James Burt’s latest ‘e-Wealth Daily’ article is titled “Carving Out a Place of Your Own”. [‘e-Wealth Daily’ Article]


James Burt’s latest ‘e-Wealth Daily’ article:

Carving Out a Place of Your Own

How often have you been in someone’s house, entered a room, and they said, “Excuse the mess…” or “Don’t go in there! It’s a disaster area?” Maybe you’ve even said this to a guest yourself.

I grew up in a single parent home and learned to take on some domestic household chores early in life. I’ve carried these traits right up ’til now and like to keep my place fairly clean all of the time. My buddies often jeer at me a bit, but I remind them that their girlfriends and wives seem to do most of the work for them.

But before I get preaching, I always caution any guests I have about my home office. If it’s true that genius people need to work in a messy area, well, I will diligently await my Nobel Prize’s delivery. My desk gets covered in bits of scrap paper with doctor-grade scribbles and other receipts, stationary, and magazines. Around me are other books, computer program software, and my trusty stereo if I want to play some music during break time. That’s my work space and, yes, it is a bit of a disaster area.

Sound familiar?

If your work space is like mine, I think that’s a good thing. I truly do. It means you are vigorously working at your info marketing business and have created a unique, albeit messy, space to complete the necessary tasks at hand. A lot of other people of all professional walks of life need the same thing — painters need studios, chemists need long lab benches, and info marketers need their own office or work space. It’s part of the job.

But it can get problematic. Time and again, I’ve seen info marketers, myself included, let their space take over and interfere with their professional life. Important items are lost or accidentally discarded. Even a phone number that could have led to a great new gig gets buried and is probably lost forever.

You can avoid this though. When either outfitting your new info marketing office space or redoing your existing one, you should:

— Get organized: Some people can remember exactly where they left something or where, under stacks of paper and books, the bill for their Internet service is. That’s a great gift to have, but the reality is that few people can really do this. Being really organized is not always the most fun for an info marketer, but it is often the most necessary. I always suggest to info marketers that, at the bare minimum, they should keep some binders, a filing cabinet with folders, and a good desk organizer as well. The binders you can use to store all of your receipts, and your filing cabinet can keep track of all of your info products alphabetically. A desk organizer, usually just a two- shelf unit or four-prong wire stand, can keep whatever current projects you have right at your fingertips while not right in your workspace. A good bookcase for your bigger print info sources are recommended as well. All of these items you can get from your local stationary shop.

— Be comfortable: I often hear odd stories of writers working while sitting in the bathtub or using a stack of cinder blocks to both sit on and prop their computer on. I am not one to tell others how to work, so I say more power to these people. But personally I think info marketers do their best work relaxed and in comfortable working areas. That said, you should have a good chair with strong back support and a desk that is set to your height. You are going to be doing a lot of sit-down work, so I recommend being in the best position to do so.

— Keep the necessary tools at hand: Don’t keep a lot of things on your desk that you don’t need. Some pens and paper that you can grab quickly are good, plus reaching access to your phone, and a good calendar or agenda is needed to schedule appointments. That’s really it. Don’t be afraid to clean up once a week to discard anything that is extraneous. And be wary of eating or drinking at your desk or work area. A bad spill can ruin some good work beyond repair.

— Put your computer to work: I’ve written about the importance of digital archives in the past, but these days pretty much anyone can actually have one. Whatever print items you can scan or copy onto a digital file, it is worth doing. You can store them right on your hard or mobile drives and access them at a later date. It used to be that you needed to save print copies of everything you created, but now there is a way that your computer storage space can really work for you and your business.

My colleague Bill Hebden has written with pride about his workspace — he’s in his own home, surrounded by his own material, he can enjoy working at his own speed while listening to baseball on his own radio. If it sounds too good to be true, it isn’t. It’s something most people crave and is really attainable for info marketers. Provided you set it up properly and keep it organized, your office will put you in the best position to achieve info marketing success.

e-Wealth Daily

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The e-Wealth Daily Bulletin brings you daily tips, advice and breaking news related to home businesses, small businesses and internet marketing. Our team of experts gives you the information you need to take your business pursuits to the most profitable level. Founded by Adrian Newman in 2003, the e-Wealth Daily Bulletin and www.ewealthdaily.com are a division of Lombardi Publishing with online newsletters reaching over 100,000 subscribers each month.

* IMNewsWatch would like to thank e-Wealth Daily for granting permission to reprint this article.

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