Organizing Your Home Office: Tips And Tricks

It's not on whether you're a college student or a young professional who works out of your home, it's important that your desk area is free of clutters. A clean desktop and area will help you get more productive and stay focused throughout your day. Here are some tips and tricks on home office organization that you can follow:

Acquire supplies - First off to properly organize your office, you should have caddies and trays arranged in the proper places for your papers and supplies. Keep at least 3 paper trays, the one for an inbox, another one for outbox, and one for papers that are ready to be filed.

Arrange your space - Next, take a look at the big picture. Is your desk easy to get to, or is it blocked by other furniture or shelves? Spend a few minutes arranging your office's furniture so there's a clear pathway to your desk. This will help free up the space so you (or a guest) won't trip over anything on the way to your desk.

It's recommended you look away from your computer screen every few minutes to give your eyes a rest. Consider this when arranging - is there a particular photo or painting you like to look at? If so, put it across from your desk so you'll have something nice to look at when you look away.

You should also put the items you commonly use nearby your desk so they're easily accessible. Things like your printer, fax machine, telephone, and contact list are included.

Clean off your desktop - First, take everything off the top of your desk so the entire space is cleared. Then, separate all of the papers into two, "Trash" or "Keep" Perhaps there are papers that have been laying there for a few weeks, probably some old receipts. If there's anything you don't need anymore, put it in the "Trash" pile.

After that, take the "Keep" pile and decide which items need action, which needs to go to someone else, and which need to be filed away. Accordingly, file them on the trays. For those papers that need filed, spending a few moments filing them so that there's no worry working on them later on.

Use a pencil cup to put all of your pencils, pens, and scissors in, and stack all books or miscellaneous magazines on your bookshelf. It's also important that you leave a space on the surface where you work so you won't be distracted by the clutter.

There you have it - an organized office. To keep it organized in the future, set aside a few minutes on a Friday to clean up and make sure everything is in its designated spot and your papers are filed where they need to be. Then, you'll have a clean office to start fresh with on Monday.