A functional workspace is the foundation of business organizing. From high-powered executives to the assistants that keep things running smoothly, everyone needs a workstation that works for them. Fortunately, having an efficient workspace isn’t as complicated as it sounds. With just a little bit of forethought and a few business organizing tips, you can turn your desktop and surrounding space into a well-organized environment.
The first thing to do is figure out how you use your office. What tasks you spend the most time? Are you usually busy on the phone, or do you spend a majority of your time on the computer? Perhaps you spend a lot of time using technology such as the fax machine, scanner, postage meter or photocopier. Alternatively, you may spend a lot of time referencing literature from a large bookshelf in your office. Take a moment to outline what you spend the bulk of your time doing.
Once you know how you spend your time each day, the next step in business organizing is to create a workspace that best facilitates those particular activities. This is the part where you may need to get creative!
Let’s say for example you spend a lot of time sending and receiving faxes, it is probably more efficient to position the fax machine within arm’s reach. Instead of taking up valuable desk space, you could position a printer stand within reaching distance of your desk. Then position your telephone in a comfortable position on your desk. Arrange your desk trays to properly reflect your needs. An in-tray and out-tray for faxes might be just what you need.
Alternatively, if you spend most of your workday on the computer and digging into your filing system, you’re going to want to create a workspace that reflects those needs. Position your computer monitor in a way that’s ergonomic to avoid straining your neck when using it. Keep ergonomics in mind when positioning your keyboard and mouse. If you can’t find any filed document within five seconds or less, you can and should improve your filing system.
Take stock of all the office supplies that you regularly use. If you regularly make use of small items like paper clips, thumbtacks, rubber bands, etc. consider using drawer dividers. Drawer dividers help keep your drawers tidy, and they also help you see at a glance if you are running low on any supplies. If you do a lot of printing on different sized papers, try organizing the most frequently used papers and envelops in stacking trays next to the printer. If you send a lot of faxes, place the different covering sheets or fax templates that you need in stacking trays next to the machine. Attaching a pen to the tray with a strip of Velcro ensures you always have a pen handy when you need one.
Most of us have a number of repetitive tasks to be completed daily, weekly or monthly, such as important phone calls, items for discussion, documents to be photocopied or items for data entry. If this sounds familiar, one way to make your workspace even more effective is to create and regularly use a tickler system. This system “tickles your brain” on a daily basis with permanent action items and date sensitive temporary actions. Place the tickler system within arm’s reach on your desk.
Business organizing begins with a well planned, functional workspace. Whether you are a high powered executive at a Fortune 500 company, or a volunteer at a non-profit sharing an office with two other people, you need a workspace designed to support what you do. Take some time to think about how you use your space and how you can better design it to minimize effort and maximize productivity.