5 Quick Tips to Declutter Your Office

Clutter. Ick. How does it appear, and why can't we seem to get rid of it once and for all?  We can!  With these tips and a bit of discipline (try it, it's not so bad), we can learn to control clutter and maintain a neat and orderly office space. 

1. Tackle one small area at a time.  Start with a desk drawer, or even a section of it.  The benefits of starting small are twofold: working on a small space allows you to see results instantly, and the time commitment is minimal.  Ten minutes here and there adds up.
2. Organize when you clean.  Cleaning and organizing are not the same, although the two are sometimes lumped together.  While you're dusting is a great opportunity to toss out or relocate items that are no longer useful to you, or that have strayed from their assigned home.  Putting things where they belong not only helps you get organized, it's less you have to dust around.  Yay!
3. Purchase organizing products only if you know what you're going to use them for.  Yes, I too have been guilty of buying a tool at Office Max not because I really needed it, but because it was so cute!  Stop that.  I have broken myself of this habit, so don't convince yourself that the pretty box with the beach scene will solve your organizing challenges.  The only way to solve them is to declutter your space and implement a system that is simple and logical for you.
4. Don't be shy about using empty wall space or the back of your office door for storage of items you use but don't need to access every day.  Look in office supply stores and online for a myriad of choices in this area.  It's ok to keep items if you use them--this is not clutter, but make sure each item has a permanent home in your office.
5. Set aside time each day to declutter until it's done.  Don't be tempted to dump stuff into a box in the corner of your office in the hopes that you'll get to it soon.  No, you probably won't.  The best way to declutter is to start small (see Tip #1!) and to keep going until you're happy with your space.

 

 

Want to Increase Productivity? Leave Your Office!

 
Have you ever noticed that offices can be distracting places?  Kind of like the hospital--just when you get relaxed and are about to drift off to sleep, someone barges in and you have to start all over again.  Most offices are teeming with interruptions just waiting to happen: co-workers who stop by for "a minute" to chat, ringing phones, it's too chilly (or hot) which makes it hard to focus, worrying about those piles of papers that are lurking in your peripheral vision, hearing the details of your co worker's cousin's (boring) wedding...distracting! 
I work from a home office when I'm not in somebody else's office helping them get better organized.  My office is in a separate room in the lower level of my house, and while I don't have any motor-mouth co-workers popping by, there are still distractions I have become disciplined to work around.  But for those times when I succumb to interrupting what I'm working on to go throw that load of laundry into the dryer, I've found that going to a coffee shop or bookstore to work actually works remarkably well.  Although there are people and noise in these places, I'm able to have laser-like focus and I wind up being highly productive!  Then I can go home and not feel as guilty about taking care of some household duties during my workday.  If you occasionally struggle with inefficiency at work, go work off site for a couple of hours.  A change of scenery is good for you--and your productivity!