Being organized in your personal life and your business can greatly reduce stress, anxiety, and allow you to get precious time back. If you’re a solopreneur like me, then you know it is a lot of work to build all the moving parts of your business. I’ve learned how to utilize tools and resources that help me keep my sanity and streamline my business processes. I want to help you do the same.

Make your website do a lot of the work

Having a website is more than just having a pretty online presence. A pretty website without functionality is similar to having a nice home that you don’t live in or use. It’s just sitting there looking pretty. What’s the point of having it? When you invest money in your online home, you want to get a return from it. You want it to work 24/7 to generate leads and sales for you.

Think of any manual processes that you are doing now that you can automate and put on your website. Are you manually scheduling and booking appointments? Automate this by using a calendar tool, like Calendly, that allows clients to pick an available time on your calendar.

Are you manually typing up welcome letter emails for each new client you book? Don’t do this. Instead, create a welcome page (make it hidden from the general audience) that gives new clients an overview of what to expect.

Other ideas include creating a digital application or questionnaire form with Google Forms or Typeform, so you can ask your client pertinent questions without having to book a call or send an email every time. You can also have a hidden pricing page that you can quickly send to anyone who is ready to book your services.

Plan your daily schedule

I’ve found I’m more productive when I plan out my tasks each day. I have to tell my time where to go or I’ll end up wasting time. I use a Passion Planner to prioritize and schedule my most important tasks each day. It’s therapeutic for me to take a break from the digital calendar and write, draw, and color by hand in my planner. Having a routine eliminates stress and builds positive habits.

Use free organizational and scheduling resources

As I mentioned before, you can use Calendly to allow clients to pick a day and time on your calendar without having to call or email. Calendly can also be embedded into your Showit website.

Asana is great for tracking project tasks and milestones. If you are a service-based business and you create the same tasks for each client, create a project timeline in Asana to keep track of each task, client files, due dates, notes, and more. You can also give your clients access to view the project and stay up to date. Your clients will be impressed when they see how organized you are. This results in repeat business and referrals.

I use Clockify.me to track how it takes me to complete tasks and projects. You’ll be able to time individual tasks and also see the number of hours you worked for an entire project. When you know how many hours you’re working, you’ll see which tasks are bottlenecks or slowing you down. You’ll also see how long it takes to complete services for clients and be able to price these services accordingly.

Email Templates

If you send the same emails to clients, create a folder in your inbox for email templates so you can grab the content you need without manually writing every email from scratch. 

Organize Your Email Inbox

There’s nothing worse than scrolling through a ton of old emails to find what you need. I’ve made a practice to read emails and delete them when I no longer need them. This keeps my inbox decluttered and keeps my mind decluttered. For emails that you want to save or keep you can create inbox folders to stay organized (such as Saved Emails, Email Templates, Business Resources, Client Conversations, etc).

Organize Computer Files

Dumping everything you’ve ever worked on into one folder is one way to drive yourself crazy. This is no way to work. Categorize your computer files by project, client, or whatever makes sense to you. There really isn’t a wrong or right way to group your files as long as you know where to find things.

Also, it’s a good idea to keep your desktop clear of files. When you first log into your computer, seeing 100 files on your desktop can clutter your mind before you even start working. Keep your actual desk that you sit at clean and organized as well. It motivates you to want to work when you sit down at a clean desk.

Set a Consistent Routine

Go to bed early and rise early. The days when I rise before the sun is when I am most productive. I can think clearly, I have more energy and more time to work. When I’ve stayed up late until the wee hours of the morning, then I wake up late, the day is half gone, my energy is low and I’m less productive.

The proper amount of sleep (at least 7 hours for adults) is key to being the most efficient and clear-minded in your business. Value your time and make the most of it because once it’s gone you can’t get it back.

I hope this helps. If you’re a new business owner and need help getting your website up and running, I can help.  I love to work with women solopreneurs who are passionate about their purpose. I design websites for women that help them live in purpose and become rock stars in their business. I’ll create your branding, website, and photography so you can thrive in business. Once you’ve checked out the projects I’ve completed, let’s chat and get your website created. Fill out this application and I’ll be in touch!

Until Next Time…

Melanie Latrelle Grandoit