Keeping Up With The Workload

I can think of all kinds of things I could do right now for my business, the most important is client work. My client work for my consulting business is heavy right now, as I am needing to log 60 to 80 hours per week. This is a little unusual and it does not usually last long, so I plow my time into my billable work.

Still, I have several things to work on so how do I get through it all? Organization is the key and here are some things I do to make sure I stay organized:

Keep a list

I try to make and keep a master list of things I want to accomplish during the week, month, or overall. Then, I sit down once in the morning and make a list of things to try to accomplish during the day. Mostly, I try to prioritize my tasks based on the most important, or perhaps the most urgent depending on what is going on.

Avoid Distractions

My biggest distraction lately is the phone ringing, but many distractions can get in the way of having a productive day. For instance, today our landscapers are coming and I will have to break away and work with them a few minutes. After that it becomes difficult to get back into what I was doing. Distractions can cost a lot of time in this way, perhaps just taking a minute or two but causing rework in trying to remember what you were doing and where you left off.

Other distractions I often have are the internet, reading news, Twitter, getting the mail, and reading email. I can get compulsive so I generally try to keep my focus on what I am doing and if I think I need to do other things, I do nothing until I can regain my focus.

Do A Little Walk

Sometimes if I am having trouble focusing I will do a little walk around the house, which usually burns off a little nervous energy. Towards the end of 5 or 10 minutes I can refocus on my workload and get back into what I am doing. I usually need to do a bit of a walk every hour or two to loosen up, especially when my days are 12 hours or more.

You would think a walk would be a distraction but sometimes I just need to get away from the computer to regain my concentration.

Have A Comfortable Work Area

I have been working at home so I move around the house during the day. I like my recliner for laptop work, but may sit at my desk in the office or at the kitchen table. I get aches and pains, little ones, from working in one position for too long so moving around between places helps me solve that.

If you work with papers or need to print and such, having a comfortable chair in your office may be a very good idea. Make sure you can move around in it without wrecking your floor and that the height is set properly.

How do you organize yourself to get your work done?

About

Brian now writes and works as a Business Analyst. He received his MBA from the University of Phoenix in 2009.

Visit http://www.splashplan.net for more free small business tips from Brian Satterlee.