Time to Organize Your Office?! Part 2

Share

Last week we suggested that now is a great time to get control over your work space. Now we are going to share some step-by-step suggestions on how to organize your office.

1. To get started, first clear away as much unwanted and unneeded stuff as possible. Choose an area where to begin. IsOffice Bookcases for organization your bookshelf overflowing with outdated resource books? Are magazines piling up in corners? Throw out whatever you can. If you think something might be useful, label a boxes “give away” or “store” and then DO IT. The faster you move things on and out, the faster your office will be a functioning space.

2. If you choose to tackle your desk first, clear everything off, give it a good dusting, put back the essentials (computer, phone) and sort through everything else. It’s preferable to have a separate small table with drawers for your printer/scanner. Store printing paper and ink in these drawers. Throw out non-working pens. Put all the “needed” Office Deskscraps of papers with information in one envelop to rewrite in a productive way later-usually in a computer file, calendar or journal.

3. Hide supplies in desk drawers. You might need to purchase a drawer organizer for this. You can keep paper clips, stapler and staples, tape, rubber bands, pens and pencils, scissors, etc. at hands reach by using this system without taking up precious desk space.

4. Choose a truly workable system for papers. Do you prefer standing or flat corals? Perhaps stacking open files? LABEL everything in clear, preferably type written notes or by using a label printer: To File, To Read, To Contact, Urgent, etc. Set a time limit for yourself for emptying these files and stick with it.

5. Do you have piles of magazine articles? Create a filing system either by putting them in loose leaves outfitted with clear envelopes, a box with a lid LABELED or scanning and filing them in your computer.

Filing Cabinet for an organized office6. Perhaps you already have a filing system which is bursting at its seams. Take time to clear out the old and make room for the new. Decide if color codes, alphabetical order or numbering your files will speed up your search. Devise a system for putting papers in files and stick with it. Are newest papers going in the back or the front? How long will you hold onto old papers? What will you do with them once they are dated? File? Scan and file in your computer? Shred? Throw out? Find out what works best for you and stick with it!

7. You might need to be a bit ruthless and get rid of every object which is not useful for your job. Extra objects can be distracting and take up valuable space. Yes, we all want pictures of our family or friends around us. Consider a maximum of 3 pictures and hang them where they can be seen from your desk but in a location which doesn’t take up precious work space. If you must keep a lot of picture mementos, make one framed collage for your wall.

Office Desk for Organization8. Manage cables and go wireless where possible. All those wires floating around are grounds for dust balls to gather and for your area to look disorganized. They can even be a danger-both a fire and falling hazard. There are many ways to gain control over the wire spider web. Check out YouTube videos and ask at your local office supply store for ideas. A quick and cheap solution is to use cable ties or Velcro. You can also mount the wires under your desk.

9. How will you keep your assignments, meetings and other obligations up-to-date? Will you have a desk planner, wall calendar or is your digital system enough to keep your organized? If you feel that hard copies are obsolete, connect your computer calendar to your phone so everything is in sync.

10. Speaking about calendars, take this sage advice. SCHEDULE a 15 minute end-of-day-organize-your-office time. Seriously. No phone calls and no meetings should be made at this sacred time. Close your door and do your daily organization. Leave your office clean, filed and arranged so that you can start fresh the next day. In addition, at least one day per week, schedule a minimum of one hour and possibly more for “To Do”. This is when you’ll work to empty your boxes, make those waiting phone calls, etc.

Staying organized is a skill which anyone can learn. When you see the benefits of sticking with your system, once established, you will automatically get the positive reinforcement to stay organized. Once that happens, we can then tackle organizing your computer files!

Do you have any success stories to share about how you organize your office and stay organized? We’d like to hear from you.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *