Streamline Your Life, Streamline Your Business

[Denise Griffitts]

Professional organizers will tell you that a good old fashioned clutter purge can save you time and money. This should also apply to your business. By arranging your environment for success and organizing your processes you will be more efficient in your time expenditures, save time and ultimately save money.

Streamline Bill Paying

Do you pay some of your bills online and some the old fashioned way? This can get confusing if you are not keeping a calendar that reminds you when it is time to get out the checkbook and write that check. Consider setting up a separate email account that is used only for banking and bills. Gmail is a great tool for this. Then schedule a twice-monthly bill paying session in your calendar to check that email account. By doing this you don't miss deadlines and wind up paying those truly awful late fees. You will save money and maintain good credit.

Clean Up Your Email Client

By setting up an effective way to process and organize your email you will gain more control over your day, improve your response time, and keep track with critical actions and due dates.

Create an effective reference system by organizing what information to store where and what to keep and what to delete. Sounds daunting doesn't it? According to Microsoft, you have the opportunity to save almost an hour a day by having a good system in place! Read more here and here about how to set up these systems for Microsoft Outlook. You can also upload big attachments to a free online storage like Windows Live SkyDrive.

Tidy Up Your Computer

Is your computer desktop a maze of shortcut icons? By keeping only active files and shortcuts (in files) visible you will feel less cluttered and jumbled. Can you even see your wallpaper anymore? If not, it is definitely time to get organized. Think of the computer desktop as a real desktop. The pens and pencils go in a certain corner, while files that you regularly access will be in another section. It is the same idea with your computer desktop. Start by creating a series of folders. Do this by right-clicking any blank area on your desktop. I typically use 4-5 folders:

Actions

Put items in this folder that requires action that takes more than just a few minutes to complete. This could be anything from files to upload to large applications to install and set up. Be sure to schedule these action items in your calendar so they don't get overlooked.

Incubate

This is your ideas folder. These are items or links that you need to go back and look at when you are fleshing out potential projects, or where you can keep articles or information about further education for yourself and your business such as online classes or certification courses. I suggest going through this folder weekly to determine if you are ready to act on any of these ideas. This is the time to delete or archive items in this folder.

Current Projects

Files pertaining to active projects go here. Create sub-folders for each project and client so you are not continually searching for a phrase or key word shown on your project schedule.

Archive

Once you have completed a project move it to this folder. Again, don't be afraid to use sub-folders. Schedule a time each month to visit this folder and edit, prune or delete items that you don't think you will ever need again. Backup your archive to DVD or external hard drive just in case you do need them again down the road.

Start Filing!

Even working virtually as so many of us do these days, we still handle paper and files. Invest in a small filing cabinet that can be tucked away in a closet or corner of your home office, or even consider a furniture quality lateral filing cabinet that can be used as additional table top space for your printer, scanner or other office equipment.

Make it a point to file papers and documents as soon as you are through with them. Don't get into the habit of piling them up and thinking that you will get to them later. There are few things more frustrating than having to rummage around piles of papers on your desk to locate the one you need. By making it a practice to handle a piece of paper one time and then put it where it belongs you eliminate that distraction and boost your efficiency.

Scan Letters and Documents

If storage in your home office is a problem, consider scanning documents such as retainer agreements, client documents that don't require original signatures, etc.

Buy a Shredder!

I can't stress this enough! As a Virtual Assistant, you need to protect your client's information with the same ferocity that you protect your own personal information. We all know about identify theft, but did you know that your waste material is sorted and recycled? Worse yet, your garbage is public domain and is available to anyone to reclaim.

As Virtual Assistants we have a legal obligation to protect our client's privacy. If you are not filing paper or phone notes that you took while chatting with a client, shred them! Shred discarded or outdated material that belongs to your client. When and if you stop working for a client shred EVERYTHING and let the client know that you did it.

Do you have great organizing tips that you would like to share? We would appreciate hearing from you!

**You have permission to reprint in your publication or to your website/blog any articles by Denise Griffitts found on this Website as long as Denise Griffitt's name and contact information is included. Denise Griffitts, Virtual Assistance Industry Expert, http://virtualassistantindustry.com, info @ virtualassistantindustry.com, 888-719-6711.