Tips To Make The Technology Behind Your Business Flow

Commitment is essential to helping things run smoothly in a business. Constantly changing the way you organize and the platforms you use behind the scenes causes wasted time and energy; energy that could have been put towards getting you one step closer to your goals. So finding things that work for you and your business structure is crucial to making sure all of your energy is put somewhere useful, and not just towards reorganizing things that should be firmly put into use.

Most of Klein House is run from behind the scenes, so I have to be able to depend on my organization and technology platforms to keep me on track. Through my time of running this brand, I have gotten test out different platforms and techniques to hone in on my productivity and let my creativity flourish. I became more efficient in the things that needed done, freeing up time and energy to be able to plan out all the things that I want to happen. My creativity and inspiration sky rocketed, helping me push myself as a business owner while still maintaining a better work-life balance.

Here are my 5 tips to making sure that the technology behind your business flows, so you can have the space to keep creating and growing:

1. Separate your personal accounts from your business accounts.

Not only does this help when tax season comes around, but the daily distraction of fun emails and text messages when you are trying to work on your business can be tempting. Utilize your Do Not Disturb settings; or if you have the opportunity to have specific devices for business, take it. This doesn’t just help your productivity sky rocket at work, this helps you establish a work-life balance when it is your time to rest and recharge. Seeing work emails flood in while you are trying to unwind takes you away from being present in the now, so make your devices to the hard work for you and filter out all those texts and emails.

2. Commit to a certain operating system.

Big companies like Apple and Google work hard to make sure that the transition from one device to another is seamless, but the only way that we can filly utilize these features as consumers is through commitment. Synchronize the settings you need to make all of your devices do the heavy lifting for you. If all of the devices you use are though one operating system, there won’t be any moments where you are stuck without the information you need because it is on a laptop you don’t have with you. Utilize cloud storage so when inspiration hits, or opportunity finds you, you can make it happen right then and there- no matter what device you have.

3. Keep creativity handwritten, so you stay present with your idea.

The majority of things that you need to run your business and make it successful need to be easily accessible, but the things that set your business apart need to be intentional. When new projects or ideas spark in your mind, write it down. Whether it is on a piece of paper or on a tablet, physically writing out ideas instead of typing them pull you into the idea more; in ways that typing can’t. Having those moments alone with your ideas without the constant noise of tapping on keys or pinging notifications lets you stay focused and think it through slowly and more in depth.

4. Take the time to master all the simple tips and tricks of your devices and operating system to streamline your work.

There is always a more efficient way to get simple things done, but being open to those new procedures is the only way you will ever see it. Take the time to do a deep dive of shortcuts and productivity features so when the time comes for you to get to work, you can check things off of your to do list in half the time. Small things like keyboard shortcuts to copy and paste, or how to share unlimited files instantly with teammates, makes all the difference when you are in your work flow.

5. Don’t be afraid to customize things to work for you.

People can find their flow in different ways. Some find it through visual reminders, while others find it through simplicity and minimalism; regardless of how you operate at your best, use that to set yourself up for success. If you need your to do list to remind you of what to do every hour, on the hour, set up those notifications to be loud and clear. If you need the text on your screen to be double the size so you can focus on what you are reading, zoom in. Nowadays aesthetics are taking priority over functionality, but that doesn’t always mean it is a useful tool for you. Yes, things that we find visually appealing make us feel good, so find the beauty in your own version of functionality, I guarantee it will feel even better when you look back on all the things you have accomplished because you made things work for you.