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office organization tips

Sep 27
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Going Paperless is a Process: How to Eliminate Office Clutter

By Blog, Business Organizing, Home Office Organization, Organizing Paper Files No Comments

Is going paperless a realistic goal for you? What’s the reason you want to go paperless?

Is it to be more mobile, work from anywhere, get rid of the stacks of papers, or have information on demand from your computer?

Whatever it is, take a few minutes to decide what going paperless will look like for you. Paper organization is a process; getting clear on your vision from the start will save you a lot of time!

Making the decision to go paperless is a great step in the right direction. But it isn’t a single step… going paperless is a process.

Even after I thought I had cleared everything, I still find it is important to keep going back in and clearing more out! Staying organized is about staying on top of your systems.

What’s Your Goal for Going Paperless?

Initially, my goal in going paperless was to be completely mobile. To be able to do business and work from anywhere in the world.  My goal expanded to giving team access to documents, videos, and photos.

In this transition I had to learn new technology, set up new systems, and schedule time in my calendar for this goal. I also had to be ruthless with myself on what books, papers, magazines, articles, office supplies, and binders I really needed to keep in my office.

At the end of the day I would ask myself, what do I really need to have on hand and just a moment away? Can I access my information online or on my computer quickly? What needs to stay in paper format?

These are questions you must ask yourself, too.

Why Keep Paper in a Digital World?

This is a question that everyone is going to have a different answer for.

How comfortable are you with learning and using technology?

Some prefer the touch and feel of paper and others just want it completely out of their life so they don’t have to manage it at all. In all my years of organizing offices, homes, and small businesses, I have yet to see a completely paperless office. So get clear on what “paperless” means to you.

Where Do I Put Papers I Keep?

Depending on how much paper you have left after deciding what stays and goes, you may want to use binders kept on a shelf or in a smaller filing cabinet.

Create a space for your “Project Files” and your “Reference Files.”

Project files are active and need to be close at hand. Reference files contain information that you may need to refer to from time-to-time. You can keep those in a filing cabinet, binders, or your office.

I went from four lateral filing drawers down to two small file drawers – and it feels great! In those two filing drawers are only what I need in paper format for a few current projects, a few business reference files, and personal documents. Whenever I can, I purge a file or eliminate a project folder.

The paper files in my cabinet are not papers that I want to scan, but those that I want to have in their original formats. I may change my mind one-day, but for now I’m happy with this.

Project management apps to help you go paperless with all the projects you’re working on are:

  • Asana
  • Trello
  • ClickUp
  • OneNote
  • Evernote
  • Monday

My personal favorite is Asana and it has given me the freedom to share projects with my team which gives me peace of mind that tasks aren’t slipping through the cracks.

For simple to lists, planning a celebration, and errands, my personal preference is GoogleKeep.

Get Clear On Your Vision for Paperless

Going paperless is a process and it doesn’t happen overnight. Just like building a home!

You first have a vision and draw up a plan, then hire a contractor to build your home. After many, many months of making a lot of decisions and following through on completing task after task, you finally have reached your move-in day. And you get to walk through your front door into your new dream home!

So, what is your vision for going paperless?

Paint that picture in your mind, write out your desired outcome, and schedule time to follow through with it. Then complete all the tasks it will to take in organizing your space so you have less paper!

 

If you want to take it a step further or need some more guidance, my Organize Your Household Papers will give you a jump start on organizing your paper in your office, home, and life! You’ll get all of my trade secrets and the steps to set up your organizing systems. Really everything you’d need to be organized and manage the paper files taking up too much space in your life!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Why We Prefer New Year’s Planning in September

Mar 05
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Desk Organization: 5 Tips for an Uncluttered Desk

By Blog, Business Organizing, Home Office Organization, Organizing Paper Files No Comments

Desk Organization Tips to Clear Your Office Clutter

 

It’s the time of year again when we begin moving outdoors, taking in the crisp fresh air, and feeling a real sense of renewal!

 

And having your home and workspace organized helps immensely to welcome that wonderful freshness back into your life.

 

Check in with your Goals

 

Now is also the perfect time to assess where you’re standing with the commitments and goals you made to yourself in January.

 

Did you set out to be more active this year?

Be on time for meetings and stay ahead of deadlines?

Or maybe you set out to be better organized by finding great desk organization solutions?

