5 Home Office Organization Tips
June 01, 2011, By Ryan Tetzlaff 0 comments
Working from a home office is a mixed blessing—no fighting rush-hour traffic but when you work at home you're always at work. And staying organized invariably is tougher at home. Your desk tends to attract family junk, from broken toys to the dog's leash.
Even if you don’t run a business out of your home, you probably have a space where you pay bills and store important papers like tax receipts and bills, and it probably could use a make-over.
1. Get the Right Tools
Make sure you’ve got the right furniture, tools and space dedicated to your office. If you're currently using a card table that you also use for family gaming night and cat food dishes, you may not have the most productive home office.
Examine your current office and determine what tools would make you more productive. Maybe purchasing a standalone or wall organizer would help with your paperwork. Instead of owning a separate printer, fax and scanner, you could invest in an inexpensive all-in-one device that includes these three functions. Using the right tools will help you better organize your office and accomplish more in less time.
2. Rearrange the Space
Make sure you give yourself enough space to work. I use a small portion of our basement for my home office. I’ve got my desk, computer, printer, scanner and filing cabinets all within reach.
As an example of inefficiencies, my wife and I used to keep our filing cabinets on the other side of the basement. It was a bit of a pain to work at the desk and then trot over to the other side of the basement to grab something, trot back and resume work. Not that we have a very large basement, but it’s a lot more productive to have the filing cabinets nearby.
The same goes for your computer, printer and scanner. If the main computer doesn’t get accessed often, put it on the floor. If your printer is used frequently, keep it within reach. Try to eliminate reasons to get up. Distractions will cause you to lose productivity.
NEXT: Organize Your Paperwork
