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11 Ways to Streamline Your Business During the Back-to-School Season

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It’s that time of the year. You’re done with the kids’ back-to-school shopping, and you’re excited to get back into the flow of your business at full steam. The summer rest has probably sparked a few exciting new goals that can help grow your business.

As a solopreneur or small business owner, your time is extremely valuable, especially since you want to be able to pursue other activities that are important to you in your free time. Streamlining your business is, therefore, essential to make sure you spend less money on mundane business activities and more time on what really matters.

Check out our tips on how you can streamline your business during the back-to-school period and enjoy more time spent on income-producing activities that will provide you with the unbound lifestyle you desire.

“Spring” Clean Your Office

Most people function best in a clean and tidy environment. Perhaps a tidy office is indicative of a tidy mind, which is fertile soil for creative ideas. Check out our post about office organization hacks HERE.

Set Some Goals

Unless you have a goal, you may not know what you’re working towards. The back-to-school period is the perfect time to set new 3-month, 6-month, 12-month, 3-year, and 5-year goals, complete with achievable and measurable milestones.

Create a Schedule

Most businesses benefit from adhering to a marketing program. Of course, at Unbound Web Design we’re all about flexibility and working when inspiration hits, but an editorial calendar is a great way to stay on track.

This is especially valuable for planning your marketing for the holiday season when you’re not in the office. Also, unless you’re marketing regularly, it will be hard to track your results in order to see what works and what doesn’t.                                                                                                                           

Unplug

So many entrepreneurs have become slaves to their gadgets. We have become reactive rather than proactive. Unplug for an hour each morning, and you will be surprised at how much your productivity increases.

Prioritize

Instead of lengthy to-do lists, focus on the three most urgent or most important tasks of the day.

Implement the 80:20 principle, by spending 80% of your time on the 20% of activities that bring the most value to your organization.

Set Boundaries

You will derive more work-life balance from setting boundaries between home life and work life. Even if you work from home, be sure to make some flexible rules which you stick to most often:

  • Set aside 15 minutes a day for personal phone calls or recreational social media.
  • Leave the office at the same time every day, even when you have a lot of work to do.
  • If you have to burn the midnight oil, take a two-hour break to enjoy dinner and some quality time with the family first.

Outsource

As business owners, we tend to take on more than we need to. By outsourcing some of your work, you can free up the time to focus on more important tasks or activities that will make you feel good. Try  to outsource the following types of tasks:

  • tedious tasks
  • time-consuming tasks
  • tasks you’re not good at

Reduce Staff Meetings

In recent years, research has shown that we waste too much time in meetings. Instead of insisting on a weekly staff meeting, consider having your meeting online, or sending out an email update. If you absolutely have to have a meeting, follow the meeting techniques of highly successful leaders.

Organize Your Finances

Handling your money better offers a wide range of benefits, so consider doing the following:

  • Find out what you get for your monthly bank charges. If you’re paying for a service. you’re not using, ask your banker to reduce your costs and reinvest your savings into things that enhance your business.
  • Pay smaller expenses in advance. Many smaller monthly fees can be paid in advance for the year in order to save money and a lot of time every month.
  • File your taxes electronically.

Invest in Knowledge

Since the kids are back to learning, it might be a good time for your own back-to-school knowledge tune-up. What can you learn that will enhance your business further or bring more value to your clients?

Sign up for an online course, join a community class or a MOOC. Many of them are free, so there’s no excuse not to invest a few hours a week into bettering yourself.

Streamline Your Website

Now that your business is streamlined, it may be a good time to see how you can streamline your website. Here are some factors to consider:

  • Streamline the sales funnel from your advertising through to your payment gateway and delivery.
  • Streamline the way clients interact with you by incorporating online chat or placing your contact details in a prominent spot.
  • Create an editorial calendar and consolidate your advertising, social media, blog posts and special offers.

Juggling a business as a solopreneur can be fun, especially when you have systems in place to allow the more mundane tasks to take care of themselves. Thankfully, technology gives us the luxury to free up some time to spend on more fulfilling activities.

