One of the things I do is use binders. Each project has its own binder, as does planning. This has been a relatively useful way to keep track of ongoing work (when the labels don’t fall off the binders).

New ideas were little harder to track. For a while I was doing the Post-it note method. Every time I got a new idea I’d write it on a Post-it note and stick it up on the wall next to my desk.

This didn’t work for two reasons. One, after a while the Post-it notes just became visual noise; I just didn’t see them anymore. The second reason is the mental clutter they caused me. Although I can block out the content on the Post-it notes, I still knew they were there. Although I wasn’t consciously aware of it, it was causing me constant stress.

I moved away from the Post-it notes to whiteboards. Now whenever a garden idea I could just write it on the whiteboard. The nice thing about the whiteboard is it’s one continual surface so it’s less visually cluttering than Post-its.

However, the whiteboard method isn’t perfect either. It’s great for recording an idea as it occurs to me, but what do I do later? Eventually the whiteboard gets full. I needed some way to deal with the ideas.

Then I thought about Microsoft OneNote. This is a software program that comes as part of Microsoft office. I knew it was part of the package but hadn’t looked at it. Last week I decided to open it and take a look. I’m glad I did.

OneNote is designed for the entrepreneurial ADD brain. You can have different folders for different projects, and different pages in each folder. You’re not stuck to writing an orderly fashion as you would be in a word document; you can put notes anywhere on the page. You can import PDFs or JPEG’s; you can even add audio. You can also hyperlink between different factions within OneNote.

This has been a really freeing tool for me since I started using it. I’m able to take pieces off my whiteboard that I want to implement, and create a kind of plan. As I get new information, new details, new action items to add to this plan, they’re easy to add with OneNote.

When the things that held me back from using OneNote is the fact that I don’t always do my planning and brainstorming sitting at my desk. In fact, I often find it is better for me to leave my office entirely when doing brainstorming. Additionally, I have both a desktop and a laptop machine. I was worried about not having my OneNote document on the correct machine.

Then I had a brainstorm. I’ve been using Dropbox to share documents with customers and colleagues. Why not use it to share my OneNote between computers?

That’s what I’ve done. So now I’m using my whiteboard to record ideas that pop up when I’m in the middle of another task. Then, at a later time, I can take these ideas and add them to my OneNote document. Now I can access this document regardless of which computer I’m using. (If you’d like to see how to add OneNote to Dropbox read this blog post on RetroHack)

Andrea J. Stenberg

Have you been using OneNote in your business? Please leave a comment and tell us how you use this piece of software,

When my RSS reader popped up with t Tungle.me I was skeptical. However, after watching the video I’m ready to give it a try.

Or you can watch it here.

I confess I haven’t used it much yet, but it’s very easy. The best feature, in my opinion is that users don’t have to have a Tungle account in order to schedule a meeting with me. And Tungle syncs with my Google Calendar so everything should work.

I’m still test driving this but I think (hope) it will cut down on the email tag for scheduling appointments.

Andrea J. Stenberg

Let me know what you think of this, or other tools.

One of the greatest challenges many people face in business and in their personal lives is that there never seems to be enough time to accomplish everything they need to do, let alone finding time for things they want to do! They look with envy at those who are able to successfully fit work, family, personal, and other activities into their lives. The reality is that we all have the same 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 52 weeks per year – it’s how we choose to spend that time that makes all the difference.

In order to develop a time management system that will be effective for you, it’s helpful to start with some formal or informal assessments to help you compare the way you are currently living your life with the way you would like it to be. Identify the obstacles that are preventing you from managing your time effectively. Become aware of your biological rhythms to determine what type of activity you do best in the morning, afternoon, evening, and late at night. Explore your personality type preferences, and the way they affect the way you perceive and deal with time.

