Getting organized image: sxc.hu

 I’ve been organizing throughout the year, but haven’t reached the ultimate solution.

I’ve resolved over the coming week, when one of my outside-the-home jobs (substitute teaching) is on vacation, to take that time and finish my clean up and organizational tasks.  Then I need to make sure I’ve developed, or am at least in the process of developing, organizational strategies that will be easy to follow throughout 2010.

• Some files I won’t be able to box up for storage until the taxes are done, but I can deal with those that don’t involve income and expense figures. 
• Close my eyes and throw out stuff I haven’t used for years and has no bearing on anything I’m doing now. 
• Although as a writer, some of my research comes in handy years later.  So I need to put this in our storage area where I can get at it readily. 
• Check out new organizational items that will make it easier for me to keep my desk, shelves and files in better order.
• Utilize computer storage of records more.  But I can’t rely on this entirely because the files can be lost…permanently.

How are you organizing for 2010?

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Making a List image: sxc.hu

Organization of time, work, goals and work space often seem challenging.  Even when we have good intentions, we sometimes go astray.

From Business Know How, we have Getting Organized: 5 Secrets to Help You Get Started by Maria Garcia.  Here Maria gives you five organizational tips, but breaks them down even further for ease in getting yourself started.  This could be a good way to start the New Year in your business.

How are you organizing for the New Year?

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Home office image: sxc.hu

 What shall you use for an office?  There are many options. 

• Use a loft area as my daughter is doing for her fabric art studio.  One corner does have a bed, dresser and bookshelves for her daughter when home from college.
• Convert one corner or end of a bedroom, as I’ve often had to do.
• Use one section of a living room or dining room.  I’ve had to do this, too.  My daughter had her fabric art area at one end of our living room until the loft area became available.
• Convert a garage or storage building into a studio, work area or office.  My husband uses part of the garage for his workshop.
• Build a separate small building for this use.
• Convert a large closet into an office or writing area.
• Do you have dead space at the end of a hallway that can be used for an office.
• Use an extra room in your home.
• Finish an area of the basement.
• Share an office with another family member, as I’m doing now with my husband.

What are you doing for an office or studio?

Post from: My Organized Biz

• Set down a business plan for your business.
• Decide how you can get it started parttime, utilizing the hours when you’re not at another job.
• If it’s an online business, it’s much easier to juggle your activities, fitting your business into the time slots you’re not at your “away” job.
• If you’ve opened a business in your home, decide what hours you’ll be open…in other words, when you’re not away from home, and try to stick to them.
• See if anyone in your family will help you with tasks that must be done while you’re away.

I have two parttime jobs away from home, and the schedules for these are constantly changing from week to week.  With one of them, I’m on call, so don’t always know when I’ll be working there.  My writing/blogging business is online, so my writing times can be fairly flexible.  I also help my husband with his online business and fit these hours between my other work.  It requires much juggling of time and family commitments, too.  However, life is never boring!

What suggestions do you have for juggling a business and another job?

Post from: My Organized Biz

• Try to stay ahead of deadlines for orders and writing assignents.
• Have contingency plans “in the wings.”
• Is someone else trained to do what you do, even for a short time, such as a family member?
• Work even when you’re not feeling your best.
• Be flexible and creative.

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Loft space image: sxc.hu

(One side will retain a bed and space for Kara.)  However, the sprawling sewing nook and storage in the living room will be moved to the loft.

This has become an extensive  project as the family:

• Repainted the walls, which involved looking at many paint chips.
• Finished the floor (there was only a subfloor before)
• Built permanent railings on either side of the chimney for the portion overlooking the living room.
• Decided to paint the remainder of the upper half floor which contains a bedroom, bath and hallway.
• Moved and reorganized

However, this will be a delightful studio for our daughter and give her the sewing and design space she’s desired, even though it’s not huge.  This also gives Kara her place when she’s home from school.

How have you reorganized to have a studio, office or work place?

(Of course, the loft space pictured is much larger than ours!)

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Image: sxc.hu

How can you take advantage of everything?

• Get up extra early so that you can get the absolutely necessary work done before breakfast.
• Organize your “to do” list so that the priority items are on top.  When those are done, you can play, then get to the not so important items afterward.
• Before being lured away from work, make a commitment to stay up later that evening to make sure everything is done.  Then stick to it.
• If it’s an “at home” business, get family members to help you wherever possible so you all can…get the Christmas tree, go shopping, attend a party, wrap gifts, make the caramel corn.
• Work efficiently and don’t permit distractions when you are working, so your tasks will be accomplished faster.

(I must leave for the day at noon.  Thus, I’m up earlier than usual on my “sleep in” morning, so I can get this post written, along with others.)

How do you organize to get your necessary work done and have the rest of the day to do other things…with family, with colleagues, by yourself…on a lovely day?

What

Post from: My Organized Biz

Home Office Desk Image: sxc.hu

Ideally, I like an efficient office and work space with everything at my fingertips and space just for ME.  However, that  generally hasn’t been my lot since I began writing, was sewing, painting, or working at an Internet based business. 

• I’ve worked in apartments, duplex homes, a larger house with room for myself, a multigenerational home with everyone vying for space.
• I’ve written in motel rooms and airports when traveling.
• I often have to share office space with my husband.
• Sometimes our living quarters are small enough that I use the dining table. 
• Where I have work and office space in the summer sometimes has been unusable in the winter because of the heating situation.  So I’ve had to move to a corner of the living room.

I’ve discovered that you can get your work done, even when the locations aren’t the most ideal if you’re determined.  Yes, there are some places that aren’t condusive  to certain activities.  For instance, I can’t take my painting with me, although I can take sketching and planning when I travel.  My daughter can only carry along certain types of her fabric art.

But you often need to be creative when working on your projects and products and organizing your office/work space.

How have you organized when situations aren’t the most ideal?

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Library/Internet Cafe image: sxc.hu

Even if you don’t have a “real” word processor, your computer probably comes with a basic text editor that can save text files on your computer ahead of time (eg: look for Notepad on windows, TextEdit on Mac). You may have to go back and do the formatting online later when you get to the library, but if you already have the body text written that can save even more time sometimes! And if the library you go to doesn’t have wireless so you can use your own laptop, bringing a USB thumb-drive with your posts and pictures that you need to upload will make it go even faster. But then again, if you get everything done twice as fast when you’re working at the library (you know that’s why we all used to go to the library to study and write term papers back in college…) use that to your advantage!

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How do I organize? Image: sxc.hu

I knew then I had only an hour, two at the most, to check e-mail, check Facebook resources (yes, Facebook can be used for exchange of links among writing colleagues), and post on four blogs so I wouldn’t miss deadlines.

I got all of it done and more in two hours because I’d organized beforehand and knew exactly what I wanted to post about.  Here at home, when I think I have more time, I find myself not nearly so well organized and thus waste time…or do laundry, get meals, etc.

So…I need to…

• Set a limit to e-mail and Facebook
• Know exactly what I want to post about with outlines jotted down.
• Give myself a time limit as I did for the library, thinking at first that I had only one hour.  However, when no one else wanted my computer, the librarian said I had at least another hour.
• Organize and know before I sit down at the computer know exactly what I want to post about.  I either have the posts pre-written or have notes jotted down on paper that will direct me. 
• Keep home distractions at a minimum.

Thus I should be organized, as I was for the library, so every minute  is productively utilized.

However, this doesn’t eliminate squeezing in writing time between the household tasks, as I’m doing right now.  Trying to make every minute count!

Post from: My Organized Biz