I love sharing my organizing ideas with inspiration. Organizing quotes can help you have a mantra to get or stay organized. It can be what pulls you through when organizing gets tough. Here are a few I share often.
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ADHD strengths are wonderful attributes for being an entrepreneur. There are so many ways ADHD entrepreneurs are successful. It’s the creativity, resourcefulness, and solution based thinking that lead to success. ADHD includes a powerful set of qualities that make for ground breaking new ideas and tools.
There can be a few bumps in the road too. Difficulties with executive function, planning and organizing can get in the way. Here are 3 ADHD tips for business owners to maximize their success.
Often an ADHD small business owner will only use a planner to write in an appointment. Use your planner as a tools to help you initiate and execute your tasks.
Set a time once a weekly for reviewing what’s on your planner. As a processing tool use it daily to write a note for your 3 Most Important Tasks. Create a new habit by hooking this habit onto an existing habit. It won’t happen automatically for a while, but it is a powerful change.
Being overrun and overwhelmed by paper can be paralyzing to an entrepreneur. Take back control of your paper by cutting back on it first.
No one is good at everything. Entrepreneurs needs to wear many hats. This may sound like a conflict for ADHD entrepreneurs, but it’s a call to action for automation and delegation. There are many small ways to start.
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You find it hard to get started on a project, hard to finish up and tough to stay on task. ADHD and executive function deficits create challenges for motivation. It can feel discouraging, frustrating and overwhelming. At a recent conference for the Institute for Challenging Disorganization, speakers shared ways to get motivated despite the obstacles. There are lots of small ways ADHD and motivation can make a daily difference for you.
Russell Barkley is author of Taking Charge of Adult ADHD. This speaker suggested using external cues to help you get motivated and stay on track. External cues can include post it notes or check lists with tasks spelled out. Social accountability like a study buddy or coach can help you lower or eliminate distractions as well as keep you positive about your work. These external cues help you become more successful at any task.
Denslow Brown and Karen Boutelle shared the value of coaching for motivation. Denslow is the creator of Coach Approach for Organizers, which I have participated in. Her coach training focuses on the collaborative partnership with the ADHD client and coach. Karen Boutelle from Landmark College demonstrated using coaching to facilitate motivation for students. Both speakers shared coaching strategies in helping a client move forward with their goals.
Struggling with getting started? Here are a few practical ways to get going.
What are ways you are getting motivated?
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At a networking event, during a business meeting, or even in the grocery store, we get business contacts. The contact could be in a text, written on a napkin or copied on a post it. There’s also that stack of business cards from years past too. You want to easily store and access contacts for your business. Organizing business contacts is a priority for your business.
Customer information and vendors are important contacts for all small businesses. When we meet with or receive a call from a potential client, it’s important to capture this information right away. When we receive a recommendation for an outstanding vendor, we want to be able to keep this information until needed.
Quality contacts
There are lots of business cards we receive. Not all are important to keep. Make a note and write the date on your cards so you remember the reason you found this contact valuable. If its a recommended vendor, write the name of the person who recommended this service provider. It will make it much easier to know which cards to keep.
A call or email from a client shows their high level of interest in doing business together. Even if not ready right away to work together, you want to retain their contact information. When a client contacts me, I record their name, cell phone, business phone, email and snail mail address on paper first. As soon as possible I transfer this information to my smart phone and Outlook. If I am contacted by email, I add this information with just a few clicks. To me all clients who have contacted me directly are keepers. It sometimes may require a little phone tag or 2 messages but we connect and set a plan in motion.
Database management
It’s important to choose one consolidated spot for your information. There are lots of options, including Google, Outlook, Yahoo or a CRM (customer relationship management software.) Your decision may depend on your tech savvy-ness and the number of contacts you have.
Start with a good foundation for your contacts, but also use a solution that can expand as your business grows.
Consolidating all the data
You may have realized that you have several different places for contacts. Think of baby steps you can use to consolidate the data.
