200 WAYS to Be More Productive in Life, and in Business

Stop Catering to Problem Customers

The time you spend with cranky customers, slow payers and penny pinchers could be spent more productively building relationships with your good customers or finding new ones. Besides, life's just too short and, after all, you're the boss.

Reduce Customer Returns By Improving Quality Control

I don't know about you, but I hate giving back. It's so unproductive.The first part of any quality-control solution starts with information. Why are items coming back?

Let's say you're a clothing manufacturer with a high level of returns. Are there flaws in the fabric? Maybe you need to find another supplier. Or maybe something in your assembly process is damaging the material. Is the fit wrong? If so, and a number of people seem to have the same problem, perhaps your pattern is wrong. Did the garment wash up poorly? If this is a sporadic problem, an inaccurate fabric treatment mix may be to blame.

A strategy for lowering your returns might include better inspection of raw materials, preventative maintenance on machines, improved operator training or regular finished goods sampling.

Don't Be Someone Else's Venture Capital

Wait until new products, services, advertising opportunities and the like are tested by someone else before you give them a try. They all have a great story about what a deal whatever they're peddling is. If it's that great, it still will be in a few months. If it's not, they won't have learned their lesson on your nickel. Remember, the pioneers take the most arrows.

Get Free Advertising

Think about sending newsworthy stories to the local press or offering charitable donations that will provide your company with visibility. A single public relations stunt can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in free publicity.

Any business, no matter how boring, can be made newsworthy with a little dose of creativity.

Suppose you own a Wisconsin-based accounting firm.No one, except maybe CPAs, are titillated by trial balances, captivated by contribution margins or enthralled with EBITA. How could you hope to land a spot on the national news?

Well, thinking outside the balance sheet,you could offer to doAlicein Dairyland's taxes, for free--she's the state's most recognizable spokesperson. You could send out a press release about tax credits for sequestering bovine emissions. It would make a great piece for Got Moo-la, the state's annual business assistance directory. An advance press release, photos included, will ensure a herd of reporters will be standing by. I won'tmilk the concept any further. I think I've made my point.

Not a week goes by when I can't come up with some news tie-in to one of my books. High fuel prices allowed me to pontificate on the amount of gas the nation could save if those who could work from home did. The swine flu offered the possibility of stories on how telework reduces the spread of disease.Earth Day allowed me to pitch the green benefits of telecommuting.The Google Cash scheme gave me the opportunity to crusade against thework-at-home job scams that bilkmillions from consumers every year.

PR is something you can do on your own, with very little training.

65.Optimize Your Inventory Running out of raw materials or inventory costs you . So does having too much. You need to find that "just right" middle. To do that:

• Monitor your stock with a system that automatically deducts items as they are sold and alerts you when it's time to restock.
• Reduce the amount you keep on hand. The cash-flow impact of reducing your inventory from 60 to 30 days is about $8,000/month for every $100,000 of inventory.
• Be careful not to overstock just because an item is on sale. Today's good deal may become tomorrow's stale inventory.
• Don't fall in love with a product; it's your customers who have to love it.
• Sell off stale inventory.
• Investigate just-in-time inventory options with your suppliers.

• Is Every Customer a Good Customer?
• 9 Free Advertising Solutions
• Tracking Inventory

 

Don't Let Your Smartphone Kill Productivity

They do so much--browsing the web, showing streaming video, hosting apps--that it's tempting to waste time playing with them. Take a hard look at how many of your employees really need a smartphone to stay productive. For those who don't, downgrading to a "feature" phone--basically any model that's not described as a smartphone--might make sense. Many feature phones--a category that includes what's often called messaging phones--can support a basic e-mail app. If "push" e-mail is a must-have, check with your carrier to see if they offer a service that works with feature phones, or consider a third-party solution, such as Synchronica's Mobile Gateway Enterprise Edition. Feature phones and their data plans tend to be significantly less expensive than their smart counterparts. The upshot: Low-cost e-mail connectivity increases productivity.
 

Upgrade Your Smartphone--If It Makes Sense

If there are things you want to do or apps you want to use that your current model can't accommodate, it's probably time to invest in a new model. The good news: App developers and wireless carriers frequently support models that are a generation or two old, such as Windows Mobile 5.0 (circa 2005), so an old model might be just fine. And don't overlook the network technology factor. For example, if a new smartphone means you now can do web conferencing from the field--such as with AT&T's Connect Mobile app for the iPhone and BlackBerry--that productivity gain could make a business case for upgrading.

 

Guard Against Prying Eyes

What happens if you or your employee loses a smartphone full of contacts, files and other sensitive information? For starters, use the keypad lock that most smartphones include. Sure, requiring a passcode to access the phone won't stop a determined hacker, but it's highly effective against casual prying eyes. Next, check with your smartphone's manufacturer or your wireless carrier to see if they offer a service where you can remotely lock and erase the memory of a phone that's been lost or stolen. (One example is the Palm Pre.) There are also apps you can buy, such as Corsoft Warden and Sprite Terminator.
 

Use Apps to Avoid Procrastination

They can be a highly effective way to maximize what otherwise would be downtime, making your office time more productive, too. Some examples:

• Mobile receipt software--such as Mitek Systems' $4.99 Mobile Receipt--uses your smartphone's camera to scan paper receipts and then enter the information into your expense report.
• Track billable time from your smartphone using apps such as AT&T's AIRTIME Manager and Responsive Software's Time Logger.

Reduce Paper and the Waste That Comes With It

For example, instead of spending time deciphering handwriting or typing in handwritten notes later on, look for apps that convert paper forms to digital so they can be filled out in the field from a smartphone. Two examples are Skysoft Systems' inForm and TrueContext's ProntoForms.

