I'm organizationally challenged. How to keep track of it all?

Lynn,

For the online stuff I use the firefox bookmarks, I actually have a sidebar visible to me when online. Within this I have my folder structure all organised with sub folders within. It has took me dedication and time to set this up, but boy does this help me when online. It acts just like my PC folder structure and if organised, you can navigate quickly to a website from there.

If I see something of interest, then it gets bookmarked and added into the relevant folder within my browser sidebar. I always take the time to organise this as It now has become an essential part of my work online. What I also love about this is that I can back this up and import it into another PC. I do actually do this often and keep both my main PC and laptop updated with the same bookmarks.

For managing a to-do list ... let me consult my sidebar for link ...

Todo.ly Simple Todo List

You can also take the time and organise your folders on your PC. Taking the time and organising both your PC and browser bookmarks like this will increase your productivity by amazing amounts.

I have an email folder called Dont Delete This! I put in stuff I may need down the road. If it's something that I have to take care of soon, like a bill, I print it out and tape it to the desk wall. I also have a calendar printed out and taped up, with notes of when bills are due, appointments etc. I have a notepad I write on for things to buy when I go out. I am organized but sometimes I forget things! I try to clean off my desk once a month, it does get messy!

I have recently started using open office spreadsheet to keep organized.....being unorganized can really slow down your productivity. That's why I am trying any and everything to stop being unorganized and stop procrastination.

Lynn,

I use a lot of file folders. For my niche sites, I have a folder for each and then further break it down (articles, images, creative, etc.)

A lot of times for article ideas, I'll just create a post in Wordpress with the keyword as the title and save it as a draft. Then if I'm getting ready to write, I just look back over the titles to pick something to write.

For article writing and promotion, I use Excel a lot. I have a spreadsheet that has a column for the keyword and article details, then a column for each of the main directories that I submit to manually, along with a column for each of the other actions I take per round of article promotion. When I finish the activity, I list the date.

In my article tracking workbook, I have a tab for each niche so I can look back over time at what promotion has been done.

I personally love Steve Hawkin's SEO Link Dominator. It was originally designed for creating forum profiles, but I use it for other things. For example, I have a group of sites I'll create backlinks on when I launch a site. Another group of document sharing sites. The program will let you create multiple profiles for your sites and then you can have multiple groups of links. As you create links on the sites within the group, the program will track that for you.

It's great for organizing groups of sites to build links, tracking them, and speeding it up when you do it manually.

I just recently started using Windows OneNote. It makes it really easy to organize large amounts of information, especially if you do a lot of online research.

I use browser bookmarks a lot as well.

For each niche site, I have a Wordpress doc that lists all the relevant details: domain name, pen name, the Google, Yahoo, and Bing account logins, anything that's relevant just to that. That stays in the root of that site's file folder on my hard drive.

And then the last thing that I use is Netvibes. If there is a topic that I've found some good sources of information on, I'll create a new tab for it, add RSS feeds from sites or blogs I want to follow, add links to resources I want to remember, etc. Then I just go in and browse through them every so often to see what's new.

Check out some of programs available from here: 37signals: Web-based collaboration apps for small business

I use the entire suite of programs. While I don't use all the features, it helps stay organized.

In addition to Google Docs (Spreadsheets mostly), I use Evernote to clip web content and store for later blog posts or other actions I need to take.

I also use Freemind to keep track of what I need to do when AND use it as a checklist to make sure I have all my webpages in order when I'm building.

All of these resources are free (making it even better)!

Hope that helps!

- Mercer

Read Getting Things Done by David Allen and try bring some of his concepts into your day-to-day work. There's loads of GTD resources online too.

I use open office 3.3 using the spread sheet and creating the categories for each niche. I then condense them to individual folders to keep track of them. Hope this helps!

For keeping track of what needs to be done when, I use Outlook calendar. I've also tried Total Organizer free edition, and it seems like it might help you keep track of tasks. Total Organizer : Store your contacts, tasks and notes - all in one, divided into categories

Great tips from all. Personally, I use the free OpenOffice spreadsheet a lot, particularly for keeping track of signup and login information. Each tab represents a different area such as social logins, blog listings and logins, etc. This one spreadsheet has saved me over and over again and I back it up daily. I also use Total Organizer, as mentioned above, for reminders, and the bookmarks toolbar in Firefox to organize bookmarks. You are able to create folders and sub-folders there. So I have one folder for various email accounts, a Google folder with Adwords, Analytics etc, and so on. I also use a spreadsheet for keeping track of transactions for my business.

While it may seem like a lot of additional work, I put the data in there first and then into my accounting program. I do my own bookkeeping and for me, it helps me to keep on top of things, reference transactions, and keep things balanced. Of course my accountant only wants to see the accounting program version :-) Old school I know, but it works for me.

If you have a lot of "favorites" in your firefox i suggest you a really cool add on.
It is called "xMarks" and saves every link in there. You can load them on another computer if you want and you never lose your favorites again.

Another one is "LastPass". Stores all of you passwords.

These are my 2 best addons for Firefox.

I'll be reading Getting Things Done today and I'm really interested in how to keep things on my hosting account. I don't know much html but I do know that I can easily find out how to do what I want.

I'm glad I recently discovered LastPass because I need to start using much stronger passwords.

For forum threads or posts which you find highly interesting you can set up your own blog here on the Warrior Forum.

Red navigation bar up top ^. Look towards the left hand side. Click on Blogs.

There you can organize everything you want to keep and look at later in more detail in one easy to reference location.

Anything not on this forum... just use Bookmarks. Organization of your data is key, putting everything into folders you'll instantly recognize for later referencing.

And make sure you call everything something absolutely obvious to you too. If you cannot find a particular folder click on Start (bottom left), then Search, then All Files and Folders and wait for the info to appear.

Actually, you've just given me an idea...

Actually, I just found this for you Lynn which might help you out...

ActionOutline - organize your bits of info in a tree outline form, like Explorer

This looks similar too...

Treepad Business Edition: All-in-one Organizer, PIM/database, Word Processor, notes manager, search engine, Web site generator and much more!

However I cannot vouch for these websites since I've never used them.

Some further useful tips on data organization might be found here...

How to save and organize your marketing data accurately

And some actual online tools / services you might want to checkout, take your pick...

Zootool ? Visual Bookmarking

Remember Everything | Evernote Corporation

Trunk.ly | Home

280daily - Sum up your day in 280 characters.

Thoughtboxes

I hope this helps.

Best,


Pete Walker

I store everything in evernote..

Could not live without it

Cheers,

~Gary

I highly recommend a mind map program. I use MindManager, but I believe there are free ones out there.