If you work from home, staying organized is likely to be a top priority of yours. It takes some effort to keep a household running smoothly and when you combine this with running a business, caring for children, and all of the other great things that you have going on in your life; it’s easy to see why organization is so important. There are many things that a person can do to stay organized. Some strategies work great for some people and not at all for others. It is important for you to understand that creating and maintaining order for yourself and your family means finding a system that works for you and your family.
With that in mind, here are a few tips for organization that you may find useful. If they work for you, that’s great. If not, keep experimenting with different strategies until you find what works for you. One thing that can help keep you and your family organized is to have a family calendar. Choose a large calendar that you can hang in a prominent location that has enough space for everyone’s activities. You may find it helpful to use a different color pen or pencil for each family member. Make sure to write down your work schedule on the calendar so that everyone in the family can see it. This goes along with another stay-organized suggestion for the home-based professional – set up a work schedule instead of trying to do your work “whenever”. A schedule will help you to meet your deadlines, create routines for yourself, and manage your work load. It will also help your family because they will be able to anticipate when you will be busy working and when you might be free for other activities.
If part of your day involves picking the kids up from school and bringing them here, there, and everywhere before returning home in the evening, you may wonder how you can make more productive use of the bits and pieces of down time that you get in between your chauffeur duties. One thing that you can do is to create a “mobile office” of sorts. Find a bag or briefcase and load it with notebooks, files, pens, stamps, and other office supplies that you might need. Toss in your cell phone and maybe even your laptop if you usually end up sitting somewhere for a large enough amount of time. What you put in your “work bag” will largely be dictated by what you do for work and how much time you will have available when you are out and about. Even if all you get to do is mail out a few letters or return a phone call or two, you will have checked some things off of your to-do list.
What helps you and your family stay organized?