You Don’t Have to Do It All: 5 Tools to Make Your Work Life Easier

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It seems the analog age is slowly but surely giving way to the digital era in business. At first, it may have seemed to many like unnecessary changes were being made. Office managers clung to physical paper and managers insisted on in-person meetings. It felt safe and comfortable to trust the processes you knew. However, an increasing number of companies are welcoming online tools that can make work life easier. Here are a few worth incorporating if you haven’t already:

1. Billing, Payroll, and Invoicing Systems

Office managers have always had a huge load to bear in terms of tracking profits and losses. Income and expenses can be a nightmare to manage. Indeed, some of the best in the business are treasured for their incredible filing and organizational skills. Incorrectly written or tracked invoices and bills can mean huge losses over the course of a year. Unpaid employees and vendors can mean lawsuits.

Fortunately, you can now rely on automated do-it-all small business software to streamline the process. You can input items on invoices and employees can often also enter hours in these systems for payroll purposes. And vendors can send digital bills for products and services rendered. With the right programs in place, you can save time and energy and focus on work that requires a human touch.

2. Calendars and Time Tracking

One of the biggest draws on time and energy in the workplace is organizing your time. You have to plan and schedule a ton of meetings, events, and tasks. It can take hours out of each week just to fill out and check your calendar. If you work remotely, you may also have to track your time. And that doesn’t even scratch the surface of having to actually do the work you’re planning and tracking.

With online calendars and time tracking systems, your day can run smoothly. Schedule meetings with apps like Calendar.com or Google Calendar and set reminders. Time blocking can help you stay on task and improve focus. Furthermore, programs like Toggl or Clockify allow you to allocate time for projects. With each of these programs, you can also use insights to reflect on what went well and see how you’re actually spending your time each day.

3. Project Management

One way you can improve functionality in the workplace is with a project management application. In the past, you might have needed multiple staff members to organize projects and lead teams. Hundreds of man hours were dedicated to delegating and keeping everyone on task – not to mention following up. Managing people is no easy feat.

While you may not be able to eliminate the role of project manager, you can make the job easier. With apps like Asana, ClickUp, and Trello, teams can communicate, view assigned tasks, and track the progress of a project. Get your team logged in and educated with the right system, and empower them to stay on task. This approach can go a long way toward efficiency and employee satisfaction.

4. Brainstorming

A lot has been said about the negative aspects of programs like ChatGPT. Complaints abound over how writers will be replaced and robots will take over. The good news is this future is far from inevitable and it certainly isn’t coming anytime soon. AI writing tools lack the common sense to do basic fact checking, among other issues. But they can be a great resource for brainstorming.

Sometimes, one of the hardest parts of creating is the initial brainstorming phase. It can take hours, if not days or weeks, to come up with a winning pitch or idea. And once you’ve done that, you have to organize your thoughts into titles and subtitles. Tools like ChatGPT can save you a ton of time by simply providing you with a wealth of information. You can draw creative inspiration and go from there.

5. Virtual Meetings

Finally, you’ve likely heard the comments about how “this could have been an email.” As the digital age has come into its own, employees have become resistant to the idea of meetings. In-person meetings especially can feel unnecessary for staff members that have heavy workloads. At the same time, some meetings are essential. You want to touch base with your people often enough that they feel part of the team.

Virtual meetings are perfect for when you don’t want to require everyone to come into the office. Apps like Zoom and Skype have been around for years. More programs are being designed and improved upon so you’ll have plenty of options to choose from. With these apps, you can jump on a call from anywhere and allow your staff to do the same. Just don’t forget that some of those meetings really can be emails.

In the end, you don’t have to do it all, at least not all by yourself. If you’ve been dragging your feet into the digital age, it’s time to march forward. You have a wealth of programs and systems at your fingertips, many of them cheap or free. They can save you hundreds of man hours each year and make your work life easier. Then, you can give your best self to the parts of work you really love.