When it comes to any office, whether a home office or business office, organization is key. If things get misplaced, that can mean a lost opportunity, a bill unpaid, or worse - income and clients lost! The other reason organization is good is because it keeps you motivated, energized, and focused to get the things done that you need and want to do. People often forget that not only do paperwork and other physical items need to be kept in check, but so do data and documents on the computer. Computers are the center point of all offices today, and should be treated and regarded with care, as such!
What if you're not computer savvy or don't have the time? What then? Do you just give up? Of course not! Here are some tips.
Folders - are you using them? Do you just save everything to your desktop or documents folder loosely? Do you not categorize things? It's never too late to start! All you have to do on a Windows computer is right click your desktop and choose New and then choose Folder! Now name it! For example, Pending Proposals. Now simply drag every document that matches that description and drop it into that folder. (You can also left-click the file, CTRL X to cut and go to the folder and CTRL V to paste - or use whatever method you are most comfortable with.)
Now that all of your folders are organized, you can actually SEE the computer desktop! Isn't that nice? But is it still too cluttered? Try putting all of your folders into OTHER folders, higher in the hierarchy of thought. For example, if you have three folders named Pending Proposals, Active Proposals, and Completed Proposals create a new folder called Proposals and put all three of the other folders inside of it!
You don't have to create the folders on the desktop. You can create them anywhere you want! The desktop is a good place because it's easy to locate quickly. But you may want to store all of your important files on an external hard drive in case your computer ever crashes. This way, if your computer goes in for repair or stops working completely, you still have all of your important files on the external drive!
An external hard drive is a separate component from the computer that lives outside the computer and can be connected or disconnected at a moment's notice without having to know anything about computers. They just plug in (usually through USB).
If you want to save things somewhere else on your computer, just double left-click My Computer and browse to that part of the computer. It could be your main hard drive (C: drive), an external hard drive, or a special folder. You can create folders anywhere and stay organized! Plus, you can right click ANY folder and create a shortcut to it on your desktop. It's easy!
Now you are in control of your files. But remember: from now on when you save things, save them into their appropriate folders! And if a folder for this type of file doesn't exist, create one right then and there! You can even create a folder while you're in a Save As dialog by browsing to the location where you want the new folder to exist!
Enjoy your newly organized computer routine! It will make things so much easier!Learn about Tony Robbins at http://www.rypmarketing.com/tonyrobbins/
