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If you find yourself drowning in a sea of chaotic paperwork or just with a cluttered desk without rhyme or reason, fear not office warrior. You’re definitely not the only white collar worker dealing with a messy work area. This guide can’t tell you exactly what the underlying reason behind your office looking like a post-apocalyptic nightmare is, but it does cover the best quick fixes. Here are some organizing essentials to take control of your space and get productive like never before.
Some of the best advice I’ve ever gotten on workplace organization is to establish work zones. You’ll probably have a main work space, a reference area (shelves, binders, filing cabinet), and a supply area (closet or drawers). Positioning the supplies that are used most frequently within reach will go a long ways towards becoming a time management master when you’re faced with a critical deadline on a project, etc. The first step to decluttering should begin with getting all your papers filed away in a compact cabinet for quick and easy access. Depending on your needs, features vary from locking drawers to heavy duty construction to wheels for mobility. The brands HON and Lorell have consistently offered some of the best quality file cabinet builds at the lowest price. For a small two drawer setup the HON 410 series is a favorite. Or, for more capacity, the 4 drawer Lorell options make for a sturdy investment against clutter.
Taking the time to label shelves, drawers, and bins will not only serve as a helpful reminder where things are, but also help others who may need to find something at your workspace. Brother label makers with a full QWERTY keyboard makes this step a breeze and beyond organizing your office space can be used to organize all aspects of your business.
A filing cabinet is only as useful as the filing system you’ve established. Whether it’s expanding files or file folders, you can have a spot for everything and never misplace an important document again. Online cloud storage as a document backup service, both in the cloud and on an external hard drive is an inexpensive insurance against Murphy’s Law to avoid any workplace disasters. There are also many smartphone apps available for free to scan documents and convert the image to a pdf file. And to handle all those files for storage, Fellowes brand banker boxes with a 450 lb. stacking weight limit is one of the most convenient ways to get everything out of the way.
Perhaps the best tip of all for office organization is to schedule time each day to deal with emails and return phone calls. Doing this once in the morning and once in the afternoon tends to be the most efficient. Setting lots of little 10-15 deadlines back-to-back can yield amazing results by day’s end. With these essential products and organizational life hacks, workplace performance will go through the roof and the chaos that once ruled your desk space will be replaced with space for you to get creative and enjoy your work.
