Last Tuesday and Wednesday, a guy in the company, Jimmy Dean.
Jimmy Dean spent 3 hours searching for receipts, receiving tickets, and asphalt tickets to send to the office.
Three hours.
He looked through his truck. Pants pockets. Pockets on his safety vest. Everywhere.
It's a time suck, but it had to be done. The pay estimate was due. It was the first of the month.
While it sucks to keep up with paperwork and emails.
There's a way it can be done using some simple tech tools right at your fingertips.
You don't need to overhaul everything.
You need 4 simple fixes.
15 minutes total setup.
Gets you hours back per month.
Fix #1: Email Auto-Sorting
Setup time: 3 minutes
Time saved: 3 hours/week
I use Google Business Suite, so this will be Google-based, but it should work for other email service providers. Go to Gmail. Find any client email. Click the three dots. "Filter messages like these."
Create filters for:
- Client emails (auto-label)
- Urgent stuff (mark important)
- Invoices (forward to bookkeeper)
This alone saves me 25 minutes every morning.
Fix #2: Receipt Capture
Setup time: 2 minutes
Time saved: 2 hours/week
I use Adobe Scan, it's a mobile app. Just download it on your phone. And just scan whatever receipts or documents you want to save and organize.
No more shoebox situation.
Fix #3: Calendar Booking Links
Setup time: 3 minutes
Time saved: 4 hours/week
Google Calendar. Create appointment schedule. Add link to email signature.
Done.
No more "when are you free?" back-and-forth.
Clients book directly.
A few months back. Tons of back and forth emails about schedules. Last month, only a handful.
Fix #4: Email Templates
Setup time: 4 minutes
Time saved: 2 hours/week
Gmail Settings. Advanced. Enable templates.
Save responses for:
- Quote acknowledgments
- Project updates
- Payment reminders
Stop rewriting the same email 50 times.
Start with email filters.
Takes 3 minutes. Saves the most time. Works immediately.
The fancy project management software can wait.
These 5 fixes give you back your evenings.
What's eating your time right now?
-Ben Lanier
P.S.
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