You may have heard the saying, “a place for everything, and everything in its place”. This is a fundamental organizing concept!
We’ve all been working from home a lot more than we used it, and it’s important to have some basic organization in the home office so that it feels like a pleasant and organized place to work!
Take a look around your office; specifically look at your paper piles. If you know right where something belongs, it is easy to return it to that spot. Usually the items that pile up do so because they don’t have a home. Don’t leave any of your papers in your office “homeless” and piling up.
Follow this list of essential items that every productive office needs and eliminate the piles of homeless items in your office:
- Inbox – Whether you work alone in your home office, or you have a steady stream of visitors, it is imperative that you have a physical inbox. An inbox gives you one consistent place in your office to put new items. You can’t always process them immediately, so you need to have a home for them. When you do have a few minutes, you know right where to go.
- Outbox – This gives you a spot for the items that are ready to leave your office (e.g. outgoing mail, a task to delegate, etc.)
- ‘To File’ Tray – This provides a spot for the papers or files that need to be filed. They might come from your inbox, or they could be papers or files that had been pulled and need to be re-filed. If you have an assistant, create a process so that they check it daily and file any items in this tray. Consider stacking three trays for your inbox, outbox and ‘To File’ trays to save space on your desktop.
- Shredder – You need to have the ability to shred sensitive documents. This can be achieved by setting up a small shredder in your office or using a shredding service. Volume will dictate which makes sense for you. Many communities offer free shredding events throughout the spring, summer, and fall.
- Recycle Bin – If you recycle, place a bin in your office to easily enable this habit.
- Wastebasket – This might seem obvious, but you need to have a home for the trash, too!
- Calendar – It doesn’t matter whether it is paper or electronic, but you must have a “home” for your appointments if you want to stay on schedule.
- Contact Management System – This can take many shapes – an old-fashioned Rolodex, or software such as Microsoft Outlook, ACT!, Highrise, or Salesforce.com. The important thing is to have one place to go to find contact information when you need it.
- Action Files – You need files set up to manage your active projects and daily to-dos. My clients’ favorite tool for managing to-dos is the Action File.
- Reference Files – You need a filing system that makes sense to all parties involved so that you can easily file items for future reference and most importantly, find them when you need them. Use quality filing supplies and invest in a good file cabinet.
Implement these essentials in your office, and watch your productivity soar!
Happy Organizing,
