Internet Marketer’s Time Management Tip: Setting Goals And Monitoring Them
There are different important building blocks for efficient time management, whether you are an internet marketer or not. To effectively manage your time and how you schedule your projects, you have to start with setting your goals and monitoring them.

The reality is that there are so much going on around us. We live in a very fast-paced kind of lifestyle and we are always bombarded with distractions. It is important for us to determine and set our goals, even on daily basis. Setting goals will help you organize what needs to be done everyday.

It is very clear that without goals, we have no direction. Our goals should be achievable, specific, and realistic, however, they should not be safe. How can you expect growth if you will not be taking risks? How can a person’s skills and performance enhance without taking part in activities that will hone them?

How do you determine your goals? You start with answering the questions:
• What do you want to accomplish today or any given day?
• What projects should be accomplished first? Are there any deadlines?
• Do you intend to use free some time for personal reasons?
• What are your short-term goals? How about long-term objectives?

Goal setting help us meet our deadlines. If you are an internet marketer or even employed in traditional businesses and corporations, we understand the importance of deadlines. Without determining what needs to be done, we could easily shift our focus and energies towards other activities.

Identifying and working towards goals, help us create better plans. We get to map out the steps or methods. We learn how to make time estimates. How much time are we going to spend on a particular step to reach our goals by the end of the day? As we take each step, we sharpen our minds in assessing the situation and making sound decisions.

Apart from setting our goals and our plans to achieve them, we should also incorporate monitoring in our schedule. For long term planning, then you will need regular checking-up.

For example, you could set schedules for the week or for couple of weeks. You could set regular check-ups and evaluations for every three days to monitor the progress of your projects. Keeping a journal or a check-list will help get over what you need to accomplish and determine how far you are from accomplishing your aims.

If things do not go as planned, do not get depressed over momentary set-backs or obstacles in achieving your goals. Give yourself sometime to think and breathe. Having a clear mind will help you analyze and find solutions.

Efficient time management through goal setting will not only help you manage your time as an internet marketer, but in life in general. You feel less pressured and stressed-out since you know what path to take. You get to tackle your projects with enthusiasm and a clear mind. With proper goal setting, planning and positive attitude, you are definitely on your way towards your own success.

If you work from home, you can create an environment that will help you feel relaxed while accomplishing more. Here are some suggestions for maximum productivity.

Creating a Peaceful Setting

1. Select a soothing color scheme. Blue may be the most obvious choice, but there are plenty of tranquil hues including rose or earth tones. In fact, you can probably find a soft shade in any of your favorite colors. Save more dynamic tones for accent pieces.

2. Maximize your space. If space is at a premium, look for furniture that doubles as storage and seating. Take advantage of wall space by installing shelves and hooks. Strategically placed mirrors can open up any room, and careful furniture placement will make things feel less cramped.

3. Light up your office. If you have a window, make the most of the natural light and outdoor view. Adequate lighting around your workstation will minimize eyestrain. Adjustable lamps add additional comfort. Remember, the darker the room, the more light you’ll need.

4. Introduce some fragrance. If you have windows for natural light, try some easy-care plants like lavender or mint. Aromatic oil diffusers are also simple to use and long lasting. Scents such as chamomile, frankincense, marjoram, and sage are known for their calming and centering qualities. When you need something more invigorating, try lemon or wintergreen.

5. Play music. One of the nicest things about working alone is being able to enjoy music without disturbing anyone else. Instrumental music is best when you’re trying to concentrate. For routine tasks, play anything you want. Internet radio stations give you a huge selection.

6. Add personal touches. Spread around some treasured photos or vacation souvenirs. Post inspirational sayings or keep a book of favorite quotations on hand.

Getting Organized

1. Banish clutter. Plan for sufficient filing and storage space to help you keep clutter under control. Go paper-free whenever possible. Regularly sort through your materials for things you can discard or archive.

2. Clean regularly. Vacuum and dust every two to four days. Do a thorough cleaning at least once a month. This will help protect you from germs and create a more hospitable environment.

3. Separate your personal and business activities. When you work from home, it’s helpful to create boundaries to keep your life in balance. Keep distractions like laundry out of the office, and office items such as files out of the rest of the house. This will help you to focus and will also reduce the risk of losing things.

4. Minimize interruptions. Some people may have trouble understanding that you’re busy when you’re at home. Let your family and friends know the hours when you need to minimize calls or other interruptions. Resist the temptation to check email too frequently and put your phone on voice mail when you need some quiet time.