• Mobile Entrepreneur
• The Future of Smartphones: 4G and Beyond
• A Scan-Tastic App Goes Mainstream
• Inspired by the iPad

Rethink Your Office's Layout

Sometimes you've got everything you need right where you are, but you've arranged it the wrong way. Consider hiring an "interior space redesign"consultant or a feng shui professional--someone who won't force you to buy new stuff but will rearrange what you already own. These professionals use a mix of practical and aesthetic priorities to create an environment where you can maximize your productivity. They'll double-check your office's flow (how easy it is to walk around among desks and furniture), assess overhead and area-specific or task lighting, whether your most-needed tools are accessible from your desk, and the aesthetics of color and furniture arrangement. One common change that borrows from feng shui: Rather than shove a desk up against a wall and work with your back to the room, turn your desk to face the room and work with your back to a wall. This way, you're more likely to face a doorway (and visitors) or a window (and sunlight), which puts you in what feng shui calls the "command position."

"Restack" Your Office

When larger corporations reconfigure existing office space or hunt for a new lease, they frequently enlist facilities specialists to discuss how employees use the existing office space and its many features. As an entrepreneur, you probably don't have the time or money for such an endeavor, but a quick e-mail poll or one-week survey can help you and colleagues quickly spot patterns. Indeed, such research often leads businesses of all kinds to realize that what they need isn't more space but better use of existing space--what's known in office design circles as a "restack."If you're considering expanding, rearranging, or introducing new equipment or functions to your office space, poll colleagues first. Here's what to ask:

1) How many hours per week do you spend at your desk vs. working externally?
You might be surprised to learn how little time some workers spend in-office vs. out in the field or in meetings elsewhere. Often, such workers can get by with much smaller workstations and less in-office equipment.

2) Where do you conduct meetings? If in-office, is space sufficient?
Do you need a full-on conference room or a corner with a few sofas? Have you hit a tipping point where employees are spending entire workdays at Starbucks because they can't talk to clients and contacts in the office's overbooked or insufficient meeting area?

3) How often do you use your landline phone vs. a mobile phone?
At work, as in home life, many small businesses are going all-mobile, all the time. If workers have one single phone number where they can always be reached, they may save time not having to check so many phone lines. Bonus: Going all-mobile may save major dough.

4) Do you have to wait for certain equipment? Which equipment?
Do you need a second fax machine? Do you need another printer? (Maybe you need a color-dedicated printer so that slow presentation jobs don't clog up quick-and-dirty black-and-white contracts?) Do you have a clunky photocopier that only one person knows how to operate? The wrong equipment can waste lots of time.

5) What room, space or feature of the office do you never use? If no one uses the beanbag corner, the lockers in the kitchenette or the reference book shelves in the corner, chances are you could develop a dozen more useful spaces with these regions of the office--like a seat for an intern or a new colleague!

Don't Overspend on Mobility

So you've got a sales guy who works remotely but nonetheless pops into town now and again, needing a place to hang his hat and get some reports done. Does he really need the same size workstation as the rest of your workers? And a landline and file drawer? Chances are, the answer is no. Every office needs a guest or "hot desk" space for its intermittent workers. Think of these workstations as akin to guestrooms in your home, small touch-down spaces where someone might work, at most, a full day. Sure, you need a (desk and chair), task lighting, a writing surface, and a Post-it with the network's login codes. Beyond that? Little else. These spaces can be smaller, tighter, more open and less "decorated."You don't want that on-the-road worker to settle in--they need to get back out there.

Create "Collaboration" Areas

The days of the modern-day conference room are mostly kaput. In a small business, meetings are quick and casual. Break up banks of desks with small seating areas--a few chairs or a sofa and coffee table, for instance--so workers can confab amongst themselves while working on projects or brainstorming. Or place pull-up seating (chairs on rollers or other flexible furniture) at the end of banks of desks so colleagues who need to huddle at one desk or another can grab a chair and hunker down.

Keep Your Space Flexible

If your business is growing and changing, your ought to reflect that. Periodically look at how well your functions for your staff. Ask yourself if workers have enough space to accomplish tasks, if it offers clean air, water and light, and if the space can rapidly adjust to accommodate temporary workers who might pinch-hit on tight deadlines. Can you use flexible room dividers or other materials to create temporary privacy or soundproofing for key project teams? Is your space's temperature adjustable? Is network connectivity available consistently and remotely? Does the workplace create a sense of place that's linked to your company's mission, and does that sense of place evolve alongside your business?

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Give Employees a Sense of Achievement

Most management consultants would agree that feeling a sense of achievement is a very powerful motivator. Leaders can help motivate their employees, improve employee satisfaction and increase productivity by setting up programs that will allow that to happen.

Work with your employees to set up attainable and realistic goals. If the task seems too large, too complicated or too overwhelming, the employee will most likely feel disappointed, and so will you.

Create Opportunities for Employees to Grow and Develop

Most employees soon tire of repetitious tasks. This inevitably leads to poor work quality, employee dissatisfaction, lowered productivity and poor morale--a negative situation all around. By offering training sessions either internally or externally, leaders can stimulate and motivate their employees. At the same time, the workers become more curious and creative, learn new techniques and procedures, and improve on the old ones.

A dividend: They can then mentor their peers.

Make People Feel Important

Get out of your office! Walk around and get to know your employees. Ask them questions about what they like about their jobs and what they don't. Find out what really fires them up, and then ask if their current job does that.

In the process, ask them what makes them feel proud of themselves and others in their department. Determine if you can adjust their job description to ensure that they are working on tasks they like and that make them feel important. If not, try to adjust job responsibilities so your employees feel excited and positive about the job, themselves and their colleagues.

Meet With Employees in Small Groups

Successful leaders want to hear their employees' complaints and compliments. So in addition to informal chats, they get together with them regularly in the main office or a conference room. The goal of these sessions is to demonstrate your interest in listening to both the positive and negative views your people hold. In so doing, you are showing them that you care about their work, their end product--and them! When employees see and appreciate this, they are more willing to be frank, offer first-hand views on what is really happening and work with management to improve situations.

