Organizing Your Digital World

Running a credit card processing company, the digital world is a critical part of my business. It is easy to get caught in a trap of information all over the place (I am looking at you with 100 documents saved on your desktop). There are several organizational tools and tips that can help make the digital world more manageable and make your business more successful.

Reading Articles/Blogs

In order to stay on top in your field or business, you must read about what is going on in the world. Have you ever come across an article that you know will be a worthwhile read, but at that moment you know that you don’t have the time to read it? Tools like  Pocket and Instapaper can help. You can add a button (similar to a pin it button) on your browser and any time you come across an article that you would like to read later you just click the icon and save it for later. This makes it easy to catch up on relevant and important information on your own time.

Inbox

Lots of emails are part of the process when you run a business. It is important to have an organization system for your email that will allow you to archive/label important emails and delete unnecessary emails. In order to keep your inbox clean, respond to messages as soon as the message comes in (if possible). If it is not possible, flag the message to respond at a later time. Once a message is opened either archive and label the message or deletes it. Once a week try and take a few minutes to unsubscribe to emails. If it not necessary or does not bring productivity to your day, delete it.

Cloud

There are many cloud options. Dropbox, Google Drive, and iCloud are some of the more popular versions. Using a cloud service is a great way to have a digital filing cabinet. You can keep employee files, owner’s manuals, and anything else that you would file away in that big metal cabinet. Tools like Google Drive also make it very user-friendly to set up collaboration documents that can be shared and edited between staff members.

To Do List

Who does not love the feeling of crossing off an item on a to-do list? There are so many options when it comes to digitizing a to-do list. Wunderlist, Any Do, and Asana are just a few. Evernote is also a great option that allows a blank slate for creating and sorting that never ending to do list. Putting everything in one place will not make the tasks you need to do go away, it will however keep everything in one place making it easier to prioritize and complete.

Customer Surveys

The best way to see how you are doing with your business (or what you could be doing to improve) is to ask your customers. Digital surveys can be an effective and easy way to capture information about your business. Survey Monkey is a very popular option, but there are also some other options such as Typeform and even Google Form. Capturing important data has never been easier, sending out a short but relevant questionnaire to your customers is a  convenient and instant way to capture information that will make your business even better.

Streamlining your digital life and reducing the clutter on your computer will not only make your machine run faster, but it will make your productivity skyrocket which is always good for the bottom line.