Cleaning House

One of the barriers to effective productivity is mess. At least for me. I'm known as one of those people with piles of paper around their desk. I used to find this effective because I would spend an extra day, maybe come into the office on a Saturday once a month, and go through the piles.

Those days are long gone. My desk at the office is clean compared to my old habits. There is one small pile of papers, and it's gone by the end of each week.

There is also a spiral notebook. If I need to take hand-written notes, it goes in the notebook. Usually, though, my notes go into our company's software for keeping track of our interactions with clients.

But working at home has taught me that I truly need to make a place for everything and keep everything in it's place. I need a filing system for hard copies of papers and files.

I use software to keep track of my contacts. I use Highrise from 37 Signals. This tool is for keeping track of people, entering notes of each communication, and even has tasks so you can tell it to remind you when to follow up with the person next.

I also use Basecamp from 37 Signals. This is a project management tool that is suited for a small business like mine or a large business with many projects. You can track time, show clients your progress, and upload files related to many projects.

For scheduling my home business meetings and events, I use Backpack. Backpack is a calendar that allows you to share your schedule, your ideas, and files.

With these three tools, my piles of paper and the need to go through them are a thing of the past. There are other tools out there, but these are inexpensive, and scalable. As your business grows, you can upgrade to the next level of each tool.

If you are serious about working from home, you need a place to work. This place needs to be just as formal or informal as needed to get you to actually work. With Basecamp, for example, I keep myself focused by tracking my time. Tracking my time also helps me know if I am charging the correct prices for my services.

Whether you use these tools or not, get organized, so that unlike me, you don't waste time looking for things when you need them. From today on out, I'm staying organized, using these tools and The Slight Edge.