Home Sweet Home Office

Keeping track of future appointments is an obviously important thing to do. Doctors appointments, parent-teacher meeting or the assignment that is due next week – it doesn’t matter which, as long as you honor your commitment.

Trying to keep everything in your head is an act of futility. You are bound to forget something along the way. It is difficult to have a good time when your head is full of things you have to remember so write it down and put it away.

As hard as you try bad things can happen. What if you loose your date book? What if your cell phone gets wet and will not work any longer? What if you do not enter the date correctly into your iPhone?

After a few appointments went missing from my iPhone calendar I was determined to figure out why. It was hard for me to understand how I could have possibly missed entering them. I nearly missed a doctor appointment and once I forgot my hair appointment. It is embarrassing to receive a call when you are being asked, “did you forget…”?

Guess what I was doing wrong. I was missing one simple little step that is easily missed. The final “done” button – although obvious – is easily missed. If you don’t touch it you loose the appointment. I didn’t and I did.

It is so hard to do everything that needs to be done before midnight New Year’s Eve. Why do we always think that we will make time to do things in one or two days that we have not had time to do in the past couple of weeks.

I am feeling frustrated and I am afraid that I will forget something important. Yes I am organized and yes I keep a to-do-list, but still…

There is only so much that I can get done between now and then so I will simply put one foot in front of the other and get as much done as I can. I will prioritize the tasks that absolutely have to be completed and give myself permission to push the ones that I cannot complete into next year.

What are some of the important tasks that I need to complete?

· Copy and mail the rebate form for the Keurig Home Brewer
· Pay the last minute credit card payments for 2008
· Order any electronics and equipment needed for business

Does not seem so bad written here – but each one will take more time than it should. You see, I always have to fit non-paying tasks among those that I get paid for.

One of the best things I’ve done this past year is to keep related paperwork together. What do I mean by related? The best way I can explain this is to use my bank account as an example.

Actually, I keep track of several bank accounts so keeping the paperwork organized is necessary. When it comes time to balance the statements there is no searching all over the place for what I need. Where do most people find their ATM receipts, deposit slips and bank statements?

· In their purse
· In their brief case
· In their car
· In their stacks of paper and magazines

I keep mine in a small plastic box called a project box. (purchased from Office Depot) An 8.5” x 11” sheet of paper fits well inside. Only a second or two is required to add a new piece of paper to the rest. By the end of the month all of the pieces are there.

A separate box is kept for each account. It is a bad idea to mix accounts because you defeat the purpose. At this point you may realize that it is necessary to have two of these boxes for each account. There will always be an overlap of time between when one statement ends, you get it balanced and a new one begins. I will repeat – keep statements and their details separate!

Bank accounts are only one example of how I organize paperwork until I get time to complete the project. Check back to read posts about other ways I stay organized on a daily basis.

Here we are at the end of the year 2008. There are a few days left so we need to use each and everyone of them wisely. Small business owners and individuals alike have financial responsibilities that require attention.

Tax time will be here quickly and many people do not want to wait until the April 15th deadline. Be ready to have your taxes filed early by preparing the information needed. Although most information is obvious there are a few items that may throw you a curve.

· Income – if you are required by your state this will include wages and any other form of compensation. Your W-2 only includes wages paid by the employer. If you sell on e-Bay, mow yards or write on the Internet you may receive a 1099 or you may not. You are still responsible to report all compensation.
· If you have purchased real estate during 2008 you will need to have the details ready for tax preparation. If you sold real estate you will need the closing information as well.
· If you sold stock you will need the purchase information as well as the selling information – such as the date of each transaction and the purchased/sold date of each transaction.
· Medical costs not covered by your medical insurance. If you spend an adequate percentage of you yearly income and was not reimbursed you may be eligible for a deduction. Mileage is usually a part of this calculation.
· Losses from natural disasters, fires or other non-insurance covered items.

This is not a comprehensive list but these are items that may take extra time to gather together. You can beat the crunch of early tax filers if you are better prepared.

As passionate as I am about my work there are times that I just have to get up out of this chair and lay down. It is ridiculous when my husband has to wake me up – while I am sitting at my desk.

I guess that speaks to how comfortable I have made my workspace. My chair has a high back and arm rests. It is height adjustable, has wheels and rocks slightly. But, that is not the entire story.

When I fall behind I still keep my projects organized. That usually means that I have a few plastic boxes underneath my desk – and I dislike that. The boxes themselves don’t bother me but I do not like them sitting on the floor.

