Decluttering for Greater Productivity
January 6, 2025
The new year often brings a renewed focus on fresh starts and improved efficiency. Many of us are wondering how we might earn more, be more productive, and enjoy a better work/life balance. But as you’re committing to goals for the new year, consider that what your business may need is some decluttering. It’s time to channel your inner Marie Kondo and tackle not just physical spaces, but also digital files, outdated processes, and even stagnant strategies.
Just like a cluttered home can lead to stress and lost productivity, a cluttered business environment can hinder growth and innovation.
Here's how you can embrace decluttering for a more successful year:
Tidy the Physical Workspace
This is not a slam on people who enjoy visual chaos (like me), but if you can’t locate the basic things you need, it might be time for a new system.
Consider how you might:
- Clear the clutter: Dispose of or donate old equipment, unused supplies, and stacks of paper.
- Optimize layouts: Reorganize workspaces to improve flow and encourage collaboration or easy access.
- Embrace minimalism: A clean, minimalist aesthetic can reduce distractions and boost focus.
Digital Detox
We’re not suggesting you give up your electronics, but isn’t it time your efficiency tools actually work for you?
You can do this through:
- Organizing digital files: How many times have you not been able to find something in your email or files? Hey, it happens to the best of us. That’s why you need to implement and commit to a clear and consistent file-naming system (preferably something in the Cloud) and archive or delete outdated documents.
- Streamline your inbox: Unsubscribe from unnecessary emails (Gmail and Yahoo make that really easy), utilize filters, and adopt inbox zero practices.
- Update software and hardware: Ensure all technology is up-to-date and functioning optimally.
- Research new options. Pick your slowest day and do some quick YouTube research on efficiency tools or Google plug-ins. You can learn a lot in only a few minutes and there’s likely a way to use tools to streamline your current processes. But if you’re waiting for a golden ticket from these software or app companies, it’s unlikely you’ll get one. Just as you may need to perform continuing education or professional development activities each year, take it upon yourself to keep an eye on tech and the digital world. Speaking of…
Streamline Processes
You can’t make more hours in the day so maximize what you currently have by:
- Identifying bottlenecks: Analyze workflows to pinpoint areas of inefficiency.
- Automate tasks: Utilize technology (like AI or conditional software that helps you create “if, then” pathways) to automate repetitive tasks and free up employee time.
- Eliminate unnecessary meetings: Encourage shorter, more focused meetings with clear agendas. It doesn’t take long to develop a reputation of being a time waster and your employees, vendors, and stakeholders will do everything they can to get out of your meetings. If people opt out, just how effective are the meetings anyway?
Revisit Your Strategy
If you find yourself saying things like, “But it always worked before,” then it might just be time to:
- Reassess goals: Ensure your business goals are still relevant and aligned with your overall vision.
- Eliminate stagnant projects: Don't be afraid to cut your losses on projects that are no longer serving your business. Just because you’ve spent a lot of time, focus, or money on something does not mean you should continue to do so.
- Identify new opportunities: Create space for fresh perspectives and innovative ideas.
Go All In and Foster a Culture of Decluttering
The new year is an ideal time for early spring cleaning. Out with the old, in with the new. After all, if you can’t make room for new opportunities, you’ll be left with the old ones.
· Encouraging employee participation: Provide training and resources to help employees declutter their own workspaces and workflows. Encourage managers to find out what the greatest obstacles to their direct reports’ success are.
· Celebrating successes: Recognize and reward efforts to improve efficiency and productivity.
- Making decluttering a continuous process: Schedule regular decluttering sessions to maintain a clean and organized work environment. Again, remember it’s not all about papers on a desk. There are many ways our work lives get cluttered but all of them eventually lead to breakdowns and inefficiencies.
By embracing these decluttering strategies, you can create a more focused, efficient, and ultimately, more successful business. After all, every garden needs room to grow. Your business does too.