3 Reasons to Attend a WordCamp Conference Near You

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We love WordPress for many, many reasons. From the state-of-the-art software to the open support, endless amount of customization and affordable hosting costs – there’s just no reason not to love it. Now there’s something more to love: WordCamps.

Whether you’ve just started your first WordCamp site, or whether you’ve been a developer for a long time, we’d like to urge you to attend a WordCamp near you. Whatever you’d like to learn at your level of WordPress experience, you can learn it at WordCamp.

So, What’s a WordCamp?

WordCamps are informal, community-organized conferences based on WordPress. Put together by WordPress users; it’s the perfect place for both casual users and professional developers to connect, share ideas and collaborate in talks about all things WordPress.

Volunteer organizers, staff, and speakers facilitate WordCamps, which are attended by a good mix of users. In most cases, there are different “tracks,” which that there may be two or three talks that take place simultaneously, allowing you to attend the tracks that suit your level of experience.

Why You Should Attend a WordCamp Near You

Everyone who has attended a WordCamp will give you a different reason why you should attend one, too, but we’ll try to keep it short.

1. Ticket Money Is Used for Good

Nobody profits from the money raised from ticket sales. Instead, it is all placed right back into funding for future WordCamp events, sponsoring local developers to continue their work on wordpress.org, donating to the WordPress Foundation or to fund a future WordCamp.

WordCamps are an affordable investment into your business. Tickets typically range between $25-200, but you will receive so much value in return, in addition to the networking opportunities.

2. It Is An Opportunity to Spend Time With the Community

WordPress is a community, and WordCamps give you an opportunity to connect with others. Not only will you meet great people, but you will be able to learn from others who can help you make the most of your site, and to achieve your goals. Whether you’re a WordPress user searching for a mentor, or a developer looking for clients, WordCamp is the place to find them.

3. You Can Get Real Help From Real People

Have you ever found yourself in a bind with your WordPress site? Online help is available and typically incredibly helpful, but sometimes one-on-one, live help just gets the job done quicker. WordCamp puts you in touch with people who can give you the feedback you need.

As you can see from the three reasons above, WordCamps are a great place to meet up with members of the WordPress community and learn about the many different aspects of the platform. No two WordCamps are the same, so we’d like to start by attending a WordCamp near you, but also to plug into events while you travel. That will provide an opportunity to connect with national and international speakers from around the world, increasing learning opportunities and giving you valuable insights into the world of WordPress.

Click here to find a WordCamp near you.

5 Reasons Site Speed is Crucial to Your Small Business

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Next to Content, Site Speed is the #2 SEO Factor to Focus On

When it comes to developing, designing, and launching a business website there are two major things that most business owners focus on: Content and visuals.

While those are very important, there are some crucial behind-the-scenes aspects of efficient website design that are often overlooked but are still very important to your small business.

One of those underappreciated SEO factors is site speed, and it is absolutely CRITICAL to your SEO, site ranking, and overall small business success.

Here’s why….

1. SEARCH ENGINES LOVE FAST SITES

This is a BIG one. All major search engines give preference points to sites that load faster than the industry accepted standard of 3 seconds.

Google has officially named site speed as one of the markers that their robots use to determine the appropriate site and page rankings when delivering search results.

Plus, it’s a basic user expectation, and search engines cater to the user, not the website:

47% of people expect your site to load in less than 2 seconds.
40% will abandon it entirely if it takes longer than 3 seconds.

(Source: BitCatcha)

2. FAST LOAD SPEEDS REDUCE BOUNCE RATE

Users are far more likely to stay and browse your website when it loads quickly, both from the search results and between pages. In fact, according to KissMetrics, 40% of people abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load.

This means that there will be a significant reduction in your bounce rate when you can improve your site load speed to three seconds or less.

3. FAST WEBSITES ARE MORE TRUSTWORTHY

When your site loads quickly and without error, your users are more likely to trust your site and refer it to friends and family because it is providing a positive user experience.

