On an average day, there’s no more valuable, or lacking, resource than time. To take back more time to your workday, follow these simple tools to help get you, and your business, more organized and working more efficiently.
Monitor Productivity Levels. There are many apps to help you to manage your time more effectively. Use Google Chrome’s RescueTime to record which websites are visited more frequently and how long you are spending at each site. This will help you to see exactly where you need to tighten up and see what you can do to avoid spending too much time on each website.
Get Rid of Clutter. There’s nothing that slows a company down more than being disorganized. If your desktops are loaded up with unneeded files, useless software or just the clutter that comes from working over time, take the time to delete them, it’ll save you time in the long run. Gmail and Outlook, and many other programs, have applications designed to help sort out the unimportant message coming to your email inbox.
Block Time-Wasting Sites. While we all know that it’s necessary to take a break every once in a while, spending too much time on certain sites, like social media, news or games, can be a serious hindrance to your productivity. To try to control this, use apps like StayFocused or Strict Workflow to limit the amount of time that your employees can spend on websites unrelated to work.
Make To-Do Lists. Especially when it comes to big projects, it’s often hard for people to stay focused on each individual task needed for them to do throughout the day. Creating a to-do list will help people who are feeling overwhelmed and make it much easier to track your team’s progress. Use apps like Google Tasks or Trello to create an organized check list for each of your employees, as well as yourself, to maximize productivity throughout the day.
Use Keyboard Shortcuts. There are so many shortcuts on your computer that you probably didn’t even know about. For instance, to copy and paste something you can just press Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V. Ctrl+Z will undo any new changes on a document. Search your computer for other shortcuts that might be helpful in your daily business. You won’t believe how much easier it is.