Whether you work at home, share an office with colleagues, or have a spacious office all to yourself at your workplace, the organizing issues you face are the same. You need to have adequate systems in place for managing not only your daily work load, but also your paper, your schedule, your reference materials & the overall stuff in your space. With a goal of seeing as much of your desk surface as possible, to have room to work and not be cluttered by your own stuff, remember that less is definitely more. Try a few of these tips to streamline and organize your office space, and remember to aim for progress, not perfection.
- Shred or file one stack of paperwork every week.
- De clutter your computer screen and keyboard – sticky notes, magnets, and all.
- Have a trash and recycle within reach.
- Assess all of those knickknacks and office accessories. Unless they serve a purpose, get them off your work surface.
- Say no to stuff – it’s hard to resist free coffee mugs, water bottles, key chains, stickers, you name it…but you can do it.
- Remove all of the eating supplies from your desktop and move them to a clean, sanitary location.
- Have a process for your papers and know where they should go…get them there.