Episode 007: Decluttering Your Business
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Last week’s challenge: Schedule a Distraction-Free Vacation
Natalie and I discuss the ins and outs of booking a vacation for yourself, one that is distraction-free! Natalie shares some of her top tips for getting out of town while ensuring your business doesn’t burn down in the process. She advocates communicating well ahead of your vacation to let your clients and customers know what to expect while you’re gone.
Personally, I had a really hard time with this. Not so much the booking of a vacation but all the worrying about how things are going to play out while I’m away. Although I didn’t mention this on the podcast, because I just did this recently, I reached out to a project manager I’ve worked with previously and asked her to step in and manage things while I’m away. While I’m away I’ll be creating documentation around important processes that will help other people while I’m away.
This week’s challenge: Declutter Your Business
If you’re a neat freak then this episode is totally NOT for you. If you’re a little disorganized like Natalie and me then you should check out our episode this week where we talk decluttering your business.
Decluttering your business doesn’t mean only the physical stuff n’ junk, it can be virtual, and it can be mental too. Sound confusing? Nah, Natalie and I take you through a few top tips to get you going. I recommend you start with the low-hanging fruit, things that have been sitting around that you can easily knock out and rack up some easy wins. I have a couple desks and a chair I want to discard. I’m going to put them on Facebook’s Marketplace or on Craigslist. We’ll see how that all goes.
We discuss different things that you can declutter in your business from your office and workspace to clearing up all of those paid service subscriptions and making sure to cancel the ones you may not need any longer or even downgrading the ones you don’t need.
Simple living is the absence of excess. Many consider minimalism and simple living to be focused on possessions. While that is a very practical starting point, the decision to eliminate excess will naturally spill over into other areas of life. Eliminating excess possessions leads to a decluttered home. — From the Domino Effect
Additionally, I make a bet with Natalie regarding how much money she might save from canceling her subscriptions. I guess that she saves $250…total, which is embarrassingly low in hindsight.
Resources for completing this challenge:
- 21 Ways to Declutter Your Business by Minette Riordan, PhD (pay particular attention to creating a manual for your business, such a great tip).
- Decluttering Your Business and How to Keep it Clean by Josh Cohen
- Utilize Facebook’s Marketplace to offload your miscellaneous junk.
Show Notes:
- 03:00 — Natalie and I discuss last week’s challenge on how we scheduled our distraction-free vacation.
- 11:08 — We discuss this week’s challenge where we tackle decluttering your business.
As always, don’t forget to leave us that gushy 5-star review on iTunes and what not. And remember, kids, keep it simple and most importantly Keep it Doable!