O is for Organization

I wish I could offer you better advice on staying organized. Fortunately, I can do a lot of the technical stuff, but when it comes to virtual organization, I knew I had to call in the most organized virtual office professional I know. The following article has been written by Jenny, Virtual Assistant and an expert of organizing and re-organizing your virtual workspace. This is her rewrite of my "O for Organization":


Keep It Simple Sally (K.I.S.S.) This is the best advice I can give anyone. Here’s the thing about technology, some tools and processes work great for some and just add complexity for others. You have to keep your tasks, contacts, calendar, emails and your documentation in places that are easy to get to. You don’t want to save information in multiple places because that will just bog down your computer. It’s a good idea to use a web based e-mail program at first if you have a computer that is really old or unreliable. A few good ones are Gmail or Yahoo. Both are pretty reliable. It’s basically your preference, but whichever web-based e-mail program you choose, you should ask yourself the following questions first to ensure you have the right program in place:

1. Does the program have the capacity to group your contacts?

2. Can you save your important emails into separate folders or labels?

3. Do you have the capabilities of saving important documents that have been sent to you?

4. Does your program have a place to store your tasks? Does it show percentage complete or completed tasks?

5. Can you sync your emails, contacts, etc. to your phone?

6. Does your program have the capabilities of sharing calendars, if necessary?

As your business grows or you outgrow your web-based email, you may want to consider switching to Outlook. This program has great capabilities and can sync all information to your phone, if necessary. It can even create groups within groups for you!

Whatever you decide, make sure to K.I.S.S.! This is especially important for all of you Post-It Queens and Kings! You need to clean out your inbox, tasks, unnecessary emails and contacts, AT LEAST once a week, if not every other week. If it’s easier for you, set up a recurring reminder on your calendar if you need to. And don’t worry, it will become easier the more you get in the habit, I promise!