6 Tips to Get Yourself and Your Business Organized
  By Sheila Robbins

At home professionals should automatically receive a degree in time management. Or, they should be granted an extra arm and a head that swivels until their children are older than thirteen. How else can one efficiently run a business while taking care of a household and business?

Being in a home business usually means working in less than ideal circumstances compared to the quiet of an office away from home. Constant interruptions mean keeping a level of concentration equal to diffusing a time bomb. If we don't "skirt reality" with a sense of humor and planning, it can interfere with our ability to make a profit.

OK, so mopping the floor has never gotten you a big cash bonus, but people get upset if they walk into the kitchen with socks and walk out without them! Just keep it in perspective. Maybe you don't have to mop so often, or maybe you can mobilize the rest of your family to help you.

How many corporate executives have attended a Board meeting with one child hanging on a leg and another in the lap? Don't be so hard on yourself if you sometimes feel overwhelmed. A review of priorities might be in order. Here are some tips:

1. Make a list of all that you do on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis and select the most important items. It's recommended that you choose fun time with your family over dusting the furniture. Your kids can be a lot more fun, and the furniture just gets old anyway.

2. If  you don't carry a daily calendar with you at all times, now is a good time to start. It doesn't have to be expensive or elaborate. It can be computer generated or a simple daytimer. The purpose is to enter all information about your daily responsibilities in one place. Start by entering all addresses, phone numbers, birthdays, and plans you know you are already committed to for the year. Enter a schedule that will work for you on a consistent basis. This helps to avoid being out of groceries or clean clothes, and you know how irritating that is.

3. Include some time for yourself as a priority on your list. You are clever enough to put together a business, take everybody to their activities, keep the bill collectors from the door, and run a business at the same time. Don't you deserve to play golf, sit in a hot tub, or paint your toenails? If you are isolated and not having fun, be creative and find a way to share time with the most important member of your family-you! Sound like a cliché? That's because it's true. You can empower yourself by valuing yourself.

4. If you don't need it, wear it only once a year, or don't want to keep stepping over it, throw it away! This does not necessarily include family members. Simplify, minimize, prioritize, and get rid of as many negative people, products, situations, and responsibilities as possible. You are going to flavor your reality with fun this year. In order to have fun, you have to be organized.

5. Start your expense files now. You will probably need the following:
    Advertising and Promotion

    Business Checking Account (not to be confused with personal)

    Credit Card Expenses

    Dues and Subscriptions

    Education (every time you buy a book for example)

    Miscellaneous (maybe dry cleaning?)

    Office Supplies and Equipment (some depreciable, others deductible)

    Printing Expenses, Postage, Professional Fees, Tax/Licenses, Telephone

    Utilities (be sure you know what percentage of floor space in your home is legal office space. See your tax forms.)

6. Develop a consistent arrangement for child care so you can plan around it. As you empower yourself with planning and fun, you will have find ways to have romance in your life, have free time for yourself, and enjoy more freedom to think and create. It doesn't cost anything to spend time outside, laugh with a friend, or dance to rock and roll in the living room. This makes you a better partner in life, an effective business owner, and a community resource. You deserve it!

About Sheila Robbins
Sheila has successfully owned multiple businesses including a Hallmark Shop, Radio Shack, restaurant, pre-school, office supply and bookstore. She combines her experience and knowledge into a plan of action in her presentations and book, Get a Life! Start Your Home-Based Business Now. Sheila is a champion for small business and an advocate for women business owners.