage my time, meet deadlines, achieve my goals and in getting things done.

Some of these things I have done for years, some are relatively new additions to my time management/organization tool box.

To-do Lists –


To-do lista are a great tool for staying focused and in control.

I make a new to-do list almost every day. It includes tasks I need to get done today, things I’d like to get done and projects I want to work on and don’t want to forget about.

As the items are completed I highlight them as done. (I don’t cross them out because I like reading over what I have accomplished for the day or week.)

When I start a new to-do list I carry over the items not completed the day before, add new ones and prioritize.

I prioritize my to-do list based on deadlines and importance.

You can read more about to-do lists here:

The Power of the ‘to-do’ List

The Power of the ‘to-do’ List Part 2

Engagement Calendar or Planner –


Invest in an engagement calendar or planner. You may need to try different ones until you find one that you will enjoy looking at and one that is easy to use for you.

I use a Frank Lloyd Wright weekly engagement calendar to record all of my appointments, my Mom’s appointments, meetings, conference calls, birthdays and family outings.

With this type of calendar I can only see one or two weeks at a time which helps me not to feel overwhelmed when I have a lot going on. Plus, looking at the beautiful designs of Frank Lloyd Wright is calming in itself.

After trying a number of different desktop calendars and day planners I have found this particular design suits me best. It fits perfectly on my desk, but is also small enough to carry with me when needed. This is the third year in a row I have used this engagement calendar and its’ design and format fit my needs perfectly.

Six-Month Calendar –


Longer term calendars help you plan for the future. You can buy a large multi-month calendar or make one like I did.

I have a tendency to focus on the project right in front of me and plan only a few days or weeks at a time. This is not the best way to run a business. Learning to incorporate both short-term and long-term goals and to plan for income projects several months (and years) into the future will help me succeed in business both in the short-term and in the long-term.

Idea Notebooks –


Since you never know when a new idea will strike and it would be a shame to let that idea get away.

I carry a small notebook with me or several index cards wherever I go, I have a pen and paper in the glove compartment of my car and I have notebooks and pens in just about every room in the house. When I’m reading I always have note cards in the book to record quotes and a notebook handy to catch ideas as they come up. Sometimes I spend more time writing than reading.

Every idea may not be great, but you’ll never know if you let them go without recording them.

Note: Idea notebooks aren’t just for words. Recently (since I have been art journaling, painting and creating collages and vision boards) I find myself drawing pictures and sketches to capture my ideas in a new way. I even carry colored pencils with me sometimes.

Project Folders –


If you have lots of ideas and things going on at one time, manila folders are an easy way to keep things organized.

I use manila folders as idea keepers for new and current projects. Some of them contain just a page or two of notes, scraps of paper with ideas on them, magazine articles, pictures or emails I’ve printed out.

These folders are kept on my desk, out in the open where I can see them and access them with ease. Most of the ideas contained in these folders are projects in development.

Project Binders –


Binders or larger folders are a great way to keep projects organized.

I use half-inch or one-inch binders or plastic project folders for active, in-progress projects. Everything I need for this project is in one place and I can just pick it up and start working on it, or if I need to leave the house, I can just grab it and know that everything I need will be at my fingertips.

Plus, once a project is complete, it is easy to store and access, if needed, at a future day and time.

File Box(s) –


If you have limited space, but still need to keep certain records or files handy and small, portable file box may be just what you need.

When you work for yourself there is a not of record keeping. After filing my taxes this year and searching for weeks for everything I needed I realized I need to be better organized.

I use a small, portable file box that sits right next to my desk making it easy to access and file things right away. I have file folders for individual income sources, expense folders, and a number of different business document related folders.

What tools do you use to stay organized in your personal life and business life?