Organize your Office and Be More Productive

ESTIMATED READING TIME: 3 MINUTES

Organize

Before you read this, take a look around your work space. If you’re feeling like our friend above, you probably aren’t being as productive as you could be. Maybe it’s time to get organized. You may think that you don’t have the time to reorganize, but if you knew just how much that disorganization was costing you, you’d revise your schedule to make time to tidy up.

We’re talking real organization. Moving piles of paper around or clearing off your desk into a drawer doesn’t count. A clean desk is an exercise in long-term maintenance, but you’ll be surprised by how a clear desk will make way way for less wasted time and higher productivity.

Purge

We are willing to bet that your desk is full of clutter that you don’t need or want. You probably have things you didn’t even know were there. De-clutter, shred and empty anything you can do without. If it’s broken, it’s time to get it fixed or throw it out. If you haven’t used it in months, are you really going to use it in the future? Take a long and hard look at knick-knacks too. If it makes your desk look messy or unprofessional, it’s time to say goodbye.

 

Put it Away

Once you`ve purged, gather up everything you`ve decided you can`t do without and find it a home. If things have been piling up on top of your desk instead of being put in a drawer, put it away. Do you have pens scattered across your work space, gather them up and put them together in a drawer or a desktop caddy. Remember to keep everything you use frequently in easy reach. If it`s something you need, but not often, store it.

Store things appropriately. Put like items together, paperclips, staples and tacks, sticky notes and note pads, stamps and envelopes. This will make finding things much easier.

 

Establish Zones

Determine what happens where in each area of your your office. Your desk is obviously your main work space, but you likely also have a reference area with your filing cabinets and shelves and a supply area with paper, pens and other office supplies. You don`t need to stockpile everything at your work space. Put everything in the appropriate area to keep your desk clear, organized and stress-free.

 

Stay on Top of It

Once you`re organized, maintain it. Assign discard dates to files and documents. You don`t need to keep things indefinitely, and deciding how long you need them ahead of time will keep a cleaner space in the long run. When you complete a project, archive everything away together.

At the end of every day, straighten your desk and put everything away so you start each day fresh. At week`s end, you will probably have papers to be properly filed, so do it on Friday before you leave for the week to start your next work week with a clear desk and a clear mind.

 

Check back for more tips on re-organizing your desk. Once the physical space is cleaned up, you`ll want to turn to your digital space. BrockOA has more help on the way!

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