79% of web shoppers who have trouble with website performance say they won’t return to the site to buy again and around 44% of them would tell a friend if they had a poor experience shopping online. (Source: KissMetrics)

But, there’s more that goes into a great user experience than just site speed, so pay attention to all the moving parts that go into your website. Don’t rush it, and always test it.

TIP: Ask friends and family to review your website frequently to make sure that it is always on point.

4. PAGE LOAD RESPONSE AFFECTS CONVERSION RATES

Slow sites are bad for business, it’s a proven fact. Whether you’re an active e-commerce site or are simply looking for people to download a free ebook or sign up for your mailing list, these are conversions and they are directly impacted by site speed.

Seriously.

A 1-second delay in page response can result in a 7% reduction in conversions, according to a study done by KissMetrics.

That means that, if an e-commerce site is making $100,000 per day, a 1-second page delay could potentially cost you $2.5 million in lost sales every year.

(Source: KissMetrics)

That’s a huge drop in overall annual conversions and profitability because your site is a tiny bit slower than the competition.

5. UPDATING QUICK WEBSITES IS EASIER

Have you ever tried to update plugins or blog articles on a site that takes forever to load, update, or refresh? It’s mind-numbingly frustrating, right?

So, make sure your website is blazing fast and you’ll reap all sorts of ridiculous benefits, SEO and otherwise.

Is your site a little sluggish? Check your current speed grade here! We offer website maintenance and update services that will help you keep your site lightning fast and in good standing with all major search engines.

Here are a couple of examples of site speed improvements that we’ve performed for clients:

Before & After Site Speed Adjustments for ChrisBlevinsWatercolors.com Before & After Site Speed Adjustments for AshleyTurner.org

Let us know if we can help you boost your website load speed today!

Proof That Happiness Can Equal Success in Your Small Business

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Many people underestimate the importance of a holistic approach to small business growth. We fully agree with Albert Schweitzer’s quote:

“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”

Do you love what you do? Do you do what you love? In today’s post, we’re going to discuss the three reasons why happiness boosts success, and 5 easy ways to become happier in your career.

3 Things That Happen When You’re Happy

When you’re happy, these 3 things happen, acting as catalysts for business growth.

1. Happiness Breeds Creativity

While spending time on creative activities can make you happier, the reverse also applies. According to University of California, San Francisco, a collection of studies showed that a positive mood increases creativity. When you are happy, your body releases more dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter that has been linked with motivation. In turn, dopamine increases the control you have over your mind. It also boosts activity in the areas of your brain where processing, learning, and decision-making take place.

It goes to show that happiness can help you come up with more creative ideas, which in turn will improve your business processes, whether it is marketing or better ways to handle people and processes.

2. When You’re Happy, Your Customers Will Be Happy

The University of California Riverside did a study, led by Professor Sonja Lyubomirsky, which investigated the link between happiness and success. She said that they found strong evidence to show that happiness causes people to be more sociable and generous, healthier (stronger immune system) and more productive at work. Likewise, happy people also tend to make more money.

When you’re sociable and generous towards your clients, they will, in turn, feel happy and more likely to use your services. It is contagious!

3. Happy People Work Harder

Economists at the University of Warwick carried out a number of experiments to see whether happy employees work harder, and indeed, they found that happiness made their subjects 12% more productive.

It’s clear to see that happiness has a positive effect on a person’s performance, but now do we cultivate a spirit of happiness in the workplace?

5 Steps to Becoming Happy at Work

Gallup revealed that in 2013, two-thirds of the workforce were unhappy. Many people believe that work and misery go hand-in-hand. Becoming happier at work does not need to be an insurmountable task. Here are some proven ways to be happier at work.

1. Find Meaning In Your Work

If you’re in your own business, you already have many reasons to be happier than someone who is pushing the clock from 9-5. If you don’t already do what you love, perhaps it is time to strategize a new approach. Find ways to change the world, even if it is in a small way, daily.

2. Create a Cozy Office Environment

Most of us spend many hours in our offices every day, and therefore, it should be as comfortable as possible. Decorate it as you wish; get some music going and put up pictures that make you feel good and remind you of why you do what you do.