5. Stay connected. Take steps to avoid feeling isolated. Go out to lunch with colleagues at least once a week. Find local chapters of organizations relevant to your business and attend the meetings. Networking is good for your career and personal happiness.

6. Give yourself a break. When you set your own schedule, you need to plan your own breaks. You’ll be more effective at work if you stay active and refresh your mind. Go to the gym before you settle down to work in the morning. If you find yourself working long hours, pick one afternoon to take off and see a movie.

Working at home can be a great experience if you create a setting that dispels fatigue and tension. Use these principles of design and organization to feel better and work more effectively.

A home-based business requires work just like any other business. It’s important to make the best use of your time to enable your business to bring you the profits and joy you deserve.

Being at home gives the feeling of comfort, relaxation, and escape from work, so it’s very easy to lose focus and, as a result, get much different results than the ones you want from your business venture.

Making the Most of a Home-Based Business

So what’s the fix? Developing a timetable to help manage your life at home will help ensure everything gets done when it needs to be.

Follow these tips to enable your time management tool to work effectively for you:
1. Use work time wisely. Allocate a specific time slot each day for work and use the time just for that. Avoid being distracted by TV or anything else. Remind yourself that you’ve scheduled enough time for everything, so work time should be just that!


2. Schedule enough rest time. Lack of rest can significantly impact the results from your home-based business. You’ll start to feel tired and cranky if you’re not well-rested, which will undoubtedly affect the quality and quantity of work you produce.

• Avoid the temptation to cut into your rest time to get more done; use rest time for actually resting so your work doesn’t suffer.


3. Include scheduled breaks. Once your timetable includes scheduled breaks during work slots, you’ll have something to look forward to. You’ll also have less of an urge to take “unscheduled” breaks while working.

Poor Time Management Can Lead to Unnecessary Challenges

Of course, how you manage your time at home will significantly impact the success of your at-home business. But what poor time management can also affect is “the rest of your life.” That’s right, working at home in a haphazard manner can really take its toll on other things.

• Family time and other important activities could be negatively impacted if you work in an ad hoc manner and don’t reserve enough time for such things.


• Fitness, health, and diet also need your direct attention when you’re a work at home earner. Not paying enough attention to those things could result in your health being in jeopardy. And that’s the last thing you want when your only source of income is your home-based business!

It’s very easy to get so absorbed in your home-based business and overlook the importance of other aspects of your life. Once you lose focus, your relationships will start to suffer and you may start neglecting your health. If you’re working 16 hours per day, then you’re most likely not exercising or eating properly. Nor are you spending time with your loved ones. Try to steer clear of this scenario!

Once you create a structured approach to your business and life in general, you’ll find that you’ll accomplish more, get more financial fulfillment from your business, and be able to achieve balance in other aspects of your life as well!

When you pursue a business venture, you need all the support you can get. This is especially true of your spouse. If your partner second-guesses many of the decisions you make in the beginning of your new business venture, understand that she is simply concerned about your livelihood as a family.

This new business endeavor may be your personal project. But your family is counting on you as the financial provider. From an emotional and financial perspective, your family will experience this roller coaster of uncertainty and excitement together.

Use these four powerful tips to lead your spouse away from feelings of uncertainty toward throwing her support in your corner as you begin your new business venture.

1. Be informed and keep your spouse informed. Conduct as much research as possible before presenting the idea to your spouse. To gain your partner’s support, develop a plan for success that details the steps you’ll take and the choices you’ll make to provide for your family if things don’t work out.

* If possible, schedule a meeting with a business consultant. You want to be able to say to your partner that a seasoned professional thinks you have a profitable business idea.

* When conducting preliminary research on your business idea, scour trusted business websites like Entrepreneur.com, Forbes.com, and Businessweek.com to learn as much as you can about what you’re getting into.

2. Present your potential sources of funding. Seek to put your partner’s mind at ease about how your family’s financial needs will be met. How will you pay for the business? Do you have a plan B? If you can show your spouse that you’ve created a well-thought-out plan, this will go a long way toward calming her fears.

3. State the benefits. Why is your business a good fit for your family? Will it allow your spouse to stay at home with the kids? If so, talk about these things. Ideally, your business idea will provide other benefits in addition to profitability.

