You might be a freelancer. In fact, I’m sure you are a freelancer. You have clients but keeping everything straight and organized is a pain and not really your best attribute.

boxed in design

1. Buy a Rolodex for business cards: put them in alphabetical order or by category. You can use a database, however, even though they are outdated, I like to use it because it’s right at my fingertips on my desk. In case I ever forget a company’s name, but remember it starts with an “f” I look under my “f”s and find it as opposed to logging onto a database and searching.
2. File cabinet — if you don’t already have one, you can get a cheap one from your local recycling center/goodwill/second-hand store for around $10-15.
3. Keep a wastebasket under your desk with a shredder for easy access to shred those unneeded papers for a clear workspace.
4. Print off a calendar for free! Here’s a quick, cheap, and easy way to schedule meetings, due dates, and keep you up-to-date. Put it on your desk or wall, wherever you look most, to keep you on track. Yes, you can use Google Calendar too, but I like to have something that sits above my desk and my tasks stare me in the face all day long.
5. A pad of paper and a pen: must-haves for any one! Even though we are living in a technological world, we still have ideas, a person calls and we have to jot something down, or we just need to write down a quick note to our self without opening a word document or email. Keep it on your desk at all times for personal reference. When you’re about to leave for lunch or are almost done for the day, go back and see if there’s anything you need to put on your calendar or file away for future reference. (Post-its are good to have handy too!)

Had to add one more.
6. Dry erase board. I live by these and you can get the paper that you can write on for a cheaper alternative. There are some boards that are dry erase style (they require Windex to clean) but you can score yourself a 4×4 sheet or bigger for $20 USD at HomeDepot. Good suggestion for those looking to do an entire wall out of dry erase board. They’re fun to draw on with friends when you get drunk too!

Where are my clients passwords?
Part 1 of the above lists works well with the passwords too. You can also keep a notepad file and just print it out once a week so you have a backup. Makes you look good when the client is constantly losing their passwords for things and calling you up and you have it right there on your desk. Nice.