3. Smile 🙂

Did you know that you can trick your body into believing you’re happy?

That’s right!

When you smile, your body releases neuropeptides that tell your brain to be happy. And when you smile, it will touch everything you do.

4. Leave Home at Home and Work at Work

Don’t bring personal issues to work and don’t take work problems home. It’s easy to do when you have a dedicated office at home – simply shut the door when you “go home” and return with a fresh perspective tomorrow. Likewise, when home issues are killing your focus, close the door, turn on focus music and get to work.

5. Say Thank You!

Gratitude is the ultimate happy-maker. Whether you express gratitude to your clients for their business, or to your family, or even to yourself, it will result in a heightened sense of self-worth that results in even more goodness.

Of course, when you’re feeling overwhelmed, taking a 5-minute breather can go a long way to making you feel fabulous again. Either way, you really should do whatever you can to get the happy hormones flowing, because it will not only make you feel good, but it will bring about a positive shift in your results.

6 Simple Website Hacks for Online Marketing Success

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So, you’ve got a great website and a strong business model, but you’d love to see a lot more traffic coming to your site. As a small business owner, promoting and maintaining your business, a website, and your product or service can be a full-time job. However, there are a few simple ways to hack your website to help work smarter instead of harder.

While most marketing tasks are complex and can require quite a bit of your time, there are a few things you can complete in less than 5 minutes to make your time more effective.

5-Minute Tricks for Online Marketing Success

The next time you’re overwhelmed by your online marketing task list, take a minute to do just a few of these things to increase your online marketing success.

1. Make Your Headlines Matter

Statistics have shown that, while 8 out of 10 people read headlines, only 2 out of 10 will go on to read the rest.

Try the Portent’s Content Idea Generator http://www.portent.com/tools/title-maker, which will help you generate great headlines for your content, based on your keyword. It’s a really cool tool!

Or, our personal favorite is the CoSchedule Headline Analyzer. This tool grades your headline and lets you know, in detail, what is good and what is bad to help steer you towards a viral headline.

2. Create Your Own Images

While quality stock photo sites are a dime-a-dozen these days, custom branded photos go the distance. Instead of sharing someone else’s images, create your own.

In fact, the Edgerank Checker revealed research that showed how created posts were so much more effective in areas of engagement, organic reach, and viral search, compared to shared posts.

Instead, use the other brand’s thoughts as a starting place for your own, unique content.

3. Repurpose Your Old Posts

When you don’t have time to write a new blog post, simply repurpose and share an old one via your social media channels.

Most people probably won’t remember seeing it the first time and those that have seen it won’t mind seeing it again if it’s quality, valuable content.

While this may seem like the lazy marketer’s option, it offers a range of significant benefits. From continuing to develop social proof (likes, shares, tweets, +1s) to extend your reach, you’re bound to get more comments, shares, and discussion on a post that already has comments.

People are more likely to participate when there’s already a buzz.

4. Add Oomph to Your Most Popular Page

Check out your Google Analytics to find the most popular page on your site, and add a call-to-action to it. This is one of the most effective strategies, and it takes only 5 minutes to implement.

Be sure that the CTA or link you’re adding is highly relevant to the page content. There’s nothing worse than an off-the-wall plug that doesn’t make sense for the reader.

5. Include an Outbound Link (or three)

Show that you’re not pulling your information out of thin air by including a link to relevant information on your site, this includes pages and articles.

People will take you more seriously when you include a link to an authoritative page or something that is written by someone who is an expert in the field.

6. Leverage Time-Saving Tools

There are many new tools that make your job as an online marketer easier. Hootsuite and IFTTT are two of the coolest tools for social sharing. Take advantage of these tools and enjoy the results.

Do you have more time-saving online marketing tips? We’d love to hear from you!