Review Your Policies, Processes and Procedures

Form small teams to look at how your company's policies, processes and procedures can be streamlined to increase employee satisfaction and productivity. Most employees like to work on teams, especially ones that report to the boss. It provides them with a sense of importance and better self-esteem. If they trust their leader, they will offer specific opinions on what is happening in the organization.

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Be in Two Places at Once

Recapture some of the time and money lost when you travel by using low-cost, PC-based videoconferencing services such as iVisit, SightSpeed and TokBox. If you own a Mac, don't overlook the built-in iChat software. Another option is entry-level hardware and/or software from vendors that are best known for videoconferencing products that cost four to six digits. One example is Polycom's PVX, which runs about $150, depending on where you buy it.

Upgrade Your E-mail

Sure, it's important to stay in contact with employees and business partners, but e-mail isn't always the most efficient way. One alternative is "enterprise microblogging" services such as Socialcast, Yammer and WizeHive, which create a central point for sharing messages and, in some cases, files. Most services now have a smartphone app, so you don't need to be at a PC to check in. Prices typically start at free for versions that are bare bones but still useful.

Minimize Commuting

Is your commute 20 minutes each way? That's more than three hours a week that could be spent making money and building your business. Recapture that productivity by working from home one or more days per week, or go a step further by giving some or all of your employees that option. The ability to telecommute also can be a perk for attracting and retaining employees. But don't compromise security in the process. Instead, consider a virtual private network (VPN), which is hardware and software that secures an internet connection, including ones running over cellular. Prices and products are all over the map, and the choice often depends on the number of users and whether you want to own the gear or get the VPN as a hosted service. Companies with VPN solutions include vendors such as NETGEAR and telcos such as Verizon.

Spend Less Time Writing

Consider speech-to-text software to minimize manual transcription and, in some cases, use speech for controlling your computer. The productivity benefit? Most people type about 40 words per minute but speak 120 words per minute, says Nuance, one of the best-known vendors in this space. Products include Nuance's Dragon NaturallySpeaking and MacSpeech Dictate. Prices start around $200, not including the headset that helps improve accuracy. Tip: Check several reviews of each product you're considering because accuracy varies. Also, these products often do a better job of transcribing a single person, as opposed to a meeting full of people.

Bundle!

Buy multiple telecom services--such as wired and mobile broadband, and voice--from a single provider. Not only does bundling trigger hefty discounts, but it also gives you a single neck to wring when there are problems, so you and your employees don't waste time dealing with multiple operators' finger-pointing. Your provider also should be able to offer productivity-enhancing converged services that would be difficult or expensive to cobble together from multiple operators.

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Maximize Your Phone's Battery Life.

Simple steps such as shutting off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when they're not needed, lowering your backlight settings and closing apps (as opposed to leaving them running in the background) can make an enormous difference--and leave you with that extra drop of juice when you desperately need it.

Bonus: Shutting off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi reduces your vulnerability to a variety of security hacks. Sure, most phones let you adjust your Bluetooth and Wi-Fi settings to maximize security, but unless you like getting down and dirty with minutia buried seven menus deep, it's easier to just shut them off when not in use.

Stop Wasting Time Looking for Wi-Fi Hotspots.

Get a portable router, such as a MiFi, which gets internet access from the cellular network and then spreads it around to up to five nearby devices. There are at least five more advantages:

• You don't have to pay extra for Wi-Fi service, such as from Boingo.
• You don't run the risk of getting hacked while looking for a free Wi-Fi signal.
• You and your colleagues can share a connection, such as during a pow-wow before a client meeting.
• You don't have to buy a cellular modem and broadband service for each laptop.
• Wi-Fi-only devices, such as iPads, can get connected.

MiFi is available from several major wireless carriers, including Sprint and Verizon Wireless. Although it lists for about $300, sometimes it's available for free after rebates if you sign up for a data plan, which typically runs $40 to $60 per month.

One alternative to MiFi and similar devices is to look for one of a handful of smartphones that can double as a Wi-Fi router, such as the forthcoming HTC EVO 4G from Sprint. Another alternative is to see if there's an app for your smartphone that turns it into a Wi-Fi router. One example is WMWifiRouter, which costs about $20 and works with Windows Mobile handsets.

Set Up Mobile Data Access.

Focus on plans that let a number of smartphones share a "bucket" of data megabytes or gigabytes, instead of forcing you to buy a separate data package for each handset at $30 to $45 apiece.

Tip: Small businesses shouldn't overlook consumer-oriented plans, such as Sprint's Everything Data Family with Any Mobile, Anytime, which provides voice, unlimited data, unlimited e-mail (including BlackBerry), unlimited text and unlimited navigation for $30 to $40 less per phone than AT&T's and Verizon Wireless' comparable plans. Why such a difference? Partly because Sprint's plan lets multiple phones share a data bucket.

Don't Wait for Files to Upload.

When you're out of the office, do you upload files as often as you download? If so, when comparing cellular services, ask about their upstream speeds. They're almost always significantly slower than downstream, but some carriers offer faster upstream connections than their competitors. That means less time waiting for a big e-mail to send or when uploading to an FTP site. Faster upstream connections can also boost productivity by making mobile videoconferencing more practical.

Consolidate Text Messaging and E-mail.

Do you really need text messaging? Having only e-mail on your smartphone doesn't mean you can't communicate with clients, employees and others who text. Use Outlook or another e-mail app--on your PC or your phone--to send text messages to multiple employees at once, instead of pecking them out individually from a phone. Have employees' text messages sent to your e-mail address so you've got everything coming to a single inbox.

Bonus: Besides saving the cost of a monthly text package, you save time having both e-mail and SMS in a single inbox.

• The Future of Smartphones: 4G and Beyond
• Fight the Power Cord
• Should You Farm out Your Data Protection?
• Fit to be Tethered

 

Identify Five Things You're Spending on That Aren't Contributing to Your Bottom Line And Eliminate Them

Do you really need that water cooler service or bottled water? Studies show that most tap water is as good or better.

