To be a successful entrepreneur we need to be well-organized in order to maximize every minute of the day. Great organizational skills don’t necessarily mean having a clean desk, it means managing your time and resources. Managing your time is about leveraging and budgeting your most precious resource … you.

Unfortunately, very few management books and entrepreneurial programs take the time to give business owners strategies for time and organizational management. January is the month to get organized and get off to a fresh start.

“Getting organized is one of the top 5 New Year’s resolutions business owners make.” According Standolyn Robertson President of the National Association of Professional Organizers.

Here are a few simple steps to get you and your business organized.

Step One: Clean

up your act

Schedule a block of time to totally clean up your office. If necessary, pay employees overtime to help you tackle the mess. Tackle everything off your desk and set things on the floor. Throw away any piece of paper that you haven’t touched for a month. Next, go through your “in” basket and distribute everything you can. Use a filing method that you know you will continue to use.

Step Two: Prioritize

your tasks.

Take the time every morning to prioritize your projects and tasks. Too often we let the little things take over and consume our time. When you prioritize remember to rank in terms of real importance. I like to label things as “must do,” “should do” and “nice to do (but could wait). This is an area that many of us slip up on.

Step Three: Be strategic.

First, use a calendar that works for you. It takes six weeks or more to adapt to a new system.

When you are scheduling, set aside an hour or two every day to return phone calls or check e-mail.

Take advantage of voice mail to leave after-hour messages. Don’t be afraid to let your assistant or your voice mail pick up your phone.

If you are constantly interrupted by phones and e-mails you won’t have quality time to complete tasks.

Try scheduling “meeting days” and “project days.”

If you plan all your appointments on meeting days you can arrange to have blocks of time to get projects completed on project days.

Know your “prime time.” Understanding your own “personal energy cycle” means you are using your time effectively and getting the difficult jobs and tasks completed when you are at your best.

Don’t forget to remember to schedule ourselves “downtime” so we can re-charge our personal energy cycle.

I invite you to join us at Napa Valley College’s Customer Service Academy: Time and Organizational Management at the Napa Chamber of Commerce on Jan. 31, 6-9 p.m. at the Napa Chamber of Commerce.

The training will feature Sandy Stelter, of Strategic Organizing Solutions.

Stelter, a professional organizer and business advisor, will provide tips and strategies to get your business organized for maximum productivity and profitability. The cost is $50.

Info, 253-3210.