The Worst Advice We’ve Ever Heard About Being An Entrepreneur

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It’s curious how good advice is hard enough to come by that we have to Google it and buy self-help books to find some; yet, bad advice comes at us like the tidal waves, especially when we get married, have babies, or start a new business. Strangely enough, those three activities are quite alike in that they are all heavy on the commitment and need a lot of nurturing to grow.

So what’s the worst advice you’ve ever heard about being an entrepreneur? We’ll start off, and you can leave yours in comments below.

“There are no new ideas.”

Just look at all the books, articles, songs and movies written every day. They are all just a different spin on existing ideas. While we are all for creative thought, it must be considered that different events and ideas can spark a creative thought, and as long as you don’t copy someone’s idea fully, you can use it as inspiration to create your own unique products or service.

“Do what you love.”

Ten minutes on Facebook or Instagram will bombard your senses with at least as many memes that say something to the effect of “Do what you love, and the money will follow.” Some of us love karaoke, but if we’re tone deaf, we probably won’t make money from it.

Of course, we like the idea of following our bliss, but one must be realistic. Someone who loves sewing and starts a sewing business will only be blissful for the few hours a day she gets to spend sewing. She may not enjoy the marketing, bookkeeping, sales and staff management as much.

We prefer the advice we found online from an unknown source:

Find three hobbies you love –

one to make you money

one to keep you in shape

and one to be creative.

As long as you make time for that, you will handle the pressures of entrepreneurship much better.

“Rather stick to your day job.”

Many well-meaning individuals will encourage you to stick with traditional employment. While entrepreneurship can lack security, particularly in the early days, it is a fantastic route for people who prefer fewer constraints. We just love having the ability to continually dream, innovate, and celebrate our successes.

“You can’t run a business if you’re a mom.”

So many women are told that they have to hide the fact that they are mothers if they want to make a success as an entrepreneur. We strongly disagree. Entrepreneurship is the most suitable job for a mother, as it provides flexibility. Who says you can’t be a loving mother and a committed business woman?

Over to you: What’s the worst entrepreneurial advice you’ve ever heard?

5 Steps to Greenify Your Small Business

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June 5 marks World Environment Day, a date aimed at inspiring more people to reduce the strain on Earth’s natural resources. The theme for 2017 is “Go Wild For Life,” which we at Unbound Webdesign simply love. That’s why we’d like to share some of the simple, yet impactful steps you can take today to greenify your business.

Most of our ideas cost little to no money to implement but can create a significant impact.

Unsubscribe from Junk Mail

Many environmentally conscious companies have stopped sending junk mail and even send bills via email, but the average American household still receives approximately 69 pounds of unwanted mail every year.

Head to DMAchoice.org for more information on how you can stop receiving junk mail from the 3,600 companies they represent. Visit http://www.ims-dm.com/cgi/optoutemps.php to unsubscribe your email account from junk mail while you’re at it.

Invest in a Water Filter

Less than 20% of the 30 billion plastic water bottles sold in the U.S. are recycled. By investing in a water filter and reusable water bottles (stainless steel is safe and keeps your water cool), you will not only save money, but you will also reduce the strain on our landfills.

Reduce Waste

The most important step to a green lifestyle is to reduce the amount of trash you send to the landfill. Here are some ways in which you can do that:

Go paperless – Scan and digitally save all your important documents. Find a secure and reliable cloud storage platform with which to back it up, and also store it locally.

Recycle electronics – Find a local company that will collect your electronic waste (old computers, tablets, and phones) and recycle it for the materials.

Save Energy

Energy accounts for 21.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide and more than 90% of greenhouse gasses. You can conserve energy by:

  • Turning off lights in rooms that are not currently in use.
  • Using fewer lamps.
  • Opting for energy-efficient bulbs. Not only do they use approximately 20% less energy, but they also last much longer.
  • Making the most of natural light. Open the shades and consider installing a skylight to bring in more light during the day time. 

Consider Green Transportation Options

Small businesses are uniquely geared towards saving fuel as partners and employees often tend to work from home. However, if you work from an office, you can set an example by walking, bicycling, riding the bus or carpooling to the office. If you have to drive, you can use these tips to save gas (and the environment!):

  • Properly inflate your car tires.
  • Drive a bit more slowly.
  • Combine trips or carpool.