Organized business contacts means more money for your business and less stress for you! Take time this week to get started or keep organizing business contacts.
It’s time to think about going paperless!
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Did you know that paper is the #1 item that people hoard?
You may really hate paper and have too much around. Scanning helps cut down on the paper clutter and makes information easy to retrieve. Being on your computer and backed up to the cloud, it is always available. It’s time to get creative with your scanner!
What are you favorite papers to scan?
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Scanners are a popular way to make paper disappear. With more affordable scanners, many homes and offices are purchasing these as an alternative for paper files. You can scan paper, expenses, receipts, photos and more with a scanner. It’s a great way to eliminate paper clutter and its easier to find information too!
Getting started
There are many options for scanning. The apps GeniusScan and DocScan are available on you smartphone. Fujitsu and Neat offer portable wand scanners and desk top scanners. Multifunction machines are equipped with flat bed and feed scanners. The most important part is to get started right away by hooking up and testing your equipment. Many times I find equipment still in boxes years after purchase. Just jump in!
Setting up
Getting a good system in place makes organizing easier. Start setting up a consistent folder system before you scan your first document. Write out a list or create a mind map of the information to retrieve in your documents. Like with paper files, more general folder names are best to start. Inside these folders you can create more specific files.
For home
For the office
This is just a sample of categories to get you started.
Set up consistent naming of your documents. Write out your options and decide on one naming convention. You will be glad you took the time to create a plan for this. Some examples include starting with the more general, to the more specific, and maybe with a date.
To be scanned spot
Not all paper needs to be scanned. Using the triage method, go through your mail, kids’ papers, receipts and other papers to decide what will be scanned. Establish a bin, folder, or tray for items to be scanned. By designating this spot, you are creating a baby step to get started scanning.
Scanning routines
The best organizing revolves around good routines. Now that you know what you want to scan, set aside time once a week or once a month to scan. Mark your calendar to remind you of your “appointment”. This is also a task that can be delegated to your high school student.
It’s important to have your computer backed up regularly. You can use a cloud based service like Carbonite or an external hard drive. Either way, nightly back up is best. You will be sure your documents are safe.
As fun as scanning is, try not to over do the fun! It’s hard not to scan too much, but less is more!
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You cringe as you realize your small business tax deadline is here! Wasn’t it just April and you realized that the 15th was around the corner? Postponing tax filing was an easy decision to make. And now ~ it’s the real deadline. It’s a necessary evil, but it can be easier. The October 15th tax deadline is just around the corner.
Know the papers you need
The first step is always knowing what you need. Some of this information can sound like a foreign language. Do a little research and start with a checklist for these papers can help.
Filing status is different for many small businesses.
Income can be found on your bank statement, invoices or sales receipts. These include:
Expenses can be found in your credit card purchases, debit and bank statements, and vendor statements.
The IRS has many resources to help you decide on small business expenses.
Find the papers online
It may be difficult to gather these papers together. However, with online banking and online access to your credit card statements, you can consolidate this information. If you use QuickBooks and have gotten behind, you can download information to your banking and credit card accounts instead of manually entering it.
Getting assistance
It may feel completely overwhelming to gather all your information. Not to worry! There’s help at hand! Professional organizers and Daily Money Managers often come in to assist you in gathering all this information. Your accountant can send you a tax worksheet from previous years to remind you about this information.
Keep papers digitally
Keeping a digital copy of this information can ease your stress too. Neat Receipts or Neat Connect (sponsored link) scan in your information and help you with tax categories. As you find receipts in your papers, scan these and categorize. Keep all your information together and accessible. Scanned information can also be exported into QuickBooks, TurboTax and Excel.
Struggling with your personal taxes too? It’s the October tax deadline, but with a few other papers to find. However, these same online and digital resources are available.
We specialize in working with ADD/ADHD clients. Whether in your home or your office, we motivate, empower and affirm our clients in their quest for organizing and productivity! 
