The Business Efficiency Podcast with Aerlie: Recent Episodes

Aerlie Wildy

If you’re a business owner struggling to improve the efficiency of your business whilst you’re still deep in the daily operations - it can be frustrating and mentally exhausting.

The Business Efficiency Podcast provides uncomplicated operational strategies to help you improve your team’s productivity, organise and track tasks, document your business processes, streamline your workflows and ultimately - save time and money.

Business doesn’t have to be chaotic. Join me for each episode, where I'll provide the tools, tips and strategies to improve your business efficiency so that it feels calmer, clear & organised.

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When it comes to creating a business hub, ClickUp is a great option. It allows the team to access information, see what's coming up, learn more about the business, and complete important HR activities.

In Episode 19, I provide you with some inspiration with 6 simple ideas to help you get started on integrating some of those important functions and services into ClickUp to support your team.

Don't forget that there are also some amazing templates that already exist in ClickUp to get you started, so you're not starting from scratch.

Let's build on what you already have in ClickUp and let it evolve into an important part of your internal business management and team communication culture.

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We have made it to 2023! Are you feeling prepared, or have you just arrived back from a summer break feeling fresh, and then reality hits?
I was happy to put 2022 behind me, take a break and forget about everything for a while - and I have, but now I'm back in my office, it's 2023, and I need to make this transition into a new year as easy as possible.
In Episode 18, I'm sharing some strategies for how I am transitioning into 2023, what I'm reviewing, tracking, and mapping out time for a break, reflection and recharge.

Happy New Year - here's to a successful year on your terms.

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Everyone I talk to lately is overwhelmed, and their mental load is through the roof. There are too many tabs open, too many to do's, too many things to remember, and we are all moving too fast!

In my own experience, I feel like this leaves us working harder, feeling stuck, second-guessing ourselves, constantly scanning our brains in case we've forgotten something - and living in fear that we have forgotten something. Hello, waking up at 3 am remembering what it is!

In today's episode of The Business Efficiency Podcast, I want to tackle 5 tips to reduce your mental load.
The first 3 tips here are really practical - about literally reducing the amount of information you are holding in your head and some ideas about how to park it somewhere easily. I also take a look at the impact of double handling tasks, or not finishing things, which adds extra pressure to have to remember to find more time to complete them or follow them up.

The final 2 tips look deeper into strategies to help you reduce it by adding more fun - yes taking down time is a great productivity strategy even if it's counterproductive, or reducing the expectations we put on ourselves.

I share a few tips and examples of how these have impacted me lately.
Listen in and see how you can reduce your mental load, get organised and get that ease back.

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I am invited to help my clients make their project management tool work more effectively for them, and in this process, there are 4 project management tool mistakes I see.

In my role as a Business Efficiency Consultant, I can see where a project management tool set up (such as ClickUp or Asana) is not working and why the team may be overwhelmed and not sure where to start. Today I'm sharing the top 4 common mistakes I see, and some recommendations.

Mistake #1: Not assigning a due date or assignee
Mistake #2: Assigning a project to a person
Mistake #3: Creating one giant to do list
MIstake #4: Communicating with your team via email

We are aiming for a well organised, easy to communicate progress and easy to collaborate tool where there's transparency for everyone where its needed, nothing falls through the cracks, and you can easily drill down to the details, or see the big picture plan.

Listen in to find out how this plays out and the recommendations I have to tweak your project management tools. 

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We've all experienced Inbox Overwhelm!

It's one of those things that can creep up on you, and before you know it there are 100+ or even 1000+ emails banked up in your Inbox waiting to be deleted, filed, responded to, read, or forwarded. There are so many decisions that need to be made every time you access your inbox - and if it's cluttered, this becomes even harder.

In today's episode of The Business Efficiency Podcast, I want to provide you with some tips and strategies to help you manage your Inbox more effectively. This may mean some culling, some organisation and putting in some processes to help you make those decisions with more ease.