Depending on your specific challenges, some of the following strategies may help you to achieve your goals:

• Organize your space and paper so you don’t waste time looking for what you need.
• Eliminate interruptions by closing your office door and letting telephone calls go to voice mail.
• Be prepared with reading material or small tasks you can complete while waiting for people or in line.
• Get tasks you find distasteful or overwhelming out of the way first. Better yet, consider delegating them to someone else.
• Set personal and professional goals to help you identify your priorities.
• Learn to say “no” and to focus on what’s important to achieving your goals.
• Find a calendar system you’re comfortable with, and use it for all your activities.
• Build flexibility into your schedule to accommodate the unexpected.

Don’t try to do all of these things at once! Changes to the way you manage your time should be implemented one at a time. Just like any other life changes, if you try to make too many at one time, you’re apt to get overwhelmed and discouraged.

Effective time management doesn’t happen overnight, but by determining what changes are needed and incorporating them into your lifestyle, you can take control of your time, instead of letting it control you.

Janet Barclay, Organized Assistant, offers a variety of professional quality services to support entrepreneurs and other individuals who are overwhelmed by the demands and technology of the 21st century. For further information, please visit her website at http://www.organizedassistant.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Janet_Barclay
http://EzineArticles.com/?Tips-For-Effective-Time-Management&id=1015396

Here’s how Post-It Note-itise works. Each time you have an idea for a project or a task, write it on a Post-It Note so you don’t forget it. Each time you have a deadline, write it on a Post-It Note. Break major projects into smaller steps and put each step on a Post-It Note.

If you are particularly anal in your madness, you can take five different colours of Post-It Notes – each colour representing a specific task or category of tasks – and use the corresponding colour whenever you write a new Post-It Note. And of course, you will need to create a legend to remind yourself which colour responds to which category – created out of Post-It Notes of course.

On the surface Post-It Notes seem like a perfect solution to the ADDer’s fear of forgetting something important. Once it’s written down, it’s not going to get lost in your brain. And there is a certain satisfaction in ripping a Post-It Note off the wall once you’ve completed the task.

However, there is a dark side to using Post-It Notes as an organizational system.

First, get enough Post-It Notes in one place and they all just become visual noise. You begin to tune them out. Plus, over time they begin to feel like clutter. And although I’m not a naturally neat person – I have to work at keeping my desk, office and house tidy (need proof?) – I do find clutter draining. Too much clutter and I begin to feel stressed. Too many Post-It Notes just adds to the stress.

Second, while the colour coding and lining the Post-It Notes up in order may start out organized, over time they just become a random mess of uncompleted tasks. Then I have to sort through the mess to figure out what I need to do next.

As a result, while I do still use Post-It Notes, I’ve reigned in my habit. Now I primarily use them for late night epiphanies where I write my idea on a Post-It Note and leave it on my computer to be dealt with in the morning.

So how do I deal with things if I’m not using Post-It Notes?

First, I switched to a white board. Actually I use two. I find the white board feels less like visual clutter. It’s white with black writing which is a big improvement over the five-colour Post-It Note system. Second, being a two dimensional also makes it less visually cluttered.

I use one of the white boards for blog post ideas. Whenever I get an idea for a blog post, I write it on the white board, instead of on a Post-It Note. When I’ve written the post, I erase the item. I use the second white board in conjunction with my new-and-improved idea/task organizational system – a binder.

I took my Post-It Notes and arranged them in order. Then I created “to-do” lists for each category (colour) and wrote them down on paper – complete with deadlines. Next I created a weekly schedule. Since I had five categories already, each major task/category fit nicely into one day of the week (assuming no work on weekends).

Each day I look at the to-do list for that day’s major task and know the next item(s) on the list are what I need to do. I use the large white board to break larger tasks into even small to-do items. And yes, I occasionally use it to record ideas as the come to me … just so I don’t forget them. But now I have somewhere to put those ideas (my binder).

This method seems to be working better for me. My work space is less cluttered, I’m getting more done and feel less stress.

Andrea J. Stenberg

How do you keep track of all the various projects, tasks and ideas for your business? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

And although I can relive the beginning of the school vicariously through my son, I also use this time to start fresh myself. The summer is mostly over; the mornings are cooler, the leaves are starting to turn and I feel less of the urge to take off for a day at the beach.

