Organizing Your Day

One of the hardest things for most individuals working from home is to stay focused. One of the best ways to stay focused is organization. In addition, being organized will help your time management skills. The two are very much intertwined.

Planning out your day is very important. What you will do in the morning, afternoon/and or evening, depending on what hours you work is paramount.

Have a trigger that starts your day. For example, my trigger is I finish my morning walk. Once this is done, I make a cup of Java and to the office I go.

Once in the office, the computer goes on, along with the auxiliary equipment. I check my tickle file, my calendar for the day, and pull my To-Do file.

While I am looking at these items my mail program is working to check e-mail. I delete the junk and deal with the additional mail by answering it, or placing it in a folder to deal with later.

At this point depending on your business you should start dealing with the items in your tickle file and To Do List.

For those of you just starting to run a lease purchase business you should be doing the following:

Check your goals Check your calendar and tickler file Check your e-mail and answer If you need to, go through your newspapers and your other lists for sellers to call. Otherwise, do your call backs and set up appointments if appropriate Start calling - 1/2 hour from each list Send out follow-up information Enter calls in database Read in your area, both on and off line Visit on-line groups that relate to business Check e-mail and respond Do your To Do list for next day Add appointments to calendar

For those of you in the lease purchase business be sure to check your Step By Step the First Month in your manual. Remember it outlines what you need to do the first month. The above list will vary for you, if you need to drive neighborhoods, meet with sellers and/or tenant buyers, put up flyers, or speak at meetings.

For those of you running a business other than lease purchasing you can do many of the same things as those running a lease purchase business. The basics are still the same, it is just you are working them in another area. If you would like learn how to set up and operate a successful home based business, check out our Complete Home Based Business Manual at:
http://www.homebusinesssolutions.c om/products/hbmanual.htm

So, be sure you have a To Do List, a tickler file and a calendar. Have a trigger that starts your day. Put all you do on your calendar, and add in time for mishaps. If they don't occur, you'll have extra time. Split up your day to do your calling, letter writing, follow-up e-mails, mailings, meetings, and any additional things that occur for your particular business. Having a plan when to do what, and scheduling things when you feel more comfortable dealing with them, in effect, the best time for you to do them, will go a long way in making for a smoother work day.

And remember to utilize that wasted time. For instance, while mail is coming down or you are printing something take care of something else. For example if you are printing a large document, or e-mailing a long document, get your filing done, read a short article, put dates on your calendar. Make a quick phone call, check supplies, you get the idea. By managing your time better it will allow you to get it all done.

Have you ever wondered how some people work two jobs, do volunteer work, and take care of their home and children? I do, they know how to manage their time.

Copyright DeFiore Enterprises 2001

Interested in having your own successful, home based creative real estate investing business? Chuck and Sue have been helping folks start successful home based businesses for over 19 years, and we can help you too! To see how, visit http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com for the latest FREE tips and tricks, educational products and coaching in creative real estate investing and home based businesses. No time to visit the site? Subscribe to our "how to" Home Business Solutions Digest, it's like having your own personal coach: mailto:subscribeHBS@homebusinesssolutions.com

In The News:

Yahoo! News: Top Stories

In this April 22, 2008 file photo, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, left, followed by current Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., right,  smiles on Capitol Hill in Washington.  Democratic officials say Daschle has accepted President-elect Barack Obama's offer to be Secretary of Health and Human Services.  (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File )AP - President-elect Barack Obama promised the voters change but has started his Cabinet selection process by naming several Washington insiders to top posts.



Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008 in Washington, before the House Financial Services Committee.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)AP - Pounded by a fierce financial crisis, the country is sinking deeper into economic despair and is likely to be in the hole well into next year, forcing more Americans into the ranks of the unemployed.



Auto industry executives, from left, General Motors  Chief Executive Officer Richard Wagoner; Chrysler Chief Executive Officer Robert Nardelli; and Ford Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally, testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008, before a House Financial Services Committee hearing on the state of the auto industry.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)AP - A plan to give troubled U.S. automakers billions of dollars in government-backed loans is on life support, leaving the fate of hundreds of thousands of workers and Detroit's once-venerable car companies hanging in the balance.



Passers-by watch the electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008. The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average plunged early in the day and never recovered, finishing down 6.9 percent, or 570.18 points, at 7,703.04. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)AP - European and Asian stock markets tumbled Thursday after recession fears sent Wall Street plunging the day before.



A gopher frog sits in the hand of Audubon Zoo curator Nick hanna  in New Orleans, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2008.  For the first time in 10 years, a pond in south Mississippi got enough rain this year to let gopher frogs, one of the nation's most endangered animals, turn from tadpole to frog without human help.  (AP Photo/Bill Haber)AP - With the Bush administration on the verge of relaxing regulations protecting endangered species, Democratic leaders are looking at ways to overturn any last-minute rule changes.



In this image provided by NASA Astronaut Steve Bowen participates in the mission's first session of extravehicular activity Tuesday Nov. 18, 2008 as construction and maintenance continues on the International Space Station.(AP Photo/NASA)AP - Astronauts vowed to double-check, even triple-check, to make sure a bag of tools is properly tied down during a spacewalk Thursday so it doesn't float away like one did earlier this week.



