September 20, 2018
4 Ways Small Businesses can Improve their Productivity
Being productive is important for any business. But, when your company is small, it’s even more crucial that you stay on top of your tasks. Being productive doesn’t just mean saving time. It brings a greater level of engagement in the office and a better work-life balance; efficiency matters to both the company and the individual. Good work gets done faster and employees have fewer late nights a week – a win-win for all.
1) Less planning, more doing
Timescale is a key factor in boosting staff productivity. If you’ve ever had a to-do list that’s as long as your arm, you’ll know that inefficient planning can eat into the time spent actually doing the work. With DropTask’s [now Ayoa] Canvas View, firing out tasks is quick and easy. Add new tasks to your project in Canvas View with a speedy double-click and quickly populate your workspace with bubble-shaped to-dos.
Being able to respond to change quickly is a key characteristic of an innovative small business – DropTask [Ayoa] offers you the flexibility to do this. Whether it’s a deadline which is bumped up or reordering tasks, DropTask’s [Ayoa] Planner can adapt. Your Planner is your own personal workspace. It gives you the freedom to instantly schedule tasks Now, Next and Soon from any project, keep track of priorities and quickly rejig when needed.
2) Manage your workload
When a small business is managing a high volume of work, it can begin to feel overwhelming. There’s only so many times you can underline, circle or number your urgent tasks without losing sight of what’s really important. Workflow View is helpful for projects that move through logical stages, allowing you to see your tasks in linear lists. The simplicity of this visual tool makes processing workloads easier and helps to drive them forward. Team avatars provide instant clarity of task ownership, and Importance & Urgency flags draw your attention to where it’s needed the most.
3) Work anytime, anywhere
Being out-of-office doesn’t have to mean being out of the loop. Good teamwork is crucial for smaller companies, but being physically in the same workspace isn’t always possible for modern teams. With DropTask [Ayoa] for desktop, web, iPad, and phone you can rest assured you always have a central hub of collaboration. Real-time updates mean notifications will alert you when you’ve been assigned to a new task, or when changes have been made to an existing one. For managers, this means you can assign work remotely. Use task checklists and Progress bars to keep everyone up to date with the project.
4) Clearer communication
A clogged up email inbox is good for no one. It takes time to work through, requires superhuman levels of concentration and is often a symptom of micro-management. Discussions in DropTask [Ayoa] have everything you need to keep communication brief and timely. Being able to add attachments means no more trawling through your inbox. Using Discussions in DropTask [Ayoa] is guaranteed to save time, and ultimately boost productivity for small businesses.
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Caragh Medlicott - Ayoa Blog Author
Caragh Medlicott is a freelance writer and interim Editor of Wales Arts Review. After graduating with a First-Class Honours degree in English Literature and an MA in Creative Writing from Cardiff University she began a full-time writing career in Wales. She is the author of several published short stories and was shortlisted for the Lunate 500 award in December 2020, and a finalist in Narrative’s 30 Below competition in 2021. She is a regular contributor to BBC Wales' The Review Show.