Estimated reading time: 3 mins
It’s November, and the year seems to have passed us by in the blink of an eye. Most of us will be starting to create records for the year and pull reports for 2017, looking forward to a fresh start in the new year. If you are in need of some organisation ahead of the new year, look no further…
1. Clear Your Office
The first step to any clean-up process is to purge the space of clutter. You will most likely have paperwork hanging around the office, and your desk, which you simply don’t need. All this is doing is cluttering up a perfectly good desk and making your workspace look untidy. Get any paper you no longer need shredded and recycled. Once the space is clear you can think about what kind of design you want for the desk. Take a look at Pinterest to get some inspiration before you start shuffling things around.
2. Colors and Labels
One of the best ways to make any office look tidier and more organised is to add in some color. Color coding your projects will make it easier for you to see where your important documents are- plus it looks prettier on the desk too!
3. Storage
Now that you’ve organised your own desk, it’s time to look at the bigger picture. Invest in some racking and shelving for your walls or storage closet, and buy some storage boxes. The beauty about storage boxes is that you can label them up, and they don’t look as messy as having your files and items strewn over the space.
4. Separate Desks
If you work in a small office and have your desk attached to someone else’s it can be difficult to feel like you have the privacy to work effectively. If this is the case, Think about adding a partition between the desks to give you a barrier and privacy. You could also use this partition to hang a whiteboard for to-do lists, calendar events and general notes.
5. Organize Your Desk Accessories
Now that your paperwork is organised, don’t stop there. You can also organise your stationery into a tub or a small pot, your cables into a drawer, and any other materials you have into a tray on the desk. Keep everything neat and tidy and it will allow you to work more productively.
6. De-clutter Your Desktop
Organisation isn’t just for the physical items in the room; it is also for the files you hold on your computer. Try and make a folder for each of the projects you have going on, and anything that doesn’t fit into these categories can go into a folder named ‘other’. You can either add dated folders within your project to name the month of each document, or add extra categories within the project. However you do it, you’ll find that organising your computer will make work a lot easier for you in the future.
7. Personalise The Space
Finally, to give your workspace a flash of personality and also motivate you to work more productively- let your artistic flare come into play. It could be that you add a small office plant to the space, a photo frame with a family picture on, or something bigger. If you’ve created a partition- another great idea is to fill that space with inspirational quotes and images to keep you positive and motivated during the week.