Finally, you can do your part for our planet by gently educating others to follow your example. Carefully weave the topic into conversations (don’t push it!) and when you’re asked about it, explain your choices and inspire them to consider their options.

5 Things Your Kids Can Teach You About Living Unbound

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Children who grow up with parents who embrace the unbound lifestyle are privileged, as they are raised to take as much joy out of every day as they possibly can. It’s a beautiful thing to watch. Likewise, parents who spend a lot of time with their children, allowing them to express themselves, have the opportunity to learn a new perspective.

Children are born with unconditional love and no fear. It’s as we grow up that we develop mindsets that stand in the way of our enjoyment of life. People often say “kids learn quickly,” “kids forgive easily” and “kids are resilient.” Perhaps it’s time to look at our children and learn from them.

Let’s look at some of the things our children can teach us about living life unbound:

1. Enjoy the Simple Things in Life

Just this weekend in the mall, there was a baby in a shopping cart filled with sparkling new toys. The bottom of the cart contained a huge bag of colorful balls. There were sand toys, princess toys, and cuddly teddy bears, but all this little girl was interested in, was the snack she was enjoying.

Don’t get distracted by the shiny stuff. Focus on what gives you joy in that moment.

2. Let Your Creativity Guide You

Children rarely ask for advice or follow the guidance of adults. Instead, they dive in head first and figure things out along the way. That’s the best way to find new and innovative methods.

As adults, we can also apply this strategy to find smart and fast ways to do things.

3. Speak Up

You only need to look at your children to see exactly how they feel about something. Their feelings are written all over their faces.

As an adult, you can maintain sincerity by openly expressing your emotions.

4. Stimulate Your Curiosity

Exasperating as it may be, kids never stop asking questions. It’s this very curiosity that helps them explore the unknown. It guides them to learn new things and helps them forge a path forward.

Expand your horizons by allowing your curiosity to guide you towards brilliant new discoveries.

5. Every Day is a New Start

It’s rare for a child to get up on the wrong side of the bed. Instead, they wake up enthusiastically, excited about the new experiences ahead of them.

Start embracing each new day and you will see more positive events and experiences come your way.

Perhaps we are sent children so that we can remember to play, to laugh, and to life spontaneously. What have you learned from your children?

5 Common Misconceptions About Running A Small Business

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Starting and Running A Small Business is Harder Than You Think…

Richard Branson tweeted

“Entrepreneurs are the crazy people who work 100 hours a week so they don’t have to work 40 hours for someone else.”

We sincerely doubt that anyone who sets out to pursue a career as an entrepreneur truly understands the work that goes into a small business beforehand, or else we might not see that many small businesses pop up all over the place…

Let’s look at some other common misconceptions about running a small business.

You Will Have More Time

As we mentioned above – NO. It’s not a given, but rather a myth. While owning a small business can give you more flexibility to arrange the activities around in your 100-hour work week, most entrepreneurs don’t get to live out the Lazy Song as and when they choose.

Founder of Vodka Mariette in New York, Josh Winzelberg, sums it up best:

“As the saying goes, ‘Entrepreneurs get to choose which 18 hours a day they work’.”

Longer hours are more common in the early years of your business because you’re still learning and progressing. That means that you’ll often work nights and weekends, but if you persist it will be all worth it in the end, your business will be thriving, and you’ll finally get to set your own hours.

You Won’t Have a Boss

Aah….Nobody to boss you around and give you grief! It’s a wonderful illusion, indeed.

Not so fast, though. In life, we always serve someone else. Like it or not, you serve your spouse and your kids. In a small business, you serve your clients. Unless you’re equipped with a service mindset which allows you to see your clients as a gift, you will most likely see them as your bosses.

Unless you want a dozen or more bosses at a time, you may want to change your outlook and appreciate the value clients bring. After all, if you plan effectively, you still have control over your schedule, and you don’t have to ask for leave.