* Remember that your name may be on the letterhead, but you’re not the only person involved in operating the business. Your family’s life will change in order to support your business venture. Ensure that the business is in the best interests of your entire family.

4. Create multiple income streams. For example, consider buying a building on a busy street with a store and residential rental units above. The income from the rental units will likely be more than enough to cover your overhead in the opening stages of your business. And, after a while, it’ll be additional profit you can take home.

* If your business doesn’t make a profit and you’re forced to close shop, you’ll still be able to turn a profit from your venture. You’ll retain the stable income from your rental units and even gain an increase in income by renting out your retail space to another business owner.

Your spouse may jump on board, but be prepared in case your enthusiasm is met with resistance. Provide a feeling of security and stability when you present your idea to your spouse. Implement these tips to increase your chances of gaining your partner’s valuable support to move forward in the business venture of your dreams.

As a self-employed professional, your livelihood depends on your ability to consistently remain productive. However, it’s all too common for a work session to turn into a blogging session or YouTube video marathon. These distractions cut into your bottom line by decreasing your output exponentially.

If you have trouble staying on task for a long period of time, start applying the tips below to skyrocket your productivity:

1. Keep social networking to a minimum. Avoid checking your accounts several times per hour. Social media marketing can be valuable to your business, but checking your Twitter, Facebook or other social networking messages too often can often waste hours throughout the day.

* Limit the number of times you allow yourself to check your messages each day. Check for new messages in the morning, during lunch, and in the evening before bedtime. That way, social networking keeps its proper place instead of stealing opportunities.

2. Maintain a clean office. A cluttered space can cause a mental block that can last several hours. Ensure that your work surface is clutter free and that any unnecessary paperwork is tucked away. Make use of file cabinets, storage boxes, and bookcases.

* Before you leave your office each evening, take a few minutes to clear any clutter. Just five minutes of maintenance every day can make a big difference in the peace you feel as you begin each new workday.

3. Define your “visiting hours.” If you work at home, you’re likely familiar with the frustration of family members popping into your office to chat. Make it clear that when you’re working, trivial interruptions must wait until your scheduled break time. Hang a “Do Not Disturb” sign on your office door to keep interruptions at bay.

* If you work from home, but your workspace is set up in a highly trafficked area, try noise-blocking headphones to eliminate the sounds around you. Separate your workspace with a curtain or a bookshelf to maximize your privacy.

4. Clear all distractions. When you’re working on your proposal or project, it’s easy to let your mind wander. Use software to block websites that are known to cause lulls in your productivity. And ignore calls that are not related to your business while in the office.

* As long as you’re prompt in returning a call, it’s perfectly acceptable to send a client’s call to voicemail. In fact, save time by offering email as your main point of contact. Often, a 45-minute conversation could be reduced to one or two very short emails back and forth.

5. Make your health a priority. To keep your mind strong and maintain an appropriate workflow, make wise choices and take care of your body. If you do, you’ll have more energy to tackle your to-do list and more will get done. Stay away from heavy foods. Exercise on a regular basis and make sure you receive a good amount of sleep each night.

* For best results, exercise in the early morning before starting work. It’ll give you an energy jolt that’s better than coffee, and boosts your mood with no crash later.

6. Work in spurts. Most independent professionals find it best to work in sets of 15 to 45 minutes. Work through this time without any bathroom breaks, phone calls, or time wasting Web surfing.

* After completing your spurt, take a short five to ten minute break and begin working on your second spurt of uninterrupted work time.

7. Take regular breaks. Once you get started on a project, it can be easy to lose track of time and forget about breaks. However, short, regular breaks are essential to the effectiveness of your work and your overall health. Take a five minute break every hour in order to reap the highest rewards.

* Step away from the computer on a regular basis to prevent repetitive stress injuries like carpal tunnel, backaches, and eyestrain.

8. Work according to your own schedule. You’re no longer part of the rat race. Therefore, if you aren’t reaching your productivity peak during the 9-to-5 schedules, change it up a bit.

* Many freelancers find that they’re most productive in the early morning hours of 5 am to 12 pm. Or, if you’re a night owl, turn those sleepless nights into money making hours by cranking out some work.

9. Create a comfortable work area. If you have to hunch your back to reach your short desk, back pain and discomfort will hinder your effectiveness. Furnish your office with a desk and chair that are the right height for you. Stay away from bright wall colors that distract you from your work.

* Cooler tones are ideal wall colors for an office area. They promote effective thinking and soothe your eyes.

