If there is one thing jan/san professionals — in fact, most business operators — are invariably short of, it's time. They need time to run their businesses, marketing, handling email, visiting clients, cleaning, hiring ... you get the message.

Because of this, Tornado is offering the following five business management tools designed specifically to help cleaning professionals get more accomplished in a shorter amount of time:

Email is a big time hog. Set specific times of the day to read email and stick with it; actively unsubscribe to newsletters that you no longer want; send short emails and your readers will likely keep there's short too; use Outlook "folders" to categorize emails into those that need to be read now and those that can be read later.


Have a sense of urgency. Develop a habit of acting now, working fast, and getting things done. "All successful people not only work hard, hard, hard, they also work fast, fast, fast," says Brian Tracy, a well-known motivational speaker. 

 
Stop procrastinating. Procrastination not only wastes time, it steals time, according to Sean Martschinke, product manager for Tornado. "When something has to be done, do it. In cleaning, it often helps to tackle small cleaning projects first. This leaves more time for the larger projects."

 
Start and finish. Too often, we start a task and then stop only to keep coming back to it again and again. Once you start a cleaning or maintenance task, complete it, and then move on to the next job.

Organize your tasks. When it comes to cleaning, organization is critical. Work with a distributor to adopt a cleaning system that gets the job done faster...and invariably better.


"[And] when it comes to marketing, make it a habit," adds Martschinke. "For instance, set specific marketing times; say 9 am to 11 am every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. This consistency not only ensures your marketing gets done, but helps lead to sales as well."