One day while surfing through Samsclub.com I noticed a product called a “folding chair dolly”. It was a simple square of steel with wheels on each corner. I decided that having one would give me the opportunity to get my plastic boxes off the floor while leaving them under my desk.

I had no idea at the time that the dolly would turn out to be a perfect footstool. It moves to fit my comfort level at any given moment. As I said before – sometimes my comfort level is so good that I fall asleep right at my desk.

This Christmas season is about over. I just returned home and I can feel the toll of visiting and traveling. Over all the experiences have been fun and fulfilling.

It is difficult to get in the mood to get up to speed again because as soon as I do it will be the New Year’s season. Don’t get me wrong I love the anticipation of a brand new year but it too will wear family, my friends and me me to a frazzle.

Another activity that I will enjoy is the shopping that I get to do for new electronics. This is the time that a new laptop or new camera will get purchased for my business. I have a few devices in mind but a final decision has not been made.

However, the shopping will be left for tomorrow. Tonight will find me unpacking and getting some rest for the next few busy days at work.

Yesterday I said that I was not going to travel. Well, cancel that. I have arrived at my destination and have settled in for the evening while waiting for Santa.

I know that many of my fellow bloggers have taken the next few days off for Christmas but I have decided to check in with you. I feel so lucky that I am able to stay in touch while away from my desk. I feel privileged to own the electronic gadgets that make it all possible.

I am also excited to tell you that this is my first post written on my Dell Mini 9 netbook. I am still having strange issues with a few of the drivers but everything else is working great since the upgrade.

For some reason each time I boot up there are some drivers that try to load. When I check device manager I see either a “!” noting a conflict or a “?” noting an unknown device. I click to uninstall and once each one is removed all of the drivers are still showing as installed in their correct location. It seems as though the netbook does not recognize that the drivers are already there. In any case I do not detect any problems so I am leaving well enough alone for now.

When I get a little more time I will do some research to get it fixed. Until then I wish us all Merry Christmas!

After planning to travel out of town to see relatives I have decided to stay home. I still want to see everyone but it may be easier to stay here and have the visit on my computer.

If I sound shallow to you hopefully you will reconsider. Why should I spend as much time on the road as I would be able to spend visiting? Driving four to five hours each way and sleeping for eight hours once there does not leave many hours to enjoy being together on a two-day trip.

On both ends the computers will be attached to large screen televisions. Face to face may not be much different. When we run out of anything to say we simply turn off the computer and go our own way. I am looking forward to the visit now. I do not dread the trip – after all it is just a few steps through my own home.

Today I heard that the banks that received billions of our dollars couldn’t tell us where those dollars have gone. This is the most ridiculous statement I have ever heard. As a small business owner I doubt that during an IRS audit I could say the same thing and get by with it.

Maybe they should hire a professional organizer to help them uncover the lost treasure. During every organizing job that I’ve had there has been a discovery of money or checks – 100 percent of the time. It is amazing how those pesky dollars get tucked into loose file folders, notebooks and magazines.

Given the chance I would gladly go through those offices and see if I could uncover some treasure.

Have you ever sat down at your desk and could not get excited to do what needed to be done? That happens every so often and it is difficult to get back in the groove. There is a solution.

Sometimes when you feel tired and have a hard time concentrating there is a problem being ignored. You really want to be doing something else instead. Big news to you – isn’t it?

If time allows it would be to your advantage to just get that project done that you have been pushing aside. Load that new software program, set up that new digital camera or clean off your desk. You will be amazed how your attitude and concentration will improve.

Since most projects end up taking longer than expected you should be ready to adjust your schedule to accommodate. I am speaking from experience and I will give you a brief overview.

This morning I was feeling distraught because I have not had the time to upgrade my new Dell Mini 9 netbook. I will be out of town later this week and will surely want to use it. I purchased a 2GB memory module and a 64GB SSD that have been sitting in the box for at least two weeks. All I could think of is how I never get to do what I want to do – but I seem to always be able to do what I have to do.

All started out quite well, but it has taken “forever” to get everything working properly. My number one issue is getting the drivers re-installed. I hope that this is not a sign of things to come.

Anyway, I decided that I should get back to my originally scheduled tasks while waiting for the files to install on my netbook. Thankfully I have a second computer to work on. My attention is split with one eye on the progress of file installation and the other on what I am doing here. I will update on my experience once I get everything accomplished.