AI for Business: Bewares and Boasts Practical ways to use it in business and what to avoid
If you’re a small- to medium-sized business that is trying to carve out a place for itself in a competitive market, you want to differentiate yourself from the competition. One way to do that is to offer something no one else is doing. You can create a new product or service or go after an untapped market. But if you’ve already tried all of those and you’re looking for something else, it’s time to find the peanut butter to your chocolate or the peas to your carrots. Partnering with another business can help you both offer something to your markets that neither has seen. Here are three ways to find your perfect complementary business so you both can profit. Finding the Ideal Business Collaboration If you’re old enough, you may remember the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup commercials that showed two people enjoying very different snacks—one a chocolate bar and one a jar of peanut butter. Inevitably the two collided, one had chocolate in their peanut butter, and one claimed to have peanut butter on their chocolate. But either way, a scrumptious dessert was born. The same can be true of your business. You don’t need a formalized partnership with stakes in one another’s business. Instead, you can create special collaborations, offers, or referrals that are mutually beneficial to the businesses and your audiences. Brainstorm Businesses That Fit Yours Like Peanut Butter and Chocolate Make a list of businesses that provide a complementary service or product that you don’t offer but would benefit your target market. Ideally, the collaboration between you and this business should create something that other businesses aren’t doing. For instance, a bar that doesn’t serve food may pair up with a food truck to provide bar patrons with easy access to food while food truck aficionados can enjoy an alcoholic drink. Since some food trucks have sizable followings giving them access to your parking lot or a place to park can bring in new customers for you as well. Think About What Your Customers Want Building on that, make a list of what you hear customers asking for that you don’t currently do/offer. Take that list and decide whether those ideas make sense for your business. You can then decide to offer a new product or service line based on those customer requests, or you can collaborate with someone who has already created a successful business doing those things. For instance, if you own a gym, you could create a juice bar on-site or offer a healthy menu planning service. You could also work with someone to fill those needs. Here too there are options. You can rent some of your space to that business or create an affiliate or referral program so your gym members receive discounts for those other products or services at the other business’ location. Decide What Is Stopping Customers From Buying Is there something that is prohibiting potential customers from buying from you? What is the wall to purchase? Identify what is holding people back and solve it through collaboration. For instance, if you sell something large like furniture but you don’t offer delivery, partnering with a delivery or moving company may increase your sales. Some people don’t have the means (strength or room) to bring a large item home. But you may not want the headache of employing movers and covering the insurance. A partnership of this kind can benefit everyone. Business collaborations can help your business, the collaborator’s business, and (both of) your markets. By understanding what your customers need and want, as well as what holds them back from buying, you can create a satisfactory collaboration that benefits everyone and serves to separate you from your competition. This way, you’ll gain exposure to a new market or additional customers as well as improve business relationships. If you’re not sure how to make connections with other businesses, contact your chamber. They can put you in touch with someone looking to grow in a similar way.
Webinar | Thursday, June 17 | 10 - 11AM Presented by OneEastside SPARK, Center for Business Resilience and Innovation With Governor Inslee’s announcement that the state is moving toward a statewide reopening on June 30, 2021, many organizations are reviewing plans to return to their physical offices. Join us to learn more about how to properly navigate the COVID-19 employment issues and identify best practices and practical solutions for your organization. Discussion topics include: Safety protocols in the workplace Strategies for communicating the transition with your workforce and your legal obligations for accommodations Preparing vaccination policies for an in-person workplace Reasonable accommodation obligations
WEBINAR | Thursday, June 24 | 1 -3 PM Presented by OneRedmond SPARK, Center for Business Resilience and Innovation Recent information and guidance regarding Washington State’s reopening have created a confusing and at times contradictory compliance landscape for employers. Join speakers from Washington State’s Department of Labor & Industries, Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) and King County Public Health as they review current reopening guidance including: Employer obligations under the new Washington State safe workers proclamation Washington’s new screening guidance Whether to implement an employee/customer mask policy How to handle the intersection of vaccinated and unvaccinated employees Speakers include: Kristina Hudson, OneRedmond CEO, John Stebbins, WA State L&I Division of Occupational Safety & Health, Diane Agasid Bondoc, King County Public Health
Mercer Island Chamber Presents Our Annual Legislator Listening Sessions - virtual this year - will be an opportunity for our businesses to hear from our legislators and understand the lengths they went this past session to help protect our small businesses still struggling through the pandemic as well as our working families with children.
Sponsored by the East King Chambers Coalition, which includes Bellevue, Bothell/Kenmore, Greater Issaquah, Kirkland, Maple Valley/Black Diamond, Mercer Island, OneRedmond, Renton, Sammamish, SnoValley and Woodinville chambers Join the delegates of the East King Chambers Coalition, your fellow local business leaders and our Eastside legislators in a robust discussion about this year’s historic legislative session. Our moderator, Kirkland Mayor Penny Sweet, will facilitate panel discussions with the legislators that focus on four broad policy topics: transportation, budget and taxes, housing and human services and economic recovery and will take questions from the audience. Tune into this event, hosted by the Kirkland Chamber, to learn how our adopted legislative agenda fared this session and what we can expect moving forward.
We are ready to welcome back our beloved Mercer Island Farmers Market. The first market of 2021 will be on Sunday, June 6th from 10am - 3pm. You can expect COVID-19 safety protocols, but you can also expect some of the fabulous food, flower, and gift vendors that you've come to enjoy purchasing from. Please plan on supporting this special Mercer Island resource through the season. By supporting the MI Farmers Market, you also support our regional farmers and growers. To learn more about the Farmers Market, click below.
425 Business magazine highlights the successful Regional Business Summit, which was held virtually on April 29th. This summit was the Chamber of Commerce of Issaquah, Newcatle, Sammamich, Snoqualmie, and Mercer Island. Issaquah's CEO, Kathy McCory hosted the event. Topics included COVID-19, economic resilience, technology, and diversity to name a few. For a thorough recap of the event, please read the article here.
OneEastide - Eastside Recovery Hub
When the COVID-19 crisis first erupted, organizations across the world were plunged into such uncertainty it was hard for many to know whether they would emerge intact. Now, though the road ahead remains difficult, leaders are shifting from whether they can return to how to do so . Leaders are also having to manage waves of unforeseen crises, including the recent protests in the United States and elsewhere. These events can take as much of a toll on workers’ productivity and mental health as radical, rapid changes in the workplace. Employees will have to confront cycles of disruption and adaptation, driven both by pandemic-related health reasons and new business imperatives, ranging from reorganizations to further reductions in workforces or furloughs. To read more of this article by McKinsey & Company, click here.