And even though I begin each January with a new vision, goals and action plan for my business, I often also use the beginning of September as a time to take stock of where I am. Am I still on track or am I falling short? Are my goals still valid or do they still need tweaking?

The beginning of September means there’s still a third of the year left to go. Summer vacation is over and if I put my nose to the grindstone I can still accomplish a lot by Christmas.

Although I have learned the hard way that my goals and vision are not something I can write down and forget, I still need some prompting to really take a hard look at what I’m doing.

Here are some of my personal back to school activities:

1. Review my goals.  I need to took at my written goals and ask myself am I on track, are there tasks I’ve neglected, have I completed some goals, are there new priorities that should be added?

2. Review my finances. This is one area of my business that has been a trouble spot for me in the past. I have often trucked along merrily without taking a good hard look at the money side of my business. However, when I do keep my books up to date and focus on the bottom line, I find things very quickly start to look up. It really is a law of attraction thing. Turn your focus to something and you get results. So, I look closely at my financial projections and results. The more I look, the healthier things soon become.

3. Recommit to my action plan. During the summer I created a new work schedule. I commit specific days of the week for specific goals. For example, instead of writing a blog post each day, I commit one day each week to writing blog posts. This had made me much more productive because once I’m in a writing mode, I don’t have to switch gears to do something else. It also means I have to make fewer decisions. I look at the day of the week and know what tasks I need to be working on.

4. Reorganize my office. Yesterday I made my son tidy his homework space, organize his school supplies and backpack. It’s time I did the same. My office isn’t as bad as it’s once been, but it’s not perfect. From my desk I can see a sweater I haven’t worn for two months, some old bills that need filing and a curtain I purchased for my bedroom. These are all on me. However, I’ve had some help with the clutter. My father-in-law bought a bunch of books then passed them on to my husband. My husband decided I would want them (I don’t) and piled them on the couch in my office. Grrr. I have enough problem with my own clutter, I don’t need help from the rest of the family.

5. Get to work. All the planning and goal setting in the world doesn’t mean a thing if you don’t get anything accomplished. So now I’m off to get some work done.

Andrea J. Stenberg

Do you also consider September a new beginning for your business? Please leave a comment and share your thoughts. What will you be doing this week to start the real “new” year?

So I decided to analyze the situation. I realized the majority of messages are actually newsletters or blog subscriptions. I confess, I don’t read them all. However, I do glance at the headlines to see if it’s a topic I need to read.

So I didn’t want to unsubscribe to everything, but there’s no reason it all needs to go into my in-box either. After some consideration I realized the solution to reducing my in-box nightmare is three-fold. First, I looked at all my in-coming ezines and blog updates. Anything I know I hadn’t read in the past three months, I unsubscribed. Wow. I feel lighter already.

Next, I looked at the emails that were blog updates. I’d already set-up Google Reader but wasn’t using it much. I started switching all my blog updates to RSS. Next, I looked at my schedule and decided when would be a good time to review my subscriptions and read blog posts. I scheduled a recurring reminder in my electronic calendar.

Finally, I looked at the ezines. Even after the purge I have a ton that I’ve been reading for years. While I don’t read each addition, I read them frequently enough to want to keep them. How do I hang onto them without having to worry about my inbox being overloaded?

Then it came to me; the omnipresent Google. I have a gmail account that I never use. It would be perfect to house all my ezine subscriptions. And since I’m already using Google Reader, it makes perfect sense to switch between the two. When I read my blog subscriptions, I can check my ezines as well.

It’s taken me some time over the past week to do the switch. But it is worth it. Not only will my inbox not get overloaded while I’m on the road, but I know mail coming into my regular in-box is things I need to see and respond to immediately. Messages are less likely to get lost in the e-clutter.

Now I can go on vacation and now worry about my computer exploding when I check my email after several days.