These strategies will help you stay on top so that emails don't bank up so much in the future, and your Inbox is a place that allows you to feel in control and communicate with ease. In this episode, I cover:

  • Should you subscribe to Inbox Zero?
  • What type of emails are coming into your Inbox?
  • With this awareness, you can put in place various strategies to manage these types, such as
  • Rules to move notifications out of your Inbox

  • Rules to move your newsletter emails out of your Inbox

  • Ways to reduce double handling of emails
  • A morning 'triage' checklist
  • Which emails should you delete or unsubscribe to
  • How to delete quickly and easily
  • Organising your Inbox with folders and subfolders

There are lots of great tips in this episode. Listen in and see if there are some strategies you can implement to help keep your Inbox under control.

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It can be TRULY frustrating as a business owner (not to mention time-consuming to train) someone to do the task that you know like the back of your hand.

But is it worth it?

In today’s episode of The Business Efficiency Podcast, let me share with you a very important point when it comes to growing your business, training someone and delegating tasks. You don't have to do all the work, so let's make th eonboarding process easier so you and your business can get back to running smoothly.

KEY POINTS:

  • Your first steps into deciding what tasks to delegate, making it happen and easier for you.
  • Issues that you may encounter in training and onboarding new hires.
  • Tips for onboarding new team members

I hope this episode inspires used to stop holding all the work to yourself.

Let’s get this started.

Links and Resources:

Business Efficiency Roadmap

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Connect with me on Instagram

Book a Clarity Call with Aerlie

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Workplace automation is the application of processes or systems using technology (software and/or hardware) to do repeatable or predictable workflows without requiring manual intervention. The result? Speeding up the way you work by removing manual steps to increase productivity and efficiency.

In today’s episode of The Business Efficiency Podcast, I share how automation can be a HUGE help for small teams especially if you’re a one-man/woman team at the moment to save time and make things easier. Today, I’ll be narrowing down when to start with automation, what you need to get started, and the types of automation you need to be aware of.

Let’s get this started.

Links and Resources:

Business Efficiency Roadmap

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Connect with me on Instagram

Book a Clarity Call with Aerlie

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Clutter blocks creativity. As a business owner, there are a lot of mental work, and this can often feel cluttered. Add in the cloud and tech stack of managing a business, and there are lot of elements to keep organised.

A disorganised business, where files, information, processes, content, images… #allthethings are all over the place, and the mental load increases and it can all feel overwhelming.

In today’s episode of The Business Efficiency Podcast, I share how this overwhelming feeling felt for me, in a physical sense. Not knowing how to move forward, or sideways, and feeling stuck from all of the clutter mentally, and in my business was a key driver in me knowing that getting organised helps me be creative and drive my business forward.

I’m sharing 3 of my top tips to help keep your business organised so that you can reduce the overwhelm, protect your time boundaries, stay organised and reduce the double handling of files, emails, tasks, information. These tips might be small, but they can make a big impact on your sense of control, confidence and level of overwhelm.

Links and Resources:

Business Efficiency Roadmap

Planning Workshop

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Business efficiency is not just about saving time and money. I know - it’s pretty important, but making your business more efficient has other benefits. It provides a much stronger foundation for growth. It means that processes are documented, your team communicates more effectively, the opportunities to streamline are increased once you have your workflows clear, and your team can become more proficient in their work, because they are not re-inventing the wheel all of the time.

In today’s episode of The Business Efficiency Podcast, I’m highlighting several of the additional benefits of making your business more efficient, as well as 6 practical strategies that you can get started on to improve the efficiency of your business.

These strategies may be ones you have heard before, but my intention today is to remind you of those additional benefits so that you are inspired and encouraged to take action on these again, or to make a start. It really doesn’t have to be too complicated, so I’m giving you some simple tips to get started on each strategy.

Links and Resources:

Business Efficiency Roadmap

Planning Workshop

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Connect with me on Instagram

Book a Clarity Call with Aerlie

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Business and life move fast. Taking time out to make a plan for the next few months can seem counter-intuitive when you’re flat out, but staying strategic rather than reactive is essential. With the start of a new quarter, and half of a year gone already, there’s an opportunity for a fresh start, clean slate, new energy.

In today’s episode of The Business Efficiency Podcast, I’m tackling quarterly planning. I like quarterly planning for it’s structure, but also the balance of big picture strategy and the ability to get some quick wins in.