U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt speaks at the opening for the new U.S. Food and Drug Administration office in Beijing , China, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008.  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration opened a new office Wednesday in China's capital, its first outside the United States, as part of a new global strategy to ensure the safety of trillions of dollars of imports.(AP Photo/ Elizabeth Dalziel)AP - China announced a complete overhaul of its dairy industry Thursday to improve safety at every step — from cow breeding to milk sales — saying its worst food quality scandal in years had revealed "major problems" in quality control.



In a photo provided by The National Book Foundation, National book award winners, from left; Mark Doty, Poetry winner for 'Fire to Fire:New and Collected Poems;'  Annette Gordon-Reed, winner for best Nonfiction book for 'The Hemingses of Monticello:An American Family;' Judy Blundell, winner for Young People's Literature for 'What I Saw and How I LIed;' and Peter Matthiessen, winner for Fiction for 'Shadow Country' pose at The 2008 National Book Awards on Nov.19, 2008 at Cipriani's Wall Street in New York. (AP Photo/Robin Platzer)AP - The economy hung like a cloud over the 59th annual National Book Awards. Barack Obama was the silver lining.



AP - Three male and three female inmates at a southern Indiana jail face charges that they devised a way to sneak between cell blocks to help pass their time behind bars by having sex.

In this Oct. 9, 2008 photo, Dallas Cowboys' Adam 'Pacman' Jones prepares to participate in practice at the Cowboys training facility in Irving, Texas.  Jones' suspension was lifted by the NFL on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008,  just over five weeks after the Dallas Cowboys cornerback was banned for another violation of its personal conduct policy.  (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)AP - The NFL is giving Adam "Pacman" Jones another chance. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Wednesday the suspended cornerback has been reinstated by league commissioner Roger Goodell, but he must miss two more games — this Sunday and the following game on Thanksgiving. He'll be back Dec. 7 at Pittsburgh.



A man looks at his bank book in front of a Citibank branch in Taipei November 20, 2008. (Nicky Loh/Reuters)Reuters - Global economic misery spread on Thursday with the Federal Reserve predicting U.S. recession well into 2009, Japan's exports to Asia falling for the first time in six years and job losses mounting.



Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano speaks during closing ceremonies of the 26th Border Governors Conference at Universal Studios in Los Angeles August 15, 2008. (Fred Prouser/Reuters)Reuters - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's top choice to lead the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, CNN reported on Wednesday, citing multiple sources.



A pedestrian walks along a side street in Seoul November 20, 2008. (Jo Yong-Hak/Reuters)Reuters - World stocks dropped to 5-1/2 year lows and oil hit 22-month troughs as investors reacted to dire Federal Reserve warnings on the economy and fears about the viability of major U.S. auto makers and bank giant Citigroup.



United Auto Workers (UAW) President Ron Gettelfinger (L) and General Motors CEO Richard Wagoner talk before the start of a hearing about the automotive industry held by the House Financial Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington November 19, 2008. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)Reuters - Chances dimmed that a last-minute plan being crafted by Republican senators, with White House support, to provide $25 billion to bail out U.S. automakers would receive enough backing from Democrats to pass before the end of this week.



Reuters - A pact allowing U.S. troops to stay in Iraq for three more years has a chance of being approved by parliament despite some heated opposition, Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said on Thursday.

Sharon Papo (R) and her partner Amber Weiss display their wedding rings after exchanging wedding vows at City Hall on the first full day of legal same-sex marriages in San Francisco, California June 17, 2008. (Erin Siegal/Reuters)Reuters - California's Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a legal challenge against the state's voter-approved ban on gay marriage and let the ban stand in the meantime.



A computer keyboard is seen in this 2005 file photo. (Catherine Benson/Files/Reuters)Reuters - A Missouri woman established a fake identity online to torment a vulnerable teenage girl who later committed suicide, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday in a trial that is being closely watched by the burgeoning social networking industry.



A boy stands at the site of suspected U.S. drone attacks in the Janikhel tribal area in Bannu district of North West Frontier Province November 19, 2008. (Stringer/Reuters)Reuters - Pakistan summoned U.S. ambassador Anne Patterson on Thursday to protest over missile strikes launched by pilotless drone aircraft against militant targets in Pakistan.



US auto giant executives wait to testify before the House Finincial Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Fears of an implosion of the US car industry have continued to weigh heavily on investors' minds as the AFP - Governments scrambled to cushion the impact of the finance crisis Thursday with France launching a sovereign wealth fund and China unveiling a jobs protection plan as the car industry made huge new cuts.



A picture taken in 2007 shows the Delight cargo ship anchored in the port of Hamburg, Germany. Somali pirate attacks have spun AFP - Russia announced Thursday it would send more warships to combat piracy in the waters around Somalia, as the Saudi owners of the Sirius Star negotiated with the pirates holding their oil tanker.




Five Simple Tips to Get Organized Today!

