It’s sad, but it’s a fact: 20% of small businesses fail in their first year after starting up. That’s a scary statistic, and the looming threat of failure can be an incredibly daunting thought. Luckily, though, there are factors within your control that you can look into to make sure that your business doesn’t become part of this statistic.
One of the major reasons that businesses shut down is because they have issues with organization. This is understandable, but easily avoidable: getting your business and your life together is, after all, as simple as it is to go buy a pack of sticky notes.
Post-it notes are essential to office organization in a lot of ways, and the benefits of using them are so great that you’ll never struggle with having out-of-place work materials again. Read on for some creative ways to use post it notes to organize your business!
1. Create To-Do Lists
Post-it notes are a creative and unique way to make a to-do list. They’re beneficial for a variety of reasons, most of all in that they can be put anywhere. Use small post-it notes to write down tasks and put them above your desk. They won’t take up much space and will be easy to see.
This also works well because you can peel your post-it notes off the wall as you accomplish the tasks written on them. This is a fun and easy way to see what you’ve accomplished and what you still need to do. Once they’re all gone, you’re done for the day!
2. Color Code Information
Since post-its come in such a wide array of colors, they’re the perfect tool for color-coding information. There are lots of scientifically proven psychological benefits to color-coding that result in higher efficiency and productivity. Highlighters and colored pens are great, but sometimes permanently marking documents isn’t an option.
Post-its can not only be used as bookmarks, but they can also be used to mark a certain section of the page. Just stick the note under the sentence that you want color-coded, and voila! You’ll never lose the information you need again and can go back to it whenever you want.
3. Organize Files as Tabs
Another way you can use post-it notes for easy organization is to turn them into filing tabs for paperwork. This is the perfect use for them since they’ll stick to the pages and not fall out at inopportune times. They also can be removed easily, which is a huge plus if you need one of the documents or want to reorganize.
You can use post-its in any file folder and have them stick out to make them easily visible. Whether you want to bookmark the side of papers of the top, you can choose where the tabs go.
4. Mark and Organize Cables
Papers aren’t the only thing that post-its make it easy to organize- cables can be labeled using them, too. Everyone knows how annoying it is to lose track of the one cable you need in a sea of others. How are you supposed to differentiate the computer cable of your monitor from the three others it’s tangled with? It could take hours!
With post-it notes, that will no longer be the case. You can put a specific color post-it in various locations on your monitor cord and a different one on each of the other cords it gets tangled with. This way, you’ll always find what you’re looking for.
5. Hold Small Pieces in Place
Lots of people don’t think of this, but the backs of post-it notes are an innovative place to keep small parts while you’re working with them. The adhesive stops small screws, needles, and ball bearings from rolling away and getting lost into the abyss of your office’s carpeting.
6. Organize Fun Business Events
You can use post-it notes to organize fun events for your employees and business associates. You can write different names on them and create teams during team-building exercises by drawing them out of a hat. This will ensure that groups are random and different every time!
7. Make Flexible Plans
Using post-its to plan events is also a great way to keep things flexible. When organizing your fun business outings, you can create a flexible schedule or list of ideas by writing them all on post-it notes and sticking them on a board in the order that you want them to happen.
You may be asking why you can’t just do this on a sheet of paper or a whiteboard. The answer is that post-it notes make it easy to alter plans because nothing needs to be erased- they just need to be put into a different order. This allows plans to change easily and in an entirely guilt-free way.
8. Create Awesome Project Boards
Speaking of guilt-free changes, post-it notes are an awesome tool in creating project boards because they can be moved around a lot. Someone’s changing which task they’re responsible for during a project? Just move their name!
You can also easily see which tasks are being accomplished when and where because of color-coding. In the end, project boards are just made significantly easier when post-it notes are used.
9. Use as Motivational Tools
Finally, post-it notes are an awesome motivational tool.
When you think of something positive about yourself, are proud of an accomplishment, are told something kind, or see a motivational quote online, write it on a post-it. Stick it above your desk and use it as a way to remind yourself that you’re worth the trouble and your job is a worthwhile endeavor.
More Ways to Use Post It Notes
While organizing your office can be a trying task, it’s made simple if you have the right tools to do so.
Now that you know some cool ways to use post it notes when organizing your workspace, it’s time to get more tips for the success of your business. Click on the ‘personal growth’ tab on our home page for more information on how to become a better version of yourself both for you and for your business.
Go get ’em, tiger!