I’ve completed some research lately, and can confirm that bright shiny object syndrome as well as not having the quarterly plan front of mind are where many get tripped up. Today’s episode covers 6 tips to help you make your quarter planning a success, and as a business efficiency expert, including your project management tool into your planning and implementation is key to this!

Stay tuned to all of these recommendations to help you set up the rest of your year for success.

At the end of the podcast, I share some information about a special Planning Workshop I am hosting on 22 July in Adelaide that includes a planning template and walk through the Parklands with Walk and Talk Therapist Ailsa Robson. A very unique offer and day for you to work ON your business and create a realistic roadmap for your business.

Links and Resources:

Planning Workshop

Ailsa Robson, Walk & Talk Therapist

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Book a Clarity Call with Aerlie

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When you spend so much time documenting processes, and your team still don’t utilise them, what do you do? Every business needs processes, but when they’re not actually having the impact you know they can in your business, it can be frustrating.

In today’s episode of The Business Efficiency Podcast, I take you through a framework to help you determine how to determine what to do when either the processes or the people in your business aren’t working together - and it may not be as obvious as you think.

Spoiler Alert: Ultimately - the people in your team are the most important piece of the puzzle here. It might need some flexible thinking and supportive systems or tools to enable your team to work effectively.

Getting all of these working well, enables your business to run smoothly.

Listen in to make sure you consider this framework when problem solving the issues that show up inside your business.

Links and Resources:

Download the Business Efficiency Plan

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Connect with me on Instagram

Book a Clarity Call with Aerlie

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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When there are so many project management tools available, it’s really difficult to work out which one is right for your business management. You also need to consider how easy it will be for your team to learn and use, and what kind of reporting and visibility of your projects you need, does it do time tracking….there is a lot to consider!

Essentially, a project management tool nowadays is the tool that brings your business together. It’s the central hub of action and information management for your business, so it needs to be flexible, easy to use and have capacity for you to grow without needing to change up every year.

Whether you are currently using a tool, but aren’t sure if it’s the best one for you and the team, or you’re trying to narrow down the list so that you can upgrade, there are 6 areas you need to research when making this decision.

In today's episode I discuss the 6 main ingredients to think about so that you can

  • manage and track your client projects effectively
  • manage your clients overall
  • manage your team effectively
  • manage your business operations

Get this right, and your business can run smoothly.

Get it wrong, and you end up creating more headaches for everyone.
Listen in to make sure you’re covered.

Links and Resources:

Interested in ClickUp (Referral Link)

Save time with ClickUp

Download the Business Efficiency Plan

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Team meetings are the place where your business and your team culture collide.

You may have a vision about your team culture and expectations, but often when you are deep in organising all of the other bits and pieces, the successful management of team meetings can get left to the last minute, or ad-hoc.

So today's episode is about how to systemise the management of team meetings so that you

  • have more time to prepare for the meeting if it's a weekly on that you need to report or update the team on
  • so you can connect and build your team relationships more effectively in these team meetings,
  • and so that the meetings are easier, and your team can actually benefit from them, instead of them feeling like they are wasting time.

We cover

  • How to set up your team meetings so they are automated
  • Agenda set up
  • How to manage the meeting actions in your project management tool so that the actions are easily seen and followed up without the double handling of going through minutes once the meeting is completed.

Links and Resources:

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When was the last time you thought about how you write your to do list? Habits from a time when we were actually less busy and could retain more information in our heads can linger. Perhaps you haven’t even thought about how you write your to do list, it just happens….but imagine how easier it would be to get things done if your to do list helped you be more productive - and less overwhelmed.

Today’s podcast episode dives into 4 simple tweaks you can make to your to do list writing, so that it’s easy for your brain to know what to do when. Having a to do list that’s actually working well for you makes the implementation so much easier.

Test out these simple strategies the next time you write out your to do list.

Links and Resources:

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Do you spend a lot of your time putting out fires? Does it get in the way of the work you actually need to do?

Today’s podcast episode includes a process on how to address these issues effectively and efficiently.

I also provide you with some examples and strategies of how to reduce the occurrence of these fires so that you and your team can get back on track quickly, but with stronger processes in place utilizing a project management tool such as ClickUp.

