3 Ways to Declutter Your Business
Decluttering your business will help declutter your mind, making you less stressed and more productive.
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What if I told you there was an easy, methodical way to improve your business efficiency? And that it required zero investment and no new skills or tools?
Well, there is—it’s decluttering your space. It’s proven and I’ve seen it work time and time again. A clean space equals a clean mental slate. While you may think it’s easier said than done, decluttering your space will help declutter your mind, reduce stress and increase your productivity.
We all know the typical decluttering strategies, like clearing your desk and organizing your files. However, I want to dig deeper into decluttering: how do you stay decluttered? How do you keep not just your desk decluttered, but your entire life and business?
To get started on business decluttering, my top tip is to use a systematic method that includes both your business routines and your home and lifestyle routines to ensure you’re using a holistic approach. Focusing on the global process of your day-to-day routine (rather than exclusively on organizing possessions or things) will make your business and personal time more efficient.
So, which comes first? Decluttering your home or your office space? In my opinion, the decluttering process starts with the closet.
Step 1: Closet
Although it may seem strange, the fact is a laser-focused closet is the best first step into a structured, system-driven office space.
When I coach, I take clients through an exercise that helps them better understand how much time they waste in the mornings in their closet. Whether it’s because they’re looking for things, because they have too much stuff, because they don’t have the right stuff, or because they’re always having to re-iron clothes that weren’t stored correctly, the closet is often the culprit of wasted time. Determining the cause of wasted time is often the “ah ha” moment for clients—it breaks down the ways a disorganized closet costs us time and peace of mind.
In my experience, having an organized closet can save an hour a day. Who doesn’t get excited about the prospect of an extra hour per day? This momentum also works to increase motivation to declutter everywhere else!
It’s important to note that this step goes deeper than just saving time looking for clothes. A major productivity waster (especially for women) is the time and energy we spend worrying about what we are wearing, instead of focusing on our businesses. If you want to look put-together in business settings, and your wrinkled skirt is going to bother you, you need to find a way to ensure your skirt won’t be wrinkled to avoid this distraction. Obsessing over your appearance instead of whatever work it is you’re meant to be doing is a productivity killer that can be avoided by curating a laser-focused closet.
So how do you declutter your closet? I suggest employing the 80/20 rule. This means ensuring that 80% of the clothes you wear are a)accessible in your closet and b)fit your lifestyle. Most people spend 80% of their time in their work-related attire, whatever that may be. Ensuring you have the correct type of clothes for your business will help reduce stress every single morning. Place the clothes you wear most often front and centre to save even more time.
Step 2: Space
Next, we move on to your living areas and workspace. The goal here is to ensure that your living and workspaces fit your lifestyle. To begin decluttering, you need to make some hard decisions about what items are practical necessities, what items are emotional necessities, and what items are just plain trash. Everyone’s definition of what is clutter and trash will be different, and there are no set rules about which items fall into which category. When in doubt, fall back on my organizing mantra: the items you keep need to fit your lifestyle and business routines. If they don’t, they’re better off somewhere else.
To start, try tackling the biggest time wasters first. For example, if you’re always spending time looking for important files among scattered papers on your desk or Google Drive, start here. Having disorganized files is one of the most common causes for slowing down at work and wasting time. In addition, you’re more likely to forget or miss important deadlines if you can’t find important documents. Here are some quick tips to declutter your work station:
invest in folders (if you still use paper)
spend time making folders on your computer
schedule 10 minutes every day to declutter your files—this is a great way to stay on track
Step 2: Task elimination
Why does clutter start to pile up in the first place?
It is usually because a task takes too long, or it’s a task you don’t like doing in the first place. Some people think no one can do the job like them. Others don’t value their time. But an important step of decluttering is to automate and outsource.
Take a hard look at your routines and systems and scrutinize where your time is best spent. Perhaps a task or duty could be performed by someone else, automated, or even completely eliminated. It is surprising how even small, routine tasks can cause a decluttered mess. One example is bookkeeping, an area that requires diligent record keeping from the very start if you plan to do it yourself. Unless you are in the 1% that enjoys bookkeeping, this is a great area to outsource to prevent clutter.
Overall, the same organizing strategies and skills that work for living spaces also work for businesses, from large corporate offices to shared workspaces. That’s why I suggest starting with your personal space before moving on to your office. And remember—the key is finding what works for you and your lifestyle. Everyone has a different style and approach; the structure-orientated MBA student may employ a task-based system, whereas the creative entrepreneur might prefer big-picture outcomes. There is no right or wrong when discovering your daily planning and organizing style.
Read more: Declutter Your Life & Space
