Central Illinois' IT Experts

Prioritization
The main tenet of more productive work is to work smarter rather than harder. You can do this by identifying what needs to happen first, then moving forward with other tasks. In other words, establishing priority will help you better manage your tasks and increase productivity. Here are some ways you can stay on track with your task management.

• Ignore inspiration: Procrastination can often come from waiting around for the right time to approach a project. Simply put, waiting for inspiration is not the way to get things done. If you find yourself falling back on this excuse, reconsider the way you approach the project. Don’t wait to be inspired--inspire yourself through the accomplishment.
• Consider prioritization strategies: You might not know which part of a project you want to tackle first, leading to unwanted procrastination. This is a common issue, but it’s easily rectified by choosing the most pressing task to complete first. One way to effectively identify the most important task of the bunch is using the Eisenhower Matrix, which involves sorting tasks based on urgency and importance, then creating a plan to approach them in a way that is most effective to getting them done. The Pareto Principle, or 80-20 Rule, is a method of better spending your time, delegating 20 percent of tasks as the most important and spending the most time on them, and minimize spending time on the remaining 80 percent. In this way, you effectively spend most of your time on tasks that will reap the most rewards.
• Save distractions for later: Distractions are all over the office, and it can be tempting to just take a short break and interrupt your engagement with your tasks for just a little while. This can be disruptive and troublesome for your productivity. Instead, write down the distraction and keep it in mind for after your current task is complete.

Preparation
Once you’ve determined the proper organization of your tasks, you need to make sure you’re prepared to carry them out. Some of these preparations might sound counter-productive, but we assure you that they are quite critical to your success.

• Make sure you are in order: If you’re not ready to be productive, no amount of trying will make it so. Self-care is incredibly important to your professional existence. Be sure to keep yourself healthy and rested. If you find yourself having a low amount of energy in the morning, then it’s better to save the most important tasks for when you can devote your undivided attention. Be aware of how your tasks must be done, and remember--knowledge is power. The more you arm yourself with, the easier the task becomes.
• Expect to be interrupted: Even the best plans fall apart when they aren’t executed properly. Therefore, you should plan for this happening so that tasks can still be accomplished on-schedule. If nothing interrupts the task, then the best-case scenario is that you’re a little ahead of yourself.
• Learn from everything: Even mistakes can be enlightening. They can be used to figure out what went wrong, why it went wrong, and how to avoid things going wrong in the future. However, it’s also important to identify successes and learn from them. Examine the process and see how you can streamline it.

Cheating for More Productivity
In other, cleaner words, you want to work smarter. This can be accomplished through a variety of means without throwing away time and energy.

• Subdivide your tasks: Grouping tasks together into related fields can help you figure out when and how to get them done. To this end, you can plan out a work event. This might seem overwhelming, but if you go about it piece by piece, it will seem much more manageable. In these situations, being more specific is better, as it encourages you to focus on the individual tasks rather than the broad overall task.
• Leverage shortcuts: Technology is a great way to make shortcuts for yourself, and so is automation. If you don’t have to worry about certain tasks, then you can free up more time for other ones.
• Eliminate inefficiencies: If you worry too much about inconsequential things, then you’re wasting time. Eliminating choices that don’t make any difference in the day can make it easier to make decisions. Email is a great example of this. Keep them brief and to the point, as more important correspondence could warrant in-person discussions or phone calls. Keep in mind that you should also include specifics as needed.

Find Your Groove
There are a lot of different methods to consider, but only certain tactics will work for you. Decatur Computers Inc. can help by providing the solutions that enable some of these methods. To really benefit your business. Reach out by calling 217-475-0226 to learn more about these solutions.

Intuit QuickBooks released a study examining where small businesses stand regarding their cash flow. This study, titled The State of Small Business Cash Flow, shows that cash flow issues present a considerable problem for businesses. This survey was conducted on 3,000 small businesses with fewer than 100 employees in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, India, and Australia.

Common Issues

The survey states that 61 percent of small businesses have regular issues with their cash flow, with 42 percent of this group claiming that there had been a cash flow issue within the past year. Out of all businesses surveyed, 32 percent indicated they have been short on capital, leaving them unable to pay for certain obligations, be it payroll, loans, vendors, etc. Over two-in-five small business owners have also faced the issue of paying employees late, while 32 percent have actually had to do so.

In the United States, insufficient cash flow has led to missed opportunities for many organizations. Businesses have lost an average of $43,394 by passing on projects due to lacking sufficient funds. More than half also lost at least $10,000 due to the loss of such opportunities.

The Underlying Cause

This survey indicates that small businesses in the United States average a total of $53,399 in outstanding receivables. This is money that is owed to businesses. Businesses on average wait 29 days before their payments are received, a situation that causes a lot of trouble for organizations that rely so much on their funds.

If you don’t want to waste time and resources waiting for payment for the services you provide, Decatur Computers Inc. can help you put together a system that tracks payments, delivers invoices, and creates flexible payment options. To learn more, reach out to us at 217-475-0226.

For the small business owner whose business is using old technology, it may be difficult to commit financial resources to a full-scale upgrade of your IT systems. At Decatur Computers Inc., we understand that all businesses are different; and, the use of technology can be the key to escaping the month-to-month grind many smaller businesses have come to know. That’s why we’ve outlined this simple eight-question quiz designed to get the small business owner thinking about where their organization’s technology is, and what it really needs out of their organizational information technology.

Question #1 - What technology do we use?

Question #2 - What business problems do we expect technology to fix?

Question #3 - Does the technology that we use support what we do best?

Question #4 - Do we have the expertise to manage this technology?

Question #5 - What are our biggest IT-related costs?

Question #6 - How long have we been using this technology?

Question #7 - Where do we store our data?

Question #8 - Do we have systems in place to protect our data?

These seem like pretty straightforward questions, but by taking some time to think about and honestly answer them, any small business owner will immediately have a better understanding of how effective (or ineffective) their organization’s IT, technology management, and threat mitigation systems are. It will then provide the groundwork for a more detailed conversation about your organization’s IT now and in the future.

If you are thinking of upgrading your organization’s information systems, or if you just want to know how your technology stacks up to your needs, consulting with the IT professionals on staff at Decatur Computers Inc. can help you make sense of how to use the answers from the questions above to move your company in the best direction. Call us at 217-475-0226 today for more information.