Success Factors – Organize Your Home Office
Mon, Dec 31, 2007
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By Jan Ferrante
This is the time of year when everything seems possible – even organizing your home office!
So we will be continuing with our Success Factors series. Follow along and make a point of it to try some of the suggestions and put them into ACTION.
Is your home office brimming with paperwork that are crying "organize me"?
If it is, you are probably having a hard time concentrating… and finding things.
What does this mean? It means not only that you are wasting time, it means that important things are slipping through your fingers and probably costing your money as well.
I know the feeling.
I decided earlier this year that I am a paper hoarder. I think it comes from my office supplies addiction.
I love writing. I love paper. I love coloured pens and highlighters and markers. I love baskets, binders and folders and so on and so on 
I write myself notes constantly. I could write a book… if the pieces weren't scattered all around my office.
I contemplate what to keep and what to get rid of – far too long.
Does this sound familiar?
But every year at this time of year I get the urge to purge. This year is a benchmark year for me, I have a secret desire to dump all of it and start fresh.
This means that I am finding it easier to fling papers I've had for too long. It's like a breath of fresh air.
If your office needs a little love, now is the time to get at it.
Here are a few tips.
HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR OFFICE – RELATIVELY PAINLESSLY
- Set a rough time limit for yourself. When would you like to have your office clean up cleaned up?
- Set up a schedule outlining when you will work on it. 1/2 hour every morning? Every evening? 10 minutes the top of every hour? Make it work for you, but stick to it until you have it finished.
- Put on some music, or even better, a good learning audio on a subject that pumps you up.
- Clear garbage first. It's a quick fix and you will be surprised at how much goes.
- Take a small basket around to put anything in that does not belong in your office. Put it away.
- Use baskets or bins to sort projects if there are a lot of papers, folders and binders to keep.
- I like to put my invoices and bills into binders, some people prefer folders. Use what you are comfortable with, just be sure to use something.
- Clear your desk into boxes and sort from there. Be sure to keep track of what is going where so that you can find anything if you need to before you have them emptied, but get the stuff off of your desk and out of your site first thing.
- Get rid of anything that does not serve you.
- Don't forget to wipe down your computer and desk. Vacuum and wash your floor when you are finished. Make it shine!
One more thing! I found a nice blog called Small Biz Mentor. Melonie Murray has many good articles for you to check out under Home Office Organization.
Read enough to get motivated. Then get working on getting that home office organized!
Maybe this time I’ll actually get it all organized. But do have a larger table coming, along with one of those floor mats.
Hi Robert. The trick is to be focused on it until it
is finished. Even if that is just remembering to do a small clean up every day or once a week until you get it where you want it.
And to maintain it as you get it finished, otherwise it’s impossible to get ahead :0)
I found that buying some nice baskets to store things in on my shelves when I cleaned them really gave me incentive and the finished job looks so much better.
Your table sounds nice. What do you plan to use it specifically for?
Sure, this would me organize…my physical stuff. Still good at organizing my E-stuffs
Best Data Recovery Software’s last blog post..Learn about backup and it’s evolution
very nice post…organization is definitely needed at all times.
I always have the best intentions when I get ready to clean up my office. I have a plan that I follow, but I’m a packrat so I have trouble throwing things out. I’m going to try this plan out and see if it helps any.