Everyone leads such busy lives these days that it’s very easy to forget things.  How many times have you jotted an idea down on a post-it note and then lost it or bought an excellent bottle of wine and then couldn’t remember the name of it next time?

If you’re like me it probably happens quite often, but I found an excellent website this week that may just put an end to all that.  It’s called Evernote.

Evernote allows you to put your thoughts, ideas, inspiration and things to remember all in one place.  As well as typing text notes into it you can also store photos of things you want to buy, snaps of business cards or plane tickets or even clip pages from websites you’re researching.  Everything you capture is then processed and indexed ready for you to search.

It’s free to use, although there is a premium service for a small extra charge if you want a bigger upload capacity and enhanced security, and it can also be used with your mobile phone.

If you need some extra ideas on how it can be used, then check out this excellent list of 10 Great Ways to Use Evernote.

We had an interesting discussion on Time Management at the A1 Networking breakfast meeting last week.  As sole traders and small businesses it’s important that we manage our time properly so our busy days run smoothly and we accomplish everything we set out to do.  The following is a list of time management tips that can help us do just that:

• Plan your day first thing in the morning by writing a ‘To Do’ list and prioritise tasks.
• Do the things you don’t want to do first to get them out of the way.
• Put a limit on how often you check your emails – I try to limit myself to twice a day (first thing in the morning and mid-afternoon).
• Learn how to say No!
• Structure your day by taking proper breaks – eg 10 mins at 10.30am, lunch break at 1pm and 10 mins at 3.30pm.  Taking breaks helps you re-energise.
• Use your diary – put personal and business appointments in it so you can see how your week looks.
• If you’re researching something on the internet and you come across pages that are interesting but not relevant to what you’re doing, bookmark them into a folder with that day’s date on it so you can browse them later – saves you getting sidetracked!
• If you’re working on a big project plan out the steps you need to cover – it makes the task less overwhelming.
• Learn how to delegate.
• Organise yourself – do your filing once a day or every couple of days.  It makes it much quicker and easier to find things.
• Don’t take personal calls during your working hours.
• Set a time limit on your online networking sessions otherwise you find a whole morning has passed you by!
• Keep a note pad to hand throughout the day to jot down any thoughts or ideas that come to mind so you can work on them later.

Clare Evans, a personal and business coach, has some excellent time management articles on her website and is also offering a Free Time Management Audit to help you identify areas for improvement.  Go and have a browse – but only when you’ve finished your To Do list for the day!