Things You Can Automate To Free Up Your Workload

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Guest Post: Allison Hail has some fantastic thoughts about utilizing technology to help with all you have on your plate. Grateful that she was willing to share her thoughts on my blog.

The digital age has transformed the way we do work. One of the best things about the rise of technology is the amount of routine, time-wasting tasks that automated programs and apps can take off business owners’ hands, leaving you to do the work that really matters.

To help you free up your workload, we have the lowdown on the 5 best productivity tools out there.

1. File sharing

Programs such as Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive make it simple for you to manage group projects by sharing files and projects online. Especially if you have a remote workforce or your main communication with clients is digitally-based – such as Skype calls or Hangouts chats – shared storage applications are invaluable to maintaining open, documented communication.

When you share a document, you will usually have the option to share view-only copies, or provide the option of editing. When your whole team is capable of editing the same project, you’ll be able to track what changes are being made and when, as well as leave comments for your co-workers regarding critical points.

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2. Scheduling appointments

To keep track of every new appointment on your plate, choose an automated software that will neatly set out your weekly schedule, and will remind you with a bleeping alarm where you have to be and when.

You can automate all your important appointments using a tool such as ScheduleOnce or Calendly, both of which will allow you to keep track not only of your own schedule, but those of your customers and employees.

3. Your invoicing and finances

If you’re a contracting business and prefer not to deal with paper invoicing, then scale up with Invoicely. Invoicely’s intuitive platform for creating and sending invoices has proven a hit with small business owners around the globe. Particularly if you’re concerned with currency conversion and tracking business expenses, Invoicely’s a great – and, if you get the basic form of the program, free – way to stay on top of your invoices.

On the topic of finances, you might also want to check out Quickbooks, a leading software for automating your business’ banking and accounts. Paying bills, tracking tax: Quickbooks does it all.

4. Content creation

These days, top-quality content is vital to effective business marketing. That’s why it’s so important to automate your processes by signing on to a content management system (CMS) which will assist the creation and publication of all your key content. Allowing for everything – from writing, to graphics and videos – to be prepared and edited in one place, a CMS will serve as the platform you need to offer polished, attractive content (without having to learn much coding at all).

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5. Employee Productivity

If you’re in charge of employees, then you’ll know that keeping track of everyone’s disparate workloads is quite the task in itself. Even if you’re based in a physical office, it’s not a bad idea to consolidate your workforce’s tasks onto one visible platform with a collaborative online tool such as Trello. Rather than leaving instructions to be lost or forgotten via email or word-of-mouth, online productivity tools like Trello allow you to create and assign tasks to your workers. They’ll, in turn, be able to comment on their progress, and mark cards as complete when each task is finished. You’ll have never run a better-oiled machine!

So, there you have it: a selection of the 5 most effective ways to up your workplace productivity levels through. In order to facilitate all this automation, reliable and high-speed internet is vital. Without fibre internet, these apps and tools won’t function as speedily as your business operations need them to – so if your WiFi router is getting old or your internet provider isn’t doing its due, it might be time for an upgrade.

Allison enjoys supporting and managing her freelance writing career with technology.  RescueTime and Trello are the two tools she finds most useful. You can visit her Tumblr page to read more of her published work.