Modern life moves fast, and it can also be quite complex. It’s hard to know if you’re making the right decision when you don’t have all the facts. And when you don’t have the time to consider all the relevant details! Simplifying what you can is a great way to give yourself more breathing room for the more difficult decisions. 

One of the best ways to simplify is to create habits. And systems, especially for business owners. Whether you own your own business or not, there are a variety of ways to keep it simple.

Safety at work

Whether people are working from home or at the office or site, implementing safety habits (and refreshing them from time to time!) is an easy way to make sure that safety culture is internalized.

• Regular safety meetings

The reason safety meetings are so valuable is that it reminds the brain of what’s important. If you bring up safety on a regular basis, that tells the brain to pay attention to safety.

Monday mornings at the site are very good for these. Workers (and managers) are coming off the weekend, where the focus may not have been on safety (!) A Monday morning safety meeting sets the tone for the week ahead.

• Safety topics at office/regular meetings

Many warehouse or EH&S managers already understand the value of safety meetings and hold them regularly. But their counterparts in the office might not. Spending five minutes on a safety topic at an office meeting demonstrates how important safety is to the entire company. Plus, office workers get hurt too.

• Ergonomics assessments for new employees

Whether in the office, at home or on site, employees need to be taught why proper positioning (and safety) is so important. Where possible, workers who might otherwise sit all day should be given the option of a standing desk (click here for a simple and inexpensive fix for folding tables.)

When seated, workers need to be ergonomically positioned too, not reaching for tools they commonly use. At the computer, ensuring the monitor, chair, and desk are at the right height for feet, elbows, and shoulders is key.

• Periodic refreshers

Habits get engrained, but sometimes people can fall out of them too. If it’s been a while since everyone at the company had an ergonomic assessment, maybe it’s time to schedule one.

To keep it simple, you can introduce refreshers on a monthly/quarterly basis, whatever makes sense for your situation. That makes sure that anyone who’s fallen off the wagon, so to speak, can get right back on. It also helps keep everyone in the mindset of safety.

Business operations

Simplifying and putting systems in place keeps work simple. You’d rather have employees thinking about strategies, not spending time worried about which version of the spreadsheet everyone is on.

• If you have a spreadsheet, then try apps or software

Many of us are old-school and used to spreadsheets. There’s still a place for spreadsheets in the world! However, if you use a lot of spreadsheets or you spend a lot of time fiddling with them, it may be time to think about software instead.

The problem with spreadsheets is that they’re manual. That leaves plenty of room for human error. Maybe someone forgets to update something, or they transpose a digit somewhere. Now the spreadsheet is incorrect and could lead you to making the wrong decision.

There are apps out there for practically everything. Another plus is that they often come with automatic reports that you can quickly run. 

For example, while technically you can manage clients with a spreadsheet, instead you could use a customer relationship management system. The software generates reports on birthdays for the month, who hasn’t been contacted in three months, and so forth.

If you have a lot of spreadsheets that you use for work, think about what you’re using the spreadsheet for and see if you can find an app instead. There may be a little learning curve while you get the app up and running. But it will help prevent obvious mistakes and speed everything up down the road.

• Rather than multiple applications, one (where possible)

The rise in things like productivity apps has made some lives more complicated instead of less! Keep it simple by finding one application that you like for productivity, maybe project management software that comes with a built-in chat application. 

Likewise, using one app for all your financial reporting needs is better than several that have to be stitched together to get the overall picture of the business.

Finances

Financial literacy decreases as we age (even though we feel just as confident in our knowledge!) There are a few ways to manage finances that help keep things simple and easy to track.

• Fewer cards and accounts

Consolidate accounts where you can. Retirement plans from previous employers can often be rolled into an IRA.

For your business, or even at home, you don’t need a variety of checking accounts or a ton of credit cards. 

• Financial plan

Going to a financial planner and creating a plan helps you see your whole financial picture. The planner can tell you if you’re saving enough for retirement, or whether you need to bump up your savings. 

Even if you implement the plan yourself, it’s worth it to get an objective observer to look over your plan and make sure you’re doing the right things.

At home

Simple at home can mean enjoying the simple things as a family. Walking after dinner, potentially with your pet. Putting the cellphones away so you can talk or do activities together. Just spending some time reading or eating in the same room. 

You might even use your project management software to keep track of the kids’ activities and appointments, in addition to your own!

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