10. Visualize your reward. Motivate yourself to increase your productivity by imagining how great you’ll feel once the project is done. Imagine the financial rewards. Feel the pride you experience when your work is praised. Imagine how your family will benefit.

* For many people, money is the biggest motivator. Create a wish list on your favorite shopping website, and buy an item on the list each time you complete a big project or achieve a challenging goal.

As an independent professional, you can function at maximum capacity. You have control of your time, and these ideas will help you to make the most of it. Choose one or more of these ideas today and begin to experience the personal, business, and financial success you deserve.

Even though wildly successful people all share certain traits, they’re not super-human traits. You can identify and develop these traits if you truly want to succeed. Yes, with hard work and determination, you can become one of the super successful!

In your journey to achieve your goals, you’ll invariably have to deal with challenges, and even setbacks, from time to time. Every successful person faces some hardship along the way. However, it’s important to remember that those with the drive to succeed will stop at nothing until they achieve their success.

Here are the top five super success traits, along with tips to help you acquire them:

1. Strong beliefs in yourself and what you’re doing. Put your whole heart into your endeavors and truly believe that you can succeed in what you set out to accomplish. If you run into a snag in the road, find something positive you can learn from the situation and use that to keep moving forward. If necessary, develop a new plan to overcome the challenge.

* Think positively about yourself in all aspects of your life. In order to avoid being too critical, keep in mind that no one is perfect and accept that you’ll make mistakes just like any other human. As valuable learning experiences, mistakes can actually benefit you.

2. Being organized and having clear plans. Successful people are organized. They know what they want and how they’re going to get there. They develop clear goals with specific action steps to achieve them. Plus, they know where they are on that road to success at all times.

* You can develop this skill by starting with your general organizational skills. Start small by organizing your desk space. Then organize your notes. Move onto planning out your success by setting clear goals.


* What do you want? How are you going to get there? Make a detailed plan of achievable action steps that will take you all the way through accomplishing your goal. Then follow your plan. It’s your map to success.

3. Perseverance. Sometimes the difference between success and failure is pure perseverance. There will be times when you’re faced with difficult challenges. You may even feel like giving up. However, it’s important to find the strength within you to pull yourself through, even in these tough times.

* In order to develop perseverance, reflect on how you normally handle conflicts in life. Do you give up easily when faced with a challenge? Think of those times you gave up. What could you have done differently to encourage yourself to keep going?


* After reflecting on your normal mode of operation, start changing your mindset about challenges. Instead of bemoaning the challenge, seek a way to overcome it so you can complete your task. Do this each day, with even small challenges, and soon you’ll find yourself persevering through larger challenges with ease.

4. The drive to keep learning and achieving. Super successful people realize that they’re always students. They may be a master of a certain subject, but there’s always something new they can develop or learn. Once they achieve one goal, then they use their current knowledge to help them learn something else that brings them even more success.

* It’s okay to take a break to enjoy your success once you’ve achieved a goal, but always ask yourself what’s next. There’s always a way that you can expand your success.

5. No fear of failure. The super successful don’t waste their time worrying about failure. They know that everyone must take certain risks if they’re going to achieve success and that some ideas might not work out. You only fail if you give up or decide not to try at all. If you’re still trying, then you haven’t failed!

* Just as with the other traits, overcoming a fear of failure can be accomplished by starting small. Start out by taking some minor risks. See how most of them work out fine when you expect the best and seek solutions to the challenges? The more ideas you try, the more successes you’ll have, and you’ll feel confident about forging ahead without fear.

To attain the life of the super successful, the most important thing to remember is to always give your all. Adopt these success traits as your own, and soon you’ll find that nothing can stop you from achieving your goals!

Recently there has been an explosion of discussion regarding the Law of Attraction. If you’re not familiar with the concept, it’s actually quite simple. Positive attracts positive and negative attracts negative. In other words, you’ll receive good things or bad according to what you focus on.

If you focus on the positive in your life, then more positive things will come your way. If you spend your time and energy focusing on the negative, then you’ll attract more negative things.

You can use these principles to harness the power of the Law of Attraction to attract more money into your life.

Follow these strategies to attract money:

1. Express gratitude. If you want more of something, like money, you must first express gratitude for what you have presently. Gratitude is a powerful positive emotion. Be thankful for all that your Creator has provided you this far.

