Because there are so many different aspects to running a business, it’s easy to get bogged down in ‘busy work’. You end up working hard but achieving less than you need to. To break this cycle, you need a clear view through the tangle of tasks so you can work efficiently on the jobs that matter – here are some tips for business efficiency to help!
Five Tips For Business Efficiency
Set Clear Goals
Having clear goals can help you cut down on mental clutter and focus on specifics. You could adopt a SMART goal strategy, or just sharpen up your thought processes to help you get things done each day.
Setting specific goals for your working day (or longer term for your future visions) means naming the jobs you’ll tackle. As an example, suppose you need to fill a few gaps in your schedule and a couple of extra clients would achieve that goal. Instead of setting a goal to ‘get more clients’ by specific about how you’ll achieve it: send out X number of emails, advertise your services in X number of locations, write X number of ads for your social channels… you get the idea. This approach is direct and particular, telling your brain exactly what it needs to focus on in the present.
If it’s a task you dread, set yourself the challenge of focusing on it for ten minutes. Really dig in and make a positive start, and if you’re still hating it after ten minutes, take a break. Often, just starting is the hardest part, and once you get a bit of momentum you can carry on.
Identify Your Stumbling Blocks
Are there aspects of your business that hold you back? Maybe where you work isn’t as professional or prestigious as you’d like and you’re reluctant to host meetings or entertain clients? Maybe your website doesn’t really reflect who you are or what your business is about?
There are dozens of reasons why a business might not be operating as efficiently as it could, and some of them are as much about the owner’s attitude and confidence as they are about processes or expertise within the business.
Every time you find yourself making excuses not to take actions that would propel your business forward, stop and dig into the reasons.
If better premises would help in terms of prestige or space for expansion, look into changing your business address. Flexible office space might be the answer, for instance, as they’re professional but don’t have the long contract ties that can feel a bit risky financially.
Or maybe a short business course would boost your confidence, or a new website, or help with your accounts. Once you know what’s holding you back, you can take specific steps to solve the issue.
Organise Your Workspace
Having lots of space for the business is one thing, organising it to work efficiently is another.
Office layout can make a big difference, such as moving computer screens away from windows, making sure there are clear navigation routes around desks and equipment, or erecting barriers for privacy and sound proofing when people are working side by side.
Stock rooms, too, need to work efficiently. Make sure shelves are clearly labelled so everyone knows what goes where. Perform regular stocktaking to keep an eye on stock levels, and organise your stock so the items you access most often are easy to reach. If you need more storage for stock so you can organise things effectively, self storage for business is a good option. You could also make sure you have enough space for a table or desk, so you don’t have to physically remove stock to process it for dispatch.
Manage Time Effectively
Some people seem to get far more than 24 hours out of their day, but it’s all down to savvy time management.
Look for ways to trim the minutes off repeated tasks, whether that means creating Word macros for written tasks or installing booking software on your website. If you’re constantly interrupting your workflow to answer emails, have an auto response set up, so senders know they query has arrived and will be answered shortly.
Guard Your Work/Life Balance
Efficient working doesn’t mean constant working. Give yourself the gift of strict ‘home times’, even if your current office is your spare bedroom.
Letting work spill into leisure time is a symptom of our ‘always on’ culture these days, and it’s becoming more recognised as being a bad thing for mental health. When you’re running your own business, you may need to work quite long hours, but you are in control.
Few things are so urgent that they can’t wait till tomorrow. So, when it’s time to finish for the day, really finish for the day. Shut down your computer, disengage from your work email address, screen out work phone calls if you use your personal phone for business matters, and make yourself generally unavailable unless the sky is actually falling in.
You’ll be far fresher and more efficient next time you clock in, and both you and your business will benefit from that. Feel free to share your own tips for business efficiency below!
*Collaborative post