•  As a company of one, you have to put the pressure on yourself to get things done. •  Getting organized and getting out there. •  Utilizing the TRAF system to get things done.

If the dress code in your office is "no bathrobe after 10 a.m." then you're probably working as a company of one.

It may be only temporary, or it may be a career. And it may start out as one and become the other -- there's something very seductive about making your morning commute down a hallway, and looking at your calendar to see that the useless, boring meetings add up to just about zero hours again this week.

But being a company of one has its downside, too. You're all alone in there. There's nobody to turn to for help, whether it's simple administrative support, or the kind of stimulation that sparks off good ideas and solutions to problems. There's nobody to tell you no, but there's nobody to tell you to get going, either. And, without the externally imposed structure of meetings and project reports and deadlines, you may find it hard to organize the things you need to do -- and easy to put off the doing.

In a company of one, if your performance doesn't meet your expectations, you can't fire yourself. But, fortunately, you can get some good advice from Stephanie Winston. Her books, Getting Organized and The Organized Executive, have sold more than a million copies. Winston also publishes a monthly newsletter called "The Organized Executive."

Being a company of one sometimes looks terrifying, she says, but it shouldn't. "I hesitate to use the word 'discipline,' so I'll say people need commitment when they work on their own without external accountability to others." A company of one needs a plan, she says, and a commitment to that plan -- nothing rigid or exacting, but you should have in mind at the beginning of your day a handful of tasks to do that day.

It shouldn't be more than five, she says, because more gets to be overwhelming, and one key is to set limits. Then, for each task, decide when you're going to do them -- fit them realistically into other responsibilities. "Write them down, or put them into a computer. On a yellow pad, say you'll make phone calls from 9 to 10, revise resume from 10 to 11:30, so that you have sense of your day. If you've got a plan at least you can understand you've made a decision, and haven't just let time evaporate."

Computers are great tools for companies of one, Winston says, but they don't solve all the problems of information management. The paper still flows in, and the tide of email is rising higher. Computers may make managing all this information harder, rather than easier. "Calling a document on a PC a file did everybody a disservice by creating a conceptual link between a computer document and a filing procedure," she says. "Paper and electronic documents like email are two different things. Very often what a person should do is print out computer documents and file the paper. Electronic filing is very rigid. It works fine for things that are easily categorized, like contracts, but for general things, for email and articles, you need something more flexible. Maintaining a set of paper files by subject topic may actually save time in the long run, because you're not constantly searching your computer files for something you half remember."

If you're drowning in paper, Winston's TRAF system -- detailed in The Organized Executive -- may be a life saver (see additional information at bottom). But sometimes a system isn't enough, and you just plain need help to cope. But how do you get it?

Winston's answer is to look for a "virtual assistant." People think of help as a traditional secretary, dedicated to working for a manager all day long, she says, but that's a box you should think outside of. "If you can think of your tasks by type -- and explain them to someone -- you could assign them to different people for a few hours per week per month. There are people all over the country that will work by the hour. They type or file, and many can work online.

"I'm a big believer in the importance of delegation: anything anybody can do for you, you should find somebody to do. Put an ad in the local penny-saver newspaper or advertise online. Put up an index card at the supermarket. Look for student help. Just finding assistance a few hours a week will go far to lifting the burden."

And finding a virtual assistant has advantages both practical and psychological, Winston explains. "If you have someone to account to, especially a person you're paying, it will help impose structure on the day."

Working alone can be very good for some people: It allows you to set your own pace, your own style. But there are always tradeoffs, and even people who work alone because they don't like the interruptions and wasted time of office life still need human contact. It's very important to get out and be with your peers, Winston says. "Find a regular group to be a part of, and once a week have lunch with a friend."

More outside-the-box thinking is in order. "Think differently than you would in an office setting, which is pretty hierarchical. When you're alone, think horizontally. Rather than picking up the phone to call an individual, see if you can locate an association to be a part of, or find a sort an informal floating crap game. I belong to an informal group of women entrepreneurs who have similar concerns and experiences. We get together on a regular basis. It gives us an activity to anticipate, something to get dressed up and leave the house for."

You should look for a support group, particularly if you are looking for a job. A get-together job club sponsored by a Rotary club or a church is a good example. Or, show your executive talent and start your own.

Procrastination can be a big problem for a company of one because you have no outside pressure on you. "Our society is very psychologized. We look for deep, dark psychological causes for behavior," she says. But she thinks procrastination may be caused mostly by simply feeling overwhelmed -- we procrastinate because jobs seem too big, just too much to accomplish. There are, she says, three things you can do to beat it:

• Divide the task. Write down in a notebook all the smaller tasks that will make this big task happen. Break it up into things you can accomplish.

• As you make your daily list of five tasks, a few times a week slide in one or two tasks from the big task, so if you get half an hour you can make progress on it.

• Give yourself a reward. If you finally get started on something you've been delaying, reward yourself. Go to lunch. Buy that pair of shoes or computer gizmo you've wanted. It lowers the resistance factor.

Understanding the resistance factor is important, says Winston. "Often it reflects something else going on. You may really be resisting because you're not happy with something else that's going on. If you're working at home you may not be happy with your working space. Look for practical effects first, before you look for deeper psychological blocks.