All around the world South Africans are known to be some of the hardest workers in the world. Some believe it's because of the high unemployment rate that is the harsh reality South Africans are faced with daily. If you're lucky enough to have formal employment, you work as hard as you possibly can to ensure that it stays that way, right?
Well, according to this article by IOL countries such as Germany and the Netherlands, that work the least number of hours per week, are also recognised as some of the most productive countries in the world. It seems they have mastered the "ideal work/life balance” and it makes one wonder just how they do it.
According to the Sage Productivity Tracker the average economic value that is lost to admin in South Africa every second, is R229. That is equal to an immense R 824 400 over the course of the average 8-hour workday. Below we've listed 10 ways for you and your employees to start working smarter instead of harder whilst lightening the load on your pocket as well as your staff's mental wellbeing.
1. OUTSOURCE
When it comes to finance, repetitive tasks such as data capturing, transcribing and typing up documents can easily be outsourced to freelancers who will get the job done fast. Basic tasks are easy to outsource and the more you can get off of your own to-do list, the more time you have to focus on the bigger projects.
2. HAVE YOU HEARD OF THE TWO-MINUTE RULE?
Productivity consultant David Allen came up with this rule which states “If it takes less than two minutes, then do it now.” This strategy is proven as an effective way to get through your tasks very quickly, stop you from procrastinating, and increase your productivity.
3. BYE-BYE INVOICING
No more invoicing? When running a business? Impossible!
Let us explain. Yes, invoicing is a necessary process when it comes to business but we all know how extremely time-consuming it can be. Cut out the “middleman” and reduce delays in billing by allocating this task to your sales team. Most accounting software products offer an app that will allow your sales team to issue electronic invoices on the go or whilst they’re out in the field standing right next to your client.
4. TIMETABLE
Dividing your day into sections with short breaks in between will allow you to focus on one thing at a time, making you more productive and efficient. Having a timetable in place will tell you where to invest your energy, what to focus on, and for how long. Once you get into this new routine, you’ll be less likely to deviate from it.
(*It’s just as important to schedule time for breaks as it is to schedule time for work)
5. GROUP TASKS
There’s nothing wrong with following a to-do list and ticking tasks off as you go along, but it’s easy to get side-tracked by tasks that pop up during the day. If you group similar tasks together you can schedule them into the same timeslot on your timetable and get rid of them all in one go.
It can be extremely tempting to attend to queries that come in via email and which might seem urgent. But it’s important to stay focused. If a certain query really is urgent, or if it takes only 2 minutes to complete (see what we did there?), then respond to it immediately. If not, let your client know that you’ll get back to them by close of business.
6. PUSH YOURSELF
When using a timetable with allocated timeslots you’ll soon start to see a pattern in how long it typically takes you to complete certain tasks. Use this to your advantage by pushing yourself to be more productive.
Let’s use an example. If you know that you can attend to an average of four queries in one hour, then push yourself to increase that average to 6 queries an hour. When grouping similar tasks together, this will be easier to achieve and you might even pick up on certain processes that can be shortened or excluded.
7. MAKE USE OF AUTOMATION
Most accounting software products have automation features when it comes to handling basic tasks. Investing a little time to set this up will allow you to have it programmed to send payment reminders, capture payments, or even drive the reconciliation process. You’ll be amazed at how much time you’ll save.
8. SOFTWARE UPDATES
At one point or another, we’ve all been guilty of clicking on “remind me later” when the software update message has popped up. While there’s nothing wrong with doing that every now and then it might lead to you losing out on features that can help you save time and money if you're constantly delaying your updates.
More and more software updates are starting to include automation features that could help you to change a few things for the better. Run your updates when you switch off your PC at night it will be ready to go again the next morning.
9. EVER HEARD OF WALKING MEETINGS?
After almost 2 years of dealing with the chaos that is the covid-19 pandemic, more and more people are starting to return to the office. That means that we’ll have to get used to attending physical meetings again. With the opportunity to start new habits also comes the opportunity to stop wasting time on small talk in hour-long meetings that could have been sorted out with a quick chat.
That’s where walking meetings come in. If someone in your team wants to discuss a client or a work-related problem, talk it over while walking to the kitchen and making coffee. Pass by their desk on your way back and end the meeting there. This strategy is a great way to cover a topic quickly, decide on a plan of action and then get back to work.
If you’re still working from home, you can also schedule shorter online meetings for 30 minutes and cut out on the small talk.
10. SWITCH THINGS UP A BIT
Changing your routine a bit by starting your day an hour earlier than everybody else, will give you a jump start on the day before you’re bombarded with requests. You can also switch things up by taking your lunch hour later than everyone else so that you can work when the office is quieter, or to work from home once a week. All of these options give you the opportunity to focus on your work without being distracted by those around you.
Apart from the 10 super easy admin hacks mentioned above, there are many other things you can do to save time on admin. Most of these hacks tie into each other but even just implementing one or two of the above points will help you to work smarter and not harder. Not only will you immediately be able to free up some time in your day, but you'll also be happier and less stressed out. These admin hacks are super easy to implement, but how successful it is will depend on how willing you are to take the time needed to implement them.
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