Andrea J. Stenberg

Do you have any tips for managing your in-box (or other aspects of your inbox) when you’re away from the computer or the office? Please leave a comment and share your thoughts.

What’s a 404 error page? It is where people are sent when they try to go to a page that doesn’t exist on your site. It could be the result of a typing error on their part or it may be you deleted or changed the name of the page.

Regardless of the reason for the 404 error, done correctly, your 404-error page is an opportunity to keep people on your site. If you leave the default error page in place, you’ll probably lose a certain percentage of people who land there. They just can’t be bothered to search for the correct page.

But by creating a custom 404 error page, you can grab their attention and make it easier to locate the page they are looking for. And that of course is your goal for any page of your site – making sure the reader wants to stick around for a bit.

When creating a 404 error page, you want to include some useful links: your home page plus a simplified version of your navigation can make it easier for the visitor to get to where they want to go easily and quickly.

Make sure your 404 error page has the same look and feel as the rest of your site so the visitor knows they’re close to the correct location.

Many people us humor on their 404 error page. Done correctly, a humorous error page diffuses any frustration at landing on the wrong page and makes the visitor want to stick around.

The funniest 404 error page I’ve come across is at Lookitsme.co.uk. It takes a few minutes to reach the end of the page, but it’s worth the wait. Seriously – I’ve kept the page open on my browser and keep hitting refresh whenever I need a giggle.

In addition to creating your own 404 error page, there’s a new service you really should look into. Errorlytics is a service that analyzes your error pages. More importantly, you can set up redirects for common 404 errors.

For example, maybe you have a post with incoming links from another site but you’ve changed the name of the page to make it more search engine friendly. The new name helps with Google but leaves your incoming links lost. No problem. Simply set up Errorlytics to automatically redirect anyone going to the old address to the new one.

If you only have one domain name and only five redirection rules, the service is free. Best of all, if you’re using WordPress Errorlytics has a plugin so it’s easy to install.

Andrea J. Stenberg

Please check out my new 404 error page and let me know what you think. (just type in your browser www.thebabyboomerentrepreneur.com/ioeuw and see what you get). Better yet, if you have a great 404 page – or know someone who does – leave a comment with a link to their site.

When my desk is cluttered or my inbox is full of messages I’ve read but haven’t dealt with, there is a simple reason for it. The paper or electronic clutter is a result of “I’ll do it later” thoughts. If it’s something I have to do, but not urgent and not time consuming I’ll leave it on my desk or in my inbox as a reminder to do it later. After all, it will only take a minute.

The problem is, when later comes, I have a pile of stuff to do and it’s hard to know where to start.

So my new motto is “do it now”. If something will only take a minute or two to complete, “do it now”. I only check my email three or four times a day. If it’s time to check my email, it’s time to respond. Then I’ll either delete it or file it – anything to keep my inbox empty.

If I’ve got a paper in my hand and whatever the task is will only take a few minutes, “do it now”. If it needs filing … you got it.

I don’t know how this new motto will serve me, but I suspect I’ll have less clutter and get more done.

Andrea J. Stenberg

My desk is clean, my office tidy. I even dusted. But the trick now is to keep it this way. If I get in the habit of using my “command center” on a daily basis, it shouldn’t be a problem. The trick is to have a place for everything.

Andrea J. Stenberg

This photo was taken this morning … about 4:15 am … of my actual desk. Yes … the paper has taken a life of its own and taken over my desk. The problem is … okay, clearly there’s more than one problem.

The excuses

First, not everything is work related. My husband has taken to dropping our personal bills on my desk (since when did I become the designated bill-payer?). Since I don’t have a place for unpaid bills, I’ve been shoving them to the side.

There’s also our electronic thermometer. It ran out of batteries and I keep some in my desk drawer. I replaced the batteries but never got around to putting it away. I see some Canadian Tire money, a Timmies’ gift certificate from a student, a gift certificate for Flickr, my marble egg (okay, that stays), two passport applications (why two???) and a million receipts, some of which might actually be work related.

