Susan:

Early in December, I purchase a large paper calendar, a visual tool for planning the year. I’ve been using these for years and display the previous year, too. This allows me to plot out meetings and events.

Google Calendar is also a favorite tool. Used by our staff, this is where we schedule meetings and activities. Each of us have our own system for planning, but we’ve learned that we must have a shared platform. As we have extended more flexibility in schedules, this allows us to reference meetings or activities that impact others in the office. Having access to Google calendar from any device makes scheduling timely and dynamic.

Tessa:

Upon arriving at the office, my mind is often full of the things that need to be accomplished that day. To get organized, I like to use one-page, daily planning sheets. The planning pages I use have a place for my top three priorities for the day, along with sections for other important to-dos, meetings and appointments, gratitude, water consumption, and personal notes.

These planning pages really help me get everything out of my head and into a more organized, manageable format. I ordered the pages I currently use from Amazon, but you could design your own to be perfectly tailored to your business and personal needs.

Kat:

Staying organized is challenging without good systems. I often travel across the county for meetings and work errands and on those trips I’m usually carrying my mini binder that allows me to insert and rearrange notes, flyers, business cards, and sticky notes.

I also rely on our office Google Calendar, along with my personal Google Calendar. Accessing both from my phone or computer is convenient for scheduling and planning. I add meetings to the shared calendar so everyone knows where I’ll be or if I’m available, and use my own calendar to list tasks, deadlines, or reminders and to schedule personal activities.

Ashley:

I’d add Panda Planner and Google Keep to the list of tools from others! Panda Planner is similar to Tessa’s daily sheets, but with pages for each month, week, and day. It’s the first thing I look at in the morning to plan my day, and I also like to time block in it to stay on task.

Google Keep is an app for lists and notes. There are always new ideas and things to do in my head, so I have lists in Google Keep where I jot down things to remember. Keep notes can be shared, so they’re great for collaborating. In Google Keep, I have anything from my grocery list, to things to remember for Be Here events or to-do lists for my Core Goods staff.

This article was published in the Venango Chamber’s January 2022 VenangoWorks! Newsletter.