As I was cleaning out my work space yesterday, I found a file I had misplaced about half-way through the year. While anymore, most of the hunting I have to do for misplaced items is on my computer—I file things away in places that make sense one day but not on another, I still cannot help but wonder how much time is wasted in my home business by my having to hunt for misplaced items.
Now, I think of myself as a fairly organized person as many of you may have picked up, but I definitely have my weaknesses. Inconsistent filing of computer documents could probably be one of those self-declared weaknesses. If I had a dollar for every time I caught myself saying “Now, where would I have put that document?”—my business would be twice as lucrative as it is!
I think a certain amount of inefficiency for the average home business owner is to be expected. If we find ourselves spending a healthy chunk of every day tracking down misplaced items or hunting through our computer files trying to retrieve documents—then we know that some reorganization (or organization in the first place) is in order. Remember that time is money and in addition to the productive time wasted hunting for items that may have been accidentally or purposefully misplaced, we also have the added stress and frustration and that doesn’t help our motivation or mental health either.
Take some time, get organized—set up a hard filing system and computer filing system that works for you and makes sense. I also find that it helps to just get rid of things I am no longer using or those items and documents which are just cluttering up the process. Periodically “cleaning house” and straightening things up can help make finding things much easier.
Also: Welcome to a Brand New Fiscal Year
Planning for Changes? or Status Quo?
Losing Focus and Getting it Back