South Africa: Spark joy in your business this spring

Earlier this year, there was a huge buzz around organising consultant Marie Kondo and her Netflix series, Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. Now that the season for spring cleaning is upon us in South Africa, it’s worth remembering her philosophy of keeping only items which ‘spark joy.’

But joy deserves to filter into all aspects of your life – not just your messy drawer. Consider what this means in the context of your business. Reviewing your processes and systems every so often, clearing out those that don’t serve a purpose and replacing them with some that do is essential. 

A messy work environment leads to a messy mind. It stresses us out, it makes us less productive and it pushes our goals a little further out of reach. So how can you channel the spirit of Marie Kondo to spring clean your business?

Is your IT infrastructure stressful or serene?

Begin by reviewing your file system and rediscovering all of the folders you had forgotten about. Which do you need? Find out-of-date software and bloatware that you forgot to delete, then, just like that 2006 band tee, get rid of it and don’t look back.  

While you’re rethinking your IT system, take the opportunity to reorganise around the files you use most often. Consider which folders you use every day, and make sure they’re not buried. 

Marie Kondo says you should be able to see every object when you open a well-organised drawer or wardrobe. Think of the cloud as an intangible wardrobe, a place to access the full expanse of your organisation’s data. Are there systems you could migrate, adapt, or even entirely remove?

Declutter your accounting system

A business owner inevitably has a lot to deal with on a day to day basis – so think about how to clean up your accounting systems for the season. When you do take some time, you’ll often find that you can cut down on the onslaught and lessen your overall workload. 

Cloud accounting is one way to focus on what’s important every day. It can make your day easier and give you more time to focus on the parts of your business which do spark joy. For example, cloud accounting makes it easier to reconcile receipts with bank statements, it reduces the time it takes to perform complex tasks, and allows accountants and clients to benefit from greater collaboration.

If you want to start your decluttering journey, start it with technology. Tidying up your desktop and your processes will save you time and keep you organised, making your working days easier and more streamlined. 

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Source: Xero Blog