Organization does not mean perfection

We all want to be better organized, so I’m thrilled to introduce our newest guest blogger, Emily Wilska. She is going to be answering your questions on organization!

By Emily Wilska

If you’ve ever paid a late fee on a bill because you misplaced it, lost out on a client opportunity because you didn’t have a way to keep track of whether or not you’d followed up, wasted time searching for something in your office or shop that you knew you had but couldn’t find, or simply wanted to run screaming because it felt like you’d never make it through your To Do list, you’ve experienced how disorganization can have a negative impact on your business.

My name is Emily Wilska. I’m the owner of The Organized Life, a company that provides organizing services for business and residential clients. Though I’m based in San Francisco, which is neither a small town nor a rural community, I strongly believe that the basic techniques for getting and staying organized are the same no matter where (or who) you are.

In the course of my work with business clients, I’ve found that, in order for any business–large or small, in any industry–to be truly competitive, efficient, and successful, it needs to overcome whatever organizing obstacles stand in its way. It’s rewarding and exciting for me to help business owners get organized so that they can focus their time, money, energy, and talents on what they truly excel at: running their companies and practices.

Organization, in my definition, doesn’t mean perfection, a totally clean desk or workspace, an iron-clad daily schedule, or a lack of creativity. It means clearing out whatever you don’t need–things, tasks, or processes–and creating simple, effective, customized systems and habits that allow you to easily do what you need to do, access what you need to access, and achieve great things.

I’d love to know about the organizing challenges you face in the course of running your business. Every other week, I’ll help one Small Biz Survival reader tackle the disorganization that’s keeping him/her from thriving in business.

Want some organizing help? E-mail me at info@organizedlife.org with your name, your location, a description of your business, and details on the organizing challenge you’d like to overcome. You can also comment here, but be sure to include an e-mail address so I can contact you for more info if needed. I’ll give my recommendations in a post to Small Biz Survival, so if you’d like to remain anonymous, let me know that when you e-mail me.

I appreciate the chance to be a guest blogger on Small Biz Survival, and I look forward to helping your businesses thrive!

New to SmallBizSurvival.com? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Get our updates.

About the Author
Latest by this Author

Becky McCray

Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.