Your home office is your productivity center. An organized home office means everything is easily accessible, in order and you’re at your most productive. A disorganized home office can cost you lost time, which often means lost money, and the clutter can drain your energy making you feel less productive, overwhelmed and frustrated. Therefore, it pays, literally, to have an organized home office. Here are ten tips to organize your home office, and keep it organized!
How to organize your home office – 10 tips to get the job done!
1. Create zones. Zone 1 is anything you need on a daily basis. For example, pens, your laptop, purchase orders, your phone, printer and so on. These items should be within easy reach. Zone 2 are items you may use on a weekly or monthly basis, for example your banking account information, your sales reports and so on. These should be in storage that is easy to access but not necessarily within arm’s reach.
Finally, Zone 3 are the items you access infrequently. These items will be things like your tax records, manuals, contracts and so on. Store these items in an organized manner, so they’re easy to access but they don’t have to be easily accessible – the top of the closet would be fine.
2. Label specifically. Files can easily become overwhelming. Imagine if you have a file labeled “Taxesâ€. Well everything from your tax statements to your receipts from the past five years could end up in there, making for a really big mess. Each file should be extremely specific. For example, 2009 tax statements, June 2009 business receipts, June 2009 medical claims and so on.
3. Create a purge and file system. Once every quarter, go through your files and clean them out. For example, if you have a business receipts file, sort through it quarterly to make sure all receipts are valid. If you have an electronic system of also recording receipts then cross-reference and get rid of any duplicates.
4. Store electronically. Digital storage, in the form of a backup drive or online system is a great way to eliminate clutter. Scan documents and store them in two digital locations, on your hard drive and via an online data storage system for example.
5. Create three zones on your task list. For many, the “to-do†pile on their desk is the biggest pile. Instead of one heaping pile, organize your tasks into three piles by priority. For example, to do today, to do this month, to do this quarter.
6. Have a place for everything. #5 recommends creating three tasking zones. Make sure each zone is in a labeled desk organizer and not just a pile on your desk.
7. Find one system to organize yourself and stick to it. Do you prefer a PDA, paper calendar, or a software program like Outlook? Find a system that works for you and stick to it. This will keep you on track and eliminate redundancy from using several systems.
8. Create an open/close system. Each day, when you leave your office, prepare it for the next day. Set out items, which will need your immediate attention the next day. Create a prioritized task list. The next morning, tackle your must dos immediately and work your way through your task list. It’ll keep you organized and on track.
9. At the end of each day, put everything back in its place! Leaving your office clean and ready to go for the next day, starts the day off right.
10. Sort mail. Mail typically falls into three categories, open immediately, open eventually and trash. Sort mail into three piles each day and tend to the immediate ones, throw the junk mail away/recycle and place your intermediate mail in an appropriate location, for example your to do this week bin.
Having an organized home office is more about creating systems than anything. The key is to create systems that work for you. If you’re a visual person and need to see your agenda then a large wall calendar with your tasks and an open filing system might work best. If you’re an auditory person, consider leaving yourself a voicemail or dictation of what you need to accomplish each day. Find a system that works for you, create appropriate zones, put everything in its place and enjoy your organized and efficient home office!