Don't we all wish there were more hours in our day? Don't you find that there's never enough time to get everything done? Do you ever look back at the end of the day and wonder what in the world you've accomplished that day?
If any of the above scenarios ring true to you, you're not alone! However, there are some small, time-saving technologies you can use to automate or speed up what you get done to save an hour (or MORE) to your day. Here are some of our favorites:
Use an aggressive SPAM filter-Over 80% of the emails being sent daily are SPAM. You're probably receiving dozens of these each day cluttering up your in-basket and easily adding up to 5-10 minutes per day in time wasted sorting through and deleting from the emails that you do want. We recommend an external SPAM filtering service, because it has been proven to trap malicious, virus-laden emails that can threaten entire networks, as well as individual users. Plus, eliminating SPAM temptations from your staff's email will not only cut down on wasted time, but will also drastically reduce your chances of getting viruses and spyware on your computer or network.
Replace Old PCs-While it's difficult to estimate how much total time is wasted waiting on an old, sluggish computer to start up and process tasks...it does add up! If your old PC takes 10 seconds longer to process a task, and a typical user averages 100-150 tasks a day...that's 16-25 minutes of wasted time each day. Add the crashes and other problems old PCs cause and you're closer to 30-35 minutes a day per employee!
Maintain Your Network-Diligent updating, patching and optimizing your server and workstations is key! You'd be surprised how much slower even a new machine will start to run if not maintained properly.
Manage Your Documents-Scanning and storing paper documents so they can be searched and located in seconds rather than minutes or hours is a HUGE time saver. Plus, it's a greener solution, improves document security, enables users to access critical documents remotely and prevents important papers from loss or damage.
Implement Business Collaboration Software-How much time is wasted in your office because people are duplicating efforts because they can't find the information and documents they need? This may be difficult to calculate, but we can conservatively assume that at least 30 minutes a day or more can be wasted due to disorganization. That's why we recommend growing companies implement some type of collaboration software that will help organize projects and information, keeping everyone on the same page.
Want to implement any of these technologies in your office? Call IT Radix today - we can partner with you to streamline your operations!
As a seasoned IT professional and business owner at IT Radix, Cathy Coloff enjoys working with small-to-medium sized businesses on getting the most out of their technology dollars. Technology is serious business, but she likes to have fun making I.T. work for you.
Many of my clients are asking about which Social Media sites to use. With Social Networking being all the buzz, it is important to understand why you want to bother with Social Media. Simply, it is because people will do business with people they like. It is easy to create connections with clients, leads as well as family and friends who can "suggest" you to their extended group of friends. That is what Social Media Marketing is all about.
Not so long ago, I was scheduling in morning and lunchtime meetings at local Chambers of Commerce and BNI groups. These get-togethers are well organized and run professionally, to be sure, but the time commitments and expense can really take a toll on your productivity.
Think of making sure you have your good clothes on, leave a half hour or more before hand to drive to the restaurant where the meeting is being held, check in, find your seat, get your food, listen to the official opening remarks, wait for every person in the room to give their "elevator speech" or testimonial about another member, give my 1 minute scorcher, wrap up, network, give out business cards, and drive back to the office. Whew, I was doing that a few times a week and only meeting with people in my area.
Now with Social Networking, I'm able to connect up with lots of people nationwide easily, always put my best foot forward, and my "friends" keep me in their minds with very little effort on my part... and no rubber chicken. And I can leave the monkey suit in the closet.
Here are some basic instructions for choosing which Social Media Sites you use:
First, figure out what sites are your clients on. You can do this by looking at emails sent you by prospects, friends and clients inviting you to join a certain Social Media. If you are just getting started, I recommend starting with one or two and then adding more down the line. Look at one of these to start with: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Active Rain, or MySpace. If your niche market is on Twitter, don't spend your time figuring out MySpace.
Decide your objective with having the site before you set up your profile. Will you use this for business, or for personal use? How often will you be updating it? What kinds of posts will you make?
Schedule time to update your Social Media 3-5 times each week. If you don't use it, it won't work for you. At first you may post things a few times a day, but after the novelty wears off, how are you going to make sure you keep using it. Schedule time to work on your Social Media marketing each week
Be careful your posts reflect the image you want to portray. If a friend from college insists on posting stories about your younger days that you would rather not remember, monitor that. Also be careful when allowing assistants to post things to your social networking site. You want to make sure it is in operative info your voice.
Mix personal and professional posts. One of the main reasons Social Networking sites are as popular as they are is that people are craving connections with people. With internet putting us in front of computers more and more and away from personal contact, people are craving those personal connections with real people, so be real! Mix up personal posts about what you are doing in your personal life, with what is happening with your business. It will make you much more interesting and three-dimensional.
Be mindful of speaking about the usual taboo subjects like religion and politics. You would be surprised how many business contacts you relate to in many other ways have deeply-held, strong and differing opinions on many divisive issues. If you really want to use your Social Networking site to talk about these things, consider setting up a separate account and steer your personal and professional contacts to the right place.
Just do it! I think we all realize that this Social Media "thing" is out there to stay and needs to be part of our complete marketing campaign. A little bit at a time will go a long way.
Happy Networking!