Running a craft business means that you will always need to stay organized. If you don’t have a way to organize everything, then you may find yourself stressed out when trying to locate important things you need. It’s vital to stay organized so that your craft business can continue to thrive and grow.
Declutter Your Workspace
Take a look around your desk or where you do most of your crafting. It’s probably a mess if you’re anything like me. Take the time weekly to declutter everything to keep it from piling up. You can do this by creating a catch all space where you can put important papers like invoices and bills, setting up a system to scan in important documents to your computer to reduce the amount of papers you have lying around, and getting cables under control so you can zip tie them and get them out of the way.
Don’t forget to also take the time to improve your workspace once it’s decluttered. A few tips to help you do this include: Add more storage if you need it, place some office plants around your desk to help improve the aesthetics, and switch to a standing desk to keep you on your feet so that you aren’t tempted to sit and procrastinate.
Create and Use To-Do Lists
Most people don’t like to-do lists, but they can be a lifesaver. Find a place where you can jot down everything that you need to get done, and don’t worry about putting them into any particular order. Then group the tasks that you can do together or at least in the same block of time so that you can then prioritize which group of tasks you’ll do first. Mark things off the list as you finish them to give you a sense of accomplishment.
When I create my to-lists, I like to look at my master list every day and then I try to pick something from it that I can accomplish that day. I try to at least have 3 tasks that I’m confident that I can get done with the time that I have, and if I achieve anything else then it’s a bonus.
Plan Social Media Posts
Spend a day where you schedule all your social media posts so that you don’t have to be logged in every single day to interact with your customers. For instance, Facebook utilizes Facebook Business Suite that allows you to organize your business on both Facebook and Instagram so that you can schedule posts and also keep track of who is interacting with them. Business Suits also allows you to examine your business numbers and stats so that you can determine the type of content you should be posting.
If you’re having trouble coming up with content for social media, examine what other businesses like yours are doing to get their customers to interact. Maybe they ask fun questions or post silly memes, or they might even have great graphics or amazing photos that get their customers talking. You can also purchase social media graphic packs from websites like Etsy or make your own on Canva so that you continue to have unique content to post.
Organize Your Electronics
If you spend a lot of time on your computer, you’ll notice that your desktop may become cluttered with an excessive amount of files. This happens to me frequently as I am always working on new files, graphic designs and blog posts. My desktop becomes littered with a lot of icons. Don’t forget to take the time to organize them into folders, delete files you don’t need and empty out the trash on your computer so that it runs smoother. I also make sure I update software monthly, and I run diagnostics when my computer appears to run slower than usual.
Once your computer is running smoother, then take a look at your other electronics like your phone and tablet. They may have unnecessary apps on them, you may want to adjust the notifications your getting from certain apps or you might consider even going through and organizing your emails more efficiently on your devices.
Create a Schedule or Planner to Use Daily
Schedules and planners can appear to be too complicated or time consuming, but they don’t have to be either. You can create a digital schedule on your phone’s calendar, buy a planner that’s ready to use or download and print planner pages that suit your needs. If you’re looking for the latter, check out our digital shop where we sell planner pages to help you stay organized.
After you figure out what type of planner works best for you, then you need to be sure that you actually use it. Find a time every day where you open it up and write in it or at least look at it so you know what is coming up and what you need to get accomplished. Planners can be a great place for not just your business dates, but you can also use them to keep your personal affairs in order as well.
Keeping everything organized for your craft business can seem like a daunting task, but you really only need to spend a few minutes daily making sure that everything stays under control. Set up a weekly block of time for the bigger organization tasks, and you’ll be well on your way to keeping your craft business up and running without too many hiccups.