Second, there are piles of projects that are in progress. I tend to like leaving what I’m currently working on out, so I can find it first thing the next day. Problem is, I suspect there’s some stuff hidden under the piles that I need, but couldn’t find without some serious mining.

Third, there are some files buried under the mess that never got put away.

Fourth, while I didn’t take a photo of the rest of the office, it’s in just as bad, if not worse shape, and it is definitely NOT all work related. Somehow my rubber stamping supplies ended up scattered all over my office floor. Darn gremlins.

Fifth, there are some ebooks I printed off to read and never quite finished but never got into binders either.

What’s the real problem?

The real problem is I don’t have a system. Or more correctly, I have about three systems, none of which I’m currently using. I’ve never made any of them a habit, so when I got stressed, I reverted to old – and very bad – habits.

Why did I choose to share this ugly little secret by posting the photo on my blog? Cleaning my office has been on my to-do list for about three weeks. Yes, not only am I a closet slob, I’m a procrastinator too (at least when it comes to anything that resembles housework).

The method to my madness is now that I’ve publicly confessed my organizing sins, I’ll be forced to do something about it.

My solution

As I write this it is 5 am. Since I’ve been at it since 4, if I work until noon that will be a full eight hours. I will break for lunch at noon. After I take my son to his class at the art gallery, I’ll have almost three hours. It’s time to put on some tunes and tackle the office.

Step one

Put away my rubber stamping supplies and anything else that is laying around the office (and out of camera range from the above photo). Pick it all up and PUT IT AWAY! There will be nothing on the sofa and the only things on the floor will be furniture.

Step two

Sort the crap, I mean important but misplaced items on my desk, into piles. One for personal bills, one for stuff that goes elsewhere, one for stuff to be filed, one for the ebooks and one for unfinished projects.

Step three

Starting with one pile, and continuing until it’s done, I will put everything away. No stopping to complete a task or read an ebook. It’s time to put everything away. If it doesn’t have a place, find it one.

Step four

Once everything is put away and my desk is clear, vacuum and dust. Might as well start really clean.

Step five

Pay my bills. Since some of them have been sitting there for a few weeks, better get that out of the way too.

Step six

Create some systems so this doesn’t happen again.

In a previous post I mentioned a teleseminar Get Organized, Get on Track and Get Unstuck by Robert Middleton and Elizabeth Hagen. In it Elizabeth mentions the Command Centre. I created one for myself but never got into the habit of using it, mainly because it’s in a place that’s a pain to access.

I still think this is a good system, I just need it easier to get at. So, I will move the command center to a spot on my desk that is easy to get to. This way I won’t be tempted to leave things out on my desk. I’ll be able to slip them right into the Command Center files without having to move anything.

My desk is kind of small so I may have to move my phone, but I think I can make it work. The upside of moving the Command Center? The location it’s in now would be perfect for holding binders of printed ebooks!

I’ll also plan to put a basket at the door to my office. The new rule is anyone brining anything into my office (unless it’s chocolate) must place it in the basket.

Final Step

Here’s the final step. Since I really hate cleaning and know I am a master of putting off unpleasant tasks, I’m making a public declaration. If you do not see a new photo of my desk – one where you can actually see the desktop – by Monday August 4^th, you have my permission, no my encouragement, to nag me. Send me an email, write on my Facebook wall, post snide comments on my blog, Tweet me. Whatever it takes.

Andrea J. Stenberg

Since this is a seven, not twelve, step program, you don’t need to start your comments with “Hello, my name is Jane and I’m a slob”. However, to make me feel better I’d love to hear about times you’ve been less than organized. What went wrong? How bad did it get? How did you solve it?

If you’d like to get a copy of Robert Middleton’s Interview with Elizabeth Hagen go to Robert’s Action Plan Marketing site and look for Get Organized, Get on Track and Get Unstuck under audio programs. To find out more about Elizabeth Hagen’s organizing tools and programs, visit http://www.profcs.com/app/?af=738504.