Small Firms Ideas Exchange

I've got two simple ways I stay prepared...
"Money Monday"
and
"Filing Friday"
(don't ask me about Wednesdays...)

On Mondays (AKA Money Mondays) I make sure the accounts payable (yes, we do those first) are updated and taken care of--checks cut and mailed out; etc. Then I use that "inspiration" to take care of the accounts receiveable (issue new invoices, follow up on past due accounts, etc.). I've found this gets things kicked off right at the beginning of the week.

On Fridays (AKA Filing Fridays) we start clearing off our desks, putting away job files, putting correspondence in the paper files, etc. I’ve also found that it helps set up a good beginning of the next week--outstanding or unfinished items percolate to the top of the desk (they don’t get hidden in the file cabinets) and they are resolved on Monday…

We’ve started this “system“ a year or so ago, and it seems like everyone does a better job of enjoying their weekend because you feel like a) you completed something and b) you won’t walk into a fire storm with your fanny on fire on Monday wondering what you should do…

In this digital age it is time well spent to set aside at least an hour a week, if not half a day, to sharpen up on the latest digital tools in your office. This includes not simply learning software programs but learning how software programs can work together. Can you get screen shots of site information from Google Earth or the county GIS system and use them for preliminary site design in your CAD program? Can you take digital images from a variety of sources and integrate them into written presentations or slide shows alongside your CAD produced documents?

These techniques are not so hard but require a focus across programs and not simply using one program for everything. The better you are at this the better you can respond to client needs and concerns.