(www.myorganizedbiz.com) – Sometimes, even maintenance mode is a little tough. I had somewhat of a rough day, getting some bad family-related news and dealing with frustrating work issues. When I feel overwhelmed it’s really hard to jump into an organizational project.

Take my desk, for instance. Right now it has the week’s mail in a pile, waiting for me to sort it. In addition, my receipts and other filing are sitting there, too. But when I’m having a bad go of it, the last thing I want to do is tackle that pile. Or do my receipt filing, or log my expenses. For some people, mundane tasks help them get their mind off of things. I really should try to look at it that way instead of “one more thing” to add to my already long to-do list.

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(www.myorganizedbiz.com) – Since e-mail is such a big part of our businesses, we’ll be featuring ways you can keep your inbox under control. If you can’t put your finger on an important e-mail, or you spend more than 5 minutes looking for it, you may need to prune your messages.

One thing that has helped me quite a bit is giving myself permission to delete e-mails. Yes, deleting. You see, with so much storage available to us, it’s easy to keep everything “just in case.”

The question to ask yourself is whether you’ll really need that e-mail later. Of course, contracts, agreements, quotes, and important e-mails like that should be kept. But when you have a long e-mail conversation, do you really need to keep everything, or just the few at the end that contain the entire string?

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(www.myorganizedbiz.com) – This week’s B5 Media Business Channel Fun Friday Post has this theme:

Your business epiphany: What one moment influenced your career or business more than any other?

I tripped into my first career. I liked technology and when new software, toys, or information came out, I was there. I wanted to know everything about it and I learned quite fast. It was easy to master new things. That led me to a career as a business analyst: reviewing business processes, finding software solutions, and then testing and implementing those solutions. And I loved it.

But I also loved writing, which led to my second career. I moaned and groaned about what to take in college. I was a returning student, having already worked for many years. As I discussed it with my best friend, she reminded me how much I love to write. “Why don’t you go for an English degree? You love to write. It’d be perfect for you!” And my new career was born.

Why was that such an epiphany for me? I’d never given myself permission to be a writer. To hear someone else validate that choice and recognize that I might be good at was exactly what I needed.

I continued to work full-time while going to college full-time. After school I started taking writing jobs on the side, building up my business. And here I am today, loving what I do. I have great clients, and readers like you, with whom I get to share my bordering-on-illicit love of organization and office supplies.

Can you find a moment that sticks out as a defining moment in your career? What makes it so important to you?

(www.myorganizedbiz.com) – Sometimes a piece of software just sounds so great, you really want to try it. But will you like it? It’s tough to spend a good chunk of money on something that may not even work for you. That’s why I love free trials. I don’t have to commit completely.

Of course, another great way to try something is to win it. And that’s even better than a free trial! Charlene over at Essential Keystrokes is giving away some great tools that can help you get your business organized.

I’ve used several tools from 37 Signals, including BackPack and Basecamp. So I’m a fan of the work they do. You have a chance to win a 6-month subscription to Highrise, a contact management solution. You can keep notes on each client and set up to-do lists related to that client. I haven’t checked it out yet, but I plan to.

Additionally, Charlene is offering a free year of Freshbooks, an online invoicing system. This one sounds really interesting. You can create invoices and send them to clients. Accept payments using services like PayPal and Authorize.net. By using this service, you can have your clients check their billing history online. I use Quicken, but I could certainly see where this could come in handy.

There are more prizes in the contest, like a copy of Darren Rowse’s Problogger book* or access to pMetrics, a blogging stats program. So if you like free stuff, head on over and see if you can win something. And let us know if you do.

*We occasionally use Amazon’s affiliate links. You don’t have to use them – you are welcome to search for the products directly on Amazon’s site.

(www.myorganizedbiz.com) – Phones are an integral part of our business. None of us can get by without calling a client or customer, a supplier, a colleague. As such, we place a high importance on phone calls, don’t we?

I have a friend who has to answer the phone every time it rings, even if she’s walking out the door to an appointment. It has made her late and frustrated the people who have to wait on her. She has voice mail and I’ve encouraged her many times to just let it go. But she can’t. She was taught that phone calls are of the utmost importance and that she must answer it. Maybe it stems from the days before voice mail and answering machines.

But it’s getting to the point where it hurts her rather than helping her. And that’s when it needs to change.

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(www.myorganizedbiz.com) – It’s so easy to give up and let the chaos take over. Most of us struggle with trying to find a balance between being perfect and just doing enough to get by. There has to be a better way. There has to be a happy medium somewhere, right?

I fight the battle every day, just like you do. Some days I win, and some days I don’t. But if there’s one thing I am, it’s stubborn. I refuse to let this stuff get the best of me and my business.

We’re all trying to make our way keep our businesses running smoothly. There’s so much to do: invoices, accounts receivable, inventory, taxes, e-mail, phones … the list grows every day, doesn’t it?

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(www.myorganizedbiz.com) – Do you regularly back up your computer files? You don’t? Have you thought about how that can negatively affect your business and your productivity?

A fellow freelancer found out the hard way when her new MacBook had a catastrophic disk failure and she lost all of her data. Since she’s a writer, she not only lost all of her writing, but her billing data, invoices, contracts, and e-mails.

All gone.

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(www.myorganizedbiz.com) – We made it through the Great Blog Off! And here, for your convenience, is the entire list with links to each post. Thanks for all of the comments and encouragement.

My 24 Favorite Office Supplies

1. MacBook Pro
2. My desk
3. Wacom tablet
4. Water bottle
5. Widescreen monitor
6. Air conditioning
7. Window
8. iPod
9. Ultra-slim keyboard
10. Pen cup
11. Paper Pro stapler
12. Cordless phone
13. Dryline correction tape
14. Pens, lots of pens
15. Computer tool set
16. WIreless internet
17. Laser printer
18. Molskine notebook
19. Ecto
20. Calendars
21. Mail Act-On
22. Letter opener
23. Accordion file
24. All-in-one unit

And there you have it, the complete list of what I like to have in my office. Now it’s your turn. What are your favorite things? Why?

(www.myorganizedbiz.com) – Finally we’re up to number twenty-four. I thought we’d never get here! What is my final favorite office supply? That would have to be my all-in-one printer/fax/scanner. I already mentioned a printer, right? Well, this one is mostly used for faxing and scanning. It’s an inkjet, which is why I don’t use it for my heavy printing. It’s great for photos, though.

It saves space – we used to have a fax and a separate scanner. And we don’t have to deal with carbon paper in the fax machine anymore (not to mention finding ways to dispose of the carbon drum – too much personal info on there).

Do you prefer separate units or all-in-ones?

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This post is part of the b5media Business Channel Great Blog Off! Find out more about the Blog Off here.

The Business Channel is supporting Accion International for the Great Blog Off. You can make a donation directly to Accion. Donations are tax deductible.

(www.myorganizedbiz.com) – We’re on to number twenty-three and boy, are my arms tired! My next favorite is a simple accordion file. Okay, it’s purple and plastic, so it’s not a typical file. But it’s indispensable as well.

I drop my tax receipts into it and it helps tremendously when it’s time to file. I have several categories set up. And by doing this, I save a lot of time figuring my expenses. How do you file your receipts?

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This post is part of the b5media Business Channel Great Blog Off! Find out more about the Blog Off here.

The Business Channel is supporting Accion International for the Great Blog Off. You can make a donation directly to Accion. Donations are tax deductible.