Recession-proofing your organized biz
With the economy still struggling, you may wonder how to keep your business afloat. Read this article for some tips on facing your money issues.

Help! Can I get my taxes done on time?
We still have a little over a month before the April 15th tax deadline. Are you ready? This article gives tips on beating the clock to get your taxes filed.

Are you safe when wireless?
Considering that I’m writing this at a coffeehouse, this article caught my eye. I use a secure wireless card for my connection. What do you use? Be wary of using whatever network pops up on your connection list. Some are there just to steal data.

Check this list before you leave the house/office
I think we’ve all managed to forget important items at one time or another. Planning ahead and creating a checklist will help minimize your stress. You’ll have everything you need and you’ll look more professional and together in front of your clients.

Top 10 things to do every day
Want to ease your stress? Here’s a list of the 10 things you should do every day to make your work less chaotic — and more enjoyable.

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Post from: My Organized Biz

When you get up early, you have some time to settle into your day. You can review what you need to accomplish, have a little coffee or tea and some breakfast, or maybe just wake up slowly instead of jumping right into things because you got up at the last minute.

Thanks to my son, who likes to wake up at 4:30 or 5:00 am, I’m having to learn to get up earlier. And that means adjusting my bedtime so I’m not up so late. (Uh, yeah, I’m still working on that one.)

It is nice to greet the day a bit more slowly, rather than having to jump out of bed ready to go, feeling behind on everything.

So I was interested to read an article over at Zen Habits about the benefits of rising early. Not only that, Leo talks about how to get in the habit of rising early. So if you’re having trouble, go check it out.

Are you an early riser? Or do you prefer staying up late?

Post from: My Organized Biz

Post from: My Organized Biz

As I get older (and I am really loathe to say that) I have too many things going on to give everything equal attention. Small things can slip through if I”m not careful. Reminders have saved me more than once.

Today’s link is all about using reminders. Lifehack has a great article called “Back to Basics: Reminders.” It’s a subject that we’ll probably take a look at again soon.

What type of reminders work for you? Paper? E-mail? Calendar pop-ups? White board?

Post from: My Organized Biz

You can brainstorm the beginnings of a project, to help you figure out what resources you’ll need or what general steps to take. It gives you a solid starting point, something to help you flesh out a larger plan.

Try planning your day this way. Think about everything you need – or think you need – to accomplish that day. And then you can choose the most important items and go from there.

Sometimes, mind mapping is a great way to throw out ideas. Don’t think too long and hard about it – the point is just to get ideas on paper. And don’t judge. You can qualify the pieces later.

Lifehacker’s recent featured download is called PersonalBrain. And there’s a free version! It works on Mac, Windows, or Linux, so there’s a version for almost everyone. I haven’t tried it yet, but I’ll be checking it out. I could use a little inspiration. How about you?

Do you use mind mapping? Does it work for you? What other idea-generating exercises do you engage in?

Image: mr. happy (cc)

Post from: My Organized Biz

It’s so easy to get distracted by busy work. When I’m waiting on a particular email, I find myself jumping over to look every time a couple of new messages arrive. It’s counterproductive. So I’m working on it.

Over at Zen Habits, there’s a post about defeating that urge to do useless tasks. Leo lists 20 ways to help you fight that tendency. Take a look at the entire list for some great tips.

Here are some of my favorites:

Know what’s important
He suggests marking down your top three priorities for the day. Hmm, where have I heard that before? (Yes, I said five, but it’s still listing your top tasks.)

Be accountable
It definitely helps if you have a friend who can hold you accountable.

Reward yourself
It’s important to give yourself a pat on the back for doing what you set out to do.

Post from: My Organized Biz

I occasionally use Remember the Milk. I have tried using it – and sites similar – consistently. Honestly, it hasn’t worked for me, but it does work for many people. I have trouble using something that’s exclusively online. I prefer instead to use something local to my computer or on paper.

But there are times where having something online that’s accessible from any computer is handy, too. And that’s where services like Remember the Milk come in handy.

If you use RTM, you’ll want to read Hack Your Day’s tips on how to use the program more effectively. It has some great ideas for navigating and entering tasks faster. Read the tips, and you might save yourself a few clicks when entering a bunch of things to do.

Post from: My Organized Biz