When it comes to success in your small business, organization is a must. You are probably finding that the larger your business grows the more complicated your workload becomes. If you aren’t already, you have to figure out how to get organized.
Becoming organized is challenging for people who naturally are a little messy. But have no fear—no matter how naturally organization comes to you, it’s possible to improve your skills and live a much more organized life.
Why Is Learning How To Get Organized So Important?
Discovering how to become organized does more than just make your workspace look pretty—it can help change the way you think and feel about your work. This will ultimately help drive your business to new heights. After all, if you’re not thinking about the mess, you will probably be thinking more creatively about your business!
Being organized will help you streamline the work you have to do and remove any unnecessary obstacles. You’ll waste less time on tasks like tracking an email from years ago or trying to find that pesky old file on your laptop. The balance that comes from being organized will get you away from work and back to the other parts of your life much faster, too.
5 Strategies Focused On How To Get Organized
The journey to discovering how to get organized isn’t as treacherous as it may seem. Just follow these simple steps to simplify your growing workload!
Automate As Much As Possible
Have you tapped into the miracle of automation yet? If not, automating as many mundane tasks as possible will help remove some complexity from your daily routine. Things like sending reply messages or scheduling meetings can be made easier with the help of management software.
For example, leveraging an automated system can help your clients feel more at ease. Sending a simple “we have gotten your inquiry and will get back to you as soon as possible” message lets them know that their message made it across cyberspace and is waiting for you safely on the other side.
Start Time-Batching
Time-batching is a brilliant (and often overlooked) solution for how to get organized. It may be tempting to try and tackle tasks as they surface throughout the day. However, collecting similar tasks into batches helps focus your attention towards one type of work at a time.
For example, the next time you are tempted to check the number of likes on your business’s social media accounts, hold off and schedule that check-in for a specific time. Work the hours of 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon on answering emails, and spend the hours of 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on the new marketing campaign.
The times you set are sacred, so hold true to whatever batching decisions you make.
Use Project Management Tools
A well-selected and well-utilized project management system can take a ton off of your plate. When you are researching how to get organized, look no further than tracking systems that can put your mind at ease as work travels from one person to the next within your business.
Without technology to assist you in this endeavor, you may find that your brain is clouded with questions. It may be hard to suppress the need to check in with your employees several times a day. Project management systems provide you with an immediate glimpse of what’s going on so that you can focus on other tasks without worry.
Related: 7 Myths About Project Management Strategies You Need To Know About
Track Your Time
All business owners understand how easy it is to lose a day to tinkering or meddling. When you hold yourself accountable to the clock, you in turn assign some sense of urgency to the things that you could carry on with forever (or so it seems). A timer works wonders for inspiring focus and discouraging distractions.
The next time you sit down to start a project, set a timer in the corner of your work screen and take notice of how long you actually work before losing focus, getting sidetracked, or falling into a funk. Referencing a timer can help you note when to stop, focus on something else, or take a break altogether.
Tidy Up Your Workspace
Throwback to when your grade school teacher used to tell you to clean out your desk. Remember how great you felt when it was all done?
Take a few minutes to clean up your workspace every once in a while. Empty the trash bin, tuck away miscellaneous wires, and wash your coffee cup for goodness sake. Your workspace should inspire creativity, not cause distractions.
Your digital workspace works the same way. Just because your files are confined to a computer screen doesn’t make them handled. The records on your computer require some organizational love from time to time, too. Don’t be afraid to ask for help on this from one of your trusted teammates.
The bottom line of how to get organized is to keep things simple. Take a step back to check on the neatness of things whenever you feel like you are losing control. It’s normal to become overwhelmed and fall behind on organizational tasks. But be sure to hold yourself accountable to a tidy work area as often as you can.