Getting your business organized is not just going to help you be more productive and profitable, but it will also help you feel less overwhelmed and stressed, and it will be more enjoyable to work. Imagine sitting by your desk and the space around you is tidy, your desktop is clutter-free and all your files on your computer are organized. Are you smiling? ‘Cause I am. Keep reading to learn how to organize your online business.
“Organizing is what you do before you do something so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.”
A.A. Milne
It doesn’t have to be difficult to make these changes that I’m about to mention. Take some time during your workday or on the weekend and follow this “How to organize your online business to stress less” post. Take on one area at a time. You’ll be so happy you did.
Let’s jump into how to organize your digital business.
1. Business operations
I am starting with a big one here. Organizing different areas of your business is about creating systems and processes, and the same thing goes for your business operations. Think about this:
- What systems and processes do you have in order to run your business?
- What are the recurring tasks?
- How do you plan and share your content?
- How do you market your services and/or products?
Having a system and a process for your business operations will be a game-changer when it comes to having an organized business. You will save time and brain energy too! Decision fatigue is apparently a real thing.
Read here about running your business with a project management tool.
2. Digital files and desktop
Us online entrepreneurs spend almost all of our time in front of our computer or laptop. It’s so important to have our files organized so we can find what we need or can store files in the right places whether that be your own or possibly a client’s files. You don’t want to lose those!
My desktop can be scattered with files that were just dropped there just to be gotten back to at another moment. Can you relate?
Organizing your computer will reduce feelings of overwhelm. And that is great because I get enough of that taking care of a household, two young kids, and running a business.
3. Email inbox
Don’t we all just “forget” to move our new emails that have come into the inbox? The inbox should actually be empty or only have unread messages. Once you’ve opened and read an email it should be moved into another folder, archived, or moved to the trash bin.
I am guilty of having way too many promotional emails coming in. I have actually taken the time to unsubscribe from many of them so that I only get emails that I really want and feel are valuable. This way, also, my inbox won’t fill up faster than I can clear it.
4. Schedule
This is kind of a no-brainer. A calendar or an organizing tool like project management software to help with scheduling is going to make your work a lot easier. Planning each week or each day in advance is going to give you structure. You’ll be able to focus on the tasks that are the most important to move your business forward. So a schedule will help you be organized and also productive. A schedule will enable you to be on top of your tasks and even those that you don’t do very often like doing your taxes.
The project management tool that I love to use is Asana. I have all my tasks scheduled in Asana. I also use Google Calendar. Using these makes my life less stressful. When you complete and cross off your tasks on your to-do lists you will feel accomplished and you’ll be able to relax better on the weekends.
5. Expense receipts
To be able to do your bookkeeping correctly, or at all for that matter, you’ll have to keep all your receipts organized. You can do this by collecting them all in one place or use a bookkeeping tool like Quickbooks. You don’t want to be searching for receipts all over the place. Trust me. I know. You’ll be saving a lot of time and hassle.
6. Workspace
Having an organized workspace will increase your productivity. If you are anything like me, then a tidy and organized space will give you peace of mind as well. I just can’t relax or focus when a room (or the whole house) is messy. Working at a desk that is clutter-free won’t keep you distracted from your work and you’ll be able to focus better and be creative more easily.
7. Passwords
We have so many passwords, right? Or maybe you use the same one for many websites (which I’m pretty sure you shouldn’t, by the way). And if you have many passwords, you’re probably forgetting them or where you wrote them down.
There is a solution and it’s not automatically saving the passwords using a browser like Chrome because that is not completely safe. Anyone that has access to your computer can use your passwords.
There are apps you can use to store your and even your client’s passwords securely. I use the app and browser extension LastPass. It’s been working great.
8. Notes
I love writing down my ideas and lists of all sorts in my notes on my phone. If I don’t I’ll forget them! It’s great collecting them all in one place, having them organized and stored in the cloud.
There are apps like Evernote or OneNote that you can use. Either you find your notes using the search feature or you can categorize them. I prefer to categorize them. Do whatever works best for you. And be happy that you don’t need Post-Its lying around everywhere cluttering your space.
9. Paper and documents
I’m assuming that most online entrepreneurs are paperless. But if you do have physical documents, then you should keep and store the important documents and get rid of all other papers that you don’t need. You can create a document management system for the papers you’ve decided to keep. I would recommend you go paperless, scan your documents and store them digitally.
You’ve just read nine tips about how to organize your online business. Most of these are easy to implement. You just have to keep maintaining them so you don’t get disorganized. Because that can easily happen as well. Schedule a time every few weeks to quickly review your computer status and productivity tools.
I hope this helps you on your way to your blissful business!
Which area of your business is in need of some organization?
Leave a Reply