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Office Organizing

  

Mounds of paper.

CDs, memory sticks and business cards scattered all over

Overstuffed and outdated files

Post-its and scraps of paper tacked to the wall or bulletin board.

Broken or unused computer /office equipment

                                                 A shredder buried under paper

                An overflowing garbage can

                 Junk drawers filled with who knows what

Bookshelves full of outdated computer software and college textbooks

 

 

Does your office freakishly resemble any of these descriptions? It’s scary, I know.You are not alone. I have organized enough offices to bet that at least one of these comes close to what you’re faced with. Many Americans struggle with keeping their desk clear, files updated, and maintaining a productive, soothing work environment.

What I want you to do now, is get up, turn your computer screen off, walk to your office door, turn off the lights and shut the door behind as you leave your office. As you’re standing outside your office door, take a deep breath and paint a picture in your head to what you want your office to really look like. Be specific. If money or time was no hindrance, what would it look like? Now open up the door and flip on the light. Stand in the doorway and take in a panoramic view from left to right. Go slowly. Actually, look at the amount of paper. Look at the floor- how much of it is covered? Can you even see the rug or hardwood underneath? Look at the layer of dust on your bookshelves. Look at your walls- what’s covering them? More paper, a calendar? Or are they blah, uninspiring? What about the stuff that doesn’t belong in this room- the clothes? The boxes? The item your coworker or friend thought you should have?

This is where you spend most of your time, working to make the most of your salary, to pay for most of the things in your life. An office is where we work. Not play, not sleep, not cook. When we’re working, don’t we want to be:

Focused?

Efficient?

Creative?

Productive?

Energized?

Excited?

Inspired?

I know I do. Look at what office clutter is robbing you of. Why put off making your  office the best environment and productivity center ever? Now’s the time to organize, not next month or next year, take the opportunity and start today. The benefits are numerous and you’ll be glad you did.

Here’s some office organizing tips to get your office back on track.

• Containerize and label all the small things- CDs, memory sticks, business cards, post its, pads of paper, etc.

• Use drawer organizers in every drawer so loose change, paper clips, and erasers don’t get out of hand.

• Use plastic-colored envelopes, which you can buy at any office store, to hold different paper groups (i.e., coupons, store cards, extra credit cards, stamps and return address labels, etc.) This loose paper floats around and gets lost on desk tops and in drawers.

• Designate one file folder, one pad of paper, or one Word document in the computer to keep all passwords and usernames organized. Of course, disguise or hide it, if you need to.

• Keep the filing system simple. Only file permanent records and records used for tax time. If you don’t have a lot of time to file, just use twelve folders with the twelve months on them. File papers by the month. That’s truly the simplest.

• Get a large garbage bin and an expensive ($75 or more) shredder. The cheap ones break, always jam, overheat, or are super slow. It’s worth the investment. Don’t forget to get a second garbage can designated for recycling.

• Set a computer reminder buzzer to beep at you every day at the same time. Take 5-10 minutes to listen to it and act on it, by putting things away, throwing paper out, and filing. If you only follow or do one of these tips, this would be the best one, by far!

• Every time you pick up a new piece of paper, ask yourself, “What’s the next action step required for this paper?” – is it to do, to call, to fax, to email, to research, to read etc. Take your five most common action steps, label trays or boxes with that action word, and start to place paper in them DAILY.