* You must be sincere in your thanks. If you don’t honestly feel the gratitude, then you won’t be able to attract more of what you want.


* Stay focused on what you do have. Remember, if what you feel and focus on is actually your lack of money, it will only attract more lack back to you.

2. Picture yourself with the money. Visualize it in depth, as if you already have it. You want to see yourself holding the money, touching it, and feeling how happy you are with it in your life.

* Imagine sitting down paying all your bills and buying expensive gifts for those that you love. This will send a positive message out that is to be returned to you.

* Be consistent with sending out these strong positive thoughts and feelings. Mixing it up with negative ones about money sends a conflicting message.

3. Rid yourself of negative thoughts. It’s imperative that you eliminate as many negative feelings as possible. Make a conscious effort to find the positive in everything because your negativity won’t be rewarded with positive results.

* Are there others out there who are positive? You bet! Do your best to find and emulate these people.

* When life hands you a bunch of lemons, it’s time to make lemonade. Find the silver lining or take action to make something positive out of the situation.

4. Have Faith. There are countless documented cases of people who received their heart’s desire by using the principles found in the Law of Attraction. Those people are no different from you!

* Faith is a positive feeling. If you truly want to attract more money into your life, then faith is a must. You have to believe deep down that something like this can and will happen to you.

* It’s time to truly believe that you’re deserving of anything you desire.

The Law of Attraction has helped many people live their dreams. By following its simple principles, it can happen to you as well. Profess an open mind, a willing heart, and a joyful spirit and, in return, you will be rewarded with whatever you request!

Do you know when to stop when workload gets too heavy? You need to understand the importance of time. After all, this is critical to your success. You have to be able to maximize every second of your day and complete all tasks in a timely fashion. If you just have too many things to do, don’t hesitate to ask for help. Hire an extra set of hands if you must so you can free up your time and concentrate on the other aspects.

Especially in business, you have to turn your focus on tasks that create revenue. These are things that go with the core of the business, the foundation from which the company stands on. If it doesn’t make money, delegate it. If you are a business owner, try not to get yourself into non-revenue generating activities. Your focus should be on marketing the business so you will have one to speak of.

Business owners, in particular, are mostly very busy. The size and nature of their company is irrelevant because when you are really starting something from scratch, you need to invest a lot of your time and money. As soon as you’ve set up the roles of the people involved and have purchased the materials, you now need to turn your attention to getting your business out there. So yes, you really will have to complete what would feel like a million tasks before you can finally see where everything should be. On the bright side, you are your own boss. So, if you need to stop and rest, you can do so without anyone questioning your actions.

If you are continually on the move, stress will definitely catch up with you. You will eventually feel harassed and annoyed. It might even get to the point where something has to give way. See the entire scenario as a balloon. If you keep filling it up with air, it will eventually burst. Going through busy periods is okay. However, you also need time to relax and recharge. Otherwise, you will be like a machine running low on batteries: completing a task just takes longer.

You need to know when to say stop, when to turn down a responsibility. The fate of the world does not rest on your shoulders, so when you have to step back, do so and do it without feeling guilty. No matter how noble your intentions are, you cannot be everything all at one time. I someone asks you to do something, weigh things first.

If it’s just not possible, learn to say no in a nice way. The most tactful method would be to tell them that you’ll consider their request once your work is complete. This tells the other person that your work is important and help would be nice.

Saying no actually helps other people to grow. You are also teaching them to fend for themselves. Now, if you still have too much on your plate, learn to delegate. Delegation is the art of a true leader. The secret to successful delegation is to build the task’s importance to the person you are passing the work to. Thank them graciously and tick one off from your list of responsibilities. At the end of the day, review your list to see how much you have achieved. This will help drive you forward. The point is, you don’t have to be ridiculously busy to get things done. Change your perspective and look at it as being busy achieving what you want.

Let’s face it. The Internet, with its extensive amounts of information, lightening fast speeds, and varied content, has become a necessary tool for any small business owner. However, that same information and interesting content is responsible for untold amounts of time wasting each day.

It is easy to fall prey to its charms. You log on to verify a shipment or research a new possible product line and it happens… you see a blurb about the hottest new vacation spot and off you go. Hours later you have read the latest international news, checked your investments, booked your next vacation and bought a pair of house shoes. Unfortunately, however, you haven’t gotten a bit of work done.

So, with all the temptation and the necessary information to contend with, what is an entrepreneur supposed to do? The answer is simple; you need to find a balance that focuses your efforts more successfully.