Do you pay fees on your checking account? There are plenty of no-fee accounts available. Before you go to the trouble of changing banks, pay a visit to your branch manager and see if they'll waive the fees--most will.

Do you have a separate fax line that you rarely use? If so, cut the cord and use an online fax service or combine the fax line with your standard phone line

Do you pay long-distance fees? If so, make those calls free via Skype.

Is your telephone, internet access and cable with different carriers? If so, look for a deal that combines all three.

It's amazing how much you can save when you set your mind to it. The above changes are probably worth between $1,800 and $2,400 a year. Skip that morning latte, and you'll save another grand. You can buy a good home latte machine for less than half that and still get your morning caffeine fix. Your turn. And please, share the wealth--let us know what you did and how much you saved, and we may make you the poster child for our wrap-up column.

 

Identify Five Metrics

Look for ones that make it easy to know how your business is doing without being buried by numbers. For example, figure out what the conversion rate is on website visitors. If 10 percent of them turn into orders, all you have to track is web visits and make sure the conversion rate doesn't change, and you'll have a pretty good estimate of your income.
 

Raise Your Prices

If your gross profit margin is 25 percent, a 5 percent price increase would allow you to sell 20 percent fewer units and still make the same profit. For example, if you sell 500 items for $100 with a cost of $75, your revenue will be $50,000 with a gross profit of $12,500 (that's $25 per unit, or 25 percent gross profit margin). Now let's say you raise your price by 5 percent to $105 per unit, but in so doing you sell 10 percent fewer units. Your sales will be 450 units (500 minus 10 percent), your revenue will be $47,250 (450 units at $105 each), and your cost is still $75 per unit. So your new gross profit is $30 per unit ($105 minus $75), and your gross profit margin is 28.6 percent ($30 divided by $105).

 

That means your gross profit is actually $13,500. That's $1,000 more than it was originally, in spite of the lost business. By the way, it doesn't work the same way in reverse. A 5 percent price cut means you have to increase sales by 32 percent just to stay even. Let your competitors play the price war game while you reap more profits from less work.


 

Retain Customers

The cost of finding a new customer is always higher than retaining an existing one.

• Offer incentives for repeat businesses (e.g., loyalty cards or coupons for their next visit).
• Establish referral relationships with related businesses.
• Continually educate your customers about the other products and services you offer.
• Create categories of customers based on loyalty (silver, gold, platinum).
• Keep them from wandering off with a best-price guarantee.
• Accept all competitors' coupons.

Reduce Bad Debt.

Nothing is financially less productive than selling a product or service and having to chase down or write off bad debt. To avoid this:

• Evaluate customer creditworthiness before extending credit.
• Require and check credit references.
• Establish and enforce credit limits.
• Inform new customers of credit policies.
• Require personal guarantees, stock pledges or collateral on questionable accounts.
• Require cash on delivery for questionable accounts.
• Periodically check on customer credit standings.
• Produce and use regular accounts receivable agings.
• Establish and enforce late-payment penalties.
• Immediately follow up on slow-pay accounts.
• Stop selling to customers who owe you .
• Remember, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Hound your bad debts.
• Consider legal action or collection agency services for bad debt.

• 50 Ways to Save Money in Your Business
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• The Value of Converting Website Visitors to Customers

Pick the Right Spot

It sounds obvious, but if you want to get a lot done at work, you need to choose a workspace conducive to your line of business and your place of business.

Work at home? Then consider a space with a door or divider that you can "open" and "close" for business each day, or that is in a separate wing or section of the home where others know not to disturb you during work hours. Privacy, however, shouldn't trump comfort. Just because a basement, attic or backyard shed offers you work-alone space doesn't mean you'll work effectively, especially if extreme temperatures, mold or dust send you flying back to the climate-controlled air of the den. Before moving to an unusual nook or cranny of your home, ask yourself whether the space is (or can become) comfortable enough to keep you productive throughout a full workday.

Work in a borrowed office? Many startups and solo acts sublet space from another business. That's fine, but before you sign on, make sure you've got your own discreet workspace, storage space, mailing address, and access during normal office hours, and that you've got adequate cell phone reception. Also, make sure you can perform your job functions in the sublet's environment. If you've got an open-air cube but need to make sensitive calls, or if you need to host business partners but can't borrow a conference room, you won't get far. Think through a workday before you sign, and make sure you can accomplish these tasks in the sublet.

Work in your own office? Lucky you! As you grow and change your business, chances are your job description will morph, too. If you started out solo but are now hiring, think about how the office layout communicates and facilitates roles within the workplace. If you're the boss of this enterprise, do you want to sit off in the corner or behind a door--or do you want to sit in the center of the workspace, interacting with all the great wear-many-hats contributors you've hired? As you add staff, make sure that where they sit, and the equipment they can access, makes sense.

Think About The "Third Place"

Not every entrepreneur needs to work from home or from an office building. Depending on the size and stage of your enterprise, chances are you might benefit from working in a so-called "third place"--a collaborative area that offers more social interaction than a home office but less structure than the four walls you'd rent in an office building, and where a nascent sense of community offers inspiration and networking potential. The term "third place" was coined in the late 1980s by Ray Oldenburg in his book The Great Good Place and refers to community spaces that are neither home-based nor office-based, and where affordable and informal meeting and social spaces are available. Third places can include community centers, libraries and, most especially, the corner coffee shop with wireless internet access. While third places aren't necessarily intended as offices, for many idea-driven entrepreneurs they provide informal yet stimulating environments for early-stage working. In addition, a new breed of third place--known as co-working spaces--has emerged in recent years. Co-working spaces are designed for people who don't want to work alone from home or exclusively from an office. Ideal for telecommuters and entrepreneurs, these workspaces offer flexible workstations, office amenities (coffee, fax, printer, photocopier, wireless routers, storage), as well as informal gathering spaces like first-come, first-serve conference rooms, beanbag chairs, and mingling spaces. The goal is to offer a "creative community," which can be a plus if you're looking to brainstorm or recruit or barter services. Typically, you can use these spaces on a drop-in basis for a flat day rate or become a member at varying levels (20 hours per week, 24/7 access) for varying prices. Should you work from a "third place"? Think seriously about it if:

• You need to hold informal meetings with less than a handful of people at a time.
• You need to get out of your house but don't need the formality of a regular office.
• You're comfortable--even energized--working with background noise and bustle.
• You're at the research or pre-launch stage of your business.
• You enjoy interacting with other solo acts and entrepreneurs.
• You don't always spend a full workday in one spot and mostly need "touch-down" space.
• You can afford to spend about $15 per day on coffee--or "rent" at a co-working space.

