Efficiency – you’ve definitely heard of it, but how can you implement it?
Efficiency is a business buzz word and is known to be one of the keys to business success. The thing is, efficiency can be hard to achieve and you might be wondering how and why efficiency even matters for your business.
Being efficient means being highly productive with as little wasted effort, expenses or energy as possible. Therefore, it relies heavily on being organised in every aspect of your business. Being organised can help you more accurately predict any shortcomings that may occur, and help you consequently develop the ammunition you need to deal with them. More importantly, it also gives you the ability to spot growth opportunities and prepare your business for growing demand.
Increasing your business’ efficiency takes time, and frankly, a fair bit of effort. A great place to start is to incorporate these tips into your everyday business life.
Physical Organisation
1. Clear Your Workplace
Having a tidy workplace is the first step to running your business more efficiently. If you have an office, or work from home, this could mean keeping your desk neat and your files in order. If you’re a contractor or carry your tools around with you, start by keeping them organised and make sure each tool has a specific place where it belongs. This will help you ensure all your tools or files are accounted for. Additionally, doing this can limit the distractions you face while trying to finish a job. You’ll be able to find your tools or files faster, meaning less time spent scrounging around rather than doing your work. Make a checklist of your tools or files and keep note of where you keep them all. This way, you can constantly check everything is where it belongs and therefore, can avoid misplacing anything important.
2. Make a To-Do List
Making a To-Do list is pretty basic. However, sticking to the list and managing to cross everything off can be much harder. At the end of each day, create a new To-Do list for the next day. This will help you keep on track of what you managed to accomplish and what you still have left on your plate. Think of it like stretching at the end of a workout. Stretching is effective because it gives your muscles a chance to cool down slowly and prepares your body for what you have to do next. Similarly, a To-Do list does the same, mentally. It can help you wind down after a busy work day and prepare you to be more efficient in the future.
3. Put everything in your calendar
Phone calendar, Outlook calendar, wall calendar or diary – everyone has their favourite. It’s important to write down any appointments, meetings or clients you have. Doing so will help you efficiently organise your time. While it might sound like double the work, it’s a good idea to keep a calendar on your phone – in addition to a hard-copy calendar at your work space. Having a calendar on your phone will mean that you’ll have access to your schedule wherever you are. Set your calendar events to alert you 15 minutes before. This is a great way to ensure you stay on top of what you have coming up . It also prevents you from constantly having to check what’s next on your schedule.
These three tips are relatively easy to incorporate into your business routine. Moreover, they can also be very useful for your day-to-day life. Remember, you don’t necessarily need to dive right in – you can start by adopting one of the above methods and go from there.
