Spring cleaning, business edition

Time to spring clean your business... lucky for you these 3 tasks only take one afternoon!

Originally published on linemae.com which was rebranded to lizwhite.co.
Same content, same author, new brand, new website.

Have you caught the spring cleaning bug yet? It’s time to open up those blinds, let in some fresh air, diffuse your favorite essential oils, and clean up your business.

That’s right, spring is the perfect time to clear your biz clutter.

Feeling a little overwhelmed or scatterbrained? These three steps can help clear your mind and virtual space.

STEP 1: CLEAN UP YOUR INBOX

Inbox zero sounds like a huge undertaking, but ever since creating a super organized email system my email isn’t a virtual junk drawer. Take advantage of using labels to organize your emails into categories and sub-categories. Take it even further and create rules for emails to automatically sort themselves. The key to keeping a clean inbox? Only keep emails that need responses in your main inbox. Archive or sort all other emails that don’t need responses.

STEP 2: CLEAN UP YOUR DESKTOP

Easier than tackling your entire hard drive, it’s time to remove everything from your desktop. Put files in their correct folders, delete month-old screenshots, and remember to empty your trash (to free up storage). And don’t just put all your desktop files into a desktop folder and leave it like that! I know that trick. All it does is take up space on your computer and collect virtual dust. Delete what you no longer need OR back it up to an external hard drive.

STEP 3: CLEAN YOUR WORKSPACE

Take everything off of your desk, wipe it down, and then only put back what you absolutely need on your desk. Get rid of old papers, put things where they belong, and clear out your growing empty coffee mug collection. Clean your computer screens of all fingerprints and smudges, same with any other devices.

BONUS STEP: CLEAN YOUR WEBSITE

Make sure your headshot is up to date and go through your about section to see what you might need to update with new info. Finally remove those services or products that you don’t want to offer anymore. If something isn’t selling as well as you need it to, think about putting “create a sales page” on your to-do list. Here’s a great overview to get you started.

If all of that seems like a bit much to tackle at once, break it up into a step a day!

I love breaking up larger tasks into bite-sized ones, it’s so much easier to make sure things get done that way.

In fact, the only thing I’ve done from those steps so far is clean up my desktop. I ALWAYS have a “desk” folder on my desktop, which lets me collect images in a neatly-cluttered way. But hiding the clutter doesn’t mean it isn’t there, so I got rid of it and felt a little *whoosh* of relief.

After I post this blog I’m grabbing paper towels and cleaner to clean up the not-sure-what-dripped-there spots on my desk and dust everything. What can I say, I’m one of those people who is relaxed by cleaning things. Are you?