Before quarantine, your home office was where you caught up on work during the weekends and off-hours. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic bringing remote work into the mainstream, millions of people stay at home throughout the entire week.
Nonetheless, just because you are working from home does not mean that things are getting easier. Assignments are still clogging your inbox, and papers keep piling up. Keeping track of everything requires focus, patience, and a certain level of savviness. Here are three helpful tips for organizing your home office to sustain productivity and maintain sanity.
Keep Your Colors Coordinated
Colors are in our blood. Humans read color faster than text. Therefore, they are a highly effective tool when it comes to organizing.
Recognizing colors and their meaning remains an integral part of our evolution. For instance, we associate red with power, energy, passion, and movement. This makes red the perfect choice for labeling urgent tasks that need immediate completion.
Different colors mean different things, so organize each color by what it means to you. Using color-coded tape helps to organize documents by color and works for labeling your files as well. Writing on tape with the opposite-colored marker helps make it stand out. Reference the color wheel when organizing so you keep opposing colors.
Make Use of Wall Space
When organizing a workspace, we often pile our belongings into clutter. Yet, we often neglect how much space we have on our walls. That is why one of the most helpful tips for organizing your home office is using your wall space more effectively. Hanging a bookshelf, calendar, whiteboard, or filing cabinet are a few things your wall can help you hold.
For brainstorming, posting sticky notes on your wall helps organize your thoughts for composing an email or writing a document. Motivational posters also help you manage your office clutter by boosting your energy and keeping your spirits high.
Shelves are a godsend when you have papers all over your desk. Instead of leaving them there, keeping them up high and out of sight helps focus your workflow on current tasks.
Eliminate All Unnecessary Papers
The most common item of clutter in a home office is paper by far. Organizing papers with varying levels of importance seems like an impossible task, but it is an essential step in boosting your productivity in your home office. Therefore, getting rid of all your unnecessary clutter makes the organizing process run that much smoother.
There are three different methods you must follow to achieve paper perfection. First, if it is garbage, throw it away immediately or shred it if there is personal information inside.
Second, file your important papers neatly for safekeeping. The most intelligent method for arranging important documents is using color-coded file folders that correlate with their topic.
Finally, some papers are due for necessary activities such as bills, mail, and government documents. So, to summarize: throw it away, file neatly, or take action. Once you take action, dispose of those documents as well.
Van Rundell is a writer and author who specializes in transportation, travel, guidance, health & fitness. With over 10 years of experience in the industry as a driver and an entrepreneur, he has seen it all. His tone is professional but friendly with a dash of humor thrown in for good measure. In past, he has been advising, educating and writing about transport for the public and professionals alike.
A qualified fitness instructor with over 5 years’ experience as a personal trainer and group fitness instructor, Van brings his deep knowledge of health and exercise science to his articles on health & fitness.
