You sleep in your bedroom. And you probably eat in or around your kitchen, but what about your home office? With the significant change in working arrangements, working professionals had to switch to work-at-home arrangements overnight. Given the speed of this change, most individuals ended up with a home office in the center of their home! While it’s true that work-at-home arrangements can be super productive and comfortable, you can only make the most of a home office if it is organized.
If you are not sure about how to organize your home office, this post is for you. Here, we share five tips that can help you organize your home office and make your working space more comfortable and productive.
So let’s get started.
Invest in Organizational System
Your home office may have a lot of clutter. You will have office accessories, bills, letters, assignments, to-do lists, and a lot more all at your workstation. But before you get started with the actual process of organizing your home office, the first step is to decide on where you would want to put all your stuff.
Here comes the need to invest in an organizational system. You need to invest in a few accessories that will help you organize your home office better. These accessories may include a file rack, a filing cabinet, a trash basket/ recycling container, a box that can serve as a storage container.
But getting the organizational accessories is not the bigger idea. The main purpose is to establish a workflow such that you use all these organizational tools, which will be the first step towards an organized home office. For instance, when you work at your home office, your first step is to check your inbox or your work portal, but for projects requiring you to have physical evidence of work, know when to move the file to rack instead of your desk. Moreover, once the project is over, you can then move the file to the filing cabinet.
Read Also: How to Brighten a Home Office with No Windows
Store in Containers
With the organizational system in place, now is the time to organize your home office. Start by checking the clutter at your workstation. Take a look at all the papers and figure out how to intend to use them. For all stacks of papers you don’t need anymore, make sure you throw them in the recycle bin. The same goes for the post-its and other piles of papers that are occupying space at your desk.
For papers and files you need for your current projects, place them in a file rack to be accessible and organized. You can also invest in binders that allow you to color code and organize your office essentials, making your work-related documents more organized and accessible.
Moreover, for files and papers related to projects you have already completed and will need in the future, it’s best to store them in a filing cabinet.
The same goes for office supplies. You can organize your office supplies in containers, baskets, drawers, and holders. Once you organize the supplies in containers, you can place the container in the drawer to make your home office more organized and less clutter-free.
Utilize Your Wall Space
When you work at home, you have to make the most of the limited space that’s available for your home office. So while you organize your home office, don’t forget to utilize your wall space. After all, it’s the space around your workstation, and organization is all about being efficient when dealing with limited resources. Go vertical and make the most of your wall space. You can place your calendar, whiteboard, and shelves on the wall and use that space to help make your home office more organized and comfortable.
Read Also: How to Make a Small, Windowless Office Feel Bigger
Clean Your Home Office
Now that you have organizational tools like recycle bin, file racks, and a cabinet, and you have established a workflow, stored all your work-related items in appropriate containers, and have utilized your wall space, it’s time to spend some time cleaning your work desk.
Take a closer look at your work desk and see if any of your work-related supplies are still at your desk. If so, give a final touch to your desk and place all work-related supplies in the designated spaces or containers.
Once you clean your home office, your workstation should have nothing other than your computer, file rack, and a printer (if that’s what you use at your home office).
Don’t Forget Your Computer
As you get closer to a more organized home office that’s comfortable and organized, don’t forget to take a closer look at your computer. An organized home office is all about being in an organized space, but it is also about being organized with the system you use every day. So similar to how you organized everything on your work desk, do the same with your desktop or laptop. Make sure your desktop screen is clutter-free, and all your important documents are placed in appropriate folders. This simple arrangement will allow you to access your files efficiently without wasting a lot of time searching for the relevant documents.
Final Words
Only with a clutter-free home office can you create a work environment that’s more comfortable and helps you work efficiently. The key to organization is not to think of it as a one-time activity. Instead, being organized is all about a series of habits that will help keep your home office clean and clutter-free and allow you to work in your best capacity.
