Offices used to be cluttered with piles of paperwork and filing cabinets. Since the introduction of computers, this physical clutter has been greatly reduced – many of us now have clear desks and spacious offices. However, that there isn’t still clutter lurking out of sight. In fact, in many cases, it’s simply moved onto our hard drives.
Many of us have to negotiate with a maze of files and programmes on a daily basis. This can make work unnecessarily slow and complicated. Taking time to digitally declutter your business could improve productivity and allow you to keep track of tasks. Here are just a few ways to digitally declutter your business.
Uninstall programmes you don’t use
Many of us download business software that never gets used. In some cases, we may even pay a subscription fee to be able to use these programmes – which is money wasted. Take the time to get rid of these programmes that are cluttering up your desktop. If anything, you’ll free up more memory space.
Create a clear filing system for documents
When it comes to filing documents, make sure that you’re not just dumping everything into one folder that you then have to sift through every time. Divide up folders into smaller folders to create a clearer filing system. Name folders appropriately so that everyone knows what is in them.
Delete files you no longer need
It’s possible that there may be old files on your computer from past clients that you no longer need. Whilst it can be useful to cling onto certain files as a point of reference, there may be other generic documents that are now outdated or possibly even drafts that you have no need for now that you’ve got the final copy. Go through these files and remove the ones that you no longer need. If you have employees, make sure to ask them about these files too so that you don’t delete anything important.
Find a way to centralise information
Try not to have information spread out over multiple programmes. Software such as Employsure is useful for putting information in the same place so that it can be more easily accessed. You could even consider creating your own custom software using the help of a software development company – this software could possibly combine the functions of multiple programmes that you use, so that everything you need is focused in one place.
Synchronise information across devices
Nowadays, business is conducted over computers, tablets and smartphones. Information should be accessible from all of these devices. Cloud programmes such as Google Drive can store this information remotely so that it can be accessed from any machine. Meanwhile, there are programmes that can also be downloaded as apps on phones and tablets – the information that is stored on the software can also be viewed on the app. This includes security software, workflow management software and other programmes.
