“Getting Things Done” for Your Business (with an online inventory system)

Are you looking for ways to improve the efficiency of your small business workflow? Maybe it is just you and a partner and therefore improving your effectiveness greatly impacts the business. Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen is the definitive guide to Getting Things Done (GTD). Beyond the book if you search the web for GTD, you will find all kinds of good advice and information on the topic. Stockpile, our free online inventory system, is a great example of a tool that will help you get things done!

The GTD program can seem overwhelming but it's not too difficult if you understand where to start. Let's break it down into a few basic tips that can be further developed by reading the book or searching the web.

First, email has become an important part of your everyday life in both business and pleasure. Knowing which emails to follow up on and which ones to just file away is important. GTD advocates not using your email inbox as your todo list. David recommends keeping your inbox clean (or "inbox zero"). Spend a short amount of time, a few minutes, processing your email and either: 1) delegating to someone else, 2) put on your calendar for a specific time to revisit or 3) add it to your next actions list which you review regularly. Keeping your inbox clear is just the first step in improving your effectiveness.

How can Stockpile, Canvus Apps online inventory system, help? Are you using your email to help manage your inventory? Maybe you have an email in your inbox about some inventory that has been delivered. You could forward the email to your partner, but if you process it and add it to Stockpile, you can help cleanup your inbox and get it into the system for managing your inventory.

In future posts, we will cover some other great tips by David Allen and how those might apply to your small business needs.

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