If you're an entrepreneur, chances are you have some affinity for organization. Or, at least the desire to be more organized.

For those of you who've been listening to this podcast for a while, you know that I've taken on a full-time job when the coronavirus hit my county in Oregon. I made this choice for a number of reasons, but saving up money for our Costa Rica move was the main one.

And, as mentioned before, this has changed the dynamic of my business. I no longer have a part-time job to supplement my business earnings, I work full-time and have a Side Hustle. 

And one of the biggest hurdles I've encountered since my writing, editing, and coaching business went side hustle is the lack of focus. Which is ironic, because I'm usually fairly exceptional at focusing and, indeed, is what I based my coaching business on. Nevertheless, what my lack of focus boiled down to was this:

On Fridays, when I can focus on my business, instead of being at the day job, I often spend precious hours re-acclimating myself. I would look around at my notes and lists and check my email and do a few tasks that I knew I needed to do, but it would take quite a while to "pick up where I left off" on the projects. 

That's why I love lists so much. I don't have to remember what I was doing at the close of last Friday's workday--seven days ago! I can just look at the list and know what I'm supposed to be doing next.

But. My lists are all over the place. I've got two journals and two Scrivener files with their own folder "lists."

I needed a place to put all my research and lists and plans together. I needed Command Central for my business.

And that, my friend, is nothing more than a three-ring binder and some sheet protectors. Dry erase markers are good, too. That's what I use.

Here's what's in my control journal right now--and it will change as my needs grow. That's the beauty of using a three-ring binder.

On the back of my title page (hey! I'm a writer.), which says: CEO Command Control Journal, Willow Bench Books, I write affirmations or inspirational quotes.

The next page is my morning and day routine for Fridays, which is the only day I can work on my business. I put all the things on this that I want to regularly accomplish on a Friday. Everything from watering the plants and checking my emails to project work, sample edits, podcast work, my admin, and my monthly task--which I'll explain in a bit.

Behind a sheet protector, I can use a dry erase marker to check off the things I do, keeping me on track and focused.

I also have a separate page for my Daily Focus and my Daily Deadline. Usually, the focus is business-related, but the deadline tends to be personal or house related. Going to an appointment or a meeting, or calling to get a tree removed, or signing up for an event before the early bird pricing ends.

Daily Focus is usually my most important work for that day. If nothing else gets done, it better be this.

I also have an After Work Routine page and a Saturday morning page, because I want to write on Saturday mornings. Both fiction and non-fiction work.

I have a separate page for Podcast Articles I'll be writing, and a current project checklist I can refer to throughout each month until that particular project is at an end. (I have a separate writing and publishing checklist I use when I'm writing a book.)

What about those tasks that you need to do on a not-so-regular basis? Monthly Tasks. I wrote down all the things I wanted to do within the scope of my business office in particular and separated them into different weeks of each month. 

For example, I want to regularly cull the clutter in my office. I am a paper hoarder. Well, not really, but I do have a crappy filing system. Mostly it looks like stacks of papers, journals, and books on every surface in the office, including under furniture. So, I want to look at that on a regular basis. But it's not something I feel called to do every time I'm working in here--which, for me, means weekly.

If there are roughly four weeks in a month, I consolidated my monthly tasks into THREE groupings, leaving the afternoon of the last week of the month for a personal sabbatical. Knowing that, if I didn't get my tasks done for that month, I most likely would need to spill over into my sabbatical time to finish those tasks. 

And I REALLY don't want to do that.

Having a free afternoon to myself, with no obligations, sounds heavenly--if I believed in heaven. Which, I guess I do, in my own paganistic sort of way. Making me highly motivated to finish my tasks.

I've designated the first week for culling the clutter because I can get so much more done if my environment supports that. Culling the clutter means, for me: straightening my books into the actual bookcase, filing papers in a more efficient way than they currently are, tidying my desks, replacing the candles, updating my whiteboards, tidying my storage closet and wardrobe, and recycling paper. I have a housekeeper that comes twice a month, so I don't need to worry about the dusting or vacuuming.

The second week of the month is designated for cleaning my email inbox, deleting and unsubscribing with abandon. I can always find what I'm looking for when I need it, I don't need it coming straight to my inbox.

It's like the equivalent to inviting any employee (or friend, for that matter) to stop by your office for any random reason whenever they pleased. Talk about distraction.

That's what texting is for.

And I keep my phone silenced all the time now.

The notifications (even on vibrate) were way too distracting for me.

Week three of the month is for paying bills and catching up with my volunteer work at Willamette Writers. It usually involves emailing or filling out accounting forms. Occasionally setting up a meeting.

Week Four, as stated, is for NOTHING. If I can swing it.

It's important to engage with your email list on a regular basis. Some camps say weekly, some monthly. But whatever your industry demands, consistency is key.

And I've dropped off the planet in terms of my email list. It is cold and dark.

So, I've got a new page designated for things I can email my list about. This page might just have bullet points of topics, or it could be a whole campaign of emails I want to send during a specific time, like for the launch of a new product or service.

Speaking of potential clients or customers, I have a checklist in my Command Journal for the Welcoming Sequence. What I want to provide for a new client as they just begin to work with me. I want to make their experience with me great, so I've got a list of things to do to create that environment for them.

On the back of this page are the questions I ask during free consultation cards. Otherwise, I'd get too involved in the conversation and forget to ask, and then the consultation wouldn't be as value-packed as I know it could've been.

Inevitably, while working, I remember something I need to do, or something I want to try to help my business grow, so instead of getting distracted by this, I can jot those ideas down on my Idea Bucket List (also called To Dos to Remember). I don't put this one in a sheet protector, because I'd be writing in an ink pen. I tuck it in the inside pocket of my 3-ring binder. 

Another page I tuck in here is Business Books I'd Like to Read.

Because we all need inspiration to grow and we all need to continue with our lifelong learning in order to live and work authentically.

The purpose for having your own CEO Control Journal is so, if you, like me, have limited time to work on and in your business--because you're straddling a day job and family and other commitments--you'll be able to hack your way to a FOCUSed frame of mind and efficiently utilize what little time you have to FINISH your projects.

James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, once said, (and I paraphrase), "Goals are important but designing systems is where progress is made. The purpose of goals is to win the game. Systems keep you playing the game."

I have a lot of goals. But I need systems like this CEO Control Journal to keep me in the game.

What do you do to stay focused on your side hustle?

Leave a comment at the podcast blog at valerieihsan.com/podcast-news.