Boost your Productivity! Organize Your Office

 

Boost your productivity by Organizing your Office Space!

Major frustrations can happen when you can’t find an item you are looking for in your office.  Wasted time.

Read this article for some helpful suggestions for organizing your office and let’s get 2024 moving forward!

Organizing your Office Space.

At the first of every year, before business gets crazy, I clean up my office. I get rid of items that are no longer needed, shred papers that are obsolete, and get the cleaners out and give the office a polish!

I am one who cannot work with chaos around me, so I am very organized. However, the office can take a setback during the busiest times of the year. That is why it is so important to have a space created for everything, and to have everything in its place.

One of the biggest wastes of time for a biz owner is spending too much time looking for something in their office or computer! You can increase your productivity by being more efficient in organizing.

Organization is a soft skill, and it will help you better plan your projects and increase the quality of your work.

Organize your office with these steps:

·         Sort & Purge: Sort papers that need to be put into files and purge anything in your office that is no longer needed. Chairs, desk items, etc. Offices tend to get an overloaded look if there are too many items that can distract.

·         Make your office more efficient: Create a work center for your most common tasks, i.e., shipping and mailing. Put all the supplies needed at that work center.

·         Sort through mail: This one is a biggy and can clog up your workspace. My rule of thumb is to only handle a piece of paper once if possible. Sort the mail immediately tossing the junk mail. Open the good stuff and take care of it immediately or put the mail in a file/tray by date to be handled later. Set a designated time of day to take care of the mail.

·         Clean up your digital space: Clean up your desktop, clean up your file folders, delete what is no longer needed, organize the ones you will need and make them easily available. Do the same with your emails. Delete old emails, clean out your folders, and don’t forget to dump the trash bin.

·         Use two monitors: This is a great time saver when you are working on multiple projects and if your client calls wanting to go over their project, you already have it open! You don’t have to move your first work screen/close tabs etc. and you can immediately go back to work!

·         Clear your desk daily: I always have a project file/drawer where I can store the projects that I am working on. I pull one out as I am working on it and put it away and work on another project. I can have 2-3 projects at a time going on, so this helps me keep all materials together needed for a project.

·         Consider scanning over filing papers: I started doing this a few years ago and it has been a lifesaver! Back in the way back day, I kept buying file cabinets to hold the masses!

·         Use a color-coded filing system: I love my color-coded system!!! It saves me so much time when I do have to go to the file cabinet. Blue folders are for bills, red for clients, yellow for contracts, etc. I can reach right for the section I need!

·         Include motivational items to your décor: I have all kinds of positive quotes in my picture boards that hang about my desk. Not only do I have family pictures that bring a smile, but positive words that keep me motivated. Hang your vision board as well!

·         Sort your books: I don’t know about you, but I do a lot of research, so there are a lot of books. Organize your books by author or subject so that you can find the one you are reaching for faster.

·         Hide Wires/Use Labels: I have wasted so much time tracing a cord behind my desk when something is not working. I finally smarted up and used zip ties to keep my cords organized (and easier to dust, yes, I’m one of those) and I used labels on the cords so that I immediately know what goes to what. It’s a time saver!

·         Use a Landing Pad: I have a space in my office where things land so that I don’t forget to take them with me. Long before I go to a meeting, I gather everything up that will be needed for that meeting and place it in the landing area. Sometimes I do this the night before. This keeps me from forgetting items that I need to pack up and from being embarrassed at the meeting when I discover I forgot something important!

·         Lastly, organize your time to increase productivity and to keep your sanity! Use calendars with time blocks for your day/week for making phone calls, handling emails, working or projects, business meetings, etc. Create your success notebook to help! Get yourself into a routine and maintain your schedule.

With an organized office, you will know where everything is and what you are supposed to be doing. Saving time can enable you to be more productive, and the neatness of your office can lower your stress!

Happy organizing for your successful 2024 year!

Debra Lee | Author | Keynote Speaker | Biz & Life Coach | Blogger

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