Get Rid Of Clutter--Daily

Yes, yes, a messy desk is a symptom of a busy worker--and that's good, right? But if you spend as much time looking for those papers or that file as you do actually dealing with its contents, you need to institute a de-cluttering schedule. Ideally, you should organize your desk both daily and weekly, developing a home for various workplace tools (pens, pencils, chargers) and a system for managing paperwork. On a daily basis:

• Stack and sort. What do you need first thing tomorrow? Assemble the papers, documents and collateral necessary. What do you need later in the day tomorrow? Bunch relevant material in bundles, so you have materials necessary for each project/meeting handy and at least clustered together.
• Leave at least one or two square feet of working space empty on your desktop so you feel you've got a clean slate when you start work in the morning.
• Toss it! If you've doodled numbers or notes, input them in your contact management software, computer or mobile device and then toss papers. If you've doodled brainstorms or follow-up ideas, put them in a folder assigned to "brainstorming" and review it weekly. Look to see if they belong in a digital calendar or organizer or in a big folder of "general ideas" you revisit periodically.

On a weekly basis:

• Stack and sort. What can you stow for later? What needs to remain handy for re-use?
• Stow expense receipts or other paperwork you'll need to save for taxes or other purposes in an out-of-sight/out-of-mind folder.
• Clean off any write-on/wipe-off or bulletin boards containing outdated events, contacts, meeting notices or invites.
• Digitize any business cards or other contact information you've culled during the week.
• Fill an "idea" folder--stash any notes, scribbles, articles, etc., that grabbed your eye during the week in here. Then, go through the folder once a week for action items.

Rethink Your Interiors

It's surprising how many offices create such an unpleasant environment that people aren't productive. Consider the following steps:

• Replace glaring neon or overhead lights with ambient lighting or energy-saving sensor-based lighting that shuts on and off as workers enter or exit a space. Wattstopper (www.wattstopper.com) makes models for both residential and commercial spaces.
• Get fresh air via open windows instead of relying on indoor air. In buildings that lack operable windows, consider using a portable air purifier (available at most office superstores) or periodic duct cleaning through a professional service.
• Spruce up space with work-appropriate paint. It's amazing how negatively grimy, putty-colored walls impact morale. How about painting the place and cheering people up a little, or choosing a color that relates to the company's mission or industry? Color theory can tell you what types of colors create what types of moods. For instance, warm hues (red, yellow and orange) are stimulating and assertive--perfect, perhaps, for sales, advertising or creative businesses. In contrast, blue, green and violet are all calming colors, better suited for eco-friendly, healing and natural professions. Pantone offers an interesting discussion of color theory here: http://www.pantone.com/pages/pantone/Pantone.aspx?pg=19382&ca=29

Sit Up Straight!

Amazingly basic, but if you're sitting in an uncomfortable chair or have grown accustomed to using your laptop on a varying assortment of coffee shop tables, borrowed desks or airplane tray tables, you're probably paying the price with a sore back and crunched-up neck. If you work solo, go to a better office furnishings store and ask them to show you how to adjust your chair to the proper height for your body. If you work with others and can spring for it, have an ergonomic guru assess office furnishings. If you've got an adjustable chair or desk and want to work effectively, try these tips from the Centers for Disease Control:

• Choose a chair with lumbar support and sit upright in the chair so your lower back and shoulders both touch the backrest.
• Chair height should allow for feet to sit flat on the floor. (Use a footrest if this isn't possible.)
• Thighs should parallel the floor, with knees at hip level.
• There should be 2 to 4 inches between back of knee and seat.
• Allow 2 to 3 inches between thighs and underside of desk or work station.

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• Renovating Your Business's Location

State and Restate the Mission of Your Organization

Ensure that everyone understands it and sees how their individual work fits into attaining it. If employees don't know where the company or the leader is headed, then confusion, ambiguity and even chaos reign. Bad news for everyone. The mission needs to be concrete and future-oriented. It must describe where the organization wants to go and what it wants to do. It must be motivating enough so that employees will want to work hard to make that mission a reality. Each department, team, unit and individual must clearly understand why the company exists: to make money, to do good for the community, to create a quality product and so on. Once the mission is clear, and once everyone understands it, then they can create goals that strive to fulfill the mission. All goals, all behaviors and all policies will then be geared toward organizational success.

Get Out Of Your Office

Walk around, meet your employees face-to-face and get to know them. Unfortunately, many leaders and managers stay within their comfort zone in their office or cubicle. It's easier that way. They work on their projects without interruption, they don't have to deal with "difficult" employees, and they don't have to answer challenging questions or resolve unusual issues. These are loser bosses. When bosses don't walk around, they miss out on a chance to get to know the employees, understand their difficulties, remove obstacles in the way of success and boost morale. And the employees miss out on an important opportunity to make contact with their leader. They don't see the boss as approachable, available to answer questions or there to resolve problems. This lack of interaction creates a serious gap. Productivity, employee satisfaction and morale all suffer. Inevitably, the employee soon learns that the boss doesn't really care about their job or them. And if the person in charge doesn't care, why should they?

Set Specific, Measurable and Attainable Goals

The boss needs to be very clear about what the goals are for each department and each individual employee. And all of those goals need to address the mission. There are several key ways to accomplish this. The major issue is clarity.

