Organizing for the Future: You'll Thank Yourself Later

Running a business, especially in the early stages, can feel like juggling a thousand things at once. With so many moving pieces, staying organized can sometimes feel like a luxury you don't have time for. But here's the thing: the more organized you are now, the easier everything becomes later on. And seriously - future you will thank you for putting in the effort to get things in order.

In this post, I’m going to share some simple, low-cost (even free!) strategies that will help you keep your business running smoothly. These tips will set you up for success, help you stay focused, and make it easier to scale when the time comes. Let’s dive in!

1. Get Your Files Organized: Both Digital and Physical

When your business is growing, keeping your files organized becomes a game-changer. You’re already so busy and stressed, you don’t want to keep looking for something you know you have. Whether it’s digital or physical, having a solid system in place helps you stay on top of things and reduces the stress of scrambling to find documents. This also helps you access things “on the go” - as you likely often are.

Digital Organization:

I usually start with cloud storage. Free tools like Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive are your best friends here - I love Google Drive most. They let you store and organize everything in folders, and you can access them from anywhere. Plus, when you're ready to bring in team members, you can easily share files with little to no hassle.

Quick Tip: Create a simple folder and subfolder structure to help you stay organized. For example:

• General Business: Licenses, registrations, etc.

• Marketing: Social media plans, blog posts, promotional materials

• Operations: Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), workflows, process maps

• Etc.

File Naming Tip: Make your life easier by naming files clearly. Instead of “Contract,” name it something consistent like  “Contract_proposed_OTHERCompanyName_2025” This will save you tons of time down the road. And then once the contract is signed, “Contract_signed_OTHERCompanyName_2025”.

Physical Organization:

Even if you work mostly digitally, you may still have some paper documents, like signed contracts or invoices. A basic filing cabinet or a set of labeled binders can work wonders. The key is to keep things simple and declutter regularly. I also recommend you still scan these in to save them digitally as well. When you’re ready to dispose of physical documents, I suggest shredding them.

2. Stay Focused and on Track 

We all know how easy it is to get sidetracked when you’re wearing all the hats in your business. Without a clear to-do list, it’s easy to forget things or get overwhelmed. That’s where task management tools come in (you can also start with a standard physical or digital to-do list, again - I prefer digital so I can have it with me anywhere.)

Free Tools to Try:

• Trello, Teamwork, Asana and Monday.com are great alternatives if you want to dive deeper into task management. Some offer free versions, and they all let you set deadlines, track progress, and assign tasks.

Pro Tip: If you don’t want to jump into new tools just yet, Google Calendar or a planner can help you time-block your day. Schedule things as much as you can, block out chunks of time for focused work, and don’t forget to prioritize your most important tasks.

Daily Checklists: Every morning (or the night before), make a list of the top 3-5 things you need to do. The sense of accomplishment you get from checking them off is a huge motivator.

3. Prepare to Scale From Anywhere

This is the big one: to scale your business with less hassle and setbacks, you need to have systems that can grow with you. These systems will help you handle more customers, more orders, and more team members.

At some point, you’ll need help. Whether it’s bringing on full-time staff, freelancers, or contractors, having systems in place makes it so much easier to bring people on board without chaos.

Collaborative Tools:

• Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) is a great, budget-friendly tool for collaboration. It lets you share digital to-do lists, documents and spreadsheets with your team in real-time.

• Teamwork, Asana or Trello also make it easy for your team to see what needs to be done, so everyone stays on the same page.

Tip: Start documenting your Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) now. These are just step-by-step guides for how to do common tasks, like onboarding clients or processing orders. Having SOPs in place will save you time and energy as your team grows.

4. Automate Where You Can: Save Time and Focus on What Matters

Automation might sound fancy, but it doesn’t have to be. There are plenty of simple, free tools that can save you time on repetitive tasks.

Free Automation Tools to Check Out:

• Calendly is amazing if you’re tired of back-and-forth emails to schedule meetings. Just send your link, and people can book a time that works for both of you.

• Otter.ai is one of the top tools for automatic transcription during Zoom calls. It can record meetings and transcribe them in real time, capturing both dialogue and context. The app can highlight key points, generate summaries, and allow you to search through the transcript later. Otter.ai also integrates with Zoom, so it can automatically capture your meetings.

• Google Calendar Not only does it help you schedule meetings and events, but it also allows you to set multiple reminders - so you’ll never miss a deadline, meeting, or important task. With customizable notifications, you can stay on top of everything and stay organized with ease. Plus you can add multiple calendars and color code items!

Conclusion: Organization is Key to Future Growth

I also encourage you to apply these same or similar strategies to your personal life because a well-organized home and routine can have a huge positive impact on your work life and overall mental load. Taking the time to get organized now might feel like a lot of work, but trust me - it can save you so much time and stress in the future. Whether it’s streamlining your work life or managing daily personal to-dos, organization allows you to focus on what truly matters and can help avoid double work. By setting up simple systems to keep yourself organized, track tasks, and prepare for growth, you’ll be more ready to handle whatever comes your way. Your future self will thank you for it! 

Bonus Tools for Your Organization Journey:

To help make your organizing even easier, I’ve put together a few planner templates that you can use. Whether you need something for daily, weekly, or quarterly planning, there’s something here for you. Simply pick the version that fits your style, or feel free to browse other templates online for inspiration. Some templates I’ve edited and customized to fit my needs and some are items from other pros I’m able to share! I’m excited to make these available for you so you can adapt them to your business. Think of it as a jumpstart to help you stay on track as you build your systems.

You can find the templates below! The goal is to create a planning structure that helps you and your business run efficiently, so take what works and make it your own!

Customizable Planner Templates.pdf

Download PDF • 20.84MB

Are you ready to start getting organized?

Begin with one small step today - whether it’s setting up your file folders, using a task management tool, or automating a repetitive task. What’s one thing you’ll do today to make your business run more smoothly? Let me know in the comments!