Getting organized is always something we want to do—is always something we say we need to do.

But it always gets pushed to the bottom of our list because it seems as though there are more urgent things to do.

Urgent things do come up, but let’s face it. . . .

There’s also a lot of excuse making going on.

Getting organized doesn’t seem fun.  It seems overwhelming to a lot of small business owners.  So we find an excuse not to do it.

The BIG PROBLEM is that the need for structure and our avoidance of it leaves us feeling awful.  Everything feels like a mess.  We’re flying by the seat of our pants.  Things get lost.  We waste time hunting for them.  Schedules get mixed up. Client projects and meetings get mixed up.  Deadlines aren’t met.

Disorganization prevents us from showing up fully as business owners and leaders.  We begin feeling detached from our business.  Sometimes we get torn apart by so many crisis situations that it becomes unbearable.

Let’s cut through the excuses, so you can crush your chaos!

Excuse 1: I’m busy

I get it.  Trust me, I do.

You’ve got a ton of things to do.

So you keep making mental notes of what you “should” do. 

However, every time you set aside time to start, something comes up—a deadline, an emergency, or your sick child—and the extra time you plan to spend on organizing your business disappears.  And so the madness starts all over again.

The problem is that you genuinely believe that your busyness is temporary.

Things will get calmer, there’ll be a *better* time to get organized, or you’ll have more energy to do it on a different day.  There’ll be no deadlines, emergencies, or sick kids.  Life will be perfect.

Fact: There will never be a perfect time to organize your business unless you say so.

You will never find time for structures until you give creating structures as much importance as you give to finding and servicing clients or sitting down to map out your next 6 months.

You have control.  What’s your decision?

Excuse 2: I’m not an organized type of person

Creating and following structures might not be your thing.  In fact, there’s some part of you that rebels against structure.

You resist scheduling tasks on your calendar or carefully set up your projects on your calendar but then ignore them.

Do you get caught in this frustrating cycle?  You create new routines and stick with them for a few days. You actually enjoy how these systems make your days run smoothly, but then you just stop.  You blow them off and go back to doing things the old way even though it’s not particularly efficient.

Though your mind understands that you’ve got to optimize your systems and stick to these effective routines, your nature just wants to break the rules and go with the flow.

Fact: You don’t have to be a super-organized person to enjoy the benefits of an organized, successful business.  You just have to ensure that you work with people who keep things organized for you!

When you hire your support person, make sure you’re teaming up with someone who can be in charge of doing things like staying on top of your calendar, reminding you about important deadlines, and even systematizing certain areas of your business.

Not ready to hire help?

Start recognizing when you feel everybody should let you be chaotic and when you crave structure so that you can take advantage of your waves of creativity or easily switch into an organizational mode.

Excuse 3: I’ve let things become such a mess that I’ll never be able to get organized.

Yes, it is difficult to bring organization to something that’s very disorganized.

When there’s an endless list of things you need to do, it’s easy to feel like it’s impossible to even just start.

Fact: Overnight perfection isn’t necessary.

I wish our businesses were like apartments that we could work on as a side project—apply the necessary repairs, make the places beautiful and shiny, and then move in.  However, that’s not possible. You have to find a way to balance working ON as well as IN your business.  You have to work out the kinks of your systems as you create and implement them.

Set aside 15 minutes a day, or even a week, and work on one simple step that will help you get organized.  Break your systems-related work into small, manageable steps that you can take one at a time to reach your bigger goal.

I promise you that small consistent steps will take you much farther than trying to set aside several hours and giving up when you feel overwhelmed.

Excuse 4: I’ll get organized once I find the right tools.

I bet you have so many tech gadgets and software that you can’t even keep track of them.

You start using a tool only to abandon it a few weeks later.  Sometimes you make well-justified decisions, but many times you don’t use a tool long enough to see results.  Then, there are times when you continue paying for a tool just because you *think* that you’ll eventually use it!

Fact: Jumping from one tool to another affects your productivity, well-being, and revenues.

You are:

• exhausted by your constant quest for new and better tools.
• tired of wasting time moving information from one platform to another.
• frustrated because as you switch tools, you have start all over.

Want a super simple solution?

Turn Evernote into your go-to tool for managing your business.  You’ll quickly see that you don’t need 1,001 tools to manage different parts of your business.

Check out Evernote for Small Business  to finally organize your business and reclaim your sanity!

Already got your copy?  Tell me what you think in the comments below!