5 Office Organizing Tips from the Professional Organizer in NYC
The key to maintaining an organized office all year long is creating daily habits that support your mission. This Professional Organizer in NYC knows that a commitment to daily action can make all the difference! Start practicing each of these actions…one at a time…and as they become habits you will be able to keep your office organized all year long:
1. Sort your paperwork every day. When you continually ignore the papers that are coming into your office, they wind up in piles on your desk, taking up valuable workspace. Sorting through the piles not only will clear up space immediately, but it also ensures you won’t miss any important tasks or deadlines. You can schedule time at least once a week to file away paperwork and review reading materials that have collected.
2. Add every task immediately to your to-do list. When you are bombarded with information daily, it’s next to impossible to remember everything. This is why this daily habit is so important! When an email or phone call comes in that includes tasks for you to do, immediately put those tasks on your to-do list. You can use a written list, a calendar, or an online project management system. No matter what method you use to document the tasks, the key is to continually be adding them to your list, making sure to include deadlines.
3. Review your calendar and daily list of to-do’s. Set aside time every night to review your calendar of appointments and your to-do list. This allows you to create a plan for the next day and ensures that you have time to be prepared and ready for those unexpected events that can occur. If you aren’t regularly checking in and noting what needs to be done, you’ll end up rushing to meet forgotten deadlines and missing important meetings.
4. Schedule time in for distractions. This is an important one! It’s so easy to get lost scrolling through your Facebook newsfeed or catching up on news stories. You can quickly lose important hours of your day wasted on distractions. So make it a habit to use social media and peruse the internet during specified times of the day for a specific amount of time. During the rest of your work day, turn it off.
5. Clear your desk off at the end of each work day. This simple task can increase your productivity immediately! At the end of each and every work day, spend five minutes cleaning up your workspace. Store away any pens or pencils, put notebooks in a drawer, and put any files you were working on away. When you head back into the office the next day, you’ll be met by a clear workspace, ready and waiting for you to dive in to your next project. You won’t feel overwhelmed and distracted by the clutter on your desk and in your office and you’ll be able to immediately tackle your first task of the day.
Habits aren’t created overnight. They require a continuous effort over a period of time. By putting in the time each day to implement these five simple tasks, they will become a normal part of your daily office routine in no time. If you need more office organizing help, reach out to your Professional Organizer in NYC.