Save yourself some valuable time and effort by increasing the efficiency of your start-up. If you often find yourself with more things to do than hours in the day, then it might be time to look into the way you’re organising your day-to-day processes. From small habits to bigger changes, there’s a whole host of things you can do to kickstart a much-needed efficiency boost within your team.

Invest in software

Why try to do everything yourself when there’s software that can do it for you? Depending on your business needs, different types of software can help you to automate manual processes and free up your time.

One of the most popular areas that start ups need software in is accounting. Finances are one thing you definitely don’t want to get wrong, so make sure you’re always getting paid on time and keeping track of your funds. With invoicing software from FreshBooks.com, you can have your invoices ready in seconds. This means no scrambling to draw up a payment plan and no chasing your clients for final fees.

Cut down on meetings

If you’re having daily meetings lasting an hour or more, chances are you’re wasting a lot of time that could be spent working on more important tasks.

Try to streamline the meetings you have with your team, covering only the most important priorities for the week. Have catch-ups as needed, but try not to go over the same topics again and again. It’s likely that your team is already on board and ready to get going. Remember, work meetings shouldn’t digress too much, so keep your conversations about weekend plans for your lunch break.

Communicate

While you don’t want to be having too many drawn-out meetings, communication is key. Everyone on your team must be on the same page and you can keep them in the loop with shared calendars and communal folders.

Make sure you have an easy way to get in touch with any member of your team to check facts or let them know about any sudden changes in plan. Cracks in your communication can mean even the most careful plans will fall apart, so keep channels open during working hours.

Outsource

Sometimes daily tasks just take up too much of your time. Depending on the task at hand, it could be more efficient to outsource them to a professional. It’s possible to outsource just about any task, so consider which ones would benefit from a little extra know-how. For example, you could hire someone to take care of all your social media channels for you, or even look into virtual assistants for all those little tasks that build up throughout the day.

While it might seem like outsourcing is costing you more money, you’re actually likely to be making savings. If your marketing team is too busy answering e-mails to put an effective strategy into action, then your money isn’t going to the right place. A virtual assistant could be more budget-friendly and allows your marketing experts to do the job you hired them for.