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Organize Your Goals and Priorities 
Goal Setting: Staying On Top by Barb Friedman At first you took baby steps. You created a business plan, set goals to provide the best product or service to an identified target market and maybe secured capital from an outside source. You put in long hours and studied all aspects of entrepreneurship to help your business grow. Then, before you knew it- WHAM! Business is booming, you are busier than you ever thought possible. Suddenly, your inner voice begins to express worry and concern that may have eluded your early days as a business person. How can you do it all? How will you keep up with more work and longer hours? Will you be able to provide the same quality, service and follow up with your customers that led to your growth? Will the organizational systems you put into place at the outset continue to support you as you grow? Instead of drowning in your success, refocus on how to grow your business and at the same time, maintain control. Face it, everyone would like to have your growth problem! As a first step to your business rejuvenation, develop a good routine. With more to do, time is even more important and priorities must be clarified. Next, divide your calendar into 30 minute increments and scheduled in time blocks. Remember if you have an appointment out of the office, don’t forget to plan your travel time, too. Look ahead at the beginning of the week to zero in on what needs to be accomplished, what contacts you have to make, what projects require and which tasks you can schedule. When you have a project in front of you that requires months of preparation and research, it is a good idea to use 'back timing'. That is, put the deadline for the entire project on your calendar. *Tip: A good practice is to give yourself some extra time. Put the deadline two days before it is really due. That way if there are any changes or problems, you will have time to correct them and still bring the project in on time. Next, break the project down into individual tasks that need to be done. Schedule them according to what needs to be done first, second, etc. Determine what might be delegated to others, and make a list for each person. Include their deadlines dates so they understand the time frame. Once each task has been identified, schedule them as actual appointments in your calendar. Work backwords from the deadline date. By doing this, you can visually see the timeline and the progress that the project must make. Planning in detail like this will help keep you focused, on schedule, and avoid a last minute rush that can hinder completion. Be prepared to delegate. When I work with businesses at this point in their expansion and growth, a very important issue is often overlooked. The business owner tries to do it all him or herself. If you need help,get it. It’s OK! You can’t do it alone. Start out with someone part time, or outsource, but get assistance. Learn to let go, because you need to be doing the most important tasks while an assistant works on the details. By adding help, you will give yourself the gift of time. Keep your systems in working order. The second greatest job for you is to re-evaluate if your workflow and filing systems are still working for you. In other words, can you find what you need when you need it? Really?? If your systems work, that's great. Keep expanding them to support your growth. If you are buried under piles of paper, it's time to re-evaluate and create a filing system that works best for your workstyle. When a system fails, that is when things fall through the cracks. Missed deadlines and missed opportunities make you appear unprofessional and will eventually cost you business and halt your growth. File, don't pile. A variety of filing systems can be used. Consider color coding if you have definite categories such as: client files, reference files, financial papers. ALWAYS use hanging files with an interior folder. The reason for this is so that when you remove the folder, the hanging file stays in the drawer and represents a place to quickly return the material back to the right place. Label those hanging files and folders appropriately. Keep titles simple, something that makes sense to you (and others who need to use the system). If creating and implementing office systems is difficult for you, get advice. Look to a professional organizer for tips, tools and solutions. You may also consider the variety of books and CD’s available. The most important thing you can do for yourself and your business is to create a solid, well-organized foundation and keep building upon it. I get so excited when I see a business take root, grow and thrive. Go for your goal and remember to always Organize IT. © 2005 - Barb Friedman - Organize IT Get organizing tips, ideas articles and more at the Organized IT web site. http://www.organizeitbiz.com Editors and publishers may reprint this article as long as it's reprinted in its entirety and the signature line remains intact. Please direct a courtesy copy to 
or snail mail it to: Barb Friedman Organize IT 9411 North Waverly Drive Milwaukee WI 53217
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