By Taryn Jerez

This column is meant to serve as a resource for readers who seek inspiration and knowledge for building their own small business brands. Through actionable advice, find the encouragement to help you keep living your life with hustle and heart.

Do you ever have those moments when you feel like you’re juggling more than a circus performer?

You look around and wonder how some people seem to be able to manage it all without resembling so much as a fraction of the hot mess you currently feel like. Surely there must be some secret weapon, right? Something that “they” know that the rest of us don’t?

If you asked me what that was a few years back, I would have told you their secret weapon must have been a great personal assistant because I was asking all the same questions. I also needed to know the secret behind these multi-tasking mavens!

While women have a knack for packing their days full of productivity and endless tasks, when you add being a small business owner into the mix, things can get a little more than tricky. I learned, in time, that the secret weapon that I had been so eager to find was organization.

Something that sounds so simple can be a complete game changer! When you take the time to get organized, the benefits don’t just affect your business, but flow into your life in general.

Here are just a few examples of what organization can do for you:

• Increases focus
• Boosts productivity
• Helps decrease stress and anxiety
• Makes you feel more accomplished
• Provides clarity for short and long-term goals

Stop trying to juggle everything at once.

While being organized might seem like a no-brainer, it’s easy for people to get caught up in everything that has to get done and, instead, fall into the trap of doing the complete opposite. Allow yourself to prioritize your tasks and hone in on them one by one in order of importance. A little tunnel vision can help you concentrate on each goal or task and complete it, so you can move to the next one. Even little things, like organizing your workspace so you can find things easier, and reviewing your schedule in advance to avoid the stress of being overbooked, can make a huge difference. It’s when we’re trying to do everything all at once that problems arise, like missing key details or opportunities that were right in front of us.

Find what works best for you.

My husband often jokes with people that his wife likes to make lists of the lists she has to make. While I can safely say that I’m not that bad, I can’t remember the last time I had a day that didn’t include a list. I’m talking anything from shopping needs, website updates, workout plans, blog post ideas – you name it. While juggling my small business and the rest of my life, I learned quickly that keeping to-do lists was the best way to help keep me organized. You have to find out what works for you! Maybe it’s creating to-do lists like myself or writing things down in a planner or keeping a calendar on your smartphone? Do you get more out of scheduling your workload at the beginning of each week or starting from scratch every morning? To feel the most on top of your game, try different methods out and see what gets you there.

Be consistent.

It is a common belief that it takes 21 days of doing something consecutively to make it become a habit. The basic reasoning behind this? Practice makes perfect. If you’ve created a workflow for each day that makes you feel the most organized, continue to follow it until it becomes second nature. That planner you started using? It’s only as good as the days you write in it! Keep that consistency going to truly reap the rewards of your organization efforts! Of course, always give yourself grace and know that, superpower or not, it takes time to get organized. Just remind yourself that life happens and shakes things up from time to time but you have the power to get right back on track.