There is something so refreshing about kicking off the new year in a totally organized space. Do you get the organization bug like we do each January? It’s one of our favorite things!
While we wish we could spend all of our time decluttering and organizing our personal homes (maybe someday!), what we really love is an organized office or work space to allow us to more efficiently GET. THINGS. DONE. When we’re in our work zones, we want optimal organization to help lead to optimal work performance and efficiency.
While we get that everyone organizes their spaces a little differently and based on their own preferences, we’ve found a few tricks along the way to help make our work spaces really work for us. These tricks are specifically designed around making our BUSINESS run more efficiently so that it can be as successful as possible.
We think these tips could help you with your business, better time management, and improved success! So we hope you enjoy them!
3 Tricks to Keep Your Business Organized & See Higher Success
1. Create Processes and Systems
Don’t click away! This one is SUCH a big one and can be a huge game-changer in your business. Whether or not you work out of your home, have a storefront / location with an office, or simply travel for all of your gigs, creating processes and systems will help eliminate confusion and disarray when it matters most.
A system can help turn a “What do I do with this?” to “I will move this here, tackle it at X time, and then it will be completed in time for X.” While every system will have a different purpose, consider what the goal is of the system you want to create and find the most efficient and systematic way to do it. Systems can be your friend, not your enemy!
If you’re wondering what to do about a task or object within your work space and wondering if it fits into a system, consider the question, “Could someone else walk in here and know what to do with this?” If the answer is “No”, create a system for it and document it. This small and simple process will allow you to think through the steps needed to keep your business optimally organized.
2. Keep Files Organized (Physical AND Digital)
Physical Files:
Raise your hand if you secretly love filing papers? Just us? Okay, we don’t LOVE doing it every day, but we do see the value in keeping papers, invoices, and other communications nice and organized within a filing system.
Filing systems don’t have to be as scary as you think. In fact, a simple file folder organizer can do wonders. Throw in some labels and you will already be one step closer to improving the overall organization of your business.
When it comes to filing, consider anything that would need to be potentially referenced in the future and make a place for it. Statements, bills, contracts, confirmation letters, and any other physical paperwork that is mailed to you related to your business COULD be needed in the future, right? Make a folder dedicated to that type of information and aim to file it as soon as you open the mail.
Digital Files:
We live in a digital world and SO much is communicated virtually. It makes sense when your inbox gets a little unorganized!
When it comes to the digital files related to your business (most often emails), our biggest tip is to go through your inbox, at minimum, weekly. If left unattended over 7 days or more, it can be a nightmare to comb through! If you dedicate at least an hour or two once a week, organizing your inbox can be much easier!
Tip #2 for digital filing is to create project-specific folders and to utilize labels within your email system. By creating a folder for a specific project, you know exactly where to go or put something when that notification goes off in your mailbox.
3. Make Your Most-Used Tools Easily Accessible
How many “tools” or programs do you use each day related to your business? We will give you our number: 18! This is not an exaggeration and we truly access, open, or grab this amount (or more!) on a regular basis.
Because we need so many things in a working day, it would make sense to have these things readily available and EASY to access. We recommend this to you as well, keeping your most used items, programs, or tools in easy reach and quickly accessible either on your computer, phone, or in your office / work area.
For our digital programs that we use regularly, we put them on our dock for quick opening. For the physical tools we need during work hours (think iPad, stylus pen, planner, etc.) we always store them in the same place to charge, update, etc. We even have a refill station for our waters and coffee organized efficiently near our desk! Think optimal organization for optimal performance.
BONUS TIP
We can’t end before sharing this last tip! And this has to do with digital organization (a huge part of not getting overwhelmed in business!)
We recommend setting up email filters so that there is less work and visual distraction in your inbox. By setting up filters, you can automatically avoid filtering through spam or unwanted messages and focus only on the messages that matter.
Watch this helpful tutorial on how to set up email filters!
By following these organizational tips, you can run your business more efficiently and effectively, further seeing more success when your time is spent on what matters most and helping you grow.
Do you find organizing things, both in your personal life and in your business, relaxing? Maybe taking on these tips will be therapeutic for you! We wish you luck!
Want more business tips to help you be successful? Check these posts out!