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What do you use to organise/manage your business?

by cbosner
15 replies
One of the problems I've constatly come up with is how to remain organised and focussed. I'm always going from one spreadsheet, to an online to-do list, to a projet management page to google docs, then back to the desktop and routing through various folders etc..

What system do you use to remain organised? Or do you have the same problems? At the moment, I'm trying to put-together either an all-encompasing multi-sheet spreadsheet or a filemaker/access style database to keep track of things

What do you do?
#business #organise or manage
  • Profile picture of the author David Raybould
    Whiteboards, notepads, and a mind like a steel trap...

    Seriously though, I find whiteboards very valuable.

    Spreadsheets and things work great for me for
    specifics within a project, but I find whiteboards
    help me keep track of the big picture...

    Hope that helps

    David
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  • Profile picture of the author jtgill
    The whiteboard idea is great and I don't know why I didn't think of it myself. Thanks!

    I myself have trouble staying organized and focused at times like I'm sure a lot of people do. The main thing that helps me is to make sure I have my To Do List for the day. That keeps me from randomly doing things and forgetting things I need to do. So far that has involved a written list but I am working on getting everything on the computer.
    Any suggestions on electronic scheduling?
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  • Profile picture of the author James12C
    Hmm - after iPaqs (still there, all forlorn at the side of the desk), Lotus Organiser (remember THAT?), spreadies, To Dos, on screen stickies, the ONE tool that is indispensable is my Filofax! (Backed up with Gmail and Google docs......)
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  • Profile picture of the author adam123
    Hi,

    My favourite is basecamphq.com . It has every feature you ever need

    All the best,
    Adam
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  • Profile picture of the author jayden.fellze
    I go to spreadsheets, but usually i really have jot down notes. It's manual but it will surely be a great back up, you never know when your computer will fire down.
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  • Profile picture of the author cbosner
    Thanks for all the suggestions. Over the last few days, I've been working out a spec for doing a multi-sheet spreadsheet, with the first sheet being a 'dashboard' kind of page with financials, goals, to-do's etc..

    I use to use a whiteboard extensively for tracking client projects, and in the end found it to be a bit of pain to update - I then moved over to basecamp (when it was free) and thought it to be a very good piece of software, but I think i'll be sticking with a dashboard spreadsheet, also, I can print it out to keep a hard-copy.

    Thanks again for the input, it gave me plenty of idea's for my system.
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  • Profile picture of the author Droopy Dawg
    Yes... whiteboard is the way to go.

    You should also keep your business model posted somewhere that you can always see it...
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    • Profile picture of the author Stacey Wockenfuss
      I am not sure how many here know or use it, but there is a great tool out there called mindmapper. If you know anything about project management or if you have a internet entrepreneur personality (a thousand ideas constantly going on in your head) which I am sure many of you do, its a great way to organize your thoughts.

      I have used so many systems both in corporate America and as a business owner and consultant. With anything, there is just not one software that has it all. But Sharepoint is great for organizing files, meetings, projects, and tasks.

      Basecamp is pretty good and you can organize projects, companies, ect. Its pretty user friendly too. MS project is another way to organize your projects and thoughts as well as set realistic timelines and milestones. You have to set mini goals especially if you are really scattered brained.

      If you don't have access to anything above (and can't afford it) search microsoft.com for some free templates in excel. There are some good templates in there that you can organize by task.

      Hope that helps!

      Stacey
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  • Profile picture of the author jasondinner
    I use Basecamp

    You can manage individual projects from inside of your account.

    Price varies depending on how many projects you decide to manage.

    I think it's free for 1 project.

    Project management, collaboration, and task software: Basecamp

    - Jason
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  • Profile picture of the author Fox30
    Mindjet! It's incredible!
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  • Profile picture of the author Aaron Moser
    LastPass Password Manager for Firefox
    Edraw MindMap
    Excel Spreadsheets
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  • Profile picture of the author spires
    I've got box's full of old note books.
    I haven't quite bothered with digital organization yet
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  • Profile picture of the author Karen Keyes
    Recently I've been into mind mapping, I like Freemind and am going to soon evaluate XMind.

    I don't have a whiteboard but I'm seriously considering getting one, as I think it will complement my personality. I use spreadsheets extensively.
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  • Profile picture of the author GB2008
    Mark Joyner has some great disciplines and tools on his simpleology website - or I'm doing something similar just using email here. Problem I've always found with elaborate systems is that they just take too much time to set up in the first place and, if you are working with any kind of a team, they are just not duplicatable! Think that's why so many of the top people still use post-its and whiteboards for serious planning - the tools are so simple they don't get in the way of the real business.
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    Gary Bailey
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  • Profile picture of the author Stacey Wockenfuss
    If you are using email and Outlook, get a book called Take Back Your Life by Sally McGhee". It has a lot of project management methodology and works for any type of business online or off.
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