We appear to have made it through the winter without actually experiencing much winter. Cold weather, yes, but the white, fluffy stuff? Not so much. Still, even as the weather continues to toy with our emotions and our outerwear choices, we find ourselves in the midst of spring. Which means spring cleaning.
Despite popular opinion, spring cleaning isn’t just for homes. Taking inventory and cleaning out the clutter in our offices and workspaces has just as much of a rejuvenating and psychological boost at work as it does at home.
So what are you waiting for? Summer will be here before you know it. Get spring cleaning today! Here are four places to attack now:
Press releases. When was the last time you checked the blurb at the bottom of your press releases? Has your company acquired any other businesses or added any new products or services that should be added? Is your company approaching a significant milestone that you should include in your summary? The text may be just noise in the background to you, but to a publisher or customer, the contents of your blurb could be a feature performer that gets your company noticed and them interested.
Website. Depending on how extensive your website is, this could take an afternoon or an all-out audit. Whatever it takes, take the time to review your website page-by-page and paragraph-by-paragraph, removing outdated offers, invalid prices or terms, discontinued products or services and any links to them, old holiday references, references that are no longer relevant or appropriate, etc. Update personnel information, if applicable.
Recycle and shred unnecessary documents. Having paper records of some actions and transactions is pretty unavoidable. But keeping everything is both impractical and cumbersome. Sort through all those binders and files. Determine what you really need and what you’re hanging onto just because you can.
Make it a department-wide or even company-wide event. Recycle stock of outdated or otherwise unusable flyers, handouts, and other marketing material. Shred copies of invoices and postal reports for old mailings, keeping only a sample, a final report showing sales for that particular promo code, and the mail plan (complete with final costs and associated sales). Update your competitor file and the samples in it.
Clean out your inbox. Some people act on emails as soon as they receive them, delete emails that have been addressed, and routinely review and maintain their email’s contents. If you’re not one of those people, never fear. There’s still hope! Sorting your emails by sender or subject is probably better (and less emotionally devastating) than addressing emails chronologically but find a system that allows you to quickly assess your inbox and determine what goes, what stays, and what needs to be addressed.
Whether you enjoy the process or not, routinely reviewing your files and updating or discarding them will make you both a happier worker and a more successful one.