1. The goal needs to be specific so the employee knows exactly what is acceptable and what is not, and how to be successful. A goal of "Go out and do a good job" is not specific enough to be meaningful. Do you mean "Be at work on time"? "Have reports in by 3 p.m."? "Work more collaboratively with others"?
2. The goal needs to be measurable so that both the employee and the boss can evaluate if the goal has been met. "Increase sales this quarter" is a nice idea, but it's useless as a goal. Do you mean "Boost sales by 10 percent, 25 percent or 75 percent"?
3. The goal needs to be attainable. This is where new employees, eager to be successful, often fall short. The boss needs to work closely with each employee to ensure that goals are within reach.

Recognize Effort and Success

And make sure to share that news with others. Someone once said, "Feedback is the breakfast of champions." Providing feedback and letting employees know how much you value their work is a key source of motivation. Everyone, including the altruists among us, wants and likes feedback. Find opportunities to spread good news. Everyone will benefit--especially the people whom you are identifying and praising. And others will benefit because they will strive to be recognized by you. Consider:

1. Sending an e-mail congratulating the individual. In addition, personally meet with that person and tell him/her how you value and appreciate the accomplishment (and even the attempt).
2. Sending an e-mail to other people on the team, in the unit or in the company announcing the success, even if it's a small success. Little successes ultimately lead to bigger ones.
3. Clearly mentioning the accomplishment at the next team, department and company meeting.
4. Putting a note in that person's personnel file.
5. Making sure the employee's manager realizes the success and remembers to write it in his/her performance appraisal review.
6. Putting a notice in the company newsletter.
7. Sending an announcement to the local newspaper.

What other ways do YOU have to recognize success? Share them with us on Twitter.

Observe and Ask

There are many theories on how to motivate employees and even more about what actually motivates people. The best way is the simplest: just observe and ask!

1. Ask what kind of tasks the person likes best. Challenging? Easy? Complex? Creative? Repetitious? Concrete? Abstract?
2. Find out if the employee prefers to work alone or with a team. And in which scenario is he/she most productive?
3. Determine what you as the boss can do to remove obstacles in the way of ensuring high performance.
4. Observe how effective and efficient the person is with different kinds of tasks, individually and on teams.
5. Determine the person's level of accuracy and productivity with different kinds of tasks and with different individuals.

Ask if the employee needs/prefers intensive guidelines and feedback or works best with fewer directions and responses.

• Creating a Culture of Excellence
• Wanted: Fully Engaged Employees
• 101 People Problems Solved

Avoid The Speed Trap

When was the last time you sent an e-mail to someone you didn't want to have get it? Or called someone and forgot who it was you called? Rushing is the standard pace of the workplace today, and it's all based on a false urgency that drives stress and mistakes that make you want to catch the next flight to Timbuktu. The medical world calls it time urgency, because it's a heart attack risk. Time urgency makes you think every minute of the day is an emergency. It jacks up impatience, annoyance and anger, which fuels stress and clogged arteries. So be aware of when you're racing and catch yourself by taking a deep breath and slowing down. You'll get the job done with more attention and less stress when you can shut off the false panic of time urgency. It's not life or death. It's only work.

Check E-mail At Scheduled Times, No More Than Once An Hour

If you have your e-mail on autopilot, checking every five minutes, that's a potential for 96 interruptions in an eight-hour day--and preparation for a bit part in the next zombie flick. The average information worker loses 2.1 hours of productivity a day to interruptions. Researchers say checking e-mail four times daily, once when you get to work, before lunch, after lunch, and before you go home is the most productive way to handle e-mail. The more control (i.e., self-management) you can exert over task practices, the less stress and chaos there is, and the more attention you can give to the job at hand.

Don't Be An Overworked Martyr

In the knowledge economy, it's not about how much punishment you can take but how fresh your brain is. MRI scans of fatigued brains look exactly like ones that are sound asleep. Don't get caught up in the self-defeating bravado of "My Ulcer's Bigger Than Yours." Driving yourself to the edge isn't heroic; it's stupid. Spending excessive time on tasks drives stress, mistakes, and lousy decision-making. It's not the quantity of hours but the quality that drives productive performance and influences how much attention and energy you can bring to the task. Hypertension and mistakes triple with chronic 12-hour days.

Find A Hobby

There's no better way to get the stress down and life on the calendar than finding a passion or pursuit you can indulge on a regular basis. No, checking tweets doesn't count as a hobby. Identify an activity you have an affinity for, maybe something you always wanted to do, and sign up for a class and get out there and do it. Studies show a clear link between frequent participation in leisure activities and life satisfaction and stress reduction.

Create A Buffer Zone Between Work And Home

To ease re-entry back into civilian life each night, you need to decompress from the day's pressure cooker. Like a deep-sea diver, you can't come back to the surface of regular life too quickly or you'll explode all over the home front. You've been in one mode all day--aggressive, competitive, objective-oriented--none of which works in your private life. Find a transitional space to bring the pressure down. Go to the gym, meditate, read, or find some calming space that can bring you back to life. Try to take at least 30 minutes for the wind-down, but even 20 minutes can help.

• E-mail is Making You Stupid
• Work-Life Balance: Achieve It
• 5 Steps To Managing the Impossible

Multitask Your Mobile Devices

Sometimes having a camera, camcorder or audio recorder can be a real productivity booster. But buying them can easily add up to a few hundred bucks--and far more if you've got multiple employees who need them--and then you've got to worry about them being lost.

A more efficient strategy is to leverage your smartphone. Most have a camera for still photos and video, and some--such as the new HTC Incredible from Verizon Wireless-- have resolutions of up to 8 megapixels (mp). That means the convenience of using your phone as a camera doesn't have to come at the expense of image quality.

Even a phone with a 3.2 mp camera--a resolution common today even in entry-level smartphones--is good enough to boost productivity. For example, use your smartphone's camera to photograph PowerPoint slides and other presentation materials, and jot down only what's not in the slides. This frees you to focus on what the presenter is saying, so you can ask questions as they come to mind, instead of hours or days later when you're reviewing--and when the presenter might not be available.