You Can Write Your Own Pay Check Right Away

You may have a fantastic idea and a sizable client base when you start out, but that’s no guarantee that you can instantly replace your income. It takes time to set up and build a profitable business.

If you’re dependent on your income, consider starting your business on a part-time basis until it exceeds your salary by at least 20%.

No More People-ing!

One of the greatest pull factors for aspiring entrepreneurs is the fact that in their own business, they won’t have to deal with office politics. They don’t want to police people or behave like an adult anymore.

Wrong, again.

In a small business, you will probably need help with accounting, legal counsel, marketing, and technology to ensure that things run smoothly each day. Considering this, you may decide to build a team to help you with that unless you’re an expert in each field.

Even if your team consists of remote independent contractors, you will still find yourself managing personalities and making sure that everyone pulls their weight.

However, there is an upside! You get to meet people from all different professions, and they’re often in different time zones or countries. It’s almost like traveling without leaving your desk.

You Get to Do What You Love

Follow your bliss, they say. Turn your hobby into a business, they say. It sounds wonderful to get paid to do what you love, and the more you do of it, the more you get paid.

However, when you try to go at it alone, you are bound to become so caught up in the day-to-day running of your business that it may overshadow the bliss of pursuing your passion.

Despite these common small business myths and challenges, running your own small business can be one of the most rewarding things you might ever do with your life. Turning your vision into a reality brings with it immense joy, so don’t despair.

24 Super Easy Ways to Keep an Organized Office

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Jim Rohn said that we are the sum of the five people we spend the most time with. Doesn’t it make sense to say that we are as productive as our surroundings? To me, that logic applies. When our office becomes a bit too busy, we know that it’s time to declutter and reorganize. Before long, we’re back to our normal, productive selves.

Here are our best tips for keeping your office organized and flowing like a well-oiled machine.

Declutter

  • Clean out your desk drawers, shelves, and any closets to free up more storage space.
  • Digitize any important documents and create a backup system.
  • Buy inexpensive boxes in which to store archived documents, and assign discard dates to documents that should be kept for a specified length of time.

Purge

  • Throw away, shred and empty everything you no longer want or need.
  • If something no longer works, either send it in for repairs or throw it away.
  • Get rid of anything that has not been used in a few months and that you may not need again.
  • If your decorations, knick-knacks, furniture and real or artificial plants don’t enhance your office, throw them out too.

Re-Organize

  • Over time, items tend to become displaced. Gather up everything that is not in its rightful place and put it where it belongs.

Re-Zone

  • Create office zones in which certain activities take place, for instance your main work area (desk), a filing area and a supply area. Ensure that each area is equipped with whatever supplies you need in close proximity of each area.

Organize Your Desk

  • Have a new mail tray for new communications and an old one for items that need to be filed.
  • If you regularly work with the same group of people and receive communications from each, it may help to have a box for each.
  • Create a Waiting on Response folder for items that are on hold for whatever reason. Follow up on these items every few days.
  • Only keep the most essential items on your desk.
  • Sort each drawer by type, i.e. one drawer for stationary,  another for paperwork, etc.
  • Keep a stack of cards for all occasions in your drawer, in case you don’t have time to rush out to buy it at the last minute.
  • Keep menus for your favorite take-outs on hand so that you can order in or order ahead and collect to save time.

Plan Your Days and Weeks

  • At the end of each day, make a to-do list for the next day and sort your mail into different piles, ready to take action in the morning.
  • Use a dry-wipe calendar to plan your week in advance.
  • If you collaborate with other people, use Google Calendar to set up meetings and appointments.

Organize Your Computer

  • Create a folder for each person or company you deal with on a regular basis.
  • Create a folder for “waiting on response” emails.
  • Download apps to help you manage your time.
  • Create a separate user account for work and personal.
  • Maintain the health of your computer by running regular antivirus and malware scans.

It may seem like a major commitment to stay this organized, but even if you simply use one of the tips above, you should benefit from a more efficient work area. Instead of wasting precious time looking for items or carrying out last minute damage control, you will have much more time to invest into actual work.