3 WAYS TO CLEAR THE CLUTTER FOR IMPROVED PRODUCTIVITY

Do you work in organised chaos?

You know, having piles of paper on your desk or in your office space that to the naked eye looks messy yet you know where everything is located? Even if your office and desk are neat, can you say the same thing about your computer files or does it take you a good 15 minutes to find one file because it’s not labeled properly?

Clutter leads to distraction which leads to poor productivity. Believers of Feng Shui believe that clutter disturbs the positive energy in the room or home, thereby complicating your life, disturbing the interior view of your home, stealing precious time from you and your family, and draining your vital energy. No wonder it’s difficult to work in clutter!

Step One: Identify the Clutter and Find a Place for Everything

Do you still have a toolbox in your office from 3 months ago when you were hanging up new curtains? Move it to your garage or basement. If you don’t need it for work, it doesn’t belong in your office.

Do you still have documents on your hard drive that you haven’t read in 10 years? Delete those files or, at the very least, move them to an external hard drive so you can review them later. If you’re having a difficult time letting them go (because, you know, they might be helpful in the future) then ask your teenager to delete all the files earlier than a certain date, or in a certain folder, etc.

Step Two: Learn to Love Automation and Outsourcing

Do you get lost in Facebook or Pinterest, even if you promised yourself only 15 minutes?

Use a social media scheduler like HootSuite or Meet Edgar which allow you to schedule your social media posts in advance. This is an easy task for a Social Media Manager or Virtual Assistant to take over.

Does your email inbox have 100+ messages from people who all want answers NOW?

Hire a Virtual Assistant to manage your inbox, thereby taking over that time consuming clutter so you can focus on creating your passive income and working with your clients.

Step Three: Use Checklists for Repeat Business Tasks

Do you forget each month the different fonts or colours you use in formatting your blog posts?

Write the whole process down in a file and keep it handy in Google Drive. Share it with your virtual assistant or, at the very least, use the checklist yourself and save yourself from reinventing the wheel or forgetting a particular step of the process.

Record screen videos using Loom and send to your VA so they can see exactly what your process is – have them also then document this into your training manual.

Step Four:  Streamline bank accounts

I love the book The Barefoot Investor and simplifying how you track your money and spending.  Separate out your personal and business accounts (which makes life so much easier to reconcile in Xero also).

Yvonne “Keep it simple” Hilsz