For recording phone calls (check the laws first) and face-to-face conversations, use your smartphone's audio-recording app (such as Windows Mobile's Voice Recorder) instead of buying and carrying a standalone digital or microcassette recorder. Afterward, sync your smartphone with your Mac or PC to transfer those recordings for transcription, archiving or e-mailing as an attachment. If your cellular service is fast enough, you also can e-mail the audio files right from your smartphone.

One tip: In your phone's settings, you should have several options for voice quality. Experiment to find the one (44,100 Hz, 16 Bit, Mono (86 KB/s) is a good choice) that provides the quality you need without creating audio files so big that they're a hassle to e-mail.

Find Your Way Fast

There are plenty of navigation applications for smartphones, and they're a handy way to avoid wasting time trying to find an address. There are two main types: free and fee.

The fee category includes apps provided by your wireless carrier, such as Sprint Navigation and Verizon Wireless' VZ Navigator. Expect to pay about $10 per month per phone for unlimited usage, unless you've got one of those rare wireless plans--such as Sprint's Simply Everything--that includes navigation as part of the base price.

One of the best-known and most useful examples of the free category is Google Maps, which is available for most smartphone operating systems. One caveat: Although the app itself is free, you'll still have to pay your carrier for the data that the app uses, such as downloading traffic information. That's another reason why it's worth considering a smartphone plan that includes unlimited data.

Regardless of whether you go the free or fee route, this two-fer strategy minimizes the chances you'll waste time getting lost, and it saves the cost and hassle of carrying--or equipping your employees with--a separate navigation device. Bonus: You can copy addresses from your contact list into the navigation app instead of reading them from your smartphone screen and typing them into the GPS unit.

One bit of advice: If you need to use navigation while driving, find a car kit or some other gadget that will position your phone on your dashboard. That way, you don't have one hand holding the phone while driving, and the on-screen map is right where it's most convenient. Plus, the dashboard location gives the phone a clearer view of GPS satellites.

Get Your Passwords Organized

You probably have about 147 of them by now and have to hunt for 146 of them every time you need access to an account or service. Spend a few minutes to get them all in one secure, accessible place.

Our choice: Use your smartphone to keep track of all of your login and password information with apps such as eWallet and SplashID. Bonus: Because your smartphone likely is something you carry at all times, these apps also can store your logins, passwords and codes for your PC, secure doors, etc. Some solutions include the ability to scan the front and back of credit cards so you don't need to carry those.

So what happens to your passwords if your smartphone is lost or stolen? When comparing solutions, look for security features such as the ability to lock out an unauthorized user after a certain number of failed attempts to access your repository. For an additional layer of security, check with your smartphone's manufacturer or your wireless carrier to see if they offer a service where you can remote lock and erase the memory of a phone that's been lost or stolen. (One example is the Palm Pre.) There are also apps you can buy, such as Corsoft Warden and Sprite Terminator.

• The Future of Smartphones: 4G and Beyond
• Mobile Entrepreneur
• Special Report: Doing Business With No Walls

Stay On top Of E-mail

Today's smartphones make it easy to check e-mail, so there's no excuse for having an overflowing inbox. But if you're just starting out as an entrepreneur, there's a good chance you're using a consumer-oriented "POP3" e-mail service, which can become a headache as your business takes off.

Here's why: Short for "Post Office Protocol 3," POP3 downloads messages to your device's e-mail client, such as Outlook or Entourage, and then deletes them from the server. So if you check messages from multiple devices--say, a laptop at home, a desktop in the office and a smartphone in between--each of their inboxes is different.

It's more efficient to use an e-mail system based on Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP), which keeps all of your devices' inboxes in sync by giving each one a copy of your messages but still preserving the original on the server. That means, for example, that you can read a message on your laptop in the morning and review it again in the afternoon from your smartphone.

Ditto for messages you've sent, deleted or moved to a special folder, because every time one of your devices connects with the server, it gets an updated snapshot of your whole account. With POP3, you'd have to update each device individually and manually--a huge waste of time and a great way to get yourself in a position where an important message is on your desktop, but all you have is your smartphone.

Not all e-mail providers charge extra for IMAP. For example, Google's free Gmail uses IMAP and works with most major e-mail apps, such as Outlook, and smartphone operating systems, such as Android, iPhone and Windows Mobile.

Never Run Out Of Power

There's no excuse for your laptop or smartphone running out of juice. For starters, buy a spare battery for each must-carry device. For a smartphone, expect to pay $30 to $50, while laptop batteries go for $50 to $150. The biggest price factor is the battery's capacity, which usually is measured in terms of cells and hours. Shop around because some e-tailers--such as Seido, in the case of smartphones--always have a sale going.

Now for the important part: Keep your batteries charged. A dead spare is counterproductive. Many smartphones come with a charger that can juice up the spare by itself, even as the phone is charging.

One caveat: If you frequently use your laptop at your desk, pull the battery after it's completely charged and run your machine directly from the outlet. The alternative--charging the battery, unplugging from the outlet and then plugging back in when it runs low--wears out the battery faster.

For added insurance, buy a power dongle for your smartphone, such as Energizer's Energi to Go or Duracell's My Pocket Charger. These use one to four AA batteries and plug into the same port that your charger uses. Expect to pay around $20.

• Mobile Entrepreneur
• Special Report: Doing Business With No Walls
• The Future of Smartphones: 4G and Beyond
• Fight the Power Cord

Spend Your Money Productively

Too many businesses waste money on things that make them feel successful rather than investing it in things that will make them so. Expensive office furniture, a company car, and even fancy business cards are never going to bring a dime of income. Before every purchase, ask yourself, "What will this add to my bottom line?"

