5 Simple Tips to Organise Your Office
Introduction – 5 Simple Tips to Organise Your Office
Since the COVID pandemic in 2020, more and more people have been working from home across the globe. So, whether you thrive in your home office or do it out of necessity, it is one more space in your house to clean and keep tidy. But why a tidy workspace, and how do you get there? Read on to find out more. Below I will outline 5 simple steps to organise your office and keep it that way.
Benefits of a tidy and organised Office
You might think that tidying your workspace is just another item on your list of daily household chores. So, what difference does a bit of paper clutter make? After all, it doesn’t attract mice or start smelling.
But having a neat and tidy workspace allows for higher productivity, less stress and less time wasted searching for that document or file.
A cluttered office leads to a cluttered mind. You will likely be distracted by all the chaos on your desk, making you slower and less efficient. Procrastination, here we come!
On the other hand, a clean office space saves you time as you don’t need to search for things, knowing exactly where everything is. It will make you complete tasks in a more fast and more efficient way.
As the saying goes, “a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind.” Keeping your workspace clean and organised can have a huge effect on your productivity, concentration, and ability to find everything you need. You might be surprised how much more efficiently you’ll be able to work after cleaning out a junked-up desk.
The above quote is something I can completely get on board with. I have been keeping a meticulously clean desk for several years now. I started it while hotdesking for IPC Media and have continued ever since.
1. Have a dedicated workspace.
Not everyone who works from home has the luxury of a spare bedroom to use as an office. Instead, many people must work in the corner of their bedroom or at the kitchen table.
To get into working mode and to get your mind focused on work, you must have a clear space that is used only for work and contains only items you need for this.
If you can’t have a dedicated desk, have a box or bag that contains everything you need. Ensure you are clearing the space you use to work off anything unrelated. In the evening, ensure that work stuff gets put away.
Doing this ensures you have a work-life balance, and your brain is wired into work mode, making you more productive. You also guarantee that nothing important gets lost.
2. Purge Your Office
If you are lucky enough to have a dedicated workspace, ensure it only contains work-related items. Your office should not be a space to store anything with nowhere else to go.
Go through all your cabinets, drawers and boxes and discard anything you no longer need, taking it to the charity shop or the recycling bin. If you find anything that is not work-related, put it where it belongs elsewhere in your flat.
If you find the process overwhelming, take one area, such as your stationery supplies or desk drawers, at a time, and do 15 – 30 minutes daily.
3. Create a filing system.
Don’t just have your papers piled up on top of your desk. Instead, have a dedicated filing system, both digital and paper based.
Sort your papers by category and file them in folders for easy retrieval. Only keep what you truly need.
Don’t create a complicated filing system that takes hours to put stuff away. Instead, come up with a number of broad categories such as finances, meetings, currently working on… This way, you are more likely to keep up the tidying moving forward.
Think about digitising where you can. For example, do you need a hard copy of everything, or will a digital copy suffice? There are a variety of useful apps like Evernote or cloud services such as OneDrive that allow for storing documents.
If you don’t want to file constantly, have four dedicated paper trays for processing your incoming paper. One for recycling, one for digitising, one for filing and one for needs action.
4. Clear your desk nightly.
When finishing work in the evening, clear your desk, put everything away and wipe it. Everything should have its place.
By clearing your desk nightly, your mind will switch off from work. When you work in an office, your commute to and from work serves this purpose, but working from home can blur the boundaries. A tidy desk can help with a switch from work to downtime.
5. Have a Space for Everything when Organising your Office
Decide what you need for your work. For example, some people work with only a laptop and a notebook, while others might need specialist equipment or arts and crafts supplies. Only keep what you truly need and discard the rest.
Have a designated space for all your supplies and paperwork. Label stuff clearly so you can find it easily.
Conclusion 5 Simple Tips to Organise Your Office
Of course, you can do many more things to keep your office clean; the above is not meant to be exhaustive but a starting point. Work with what feels suitable for you and your circumstances.
Need help with decluttering your office, get in touch here.
trabantbettina
Bettina Anna Trabant, Founder of Life Organised, your professional organising and decluttering service in East London. Eco-conscious minimalist and avid tea drinker,