Links and Resources:

ClickUp ClickUp Referral Code {This is a Referral Link) 
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Connect with me on Instagram

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Want to bake delicious cookies Every. Single. Time?  Today’s episode is all about how you can. Listen in for 9 quick and easy tips to get you started, or to give you back some momentum to help you document your processes.

I’ve provided some really practical tips to help you stop over-complicating your processes, as well as a few more advanced tips for those who are already along the road, but maybe stuck, and not yet receiving the benefits yet. 

Links and Resources:
Download a Process Template: [https://aerliewildy.kartra.com/page/process-template-download]

Screen Recordings:
Loom [https://loom.com]
Screencast [https://screencast-o-matic.com/]

Workflow Mapping:
Miro [https://miro.com/]
ClickUp ClickUp Referral Code {This is a Referral Link)

Choc Chip Cookie Recipe: [https://www.taste.com.au/recipes/double-choc-chip-cookies-2/cd13f2f7-7fb5-422b-8bf0-fce80e2da1f6]

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Today's episode focuses on the features of project management tool ClickUp, and how it can help you and your team save time and improve your business efficiency.
I delve in to my own ClickUp story, and then cover 5 features of ClickUp that can save you time. This is so much more than a fancy to do list. Listen to the episode to discover why.

Key points in the Episode: * How I started with ClickUp * The journey with ClickUp takes time - stick with it! * 5 ClickUp features that can save you time * #1 Reduce overwhelm * ClickUp Features - Custom Fields and workflows * Everything view * #2 Customising your workflows * Tracking tasks through a workflow * #3 Automations once your processes are clear * #4 Keeping more in one place by using ClickUp Docs * Features of Docs * #5 Dashboards * Some of my favourite Dashboard widgets * Other features I haven't even covered yet

Links:

How to save time with ClickUp https://aerliewildy.kartra.com/page/SaveTimeWithClickUp-

ClickUp Referral Code: https://clickup.com/?fp_ref=9ndh9

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How do you improve your business efficiency? You could use ROI formulas, but sometimes you have to look closely to understand where your business workflows are getting stuck or stalled.

In this episode I look at 5 areas of your business that you can improve your efficiency, and some examples of how these can play out in your business.

Key points in the Episode:

  • Does adding more to your business mean that you will be more efficient?
  • Some lesser obvious examples of business inefficiency
  • 5 Signs of Inefficiency and strategies to improve them
  • 1 Onboarding new clients

  • 2 Team Communication

  • 3 Tasks that take longer than necessary

  • 4 Unclear processes

  • 5 Being the one person everyone relies on

  • Actions you can take to feel streamlined, organised and clear.

Links:

Download the 7 Step Business Efficiency Roadmap https://aerliewildy.kartra.com/page/business-efficiency

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In this first episode of The Business Efficiency Podcast I tackle the issue of how difficult it is to take a break when you are so deep in the day-to-day running of your business.I share my top 6 ingredients for getting your business running smoothly and efficiently, so that it's not dependent on you, and so that you can take a break or spend your time more strategically.

If you're not sure where to start when it comes to extracting yourself from the operations of your business, these 6 ingredients may give you a hint about where your operations may need a boost.

Key points in the Episode: * Taking time out of your business when you are driving it is difficult * It's hard to relax when you know that the internal operations need to be solid - but there's never enough time to get it all done. * My 6 key ingredients for getting your business to run smoothly. Where are you on this journey? * #1 Getting clear on your vision * #2 A project management platform * #3 Documenting your processes * #4 Adding automations * #5 Guidelines for your team for productivity and collaboration * #6 Hosting regular team meetings * Final questions and actions for you to consider to determine where to start.

Links:
Efficient Business Ingredients - PDF (Attached)ClickUp Referral Code: https://clickup.com/?fp_ref=9ndh9

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Welcome to the Business Efficiency Podcast with Aerlie.

If you’re a business owner struggling to improve the efficiency of your business whilst you’re still deep in the daily operations - it can be frustrating and mentally exhausting.

The Business Efficiency Podcast provides uncomplicated operational strategies to help you improve your team’s productivity, organise and track tasks, document your business processes, streamline your workflows and ultimately - save time and money.

Business doesn’t have to be chaotic. Join me for each episode, where I'll provide the tools, tips and strategies to improve your business efficiency so that it feels calmer, clear & organised.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.