Shop Every Purchase

If you spend $1,000 for something you could have bought for $800, you'll need to produce an extra $200 to make up for it. Make this easy on yourself by using a standard form to solicit bids on purchase over a certain amount. E-mail it to at least three vendors, with a tight deadline for their bid. You'll be surprised how well this works. I once saved more than $4,000 on a car purchase with just this method. Even better, I saved hours of time I would have spent driving to each dealership and dealing with the whole sales pitch hassle.

Avoid The Paralysis Of Analysis.

You can spend hours, days, and even months preparing spreadsheets and tweaking assumptions about something you know in your gut will or won't work. This is not to say you should just go with what feels good, but there comes a time when more analysis is just a waste of time. Make a decision and get on with it.

Automate Your Bill Paying

No one, not even a financial nerd, likes to pay bills. To make the time you spend on this necessary evil more productive, pre-schedule as many payments as possible.

Most accounting software and bank services allow you to schedule payments for a later date. The next time you pay your bills, schedule payments for the next three to four months for all the bills that are typically the same from month to month. Even if the payment isn't exact, schedule an amount you're sure will cover the bill. I pay all my utility, telephone and loan bills this way. I even send what I know will cover any minimum payment on my credit cards so I never have to pay a late fee.

Another method is to allow companies to direct debit your account for what's owed. I'm not a fan of this method because it's out of your control. But when you pre-schedule them on your own, you can easily cancel the payment before the payment date if something changes.

Track Expenses

If you're using a computerized accounting system (and you should be), take an hour or a day (or whatever it takes) to set up income, expense, asset and liability categories. Then train it to automatically categorize expenses. If you write a check to Verizon, it should automatically assign it to your telephone expense category.

This will not only save time on repetitive tasks throughout the year, but it will also make it easier to train someone else to pay the bills. And it will save you a ton of time when you prepare your taxes.

• 6 Weeks to a Better Bottom Line
• 50 Ways to Save Money in Your Business
• Getting Your Money's Worth

Stop Thinking Of Time As An Unlimited Commodity

Essentially, just as a closet is a limited space into which you must fit a certain number of objects, a schedule is a limited space into which you must fit a certain number of tasks. When you realize the actual limits of your time, you become much more selective about what you put into the "closet" of your day.

Create A Time Map

Subdivide your day into three blocks of time--morning, midday and afternoon--and decide what category of work you will tackle during each chunk of time. The regular structure creates mini-deadlines throughout the day that keep you focused on your goals and priorities. Here's how:

Set office hours: Say, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you like to jog or eat a leisurely breakfast, wake up early so that you can be ready to hit it by 8.

Divide your day into three parts: An example would be serving existing clients, marketing for new clients and taking care of administrative tasks. If you feel you have all day to do all things, you'll be less productive.

Keep a schedule:For example, devote 8 a.m. to noon to existing customers, 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. to marketing, and 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. to tasks such as printing invoices and updating your contacts list. Look at it this way: In the morning, you're working to make money. In the afternoon, you're selling your business.

Dedicate 10 or 15 minutes at the end of each day to planning: Specifically think about what you will do in each of the three parts of the next day. Break projects into small steps: One morning can be devoted to polishing up Project A and getting halfway done with Project B.

Create three-day plans: Once you get used to planning a day ahead, start looking further down the road and update those plans at the end of each workday.

Group Similar Tasks

Batching your to-dos will allow you to build momentum and boost efficiency as you repeat each action. For example, doing a series of prospecting calls in a row saves time. With your sales "hat" on, your spiel gets clearer and sharper with each consecutive call. If you have several proposals to write, it's more efficient to blast through them sequentially rather than switch to financial activities in between.

Don't Write To-Dos In A Million Places

Scattering your tasks and reminders between a variety of Post-its, notepads, planners and applications is a recipe for confusion. Hours are wasted transferring information, second-guessing what to do next, and living in fear of what might be forgotten. Commit to one single, consistent system. Once you get into the habit of writing everything down in a single location, you'll stop worrying that you're forgetting something and will be able to concentrate on getting things done

• Work On--Not In--Your Business
• 5 Steps To Managing the Impossible
• It's About Time (Management)
• Time Management Training

If you're an entrepreneur--whether you're working solo or with employees who share the load--time is your most valuable commodity. There simply aren't enough hours in the day to stay ahead on the job, let alone have a personal life. The answer isn't to work harder--chances are, you're already putting in 50 to 60 hours a week--but to work smarter. And that means doing what you do in a more productive way.

We're going to show you how.

Starting today, Entrepreneur presents 200 Ways To Be More Productive in Life ... and in Business--a nine-week challenge aimed at getting your business to run more effectively and efficiently, and at giving you more time for life outside of work, too.

We've gathered a panel of experts to offer 200 concrete, real-world pieces of advice, and we've focused on the areas that you've told us are the most critical "pain points": Time management, technology, mobile technology, money, leadership, work space and work/life issues. Each day you'll get a few more tips--challenges, if you will--sent to your e-mail, RSS feed or Twitter account. You can also find them posted right here on our website or on Entrepreneur.com's Facebook page.

All you have to do is make some honest assessments about yourself and your workstyle and be committed to putting new energy into the places that need it. Yes, this will take some time and attention. But, we promise, it will be worth it.

How will you know? Today's challenge--know who you are and know what you want--includes a short quiz. Answer the questions and hang on to them: These are your goals for the next nine weeks. At the end of our program, we'll look at how far we've come together. Now, let's get started.

1

Know Who You Are And Know What You Want

Entrepreneurs are notorious for a "ready, fire, aim" approach to business. As a result, they often end up misfits in their own ventures because they simply let the vagaries of their business define them, rather than making sure their business serves their motivations, talents, personality and desires.
So before you set your sights on specific productivity goals, give some thought to what you're good at and what you're not, what energizes you and what drags you down and what you want out of your business and what you don't.

Ready, aim, fire.

• 12 Months to Startup
• A Guide to Goal Setting
• Idea Evaluation Checklist
• 12 Tough Questions to Ask Yourself