Organizing your home office might seem easier said than done. However, there are all kinds of things you can do to make your home office more organized from this moment onwards. Below, you’ll find some easy tips that will help you to keep things tidy in your home office and ensure you never misplace a file again. Take a look and see what you can do!
- Go Paperless Where Possible
If you’re still receiving paper bills, invoices, and documents, it’s time to go paperless. Going paperless is a great way to be more eco-friendly, as we’re rapidly running out of resources. Going paperless also means you can have things sent to you electronically, and store them on the cloud or in your email inbox instead. This will allow you to find whatever you’re looking for in a matter of seconds, and instantly clear the clutter from your home office. Opt for paperless bills wherever possible, and avoid printing documents if you don’t really need to.
- Separate Your Work From Your Home
Being able to separate your work from your home is crucial if you’re going to get anything done. You don’t want documents, files, and other things creeping out of your home office and into your lounge area, or even your bedroom! It can be tough to separate work from home at the best of times, let alone when you don’t really have a proper place for everything. Make sure you have a set room for your work, and that everything to do with what you do stays in here.
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- Create Your Very Own Organizational System
Creating your very own organizational system can be extremely rewarding. A rational system for organizing everything will mean you no longer have to worry about stacks of paper on your desk. Below, you’ll find some advice that will help you to do just this:
- A filing cabinet – they don’t have to look clunky or old fashioned. You can find lots of trendy options to suit your style.
- A bin.
- A recycling container.
- A shredder.
- A rack to hold any projects you’re working on.
- An inbox folder to keep your bills, letters, and other projects on your to-do list.
Along with your organizational system, you need to ensure you’re using it correctly. A workflow that enables you to decide what to do with a new project as soon as it comes in will help you to stay organized as you go. Remember, after a few years, it’s unlikely you’ll really need the corresponding documents to a project anymore – so do the right thing and recycle it. You can always scan it and keep it in the cloud if you really want to look back at it.
Take a look here if you want to clean up the storage on your mac so that you don’t have to worry about storing projects on there once complete.
- Hire A Cleaner
Don’t have time to keep everything spic and span because of the amount of work you have on? Hire a cleaner and don’t feel bad about it! Keeping your office organized will improve your morale and workflow, and if this means getting some help in to take care of the rest of the housework, then so be it. Your time is valuable, and you shouldn’t feel bad about investing in a service to help you to save it.
- Don’t Hoard Letters And Papers
As soon as you receive a letter, figure out what you need to do with it. On rare occasions, you may need to keep it for a later date, so have a place for letters like this. Usually, you can deal with them and shred them right away. The time it takes you to read it and put it to one side to ‘decide what to do with it later’ could be better spent making that decision now. You’ll be doing your future self a favor.
- Rid Your Workspace of Cables
Cables can be a safety hazard, not to mention unsightly. To stop them from getting in your way, get rid of electrical equipment that you no longer use. Invest in wireless equipment so that you can reduce the number of cables in your workspace. Your keyboard, printer, and other elements of your home office can all be wireless. There are also things called cable tidies that you can purchase relatively cheaply to clean up your remaining wires. Clips, cable ties, and velcro wraps can work, too.
- Be Vigilant With Your To-do List
You are likely focusing on organizing your physical space, but organizing your mind is always a good idea. Something that can seriously clutter up your mind is your to-do list. Lists can be great, but not if you’re not using them correctly. Writing absolutely everything down on your to-do list and expecting to get it all done in one day is probably going to leave you feeling exhausted at the end of the day, not to mention put out if you don’t actually manage to get it all done. Make sure you stick with the tasks that are most important that day and try to keep it to a maximum of 3. If you get anything else done, you can consider that a bonus.
- Ensure Your Storage Is Flexible
Flexible storage systems can be altered as your needs change, so they are a great investment for your home office. Most of your work can be paperless but you’ll still get post and documents from time to time, so preempt these. Adjustable shelves are great, as they can be repositioned as you go. You will be able to maximize your available space this way and fit the shelves to your items.
Making the most of your wall space with shelves is a great idea, as taking up floor space with filing cabinets can reduce the space you have to move.
Are you ready to organize your home office? Leave a comment with your own ideas below!
