Eight quick technology tips for small business owners and their team
Explore our top tips that help small businesses increase efficiency
Technology is a part of our daily lives, but it’s doubtful that you know every tip and trick that can improve your computer’s efficiency.
As a small business owner, it’s important that you and your team are using your technology to its full potential to keep productivity up and improve efficiency.
Continue reading to learn some of our top technology tips to help small business owners and their teams.
#1: Common keyboard shortcuts
Keyboard shortcuts can help you stay focused and remain productive. There are some common keyboard shortcuts that everyone should know. All the shortcuts below use the Ctrl key on Windows, and the Command key on Mac:
Ctrl + C: Copy
Ctrl + V: Paste
Ctrl + Z: Undo
Ctrl + F: Find a keyword on any page
Ctrl + Backspace: Delete a line of text
#2: Built-in dictation
Many people are used to using Siri or Google Assistant to send texts through their smartphone. You can also use this feature on your computer to write documents or send messages to your team.
To activate speech dictation on Windows:
- Press the Windows key + H.
To activate speech dictation on a Mac:
- Click the Apple logo and then System Preferences.
- Choose Keyboard > Dictation. Make sure this is set to On.
- Here you can set up a shortcut to begin dictation, such as pressing the Control key twice.
#3: Add a bookmark to a favorite site
Your team likely has a couple of websites that they visit regularly during work, such as your business’s website, Google Drive, or Asana. Adding a bookmark to these sites will allow your team to quickly reopen them at the beginning of the day.
On Google Chrome, you add a bookmark by clicking the star icon in the address bar at the top of the screen. From here, you can name the bookmark and add it to one of your bookmark folders.
On Safari, you can add a bookmark by clicking the share icon next to the address bar at the top of the screen. This will allow you to name your bookmark and add it to any folder.
#4: Fully shut down your laptop, don’t just close the lid
Closing the lid of your laptop simply just puts your computer to sleep. When you put your computer to sleep, everything you’re working on and everything that’s running—such as your applications and your operating system—are kept in your computer’s main memory.
It’s best to shut down your computer at least once per week. This applies not only to laptops, but desktops too.
Fully shutting down and then restarting your computer allows important system updates to run, and more importantly it closes down all of the software and starts it over afresh.
Read more:
Top seven most helpful small business technology tools for your team
#5: Clear your browser’s cache regularly
Whenever you visit a website, your browser stores certain information, files used to run an online application, and downloads, such as forms. When you don’t clear your browser’s cache regularly, you’ll likely notice that websites are not loading or running properly.
Clearing your cache will allow you to use current forms, protect your information, and help websites run properly on your browser.
#6: Unsend emails
Have you ever hit send on an email only to realize that you sent it to the wrong person or made a spelling error? Luckily, there’s a way to unsend an email on both Gmail and Microsoft Outlook.
On Gmail after you send an email a Message Sent pop-up appears in the bottom left corner. Here there is an option to Undo the message. This pop-up is only shown for five seconds and then the email is sent, but you can change the amount of time this pop-up is shown in Settings > See all settings > Undo Send.
On Outlook, the recall message feature is available only if both you and the recipients have a Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Exchange email account in the same organization. To recall a message, navigate to the Sent Items folder and select the message you’d like to unsend. Click the three dots in the upper right corner and then hover over Actions and then click Recall Message.
#7: Use a VPN
Many offices have switched to a hybrid or remote workplace model, and because of this many employees may not always be working in their own home on their own WiFi network.
Whenever you are connected to a network that you do not own, it’s a good idea to use a VPN. This includes WiFi at co-working spaces, coffee shops, libraries, and airports. A VPN stands for virtual private network and when connected to one, it protects your connection and privacy online.
It creates an encrypted tunnel for your information and protects your privacy by hiding your IP address, providing you with peace of mind when using public Wi-Fi networks.
#8: Take and crop a screenshot
We’re all used to taking screenshots and sharing them on our phones, but not everyone knows you can just as easily take a screenshot on your computer.
On a Mac, to take a cropped screenshot, press Command + Shift + 5. A rectangle will appear, and you can capture as much or as little of your screen as you need.
On Windows, go to the Search bar in the bottom left of the screen and type Snipping Tool. This will let you take a screenshot of any size and save it to your computer.
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As your business’s trusted IT partner, our team of experts can help you and your team select the technology tools you need to succeed and facilitate set up and routine maintenance.
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