My life sometimes seems to have a double whammy. Not only do I do a multitude of things as a needlepoint designer/writer/teacher, I also run the business mostly by myself.
Today’s craft in June post is supposed to be a snapshot of my day. But I think you’ll find it more interesting and useful if I talk about the things I do to stay organized.
Know what you Have to Do Every Day & Do that First
Many productivity people say don’t do email first thing in the morning. You are usually most productive then so why waste it.
I don’t agree if I run my business on email then email is important. I look at it first thing, every morning. The first thing I do is delete junk. Then I check, file or label the things that don’t need to be handled much. These are things such as web alerts, shipping notices, etc. Next I handle everything that can be handled quickly.
That takes care of most messages.
Next I go through and open every message. Some can get handled as other ones have been, some can be answered quickly. Some go to links, I click on those to look at later. Some will just have to wait a bit.
The other things I do every day include pinning on Pinterest, checking Facebook, and sending out the notices about new things on this blog. I try to do those quickly.
The last every day thing I do is my short Sulia posts. I do at least 3 each day and they can’t be done all at once. If I see something that will be good for Sulia, I open appropriate windows and minimize them. Then I can post when I need a short break. UPDATED: Instead of Sulia, these are now on my needlepoint news blog.
Keep a To Do List
I used to keep this in a notebook, my Book of All Knowledge, which was my running log of my business life.
More simply now I keep a list for things to do each day. While mostly business things it also includes household tasks I do not want to forget. As I finish something, I remove it. I move things to other days if needed and transfer undone things to the next day.
When I finish a task I look at the list to decide what to do next.
Because many of my tasks are long, I also have a list of the pending ones, so I don’t forget them.
I always work on one task at a time, trying to reach a good stopping place or finishing it before I move to the next.
I take breaks between big tasks with shorter or simpler tasks.
Keep a List of Customers & Students
For each class or upcoming program/product, I keep a spreadsheet. This has the people in the class, names, emails, sign up dates, & sales tax amounts. I’ve pared this down over the years, but doing this has come in handy so many times.
These people also get saved in email folders and address book lists, but it’s the spreadsheets I use most.
Package the Projects
Every project has a project bag with threads, canvas if big enough, needles (on magnets) and, often, scissors and ort containers. Having everything at hand makes it easy to pick up a piece and not worry about what’s there.
Some people work on projects in rotation, I can’t. Having projects packaged makes it easy to finish things.
Put Stuff Away
I’m dreadful at this and need to be better. If you stitch from stash putting stuff away regularly means you can find threads, canvases, and supplies.
I should do it before the piles overwhelm.
They are overwhelming right now, so Saturday will be a clean-up day.
About Janet M Perry
Janet Perry is the Internet's leading authority on needlepoint. She designs, teaches and writes, getting raves from her fans for her innovative techniques, extensive knowledge and generous teaching style. A leading writer of stitch guides, she blogs here and lives on an island in the northeast corner of the SF Bay with her family
Kairen says
whata useful in and insightful post. I am a great believer in lists and carry a little book around everywhere