When I need motivation to focus on organizing, I like to think of the following quote:
“For every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned.”
Anonymous
Organizing not only saves you time, but it can help reduce stress and increase productivity. There’s just something refreshing about feeling organized. Here are 10 tips to help you with organizing your business.
Identify your priorities and set clear goals
If you don’t know what you’re working towards, you’re going to waste a lot of time walking in circles. Establish your priorities and goals for the year, month, week, and even day. This gives you destinations to work towards and should be considered step one in organization.
Create a schedule and stick to it
Yes, this is easy to say and hard to do for many of us, but the benefits of sticking to a schedule can’t be overstated. A good schedule will keep you on task, prevent you from wasting time, and increase your productivity.
Use a task management system to prioritize your tasks
Prioritizing your tasks is key! Don’t waste time on a task that can wait for a week when there are three tasks that must be completed today. Fortunately, there are many great ways to manage your tasks, from something as simple as Google Tasks, to Trello, or Asana. Post-it notes or a notepad also work great. I start each morning by writing out the top three tasks I must complete for the day in my notebook.
Delegate tasks to team members or outsource tasks if necessary
Staying organized is easier when you aren’t trying to do everything for your business. Delegating tasks is what successful business owners have in common. Identify the non-core tasks in your company and delegate them to an employee, or hire a virtual assistant.
Keep your workspace organized and clutter-free
Although there’s evidence that having a messy desk can feed creativity, it also has a tendency to overwhelm and keep you from focusing. Most of the tasks you’re doing in your business don’t need creativity. They need your time and attention.
Use digital tools to streamline your workflow
With the tools available these days, there’s no reason not to streamline your workflow. Set up automations. If you’re not sure where to start, check out the blog at zapier.com. Many CRMs allow you to create workflows that start when a lead comes in and automatically send out pricing, service descriptions, contracts, and invoices, all before you need to get involved.
Set up regular meetings with team members to discuss progress and address any issues
Regular meetings are a great way to make sure your team is on the same page and that everything is moving forward smoothly. Seeing each other face-to-face, whether virtually or in person, helps you to reconnect and feel like a cohesive team.
Develop standard operating procedures (SOP) to ensure consistency and efficiency
Business owners tend to think they don’t need SOPs when their business is still small. It’s actually the best time to develop them. SOPs ensure everyone completes tasks in the same way, providing consistency and time savings. They also direct staff how to handle potential problems. These not only keep a business organized, but they reduce any negative impact from a team member being away or changing jobs.
Review and adjust you organizational strategy
Reviewing your organizational strategy can help you allocate resources in a better way, and make sure the goals your company is working towards haven’t changed. The strategy is meant to help you simplify decision making and make sure everyone’s moving in the same direction.
Stay flexible and be willing to adapt to changes in your business environment
This one speaks for itself. Organizing doesn’t mean rigid inflexibility. Part of organizing is making sure your business is ready to adapt as needed.
Try implementing these a few of these tips and get your business a little more organized!
Download our free Daily Planner template as the first step in organizing your day. It helps you to focus on the tasks that really need to be done, and helps you plan out your schedule.
