photo by Al_HikesAZ's

I’m talking about a controlled burn.

Controlled burns are used in forestry as a method to “reduce fuel buildup and decrease the likelihood of serious hotter fires.”  Maybe its time to do a controlled burn with your company, to clear out the underbrush that’s getting in the way of your growth.

Burn Your Old Files

The longer you are at any job the more you accumulate a pile of junk.  Old files stack up, in-boxes overflow, receipts and scraps of paper litter your drawers.  Take a few hours, or even a whole day, to go through your entire office and trash what you no longer need.  If you’ve put those files onto your computer do you really need to keep the storage devices they came on?  Do you have piles of old computer equipment that can’t even be used any longer hanging out, cluttering your workspace.  Clear it out!

Burn Your Old Systems

Old systems can clog a smooth running business engine faster than just about anything.  There are certainly advantages to sticking with a system you know, but new business tools are being created constantly that can help you be more streamlined, mobile and efficient.  Try and view your systems from a mindset of a new employee.  Are there things you could be doing faster or better?  Take a broad look at how your business progresses through work and see if you can simplify and speed up your systems using new tools and technology.

Burn Your Old Mindset

Working at a job for awhile can also get your mind in a rut.  When you first started you proabably had lots of great ideas for ways to do things better and faster.  Bureaucracy or an overload of work can strip that mindset away from you pretty quickly.  You need to get that mentality back.  What are ways you can change your thinking to have a more positive state of mind towards your job?  What are some good ideas you had at first that have been sitting on the back burner?  How can you motivate your employees or coworkers to make your company better for yourselves and your customers?
If you keep meaning to do something like this and never can find the time, schedule it out in the future.  Pick a date on your calendar and make it “Burn Day.”  Then don’t let anything else get scheduled for that day.  Shut everything down until you let this fire do its work. Clear out the junk that keeps getting in your way and see new growth appear in its place.

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Recently I’ve been spoiled again by an online application called Mint.  Mint allows you to track and analyze your personal finances, and it does almost everything for you. After inputing some data about your bank accounts Mint automatically pulls in updated information about those accounts everytime you log in.  It instantly gives you a snapshot of your current worth, how you are doing on your monthly budget, and alerts you to any strange or big movements in your accounts.  When you are ready you can drill down for reports on all your transactions, including comparing your spending in certain categories to others in your area.  The interface is remarkably easy to use and every part of the Mint website is beautifully designed.

I’ve been spoiled, and now going back to QuickBooks, which I use for my business finances, is like using an old DOS machine.  Now that I know how simple, intuitive and beautiful finance software can be (even when its totally free!) it makes it harder to accept anything less.  (Has anyone tried LessAccounting?)

As more and more applications move to the cloud and User Interface becomes increasingly important I expect I’m about to get spoiled more and more.  Here’s what comedian Louis C.K. has to say about it:

Here are the 6 applications or websites which have spoiled me:

Mint

Super easy personal finance software.  All-online, all-free.  Intuitive and beautiful it takes the workload off of keeping track of your expenses and makes personal accounting fun!

Gmail

The best thing to happen to email since…anything.  Threaded conversations, chatting inside Gmail, integration with Google’s Tasks and Calendar, 7+ GBs of free storage, and hundreds of more features.  Once you make the switch to Gmail you’ll never go back.  Plus now you can set it up via Google Apps or MailFetcher to be your full-time email client no matter who you have email with!

BaseCamp

The online Project Management System that keeps my business flowing.  BaseCamp set new standards in ease-of-use and simplyfing online interfaces.  I run everything through BaseCamp to set deadlines, track time, communicate with clients and more.

Awaken

An alarm clock for Macs, Awaken lets me wake up to any song or playlist on my computer.  Much better than an annoying beeper.  Awaken can also launch apps for you, be a countdown timer during the day, and put you to sleep to music.

Spaces

Mac’s brilliant innovation lets you have multiple workspaces on your computer.  Keep all of your music applications on one Space, your work files on another, and 60 open web pages on another.  Sure beats minimizing things to try and find what you’re looking for.  Check out the demo here.

Pandora

How about an online application that creates personalized radio stations based on the music you like?  Free (with ads), you should try out Pandora to hear old favorites and let Pandora introduce you to new artists based on your ratings.  Its on all day in the Apt Design office.

Ok.  How about you?  What website or application has spoiled you – made your life incredibly easier and that you couldn’t imagine not having?

Or, read one of these:

1. Make Your Premium Services Wow