Admin & production systems
https://wesort.co.uk/about/systems
Organisation is beautiful.
The lifeblood of operating a business is: keeping track of what we need to do, when it should be done and how to do those things. This involves a nuanced mix of skills, behaviours and processes.
Organisation can take many forms. Personally, I don’t think there are any perfect ways to be organised. The point is to assess and question whether you’re able to consistently get things done, do those things well, and make money doing it.
Profits come from good processes.
Good processes come from iteration.
Keeping track
A simple paper to-do list: quick, cheap and easy to create. It can be shared immediately with your colleague sitting next to you without any further set-up time or explanation. In many ways it may suit your needs.
A digital task list can expand and improve on the paper because it better copes with scale. This might include: tracking many hundreds of things, allowing lists to evolve over time, or putting this stuff in the cloud. The ‘to-do’ app will allow you to filter out what’s not relevant at that moment by removing distraction. For me, I still use GQueues after 12+ years – it works for me.
Email is our most trusted technological friend. We use it to gather and store information, but the truth is it may not be the best tool for this. Some messages are critical while others are noise – either way they all take up time and attention so it’s important to use email well. Mailboxes are poorly suited to storing operational data such as order details, as they are a static record of communication and fundamentally they are not collaborative. To combat these issues, I highly recommend considering keeping a clean inbox alongside a to-do list and a production management system.
Optimising your working day
Processes and workflows bring structure to our working lives and this structure brings efficiency and stability.
By finding the critical points in the work you do – be that a rare step with great impact or an everyday task that is seemingly benign – we can analyse your best route from A to Z. The sustainability of your business has many factors and it’s this risk that often causes stress or uncertainty. How stable is your business? Can it operate well without certain individuals, processes or clients? Can you calmly take annual leave? What are your backup plans?
Let’s talk and see if I can help you answer those questions.
Confidently calculate project costs and prices by adding up time and materials.
More info on Trifle
- Private web app
Cloud based order management app for internal use by a made-to-order glass lighting company.
More info on Rothschild & Bickers web app