 

Take a close look at your workspace and honestly answer these 3 questions:

 

  1. Where are the piles accumulating?
  2. What items don’t have a home?
  3. Is your Inbox on your computer overflowing with 100’s or even 1000’s of emails?
  4. Am I still in desperate need of office organization tips?

 

Your answers to these key questions will give you the clues for where you should start with these desk organization tips for your spring cleaning.

Why Wait to Spring Clean?

Welcome in the fresh air and get a head start this year
with our free Ultimate Spring Cleaning Checklist!

Download Here!

With these tips below, I recommend tackling one or two per day as to not overwhelm yourself right off the bat. It may start to feel really easy and freeing but remember to ration your energy so you can keep motivated and get your organizing done all week!

 

Most people only use 20 percent of what they have, 80 percent of the time. So with that in mind, let’s get moving and clear up your workspace!

 

Desk Organization Tips in 5 Easy Steps

 

Tip 1: Start with the Visible Piles First!

Period.

We can’t get to what we can’t even reach yet!

With our goal being to make a dramatic, visible result, we need to start with the visible things first.

 

Tip 2: Always Work in One Area at a Time

The goal here is to clear Command Central and create dramatic, visible results immediately. Starting with the top of your desk first.

What most desk organization tips won’t say is that people usually start with hidden piles in boxes or drawers, then after 2 hours they find themselves having not accomplished anything.

So to avoid this, grab 2 boxes and put every single piece of paper on your desk into box #1. Use box #2 for other desk things like pens, office supplies, books, and whatever else you have on your desk.

Now pick up the top piece of paper from box #1 and use the F.A.S.T. Principle™ – File it, Act on it, Schedule it, Toss it.

Handle each piece of paper in less than 60 seconds. Get rid of any decor items that you no longer love or that clutter up your desk.

 

Action Tip: Play your favourite music and set a timer for 1-2 hours.

 

Try to imagine when you walk into your office the next day. How will it feel to have a clear desk?

Likely like you’ve lifted 100 pounds off your shoulders!

Now let’s continue this desk organization process by tackling the piles on the floor using the F.A.S.T. Principle™.

Remember our time constraint for pieces of paper. There’s no time for lengthy evaluating here. The object of the game is to get this done as fast as possible.

Getting organized is a clarifying, cleansing way of connecting to what’s really important to you. You should enjoy the process and reward yourself along the way for all of your hard work!

 

Tip 3: Create Zones in Your Office

Action Tip: Beware of the hidden costs of clutter. It costs your time, money, and space to take care of the things you don’t use. Now play your favourite music, set a timer, and get down to work for a couple hours!

 

Think of your work area as having different activity zones. Consider how you move things across your desk, what items you use most frequently, and what relationships certain materials have with different desk activities.

 

Command Central zones could be:
  1. An In Tray for incoming mail
  2. An Out Tray for outgoing mail
  3. To-File Tray for papers to be filed
  4. Project file zone
  5. Reference file zone
  6. Resources zone

 

Action Tip: While advancing through these desk organization tips, group like activities or functions together, then label them and their areas for quick, easy access.

 

Tip 4: Conquer the Email Traffic Jam

Mismanaged incoming emails can become a significant drain on productivity. The more emails pile up, the less useful it is to the user and company.

On the other hand, an empty Inbox is a delight to look at!

It reminds us we are fully caught up.

Did you know that the real purpose of an Inbox is to serve as a temporary resting location for information and requested actions BEFORE they are read by you?

Our Inboxes are not a catch-all for everything we’ve ever received, and they’re also certainly not a replacement for our information filing systems.

Apply the F.A.S.T. Principle™ here with each email.

 

Tip 5: Organizing is a Process, NOT a Destination

Action Tip: Only keep what you love and currently use on a regular basis!

 

Congratulate yourself for taking action on these desk organization tips this week and for clearing off your desk!

You’ve made some serious changes and that is definitely something to be celebrated.

Do keep in mind though, that organizing is a continual process of re-evaluating. You still need to evaluate what your goals are, what activities you currently enjoy, and what you don’t enjoy anymore, then edit accordingly.

 

Continually ask yourself these questions:
  1. Does it work?
  2. Do I like it?
  3. Does it work for others?

 

Action Tip: Be willing to adjust your systems as your professional and personal lives evolve. Don’t worry about mistakes along the way, it’s just important to keep learning!
 

 

What desk organization tips were your favorite? Comment below!

 

 

 

 

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