Day 6:  Put Together Your Project Notebook.

I have a friend who says that I am like that Buddhist statue with all the arms.  I have so many projects going on at one time.  At times I feel like that guy who spins all those plates on the sticks and has to run from stick to stick to keep the plates from crashing down. 

  I love to work off lists but I found that I had lists everywhere.  Lists from three days ago, lists for separate projects, shopping lists.  I realized that some things were slipping through the cracks while others were duplicated in several places.  Well, lists are supposed to make you more efficient, not less!  So I came up with a project notebook. 

It is just a three-ring binder with dividers for each one of my projects.  For instance, in my notebook right now I have a divider for Grant Writing, my book, Don’t Make Me Slap You, a real estate website, and a real estate project.  The dividers have a pocket in the front.  In that pocket, I keep an ongoing to-do list for that particular project.  Behind the divider, I keep supporting documents. 

For instance, in my divider for my real estate website, I have a list that includes adding a couple of products to develop and add to the site.  In the supporting paperwork behind the divider, I have a more thorough breakdown of what the product entails, who I am going to do it with, and how soon I plan to get it done.  On my master list I have an item that says, “Create a systematized, ongoing marketing campaign for this site.”  On a piece of paper in the supporting documents I have names of autoresponder companies, email blasters, real estate investor contacts.  If it is a large project, I can work on it a piece at a time.  Once the project is complete, I can move it out of my binder.  If I want to keep the paperwork I can easily slip it into a file folder and file it away. 

I find that keeping a master binder for my major projects has helped keep those nasty slips of paper from overwhelming my desk.  Fewer things fall through the cracks and I am able to keep on track with what I need to do to get a project done.  It is amazing how organization frees you up.