Less Office Work in Your Business: Which Office Tasks You Cut Before You Organize Them Better

You cut every office task that nobody needs: no one asks for the result, the same information already exists elsewhere, or the task only exists because something was missing earlier. A two-week list sorts the rest into cut, do less often, hand off and keep. Only what's left is worth organizing better.

Why is it worth cutting before you organize?

Every system you build around a task keeps that task alive. A task you don't need keeps costing you time, however neatly it's organized. Organizing makes a task faster. Cutting takes it off your desk entirely.

Take an example. You file delivery notes in a new, labelled binder, even though the same documents have long been in your inventory software. The binder is tidier than before. The work still lands on you. The best system for an unnecessary task is no system at all.

How do you spot office work nobody needs?

By three signs. Nobody asks for the result. The same information already sits somewhere else. Or the task only exists because a piece of information was missing earlier.

The first sign often shows up in reports. Every month you write a summary, and nobody replies to it. The test costs you nothing: skip it once and note who asks.

The second sign shows up in duplicate filing. An invoice sits as a PDF in your inbox, as a printout in a binder and once more in your accounting software. That's three places for one document. One of them does the work, and you keep the other two out of habit.

The third sign shows up in follow-up calls. If a customer calls because your appointment confirmation doesn't give a time, that call could have been avoided. One more line in the confirmation spares you every further call of that kind.

How do you sort your paperwork into four groups?

For two weeks you write down every recurring office task, each with how often it comes up and how long it takes. Then each task goes into exactly one of four groups: cut, do less often, hand off, keep. Two weeks are enough because you see every weekly task twice. Whatever comes up only monthly, you add from your calendar.

I ask every task three questions, always in the same order. First: what happens if it goes away? If your honest answer is "nothing", you cut it. Second: is less often enough? The bank reconciliation you do every day might work just as well once a week in one go. Third: does the task need your judgement? If not, you hand it off.

You keep only what survives all three questions. That remaining list is the only one worth organizing better. To see where the remaining hours actually go, read Getting Rid of Paperwork in Your Business: Where the Hours Really Go.

You don't have to wait two weeks for the first step. Today, take the one task you pictured on your own desk while reading the three signs, and leave it out this week. Note who asks. If nobody does, it's cut, and your list starts with one entry fewer.

Start the free four-day challenge and take your next step