Tips To Organize Your Home Office, by Eva Marie
I work from home (which is not as easy as it sounds – don’t be mistaken), but here are a few tips that help me stay organized – remember just tackle one at a time – each one does not have to take that long.
1. Evaluate. Look around your office and see what needs to change to make it better organized. Make a list or draw a diagram.
2. Get a bookshelf or file cabinets, a tray for work assignments (all that stuff needs to go somewhere). An inbox you can use to put assignments, bills, letters and other projects on your to-do list. Remember that this isn’t a permanent storage container: If a piece of paper has been sitting in your inbox for more than a couple of days, you need to either file it or trash it. Get a trash basket to recycle and a shredder. Clean off desk and file or shred.
3. Establish a Work Flow. When a project comes in, start by putting it in your inbox. You will see it there and know you have to work on it. OR some people use a rack to put their open projects on, that works too. Schedule time to work on your project – when is it due – what day will I work on it. I use gmail tasks to remind me. When done, file it in the file cabinet. (Since I work form home, I tend to keep back up of what I have done, requests, work done and when fulfilled).
4. Throw things away! Yes, you can! Here are some things you need to toss:
- Pens that no longer work
- Paper clips that are bent out of shape
- Old magazines and newspapers
- Unused or broken office equipment
- Outdated documents
Unsure when it’s okay to throw out certain documents? Here’s a guide to how long you need to keep important papers:
- Tax returns and supporting documents (canceled checks and receipts): seven years (Keep tax returns forever if you have the space)
- Pay stubs: one year, until you get your W-2
- Investment statements: one year, until your year-end statements arrive
- Bank statements: one year
- Medical bills: one year
- Credit card statements: one month, after you’ve checked them for accuracy
- Newspapers, magazines, Internet print-outs: as soon as you’ve read them or are finished using them
5. Keep Important Accessories Nearby. You waste valuable time whenever you have to root through your desk or get up and walk to your filing cabinet to search for supplies you use regularly.
6. Take Office Equipment off your desk. You need to have your desk Free to work on. Purchase all in one equipment so you will need less; put printers on shelves or on a lower shelf than your desk. Back up everything online.
7. Keep track of ‘To-Dos’. Whether you are a technical kind of person, or prefer pen and paper, having a running To-Do list is important so things don’t fall through the cracks. Separate your tasks into categories, by project or client, and list out all deadlines and important dates associated with those tasks.
8. Organize your inbox. Being electronically organized is as important as physically organized. Make folders and subfolders in your email for projects and clients. That way when a new email comes in you can act on it and file it in the appropriate folder.
9. Be reasonable about what you can finish in one day. Make a task list and give each task an appropriate time period to work on it. Don’t overdo it, working at home you tend to work late thinking you can finish (sometimes you work more working from home than from an office), if you are tired and have been working all day – stop – it is better to be rested – that way you will be efficient.
9. Organize at the end of each work day. Make sure that at the end of your work day you take a few minutes to put everything back where it belongs (file, trash, shredder, etc.). Make notes of what you need to do the next day (whether you use a task manager or you write a list). Now you have a sense of accomplishment and are ready to tackle the next day.
One thing I have learned about being organized it does take a little forethought, but it is worth that effort because you will be able to function better! Having a regular routine helps with this. Even when working at home it is good to set a start time and finish time and also which days will you work, schedule breaks and lunch. You would be surprised that when you work at home you do not take these!
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