The new year is rapidly approaching. Are you ready yet? Don’t panic. You still have time to plan your business goals for 2009. And planning doesn’t stop with the new year, either. Setting goals should continue throughout the year – as should evaluating your progress.

Did you accomplish what you wanted in 2008? Did you meet sales goals, get new customers and increase your income? If yes, congratulations! Plan to build on that progress next year. If no, it’s time to take a look at what didn’t work and find new ways to do things in the coming year.

Take some time to look at what worked and didn’t work over the past year. Did you keep up with your filing? Expense reporting? Customer retention goals? All of these things (and so much more) are important to your business success. What failed? Do you know why?

Use your experiences this year to improve on your goals for next year. And don’t forget to make those goals SMART so you can track your success. And review those goals at least once a quarter to make sure they’re still relevant to you and your business.

A new year is the perfect time to take stock of how you’re doing things, and make plans for your future success. No one else is going to plan it for you. What do you think is important for you to focus on next year?

Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas. Whether or not you celebrate the holiday, we hope you get some time to spend with those you love. Enjoy!

How long has it been since you looked at your address book? A week? A month? Not just quickly grabbing a phone number or email address, but really looking at it. It may be time to organize your contacts.

Are there people who have moved, switched companies, switched businesses, changed careers, or even just dropped out of your life? Did you remember to update their contact info?

A list of important phone numbers, email addresses, and other information is important to your business. But if it’s not organized and up-to-date, it really isn’t helping you. And just before the new year begins is a perfect time to update everything.

Delete items you no longer need or use. Are there companies you don’t do business with? Sales people who have moved on? Clear those entries from your address book. If you hate to get rid of someone, at least archive their entry out of your current list so it’s not cluttering things up.

Try to review your list once a quarter to keep it up-to-date and useful. Or more often if your contacts are constantly changing. If you keep your address book organized, you’ll find things quicker. Save yourself some time by updating now!

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My sincerest apologies for leaving you hanging like that. I’ve had some things get in the way. Not so great time management, eh?

We all fall off the wagon once in a while, right? It doesn’t mean you should quit. It means you need to re-evaluate and start over. Or start where you left off. Or try an entirely new tack.

I will try my best to get back to a regular posting schedule. If there’s something that’s been bothering you, or some topic you’d like to see me cover, please let me know.

I still have an office makeover to post soon, along with some other topics that I hope are helpful to you.

When you’re organizing your space, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. There are a lot of choices out there. Just a quick glance into The Container Store can give you more options than you ever thought were possible.

So how do you decide what to use? There are binders, magazine files, stacking trays, vertical desktop organizers, file cabinets, shoe boxes, regular boxes.

First, you need to look at your needs. What types of items do you plan to store? For how long?

What items do you have on hand? Will they work for your storage needs? Just because a magazine file is made for magazines doesn’t mean you have to use it that way. I use some of mine to store paper and printer supplies because they fit nicely on the shelf above my desk.

I use a small, upright stacker for stamps and address labels. You could use yours for bills that need to be paid. What about binders? You can use them for long-term storage or items that you refer to frequently. Or both.

File boxes are generally suited to longer-term storage, since they’re not as easy to access as other types of storage. Evaluate how often you need to retrieve things and where you’ll store them.

The key is to adapt items to suit your style. There’s nothing wrong with changing things up and inventing a new way of using your storage. What items have you adapted from their original use? Do you only use something for its “designated” use? How do you decide which items to use, and for what?

Image: Newscom

During my trip to the library, I picked up another Julie Morgenstern book. This time it’s Never Check E-Mail in the Morning.

I haven’t started the book yet. I’m hoping to find some interesting information in there. But I have to wonder about her title.

Is it feasible to skip checking email in the morning? I check mine to get my daily schedule and see what I need to work on that day.

However, I could see putting off email until you’ve had a chance to sit down and review your to-do list and see where you stand. Get some good, solid planning done before you open email and see what fires you need to put out.

If you plan your day before you check email (making sure you keep some flexibility in there), you can work in a calm setting. No emergencies. Just a solid look at what you need to accomplish.

After you get a majority of your thinking and planning done, then you can check your email to see if any of your priorities need to change.

At one of my previous jobs, though, my boss insisted that I check email first thing in the morning. Since I was checking customer email, he wanted to know if there were any issues from the night before that need resolution. I never quite felt like I was able to plan my day.

I was immediately set into a reactionary position, rather than a proactive mindset. Of course, that job also revolved around email, so it was pretty important that I check it frequently. But with so many interruptions, it definitely made it hard to get any long-term work and planning done.

Do you check email first thing in the morning? Why or why not? Does it help you plan your day, or does it seem like it’s immediately putting you behind?

Here’s where I need to take my own advice on things. As I’ve mentioned before, sharpening your saw is an important part of being organized. If you don’t rest and renew, you won’t be very effective.

I’ve been trying to get my schedule under control so I’m not working too many hours (which I am right now) late into the night. Maybe that’s part of being a mom. Or an entrepreneur. Or both.

But burning the candle at both ends isn’t going to make me perform at my best. So it’s time to revamp the schedule and get out of this late-night deal that I’ve slid into.

Do you find that you’re working too many hours, staying up way too late? Is your work suffering yet?

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One quick way to group files into easily manageable bites is to use color coding. By grouping categories of files – such as financial, marketing, administration – you’ll better see what you need at a glance.

Visually grouping your files will help when you’re filing. You can quickly see where something needs to go. An invoice? Oh, that goes in green (it’s okay to have more than one green folder, of course). You zero in on the section you need and then you can look at labels and find the correct file.

And those same groupings will help when you need to find something. That draft marketing plan? Oh, it’s under red. And then you easily grab the proper folder.

The exact categories and colors will vary by what works for you. Don’t get too carried away with 15 different colors. You want just enough to easily remember what you’ve set up. Too many colors and you’ll take just as long remembering what goes where as you will looking at every label in the drawer.

Have you tried color coding? Does it work for you?

image: Newscom

It’s tough to get things done when you’re stressed. It can distract you, making it hard to concentrate on a project, or at meetings. Maybe you need some extra brain power to figure out the costs for an important bid. Or you’re just reading something really complicated and need all of the focusing power you can get.

Stress detracts from your ability to do all of that, doesn’t it?

For some people, clearing their desk will help relieve a bit of stress. It’s one less thing to worry about, and it gives you a clean workspace. Others prefer to have a tidy to do list, all mapped out and ready to go. Or maybe a few quick yoga stretches or a jog around the block helps clear your mind.

Whatever it is, what you find helps lower your stress level just a bit, make sure you use it. Take a 5 – 10 minute break. Stand up. Stretch. Breathe deeply. Take a walk.

You may feel like you don’t have time, but that’s probably when you need it most. Go on, take a short stress-relief break. Then see how you do when you get back. I think I’ll go try it right now!

Did you?

Regardless of your affiliation, I hope you managed to clear the time to vote. It certainly was an historic election. But I’m honestly glad it’s over. I got tired of the phone calls and gobs of junk mail.

It’s time to fire up my shredder again, and get ready to recycle all of the political flyers. I’ve been using them to pack things. We’re going to be rearranging some rooms and I’m clearing out some shelves to make it easier to move furniture.

I don’t have the time to do it all at once, so I’m taking a few minutes here and there to make some progress. Remember, just taking 15 minutes over several days will get you further than doing nothing at all. More tomorrow! It’s been along day