• by Mary C. Long , Columnist, November 18, 2015

Once upon a time, the use of email was going to reduce paper use and costs internally for businesses. Remember those email signatures reminding the more old-school in the office “please do not print this email?” 

But instead of paper trails, now we have digital trails. And our online mess is bound to have an impact. It’s time to be mindful of our digital footprint beyond accumulating followers.

State of affairs

How many folders of old invoices are hanging out in your cloud (or worse, your desktop!)? How many inbox labels to track communication for projects your team completed years ago? 

How much room does the cloud have for all of this? We’ve definitely gotten better at reducing our physical footprints, but there is such a thing as digital waste. Is there infinite space in the cloud for it? Maybe, but it can get expensive. Why pay to keep old files you’ll never need? Beyond that, it slows everything down and wastes time. And it’s all unnecessary, as there are a crop of platforms dedicated to solving this exact problem. 

Beyond simple project management 

Early in the Web 2.0 years, there was crop of project management platforms aimed at making assigning tasks, brainstorming, messaging, and billing easier. Now, those same project management platforms are adding features that do all of that, but with the added advantage of keeping it all within the system. 

And the software knows when to keep it, erase it, or ask you for confirmation to save it. It’s like the digital version of all those home organizing shows on TLC. And it’s for your own mental heath, too.

Unnecessary workplace stress

A recent Work Management Survey of over 1,400 office workers by Wrike found that “the greatest cause of work-related stress is “missing information.” And almost “46% said most or all of their meetings were focused on just status updates.” Think of the back-and-forth scheduling emails, calendar updates, and the eventual minutes someone will send around that afternoon. And then there are the follow-up emails and the needless presentation just to report on how things are going. It’s a huge waste of time. 

So replace those status update meetings with visualizations that show employees and project managers what’s going on with a few clicks. Many task management platforms offer that feature, so no need to recreate the wheel – and no need to learn a monster program like MS Project. Better still? Often no need to pay (at least initially) as many offer freemium options.

Options beyond Wrike include Asana or Droptask, both of which focus on assigning tasks to team members, as well as collecting and track their files and communication all in one place. They all come with a variety of tagging and time management options that are truly sanity savers, as they’ll make your email once again manageable (short of all those subscriptions you have, that is – check out Unroll.me for that, also free!).

Invoicing hassles solved, too

But what about invoicing and billing, the bane of every manager’s existence? Managers and employees must have access to time sheets, standardized invoices, and be able to file and receive payments digitally – and this requires more than a Google Doc sometimes. 

And since invoicing and billing is about money, companies tend to hoard copies and copies of docs showing where cash came in and cash went out. That’s a great habit, but, again, unnecessary.

Platforms like Due.com, Zoho and PayDirt streamline that process and keep track of cash-flow. Instead of searching for that invoice in your inbox, once they’re in Due, they’re easy to keep track of. If you’re wrangling freelancers or remote work (and who is isn’t?) they are in control of tracking their time — all you need to do is approve and click to pay. 

And when you bring all of that together, even with the learning curve (which is slight in comparison to the time and digital space you’re wasting, trust me), you’ll have a much less stressful existence and more time to spend on things that matter. It’s truly what is best for your company, your employees, your clients and your sanity.