Start by reviewing your activity tracking worksheet again. This time, however, only scrutinize the entries that are related to Internet use. Pay close attention to the amount of time you spent surfing compared to the amount of actual work you completed. Once you can see the problem in black and white, you can actively see the need to do something about it.

Next, make an online “to do” list. While the heading “Internet” can be a daily entry on your regular “to do” list, you need to make a separate, more detailed list for your online activities each day. Include everything related to the Internet on this list including reading emails, ordering supplies, booking your vacation, even shopping for your mother’s birthday present.

Once your list is complete, reorder the entries according to priority. Next you should jot down an estimate of time next to each entry. For example, agree to let yourself spend ten minutes searching for and booking your hotel accommodations. Adjust the time allotment according to importance and degree of difficulty. Of course using one of the time tracker tools referenced in a previous chapter that tracks what program you’re using and for how long, does away with making notes about your time spent on line.

Once you have your list completed and your time boundaries in place, vow to adhere to the list. Also, select a dedicated time period of each day to concentrate on your online “To Do” list. This will keep you from hopping on and off the Internet at many different times throughout the day and running the risk of varying from your online “To Do” list.

So, now that you have your Internet time organized, how do you fight the temptation to wander off task? One good way is to take advantage of bookmarks. It is very easy to happen upon an interesting, and potentially important website while conducting a work related search. But, instead of ruining your well laid time management plans, bookmark the site and add exploring that site to a future “to do” list.

All browsers have a “Bookmark” or “Favorites” options that allows you to save web pages to a folder for later viewing. Take advantage of this time management tool by creating folders based on topic and interest and delegating all newly discovered sites to the appropriate folder for future viewing put them in a place where you can plan on time to review them instead of them costing you time and causing you frustration when you had not alloted time for “Favorites Site Review”.

Does your workspace look like a tornado hit it? Reports are on one corner of your desk; current work is spread across the keyboard; you know you have an appointment coming up, but you can’t find your calendar under the mess.

It seems you may need to learn how to organize your workspace!

Having an organized workspace can do more for you than make your desktop look better. Being organized can help you be more productive and reduce the amount of stress you feel when you get to work, during the day, and when you leave for home.

Organizing your desk may take more time than you have available during your workday. Ask your boss if you can come in on your own time to clear and organize your desk. They’ll appreciate your desire. After all, organizing your workspace benefits them as well as you.

These steps will help you organize your workspace:

1. Remove everything from the top of your desk and out of the drawers. Of course, you can leave large items such as your computer or printer where they are. Everything else should be put into boxes.


2. Wipe down the entire surface of your desk and inside each drawer.


3. Sort through the items you removed from your desk and drawers. Group items together such as office supplies, filing materials, items to be filed, reference materials, and desk accessories.


4. Get rid of paperwork you no longer need. Do you have unnecessary duplicates of reports or files? Recycle them. Are there items you still need? Keep those items and set them aside until later.


5. Make a plan for where you’ll put things back. You’ll want items you use frequently to remain within reach, so those items will take precedence on your desk.


6. Create an area where you can keep current papers handy. Paper trays are often used. Vertical files are another option if you have quite a bit of paperwork.

* Establish a tickler file for various activities you perform regularly – To Read, To File, To Pay, To Do, and others.


7. Put items back into place after you’ve gone through them and purged what isn’t needed. Only the items you need at your desk should be put back.

Maintaining Your Organized Workspace

The old saying goes “a place for everything and everything in its place.” Decide where each item goes and then leave it there unless you’re actively using it.

* If you’re in the middle of a big project and it’s taking up much needed space, don’t be afraid to remove an item and then put it right back when you’re finished with the project.

Remember that your goal is to have an organized desk. This doesn’t mean it has to be totally cleared off, but you do want to have space so you can function.

If you’ve noticed something that will help you become more organized, don’t be afraid to ask your boss to pay for it. In the long run, your increased productivity will more than pay for the item.

After you have your desk organized, do what you can to keep it clean. Decide what you’re going to do with each item as it’s placed on your desk. Use the tickler file if you have paper, or write important dates on your calendar instead of setting things aside to deal with later.

It can be so easy to keep your desk clear once you’ve learned how to organize your workspace and put things back in their home when you’re done with them. Take the last five minutes of your day to straighten your desk and it will hopefully stay that way from here on out.