Take time to declutter this summer...Writing can certainly consume the better part... Read More

9 Simple Strategies for Home Organization

Home organization means being able to find your stuff when you need... Read More

Spring Makeovers: Organizing Tips for the Home and a Virtual Makeover for You

Winter is starting to retreat, and hints of Spring are everywhere. Time... Read More

Addiction to Clutter

Clutter is a big problem for many people. At a lecture that... Read More

Success at Work : Techniques : A Cluttered Desk

I followed my boss to a co-worker's cubicle where my boss requested... Read More

Organized For Life

Questions come my way all the time regarding my God-given nature to... Read More

Getting Things Done: A Guide To Next-Action Lists

Getting Things Done (GTD), is a productivity methodology designed by David Allen.... Read More

Getting Organized for Achievement

Getting and staying organized is critical to achieving your goals. A well... Read More

Quick Organizing Tips From Assistance For You

Keeping on task and getting organized starts with a basic plan that... Read More

Just How Organized Are You? Take This Quiz For Individuals

The Productive Environment Scorecard?Read the statements below and rate your reactions to... Read More

Organize (and Decorate) Your Home on a Budget with Baskets

What's an item that can help you organize every room in your... Read More

Can Someone Step Into Your Job Or Role And Function Effectively?

Working for one of the top Marketers online (David Ledoux) I've been... Read More

Feeling Overwhelmed and Unorganized? - How to Use Index Cards to Organize Your Life

Feeling Overwhelmed and Unorganized? - How to Use Index Cards to Organize... Read More

Be More Productive at Work: Avoid These Eight Traps

Obviously, productivity involves producing. Producing widgets, events, reports, sales. The more producing... Read More

Organization Tips - How To Get Things Done

What stops you from 'getting things done?'Have you ever started your day... Read More

Clutters Side Effects: How the State of Your Home Affects Your Life

Each area of your home has a symbolic meaning with which you... Read More

Family Management Tip #2: Choosing the Right Organizer for Your Family

What method do you currently use to organize your family? Do you... Read More

Clutter Control

Remember when you charged into the office that first day, all primed... Read More

Making Life Easier, with NLP Chunking!

You know, in psychology there is a rule, especially within the NLP... Read More

Managing Mealtime Madness

It is 5:00 pm and Cindy has no idea what to make... Read More

Basic Organizing Principles

So you've decided to get organized, but you just don't know where... Read More

5 Easy Steps to Making Housework More Manageable

Sometimes the task of keeping a clean, tidy house just seems overwhelming.... Read More

10 Minute Tricks to Help You Get Organized

Whoever thought you'd be able to get organized in just 10 minutes?!... Read More

Clutter Campaign - Commit Your Time

Decide When And Where To StartDecide when and where to start. You... Read More

Without a Plan, You?re Doomed to Failure

"My job is an endless series of deadlines, I am constantly putting... Read More

Give Up Control to Get Control

For some reason, Americans think they have something to prove by doing... Read More

The Natural Law of Attrition

I'm cheap and proud of it.I use and re-use things carefully. It... Read More

Organizing Lessons from a Bookstore

The store reminded me of a well-worn slipper ? tattered and dusty,... Read More

5 Tips to Banish Clutter From Your Life For Good

Studies show that 80 percent of what we use comes from 20... Read More

Organized Living-Secrets About Your Lifes Hidden Power Revealed

An organized living lifestyle can cause you to weed out those prolonged... Read More

10 Organizing Tips for Road Warrior Parents

Parenting is always a challenge, but particularly so if your work requires... Read More

A Personal Action Plan for Change

There are eight distinct steps to constructing and executing an action plan... Read More

The Clutter Campaign - Design Your Vision

I like a room you can dance in the middle of! Mariah... Read More

Clutter-Clearing and Your Authentic Self

Have you ever felt so discouraged, your life so out-of-control, the universe... Read More

10 Tips to Get Organized and Clutter-Free- Now!

1. THE LOVE IT OR LOSE IT PRINCIPLE: Every item around you... Read More

Effective Closet Cleaning Tips - Let Go of More Than Skeletons

I know I have a problem when I have to battle with... Read More

Tossing and Turning

"The real question is, why do you want it? What are you... Read More

Saying Goodbye to Stacks of Paper and Distractions

A daily journal will save you time, reduce stress and make you... Read More

Balance - And Other Things

The Mexican VillagerThe American investment banker was at the pier of a... Read More

Organize Your Desk ? Live Longer!

It may seem far-fetched, but by organizing your desk, your bedroom, your... Read More

The Magnificent 7: Tips for Cleaning Up Clutter

Clutter is postponed decisions®. Here are some suggestions to simplify the task... Read More

50 Ideas to Organize Your Home

"Organize" is a familiar word heard on many of today's popular decorating... Read More

Get Organized -- Every Home Needs An Office

EVERY HOME NEEDS AN OFFICEYes, it is true that every home needs... Read More

Organizing Your Day

One of the hardest things for most individuals working from home is... Read More

How Much Is Your Time Worth?

Does Your Present Internet Filing System Work?Do You Really Know for Sure... Read More

What Balance Looks Like For You

Recently, in an online group, we talked about "balance" and an article... Read More

Clutter Campaign - Select Your Tools

Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be... Read More