Life can be busy and it can feel like there is never enough time to do everything. My friends think I am extremely organised but I am always trying to find new ways and ideas to make my life even more so. One of the reasons I became a Virtual Assistant was to offer my organisation skills to other businesses.
Having three children, a household and a business to run, I try and be as efficient and organised as possible within all aspects of my life.
Email organisation
When it comes to my business, I have changed the way I do certain things. I have always been a pen and paper type of person; however, I now love Trello (fantastic free software) and use that daily. Emails can be a big issue, as some businesses receive hundreds or even thousands a day! You could lose a potential client just by missing their email. I recently did a post on social media on some tips for managing your email and I thought I would share it here:
💥Unsubscribe from any newsletters that are no longer relevant
💥Add folders and label them in a way that will make sense to you
💥Allocate time in your day to look and action any emails
💥If you can’t action the emails instantly, create a new folder and mark it something along the lines of ‘needs actioning’
💥Set a date in your diary to have a future clean of your inbox (you may not need this if you have been keeping up to date)
💥Remember to only sign up for newsletters that you are interested in and not just for the sake of it.
Computer organisation
Another area in business that I feel is extremely beneficial to keep organised is my computer folders. As soon as I started my business, I created folders on my laptop. I am constantly adding to them and updating them. Are your computer folders up to date? Have you got information on there that you no longer need? Are they all labelled clearly? Are they all backed up?
Paperwork
Let’s not forget the physical paperwork! Are you still receiving physical business post? If yes, does it have to be a paper version? If you are still receiving paper copies, open each letter as and when they arrive and action them.
Remember that sometimes, it is quicker to do the task itself rather than add that task to a lists!
Think about whether you can automate anything in your business to make it more organised and easier.
Can you create a document to use daily instead of writing the same things down every day? If every time you have a prospective new client, you ask similar questions; why not have a template ready that you can personalise.
All these tips and suggestions work for me but they won’t necessarily work for everyone. Try thinking about which areas in your business you would like to organise and how. Everyone is different and will have varied ways of being organised. You need to do something that will make your life easier.