Do you have people on your
team who are so amazing, you wish you had an extra hour of their time every
day? With technology
you can have exactly that.
The following upgrades can
save anywhere from a few minutes to over an hour EVERY SINGLE DAY. Even the
smallest improvements, just a few seconds here and there, really add up when
they are repeated over and over throughout the work week.
Some of these upgrades require
you to spend money, but think about the benefits you’ll see when your top
people – including yourself – find all that extra time.
New computer
If your computer takes more
than a few seconds to boot up every morning, it’s time for a new one, or at
least a tune-up. For best performance, replace desktop PCs every 3 to 4 years
and laptops every 2 to 3 years. If a newer computer is slow, ask your IT team
to check it for spyware. They may recommend wiping the entire hard drive and
reloading everything, which will give you a fresh clean start. Just be sure
they backup data and settings so nothing is lost during this process. With
faster speeds, you’ll gain time when you log in every morning and also
throughout the day.
Manage email
It’s common to receive dozens,
if not hundreds, of emails daily. Saving a few seconds every time you check
email is a big deal. To accomplish this, first make sure your spam filter is
working well and customized to your needs. You should have very little spam,
and your legitimate emails should nearly always make it through. If not, have
your tech team fix it. Use Outlook rules to automatically filter email and move
it to folders, so that you can easily find what you need. Make sure mobile
devices, such as smartphones and tablets, sync email so that anything you read
on your phone is already updated on your computer. Lastly, take an hour and go
“unsubscribe.” Most people receive email newsletters they never read. Click the
unsubscribe links or block them with your spam filter, and then you never have
to see these again!
Add a monitor
Adding a monitor is one of the
easiest and cheapest ways to get more done in less time. Studies show varying
results depending on the type of work you do, but one thing is crystal clear:
dual monitors are a huge productivity booster. This can gain you a full day a
week, if not more, and there’s almost no training time required. Keep email
open in one screen, and whatever you are working on in another; compare
spreadsheets or documents side by side; copy information from one software
package to another; keep your main system front and center while browsing the
Internet for research on the other monitor. It sounds simple, but that’s the
beauty of it. It IS simple, and it really makes a difference.
Remote access
Make it easy for people to
work anytime, anywhere, and give them the flexibility they need to do just
that. Switch from a desktop to a laptop, buy them an iPad or Droid tablet, or
give your staff a data plan that lets them connect to the Internet anywhere
they might be. It’s not just the workaholics who will love you. Your
hardworking staff who struggle to balance work and life will be especially
appreciative. When they have the right technology to work remotely, along with
flexible work schedules and your trust, you are likely to see them put in not
only more hours, but also more productive hours because they have their home
life better under control.
Upgrade Internet
Do you use cloud-based
services? Spend a lot of time online? Check out faster Internet connections for
increased speed throughout your day. High speed business-class cable Internet
is one of the best values today. Fiber Internet connections cost more but
provide fast speeds with extremely high reliability and very few outages.
Easier access
Information overload is a huge
issue and time-waster. Employees spend hours every day searching for what they
need, reformatting what they have, transferring information from one system to
another and re-creating information they can’t find. At minimum, clean up and
reorganize your company’s shared data drives. Communicate the new structure to
your team, and challenge your managers to enforce the new structure. If you
want to take it further, investigate document management systems. These provide
greater structure and security to company information and
include advanced search capabilities to make finding data as easy as possible.
Instant messaging
Instant messaging is a quick
and easy way to communicate with others inside the company. It’s more immediate
and interactive than email, but less disruptive than a phone call. It’s a very
efficient way to communicate and yet another way to save a few minutes here and
there throughout the day.
Reorganize desktop
Take a page from Lean
manufacturing, and have everyone on your team reorganize their workspace to
make it more efficient: make everything you do on a regular basis accessible
within one to two mouse clicks.
Start with the applications
you use daily. Add shortcuts to your desktop or taskbar for each of these, and
clean up any that you don’t currently use. Also add shortcuts to the folders
you access most. Create bookmarks for the websites you visit most often, and
rearrange your browser toolbars so that you can get to those websites with a
single click. Is there a feature in Office that you use constantly but it’s
hidden in the ribbon so you have to hunt for it every time? You can add that
command to the very top of the window in the “Quick Access Toolbar.” Google for
instructions on how to do this in your version of Office.
Ready for more?
There are always more ways
technology can make your team more productive, and it’s never “one size fits
all.” The key is to be clear about what you expect and what the value will be.
Then you can choose the very best technology tools for your business.
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