9 Small Improvements to Find More Time and Less Effort in Your Workday

By Margot Carmichael Lester, Staples® Contributing Writer

Published January 10, 2016

Finding more time in the workday is great, isn’t it? Even a few precious minutes gives us a sense of freedom and the capacity to contemplate bigger issues or move critical projects forward. But creating that space and time can feel like just another to-do weighing us down.

It doesn’t have to. Small improvements can have big impacts. One important time- and space-creator is organization. It seems like a nice to have, but an organized space reduces time spent looking for things, eliminates last-second dashes to the store for supplies you didn’t realize were out, and creates order that declutters your work area and your brain.

We identified nine ways to use organization to put more minutes and less effort in your workday.

 

Make Priorities Prominent

Putting priorities within your line of sight keeps them top of mind. “[It] ensures I have a visual reference to a task…and it also gets all the clutter out of my head so I can truly focus on my work,” explains Angela Hadl of Dive Mktg in New York. Easy action steps:

1. Make it obvious. Keep your priorities and to-dos visible on a whiteboard using dry-erase markers in fun colors. Go even bigger and make an entire wall-sized list using whiteboard paint.
2. Develop desktop files. Ensure the documents related to those priorities are also visible by organizing the files on your digital and physical desktops. Use the same categories, such as priority (“urgent”, “important”), task (“call”, “read”), time frame (“now”, “later”) or a combination, for computer and paper files.
3. Meet multiple obligations. Check off business and fitness priorities with office-based fitness equipment like an under-desk elliptical, a bike workstation or a treadmill desk that encourage multi-tasking.

 

Maximize with Technology 

A recent survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit found that executives expect the nature of work to grow more complex in the next few years. And nearly half of those surveyed are turning to technology to ease the complexity and improve efficiency (49 percent), and to enable flexible and remote work (48 percent). Easy action steps:

1. Upgrade operating systems & computers. Be more efficient and less stressed with an upgrade to Windows 10, or an entirely new laptop, desktop or 2-in-1. Learn more about choosing the right computer for your small business.
2. Deploy data backup & access. Buy a backup drive to reduce the impact of data disasters, and establish cloud storage so you can work during unexpected downtime or handle important tasks regardless of your location.
3. Update or deploy software. Keep your financial and tax files in order with an update to or a new installation of the latest QuickBooks®.

 

Enhance Workplace Well-Being

“As a small business owner, you have to be ready. Ready to bring on that new big client. Ready to jet off to an opportunity at a moment’s notice,” says Katie Mazzocco of Full Spectrum Productivity in Pittsburgh. You won’t be ready if you’re not feeling well. A clean and organized workspace helps you maximize work time by minimizing downtime. Easy action steps:

1. Avoid the aches. Mitigate slowdowns from pain related to being in one position too long with flexible workstations, such as specific areas for standing and seated work or a sit-stand desk, that enables you to change positions quickly and easily throughout the day.
2. Corral those cables. Reduce the risk of trips (a leading cause of workplace injury) or mistakenly unplugging something important with cord and cable management tools like concealers, ties and drops.
3. Nurture neat & clean. Fight the germs and clutter that are bad for you and bad for business with cleaning supplies, storage cubes and decorative storage. Create flyers, manuals and other items to help employees, vendors and customers follow healthy procedures.

With these easy to implement organizational ideas, you create more physical and mental time and space to run your small business.

Do more with organizational ideas and helpful products from the Staples Business Center. 

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