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We previously discussed getting your head around the concept
of getting organized is a combination of both the physical and
mental side. Let’s take a look at our physical space. Do
you sometimes wonder how you lost real estate in your office?
The paper mongrels have eaten it up, the desk is somewhere? Where
did these piles of paper come from? I thought we were supposed
to be green? Paperless, I don’t think so if I save it in
my computer that is a giant black hole, I may never find it.
I better print it so it doesn’t get lost. Now it is time
to find the printed project report you were working on last night?
You were sure it was on the desk but can’t find it anywhere.
If any of these questions are answered in the affirmative, you
need to clean your office clutter at once! A cluttered
work desk is a major problem when it comes to your productivity.
Now is a good time to take care of it. Since the New Year is
around the corner, getting rid of office clutter is an excellent
way of starting the New Year!
The time needed to clear the office clutter depends on how much clutter
you have in your office. Taking at least a couple of hours to clear away
things is a good idea. If you find yourself getting lost in the clutter
you may need to allocate couple of hours each week or hire a professional
organizer.
You will need some empty cardboard boxes, a shredder, files, some stickers
and some empty boxes too. Clearing your work desk at the beginning is a
good idea. Generally there will be lots of loose papers, invoices, letters
and project reports lying around. Start sorting the papers into separate
piles of like kind items. The receipts, the project reports, the mail and
invoices should be separated. Once you have the piles ready file the receipts
and invoices in the files. Make sure to stick the sticker on it so that
you can read the heading easily. The junk mail should be thrown in the
garbage bin. Some of the papers need shredding put them in a separate box
labeled accordingly. If your office has a separate shredding department
the pile to be shredded should be moved to that department. If it is a
small organization you will have to do it. Ask your banker if they have
a shredding day. I once burnt up a shredder trying to do it myself to find
my bank brings in a huge truck and will shred it all for free. If you are
a small business owner it isn’t worth your time take it to the pros.
Make sure you are compliant with the company’s retention programs
before throwing it all away. There are individual rules for each organization.
If you aren’t sure what is to be sure to adopt a policy or ask your
legal department and save the items in a separate folder.
Once the work desk is cleared, take out the drawers. Be careful putting
your hand in there just in case something is growing. Oh by the way the
work desk really shouldn't be the refrigerator or your personal
cosmetic drawer. If you are fining it is full of piles of business cards
you collected throughout the years you may want to think of a better way
to organize your contacts. Card Scanners work great and there is a fantastic
program called Microsoft Office it integrates into. Once you scan the cards
and clear out the junk consider a drawer organizer.
Now you are probably still a mess but getting some order of semblance,
don’t give up yet. This is the part where even professional organizers
can feel overwhelmed but we can see the big picture. If you are ADD or
ADHD don’t ever try this on your own in one setting if you want to
have success this is where many people loose sanity.
All the paper should be filed in appropriate files or folders. You will
need to work on your filing system, sorry that is another chapter. So until
you have that in place make sure to write the heading in pencil so that
you can move things around without causing any more confusion.
If you do not have enough filing cabinets make the end of the year is a
good time to purchase another. Before taking up more prime real estate
on the floor consider cleaning the file cabinet out or going paperless.
A little trivia a four drawer file cabinet holds 18,000 pieces of paper,
talk about a black hole. Think twice about saving and printing information
out that can be found later on the internet when you really need it.
Once you have storage system in place for everything in your
office, your life will be easier. Clutter in your space creates
clutter on your mind which greatly decreases your productivity.
You have now set yourself free! Don’t stop here get educated
on getting a system in place to keep your physical
and mental space clear.
© 2010 Karen T. Cynowa, Time's Up Consulting
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