The Power of Now: Why Doing Things in the “Now” Will Help You Perform Better Later

“Time isn’t precious at all, because it is an illusion. What you perceive as precious is not time but the one point that is out of time: the Now. That is precious indeed. The more you are focused on time—past and future—the more you miss the Now, the most precious thing there is.” 
Eckhart Tolle

Tell us honestly. When was the last time you thought about tackling something and then kicked yourself because you didn’t get round to it sooner?

We’re all guilty of putting off jobs and avoiding certain tasks but there is no better feeling than ticking them off your to-do list with a flourish when you finally complete them.

Whether it’s tackling that mountain of paperwork, defrosting your freezer or changing your clocks, we could probably all list at least five things we’ve put off recently. But procrastinating now could lead to inconvenient or even costly consequences down the line, which often leaves us wondering “why didn’t I get this done earlier?”.

So how can we embrace the power of now and make small changes today that will reap big rewards tomorrow?

Wondering how you can make your travel, expense and invoice processes best-in-class?

Find out how SAP Concur solutions can help you reach the next level.

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Act today for a better tomorrow

Getting started on a project is sometimes the biggest hurdle we’ll face. We’re much likely to feel better once a task is complete and even the smallest starts can be the motivation we need to keep us going.

That garden project you’ve been wanting to do? Why not start by planting some seeds or even choosing what you want to grow? 

Want to find a new passion project but keep putting it off? Start by simply thinking about what it is you’d like to do or achieve and you’ll soon find that you’ve got a list that you can expand on. 

You can adopt this mindset when approaching work tasks too. 

So many of us put off replying to emails in favour of getting on with other tasks, which can lead to missed information and delays in projects. Quite often you find that once you’ve replied to one email, it’s a lot easier to pick up the next one and before you know it, you’ve cleared your inbox – and then you can stay on top of it, rather than leaving it build up again.  

Don’t put off investing in technology that eases workloads

Asking for help is one way to overcome any procrastination habits, but some business leaders still delay in turning to technology and automation to mitigate their growing to-do lists.

There’s no magic wand that makes work life easier but there are solutions that can not only take some of the load off but also future proof your business, so it’s primed and ready for growth.

Imagine this scenario: month end is coming but employees don’t need to worry about putting time aside to sort out expense claims because reports are built as expenses happen.  By using spend management solutions to automate your travel, expense and invoice processes, you can spend more time reaching business goals while saving time, driving compliance and reducing costs.

And with all your spend management data in one place, you’ll be able to make business decisions with real, accurate insights.

A study by Aberdeen found best-in-class users of digital expense and invoice management technology were 34% more likely to report improvements in budget visibility, customer satisfaction and workforce productivity. So why wait? 

Businesses that put off automating their processes risk losing out on many missed opportunities to reduce costs. A benefit Hanna Törmä, HR Manager, Travel and Global Mobility, at YIT saw when they implemented Concur Expense was that “SAP Concur has enabled cost savings through more effective processing and improved visibility and compliance.”  Read the full case study here.

Turn being good into being great

Knowing where every penny is being spent provides an opportunity to optimise your processes and make your business run better.

With SAP Concur solutions, not only will you have visibility over where your money is going but you can implement controls to ensure that all spend is compliant. 

Stay competitive through moments of change

Enable your business to be proactive, instead of reactive. Encourage business leaders to continuously evolve and streamline processes by utilising technology that works with you, not against you.

SAP Concur solutions scale as you grow so you can be confident that you’ll be providing continuous business innovation. 

As Ralf Goebbels, Head of IT, Lindt found. "It's fantastic that SAP Concur is open enough for us to be able to implement our special requests in the solution perfectly." Read the full story here

Businesses need to stop making decisions based on hunches and gut feelings. By optimising efficiency and effectiveness through a best-in-class finance automation platform, you can make better decisions based on real data, captured in real time.

If now isn’t the best time to increase productivity, streamline processes and have happier employees, then when is?