How OneNote sustains my business organization style

I confess. I love to make lists.

My husband makes fun of me for it. He says, “You have lists of your lists.”

I need lists to keep myself organized and get things done.

As apps have become more and more popular, I’ve found multiple apps to create lists that organize different areas of my life. I organize my pantry with a pantry app. I have a list of what I wear each day on a wardrobe journal app. My books are listed in an app.

She sounds a bit crazy, you say? Do you actually wear everything in your closet?

I do, thanks to the list created by my app. Before I started using that app, I tended to wear the same 10 or so outfits, over and over.

Now I wear everything in my closet. It takes two to three months to get through all the clothing options. Sound worth it? It is. And, I’m not tired of my clothes and don’t spend money buying new clothes I don’t really need.

What the heck does this have to do with OneNote?

Well, for me, OneNote is the ultimate list making app. I use it to organize my business and my thoughts and activities surrounding my business. It keeps me from forgetting important names. It houses my to-do list. It holds my thoughts until I can turn them into actions.

So this week, I thought I’d give you an inside look at how I use OneNote to organize my business.

OneNote leads the charge

The thing I love the most about OneNote is it’s always with me. I use it the most on my laptop, because that’s where I do the most work.

But, it’s always on my phone as well, updated and ready to go. I can check off a completed item, look up a prospect name or see who needs an email sent to them while standing in line at the grocery store.

It makes me more productive because I can access what I need and get things done wherever I am. Nice.

I also love that I never worry about saving. All changes are automatically saved—great for those of us who don’t think about saving until it’s too late.

OneNote is easy to use and familiar, with a Microsoft Word-like format. And if you like to keep lists but also like some randomness (like me), you’ll love the free-flowing way you can plop bits of information any ole’ place on a page. Make it as pretty, or ugly, as you wish.

Now, let’s take a peek at some of my tabs.

Prospect tracking

This is my most important tab, as you could probably guess. So far, I have it divided into five pages:

• Prospects to pursue
• Pursuit in progress
• Pursuit ended
• Specific industry pursuits
• People I’ve met who are future possibilities

When I find a prospect I’d like to contact, I enter the business name, person to contact, their title and contact information. I also include any important notes. This entry stays on this page until I begin pursuit (initiate contact).

When I decide to email or call a prospect, I just hop into that page for the contact’s info. Once the call has been made or email sent, I move the prospect to the “pursuit in progress” page and add the date of contact. As the pursuit progresses, I note important dates or information.

If the pursuit stalls and appears to be going nowhere, I move the prospect to the “pursuit ended” page. I don’t delete a prospect but leave them here for future reference. I may even try the pursuit again if something has changed or I have a new service to offer. I never delete a prospect unless they go out of business.

So, what’s the “specific industry pursuits” page? When I find myself focusing on many prospects from one industry, I create a specific page for that industry. I might send out 10 emails in one day to a bunch of the same type of businesses. It’s easier to track follow-up emails needed when they’re all in one place.

I name that page for the specific industry being targeted. I actually have a specific industry named currently, but I’d rather not reveal what it is.

For the “people I’ve met” page, I include prospects I’m not sure I want to pursue yet. I might need to do more research on them or might not be sure I can help them. They’re in a holding pattern, for now. In the meantime, I won’t forget their name.

To-do lists

I couldn’t live without a to-do list. I knew this when I started my business but didn’t use OneNote initially to create my lists. I found myself creating to-do lists in all kinds of random places. I couldn’t always find them easily, and it bugged me. A lot.

OneNote has some templates you can use if you want a bit more structure. Their to-do list template is quite nice. I use this template on this tab and created two pages: daily to-do list and overall to-do list.

The template is set up as three lists: high priority, medium priority and low priority. I use the high priority list for the things I really want to get done that day. I put things that will need to get done soon on the medium priority list.

I haven’t used the low priority list yet. I guess I figure if it can’t get on at least the medium priority list, it must not be that important. I don’t need it in my head yet.

The template gives you a square check box by each item. I find it satisfying to put that check mark in the box when I complete a task. If you live to see those tasks checked off like I do, you’ll love this feature.

I don’t really use the overall to-do list as much as I thought I would. Maybe I will as things move along, but for now, it just sits there. Waiting.

I have a third page in this tab I’ve named “groups to join.” I thought it fit with to-do lists since it’s one big to-do list of its own, focusing on one aspect of marketing. I keep a running list of groups I’m considering and how much it costs to join them.

Other less critical tabs

Blog ideas

I keep a list of blog ideas here as they come to me. If I don’t put them on this page when they pop into my brain, I risk forgetting the idea completely.

I don’t always delete ideas after I’ve used them. I’ve found I sometimes can think of another twist on the same subject when it’s in front of me. I guess I’m more of a visual thinker than I even realize.

Project timing

This page provides a place to keep track of how long an activity or project takes me to complete. If a 700-word blog post took 45 minutes to proofread for one client, that information helps me to price another similar project later.

Links to websites

Have you ever found a valuable website and thought, “I’ll remember that one for sure?” Then you couldn’t remember what it was? Yeah, me too.

I know you can bookmark it or save it to your favorites, but that information won’t necessarily be on my phone when I need it later. If I put it on this page in OneNote, it’s always with me.

Fee structure

I offer several different services. I can’t always remember exactly what my fee ranges are for each one. I solved that problem by putting them into the “fees” tab in OneNote. I have a page for each type of service I offer: proofreading, copyediting and copywriting. If I add a new service, I’ll simply add a new page. Easy peasy.

Vendors/partners

I bet you know exactly what goes in this tab. Yep, anyone I might subcontract or call for help on a project goes here. Right now I have two pages: marketing groups and graphic designers. I just met a great business owner who helps companies plan and run their social media marketing. She’ll be added today.

This list allows me to refer these partners when needed as well.

Give OneNote a try

I know this sounds like a promotional ad for OneNote, but I have absolutely no connection to them. I just really like using it. It works for me. Maybe it can work for you.

Hopefully seeing how I use OneNote can help you find new ways to use it or get you on the road to greater organization in your life. Do you have some great tips for OneNote? I’d love to hear about them. I’m always looking for new, fabulous ways to be organized. Pop a comment in below if you have one!