Believe it or not, poor office organization can negatively influence the way you do your job. It makes your workspace cluttered, distracting and dysfunctional environment to work in. Which further leads to stress, frustration and lack of productivity. If you’re one of those that ransack their office every day in search for the particular document, then you’re probably aware of what we’re trying to say. However, as a busy modern-day professional, you shouldn’t let something like disorganization disrupt your workflow. So, take a look at the following office organization tips and clear the way towards the success.
Don’t save on storage boxes and containers
The best way to take that clutter out of sight is to invest in the number of storage boxes and containers. Whether they’re plastic or cardboard, they’re perfect for storing any kind of stuff – from old files to spare office supplies. Make sure you label each one of them, and you’ll always know where to look for what you need. Plus, when being nicely patterned, they don’t contribute only to your office organization, but décor as well.
Hide those cables
Let’s agree that there’s nothing in your office that looks messier than tangled cables. In order to hide that chaos, turn one of the decorative paper boxes into the cord and cable organizer. Furthermore, think about tagging plugs with colored washi tape so that you can know what electronic devices they belong to. Just don’t forget to place the tag on both cable ends if you want to be sure what electronic device is plugged in and what isn’t.
Declutter your desktop
Did you know that we all waste about 4.3 hours of our time searching for papers during only one week? So, if you want to stop letting your time go down the toilet and be more productive, clear your desktop from all those piles of paper. In case you still need some of them at your fingertips, consider the so-called two-tray system. This system includes two document trays being used for two different types of documents – one for new incoming documents and the other for old, but still necessary files.
Utilize the wall space
However, you cannot hide your brochures and flyers from your clients. So, if you want to get them off the desktop, but still keep them in the visible and easily reachable spot, utilize the wall space by hanging clear wall flyer holders, offered by DisplayME or other similar company. Since some people like to have all their files open to their view, they can also serve as nice paper storage space.
Clear away physical objects
Still speaking of desk decluttering, don’t neglect tiny office objects such as staplers, tape dispensers or paper clip holders. Since you probably don’t need them every second of your working time, you’d better cleared them away from the desk and place them at the accessible, yet invisible spot – desk drawer. Also, office desk isn’t a place for your personal belongings including smartphone, wallet or sunglasses. No matter how many of them you have, these items represent mess and distraction. Therefore, store your personal belongings in a drawer or in a nice trey and keep yourself productive while keeping your desk organized.
Set up so-called catch-it space
Catch it space is an area that “catches” everything that comes into your office. There’re three central types of items that enter your workspace – documents (files, mail, bills, etc), your belongings (jacket, handbag, umbrella, etc) and trash (basically everything you don’t need). The point of catch-it space is to keep all these listed stuff neatly organized, so find the place in your office where you can create it. The best option would be somewhere close to the office entrance. Make sure you provide a trey or cabinet for the documents, hooks for your belongings and a trash can or recycle bin for the trash.
As you can see, no matter how busy you are, you can’t have an excuse for disorganized workspace. Office organization requires much less time then stressful searching of the things you need. What is more, it boosts your productivity and, accordingly, may influence your success. So, don’t be too lazy to follow above-listed office organization tips.