Believe it or not, for most people working from home’s nothing new. Gallup data from 2016 proves that before COVID around 43% of the population already worked from home some of the time.
Love it or hate it, there’s a good chance you could end up being one of the 25% of people who’ll continue the trend when the crisis has passed.
If so, getting your workplace organized is a long-overdue task. Check out these home office organization tips and get started.
1. De-Clutter and Coordinate
Every organizational task always starts with decluttering.
Grab a cup of coffee, take a seat at your desk, and have a look around. Make a note of everything that jangles our nerve fibers when you cast your eyes over it.
The amount of irrelevant things littering your supposedly productive space is mind-blowing. You’ll probably have random pieces of paper all over the place, DVDs piled here and there, clothing and magazines lying on the couch… the list goes on.
Grab a box, pile it all in and remove it from your workspace. You’ll never get organized if you keep neatening up these piles of clutter or rearranging them.
Once you’ve narrowed everything down to work-related items, you can start to get truly organized.
2. Keep a Stash of Supplies for Organizing
You can’t get organized without the correct tools.
Replenish your supplies of files, markers, and labels regularly so that you’re less likely to put off necessary organizing tasks.
A desk drawer organizer’s imperative for preventing a pile up in your workspace.
Store messy items like paper clips and rubber bands in small, sealed containers so they can’t roam all over your drawers.
A label maker’s a quick and easy way to keep track of which items belong in each file, box, and drawer.
When you label these compartments you’ll know where to store things and where to find them at a glance.
It’s a good idea to label cords so that you know which equipment they belong to without having to unravel everything. Keep your cords and wires neat with cable ties or a labeled multi-plug.
Remember, the ultimate aim of organizing your office is to streamline your daily tasks.
3. How to Organize a Home Office
One of the most effective home office organization ideas is to compartmentalize your space.
Set up separate areas for mail, printing, filing, and work. Categorize your stationery and supplies accordingly. For example, keep your stamps in a container at the mailing station.
Neaten up your bookshelf by restacking your books according to size, topic, or color. If you have magazines in your space, place them in a magazine rack, they’ll never stay neat while displayed on a coffee table.
Use your wall space as much as you can. Putting up shelves means you can store things there instead of on your desk. If you like to make notes, you can also keep a calendar and a whiteboard or chalkboard on your wall.
When you’ve got rid of all the clutter on your desk, you should have nothing left except your laptop.
You can fill up some of the space with a pretty flower arrangement or container plant. Adding something attractive to your desk can help motivate you to keep things tidy.
4. Organize Your Files
We get it. Nobody likes filing and it’s tempting to slack off in this area without a supervisor looking over your shoulder.
However, it’s vitally important to maintain an ordered filing system for your paper records.
Get started with all those loose pieces of paper piled on your desk. Divide it all up into three piles i.e. completed items, action items, and obsolete items.
Shred or recycle any obsolete bits of paper and keep your action items in a desk tray or folder.
You can deal with pending items in one of the following ways:
- Place them in ”Meeting” file for items you’d like to discuss at your next Zoom session
- File them in a ”’WOR” file for things you’re waiting for a response on
- Diarize reminders and appointment cards
Go through your paper filing system and archive items older than six months in clearly marked storage boxes.
Finish off by adding appropriate labels to every file and box.
5. Rearrange Your Mental Space Too
There’s a good chance the most disorganized place in your office is out of sight in the deep recesses of your laptop. A logical and ordered filing system’s just as important in this area as it is anywhere else in your office.
An organized electronic filing system streamlines your work by simplifying your workflow and allowing you to automate work processes.
This means you’ll get more work done faster and get to spend more time away from your desk. Check out this website for tips on automating tasks to enhance your workflow.
Clear your computer’s recycle bin every day and go through your downloads folder. Delete any items you don’t need and file the rest where they belong.
It’s essential to keep your emails organized too. Set up folders according to topics, people, or projects and allocate your emails to each one. Finish every day with an empty inbox and all your emails allocated to their correct folders.
Get Organized With These Home Organization Tips
If these home office organization tips make sense to you, you might want to explore some more of our blogs.
We’re all for getting organized in every aspect of your life. Keep browsing for more tips on maximizing your business, home, and health.