How efficient is your business? What profits are you making? Chances are your cluttered business is cluttering (literally choking) your efficiency. Think your business is not cluttered? Think again. Review the 6 steps to de-cluttering your business below to see where you lie. Practice these tips ever-cutting down on unnecessary clutter and ever-increasing efficiency.
1) Rationalize. Think about what's essential. Get rid of excess. Whatever form that may be: boxes; excessive calculators; a monitor tucked in the corner that no longer functions; or a milieu of pens that never work but were never thrown away. Get rid of it all. Cleanliness and precision is the key to efficiency.
2) Specialize. Think about the theme and decor that expresses who you are and helps you focus without being too gaudy. Toys area a clever expression of your playfulness, but too many toys on your desk will lead to a lack of focus. These "toys" will rob you of your most-precious time. Do you want time in playing or time on what matters most?
3) Organize. Go through your paper stack at the end of the day. Commit to it. Start your new day in a clean office. Too often we forget what paperwork was important when coming in the next day from a big project, why we have it, and where it came from. If you don't immediately deal with it, you will forget why it was important to begin with. Get rid of old paperwork that you don't need a file of. File away what you do need. Always, leave notes with details of all of your steps and why the information is important.
4) Visualize. Conveniently place furniture so that the office has a flow to it. Nothing gives you rest and relaxation (and thus, clarity of the mind) like an office that appeases the soul. A huge bookshelf stuffed end-to-end with books that you never read is not really resourceful. Get it out of there. Give yourself space to walk and space to think.
5) Prioritize. Think about what matters most and cut out that extra fat. Numerous hours of time are wasted on frivolous pursuits. Is that music really helping you work or do you find you've expended 5 key strokes per 5 lines of lyrics? Turn it off. Focus now and fully enjoy it later.
6) Materialize. Get rid of that chicken-scratched, scribbled, doodle-bearing piece of whatever paper you tore out of that stack of trash bearing your "to do" list. Get a wet-erase desk calendar with large boxes outlining each day to list down and properly layout your priorities. If you don't prefer to get a wet-erase board, get one in which you can change your list of priorities easily and efficiently at a moment's notice.
After you have committed completely and perfectly to these practices, say to yourself: "I will never clutter again."