--- Putting Things In Their Place

First and foremost, you should live by motto, "A place for everything and everything in its place". When you are finished with a piece of paper, a brochure or any other physical document - file it. What usually happens is that you finish using a piece of paper, "temporarily" put it in a stack and then have to spend two hours cleaning up after yourself once a week. Or, you may leave it in a stack and spend two hours a day digging through mess to find what you need.

Create a filing system that works for you personally and then use it! Perhaps you'd like a filing cabinet? There are also expandable folders and numerous other filing systems. Choose one you like, create a folder for it and put it where you can find it again if need be.

--- I'll Be Right There

How many times a day do you say (or think) that? Especially if you work from home, you probably have plenty of interruptions that take valuable time out of your day. If you're a work-at-home parent with young children, it may be a bit more difficult to end interruptions all together, but these tips will help.

1. Set "office hours". As much as possible, let your family know that between 8am and 11am, you'll be working. Then again from 1pm until 6pm you'll be "in your office". (Or whatever hours work best for you.)

2. Ignore your email. Well, partially, anyway. Unless you're expecting some urgent message, don't stop what you're going to run check your messages each time you hear "bell" ring. Decide on time frame that works best for you and then check your email at certain times during day. (Perhaps every three hours or so.) During rest of your work time, turn your email software off so you can resist temptation to check each message as it arrives.

I know all of us would like more surges and if you're like me, you tend to get a little discouraged at first when you start to feel effects of lulls. This is normal and although they say you get used to it as time goes on, I have to say I still get discouraged every year around this time, but I've since learned how to deal with it a little more positively.

Since my slow season hits with a bang, I would quickly forget how much I complained about having no time and being extremely stressed during surge. So now I try to think of it as "The Eye of Storm"... calm, quiet, but with promise of a surge to come.

Yes, it's true... there are those big gurus who claim to still surge no matter what time of year it is -- and I don't doubt them -- but for people like you and me, it just doesn't happen no matter how hard you try or how hard you work. I'll admit that my lull isn't as slow as it used to be since my name has gotten out there a bit, but it's STILL slower than any other time of year.