This week I’ve been working with a client who is incredibly busy. The business is growing, the team is growing…but so is the chaos!
Like many business owners, they spend their day answering questions, searching for information, reminding people to do things and solving problems.
It leaves very little time to work on the business because they’re constantly working in it.
Sound familiar?
Here are a few simple changes that can make a huge difference…
Document your processes
If you have repeating workflows, document them. Whether it’s onboarding a new customer, raising an invoice or ordering stock, having a simple step-by-step guide means anyone can follow the process.
The simplest way to do this is when you or your team are actually doing that job. We either record the process in Loom or document it in Word with screenshots, where required.
We then have a database of all of our processes that everyone can access.
Use a task management system
Instead of asking someone to “remember” to do something, create a task.
Whether you use Asana, Trello, Microsoft Planner or another system, everyone knows:
✅ What needs doing
✅ Who’s responsible
✅ When it’s due
✅ Whether it’s been completed
Nothing gets forgotten, and you don’t have to keep chasing people for updates.
Keep information in one place
How often does someone ask…
“Where’s that document?”
“What’s the password?”
“How do we do this?”
If the answer is always “Ask Sarah” or “I’ll send it over”, your business is relying on people rather than systems.
Create one central knowledge base for your processes, procedures and important information so everyone can find what they need when they need it.
This can be something as simple as Notion.
Stop the ‘Drive Bys’
At Brooks Accountants, we have a simple rule…
No Drive Bys!
A “drive by” is when someone walks up to your desk or calls unannounced and says…
“Have you got two minutes?”
Unfortunately, two minutes usually turns into ten, and before you know it, you’ve completely lost your train of thought.
Instead, we use Slack to ask questions.
Team members can reply when they reach a natural break in what they’re doing, rather than interrupting someone else’s workflow.
It might seem like a small change, but it makes a huge difference to productivity.
Work ON your business
The more your business grows, the less it should rely on everything going through you.
The goal isn’t to work harder.
It’s to build systems that allow your business to run more smoothly, giving you more time to focus on growth rather than firefighting.
Small improvements, made consistently, can save hours every single week.