Don't laugh. Someone actually works here. (No, it's not me.)
As a creative soul at heart, it took me awhile to learn that being organized definitely helps life run smoother, particularly if you’re a typical entepreneur with a hundred projects running all at once.
I do most of my script and article work at a large table, facing a wall in my office. Mounted on the wall is a large (4′ x 5′) bulletin board … my “life at a glance.” Stretched across the top is a row of file cards used as categories:
Underneath are separate 4″ x 6″ file cards on each project I’m currently dealing with. Each of these cards –containing the name of the project, its job number, and the target date for completion –is pinned under the appropriate category card. For example, the new Corporate Identity video I’m writing for a client is pinned under “Projects in Scripting.” When it’s finished and ready for release, I’ll move the card to the “Projects in Production” category.
(Yep, I could use a whiteboard -but then you have to keep erasing and rewriting as you move from stage to stage, and I’m used to my file cards.)
I can also write down specific information on job cards. If it’s a script for a client, I can jot down the date it’s due at the client, the date revisions must be finished …that sort of thing.
You Need To Know Where You’re At. This Helps.
With this system, at a glance, I can look up at the board and see where I’m at with the couple of dozen projects that are “in the shop” at any given moment. And, for that matter, so can anyone else who needs to know.
There’s more, too. One eye-level card reads “The Task At Hand.” This is where the list of this week’s activities goes. And cards next to it list the month’s goals and weekly activities –like when edits are due to be completed, when meetings are scheduled with clients, interview or performance dates/times and the like.
If you’re an entrepreneur, there’s no doubt that you have a dozen projects –all in various stages of completion or disarray –going on at any given time. You’re working on a client project or ten; you’re attempting to prepare a news release; you’re writing up a proposal for a big prospect; you’ve got a big job booked for the end of the month and you’ve got a dinner meeting to attend this weekend. A Work Wall is an eminently simple, cheap, and effective way to organize your work AND your life in one fell swoop.
Build Your Own, On The Cheap.
Get yourself down to the local office discount store tomorrow morning and pick up a large bulletin board, a box of art tacks and a pack of 4″ x 6″ index cards. It doesn’t have to be fancy, although you can cover a piece of thick foam core in an inexpensive fabric to match your office decor, of course. All it has to do is facilitate your own individual work flow.
You may feel that you don’t need a Work Wall or a carry-around calendar system right now but face it! –as a motivated person looking to succeed, you’ve already taken some good steps towards prosperity and success, and you’re going to be getting some good Mojo from us, and your business is going to grow and grow and grow
…and one of the best tips I can give you is that you should get prepared now to manage that growth and success.
