Updated 3.8.22
Did you know that March 8th is National Organize Your Home Office Day? That’s right! It’s the perfect day to put on your gloves and get to cleaning and organizing your home office.
Millions of people went from working in an office to working from home virtually overnight. This means that many people were not prepared for how to organize themselves to be able to work from home. It seems so easy to just pop open your laptop and get working but there is a lot more to it than that.
Working from home brings with it a lot of challenges. You need a plan, a system and discipline to make it work. And having an organized home office is essential to doing this.
In today’s post, I’m going to cover how to organize your home office or office space so that you can work efficiently and effectively.
Have a Clean Workspace
Clutter can be very stressful and when your home office space is not organized, as it can make for a stressful workday. Not only does it make it difficult to find essential items for you to work well, but it also raises your anxiety and makes your workday more of a battle.
To avoid this, have your desk organized and neat so that you know where everything is and so that it looks tidy.
In addition to this, you should also have any wires organized and out of the way. Having a bunch of random and loose wires and cords not only looks bad, but it can also be hazardous.
To combat this use some straps to tie them together so they are not hanging out willy nilly. If you want them to look nice, you can use decorated stretch velcro.
Lastly, consider putting up some small shelves above the desk so you can get everything off of the surface. Doing this will give you more room to move around and have a clean surface to look at.
Digitize Everything
Now, let’s cover documents. One of the best ways to stay organized is to scan all of your documents and store them on a zip drive or even on the cloud. You will still need to have a filing cabinet to keep the hard copies just in case, but you don’t need to have it in your home office area. This will free up tons of space and give you instant access to important documents.
There are many offices that are going paperless so your home office should follow suit.
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Make Stations
After that, think about how an actual office is organized and where different tasks have their own area. This improves office workflow as each task has everything that is needed within reach.
You should do the same in your home office. For example, if you have a printing area dedicated to your scanning and printing then you can keep it organized with everything you need in one place. Have your paper, toner and ink and labels there in one spot – where that is your only task.
Another example would be to have a mailing station where you can prepare packages and letters with all of the gear you need to do only that. This makes for a very efficient workflow and your day goes much more smoothly. Try and do this for each task area.
Get Ready for Tomorrow
With everything in place, be sure to plan and prepare for the next day. Sometimes it’s difficult to get your day going in the morning. Which is why you should get ready for tomorrow today. At the end of the workday you should dedicate fifteen minutes or so getting your tasks ready for the next working day. That way you can hit the ground running as soon as you sit down at your desk.
Final Thoughts
There you have it, a few tips on how to keep your home office organized and efficient. If you are looking for additional ideas, don’t forget to check out my latest post on News Break, Work From Home Tips for the New Year.
