Organize Your Home Office and Increase Productivity
If you are fed up with your office space, have to hunt for a pen like you are on safari, and spend more time hunting for documents than working on them, this article is for you. As you forage through the “one week ago” pile, and try not to topple the whole thing into an unworkable mess, read this article for tips on how to reverse and improve your home office world.
First, take heart. Every office - home or otherwise - has to figure out how to deal with paper, pens, and clutter. Creating and maintaining an organized space is just part of the job.
So, what do you do to wrestle the clutter-beast into submission?
Space to Organize Is Essential
One of the largest problems with staying organized lies in the lack of a system and not having enough room to effectively implement the system.
If you have spent the better part of a day cleaning out a drawer and replacing the items in organized, labeled files, but you cannot squeeze a single extra sheet, of paper, you have wasted your time and the un-filed papers will grow again.
Be certain to have at least a quarter to a third (more if possible) of growing room when implementing a system. You may need to change over at some point, but having some extra space will encourage you to keep up with the organizing.
Having space to add home office furniture in the form of filing cabinets and storage bins will help considerably with organization. Be sure and have at least one quarter to one third or more growing room when you implement your system. Extra space encourages you to keep up with your organization efforts.
Adding home office desks and storage organization items will go a long way towards making your organization implementation successful. Set aside time to get rid documents that are no longer relevant. This will allow for more space. Invest in a scanner and make PDF files out of things that can be stored electronically.
Simple Filing System
Filing systems do not need to be hard, confusing, and complicated. In fact, the simpler the better. The easier it is to setup and maintain, the more likely you will be to keep up with it. Some of the most effective systems are as simple as three or four categories like “Expense’, ‘Correspondence’, and ‘Projects’ or something similar.
When filing large groups of projects, clients, or invoices, try utilizing a single draw for each group of like files. Get a tall filing cabinet that can be divided into either chronological or alphabetical systems.
Another class of things you will need to make room for are the things that you refer to daily or even hourly. A posting board or corkboard near your desk would be in order. You can hang things like phone lists, ‘To-Do” lists and appointment calendars in one central location for easy reference.
Maintaining Order
A filing system is only as good as the upkeep. You may find it easier to have a small system of files located on or near your desk and daily or weekly transfer the items into their permanent home.
This also works for items that you need nearby such as current project information or price lists etc.
Filing Style
Take a realistic look at how you file and consider the filing system. It might work better if you use labeled boxes or storage boxes if you tend to pile papers. This might be in addition or replace the standard filing cabinet. You need to find something that makes you feel comfortable, something you want to work with so that you continue to maintain it.
All Things Need a Place
Every piece of paper, each pen or pencil, the stapler and staple removers, post-it notes and the like need a place to sit. When you use them, replace them. Do not allow clutter to pile up around you or your business efforts and productivity will slow. You want to recognize ways to keep yourself as organized as possible in order for your business pursuits to go smoothly. Be sure and give yourself a little reward for keeping your system going, too!