Listly by Jelena Cekic
Here are some practical tips to eliminate all the distractions and turn your office into a highly productive one that inspires success.
Getting organized around the office doesn’t take much time, but it can bring you tremendous benefits. If your office is well organized, your productivity is bound to spike, and your motivation can improve so much that no task will ever be seen as a chore.
If you spend more time trying to find the necessary documents and office supplies than you spend on actual work, then it is definitely time for some changes. Here are some practical tips to eliminate all the distractions and turn your office into a highly productive one that inspires success.
In order to take control of your workspace, you need to start by removing all the clutter that prevents you from reaching your full potential and getting the work done. Get rid of everything that you don’t need or think you may need but you haven’t used for a long time. Everything that just takes up the space and isn’t useful needs to be tossed out, including redundant office supplies and even furniture.
Rearranging the furniture in your office can help you breathe new life into your workspace. Even such a minor change can make a huge difference when it comes to your motivation and productivity.
Make sure that you rearrange everything in a way that makes it easy for you move around. You don’t want to bump into stuff while looking for files, do you? Depending on how you work and whether or not you need to get up a lot during the day, create a layout that will work perfectly in your favor.
Having at least two separate work zones in your office will help you better organize your work and get everything done quickly and effectively. Your main work zone is certainly your desk, but you should establish a different one for signing documents and any other writing tasks, so that you can eliminate any kind of distraction.
If you’re doing creative work, you may also need an area that can spark your creativity and inspire you to get the best output.
Given the fact that your desk is probably where you do most of your daily work, you need to make sure that it always stays clean and well-organized. There should be no room for clutter on your main work station, because otherwise you will be surrounded by plenty of distractions that prevent you from completing your work with flying colors.
Keep only the most essential things on your desk, and remove anything that gets in the way of getting the necessary work done.
Having a proper filing system is what will help you apply almost all of the aforementioned tips. Without it, you may end up having a very tough time finding what you need exactly when you need it, even if you use labels. Therefore, file everything alphabetically or choose any other method that you may find helpful.
The best way to keep your important documents organized is to introduce custom 3-ring binders to your filing system. Not only will these binders help you easily browse all your documents, but they will also perfectly represent your brand and its unique identity. One of the most reputable brands for binder printing is Company Folders, Inc. Binders are important for presentations and meetings with both clients and colleagues, as you can use them for presenting catalogues, daily agendas, business plans and other important files. You’ll want to select a print shop that can deliver quality.
This goes hand in hand with organizing your desk. Store everything that you are used to keeping on your desk in your drawers, but make sure that you don’t simply throw all that stuff in. Instead, find a proper place for everything, from your notepads, print paper and envelopes to your paper clips, stapler and all the other supplies that you need and use regularly.
One of the best ways for getting organized around the office is to get file storage boxes for all your files. That way, you can easily find whatever you need, whenever you need it, because everything will have its proper place.
Document trays are also pretty handy, especially if you receive quite a lot of files and documents on a daily basis. You can keep them on your desk to easily access all the papers that you need to deal with. They can serve as your to-do lists and prevent you from constantly getting stuck under a pile of files.
Using labels and different colors to organize everything around your office will help you complete your tasks much faster. For instance, if you have a dozen file storage boxes with no labels on them, how will you ever find your way through them and finish your work on time?
Therefore, choose either labels or a color-coded filing system (or both) for organizing your boxes, drawers and folders, and you will never lose precious time on locating documents and necessary supplies. That being said, you will never miss an important deadline, let alone lose an important document.
Your digital desktop should be as organized as your actual desk, meaning that it should be just as clean and without any clutter whatsoever. Delete all the folders that you don’t need anymore and make sure that there are shortcuts on your desktop only for applications that you use on a daily basis.
That way you will be able to find your way to what you need faster and improve your productivity. Also, use a calendar and digital sticky notes to remind you of your daily schedule.
If you want your office to always stay perfectly organized, so that you can organize your work better and considerably improve your productivity, then make sure you follow all of these practical tips. The sooner you apply them and transform your office, the sooner you can reap the benefits and set your sails for success.