Home office organisation is something we often don’t think about until it’s much too late. You need a home office, so you create one, and over time things start to stack and layer around you as you work – used coffee mugs, a stack of files you keep meaning to put somewhere, software boxes, bills, orphaned pens. Until one day, when something gets in your way or disappears for the umpteenth time, you suddenly realise that getting your home office organised is long overdue. Because not only is it impeding your productivity, not knowing if you’ve lost some sensitive data or not is a huge security risk. So here are our top 4 tips for organising your home office.
Sort Your Filing Drawers
Filing cabinets are the Kings of Clutter for most home offices – which is ironic because most of us see them as clutter solutions. In reality though, we stuff them with whatever we can’t find a place for at the time, or whatever we don’t need to deal with or don’t want to throw away. So it just becomes an enclosed landfill, and when it gets full we simply buy another one. So set some time aside to pull everything out of your filing drawers one at a time and sorting through what you don’t need, what you do need and whatever else might be lurking in the wrong places. Documents and papers you no longer need should be shredded, but you might be able to reuse old file folders, for example. This might feel like an archaeological dig at the time, but by the end you will find yourself with an organised filing system you can take forward, instead of a bulging drawer of dread.
In-Trays And Folders
No matter what business you’re in, you need a way or prioritising and storing your work. When your work is also at home, it often needs to be kept neat and away from prying eyes. This is where in-trays and folders become your best friends. Invest in a set that you can colour code for different things and store them somewhere easy to see, so you always know where your important information is. This way, you never have to risk get distracted while digging around for paperwork – a massive bonus for any home worker.
Clear Your Desktop
It has been proven in multiple studies that a clean, clear desk promotes efficiency and proactivity. We all know the dream desk look – with just your computer, telephone and notepad on it and all of that clear space. It’s just a shame that so many home offices don’t look like that. To clear your mind and boost your workflow, you should try clearing off anything on your desk that you don’t need to use every single day. A good way to do this is to put everything that was on your desk in a cardboard box, and slip it under your desk. Throughout the next week, if you find yourself needing something in the box, you can take it out and find it a home on your desk. By the end of the week, your desk will only have essential things on it, and you can find a home within your office for the rest of the bits in the box.
Get Yourself A Shredder
It might not seem like it at the time, but the sheer volume of paperwork that business owners deal with every day is mind blowing. Even if you just look at junk mail and other irrelevant post, we still deal with a large amount of paper containing confidential data about us and our business. But rather than letting all of this pile up on your desk (or worse get thrown in the bin), get yourself an office shredder. That way every time you are finished with a document or need to destroy the data on it, you can just feed it through the shredder and carry on your day, safe in the knowledge that your data is safe. If you can’t afford one or don’t have the space, check out click-and–collect shredding services like ours who can collect your shredding and take it away for destruction; or drop it off yourself!
For more tips on keeping your home office productive and organised, or to find out more about our click and collect shredding service, get in touch with the team today for your free consultation.
