Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I am sure all of you have the same problem I do… Everyday.
When I start my day of work, I must prioritize my tasks. There
are so many HOT items that I used to work on the first thing that
hits my desk that day. This usually means, that last thing to hit
my desk gets passed to the next day. Then, on the next day,
something has undoubtedly covered it up and the pile starts to
grow. It seemed I was always running.

I created a simple MS Word doc and treat it like a calendar of
events and duties. That way, each morning I look at this
document. If, while seeing all my duties in front of me on paper,
I decide to re-prioritize… Then I do.

How do you start your day? How do you decide what is most
important in your daily operations?

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Vincent Wilcox (a.k.a. KRAKR)
Drummer
My band: Letters Make Words

Vincent,

No doubt about it - I`m a list man. Can`t live without one. Been a list guy before personal computers - they just made it easier for me. But my hand-written list still does the best job. I think by hand-writing, it sticks in my brain better - several opportuinities for the info to make its way into the main harddrive - the brain. Seems to be more sticky that way. Always re-aligning the lists. Always have different lists - work, home, trips, shopping - whatever. Have a small magnetized white board on the frig to record food supplies we need - makes for a more efficient grocery shopping trip. Some people call it anal - I call it keeping your sh-t together.

R@ 

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Richard Arnold · Key Concept Writers · Business Communication: The "Key" To Success· Law of Attraction Blog · Life Ain`t Brain Surgery Blog

Hello Vincent,

I second Richard: hand lists are the best (my friend calls me the to-do list girl:))

But I also find Microsoft Outlook calendar to be great!  It gives you many options for adding events and viewing them by day, week, month, etc....you can keep track of what happened and what will...you can have recurring events reminders (birthdays, anniversaries - I even have a "pay office rent" one !)....you can have reminders for your events and color tag them based on importance, needs preparation, etc... you can invite others to an event......and many other options...check it out! 

This is the Microsoft world option (enough marketing eh?  Will MS give me a free software for that? )

If you are an open-source person there are some projects out there...there is one calendar that integrats with Thunderbird (the microsoft outlook open-source option) but it is not as efficient as MS Outlook.

So everyday in the morning, I check my calendar day or week but it is always better to have a month view.  I also get reminders for my current, overdue and close events...

Hope that helps,

Riham.

Vincent, whether you`re a list gal or a calendar guy, I find that the key for me is actually budgeting time to plan. I do some daily planning each morning, weekly planning each Monday that takes a little longer than the daily planning, and monthly planning every 30 days that takes even longer than the weekly. You guessed it, my annual plan is a power event - but it only happens once/year.

By the way Richard, I also keep an updated spreadsheet and input the amount of time I spend each day in 10 key categories that I have identified as a part of my annual plan. I project each Monday how much time/energy I expect to spend that week in each of the 10 categories and then I evaluate the actual time spent the following Monday. There are always adjustments that I make as each week goes by, but I know about them and I make strategic decisions when I stray from my projection.

If I go a week neglecting a key activity, I know I need to especially focus on it the next week.

One of my 10 categories is Fitness. I`ve learned that if I don`t budget fitness as an important part of my day, it tends to get pushed to a low priority.

What`s first ends up not mattering as much as long as the stuff I`ve decided is important during my sane planning moments gets accomplished at some point during my typical insane & frenetically-paced day.

Can anyone relate??

Joel - good ideas on the measurement of task completion - I do that but not as scientifically as you - I could learn something from your suggestions.

Glad you mentioned fitness. You`re right. Needs to be scheduled. My wife and I have been walking 2 miles every morning for the past 8 years - best thing we ever did for ourselves. Found by starting the day off this way, we rarely miss because of other commitments, etc. Plus, it`s cool in the summer and always quiet - great time to reflect and get things lined up in the main harddrive for the tasks at hand that day.

R@

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Richard Arnold · Key Concept Writers · Business Communication: The "Key" To Success· Law of Attraction Blog · Life Ain`t Brain Surgery Blog

Only 3 new perspectives. Either everyone is doing what has
been represented here, or there are a lot of dis-organized
individuals. :)

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Vincent Wilcox (a.k.a. KRAKR)
Drummer
My band: Letters Make Words

Yep. Dis-organized here! For some reason though I find organization in my dis-organization. Does that make sense? It does to me anyway. Best wishes everyone.

Ken~

First of all i`d like to say hello to SUN members out there and say thank you ahead of time. I am in the process of writing up my business model and i understand that this is the first critical step in starting my own business. What i am concerned with is the process of getting financing, leasing and accounts. I am planning on opening a streetwear boutique but i`m not sure of what steps to take after completing my business model. The company that owns the location i would like to lease from needs to see my business model before they invest anymore time with me. I don`t want to sign a lease agreement if i can`t guarantee what products i can supply my store with. In the same token i can`t get a supplier to open a account if i can`t prove i have a store front? Do i focus on getting a location before i start worrying about being able to open accounts? If anyone has personal experiences i would love to hear them.

Thanks,

chad

Do you have suppliers who will supply you at your price point?  That should be first.

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Travis Tschepen
Hibachi Bros. LLC

--My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am.--

A common mistake for small business is over spending at start up. Leasing a storefront isn`t needed at this stage in your development. You can use your home and a website to start with and make sales calls on a cell phone. You can package and ship in a bedroom or a garage as well. If you need to meet with clients, use a neutral location like a coffee shop or diner. Start selling first before you lease, you`ll find that you will start bringing in revenue quicker, learn at an accelerated pace and gain more leverage when you negotiate for loans and leases as an ongoing concern. Good luck to you and your business.