Three Ways to Get Your Office More Organized Right Now

Keeping your desk and office organized is a big challenge for some. You can’t help but feel overwhelmed and out of sorts when you walk into an office filled with unfiled papers, disorganized drawers and a general mess. Think about it; when you have to search for an insurance card or utility bill from a few months ago, do you panic and put it off until the last possible minute because you just can’t face the mess? If you have this problem, it’s time to get organized one step at a time.

File Your Papers Immediately

Once you make files, it’s easy to keep this up. However, it’s getting started that’s often the problem. Buy a file cabinet or just a bunch of file folders to put in your desk drawers and label them accordingly. Some people like to label their paperwork by type, such as health insurance, car insurance, homeowners insurance, utilities, satellite or mortgage. Others like to organize theirs by month and just put all their bills into one monthly folder each month. When you get a new piece of information in, file it immediately.

Index Things You Use Infrequently

It’s a pain keeping up with that address book just so you can use it once a year for Christmas cards. However, you need those addresses. Instead of keeping a book, keep a file on your computer that has all your names and addresses already entered. It saves space and makes it much simpler to print labels during the holiday season.

Stop Using Your Desk Inappropriately

Do not throw your bills, letters, statements and whatnot on top of your desk, close the door and go about your merry way. Immediately start to file things into folders with labels such as mail to sort, bills to pay, bills I’ve paid, letters to respond to, information to document, etc. When you do this, you eliminate clutter and make yourself feel like you’ve been much more productive than you actually have been.

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