New habits can be hard to form, even when your old habits are destroying your ability to work smart instead of hard. But productivity when you are a small business can be exceedingly important since the company does not have the time to spare to train new employees to replace unproductive ones. To spur on more productive workers, sometimes a new tactic is needed, and sometimes the simplest of ideas can turn out to be the most helpful. Take a few of these tips and see if they might help your company grow through a more content and productive office team.

Make Quick Work of Your Inbox Then Leave It Alone

Putting off e-mails in your inbox is probably the worst thing you can possibly do yourself. Those e-mails then sit in your mind as you wonder what you should do with them instead of simply being off your plate completely. Instead, give yourself an hour in the morning to deal with the mass of e-mails you need to answer, and then forget about it until after lunch while you work on more important projects. If someone absolutely needs something right now, give them a call and see if you may be of more service that way and can get them the information they need without the back and forth of e-mail.

Set New Routines and Keep Them for Awhile

Forming new habits is hard, but if you keep yourself in structured habits for awhile when they’re good habits, usually you can make them part of your routine and never know they’re there. For example, an evening routine could consist of checking your inbox that you didn’t check all day, reviewing your day to make sure everything is done off of your check list and planning for the next day. Then there’s no crazy dash to remember everything when you come back in the next morning – just sit down, check your list, clear out your e-mail, and continue on with the tasks at hand.

Organization is Important

Finding a spot for everything can sometimes be incredibly difficult because office spaces are small and paperwork is relatively “big”, but where there’s a will, there’s a way. Purchasing an additional filing cabinet or designating certain filing places you already have for specific folders and papers help you find something essential when someone needs it. Taking care of their need as quickly as possible means you can get your project done as quickly as possible as well, which means extra time for everyone involved.