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You’d be surprised how much time we spend on tasks that seem minor and infrequent, but they can really add up. Identifying them and looking for ways to make them more efficient can reclaim a lot of time. Here are a few seemingly “small” tasks that can be more efficient by preparing in advance or executing in bulk.

• Specialty Purchases: For regular purchases that require special trips for that one item, like wine or other treats, consider purchasing in bulk, like a case or two of your favourite wine, or set-up recurring orders for delivery. Whether for home or office, you can limit time spent going to that store or reordering online. 
• Gifts: Ordering online saves time. Consider purchasing extras of an item that others may like and keeping them handy. Organize them in a specific “Gift” area along with cards, tissue paper, and gift wrap so they’re convenient for future gift needs. Gifts are great ways to nurture professional relationships.
• Sending Birthday Cards: Make a list of important birthdays, then create an entry in your calendar set to repeat annually, forever, with a ‘reminder notification’ for 5 days in advance. This will give you plenty of time to manage this small but valuable relationship-management task.
• Email Response Templates: Write and save common email responses somewhere accessible from anywhere you manage email. For example, a networking reply like “It was great to meet you at _________. I’d love to talk further. Why don’t we book a 30-minute phone or video call? Here’s a link to my calendar; pick something that works for you.” 
• Enable Automatic Software Updates: Prompts to perform updates manually always pop up at inopportune times, interrupting the flow and taking unnecessary focus. Enabling them to happen automatically on all devices will ensure they are always running the latest versions without manual intervention.
• Filters or Rules in Email Using these tools in your email software can save a lot of time by automatically sorting incoming emails into folders based on the sender, subject, or other rules. It also reduces clutter in your inbox.
• Colour-coded Labels: Implement a colour-coded labelling system for physical files to identify and locate specific documents more easily when needed.
• Thank-you Cards: Purchase thank-you cards with envelopes by the box or have your own created. Keep a roll of stamps in your office for quick and easy posting. Make sending them a standard part of a follow-up plan. You could do the same with birthday cards.
• Booking Calendars: You can pre-populate these calendars with your availability, even multiple kinds of availability (coffee dates vs. intake meetings), and share links with people to book themselves. They save a lot of back-and-forth. See ours, for example.

Whether for family life or reclaiming time during your work day, identifying recurring small tasks and looking for ways to simplify them can save you more time than you can imagine. If you need help determining where you are losing time, spend a week jotting down every task you do, or we can talk it through together.

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