• Survey
  • Book Becky to speak
  • The book: Small Town Rules
  • Shop Local video
  • SaveYour.Town

Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource

A row of small town shops
  • Front Page
  • Latest stories
  • About
  • Guided Tour
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • RSS

My cheesy productivity folder

By Becky McCray

I’ve been asked about the simple folder I use to manage all my many projects. I call it cheesy because there really is nothing special to it. I just picked a way that worked for me.

Let me walk you through it.

Each week, I use this folder to review my projects as I plan out the coming week. That way I can keep in mind my important goals and projects.

What tricks do you use to keep all your enterprises moving forward?

Follow up: Jen asked what I use to manage the day-to-day. Here’s the video: My Weekly Planner.

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

  • About the Author
  • Latest Posts

About 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.
  • Zoom Towns: attracting and supporting remote workers in rural small towns - December 10, 2020
  • In an economic crisis, spend your brainpower before your dollars - November 25, 2020
  • Video: How to fill empty car dealership buildings for the holidays - November 6, 2020
  • How has 2020 changed the challenges rural small towns face? Tell us here - October 20, 2020
  • The Idea Friendly Method to surviving a business crisis - October 6, 2020
  • Join me for the Rural Renewal Symposium online Oct 13 - September 26, 2020
  • Cheap placemaking idea: instant murals - September 11, 2020
  • Refilling the rural business pipeline - July 7, 2020
  • Huge vacant buildings: grants to renovate? - June 9, 2020
  • Economic self defense for small towns  - June 7, 2020

December 1, 2010 Filed Under: entrepreneurship, organization, planning, Small Biz 100 Tagged With: service businesses, video

Wondering what is and is not allowed in the comments?
Or how to get a nifty photo beside your name?
Check our commenting policy.
Use your real name, not a business name.


Don't see the comment form?
Comments are automatically closed on older posts, but you can send me your comment via this contact form and I'll add it manually for you. Thanks!

Comments

  1. Thursday Bram says

    December 2, 2010 at 2:55 pm

    I really like the idea of including mentors and mentees in project planning. I’m going to ‘borrow’ that and start incorporating it in my own projects.

    I’m mostly online with both big picture and little picture stuff (it’s harder for me to lose an entire computer than a folder), but I use notecards to help me get clear on exactly what I’m going to be putting into my online project management tools, since other people have access to most of them.

  2. Becky McCray says

    December 2, 2010 at 3:32 pm

    Thursday, note cards and online are just as good as my cheesy folder, as long as it works for you. And more mentoring is always a good thing.

  3. Andy Hayes says

    December 2, 2010 at 11:59 pm

    I actually emailed Becky, but I’ll say it here publicly too – love love love the mentor/mentee suggestion. It’s just fabulous.

  4. Becky McCray says

    December 3, 2010 at 12:54 am

    Andy, I’m pretty sure it was Jon Swanson who suggested it, and I decided to implement it this way.

  5. jen says

    January 4, 2011 at 8:54 pm

    Becky – As a Professional Organizer I love the simplicity of your system. I also love that it’s clearly a “big picture” item and the day to day items are kept elsewhere. You know I want to see that now, right?

    Thanks so much for sharing it.

  6. Becky McCray says

    January 5, 2011 at 4:48 am

    Yeah, I know. I have that answer recorded, and video to come soon. :)

  7. Becky McCray says

    January 11, 2011 at 8:26 pm

    And here is that second video, on my weekly planner.

  8. Doreen says

    August 1, 2011 at 3:48 pm

    Hah, just what I was looking for. I was thinking I needed some kind of folder to keep track of things but with all the paperwork generated I was visualizing a highrise of a folder. Now I can focus more on just having a “big picture” type of tracking folder. This has helped me consolidate my ideas. And I love sticky notes…..

  9. Becky McCray says

    August 1, 2011 at 4:10 pm

    Thanks, Doreen. Glad you found some inspiration in it.

Trackbacks

  1. My Weekly Planner says:
    March 20, 2013 at 11:22 pm

    […] I told you about my project folder, Jen asked for my day-to-day planning tool. So here it is: a simple weekly […]

Howdy!

Glad you dropped in to the rural and small town business blog, established in 2006.

We want you to feel at home, so please take our guided tour.

Meet our authors on the About page.

Have something to say? You can give us a holler on the contact form.

If you would like permission to re-use an article you've read here, please make a Reprint Request.

Want to search our past articles? Catch up with the latest stories? Browse through the categories? All the good stuff is on the Front Page.

Shop Local

Buy local buttonReady to set up a shop local campaign in your small town? You'll need a guide who understands how we're different and what really works: Shop Local Campaigns for Small Towns.

Best of Small Biz Survival

What is holding us back? Why does every project take so long in small towns?

How any business can be part of downtown events by going mobile

Concert-goers talking and enjoying the evening in downtown Webster City, Iowa.

Why do people say there’s nothing to do here then not come to our concerts?

Retailers: Fill all empty space, floor to ceiling

More of the best of Small Biz Survival

Copyright © 2021 Becky McCray
Front Page · Log in